A property preservation CEO wins and keeps the deals with servicers, banks and asset managers that send empty and foreclosed homes to the company. They pick clients and places to work, set the rules clients will audit, and answer for profit as foreclosures rise and fall.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Oversee and lead the strategic direction of the company’s property preservation services. Secure key contracts with banks, real estate firms, and other financial institutions to drive growth. Ensure overall profitability and operational excellence. Represent the company as a visionary industry leader.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Establish and execute strategic plans that align with the company’s mission and property preservation objectives.
Secure and negotiate contracts with banks, real estate firms, and other key financial partners.
Oversee financial performance to ensure consistent profitability and sustainable growth.
Manage company operations and guide senior management in achieving business goals.
Develop and nurture relationships with key stakeholders and industry partners.
Represent the company in industry events, public meetings, and contractual negotiations.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily strategic meetings with senior leadership to review performance and adjust initiatives.
Engage in business prospecting and cultivate strong relationships with existing and potential clients.
Analyze financial reports and operational metrics to assess and drive business performance.
Lead negotiations and secure new contracts with banks, real estate firms, and other stakeholders.
Oversee client interactions, ensuring exceptional service delivery and contract renewals.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Contract Acquisition Rate: Secure a minimum of 5 new contracts per quarter.
Revenue Growth: Achieve at least a 15% increase in quarterly revenue.
Profit Margin: Maintain a gross margin of 30% or higher each quarter.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Sustain a net promoter score (NPS) above 80.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, or a related field.
10+ years of leadership experience with a focus on strategic planning and business development.
Strong negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills.
Proven expertise in financial analysis, market strategy, and operational management.
Ability to inspire teams and lead organizational change.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous executive experience in the property preservation or home services industries.
A track record of working with banks, real estate firms, or comparable financial institutions.
Demonstrated success in driving rapid business growth and achieving financial targets.
Experience in developing and implementing company-wide strategic initiatives.
7. Physical Requirements
Primarily office-based with occasional travel for meetings and site visits.
Ability to attend industry events, conferences, and business engagements.
No heavy lifting or strenuous physical activities expected under normal conditions.
Comfortable working in a typical executive environment.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Occasional extended hours required to meet business demands and project deadlines.
Regular travel for client meetings, strategic negotiations, and industry events.
On-call availability during critical business periods may be required.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range: $200,000 - $300,000 USD.
Performance-based bonus structure tied to revenue and profit achievement.
Comprehensive benefits including health, dental, and vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company contributions.
Additional perks such as a company vehicle, expense allowances, and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we cultivate a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Our team values diversity, transparent communication, and a strong commitment to excellence.
We empower our leaders to take initiative and drive meaningful change in the property preservation landscape.
Join us in a dynamic, growth-oriented environment where your expertise will pave the way for future success.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
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What makes leading a property preservation company different
A CEO anywhere owns strategy and profit. In preservation, the client is a lender or its vendor manager, the homes belong to someone else, and the work follows mortgage defaults.
Your clients have to vet you
The CFPB expects the banks and lenders it supervises to keep watch over their service providers. Its 2016 bulletin lists the steps. Check that the vendor can follow the law. Review its policies, controls and training. Write clear duties and penalties into the contract. Expect each servicer to test your company that way, and decide how much to spend on the policies, training records and audit answers that win this work. Source: CFPB: Compliance Bulletin and Policy Guidance 2016-02, Service Providers.
In Illinois, the right to enter rests on a judgment call
Illinois law shields a mortgagee or its agent from criminal trespass charges for entering, securing or keeping up an abandoned home. The shield applies when they decide in good faith that the house meets the state's legal test for abandoned. So set who in your company makes that call. Decide what proof a crew gathers first, and when an order goes back to the client unworked. Source: Illinois General Assembly: 720 ILCS 5/21-3, criminal trespass to real property, subsection (e-5).
Nationals bring volume, direct clients bring margin
Many regional preservation companies take orders from national field service firms that hold the servicer contracts. That work comes in steady batches at a set price. Direct contracts with servicers, banks and asset managers pay more per order but bring their own onboarding and audits. Pick the mix on purpose, and watch how much of next year rests on one client's routing rules.
