United Properties of West Michigan, United Properties of West Michigan property management, Grand Rapids property management, Grand Rapids property management companies, Grand Rapids property manager, Grand Rapids property management company, Grand...
No landlord ever likes to think about emergencies, but something will inevitably happen at your property that requires immediate attention. Hot water heaters will begin leaking and flood, the heat will stop working and trees will fall down and destroy fences,...
Putting off general maintenance in your rental home is a huge mistake, and it’s an error that a lot of new landlords make because they want to save money. When you don’t pay attention to preventative maintenance, you’re actually going to end up spending a lot...
Evolving technology has made it easy for people to advertise their properties online and find potential tenants through websites, social media and email. In most cases, this is a great benefit. However, it has also given dishonest people a new way to scam both...
When you’re shopping for an investment home, the words “location, location, location” doesn’t matter as much as “functionality, functionality, functionality.” This is the most important consideration when you’re selecting a rental property. You need to buy a...
Smart Improvements are anything that will bring value to your rental property and make it more appealing to potential tenants. Not a lot of Grand Rapids property management companies will advocate for high quality products in all rental properties, but it’s...
United Properties provides rental home and apartment management and is considered the Leader is Service in the Grand Rapids area. We offer single-family homes, townhomes, condos, duplexes, fourplexes, apartments, and other multi-plexes.
One of the most important decisions you can make when deciding on a rental home is “Who is your landlord?” As the Leader in Service, we are the most knowledgeable, courteous and customer service-oriented property management company in the area. Our company works very hard to out-compete individual landlords and provide the highest quality resident services you’ll ever experience.
All of our properties are ready when you move in. We use insured professional vendors (painters, handymen, plumbers, carpet cleaners, etc) to ensure that your unit is in good condition. We inspect the work performed to ensure that everything is rent ready before you move in.
We provide you repair request forms, electronic repair requests through our website 24/7, and a fax machine line to ensure that we can receive your repair requests and other needs at any time.
Our phones are answered 24 hours a day to handle your emergency maintenance repairs.
We provide detailed Move-in and Move-out Inventory forms for proper documentation of the condition of your rental.
All deposits that are retained by us are kept in a FDIC insured bank.
We make paying your rent easy, from providing self-addressed payment envelopes, accepting on line payments, and a drop slot.
Our office hours are 9 AM – 5 PM, Monday through Friday, excluding normal holidays. For after hours, we have a mail slot in our suite door.
All the maintenance contractors sent to your home are insured professionals who must meet strict standards set by us. Many have been giving our tenants excellent service for many years.
When you sign your lease, you have a meeting with a property manager to go over all parts of the lease to help ensure that everyone is aware of their responsibilities under the lease.
United Properties belongs to many national organizations to keep up on the most current laws and ordinances. Whatever you end up doing make sure your landlord isa RPOA member.
We hope by providing all the services above that you will recognize that a good landlord can make all the difference in your rental experience.
Sergio joined United Properties in 2020. He is a graduate from Pickens Technical College as a Nurse Assistant and as a Small Animal Care Provider in 2010. In the past nine years, Sergio has had various jobs, all focused around customer service.
Sergio is our Tenant Relations Specialist. In this role, Sergio works closely with tenants, owners, and other members of the team to ensure their needs and requests are being met. He is responsible for accounts receivables, tenant relations, subsidy program management, and more.
In Sergio’s spare time it would not be a surprise to see him playing one of four different instruments, fueled by his love for music. The Saxophone and the electric guitar are Sergio’s preferred instruments. Sergio is married and has an amazing 8-year-old boy. Together they enjoy playing video games and watching movies as a family.
