The Next Generation Group Inc. prides itself on shouldering the property management stress for clients.
Since 2013, the Emmaus-based company has provided customer service and property management services honed by a full-service, 24/7 approach to a strong residential rental market, attention to investor needs and blending tech with old-fashioned intuition in crafting tenant matches.
“We take the stress of dealing with and attracting tenants off the property investor,” said Peter Adams, The Next Generation Group Inc. co-owner with Carl Billera and Steve Gould.
Adams said the firm’s goal is to provide a complete approach to solving property investor challenges by taking on day-to-day tenant issues, using sophisticated software to attract good tenant fits and handling property maintenance and rental collections.
“As the property owner, I don’t worry about maintenance not being completed; as the landlord, the tenant is always handled politely and as importantly, the issues are dealt with timely,” said John Zayaitz, president of Iron Valley Management in Lower Macungie Township. Zayaitz has been a client of The Next Generation for about five years.
Adams said the end result of his firm’s efforts goes beyond property management by handling tenant problems, being on call to handle around-the-clock operations, maintenance and tenant problems.
“We are protecting their investment and [therefore] protecting their wealth,” Adams said.
DIGITAL RECRUITING
Adams said the “red hot” rental market in his service area, which includes the East Penn School District and downtown Bethlehem, has made it challenging for new investors to get into the game.
According to Adams, some areas of the Lehigh Valley are so in demand that properties are gone within 24 hours of becoming available.
The Next Generation teams uses software to tap into 20 national websites, including Zillow and Trulia. This allows his team to find qualified candidates for rental and relocation properties in the Valley. Adams said the digital factor in advertising and recruiting placements continues to evolve.
“We bought into great software from the start, but keeping up with it is the biggest challenge,” he said.
DIY DID NOT WORK
Zayaitz said his company contracted with The Next Generation after trying an unsuccessful do-it-yourself approach to filling a rental.
“In our first attempt at placing a tenant, we had used the free online social media avenues” and an online rent guesstimate, he said. After screening four candidates, one was selected with a less than ideal outcome. The tenant moved out.
Neighbor complaints, [unpermitted] pets, overall appearance of the property and maintenance calls were not how the relationship was envisioned, Zayaitz said.
He said The Next Generation added value by offering overqualified rental candidates and increasing the rent by 10 percent.
MANAGED GROWTH
While The Next Generation’s plans include growing its property management service footprint, increasing its commercial inventory and adding new clients, Adams said he’s not interested in “unstoppable growth.”
“We don’t take every property that comes across our desk,” he said.
Among the industry’s biggest challenges are tenant separations and evictions, according to Adams.
Evictions can be tough and not clear-cut during the legal process, and very time-consuming, he said.
