Orion Property Group is about working as team. Principals Michael Napovanice, Nick Moos and Bill Charcut (below) describe their company as being “boutique-type management style,” meaning that all clients get the assistance, perspective and expertise from an entire team of professionals.
Charcut, Moos and Napovanice formed a partnership and transformed the Neighborhood Group into Orion Property Group. They have kept many parts of the business model the same, and Orion has the same policies and procedures as the Neighborhood Group while still focusing more on their “boutique style” of management. The group’s name is a natural fit for the team — it’s after the three stars in the constellation Orion’s belt. In describing their company the three partners said: “Orion Property Group is a one-stop shop. We can assume the management of the property, stabilize the property, improve operations and financial performance and then get it ready for increased value, profitably or sale down the road for the owner.”
What is your outlook on the apartment market right now?
Coming out of 2010, we’re bullish on the apartment market. Our feeling is that occupancies are going to stabilize. We think issues with delinquency will get better as the apartment market gets better. Millennials are the largest generation since the baby boomers and the oldest ones at 20 haven’t really been moving into apartments yet. They are staying with their parents longer because of the economy. As the economy improves and they move to their own apartments, this will improve occupancies. We’re not so bullish on purchasing and buying. We still have a lot of people wanting to sell, a lot of people wanting to buy. There is a big difference on meeting in the middle on price. Sellers selling right now are just testing the market. They’d like to sell but they are not going to give the property away. The second half of 2010 is going to be better when it comes to brokerage.
What is Orion’s business model?
Our business model is that we are a boutique-style company. We only have senior people working on the management of our properties. With a larger regional or national company, the question is: who actually will be supervising the on-site people and how much experience do they really have? With us, every property gets somebody who has 20-25 years of management experience actively managing the property. We have a more customer-centric management style; it’s really what differentiates us from other management companies. The Orion Property Group is one of eight companies in Kansas that has its Accredited Management Organization (AMO) status from the Institute of Real Estate Managers (IREM). Plus, we know who the real estate players are. It just gives us a lot of more knowledge and experience in managing and brokering real estate. We’re also working on green initiatives. Our green initiatives are for our company as a whole — for example, we retrofit with florescent lighting. We also have a green initiative with our residents to be better stewards of the environment.
Can you tell us more specifically about the company’s “green initiative”?
Not only do we have a green initiative internally for our company, but we also give our residents goals and objectives to help them be green. With our tenants we ask them to recycle as much as possible, reuse as much as they can, use CFL light bulbs, don’t waste water. We can put in all the low-flow water saving devices, but if a resident turns on the water for 10 minutes, the property or the environment is not gaining anything. By giving the residents goals in this area we are creating a climate of savings. That’s not something that has been typical in the property management arena.
We really do work with our residents and tenants, we have them sign a document in conjunction with Orion Property Group saying they will try and help sustain the earth. It gives them a whole list of ideas, like, “Why do you have air conditioner running and patio door open? How about using ceiling and floor fans to lower their air conditioning bills?” We also might tell them we’ve noticed they’re using a lot of water. We monitor these issues. If a tenant thinks about the environment, it will save them money and it helps our planet.
We’ve also started being green in our capital projects, such as those properties with flat roofs where we are moving to white energy efficient roofs. Even when it comes to paper usage we’re working to conserve. We are going paperless as much as we possibly can. We are going to virtual file cabinets as opposed to making copies of everything. We try to have tenants communicate with us via email as much as possible. Another green initiative that we’re doing is utilizing check scanners on properties. This eliminates the need to drive to the bank. We’ve looked at every part of our business and we have a committee in place that meets to discuss any and all energy conservation ideas.
Could you describe your ideal client?
The ideal client may be an institutional investor or it might be an individual with one property to manage or broker. Because of our experience level, we all have worked for national companies, we can manage very large apartment buildings in urban settings, as well as smaller properties in the suburbs. We manage almost every type of real estate from multi-family, commercial to retail. With our company customers get a one-stop shop — management, accounting, consulting, and brokerage. We can handle everyone’s needs.
Are there any exciting projects you are currently working on?
We’re working with a national publicly traded REIT. We are the asset managers on four very large properties in Lawrence, Overland Park and Olathe. We also work for local owners. We’ve assumed the management of a property in Lee’s Summit for a local owner. We have another apartment property slated to come under our management in August.
What makes your three-person partnership so strong?
Nick: I bring over 30 years of property management experience, plus I’ve worked for two national firms in director of property management positions with properties in 18 markets throughout the country. I bring the national experience to the table, but I’ve also been in Kansas City for 19 years, so I also have local experience. I’m able to marry these two experiences together and use this knowledge to improve the performance of the properties for our clients. I’m very strong in marketing and in really improving property performance on the revenue side.
Mike: My experience is dealing with the financial and operations side. It is very helpful in taking over a property and turning it around operationally and financially. My specialty is in preparing a property for eventual brokerage down the road and helping the owner get that property turned around. In addition, I handle the brokerage side of the Orion Property Group by helping buyers find properties and sellers sell their properties. Buyers and sellers are comfortable with my knowledge of the operation and financial side and my proven record of turning properties around. Due to this combination of skills, we continue to pick up listings for sale from not only owners, but also banks in this economy.
Bill: I worked as an acquisitions director for a national firm and helped them acquire property on a nationwide basis. The advice we’re giving our clients on a management is with an eye down the road for the appreciation in that property’s value. Our opinions and suggestions for managing a property are going to push the property ahead of its competitors in the surrounding neighborhood. I’ve been involved with real estate owned assets and have been a court-appointed receiver several times. A lot of property going into receivership is entrusted to Orion with mortgage owner to stabilize them and set them up for sale.