Nexus Property Management (Getty)
Serving as the face of rental properties
Gregory Rice is the vice president of franchise sales at Nexus Property Management in Pawtucket, RI. The company manages rental properties for property owners who prefer not to perform the day-to-day functions of a landlord, such as those who live out of state.
"For the past ten years, we've been handling rental property on behalf of absentee landlords. We collect the rent, perform maintenance, and we can handle rental leasing and evictions," said Rice.
One of the unique things about the property management company is that it is a franchise. "Nick D'Agnillo, our CEO, and I created this franchise from scratch. Our Rhode Island office is the mothership. Nick and I wrote the book on this business, and the three offices in Massachusetts are franchises. This is important because you go to Starbucks, McDonald's, or Dunkin Donuts for a reason. You know what you're going to get. You have an idea of the cost, the service, and the quality. That's what we're trying to convey in the property management business, which is historically very sloppy regarding service. So, we're trying to change and rebrand the image of this industry, which is quite a cumbersome task."
Rice shared that launching the franchise took about five years from start to finish. "We started the business ten years ago with the idea to create a franchise, but we needed to iron out processes and procedures. It took us about four years to figure out the best ways of doing things. And then the next year was the paperwork, the government, the SEC, all this red tape to create a franchise. So that took a year and some change. We've been actively opening and selling offices for the last five years."
Currently, Nexus Property Management has four offices—Pawtucket, Natick, Fall River, and Worcester. Each office services properties within a 30-minute drive.
When asked how the franchise attracts potential franchise owners, Rice said, "It's very tough because it's not a glorious business. It's not sexy, and it's not fun. But if you're into the passion and the purpose, every day is different. Like me, I love it, but for most people, you need to show them the passive income the business can generate and the benefits of creating your own schedule. For example, a single mother runs one of our Massachusetts offices. She has childcare issues, so setting her own hours is important. A benefit of owning one of our franchises is that you don't need to be there nine to five like with a traditional job. You create your own business—you create your own customers. So, it's just a very boutique, malleable model that can fit any lifestyle. That's really the biggest sales point."
Rice added that another draw to owning a Nexus Property Management franchise is that the franchisee doesn't have to advertise to get clients. "They have to manage the properties—that's what they have to do. Corporate gets them the leads—pretty much the ball's on the rim—they just have to pick up the call and tap it in.
One of Rice's hopes for franchise owners is that they will consider buying their own rental properties as another source of income.
"Hopefully, they'll buy their own properties and create their own investment career by virtue of the information, experience and network they've generated with us. Most people want to invest in rental property but don't know up from down, left from right. When you work with us, you can see what it's like to own— this property works great, this number of units is perfect, this area is good, and the maintenance is high. A franchisee has all these data points to say, 'I want to buy this house, and then I'm going to manage it.' As a Nexus franchisee, you have a very tight, insulated circle to be able to grow your future so that you're not in an office for the rest of your life—that you have a passive income. So that's something that is a tertiary benefit. Owning rental property is NOT why people buy one of our franchises, but it's a perk."
Rice points to the company's YouTube channel and blog when asked how the company attracts property owners to become clients of Nexus Property Management.
"We kind of take a roundabout way to do it. If you look at our YouTube channel, we're throwing videos and content out daily. We publish videos and blogs to show us as the authority in property management. So, when a landlord finds themself knee-deep in water in the basement and is sick of it, they'll remember that property management company they saw on Facebook. We just try to market in a way that orbits a potential customer's mind. We don't inundate you. We're not on you like a hawk, but we want you to know that we're there if you need us. Our branding and presence are how we advertise indirectly."
When speaking to property owners about how Nexus Property Management can help them, Rice said that he asks what their most challenging task is as a landlord.
"First thing I would say is, 'what is your biggest headache?' And most people say that they don't want to deal with tenants. What we pitch to them is that we become the face. With all the tenant inquiries, maintenance requests and rent payments, we become like the Wizard of Oz—the landlord is behind the curtain, and we're just the face of the show. We're taking care of the rental payments, facilitating maintenance, and the maintenance is optional. The leasing is also optional because some landlords like to pick their tenants on their own. Evictions are also optional. Some landlords have their own attorney and handle evictions themselves. The only thing that's mandatory when hiring us is that we collect the rental checks. Everything else is an orbit of services you can pick or not pick."
Rice mentioned that Nexus charges property a percentage of their rental income based on the number of units in the rental. "Maintenance, the leasing process and evictions are additional costs and optional," he said.
For more information about Nexus Property Management, LLC, check out their BBB Business Profile. To learn more about BBB and read more stories like this, visit Behind the Business Stories.
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