A wave of foreclosures has plagued homeowner associations, leaving dues unpaid, lawns unwatered, repairs undone and squatters sometimes invading vacant units.

But there’s a flip side to the foreclosure crisis. The rising tide of vacancies created a business opportunity for someone to step in and manage all those empty units.

And who better to do it than Merit Property Management, the HOA manager that already oversees 150,000 units in 250 condo complexes and other “common interest developments” in California, the Aliso Viejo company says.

So the firm is launching Merit Rental Property Management to lease and manage the vacant units in the HOA’s it runs. Its customers will include lenders saddled with vacant foreclosed properties and investors who buy those properties as rentals, Merit figures.

In addition, the company is willing to take over management of other multi-unit properties for owners outside the communities it runs.

Services include maintaining landscaping and buildings, advertising places for rent, screening tenants, fixing up units for rent and inspecting them after a tenant leaves as well as making repairs. Merit also will be in a position to inform tenants both about rules and regulations of the development as well as services and benefits of living there.

According to a Merit fact sheet:

“Leasing activity for residential property has increased significantly since the housing market turnaround in 2005. The average monthly number of residences currently listed ‘for lease’ year to date in Orange County, for instance, has increased 60% since the monthly average in 2005.

“… Merit is already in the marketplace throughout California. The addition of property managers to our team enhances the oversight in our communities and positions Merit like nobody else in business today to respond to the opportunities and challenges of managing residential portfolios.”

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Posted in: Homeowner Associations (HOAs) • Top tale • industry • Merit |

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