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Knowledge Is Staying Power in Property Management Field

Residential property management is a complex and wide-ranging occupation. The 13 companies on the San Diego Business Journal’s 2012 Residential Property Management Companies list are available 24/7 to address the needs of their clients.

The criterion used to rank the list is the number of local residential units under management as of Jan. 1, 2012.

San Diego-based American Assets Trust is ranked No. 1 on the list with 786,155 local residential units under management. The residential units under management companywide remained steady from 2011 to 2012.

“Currently our portfolio consists of 48.5 percent retail, 37 percent office, 13 percent residential and 1.5 percent mixed-use,” said Patrick Kinney, senior vice president of real estate operations. “We have noticed an increase in demand for multifamily housing due to the housing crisis, which we believe has helped gain a higher interest in apartment rentals and occupancy overall throughout our portfolio.”

10% Increase

Merit Property Management Inc., No. 2 on the list, had a 10 percent increase in the number of local residential units under management. The company went from 20,754 units in 2011 to 22,729 in 2012. Merit manages 70 individual community associations, or HOAs, in San Diego County.

“We’ve been in San Diego since 1985,” said Robert Cardoza, CEO. “We have 582 employees companywide with about 10 percent of those in San Diego managing 70 individual community associations.”

Merit was recently awarded the management contract for the Civita Master Association, which is a mixed-use project in Mission Valley being developed by Sudberry Properties Inc., Cardoza said.

“After an extensive RFP process, we were selected to manage Civita because of our commitment to the community of San Diego,” Cardoza said. “We are excited to be working alongside Sudberry Properties Inc. and Standard Pacific Homes as we launch this new and exciting addition to San Diego.”

Merit has also seen an increase in interest from large investor groups who have been buying thousands of distressed properties in San Diego and other markets where Merit has offices.

“They don’t know what they don’t know with regard to getting any individual property ‘rent ready’,” Cardoza said. “We are responsible for evaluating the property and completing the initial inspection for our clients.”

Merit will then employ qualified service providers to improve the home to get it ready to be put up for rent, Cardoza added. The rehabilitation costs are varied and can range from no money for a home that is already leased and occupied to $50,000 for a home that has been severely vandalized.

Green Is Hot

Orange County-based Professional Community Management Inc., No. 3 on the list, reported growth in the number of local residential units under management at 1 percent. In 2011, PCM had 17,817 units under management and 18,047 units in 2012.

“We manage Common Interest Developments (CIDs) that can range from a residential association to an auto park or large commercial site,” said Jim Fraker vice president of San Diego management.

“In San Diego we have 65 residential associations managing 18,047 units.”

Joe Winkler, vice president of marketing for PCM, noted that growth in San Diego was essentially flat, but they are growing companywide. PCM has offices in Orange, Riverside, and Los Angeles counties and Las Vegas.

“What we provide to HOA boards is advice and consulting on various things,” Winkler said. “For example, we will work with the board to select the best vendor for the landscaping maintenance; we vet the company and recommend the vendor that is the highest quality and best value.”

PCM is also experiencing an increase in requests for consulting from developers who are in the early stages of acquiring land for the development of a community.

“Developers are consulting with us in terms of the types of amenities that are trending and where they need to allocate funds to make it attractive to prospective buyers,” Winkler said. “We are seeing huge fitness trends going on, away from meeting rooms to multipurpose rooms that are flexible, and green is definitely ‘hot.’ ”

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