Eden joined United Properties in 2016. Eden graduated from Davenport University in 2015 with an Associate’s in Business Administration. She works in our accounting department, focusing primarily on billing. She also serves as our process improvement manager and works on ensuring our processes are up to date and helps the company run efficiently. She enjoys playing guitar, reading, and any outdoor activities. Eden is bilingual and is learning to communicate via ASL. (American Sign Language)
Director of Client Relations and
Business Development
David joined the United Properties team in 2019 as the Director of Client Relations and Business Development. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading all leasing, application underwriting, tenant relations, accounts receivable, process improvement, remote workers, and general office functionality (essentially anything outside of maintenance and service). David comes from a longstanding career at a Fortune 15 company primarily in a sales and customer service leadership role.
David grew up in Northeast Michigan and moved to the Grand Rapids area after attending Alpena Community College. He is happily married to his beautiful wife and has 4 children. In his spare time, he enjoys watching new shows, cooking, traveling, and letting his wife beat him in games. His hobbies now closely align with his children and include Pokemon Go, anything Star Wars related, and tea parties (although don’t be fooled, those were his hobbies prior to children).
He looks forward to many successful years at United Properties and hopes to help you in the near future.
Tiffany Roscoe joined United Properties in 2020 bringing over 17 years of experience in leadership and management throughout a variety of customer service-based industries. She graduated from the University of Phoenix in September 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. She’s been in the Property Management industry since 2017, servicing multi-family housing and is now eagerly expanding her knowledge and experience in single-family. In her free time, she enjoys doing just about anything that involves being outdoors or spending time with friends and family.
Tim VandenToorn serves as Managing Partner of United Properties of West Michigan, working closely with our owners and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company. Tim also started United Realty, which serves as a brokerage for United Properties and assists investors with the acquisition of investment properties.
When starting with United Properties, Tim started at an entry-level position handling maintenance calls. In that role, he was able to gain valuable experience in resolving maintenance issues, gaining a great understanding of the properties and the requirements of the City of Grand Rapids code compliance. From there, he began handling leasing, maintenance, and now primarily works with new owners and the brokerage. Tim is happily married and has three children.
Matthew joined the United Properties in early 2020. He is a graduate of Lee University with a bachelor’s in Intercultural Studies and also a master’s in Discipleship and Christian Formation. Matthew serves as a project manager over the Rent Ready process. He has 20 years of construction experience and over 10 years of experience in leadership positions. He oversees a team of technicians and schedules outside vendors getting properties back to the United rent-ready standard so that they can be leased again.
Matthew enjoys working in his wood shop and building furniture. He also loves anything to do with the outdoors: hiking, biking, and kayaking. He is originally from the South, so see if you can catch his accent if you ever speak with him.
Founder of United Properties of West Michigan LLC, Certified Residential Management Professional (RMP®) Owner/Broker of United Properties of West Michigan a Residential Property Management Company, Licensed Real Estate Broker, CE Instructor for Realtors, Licensed Builder, and RPOA Board Member. Russ has 40+ years of experience as a Landlord, including buy and hold and flipping Single Family Homes. He has been involved in dozens of major rehabs making them functional for today’s markets including student housing.
He founded United Properties in 2005, which specializes in residential property management and remodeling services for national and international clients. He was the first person to receive the RMP® designation from the National Association of Rental Property Management (NARPM®) in western Michigan and one of only three in the entire state of Michigan. Russ’s past experience includes, wholesale distribution, retail, commercial development, financial business consulting and business merger and acquisitions. Russ is a member of several associations including NARPM®, RPOA, GRAR, MAR, NAR, NREIA. He attends national conventions with various associations each year to keep up on the latest technology, business strategies and laws relating to residential property management.
Russ has been happily married for over 35 years, has 4 children and 11 grandchildren. Tim, his second son is now running the day to day operations of United Properties and the family business is currently being transitioned to Tim.
It is the responsibility of our residents, unless they are included in the lease, to secure utilities for their residence. It is the responsibility of every resident to supply confirmation from the utility company showing an active account prior to picking up the keys to their new home. Please find below information and links to the major utilities serving our area.
