We all know the old adage, ‘Home is where the heart is.’ But for the staff at M&R Holdings, its meaning goes much deeper than feel-good sentiment. Heart stands for honesty, excellence, accountability, respect and teamwork; principles that reflect the service standards M&R endeavours to uphold daily. “H.E.A.R.T. is a code of conduct for how we expect our staff to behave,” explains Randy Daiter, Vice President, Residential Properties. “It’s a reflection of our core values, a reminder to treat each other and the residents who occupy our buildings the way we would want to be treated ourselves.”
And so far that approach seems to be working out just fine. Though the average monthly rents across M&R Holdings’ properties are approximately $100 more than what CMHC cites for the GTA, its turnover rates are significantly lower—by as much as 9 to 10 percent. “So we know we’re doing something right,” notes Daiter, who’s been with the company for about a year and a half. “We really try to create a sense of community. We don’t want to just satisfy our tenants’ expectations; we want to exceed them. We’re in the service industry after all, and like the hotel industry, people’s expectations are continually going up.”
The family-owned development and property management company has been ‘doing something right’ for more than 50 years, with approximately 40 apartment buildings and 4,800 units spread across the GTA. Boasting steady growth and superior building quality, Daiter says long-term ownership is the company’s foremost goal. “We only select and acquire sites that are in excellent locations. We design and construct our buildings with the objective of maintaining ownership. So if the balconies need replacing, we don’t hesitate. If the carpets are due for an update, we change them.”
The company: then and now
While competing to acquire a very desirable site, Simon Minz, an engineer and mechanical contractor, and Sam and David Ross, carpenters, opted to form a partnership. The fellow tradesmen, each with a sweeping understanding of the building process, completed their first apartment dwelling together in 1963, a 12-storey rental at 70 Delisle Avenue in Toronto. Since then, M&R Holdings has gone on to build dozens more—from 8-plexes and 3-storey walk-ups to high density apartment towers and commercial developments. Over the past 50 years, the company has gained a reputation for maintaining the highest standards of construction.
Of course, in 50 years a great deal has changed, and keeping up with all that change has been central to success. “The millennials are a big market segment that we are currently catering to,” Daiter says. “We are also more focused on safety – from legislation and regulation, to training and compliance.”
Another huge area of focus for M&R Holdings is customer service. “We’ve developed a new customer service model and a service culture that’s unique to our brand,” he explains. “It’s all part of our master plan to take things to the next level.” Recently, the company introduced a variety of customer service-oriented products, from printed tenant newsletters and promotional items, to branded ‘move-in’ bags and an easy-to-navigate website, all featuring the “Where the heart is” tagline. Communication efforts have soared and Daiter couldn’t be happier with the results.
Long-term vision, maximum market value
Paul Minz, President of M&R Holdings and son of the original founder Simon Minz, has been naturally involved in the company since it formed. He began his career as a lawyer, practicing at a large firm for three years, before officially joining the family business full-time in 1981.
“We really do think in terms of long-term ownership of the assets. We are never pressured to sell or finance,” he explains. “We want to optimize and take care of our buildings. We value our properties. That means they are well looked after—they look good, operate efficiently and they appeal to the residents who live in them.”
Minz points out the apartment buildings are also valued by the communities at large. In other words, they are not eyesores or visual blights that mar the scenery; they are important, functioning entities, both structurally and in spirit. “All this contributes to maximizing market value,” Minz says. “We won’t hesitate to do the necessary restorations and the renovations—within reason, of course, as we don’t want to overly disturb our residents—but we maintain our properties to ensure their longevity.”
Minz notes that with the onslaught of the REITS, buildings today can change hands quickly. “They may be very well run, but the mindset is different,” he says. “They are driven by financial decisions rather than by seeing the building as a core asset.” Which means the little details can sometimes get lost in the shuffle.
“We have always grown slowly,” he continues. “We like to build our own buildings. Not many are doing it—a few are, but not many. We haven’t built anything new since 1976 since rent control came in. But we are looking into it. Our plan is to build something new in the near future that will make a nice addition to our portfolio.”
Hands-on management
Jeff Ross, Executive Vice President, reflects on his youthful summers spent working in construction—digging ditches, working machinery, burning garbage, doing whatever jobs needed doing. After graduating from university with a degree in geography and environmental studies, he was naturally brought in by his father to help run the family business. That was 37 years ago.
“At the time there was very little opportunity,” he says. “So joining the family business just made sense. It offered me a chance to do what I was good at, what I was born to do.”
Ross makes no bones about what he sees as his company’s greatest achievement. “Our ground-up expertise,” he says, simply. “Maintaining the buildings and keeping them in good shape is what we do best. On the residential side, we do not do any third-party management. We only manage our own properties. From inception to the present, we’ve never sold any buildings.”
A hands-on management style is another thing Ross says sets M&R apart from the competition—or, as he puts it, a “buck stops here” mentality. Whether it’s dealing with residents, tradesmen or management, Ross prides himself on being personally involved in each step of the process. “My favourite part of the job is getting out to the buildings and talking with people. It’s not just about how many nails are required for a job, it’s about understanding the issues, talking through each situation, chatting it up with the staff and the tenants. When I attend one of our events, a summer BBQ or a holiday party, I like to shake hands with everyone, listen to what people have to say. I take pride in our properties because these are our buildings, but the people who live in them are a big part of what makes them stand out.”
Challenges and opportunities
Like all property management companies, the biggest challenges for M&R Holdings lie in simply running a harmonious, energy-efficient building. “Getting your residents to truly buy into being in a community, creating a better spirit so that residents are comfortable with staff, ensuring service is consistently good, instilling pride of ownership in terms of how tenants treat the buildings—these are all things we continuously strive for,” says Minz. “We are looking a lot at electricity consumption, how better to conserve energy. When apartments have submeters, the costs are shared by everybody, and behaviour changes. Everyone ends up being more efficient with their usage. A lot of our buildings were built with submeters in place, and for those that weren’t, we are in the process of converting. Submeters not only promote good consumption, but they are better for the hydro system.”
Though energy-efficiency upgrades and community engagement are big areas of focus for the steadily growing company, its primary objective remains the same. “We may cater to different socio-economic classes, with middle and upper-tier apartments,” Daiter says, “but the thing that is consistent no matter what, is our attention to maintaining the assets and providing exceptional quality of service.”
