Some may find offense at being called a name like, say, “The trash can police.”
But Lori Rutledge, president of Planned Development Services, isn’t one of them. In fact, after 20 years of owning and running the Glendale HOA management and accounting company, it takes stronger words to shake her.
“Oh, we’ve been called much worse than that,” Rutledge said.
Despite the negative perception that follows her industry – Rutledge knows well that the majority of interactions between residents and HOAs are not initiated by a positive incident – she has found success by focusing on one simple yet often overlooked facet of the relationship between the two: communication.
Rutledge’s years of experience in residential property management let her know that 90{de3fc13d4eb210e6ea91a63b91641ad51ecf4a1f1306988bf846a537e7024eeb} of residents’ questions require easy, straightforward answers: When is the next meeting? What is the yard sale date? I’ve got a notice about my trash can but that wasn’t mine.
But most of the time, no live person is available to take their calls.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, the manager isn’t going to be in the office at the moment, they are out on the property. The biggest problem is that no one calls back,” she said.
Rutledge and her team created a solution hotline manned by staff that is highly trained to use a database with detailed information on each property so a question can usually be answered on the spot. It’s not a call center but operates by teams created for each of the 127 homeowners associations PDS manages.
Proactively diffusing conflicts before they become one has been vital in improving relationships and maintaining civility. Often, they are having a bad day and getting that telltale letter was the last straw, Rutledge said.
“If people are angry, by the time they are off the phone it’s highly unlikely they are angry. We don’t blow them off. We don’t tell them that’s the way it is,” she said. “Often, they thank us for listening. If you let them get it off their chest, they feel better. But if they get a voicemail greeting…”
This strategy is among the pieces Rutledge has implemented since purchasing the company in 2000 from its original owner. At the time PDS oversaw just 17 HOAs, a fraction of what it manages today.
A total of 37,000 doors in the Valley are under her watch, mostly spanning the West Valley with some in Scottsdale. They range from condominiums, master communities and retirement communities with values from $200,000 to the multi-millions.
Rutledge is part of a global property management industry with a market size predicted to reach $23.63 billion by 2026, according to Fortune Business Insights.
PDS is a full service firm providing all accounting, financials, taxes, violations and overseeing common areas like pools, parks and clubhouses. Happy clients’ word-of-mouth fuels new business.
“We are essentially the community concierge. We handle whatever is needed,” she said.
Ray Harwood, board member and president of the Rio Crossing homeowners association in Avondale, has worked with PDS since 2019, when it replaced the former management company.
Harwood said there were many complaints about the previous company, mostly around its customer service – or lack thereof. After attempting to resolve issues with no success, the search was on for a new management company.
Among the six the board considered, PDS got the nod. Ever since, Harwood said Rutledge and her team have been responsive to every request, a far cry from what he was used to.
“They really impressed me with their customer service. PDS has been very helpful to us,” Harwood said. “I wish we’d talked to them sooner.”
Rutledge easily jokes about her non-mainstream career choice that she has grown to love.
“It’s highly unlikely that people say, ‘I want to be a property manager!’” she said while laughing.
Rutledge’s professional path got a jump-start when she was 13, doing accounting work for her entrepreneur mother.
Her hard work and 20-hour days spent rehabbing a residential property that survived a fire impressed its owner, who was also her boss, so much that he handed the company to her. She found herself in charge of 50 properties, which she eventually built up to 500.
This was her foray into real estate – and what turned out to be her passion. She transitioned into the HOA realm and found her fit. One day she spotted a for-sale ad in the paper for PDS, an unusual sales method in the industry, she said. She called it fate. And she purchased it.
“It’s a strange industry, I admit that. But it’s a very important one,” she said.
The industry got a little more odd during COVID-19. As an essential business, PDS was able to keep operating throughout. But it had never been a work-from-home culture, like many others in her field. She had to figure out how to enable employees to do that without skipping too many beats.
She credited her team with allowing everyone to adjust to Zoom meetings and setting up those without a computer with one so they could function at home just as they would in the office. Within two weeks all was set.
She was concerned about residents’ ability to pay fees and other expenses but was pleasantly surprised that wasn’t the case. She is concerned that the lack of government assistance may change that, though.
“It was like running into a brick wall. It’s been the year of all years. I’m just grateful to be here,” she said.
Over the years, PDS has done a number of events and fundraisers to support various charities and causes. It was a long time supporter for breast cancer research and most recently Lump Busters, a Phoenix non-profit that raises funds for the research, diagnosis and treatment of cancer and brain tumor related illnesses. This year, PDS donated $10,000 to the organization.
Also this year, the company focused on food banks and donated $5,000 on behalf of its associations, plus more from Rutledge and the PDS team.
This part of a relaxed and close-knit work culture has been just as key as all the training and communication skills.
“Knowing I am creating an environment where my people have fun, and when I see emails from board members who are so happy about the people who are serving them… it doesn’t get better than that,” she said.
What: Planned Development Services
Where: 17235 N. 75th Ave., Ste. H100, Glendale
Employees: 52
Interesting stat: In 2018, there were 347,000 community associations in the U.S. and 26{de3fc13d4eb210e6ea91a63b91641ad51ecf4a1f1306988bf846a537e7024eeb} of the population resided in areas where there were community associations, according to the Foundation for Community Association Research, a trade organization that lobbies state legislatures on behalf of HOAs.
Details: 623-877-1396, pdsaz.com
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