Bobs Disposal – 616.455.1155 Caledonia, Cutlerville, Byron Center, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Leighton Township, Middleville, Moline, Wayland, Wyoming
Do you want the security of knowing that you will receive the FULL rental payment amount regardless of if the tenant has paid rent at the beginning of every month? If so, this program may be for you. If the tenant chronically pays late or if the tenant doesn’t pay at all and we have to pursue them in court, United Properties will guarantee rental income on your occupied property every month with the first distribution.
Loss of rental income to your investment property due to a non-paying tenant can be difficult hardship for many landlords to endure. As the leader in full service residential property management, United Properties goes to great lengths to screen and lease your property to reliable and responsible tenants, however; unforeseen life circumstances can impact even the best tenants’ ability to make their monthly rent payment at any time. To provide you with a level of protection and coverage that other property management companies do not provide, we are proud to offer the Rent Shield.
For clients enrolled in the Rent Shield, United properties will pay you for the amount of unpaid rent, up to, but not exceeding the equivalent of two month’s rent as specified in the existing tenant lease agreement.
Affordable Rates:
100% reimbursement for up to 2 months of rent- Cost: 25% of one month’s rent
Enrollment in the Rent Collection Guarantee is permitted for United Properties placed tenants or after 6 months of management for non-United Properties placed tenants.
For more information about this additional service, and to take full advantage of the protections we offer for your rental property, call us today at 616-965-2300.
Eviction Protection Program (EPP) offered by United Properties of West Michigan
Uninterrupted cash flow is one of our top priorities; United Properties is proud to to offer the the “Eviction Protection Program” (EPP). This program was developed in response to concerns expressed by our owners/clients over the rising costs of evictions.
As the leader in full-service residential property management, United Properties makes every effort possible to screen our tenants and go the extra mile to avoid potential problems. However, it is inevitable that there may come a time when some renters will need to be evicted due to their life circumstances or poor decisions.
If you are enrolled in the EPP, United Properties will assume the up-front financial burden of the eviction as a company expense, not to be charged to the owner like other property management companies.
This cost effective program protects owners from the high cost and the time consuming headaches that come with evicting a tenant. For a small monthly fee of only $10.00 per month per unit, our EPP will cover the cost of virtually all evictions. This could save you between $200.00-$400.00 or more.
By enrolling in the EPP, security deposits can be preserved and applied directly to any lost rent, damages, and/or any other fees you are entitled to recover from the tenant as you would expect–United Properties pays for your eviction in full.
Fees Covered Include:
– Administrative costs to prepare and send the 7-day notice
– Accumulation of all necessary documents to send to the attorney
– Court filing fee for eviction
– Court officer serving fee per defendant
– Original attorney fee
– Filing fee for writ of possession
– Writ of possession
– Court officer service for writ of possession
Fees Not Covered Include:
– Cost of a jury trial
– Lost rents
– Damage to the property
– Cost to physically remove the tenant
NOTE: If the property is currently rented/occupied when the management agreement is signed then this program will not become effective until the start of the seventh month of United Properties being your rental property manager.
Eviction Shield Protection (ESP) is offered by United Properties of West Michigan. Uninterrupted cash flow for our owners is one of our top priorities. This program was developed in response to concerns expressed by our owners/clients over the rising costs of evictions. As the leader in full-service residential property management, United Properties makes every effort possible to screen our tenants and go the extra mile to avoid potential problems. However, it is inevitable that there may come a time when some renters will need to be evicted due to their life circumstances or poor decisions. If you are enrolled in the ESP, United Properties will assume the up-front financial burden of the eviction as a company expense, not to be charged to the owner like other property management companies.
The cost-effective program protects owners from the high cost and the time-consuming headaches that come with evicting a tenant.
For a small monthly fee of only $10.00 per month/per unit, our ESP will cover the cost of virtually all evictions. This could save you between $200-400 or more. By enrolling in the ESP, security deposits can be preserved and applied directly to any lost rent, damages, and/or any other fees you are entitled to recover from the tenant as you would expect United Properties pays for your eviction in full.
