Nexus' Phoenix East Valley Office Provides Superior, Personalized Property Management

LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED PROPERTY MANAGEMENT IS NOT THE NORM HERE IN THE VALLEY

In the spring of 2023, Nexus Property Management® opened their first franchise office west of the Mississippi in Tempe, Arizona. Angela Boggs, who has been active in real estate in the East Valley for almost a decade, knows the local market as well as anyone and it was quickly apparent to her that the property management scene in greater Phoenix is far different than what is typical in other parts of the country. It’s no secret that out-of-staters are making their way into Arizona in droves and the quality of life here explains why that’s the case, but it’s no excuse for real estate professionals to cut corners or sacrifice customer service in search of greater profits. With Nexus, it’s essential that the best interests of all parties are aligned and sadly that is not the norm for most property managers in the area.

LEARN MORE: THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING WITH A COMPANY WHOSE INTERESTS AND PRIORITIES ALIGN WITH YOURS

4 UNACCEPTABLE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TRENDS

To be blunt, property owners in the East Valley deserve better. Whether you own a 150 year old three-family apartment in the Rust Belt, or a brand new single-family in the Sun Belt, we all deserve top-notch management of our six (or seven) figure assets. Like that T-Rex that they fed a goat on a chain to in Jurassic Park, property managers worth their management fees should want to work hard, not feast on a bloated market opportunity. If you own property in Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, or any points in between, and you’re looking for tenant placement or full property management services, make sure you find a company that is local and provides a personal touch.

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When markets are booming there are inevitably those who try to take advantage and we’re seeing that in this case. Do your homework and make sure you hire a reputable property manager whose goals and priorities align with your needs. Here are four tell-tale signs that you’ve hired the wrong property manager and need to find someone better:

1. UNSERVICEABLY LARGE TERRITORY

Your property manager needs to be able to reach your property promptly should a major issue arise. That should be a non-negotiable. They represent you should an emergency arise, it’s them who should be meeting first responders and overseeing any needs. Somehow, we’re seeing more than a handful of property managers in the area that are operating out of an office hours away from some properties! Yes, the world has adopted a more remote work culture in recent years, but physical distance means emotional distance. These kinds of property managers are fine just standing in as substitutes for out-of-state owners with the thinking that at least they’re closer and can do more than the owner. That’s simply not good enough. That is not how we revolutionize the property management industry.

All Nexus Property Management® offices are limited to a service territory no larger than 30 minutes from the Nexus office. It is essential that our team members can get to your property as quickly as possible. To operate a larger territory would be a sign of profit chasing at the expense of quality of work, and that’s not OK. Additionally, operating a much larger territory is not fair to the hardworking team members of that property management company. Unless your property manager is simply hiring vendors and marking up your costs for simply making a phone call, which is likely, they are going to overtax their workforce and culture will suffer…

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2. FREQUENT STAFF TURNOVER

If you reach out to your property manager and you’re talking to someone different every time, there’s a problem. Frequent staff turnover is a sign that priorities are not aligned and ownership might be overly profit driven. Don’t get us wrong, the goal is to operate a successful business, but with Nexus, we refuse to chase profits at the expense of our team members and our clients. Our leasing team and maintenance techs know the ins and outs of the properties we manage. They know the tenants and the tenants know them. There is a personal touch and it helps foster an environment where everyone wins.

If you’ve got someone new in charge of your account every time you call, there’s an issue and you’re not getting the quality you deserve. Instead of working tirelessly to maximize your profits, these companies are busy onboarding their new faces and swimming upstream against a culture that lacks loyalty and full team buy-in.

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3. UNTRUSTWORTHY MAINTENANCE QUOTES

As mentioned above, too much distance when it comes to real estate is going to be problematic. If a company is hours away or has frequent staff turnover, it’s impossible for them to build trust with their clients. Experience builds confidence and Nexus clients are confident that their assets are in good hands because we provide consistency and offer a personal touch. But in the East Valley, we just keep seeing managers who don’t know the properties and it’s getting embarrassing. It’s actually commonplace for some long-distance managers to hire a vendor to video a unit and then flip that third party video to a third (or in this case fourth???) party vendor to perform the maintenance work. Again, this is not OK. This cannot become the norm. This is an insult to property management and the folks who work hard to help property owners create passive income. There are better options out there…there are dinosaurs that prefer to hunt and will leave the goat on the chain. Shortcuts are not long term solutions.

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4. STRANGERS ON COMPANY LETTERHEAD: OUTSOURCING WHAT SHOULD BE PERSONAL

Some property owners in the area have reported that some property managers are using virtual assistants. Again, there is a time and place for remote work, and creative virtualization of stale jobs…but property management isn’t that space. Might it be easier and more cost-efficient for a company to outsource in this way? Sure…but who else does that help? Is it good for the owners? The tenants? Nope…it’s only good for the company, and that’s not good enough.

Companies are having their virtual assistants send emails to clients and clients aren’t recognizing who the correspondences are from. These are cheap marketing strategies that do not add value for clients. You have the option to know the people you’re trusting your property to. You know that they’re certified and qualified and good at what they do. Do these virtual assistants have any real estate background? Are they familiar with local market trends? Have they met your tenants? Very often, the answer is no. This is not a value adding strategy. This is a cost cutting strategy at the expense of customer service and property owner profits.

LEARN MORE: A TRULY PROFESSIONAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY WILL MAKE IT LOOK EASY

NEXT STEPS

It’s Nexus Property Management’s goal and responsibility to help educate property owners and prospective property owners for the sake of improving investment opportunities for all. We want more and more people to take advantage of these opportunities and that is only going to happen if we as property managers provide the highest quality services possible. If you work with a company that takes shortcuts and they can’t explain how those decisions are in your best interest, you should consider finding a new property manager. Nexus’ Phoenix East Valley office is located in Tempe, Arizona and offers services as far east as Florence. Contact Angela and her team at 480-934-0774 or by visiting their website’s contact page. There are lots of choices when it comes to property management in an environment as rental rich as the East Valley, but not all property managers have the local knowledge, experience, and personal touch that you’ll get with Nexus.

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Mick Lefort is the Vice President of Operations for Nexus Property Management®. A National Property Management Franchise that manages all types of rental property from single family homes or condos to large apartment buildings and complexes.

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