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The collaboration between Orange Capital Partners (OCP) and Retta Management began a year ago. The occupancy rate has already improved. How did we do it?
In October of last year, European Real Estate Investment and Asset Management company Orange Capital Partners chose Retta Management as its Property Management partner.
“We see Retta as our partner, not just a Service Provider,” explains Taija Lumme, Senior Asset Manager at Orange Capital Partners.
“Our real estate portfolio is large, and Retta has taken over a significant portfolio during the year,” she continues.
OCP invests in affordable rental housing. They own properties all over Finland, therefore they needed a nationwide property management expert.
“We cannot be present in all of our locations, hence the contribution of every single person working towards to portfolio at Retta is important to us.”
Retta has appointed several dozens of professionals to work with Orange Capital Partners.
“The past year has, of course, also been a learning curve for us,” says Account Manager Tomi Mikkonen from Retta Management.
A lot has happened in a year. During the first year of the collaboration, particular efforts were made to increase the occupancy rate. “Results are important. That’s why we have created a model together to renovate the older apartments cost-effectively while improving rental income and the occupancy rate,” explains Mikkonen.
How has the change been achieved in a short time?
“Right from the start, we have been thinking together about what is the smartest way forward.” Mikkonen says.
According to Mikkonen, continuous dialogue between the Real Estate Investor and the Property Management Professional is essential for success. OCP’s Lumme agrees:
“It isn’t enough to just have monthly reviews of what was done last month. In this partnership, interaction is daily. The prerequisite for functioning and efficient cooperation is open and active communication.”
Collaboration is facilitated by the fact that we can talk about everything. The information flows from both sides, and there is no need for an official meeting to discuss every detail – often, it is enough to just make a phone call.
“Of course, this could be done far more bureaucratically, but what is more important to us is the end result, not always the formality,” Lumme sums up.
“We really enjoy working with OCP. We communicate with each other with a low threshold, which makes it easier to stay in touch and make progress,” adds Anu Ronkainen, who is responsible for the financial services provided to OCP.
Orange Capital Partners owns thousands of rental apartments in many different cities. It requires the property management partner to have local knowledge, regional presence and – of course – proactive approach.
“You need to visit the properties in order to react to problems in advance. It’s far more expensive to correct problems afterwards. Therefore, it’s important for us that Retta is present locally,” says Lumme from OCP.
“Our approach must be proactive so that the maintenance repair debt doesn’t increase,” Mikkonen sums up.
And what does the future of the collaboration look like?
“Now that the routines for cooperation have been established, the next step is to focus on fine-tuning processes,” says Lumme.
Because the world and market situation are constantly changing, the focus on development must continue.
“It’s easy to say that this is how it’s always been done and just continue doing the same. We prefer to challenge. Retta’s attitude to this kind of development is really good,” says Lumme.
Retta is responsible for the technical and administrative housing management of OCP’s residential properties. In addition, Retta partners with OCP in comprehensive financial administration tasks ranging from accounts payable and accounting to rent payment control customer service. Their tasks include monitoring and analysing the customer’s business performance and budgeting, as well as reporting and issues related to its development. Retta also takes care of various external and internal accounting tasks, as well as group accounts.
Read more about the content of the collaboration here. Caption: Taija Lumme from Orange Capital Partners with Tomi Mikkonen and Anu Ronkainen from Retta Management.