Fees Covered Include:
– Administrative costs to prepare and send the 7-day notice
– Accumulation of all necessary documents to send to the attorney
Gabrielle is currently a student at Davenport University. She is in the midst of obtaining her bachelor degree in Marketing. She obtained her real estate license and started with United Properties in August 2018. She has recently moved back to Grand Rapids from the east side of the state and has been enjoying exploring the city and trying new places to eat. She enjoys traveling and really enjoys living in the big city of Grand Rapids. As our leasing agent, she is more than happy to assist you in finding the perfect place to call home!
Christa has 5 years of property management experience. Her passion is leasing and customer service, and has been in customer service related fields for over 20 years. She is always wearing her best smile, and is eager to help! She is passionate about helping others, and will always lend a hand in whatever way possible. Looking for a new home can be super stressful, so her main focus is helping make your transition into your new home go as smoothly as possible.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her two children, and 4 kitties! She is an animal lover and volunteers in her spare time with local animal rescues. Her other hobbies include crocheting, photography, camping, hiking and taking weekend adventures with friends and family!
Emily joined the United family in early 2019. She is a graduate of Davenport University with a bachelor’s in Business Administration. Emily serves as our Inspections and Special Projects Coordinator and shines in her ability to build relationships with owners and vendors while navigating large renovation projects and city inspection repairs. Emily oversees her team closely to produce quality work in a timely manner each and every time.
Emily enjoys hiking with her bulldog Bruce Wayne, yes her dog is famous! Avid runner, biker & pizza connoisseur. Just try and test her Golden Girls knowledge.
Denise has been with United Properties since early 2018. She has a Bachelors Degree in International Businesses and serves as the application coordinator. She speaks English and Spanish. She and her husband are raising a pair of twins. She loves walking on the beach and drinking coconut water.
Israel has been part of the UPM family for just over two years having worked also in billing and reception within United Properties. He has experience in electrical work and installation field as well in customer service. Israel enjoys anything that has to do with fitness, the outdoors, if it pushes you mentally he wants in.
Carla joined United Properties in late 2019 as a billing specialist. Carla ensures invoices are received from contractors and bills them out in a timely fashion.
Carla is a kind of jack of all trades, having worked in tourism, school fundraising, and medical interpreting among other areas. Carla started teaching English when I was 18 and in general love sharing any knowledge she has learned along the way.
Carla loves technology, movies, TV-series, and books. In addition to her hobbies, Carla is a single mother of one human, a dog, and a monster cat.
Tiffany Connolly joined the team in January of 2022 as the Inspections Coordinator. She has been in the multi-family property management industry since 2018 and is looking forward to expanding her knowledge on the single-family property management side. She loves music, and you will usually find her at concerts on the weekends. She has two dogs, both black lab mixes named Bailey(7) and Eevee(3).
Cristina joined United Properties as the billing assistant in October of 2020. She has experience as a technology professional, an English-Spanish translator, and has worked the past several years as the treasurer of her condominium.
Cristina loves to travel, read, watch movies, and spend time with her family whenever she can.
Rick is one of the newest members of our team. He has an extensive background in customer service. He and his wife are raising their 4-year-old son. Rick loves beef jerky so much he makes his own.
Harriet joined United Properties as a billing assistant in February of 2021. She has experience as a bookkeeper and a Property Manager for a Real Estate account. She was a working student during her college days. Harriet loves cleaning because she thinks it is therapeutic. She also loves watching series during her free time, and she’s a fur mom of one dog. Her inspiration to work every day is her family.
Caroline Oakley joined the United team in 2020 with over 6 years in hospitality and management.
She is passionate about helping others and providing a great customer experience with everyone she works with. Caroline enjoys spending time with friends, family, and her dog, Nova. She spends much of her spare time vacationing and skiing in the mountains with family.
