Communities

Roosevelt Commons

Dunlap & Magee continues to provide exceptional property management services for our Roosevelt Commons community. The community has been 100% occupied, with a waiting list for certain floorplans. I have been active in the rental housing business in Arizona for over 22 years (as a partner at Evans Withycombe and Lincoln Property Company/Legacy Partners), and have only rarely owned a community that has been 100% occupied (I think one time with a community in Prescott).

The Dunlap & Magee property management team brought its specialized approach to the Roosevelt Commons community, which was critical since the property was very progressive: historic restoration combined with affordable housing in what was a transitional area of Downtown Phoenix. The area is no longer transitional, and the Roosevelt Commons affordable housing community has actually served as a key part of the neighborhood revitalization. This has happened in large part due to the high expectations set by Dunlap & Magee for resident qualifications and property maintenance and landscape standards.

Dunlap & Magee has been very flexible in dealing with the particular ownership and management style of the partnership that owns this community—ranging from my style as a housing "pioneer" (and all of the demands and challenges I bring to a project) to my financial partner's stringent reporting and performance requirements (SunAmerica/AIG, the largest owner of affordable housing communities in the US, is my financial partner). Dunlap & Magee has made their performance look "easy"—when we all know the demands of this business.

Finally, Dunlap & Magee continues to be held in very high regard by my other partners in this community: the City of Phoenix Housing Department and the Arizona Department of Housing. I hear high praise about Dunlap & Magee from these government officials all the time.

Sincerely,

Reid Butler, President/Owner

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Datile Securities Inc. ("Datile")

We have been utilizing the property management services of Dunlap & Magee since October 2002.

After a reduction in our property holdings and a downturn in the Phoenix rental market which resulted in an unacceptable "economic" vacancy rate of up to 20% (actual vacancy + rent decreases + tenant inducements), we disbanded our own in-house rental management operations in favor of a 3rd party Property Manager.

We interviewed 4 prospective Phoenix based Property Managers and engaged the services of Dunlap & Magee for the following reasons:

  1. Dunlap was a mid-sized firm that would be able to accomodate our 600 Units within its Property Management portfolio. Our 6 rental properties varied in size from 44 Units to 164 Units.
  2. Dunlap had an "open door policy" which allowed us to deal with key individuals, including Nedra Halley, as owner, Scott Fitzgerald, Vice-President/Controller and Christine Shipley, Vice-President Operations. This was an important factor to us as we did not want to get lost in the bureaucracy of a large organization.
  3. Dunlap had an established vendor base that would be able to maintain our properties in pristine condition. Since all of our properties were destined for condo conversion we were adamant that no deferred maintenance be permitted.
  4. Dunlap's professional team appeared not only to be capable of addressing day-to-day rental operational issues but also seamlessly transitioning our property management accounting/information systems into their own...in the 3rd quarter of the year.

We felt we made the right decision for the following reasons:

  1. From an Operational Management perspective:
    1. Dunlap interviewed and retained certain of our former site managers and maintenance personnel prior to incorporating them into their organization.
    2. Dunlap designated one Property Manager, Marsha Ecklund, to service the Datile account. From an "operational chain of command" perspective, Marsha was the primary link between Datile and Dunlap...a key factor in quality management.
    3. Dunlap incorporated a creative marketing campaign to address our unacceptable "economic" vacancy rates. Within 12 months Dunlap had successfully reduced vacancy rates and tenant inducements substantially and was able to start a program of gradual rent increases.
    4. Dunlap site managers kept abreast of their local rental market to ensure that our properties remained competitive and recommended strategy changes as required.
    5. Dunlap reviewed and assessed the Vendor status prior to making any changes.
    6. On a monthly basis, the Property Manager reviewed budget variances, produced written commentary addressing such variances and implemented mutually agreed upon changes as required.
    7. As the Datile properties were being transitioned into condominiums, Dunlap was able to adapt to the changes by interfacing with various people including sales teams, renovators, mortgagees, inspectors, insurance companies and incoming Condo managers. In addition, Dunlap personnel had to resolve issues with "hostile" tenants who were losing their rental accomodations in favor of homeowners.
  2. From a Financial Management perspective:
    1. Dunlap was able to efficiently transition the accounting results of all 6 Datile properties into their rental software program within a 30 day period of time.
    2. For continuity purposes, Dunlap was able to accomodate our request to incorporate Datile's 2002, 1st three quarters results into the Dunlap produced financial statements.
    3. Dunlap produced financial statements on a regular uninterrupted basis. Such statements were prepared and emailed in PDF format by the 12th day of the following month.
    4. Dunlap produced annual budgets in October and November of each year for review by Datile.
    5. Dunlap accomodated our Canadian auditors on an annual basis in their Phoenix offices and worked diligently to provide answers to any auditing queries.
    6. As the Datile properties were being transitioned into condominiums, Dunlap accomodated the changing needs of their accounting/information systems to help track rental versus condominium expenses.

We have enjoyed our relationship with Dunlap & Magee, specifically with the key individuals such as Nedra Halley, Scott Fitzgerald, Christine Shipley and Marsha Ecklund all who have not only proven to be valuable contacts and resources of information but also staunch allies when it came to problem solving.

In conclusion, we are continuing to sell condominiums in the Phoenix Metroplex but are currently scouring the market for rental properties. Our Property Management company of choice for our next rental properties will be Dunlap & Magee.

Frank Bennett
Vice-President

 

 

 

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