The Property
96
Two bedroom apartments
2008
Acquired by Lakeside
33%
Vacant at acquisition
The Challenge
| When Lakeside acquired Hamilton Park, the numbers alone told part of the story: 32 vacant units in a 96-unit property. But numbers don’t capture what it actually felt like to walk through the building.
It was June. There was still salt on the carpet in the hallways from the previous winter. That detail matters, not because of the salt itself, but because of what it represented. If the hallways hadn’t been properly cleaned since winter, nothing else had been maintained either. Not the units. Not the systems. Not the relationships with tenants. When the team started knocking on doors to address the backlog of open work orders, the response was telling. Tenants were surprised. Not frustrated, not demanding, but surprised. “I submitted that months ago,” one resident said. “I didn’t think anyone was ever going to come.” That’s the kind of neglect that doesn’t just affect property values. It affects people’s lives. The residents of Hamilton Park had been living in a place that had stopped caring about them. Turning that around wasn’t just a management challenge, it was a commitment. |
The Work
| There is no shortcut for this kind of work. Turning around a distressed property takes time, consistency, and a willingness to make decisions that don’t always pay off in the short term.
The Lakeside team started where any responsible owner would: by listening. They walked every unit, documented every issue, and began working through the backlog systematically. Because Lakeside maintains an in-house maintenance team rather than outsourcing every repair to outside vendors, we could move faster, control quality, and respond to residents directly. Vacant units were renovated and re-leased to carefully screened tenants. Non-paying tenants were addressed through a fair but firm process. Common areas were cleaned, repaired, and maintained on a regular schedule. Over time, the character of the property began to change, not just physically, but socially. It took years. That’s the honest answer. Property turnarounds don’t happen overnight, and anyone who tells you otherwise hasn’t done one. But with consistent management, a responsive maintenance presence, and a genuine commitment to the residents who lived there, Hamilton Park became something different. |
The results
Today, Hamilton Park is a property to be proud of.
It’s a place residents are proud to live. A community that neighbors are glad to have nearby. A property that performs the way a well-managed asset should, with stable, long-term tenants, low vacancy, and a maintenance standard that protects the investment for the long haul.
That outcome didn’t happen because of a clever strategy or a quick fix. It happened because Lakeside manages properties the way owners should, with accountability, follow-through, and a team that shows up when they say they will.
Before
- 32 of 96 units vacant at acquisition
- Dozens of occupied units with non-paying tenants
- Months of deferred maintenance and unaddressed work orders
- Neglected common areas and building systems
- Tenants who had given up expecting follow-through
- A property that had lost the trust of its residents
After
- Near-full occupancy with qualified, long-term tenants
- A maintained, well-kept community residents are proud to call home
- Responsive maintenance through Lakeside’s in-house team
- Clean, safe common areas and properly maintained systems
- Tenants who trust that when something needs attention, it gets addressed
- A property that neighbors are glad to live near
