Why Unified Management Services?

Unified Management Services is a recognized leader throughout the property management industry. Our reputation is built on a foundation of over 30 years of solid character, integrity and top-rated performance. We specialize in multi-family housing by providing full service management and marketing services to property owners nationwide.

"Unified Management Services mission is to consistently exceed the property management expectations of the property owners and residents who we work for."

Unified Management Services’ firm belief in customer focus separates us from our competitors. Our reputation has been built on service and responsiveness to our client’s needs. We believe that by creating a partnership between management and ownership, the goals set for the property can be more quickly attained.

The bottom line is that Unified Management Services has the long term experience and verified expertise to be a strong partner in your multifamily endeavors. What follows are some of the organizations with whom we maintain membership as well as a sampling of the numerous awards we have garnered over the years. These are important to you ONLY because the best way to determine the likely future performance of firm is to look at its past and current performance. Our people, processes and performance have stood the test of time.

Professional Certifications & Designations

Unified Management Services is committed to being a leader in the property management industry. We accomplish this by creating an environment of distinct professionalism and uncompromised credibility for our clients and employees. We continuously strive to maintain and upgrade our professional designations and affiliations.

ACCREDITED MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION (AMO® FIRM)

We are one of a small number of management companies to have been awarded the designation of an Accredited Management Organization. This designation, created by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®), is conferred to firms demonstrating exceptional competency, integrity, and a strong commitment to uphold a professional code of ethics.

CPM® CERTIFIED PROPERTY MANAGER

IREM awards the designation of CPM® only to those individual property managers who meet the rigorous criteria of education and experience. We are a strong advocate of the CPM® program. The company offers an education policy that encourages Regional Property Managers to seek and qualify for the professional designation. Unified Management Services has several CPM’s® in each region.

CERTIFIED CREDIT COMPLIANCE PROFESSIONAL

We strongly encourage employees to keep up-to-date with Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) rulings and code changes. We have a group of employees who have received their Compliance Professional designation and who continue to renew their designations through continuing education and training yearly.

HCCP® HOUSING CREDIT CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL

Housing Credit Certification is a professional certification program that sets professional competency standards for housing credit professionals involved in developing, investing in, allocating and managing housing credit properties.

LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKERS AND ASSOCIATES

Our firm maintains a real estate broker’s license in every state we do business in. Most property managers and leasing professionals are required to obtain and hold an active real estate sales license. Executive personnel are encouraged to obtain Associate Brokers status for their license. This is your assurance that we are current in our understanding of applicable state laws and statutes.

Professional Management Services

From its early days as a small Michigan-based company with only seven communities, Unified Management Services Company takes pride in being a full-service nationwide management company. Over more than thirty years we have learned what areas are key to the success of your property and have developed the processes and systems to guarantee that success.

KEY AREAS FOR EXPECTIONAL RESULTS

• Efficient Management & Leadership
• Customized Marketing & Accelerated Leasing
• Transparent Financial Services & Timely Reporting
• Trained and Empowered Professional Personnel
• Skilled and Customer Service Oriented Maintenance

Concentrating on these areas should not be considered some type of “new-age” management technique – these are the basics. Unfortunately, many property management companies forget that unless there is a dedication to efficiency and detail in the basics, continuous growth and improvement will not happen.

Management

Qualified, experienced management is critical to the success of your property. When you hire Unified Management Services, you become a member of a select group of property owners who expect consistency, quality and most of all performance from their management team.

• Ownership Goals and Objectives
  Unified Management Services’ reputation is built on responsiveness to our client’s needs. Our goal is to meet and exceed your expectations through our personalized management approach. Before management begins, your ownership goals and objectives will be defined, discussed and documented. From our evaluation, we will develop a strategic plan to achieve your goals. The proof of our commitment to your goals is not in what we say we will do, but in the results we will achieve for your community. Dedication, long range planning, and our innovative services have produced exceptional profitability for our clients.


• Agent Relationship
  We understand that our responsibility is to you, the property owner. As your fee management company, we will act on your behalf in all property matters. Unified Management Services will provide you with an experienced, professional Regional Property Manager who will be assigned to oversee your property. Our staff will focus on increasing your property’s income, maintaining occupancy and controlling expenses. The Unified Management Services team strives to create a relationship with our clients that are not only top of the line in professionalism but also personal.


• Management Reports and Meetings
  The Unified Management Services system incorporates effective communication between our management team and you, the client. Our communication techniques have evolved through the years and we consistently provide timely and insightful information to our clients. Monthly management reports outlining marketing, staffing, maintenance, financial, and resident issues provide the details needed to keep you tuned in to your property. Our monthly management meetings are a key element in developing a positive, proactive relationship with our clients. We want to meet with you face to face regularly to review and evaluate the progress at your property.

