When we first purchased Saxon Woods in December 2019, the property had a renewal and re-rent problem. Re-rents averaged $57, while renewals averaged $31. The residents viewed it as a place to live rather than a home. One of the biggest challenges was winning over the residents and showing them value in the property.
Ninety-five percent of the time, the solution is people. That certainly was the case at Saxon Woods as we worked to re-engineer the property and successfully sold it for $164 million earlier this month. The property was our second largest sale in company history at the time of closing.
General manager Traci Quetano was placed at the property just 18 days after starting at The Connor Group, and her first big challenge was customer service. Under the leadership of senior director Chesley Lewis, Traci learned the systems and processes to be a successful manager. She led CapEx projects updating the playground, dog park and lighting throughout the property.
In January of 2021, sales manager Jessica Ely joined the Saxon team and immediately made an impact. By December, the property was 97-percent occupied with an average re-rents at $300 and average renewals at $135.
You can have great leaders, but without the right coach, you can only go so far with the right players. For the Dallas market, that coach was regional head Dan Pisegna.
“He has been the right captain for our ship,” Traci said. “Dallas was in desperate need of a positive, motivating and inspiring leader that would hold us accountable. Dan’s really the puzzle piece that put the culture back together. He is respected and holds us accountable to the standards.”
In six months, Dan led the market to successfully close a refinance and three property sales. With Dan’s motivation and leadership, Saxon Woods delivered these great results:
- $164 million sale, second largest in company history at the time of closing.
- 90.5% IRR
- Increased the property value by $78.8M, a 92-percent increase
- Increased NOI by $2.7M
- Increased other income by $1.1M
Congratulations to the Saxon Woods team!
Chesley Lewis, senior director
Traci Quetano, general manager
Jessica Ely, sales manager
David Watson, Sr. lead tech
Keven Johnson, lead tech
Elliott Chavez, turn tech
Lee Gonzalez, grounds
Dan Pisegna, regional head