How much property preservation chief executive officers make
The closest BLS group for property preservation chief executive officers is chief executives. Chief executives who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $130,000 a year ($62.50 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 430 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for building services companies.
Offers here pair salary with a year-end bonus on revenue and profit. The template's range sits high next to BLS figures here. Weigh it against what executives earn in your market.
Building services companies
$130,000$130,000 median Middle half $102,340–$208,630 10th–90th $93,610–$275,020
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building services companies
$93,610
$102,340
$130,000
$208,630
$275,020
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
BLS doesn’t publish pay for property preservation companies on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Contract negotiation with servicers, banks and asset managers
Reading profit by client, county and order type
Comfort answering vendor audits and compliance questionnaires
Hiring and leading a COO, CFO and general manager
Sound judgment on which territories and clients to take on
Teach these on the job
Investor rules from HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Each client's portal, scorecard and order codes
State and city rules for vacant homes in your territory
Field basics such as securing, debris removal and grass cycles
How your work order platform reports results
This CEO spends more time in client scorecards, the work order platform's reports and the monthly financials than in field tools. Many preservation companies run orders through trade software like Pruvan or PPW, and a CEO should be able to pull results by client from it without waiting on staff.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Client concentration risk
Two national clients make up most of your revenue, and one cuts your territory in half. What do you do?
A strong answer: Builds a cash plan, trims costs, protects quality scores with the remaining client, and diversifies to other nationals, regional servicers, asset managers and REO agents.
Behavioral · Dropping unprofitable work
Tell me about a time you decided to walk away from a client or a line of work. How did you decide?
A strong answer: Names the client or work, the numbers behind it (margin after chargebacks, slow pay, risk), how they replaced the revenue or cut costs, and how it turned out.
The template's numbers are placeholders. Set your own from last year's contracts, margins and client scores, and revisit them with the board each quarter.
Contract Acquisition Rate
Count signed client agreements and new territory awards each quarter. Treat a new state or county from an existing client as its own win, and log every lost bid with the reason.
Revenue Growth
Compare billed revenue with the same quarter last year, split by client and order type, so one portfolio transfer can't hide a decline somewhere else.
Profit Margin
Take approved invoice totals minus labor, subs, dump fees and materials. Count chargebacks and rejected orders in the quarter they land.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Survey the vendor managers and asset managers who send orders, since the homeowner is rarely the client. Read their scorecards alongside the survey results.
Career path
Vendor or default manager at a mortgage servicerLearns how servicers choose, grade and pay preservation vendors.
General managerRuns operations and client service for a preservation company.
What background makes a strong property preservation CEO?
Two paths work. Some leaders come up through the field and know what an order costs to finish. Others come from the servicer side and know how vendor managers score and route work. The strongest candidates have run a profit and loss in one world and spent real time in the other. Ask a finalist to walk one order from assignment to paid invoice, and notice where the answer gets vague.
How much does a property preservation chief executive officer make?
Chief executives who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $130,000 a year ($62.50 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $102,340 and $208,630 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How does a preservation company land a direct servicer contract?
Servicers tend to onboard vendors through a set process. Expect to send insurance papers, your hiring and training policies, financial statements and references. Many start a new vendor with a trial area, and after that the scorecard sets your volume. Have the papers ready before the first sales call. Put your best crews and photo reviewers on the trial area, since the first months decide whether more counties follow.
What should a CEO check before expanding into a new state?
Start with contractor licensing, which varies by state, and with what that state's law says about a lender's agent entering an empty home. Then look at local vacant building programs, the length of the mowing and freeze seasons, disposal costs and drive times. Expand first where a current client already holds loans and has asked for coverage.
How should a preservation CEO plan for a drop in foreclosures?
Order volume follows mortgage delinquencies, so slow years come. Companies that last add work their crews and trucks can already do, such as repairs and turnovers for asset managers, rental turns for property managers, and board-ups and cleanouts after fires or storms. Keep fixed costs lean in busy years and judge each new service line on its own margin.