Marketing and Leasing

Marketing and leasing are at the heart of achieving your real estates goals. Unified Management Services expertise includes initial lease-ups, revitalizing logging marketing programs, and maintaining a property' s competitive marketing positiom.

• Customized Marketing System
  Unified Management Services will develop a marketing program designed to meet your property’s unique needs. Curb appeal, property location, applicant screening, advertising, amenities, rent levels and the competition are all considered in planning your marketing program. Flexibility is the key to any successful marketing system. Unified Management Services’ team of experts will maintain your property’s flexible edge.


• Professional Leasing Staff
  Our reputation and experience enables Unified Management Services to identify and attract high-energy leasing people motivated to rent your units quickly and at the highest achievable rent. Utilizing our award winning leasing systems and training programs, Unified Management Services leasing staff will bring your property cutting-edge results. From applicant screening to showing units, our leasing staff will focus on closing the sale. Ultimately, this focus is what your successful leasing program is all about.


• Competitive Analysis
  Knowing your competition paves the way for beating your competition – and that is the name of Unified Management Services’ game. At the heart of our analysis is the rent comparison report. In comparing location, amenities, condition, and rents we will position your property to produce the best possible results. Unified Management Services’ competitive analysis provides us with the tools necessary to change your property from a rent-driven decision to a value-driven choice.


• Resident Retention
  An often forgotten rule is “If they don’t move out, you don’t have to lease-em." The most cost-effective method in keeping your property full continues to be not having them move out in the first place. Our marketing, management, and maintenance systems are desined to retain quality residents. From moving in the right resident in the first place to satisfying their daily needs, Unified Management Services will provide your property with the lowest turnover rate possible.

Financial Services

Your investment decisions must be based on accurate and reliable financial information. Unified Management Services’ financial reporting and controls provide you with up-to-date information you can count on.

• Budget
  Planning for you property’s success begins with Unified Management Services’ unique in-depth budgeting system. With expertise in short term (one year) and multi-year budgeting, our planning process provides you with the tools necessary for anticipating your property’s future needs. Unified Management Services’ budget process provides our clients with an easy to understand method of comparison for both current and future results.


• Monthly Reports
  The backbone of any financial system is the monthly reports. Our clients expect and receive timely, accurate, and comprehensive reports every month. With the standard reports our system provides, you can, at a glance, determine how your property has been performing. "Going beyond the routine," Unified Management Services Company also brings a unique ability for customization that will tailor reports to your individual needs.


• Resident Accounting
  Accounting for resident charges, collections, and balances is the source for the financial information at your property. Unified Management Services’ unrivaled ability to handle all forms of resident accounting provides each of our clients with accurate and prompt information on collections and balances. From move-in to move-out, each resident’s history is accounted for. Whether a manual or computerized system, Unified Management Services’ expertise covers it all.


• Financial Standards
  A financial system is only as reliable as its controls system. Unified Management Services seamlessly integrates a complete system of controls throughout the entire financial system. From file audits and balance analysis through monthly bank reconciliation’s and general ledger reviews, Unified Management Services examines and scrutinizes every aspect of our financial reporting. Rev11/08 15

Personnel

Property management is a personnel business that depends on skilled and trained staff. The hiring, supervision and development of your staff are a difficult and time-consuming task that requires the expertise and reputation of a professional company.

• Staffing Needs/ Analysis
  As every property is unique, Unified Management Services Company will start by analyzing the staffing needs of your community. Unified Management Services’ recruitment expertise will ensure that we place the highest quality personnel at your property. We will review your staffing needs on a continuous basis and will provide the professionals crucial to maintaining your property’s competitive edge.


• Training
  Skill enhancement and professional development are part of any team’s success. Under the direction of full-time Training Coordinators, Unified Management Services provides in-depth training courses to all levels of employees. Our comprehensive manuals and support systems provide a framework for employee growth and development.


• On-Site Supervision
  A successful property requires supervision and direction. Unified Management Services offers the most qualified and experienced group of managers in the field of housing management. Our property management team supervises coordinates and monitors the performance of your property’s operations. Regular visits by your Regional Property Manager will ensure that your property’s goals are met on a timely basis. Our team style and involvement of on-site staff in the planning process, empowers your management team to achieve uncommon results.


• Personnel Policies/Benefits
  Unified Management Services’ policies and benefits are designed to be competitive and to attract/retain the most qualified staff possible for your property. Our policies allow us the standardization and flexibility to set personnel standards and qualifications with your property in mind. Our benefits package enables us to aggressively recruit in the personnel market and provide skilled professional staff at your property.

