Grant McKay is the man behind NU Management, one of Sydney’s fastest-growing boutique agencies built entirely through organic growth. He shared the innovative approach that sits behind his success in property management.
In the latest episode of The Property Management Excellence (PMX) Podcast, NU Management founder Grant McKay joined REB’s Alex Whitlock and revealed how his property management business has been making waves in the competitive landscape of Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Indeed, NU Management – which was established four years ago – grew its business entirely organically and now has almost 300 properties under management. In the last quarter, the agency added over 50 new properties to its rent roll.
Driving this engine is McKay, a property manager led by a passion for property management and offering superior customer service to both owners and tenants.
“Rather than the business and the potential money and assets, I seem to be very different to a lot of general people in the property management space in that I’m quite passionate about it,” McKay said.
“I’m passionate about the client experience. I’m quite passionate about what is missing and what I’ve observed to be missing over a number of years. It’s very much that drive that made me break away and go out on my own, more so than the assets and the financials.”
The initial uphill battle
Starting from scratch with zero properties came with its fair share of challenges and sacrifices, as McKay recounted during the podcast, including downgrading his living situation to fund his start-up and ensure financial stability for the business.
He had the upper hand as he was able to leverage almost two decades of experience in property management and a decade as a business development manager living and operating in the eastern suburbs.
“I was comfortable in the eastern suburbs. I had some really solid contacts in place. I knew that there was going to be an opportunity through those connections to get some leads right from day one,” McKay said.
However, he acknowledged that carving a presence and growing listings while managing the business on his own were challenging in the initial phase, noting that while “activity does create activity”, the new agent is not on the radar of any potential client.
“The first couple of properties, you’re just not known.”
“Those first 10 to 20 [listings] were difficult and just felt very slow. As we started to get up into the tens and around the 50, 50 to 100 was definitely a lot easier than zero to 50.”
PMs told to step up to advisory role
At the heart of his success is adopting a client-centric philosophy and establishing long-term relationships with owners and tenants, understanding the needs of both parties.
In one instance, McKay successfully negotiated a significant rent rise for a client’s property while also addressing structural issues that could have impacted the property’s long-term value. He simultaneously engaged in dialogue with the owner and the tenant to secure a favourable outcome, while balancing the risks of increasing rent, including leasing expenses and potential vacancy.
McKay said it is critical for property managers to play an advisory role and engage in proactive rather than reactive property management, bearing in mind that property investment is a significant and risky undertaking for owners.
“You’ve got risk in terms of vacancy, repairs and maintenance, strata levies, tenant disputes, dispute resolution, lease renewals, and rent negotiations.”
“I think we have to step up to be the true professionals that we are [the practitioners] in being advisers and talking with our clients about what the short-to-long-term goal is with their property. I don’t see that happening.”
When McKay scaled up his business to a level that enabled him to recruit staff, he structured his team to reflect his client-centric approach and his broader shift towards service excellence. He opted for roles like client relations and property services rather than property manager.
“I’ve tried to tweak the titles a little bit differently,” he said.
“I’ve got a senior property services individual who is the senior property manager. We’ve got the client services executive who’s like our leasing person. I’ve got a business development manager.”
Creating a recognisable brand
McKay is still involved in the operations, but his next goal is to “work on the business and not in it”.
Looking ahead, as properties under management grow in his agency, McKay is aiming for sustainable growth and maintaining the quality of service, while recruiting new team members who are professional and committed, and aligned with his client-centric philosophy.
“I remain passionate about NU Management becoming a recognisable brand that represents something different in the marketplace,” McKay concluded.
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