My name is Paulina Gonzalez. I have been working for the company since early 2021. I studied social work and have 7 years of experience in customer service. I speak English and Spanish. I am very patient, and I like to ask a lot of questions to learn a lot. I enjoy small road trips and cold rainy weather. I have a 3-month-old puppy, and he is my favorite thing in the world.
Jenna joined United Properties in the Fall of 2021 as the Rent Ready Coordinator. She brings many years of industry experience in management, acquisitions, and maintenance. Jenna is originally from the Pacific Northwest and has lived all over the country, calling West Michigan home since 2017.
She is passionate about serving others, learning about different cultures, and being a mom. If given the opportunity, she travels wherever the wind takes her. On weekends, you can find her hiking or completing 5K’s with her sidekick, Iris the Aussie.
Bailey works in Leasing as our receptionist. She will often be answering your phone calls and sending emails about your move-ins and outs.
Bailey spends her time outside of work reading with her cat on her shoulder or taking her dog to the dog park, both with a coffee in hand.
Jessica has a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial strategies and public accounting and is studying a masters in Blockchain and Fintech regulation. She has previous experience as a customer service representative. She speaks English and Spanish. She loves taking long walks with her three dogs, hiking and road tripping during the weekends.
Alex joined United Properties in March of 2022. He is a graduate of Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, majoring in business economics and minoring in public relations and advertising. Alex loves to spend time outdoors: fishing, hiking, or backcountry camping. That being said, Grand Rapids has always been home, and he enjoys living in the city. He looks forward to many prosperous years at United Properties.
Chris Good is new to the United Properties Team since June 2022 as a Business Development Manager. With years of experience in both the construction industry (Master Electrician) and the Real Estate industry (Broker), he will closely work with new and experienced investors to facilitate their real estate goals.
Chris graduated with a Business Management degree from Cedarville University and lives in Rockford with his wife and 3 kids that are actively involved in sports and church activities. His hobbies include Camping, playing Pickleball and raising chickens. To blend it all, he’d like to help an investor develop a chicken farm where electricians and real estate agents can park their RV and play pickleball.
Jeanette joined United Properties in late 2022 as a billing assistant. She ensures inspections, contractor, and vendor bills are properly captured in our system enabling them to be paid and billed in a timely fashion.
Jeanette, fluent in English, German and Spanish, is a psychologist. She is very attentive to details and loves human interaction. Jeanette loves counseling, traveling, reading, gardening, sewing, knitting, and cooking. Another fun fact: she ran her own personal business in the wellness and healthcare industry for 10 years.
Stephanie joined United in July 2020 after graduating from Ferris State University with a Bachelor’s degree in English. In her spare time, she enjoys wrapping up in a cozy blanket with her dogs and cat on the couch while reading her newest book. As the Operations Assistant with experience working in the leasing department and service department, she works alongside the Service Director and Office Manager with operations and HR-related tasks.
Fiona joined United in 2021 as a Billing Asssitant and is married with one daughter. She is a 2013 graduate from St. Paul University with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy . She loves watching thrilling and drama movies. She’s an islander girl, so beaches and the smell of the ocean is something she loves. Fiona is the 8th and the youngest child in her family. Making her family proud is the most important thing to her.
Billing assistant at United Properties with experience in Accounts payable, accounting, and customer service.
Happily married and a proud mother of two amazing boys.
I Enjoy baking with my two sons and watching movies together.
Love going on trips with my family to visit new places and experience new foods.
Enrique Vergara joined the United team in 2023, bringing over 10 years of experience in property management, Including multi-family and single-family properties. He is passionate about helping people and providing quality customer service in every interaction. In his free time, Enrique enjoys all things outdoors including gardening, hiking, and exploring historic sites.