Maintenance

You want your property investment to be both maintained and enhanced over time. Integrating your current maintenance needs with planning for investment improvements is a must for any successful property.

• Routine Maintenance
  Unified Management Services’ maintenance system gives our staff the ability to schedule and complete maintenance requests efficiently and with minimal cost. "Receive, Respond, Resolve" is our Maintenance Team’s Creed. Our emergency request system also allows us to ensure that residents are not deprived of necessary services after-hours.


• Preventative Maintenance
  "An ounce of prevention prevents a pound of costs." Preventative maintenance means anticipating, through planning and inspections, those areas that will need maintenance attention. Unified Management Services schedules regular maintenance check-ups and inspections so that our team can provide the “ounce of prevention.” Through our award winning training program, your maintenance technicians will make better decisions and run their operations more efficiently.


• Maintenance Purchasing
  Daily visits to the hardware store are not the most effective use of your maintenance staff. Unified Management Services’ system of inventory, purchase orders, and coordinated purchasing allows you the ability to realize the complete effectiveness of your maintenance team.


• Contractors
  When necessary, Unified Management Services will employ qualified contractors to perform repairs and replacements. Our process includes specifications, competitive bidding, and insurance requirements. Through our extensive contacts, we have an enormous pool of qualified, expert contractors to choose from. To further your confidence in our system, prior to selection of any contractor, you will be informed if any identity of interest with Unified Management Services exists.


• Long-Range Planning
  As with all other aspects of your property’s success, long-range maintenance planning is a must. The Unified Management Services team can customize a complete long-range plan of repairs and replacements for your property. This type of plan can prove vital to planning your staff and cash management needs for the future.

Tax Credits

Tax Credits are a challenge few companies have mastered. With the enormous tax liabilities that surround the program, you need to have total confidence in your management team.

• Tax Credit Professionals
  With Unified Management Services, you have the peace-of-mind that comes from having expert’s handle your tax credit needs. With our extensive experience and certified experts we provide a whole new level of tax credit assurance to your property Our company has worked in the tax credit arena since the program’s inception. Our management staff receives annual training to ensure that we have the latest knowledge and techniques for making your tax credit property worry-free.


• Leasing
  Matching qualified residents with tax credit rents and income limits is a balancing act that trips up many companies. Unified Management Services’ extensive experience allows us to market our tax credit properties to fill both needs. We welcome the marketing challenge that tax credits provide and our confidence is backed up by our years of success.


• Resident Certifications
  The downfall of most companies is the initial certification of tax credit residents. The laws are too strict and the penalties too severe to trust your tax credit compliance to just any company. Unified Management Services’ compliance program is time-tested and proven. From certified personnel reviewing and approving files to our twice-a-year file audits, we check, recheck, and then check it again to make sure your property’s files are in compliance.


• Annual Compliance Certification
  Timely and accurate compliance reporting is the final component of the tax credit process. Unified Management Services gathers the tax credit information & prepares the Annual Compliance report so that all regulations are met on a timely basis.

Specialized Services

• Due Diligence/ Property Inspections
  Unified Management Services has extensive experience in the performance of pre-sale, pre-purchase or repositioning due diligence including "shoppers" services, market surveys, physical and fiscal operating reviews and analysis.


• Insurance
  By purchasing in excess of 2 billion dollars worth of property insurance each year, Unified Management Services is able to obtain very favorable premium rates. These lower rates are made available to all clients, who are able to realize substantial savings as a result. Frequently, the amount of the coverage we are able to obtain is greater than that available to individual owners and at a lesser cost.


• Property Acquistion/Disposition
  Unified Management Services uses the services of professionals who are skilled in the field of apartment acquisition and disposition. By working closely with these experts, Unified Management Services can assist in the purchase or sale of properties, providing an integrated approach to asset management.


• Grant Consulting Services
  With a wide array of experience in housing industry programs such as the HOPE 1, HOPE 2, HOME and Preservation programs, Unified Management Services can provide the expertise needed to administer these programs. We can help residents of assisted properties form organized councils who can facilitate decision-making entities to explore home ownership, economic development, needs assessment, rehabilitation, resident activities, and organizational goals for the community.


• Refinancing Services
  With experience in both conventional and HUD financing, Unified Management Services has the expertise to assist clients with refinancing their existing mortgages and obtaining renovation financing. From feasibility studies through term negotiations and commitments, Unified Management Services will work with you to obtain the best value for your property. Whether your needs are better financing terms, realizing untapped equity and value appreciation, or improvement loans, our experience and commitment to your goal achievement can, and will, make the difference in your success.

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