Introduction: As a way to utilize this blog more and give our fans a chance to get to know our contractors better, this marks the beginning of a series of contractor profiles that will show up every couple of weeks on here. Our debut profile features Matt Alfani. Read on.
Property preservation for Matt Alfani has become a family affair. Nearly half of the ten person staff that makes up Matt’s business wears the same last name, but that doesn’t mean they get any special treatment. Matt’s continued success is a result of everyone fulfilling their roles.
“I’m pretty strict on my employees,” Matt said. “If we don’t hit the money we don’t have jobs. Everyone works hard. They know they’re the key to their own jobs.”
Both of his brothers as well as his sister and one of his brother’s girlfriends are all employed by Matt. This family dynamic hasn’t been around for very long, though.
Prior to taking on his current position a couple years ago, Matt and his brothers were working for former Maxim contractor, Jason Kelly, who covered Eastern Pennsylvania and the Cincinnati, OH area. When it came time to renew contracts in the spring, Jason didn’t. Maxim needed contractors to cover his areas, and Matt wanted Cincinnati. Starting in June 2008 Matt signed his own contract with Maxim.
“I started with $3,000, no credit, and one vehicle,” Matt said. “No one thought I could do it.”
Matt’s territory began with just the city of Cincinnati, and each month Maxim increased his area a little. Now, the region Matt covers is about 165 miles east to west and 100 miles north to south across Southern Ohio and a little bit of Kentucky.
His staff also grew with the size of his business. He now employs eight full time and two part time staff including him.
“We went from just me to 10 people in a little over a year,” Matt said.
Matt began property preservation with a lot of REO cleanouts. He started with the harder physical jobs and quickly learned how to manage a lot of debris and the best method for taking and organizing photos.
Now Matt prefers work per bids that involve cleanouts. He likes taking the big truck and the trailer out and filling it with debris.
Matt feels he as understands the work aspect pretty well, he’s had to confront his own share of challenges. The biggest issue for Matt in this industry has been developing himself while growing his business. While he still has family close by, Matt left behind friends and more of a partier lifestyle to fully commit to this profession.
“I’ve never been a boss before, and my brothers have never worked for me,” Matt said. “It’s been a big challenge making the change from a normal person to a business owner.”
Matt says he also misses his friends he left when he moved away.
“It’s really hard making friends in this business,” he said. When they show up at properties, “the neighbors are weary of you.”
Matt said even if he tries to meet people outside of the job, once he tells them what he does for a living they aren’t as responsive. The job title in addition to the late nights Matt works doesn’t make for much of a social life.
“I hate mornings,” he said. “I do most of my work at night.”
If property preservation wasn’t his lifestyle, Matt said he would enjoy renting a car lot. He attended school to learn about Cadillac motors and has extensive knowledge of GM cars, so he would enjoy working in a car business, preferably using his sales skills instead of mechanical talents. Currently the only vehicles he works on are the company trucks.
“It’s probably the reason I survived in this business is because I can work on my own cars,” Matt said.
As for his personal tastes outside of work, Matt’s I-pod is complete with a collection of rap music and upbeat alternative. He’s big into the Top 40 list, but his specific preference is Nickleback. As a theme song for his life, Matt picked Nickleback’s, “If today was your last day.”
On the rare occasion Matt isn’t working, he dusts off his collection of crotch rocket motorcycles and hits the road.
“I have a Kawasaki Ninja and a Yamaha YZF R1,” Matt said, “That’s my main hobby.”
He’s been riding since he was three years old with his first four-wheeler and has stuck with it ever since.
