Ralph Reahard left the golf business to franchise a property management company. Photo by Burl Rolett.
A former golf pro has traded weekend tee times for Saturday showings.
Ralph Reahard last month launched Real Property Management Richmond Metro, a residential property management franchise, after seven years at Powhatan’s Foundry Golf Club. It’s a career change Reahard started planning when his daughter was born last year.
“That was kind of the impetus to get out,” said Reahard. “In the hospitality industry, you end up working every weekend, every holiday.”
Reahard, 32, graduated from the University of Richmond in 2004 and got into the golf business shortly thereafter. He did a stint at the Country Club of Virginia before moving to North Carolina. About seven years ago, he came back to Richmond and took a job as membership director at the Foundry. He became head golf pro and eventually general manager about three years ago.
Reahard went back to school and finished UR’s part-time MBA program in 2011. Since then, Reahard said, he’s been looking into launching his own business.
Reahard owns a pair of residential rental properties. He said property management was appealing because while the golf business has been in decline for several years, the Richmond rental market is booming.
It was also a business he thought he could jump into after doing some management work on his own since buying his first rental property in 2005.
“I was looking for a property manager to manage my units and was not impressed with some of the options out there,” he said. “So I figured this was something I could do for myself and help out other investors too.”
Reahard estimated there are about 90,000 residential rentals available in the Richmond market. Nationally, he said, about 80 percent of all rental properties are managed by their owners. And as a heap of new and professionally managed apartments complexes are being built, Reahard is guessing that independent owners in Richmond may need to contract out property management to a pro to stay competitive.
He put down $40,000 to buy a Real Property Management franchise in March. The Utah-based company takes a 6 percent royalty on Reahard’s revenues. Reahard said the franchise route offered incentives including deals with nationwide vendors like hardware stores and a built-in technology and research and development infrastructure.
“They have some pretty impressive technology,” he said. “I would have been kind of spinning my wheels trying to develop my own or adopting something else.”
Right now Reahard manages 20 apartment units including the 14 that he owns. He struck his first RPM property management deal with a single-family home on Patterson Avenue.
His five-year plan is to build his management portfolio to about 400 units by expanding his own management portfolio and buying out other firms. Reahard added that RPM has systems in place to help franchisees gain access to capital and acquisition consulting.
Reahard is also hoping to acquire one rental property for himself each year to grow his personal portfolio.
Real Property Management Richmond Metro will have no shortage of competition in the property management market. There are several independent property managers as well as a second Real Property Management franchise holder in Richmond and several more franchisees in Northern Virginia, Virginia Beach and Charlottesville.
Real Property Management doesn’t set territories or rules regarding franchisee competition, but Reahard said there’s enough of a market to carve out his own business in Richmond.
“There’s definitely room for growth without taking properties from another franchise or other property management shops,” he said.
After four months off of the course and five weeks into a new career, Reahard said networking and marketing will be the next step towards building up his business. The property management business means less time at the golf course, but Reahard said not being on the greens every day hasn’t made him long for the country club scene too much yet.
“I do miss it and I don’t,” Reahard said. “Every day I’m out of my comfort zone, but I think that means I’m doing something right.”
Ralph Reahard left the golf business to franchise a property management company. Photo by Burl Rolett.
A former golf pro has traded weekend tee times for Saturday showings.
Ralph Reahard last month launched Real Property Management Richmond Metro, a residential property management franchise, after seven years at Powhatan’s Foundry Golf Club. It’s a career change Reahard started planning when his daughter was born last year.
“That was kind of the impetus to get out,” said Reahard. “In the hospitality industry, you end up working every weekend, every holiday.”
Reahard, 32, graduated from the University of Richmond in 2004 and got into the golf business shortly thereafter. He did a stint at the Country Club of Virginia before moving to North Carolina. About seven years ago, he came back to Richmond and took a job as membership director at the Foundry. He became head golf pro and eventually general manager about three years ago.
Reahard went back to school and finished UR’s part-time MBA program in 2011. Since then, Reahard said, he’s been looking into launching his own business.
Reahard owns a pair of residential rental properties. He said property management was appealing because while the golf business has been in decline for several years, the Richmond rental market is booming.
It was also a business he thought he could jump into after doing some management work on his own since buying his first rental property in 2005.
“I was looking for a property manager to manage my units and was not impressed with some of the options out there,” he said. “So I figured this was something I could do for myself and help out other investors too.”
Reahard estimated there are about 90,000 residential rentals available in the Richmond market. Nationally, he said, about 80 percent of all rental properties are managed by their owners. And as a heap of new and professionally managed apartments complexes are being built, Reahard is guessing that independent owners in Richmond may need to contract out property management to a pro to stay competitive.
He put down $40,000 to buy a Real Property Management franchise in March. The Utah-based company takes a 6 percent royalty on Reahard’s revenues. Reahard said the franchise route offered incentives including deals with nationwide vendors like hardware stores and a built-in technology and research and development infrastructure.
“They have some pretty impressive technology,” he said. “I would have been kind of spinning my wheels trying to develop my own or adopting something else.”
Right now Reahard manages 20 apartment units including the 14 that he owns. He struck his first RPM property management deal with a single-family home on Patterson Avenue.
His five-year plan is to build his management portfolio to about 400 units by expanding his own management portfolio and buying out other firms. Reahard added that RPM has systems in place to help franchisees gain access to capital and acquisition consulting.
Reahard is also hoping to acquire one rental property for himself each year to grow his personal portfolio.
Real Property Management Richmond Metro will have no shortage of competition in the property management market. There are several independent property managers as well as a second Real Property Management franchise holder in Richmond and several more franchisees in Northern Virginia, Virginia Beach and Charlottesville.
Real Property Management doesn’t set territories or rules regarding franchisee competition, but Reahard said there’s enough of a market to carve out his own business in Richmond.
“There’s definitely room for growth without taking properties from another franchise or other property management shops,” he said.
After four months off of the course and five weeks into a new career, Reahard said networking and marketing will be the next step towards building up his business. The property management business means less time at the golf course, but Reahard said not being on the greens every day hasn’t made him long for the country club scene too much yet.
“I do miss it and I don’t,” Reahard said. “Every day I’m out of my comfort zone, but I think that means I’m doing something right.”