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The 2015 Texas Apartment Association Independent Owner of The Year

If you think about it, an award for the real estate investor of the year is not just a recognition of the hard work of one dedicated individual, but a recognition of one’s investment in the community. The Texas Apartment Association Bob Ross Independent Owner of The Year Award is such a merit. But, no matter what the accolade is, it is only as impressive as the person who achieves it. Without that it remains a standard of proficiency that stands unmet. This year, Lifestyles Unlimited® Preferred Member, John Boriack, rose to meet this standard with his property, Windfern Pointe Apartments.

Possibly one of the most interesting things about the process of winning the TAA award for Independent Owner of The Year is that you must also win the local Independent owner of the year award even to be nominated. So, by necessity, John Boriack is also the Houston Apartment Association Independent Owner of The Year for 2014. Considering John’s consistency here and the consistency of Lifestyles Unlimited® for winning The National Apartment Association Paragon Award for eight years in a row (with a nonconsecutive ninth win as well) , an important question comes to the surface; has Lifestyles Unlimited® found a science for creating award-winning, sustainable real estate projects?

The humble 26 year-old John Boriack would not have an answer to such a question, however he may very well have answered it. Welcome to Lifestyles Unlimited®’s four components for success that have clearly pervaded throughout our multi family program and award winning investment properties across the country:

First and foremost, John mentioned his team:

“They do so much behind the scenes and they don’t get a lot of the rewards from it…unfortunately so many awards end up going to one person for a big team effort. However, this is something we can take back and have a little in-house celebration with.”

So, step one is really recognizing the efforts of your boots on the ground, and John does this with grace and consistency. In fact, an advanced class at Lifestyles Unlimited®, called the Multi Family Road Trip, offers property owners and their staff the chance to speak openly about their role in the enterprise, which gains them due credit and recognition for their hard work. Well, John did one better at the 2014 HAA Honors Awards Ceremony. He brought them all there!

2014 HAA Honors Awards | Photograph by Mark Hiebert, HiebertPhotography.com
(The All-star Team at HAA!)

Part of our core beliefs here at Lifestyles Unlimited® is the abundance mentality – help enough people get what they want and you shall get what you want in return. But, in thinking about this, you cannot simply think about the exchange of resources, but the exchange of groundbreaking ideas as well. This is the root of innovative thinking that drives better profits and a more enriched apartment community.

“We invested a lot of money into the common area amenities like the pool, the playground and the office/laundry rooms. Also, by financially returning between 32 and 38.5% in recent months…we were able to give back a lot through our kids club program and our inherited after-school program as well.” (John Boriack)

The fascinating thing about these amenities is that they are not a rare sight to see for Lifestyles Unlimited® member-owned properties. Through educational presentations at Lifestyles Unlimited® that cater to hundreds of investors, countless people are realizing that these types of investments help both the investor and the resident alike. This fact is self-evident in his financial returns above and in his current occupancy percentage: 98.5%

Thirdly, is the care our members take in the rehabilitation of their properties. By classifying each property as one of two rehab scenarios, they establish the full ramifications of their deal long before entering it. That way, repairs do not wane in the coming months of ownership.

“We used fluorescent fixtures in place of halogen fixtures, which reduced our energy consumption a lot and we did a water conservation project where we went into each unit to fix leaks, put in low-flow shower heads, aerators etc., which is not only good for the environment, but saved us a lot of money as well.” (John Boriack)

Lastly, the most important tool in the arsenal of a Lifestyles Unlimited® investor is a mentor – someone who is there by your side helping to make adjustments along the way that make all the difference down the road. Here is John talking about the impact of his mentor, John Ridgway, after years of investing:

“Completely invaluable – there’s no way we could have done what we’ve done without people like John and the other members. We are so thankful for the help and support we’ve been able to get through Lifestyles for multi family investing.”

John Boriack TAA (John Ridgway & Family Included)
(Posing with MF Mentor, John Ridgway on right, family & fellow members)

So, the end result is a self-sustaining business that is run by an effective/driven onsite team and is guided by a vast peer network, including a highly experienced/available Lifestyles Unlimited® mentor –

Int: “So, John, will you be competing for the NAA Paragon award as well?”

John: “Most definitely. Our team has worked really hard and deserves all the recognition they can get.”