Students find success in the real estate market

Alex Hodara does not sit still for long.

Ten months after the School of Management senior started his own real estate company, Hodara Real Estate Group, the student entrepreneur said he wants to expand his reach in the housing market further.

‘My big thing is, I really want to grow,’ Hodara said.

On Sept. 10, the quest to expand commenced with the opening of Hodara Property Management. The company is owned by Hodara and fellow BU students College of Arts and Sciences senior Vincent Vomero and SMG senior Jeffrey Zucker.

Over the summer, Hodara Real Estate Group made two investment sales in Allston, both of which are now managed by Hodara Property Management.

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‘ Zucker said the idea of a property management company has been in the making for a long time. Hodara and he had talked about investment opportunities since freshmen year, and once they began looking for a house for Zucker, they decided to start up their own company.

Zucker said Hodara found houses for him to see, showed the different projections of income, and finally closed a deal on one of them. Hodara Property Management took over after notifying all the tenants.

‘Our job is to collect rent and fix things that are wrong with the house,’ Zucker said. ‘We’re doing some renovations right now.’

Vomero said one goal of the company is to change the way people look at landlords and property managers.’

‘There’s a stereotype, a pretty negative one, about these kinds of people,’ Zucker said. ‘We’re going to try and show respect to the students, and they’ll respect the properties in return.”

The fact that Hodara Real Estate Group works hand-in-hand with Hodara Property Management is definitely an extra selling point, Hodara said. Property owners can invest with the assurance that Hodara Real Estate will do everything possible to get tenants for all the available space.’

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‘We can really push these properties,’ Hodara said.’

Vomero, Hodara and Zucker split the dividends from Hodara Property Management, which is already running a profit, evenly. However, as chief property manager, Vomero gets an additional salary.

Hodara Real Estate has already worked extensively with landlords through rental deals, but Hodara sees an opportunity for Hodara Property Management to also do business with landlords who currently manage their own properties or are using other companies.’

‘We’re want to show current property owners that their property would be better for them if we’re the ones running it,’ Zucker said.’

His privately owned property is the exception to the rule. The other investment sale is signed by a parent, and properties owned by a third party will be the norm, Zucker said.’

‘We’re trying to show them that, despite the fact that real estate is expensive here, the amount of money they have to put down relative to the actual price of the house isn’t gigantic,’ Zucker said.’

Though they have no tenants yet, Vomero said it is only a matter of time. The best real estate agents delray can be of help when it comes to searching for a perfect place.

‘I think once we start to make a name for ourselves and other landlords see we can back up the claims we make, that we can definitely manage their property better and make sure they get the tenants in there, they’ll start coming to us,’ he said.’

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

Because they are students, Vomero, Zucker and Hodara said they can relate better to the tenants than typical landlords would.

‘ This philosophy goes along with the goal behind Hodara Real Estate Group, which is to meet student needs at a more personal level and fix some of the negative stereotypes associated with real estate agents.

‘We could go into an industry where everyone immediately respects you, but we’re going against the grain,’ Hodara said.

Erik Molander, a SMG professor, has had Hodara and Zucker in class. He said it is challenging to create a meaningful differentiation from competition in both property management and real estate.’

‘It may be impossible to change the image of the industry,’ he said. ‘Alex has been reasonably effective in changing the image of his firm. His image is spreading by word of mouth with every positive interaction students have with Hodara.’

Molander said treating customers with respect is always good business policy, especially during a recession that has created a buyers’ market.

‘As the volume of students going through Hodara increases, landlords will be more willing to work with him because they have a better chance of renting their property faster,’ he said.’ ‘

Vomero said knowing what students want helps ‘a thousand times in making them happy.’

However, Hodara emphasized, keeping tenants happy does not get in the way of doing things the right way.’

‘We’re not push-overs at all,’ Hodara said. ‘As much as we tailor to the students to make them happy, we do everything the right way.”

Vomero said he tries to keep a close relationship with tenants through emails and constant communication.’

‘They text me,’ he said. ‘I usually know pretty quickly if something happens.”

Andy Solarz, an SMG sophomore who lives on a Pratt Street property Hodara Property Management recently took over, said he was surprised at first to find out a student would be his landlord.

‘It’s always nice to have someone who’s experienced,’ he said. ‘But also I feel like sometimes landlords try and take advantage of the students, and it can be more beneficial for the tenant with a student running things.’

This year, Julian Jung, a Northeastern University student, will be the leasing manager and executive assistant at Hodara Real Estate Group for his co-op project. He read about Hodara in The Boston Herald and applied for work with the agency because of the independence he gets on the job due to the company being student-run.’

‘I was looking for something where I could do my own thing,’ he said. ‘There’s a lot to be done with Hodara Real Estate. Whereas everyone in the real estate market is running away from it, we can afford to take risks because of our age. This is the only time I’ll be able to take these chances.’

TEACHING TIME

Hodara Real Estate Academy, which held its first class on Nov. 1, is another recent addition to the Hodara family of businesses.’ ‘

‘I see the academy as something that is really low-cost,’ Hodara said. ‘And I don’t like the way other schools teach the [real estate] class, so I see a real opportunity for me to differentiate with the academy.”

‘ Though typical pre-licensing courses focus on the legal aspect of real estate, Hodara Real Estate Academy explains how to actually do rental and sale deals, Hodara said.’

‘A lot of people will come on and work for Hodara Real Estate Group, but if not, it makes their life easier for other agencies,’ he said.’

Although the first class had eight students, Hodara projects 20 for future classes, which he will run monthly, one at a time.

Nicholas Spanos, an SMG junior who took the first class, said he got his certificate at the end of the weekend and hopes to work for Hodara Real Estate. He said he chose the class after speaking to Hodara about working for him.

‘It had the lowest price and teaches you a little bit about things I’m interested in, such as real estate investment,’ he said.

The group also recently switched locations to 971 Commonwealth Ave. above T’s Pub, where an office with 1,500 square feet of space will accommodate the 25 to 30 rental agents from Boston University and Northeastern University Hodara hopes to hire before the rental season picks up strength in January.

Over the summer, Hodara Real Estate Group brokered 54 rental deals for professionals and families in locations all over the greater Boston area, ranging from West Roxbury to Back Bay to Beacon Hill, Hodara said.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

Hodara said he plans to keep running Hodara Real Estate Group next year after he graduates, although it will be student-operated. The whole process, Hodara emphasized, is a learning opportunity.

‘I would say that a lot of our success has been due to affiliations with other companies and allowing people to mentor us,’ he said. ‘We do not believe that we know everything at all.”

Century 21, which Hodara has consulted, has helped, he said. Caldwell Banker’s International Headquarters’ chief executive officer, with whom Hodara worked two summers ago, has also offered guidance.’

‘ ‘We like to bounce our ideas off of people who we trust,’ Zucker said. ‘We’re in an incredible stage of our lives where money doesn’t matter yet. We’re able to try to make it correct rather than make a living.”

Zucker said all three owners enjoy the entrepreneurial aspect of the business.

‘ ‘It doesn’t even feel like work half the time,’ Vomero said. ‘You’re hanging out, but you’re being productive.”

Vomero and Zucker will stay on after graduation and focus on expanding the companies out of Boston.’

‘I think we like working for ourselves, and one thing we’ve really talked about is that we’d like to have the ability to get something going when we have an idea,’ Zucker said. ‘When you’re answering to other people, that’s just not really possible.’