Sergio joined United Properties in 2020. He is a graduate from Pickens Technical College as a Nurse Assistant and as a Small Animal Care Provider in 2010. In the past nine years, Sergio has had various jobs, all focused around customer service.
Eden joined United Properties in 2016. Eden graduated from Davenport University in 2015 with an Associate’s in Business Administration. She works in our accounting department, focusing primarily on billing. She also serves as our process improvement manager and works on ensuring our processes are up to date and helps the company run efficiently. She enjoys playing guitar, reading, and any outdoor activities. Eden is bilingual and is learning to communicate via ASL. (American Sign Language)
David joined the United Properties team in 2019 as the Director of Client Relations and Business Development. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading all leasing, application underwriting, tenant relations, accounts receivable, process improvement, remote workers, and general office functionality (essentially anything outside of maintenance and service). David comes from a longstanding career at a Fortune 15 company primarily in a sales and customer service leadership role.
Tim VandenToorn serves as Managing Partner of United Properties of West Michigan, working closely with our owners and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company. Tim also started United Realty, which serves as a brokerage for United Properties and assists investors with the acquisition of investment properties.
Matthew joined the United Properties in early 2020. He is a graduate of Lee University with a bachelor’s in Intercultural Studies and also a master’s in Discipleship and Christian Formation. Matthew serves as a project manager over the Rent Ready process. He has 20 years of construction experience and over 10 years of experience in leadership positions. He oversees a team of technicians and schedules outside vendors getting properties back to the United rent-ready standard so that they can be leased again.
Founder of United Properties of West Michigan LLC, Certified Residential Management Professional (RMP®) Owner/Broker of United Properties of West Michigan a Residential Property Management Company, Licensed Real Estate Broker, CE Instructor for Realtors, Licensed Builder, and RPOA Board Member. Russ has 40+ years of experience as a Landlord, including buy and hold and flipping Single Family Homes. He has been involved in dozens of major rehabs making them functional for today’s markets including student housing.
Gabrielle is currently a student at Davenport University. She is in the midst of obtaining her bachelor degree in Marketing. She obtained her real estate license and started with United Properties in August 2018. She has recently moved back to Grand Rapids from the east side of the state and has been enjoying exploring the city and trying new places to eat. She enjoys traveling and really enjoys living in the big city of Grand Rapids. As our leasing agent, she is more than happy to assist you in finding the perfect place to call home!
Carla joined United Properties in late 2019 as a billing specialist. Carla ensures invoices are received from contractors and bills them out in a timely fashion.
Cristina joined United Properties as the billing assistant in October of 2020. She has experience as a technology professional, an English-Spanish translator, and has worked the past several years as the treasurer of her condominium.
Rick is one of the newest members of our team. He has an extensive background in customer service. He and his wife are raising their 4-year-old son. Rick loves beef jerky so much he makes his own.
Harriet joined United Properties as a billing assistant in February of 2021. She has experience as a bookkeeper and a Property Manager for a Real Estate account. She was a working student during her college days. Harriet loves cleaning because she thinks it is therapeutic. She also loves watching series during her free time, and she’s a fur mom of one dog. Her inspiration to work every day is her family.
My name is Paulina Gonzalez. I have been working for the company since early 2021. I studied social work and have 7 years of experience in customer service. I speak English and Spanish. I am very patient, and I like to ask a lot of questions to learn a lot. I enjoy small road trips and cold rainy weather. I have a 3-month-old puppy, and he is my favorite thing in the world.
Jessica has a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial strategies and public accounting and is studying a masters in Blockchain and Fintech regulation. She has previous experience as a customer service representative. She speaks English and Spanish. She loves taking long walks with her three dogs, hiking and road tripping during the weekends.
Chris Good is new to the United Properties Team since June 2022 as a Business Development Manager. With years of experience in both the construction industry (Master Electrician) and the Real Estate industry (Broker), he will closely work with new and experienced investors to facilitate their real estate goals.
Melba Alvarez
Enrique Vergara