Here are answers to some common questions about Aeon’s new property management company.

Why did Aeon form a property management company?
Aeon identified greater long-term control of property management as a goal in its 2007-2011 Strategic Plan. Bringing property management under one umbrella with the rest of Aeon’s services will enable the organization to take a more integrated approach to its core concept of “providing homes,” and help ensure that Aeon’s values and high standards are reflected in the daily operations of each property.

What exactly is a property management company?
Property management staff – including site managers and maintenance staff – handle the day-to-day operations of a real estate property.  From screening rental applications, to collecting monthly rents, to handling resident conflicts and maintaining the physical building, property management companies are vital to making sure an apartment property is an asset to residents and the greater community.

Why now?
In Aeon’s early years, it would not have been cost effective to manage the relatively few properties in its portfolio. As Aeon grew, the organization completed a cost-benefit analysis about every three years to determine whether it made sense to do its own property management.  According to Aeon President Alan Arthur, the organization’s growth eventually added another consideration to the cost-benefit analysis: risk.

“As Aeon grew, it became questionable if the small subset of companies who manage affordable housing could and would service our growing portfolio,” Arthur said. “We may have been faced with hiring six property management companies, and communicating our values through six different companies would be challenging. Establishing Aeon’s own property management capacity today ensures that our values, standards and expectations are fully translated to our properties into the future.”

What happened to PSS staff?
A majority of staff previously employed by Property Solutions & Services, LLC (PSS) were hired by the new Aeon management entity and did not have a change in their roles or responsibilities. The transition of employees from one company to another was so seamless that residents in housing developments formerly managed by PSS were not impacted by the change at all.

The transaction has more than tripled the number of Aeon-related employees, from 23 to 82. As part of the transition, the leadership of PSS – Sue Hackett and Steve Plotz – joined the staff of Aeon Management LLC. Hackett serves as Director of Property Management and Plotz as Director of Property Improvement.

How many properties does Aeon Managment LLC currently manage?
To ensure a reasonably smooth transition, a multi-phased approach was implemented. Effective June 1, 2008, Aeon Management manages about 800 of Aeon’s 1,620 affordable housing units. By the end of 2009, all of Aeon’s properties will be managed by Aeon Management. Until then, Aeon will maintain its relationship with two other property management companies, BDC Management and Real Estate Equities.

How does this impact Aeon’s daily work and vision for the future?
Aeon continues to be committed to the vision that every person has a home and is interconnected within community. Adding property management helps Aeon fulfill this vision to an even greater degree.