SAN DIEGO—Like many coastal cities, San Diego has lots of small residential properties that represent the vast majority of rental housing in the market, Sunrise Management's Phil Smith tells GlobeSt.com. Smith was recently named the firm's director of small-property operations.

In his new role, Smith will lead a team overseeing Sunrise's small-properties division, encompassing a portfolio of 81 single- and multifamily properties totaling 688 units throughout Southern California. Additionally, he will concentrate on expanding the division comprising communities with fewer than 22 units. Prior to joining Sunrise, Smith was a regional property manager for R & F Property Management, where he oversaw a portfolio of 300 units within 20 communities – developing and implementing new operational policies for rent collection, leasing and marketing, tenant screening, maintenance and daily operations. He was previously with Sunrise for six years, working as multi-site property manager, building occupancy rates and decreasing resident turnover.

We spoke with Smith about his new role with the firm and the focus on small multifamily properties in the San Diego market in particular.

GlobeSt.com: Please tell us about your new role with Sunrise.

Smith: While larger communities make up over 90% of the Sunrise Management portfolio, we have managed a portfolio of small properties in San Diego for more than 20 years. This new position affords me the opportunity to bring best practices and new technologies to the management of these properties. I'm here to grow the business.

GlobeSt.com: Why the focus on small multifamily properties?

Smith: Like many coastal cities, San Diego has lots of small residential properties. They actually represent the vast majority of rental housing in the market. It's a big market and an underserved market. We can now bring lots of the practices and technology that were previously scaled to larger projects, to small properties. This is a boon to the property owners and to the residents.

GlobeSt.com: What is the appeal of small properties?

Smith: Every community is different. We have the opportunity to interact with a diverse clientele on very different buildings serving a broad range of residents. And we have an opportunity to raise the bar.

GlobeSt.com: What are the challenges of small property operations?

Smith: Time and distance. Developing systems that ensure each small community is given the attention it deserves requires a high degree of organization, logistics and attention to detail. With new technology to support online maintenance and leasing, as well as 24-hour maintenance-call service, we are able to bring to our residents the same—or close to the same—service experience as at larger developments.

Instant Insights /

The Appeal of SD's Small Multifamily Properties

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