Ari Chazanas: Leading Los Angeles Real Estate Visionary | LotusProperties

We had the pleasure of sitting with Ari to learn more about his background, leadership style, and what drives him to succeed. The following is a transcript of the interview:

Please tell us about your background and how your personal and professional experiences led you to establish LotusProperties.com.

I started Lotus West Property Management since I was managing our family’s portfolio of apartment buildings for many years. Since I had an experienced asset management staff in place for my own properties I was asked by friends, family, colleagues and real estate brokers to manage properties for 3rd parties which I launched in 2012 and have grown to over 1,000 units under management as of today.”

How would you describe your leadership style? Who has been most influential in the development of your leadership skills?

I am a flexible manager and like to manage with kindness and through detailed explanation and instruction. We are highly focused on training new employees so they hit the ground running once they come onboard at Lotus West Properties (LWP).”

What unique approach do you bring compared to all the other property management firms?

We are owners first and foremost. Most management companies have no experience with their own properties nor they do they own a personal portfolio as large as ours. We always ask ourselves what would we do for our OWN building and we do the same for our clients. We are hyper focused on keeping buildings at full occupancy and keeping costs to a minimum while maintaining professional and friendly tenant relationships.”

Dedication to community improvement in Los Angeles is essential to you; what has your company achieved in the last 12 months, and what are your goals for the near future?

We regularly interface with our local LA City council members and work hand in hand with them to improve the landscape for both owners and renters of income property in Los Angeles. We are also hyper focused on ensuring that all our properties have both blue and green bins and tenants are using them correctly to ensure that no recycling products go to waste. Lastly, we have installed remote water meters at all our properties that advise us immediately if there is a leak at any of our owned/managed properties. This saves water first and foremost but also potentially thousands of dollars for owners in the case a leak is detected.”

What attracted you to the real estate market?

I grew up around real estate as my father was both an architect and developer. I would go to his construction sites and meetings with contractors and tenants from a very young age so it’s in my blood!"

LotusProperties.com has vastly grown since its inception. Could you share a few key factors that have contributed to this success?

We are thorough and we take pride in our work for both tenants and landlords. We make sure that all issues are addressed in a timely fashion and no stones are left unturned.”

How does LotusProperties.com distinguish itself in the competitive real estate market of Los Angeles?

We are owners first and foremost. No other management company has that type of experience from an owners perspective at our level. We look at problems through the lens of an owner rather than just a hired manager who has no personal experience.”

What was one of the most significant challenges you faced in the early stages of developing LotusProperties.com, and how did you overcome it?

Getting our name out there. Once we decided to take on 3rd party management we needed to let people know. We did this by mailing letters to all apartment building owners in Los Angeles announcing our new endeavor. We also personally contacted the top 100 multifamily brokers in Los Angeles to let them know about our growth and future plans for 3rd party management.”

We know that Los Angeles is a diverse city with a complex real estate landscape. How does LotusProperties.com cater to the various needs of different communities in the city?

Since Los Angeles has several cities within the county, we ensure that we are up to speed on all local regulations. For example, Beverly Hills, Culver City and Santa Monica have their own mayors and City Council. With that in mind, we need to have a keen understanding of each cities specific rules and ordinances to do our job effectively and professionally.”

Could you share some insights into your approach to property acquisition? What factors do you consider before adding a property to your portfolio?

First and foremost, location. The property needs to be located in an area that can withstand a slow market while at the same time be desirable to potential tenants consistently. Secondly is of course price. If not priced right, then we do not proceed regardless of the location.”

Customer service plays a significant role in the real estate industry. Can you share some of your strategies for ensuring high client satisfaction levels?

We have a dedicated receptionist who handles all incoming calls from both tenants and owners. He addresses any issues he can himself and for those that need additional attention he routes those calls (with follow up emails) to the correct LWP team member so they ensure all issues are addressed within 24 hours."

In what ways does LotusProperties.com incorporate the latest technology into its business operations, and how has it benefited the company?

We use AppFolio as our property management software. AppFolio is the most advanced property management software on the market and has considerable functionality ranging from bookkeeping all the way to leasing and maintenance management. We also use Slack internally. All staff have Slack accounts which enable all LWP staff to be in constant and efficient communication with each other 24/7.”

Can you tell us about a time when you had to make a tough business decision that took the company to the next level?

We had to let go off 2 employees who were not working at the same level of the rest of the staff. Thankfully, the 2 new employees we replaced them with were fantastic hires with great work ethic and they turned out to be fantastic employees who are both very well liked by both owners and tenants."

Real estate often faces fluctuations and changes due to economic and social trends. How does LotusProperties.com stay adaptable amidst these changes?

We stay on top of local and state regulations as we are heavily involved in local and state outreach due to our position with both AAGLA and Apartment Owners Association (AOA). For example, during the Covid pandemic we had a direct line to the Director of the State of CA Covid assistance program and that enabled us to ensure all payments made on behalf of tenants were received and paid in full. To put it into perspective, most owners and other management companies only received approximately 60% of monies due to them. We had a 100% success rate.”

Sustainability and green initiatives have become increasingly important in real estate. How is LotusProperties.com addressing this issue?

We are hyper focused on ensuring that all our properties have both blue and green bins and tenants are using them correctly to ensure that no recycling products go to waste. Lastly, we have installed remote water meters at all our properties that advise us immediately if there is a leak at any of our owned/managed properties. This saves water first and foremost but also potentially thousands of dollars for owners in the case a leak is detected.”

Where do you see LotusProperties.com in the next five years? What are some of your plans or goals for the company?

Owning and managing over 5,000 units with employees that look forward to showing up to work every day.”

If you could give one piece of advice to someone planning to start a business in real estate, what would it be?

Be persistent and look for great opportunities where others might not pay attention. Real estate is not an overnight success business but if you learn what has value and focus on one sector and one area of Los Angeles you will succeed.”

What do you love most about doing business in Los Angeles, and what makes it unique compared to other cities?

Demand for apartments never wanes. People always want to move here and it makes renting and owning property in Los Angeles a lot easier than most other major US markets.”

What leadership advice would you give to your younger self?

Learn as much as possible. Take in information from others who have been successful in real estate and apply what you learn from their successes. Listen, listen and listen. There is a lot of wisdom and experience out there if you are patient and seek out the right role models.”

Lastly, how did the pandemic affect your business, and what strategies did you employ to navigate those challenging times? Have there been any lingering effects?

The pandemic has added substantial new legislation and issues related to evictions making it significantly more challenging and more work to manage an apartment building. Unfortunately, the remnants of the pandemic as it relates to real estate are still an ongoing issue as local jurisdictions continue to apply measures well after the pandemic was declared over.”