Growing with Yardi

CHP Management, Australia

By Leah Etling on Mar 1, 2018 in People

When Charles Hunt decided to strike out on his own and start a boutique property management firm in Melbourne, Australia, he knew that one of the factors that would make or break the new business was the technology platform he chose.

“CHP Management was born out of the need to provide boutique, high quality add-value service to our clients. We only do property management, and we specialise in bringing back professional service to property management and the real estate industry,” says Hunt, the founder and director of CHP Management, which opened in 2014. The company focuses on privately held retail shopping centres, industrial properties and office buildings.

Coming from a major multi-national firm where he had worked for 8 years, Hunt saw that commercial real estate clients were often disappointed or frustrated without the support of personalised customer service. At the same time, they required a robust technology platform that would handle much of the back office work.

“We had to make sure that the ‘exact science’ part of our role was done well, accurately and efficiently. That’s what Yardi does for us,” Hunt says. His vision has been recognised –  In 2010 and 2015 he was awarded the honour of REIV Commercial Property Manager of the Year and in 2016 he was a finalist for National REIA Commercial Property Manager of the Year.

Four years after Hunt signed his first Yardi contract, he can definitively say that he made a smart choice by choosing the Yardi Commercial Suite. The rapid growth of his company, while maintaining a lean staff size, is proof. CHP Management now has in excess of 100 properties under management after starting with just one. Despite that influx, just one staff member can handle the admin and accounting platform for the company using the Yardi platform.

“We have found that the scalability of our platform is paramount to how the business runs and performs,” says Hunt. Using Yardi also frees up his team members to deliver CHP Management’s clients the personalised service they desire.

“Our client base is all private clients, they’re very successful either in property or elsewhere, and are investing in property as a way to generate wealth. They are demanding, but they’re very sure of themselves and what they want. We adapt our service delivery to achieve that,” Hunt said. It gives him peace of mind to know that Yardi is taking care of the technology side of things.

“Keeping one person in our admin and trust accounting platform to manage over 100 properties and 500 tenants is a testament to how efficiently the system works,” Hunt says.

“We’re thrilled to see how CHP Management has thrived on our platform,” says Neal Gemassmer, vice president of international for Yardi. “Their success demonstrates how personalised service and best-in-class technology can be a winning combination.”

Watch the video below to learn more about CHP Management and Yardi, and visit Yardi’s Australia and New Zealand site to learn more about the global leader in real estate technology.