Windermere Lease Source Property Management, of Spokane, is expanding its portfolio of residential properties under management with the acquisition of Spokane Valley-based M-T Management Inc. 

Scott Wetzel, CEO of Windermere Lease Source and Spokane-based real estate brokerage Windermere Services Mountain West, says the M-T Management acquisition is adding 350 "doors" under management.

The completed acquisition gives Windermere Lease Source a total of about 1,500 rental units under management in the greater Spokane region, says Wetzel, who declines to disclose the terms of the transaction.

The acquisition of M-T Management is the fourth in Windermere's eight-year history. 

Windermere Lease Source has been bullish about acquiring property management companies from owners looking to retire—and who don't have a succession plan in place—to fuel the company's growth.

"We're looking to grow, and they're looking to have an exit strategy so they can ... start enjoying retirement life, whatever that looks like to them," Wetzel says.

All four employees of M-T Management are retiring, including former owner Maria Trunkenbolz, who established the Spokane Valley company 40 years ago, says Wetzel.

The circumstance is working well for Windermere, which can afford to absorb 30% of payroll and related expenses from acquired companies to keep the same amount of revenue and profit, Wetzel explains.

"I get economies of scale by limiting the amount of payroll I have to bring over," he says. "It works out that I don't have to terminate or eliminate any positions."

Windermere Lease Source now is looking to hire a full-time employee to join the company's nine-person team and help manage the growing residential portfolio.

The rental-management company is moving quickly to convert M-T Management's branding and rental portfolio to Windermere's new portal management system, he says.

"We're doing that much quicker than we did with Watson Management, where we did a six-month lead-in," says Wetzel. "By March 1, they're going to be integrated and doing business (as) Windermere Lease Source Property Management."

Tenants and property owners can expect streamlined services through Windermere's automated systems and upgraded technologies that provide online access for rental applications, credit checks, and rent payments and transfers, he says. 

Last fall, Windermere Lease Source relocated from offices at 25 W. Cataldo to the former Watson Management office, located at 102 E. Baldwin, in Spokane's Logan neighborhood.

Windermere's residential properties under management are located throughout the greater Spokane region, and Wetzel expects future company acquisitions to have an established footprint in the area. 

To better serve Windermere's clients in Eastern Washington and North Idaho and to accommodate the company's growing rental-management portfolio, the company also is considering opening a satellite office in Sandpoint, Idaho.

"Right now ... I am super bullish on acquiring more of these companies," Wetzel says. "The amount of companies that we can acquire ... is unlimited."

While Wetzel says the sky's the limit for growth through this acquisition model, no set target is in place regarding the number of companies Windermere Lease Source plans to acquire.

Acquisition decisions are more focused on the overall portfolio performance and less on the quality of the properties in a portfolio, he explains.

Moving forward, Windermere Lease Source will continue looking for opportunities to acquire property management companies from retiring owners, which has been a successful strategy for the company's three previous acquisitions.

Wetzel jokes that he wants to be everyone's "son" that they can sell their company to.

"It's just like any other relationship-based business," he says.

Prior to Windermere's acquisition of M-T Management, Windermere acquired Spokane-based Watson Management Co., in a deal that added 550 properties to the company's portfolio.

At the time, Rawley and Helen Harrison, the previous owners of Watson Management, were looking for an exit strategy to set them up for retirement. Prior to the Watson Management acquisition, Keith Walker, former owner of Walker Property Management; and Gary Miller, former owner of Lease Source Property Management, also retired and sold their companies to Windermere Lease Source, Wetzel explains.

"We seem to be in a position and a recipient of property management company owners who are looking to retire and for whatever reason, they don't have a succession plan," he says. "It ends up being a great scenario for us both."

Project update:

*Spokane Valley-based Storage Solutions Spokane Valley LLC has completed the construction of a 70,300-square-foot, 507-unit storage facility, dubbed Storage Solutions Appleway, located at 19311 E. Appleway, in Spokane Valley. 

Seattle-based Site+Plan+Mix LLC designed the $6.2 million project. West Coast Self-Storage Group LLC, of Everett, Washington, will manage the facility, according to a press release from the company.

West Coast Self-Storage Group manages a portfolio of 141 locations in the Western U.S.