For the first time, the William C. 詹宁斯商业交易杰出贡献奖授予了一家公司.

Turning around an underperforming property, making needed improvements, keeping the finances in order, 安排一笔交易需要惠勒商业公司的多名成员共同努力.

“这是一个团队的努力，”博蒙特惠勒商业公司的李·惠勒说.
And it all started with a client who trusted the team.

The initial conversation

以前有个客户来找惠勒，想帮他卖掉博蒙特一栋有20个单元的公寓楼, it didn’t look promising. 该建筑群糟糕的财务表现意味着业主经常将资金投入该物业, and the hassle of management was taking its toll.

“He wanted to get out of it,” Wheeler says. With an outstanding mortgage on the property, the owner was simply looking to walk away without coming out of pocket. 但一旦惠勒和他的团队有机会检查该物业的净营业收入, 他们意识到，由金融机构支撑的甩卖价格是不够的.

惠勒说:“我带来了我的团队，我们坐下来讨论了房产的问题.

That included Becki Bates-Pitre, who leads the property management team; Jenny Bonham, the service manager who oversees property upkeep and improvements; and Jessica Odom, the firm’s bookkeeper. 他们一起为客户提出了另一种解决方案:让惠勒商业公司管理这处房产，并将其引导到一个能够支撑客户满意要价的地方.

Wheeler sat down with the client and laid out the situation, 一定要向他们解释，在情况好转之前，情况会变得更糟——因为有不付房租的房客, disputes among tenants, and other issues to sort out.

惠勒说:“要做到这一点，关键之一是要有一个信任你的客户. “And they did.”

The turnaround

“The owners gave us free rein,” Bates-Pitre says.

The team went to work on making improvements, attracting new tenants, 
and improving the financial health of 
the property.

贝茨-皮特说:“我们花了很多时间在这处房产上，了解租户。.

As disruptive and nonpaying tenants left, the occupancy rate dropped—going from 70% down to 25% at one point. That dip in income made the team’s job harder, as improvements were budgeted from the property’s cash flow.
奥多姆每年都会整理一份预算，向业主展示如何支付定期维护和改进以重新定位财产的费用.

That didn’t account for unforeseen issues, 比如电气面板后面的漏洞他们几乎用了整个物业管理时间才发现. Or the tree that fell on the property from a neighboring lot, 这片土地的所有者是一所不知道自己拥有这块土地的大学.
博纳姆负责确保供应商及时处理工作并尊重租户的空间. 一名小贩把油脂带进了房客的公寓，并在家具上留下了建筑碎片，他不得不被解雇, for example.

“我们确保承包商像对待别人的家一样对待这些单位，因为它们确实是,” Wheeler says.

What made the process go smoothly, Bonham says, 与房客建立起直呼其名的关系，并在他们打电话时认出他们的电话号码吗, making them feel heard.

To fill rehabbed units, 物业管理团队转向长期租户，并在便利店和附近的自助洗衣店打广告.

Wheeler was skeptical, he says, 当时贝茨-皮特开始使用老派的营销技巧，在传单底部贴上可撕下的标签. 但这种方法奏效了，他们通过这些方法找到的租户也帮助引入了其他租户.

“我们想鼓励租户让他们的朋友或亲戚住在他们附近——这些人会互相尊重,” Bates-Pitre says.

Thanks to the work of Bates-Pitre, Odom, and Bonham, the financial health of the property started to improve. 在那里，业主习惯于自掏腰包支付财产税和保险等费用, those costs were now being covered by revenues. 一旦这种表现保持了至少一年，就该把它投放市场了.

“It took us three years, but we turned it around,” Wheeler says.

The sale

When Wheeler Commercial took over the property, net operating income would only support a sale price of less than $240,000. The new financial picture allowed it to list for $640,000.

根据惠勒的说法，它几乎立即签订了合同，但交易破裂了. 这并不重要，因为它几乎一回到市场就有了全价报价.

“If people had lived on that street for a long time, they might’ve said the apartments had a bad reputation,” Wheeler says. “但我们可以向潜在买家展示，住在那里的人对自己的房子感到自豪.”

The new value wasn’t created through adding perks or a capital infusion, but through solid management, steady financial planning, and working to foster a positive relationship with tenants.

“Becki was instrumental in showing the property,” Wheeler says. “The tenants trusted her, and it really went a long way. Buyers could ask her any question and she knew the answer.”

Once the sale closed, 惠勒的客户利用1031交易所投资了一块地，在博蒙特开了一家牛排奶昔.

惠勒说:“他们从一开始就喜欢我们，因为我们不会一直打电话要支票。. “But now they’re one of our biggest fans out there.
创造狂热的粉丝是我们使命宣言的一部分，
我们做到了.”