Scotts Valley Property Management LLC is a family-owned and operated business serving homeowners and renters throughout Santa Cruz County. Since 1981 Jeanne Jensen Shada and staff have managed and sold residential real estate including apartments, homes, condos as well as several commercial buildings.
Jeanne Jensen Shada, Owner
Of utmost importance is their ongoing policy of kindness, in practice during this difficult period of the Covid-19 epidemic. If tenants or owners have questions or problems, the staff listens and responds. When renters are not able to pay their rent, a repayment plan will be worked out.
Like other companies, they have had to come up with manageable strategies to keep the business flourishing. Masks are required by everyone. Although very few people go into their office at this time, hand sanitizer is provided and they clean all surfaces regularly. Supplies come from Safeway or Scarborough Lumber.
Social distancing is difficult but manageable. Shada meets with clients outside of the office and they also communicate by email, text, and phone. Because of the close environment in the small office, property manager Terra Brooks works from home. She finds that because there are fewer distractions and business can be discussed via conference call, it works very well.
With more people staying home, there are more than the usual amount of repairs, so they prioritize as to which jobs will be handled on an emergency basis.
Other strategies include electronic signing for property management agreements, addenda and leases. Virtual tours of rentals are available, and physical showings are conducted for strong potential renters. All sanitizing protocols are followed for physical showings.
About 2 percent of the renters have payment plans, and the remainder of clients pay in full. There wasn’t a big difference after the $1,200 stimulus checks were received.
“We have not been charging late fees or evicted anyone, and employees have not lost any hours,” Shada said. “We believe people have been struggling, so there is no plan for rent increases in the immediate future. We don’t want to increase the burden on them. It is hard to predict when things will be ‘normal’ again. I think we have learned a lot from this pandemic and believe those of us who have followed recommendations from the governor and local officials will be able to adjust best in the future. I hope that there will be a steady dropoff of people getting sick, as this has been a horrible illness affecting entire families.”
From 1977 to 1995, Shada taught grades 2–8 in the Scotts Valley School District, teaching a variety of subjects including Home Economics and English. At her husband’s suggestion, she got her real estate license and performed both jobs part-time before retiring to go full-time into property management.
She finds both jobs require similar skill sets, people skills and management skills. In teaching, skills are needed for managing students, parents, and administrators while in property management those same skills are needed in dealing with owners, tenants, updates, and restrictions. For both, there is an ongoing need for learning and adapting to change.
Shada says two of her adult children are teachers, and it has been very difficult for them as well as for their students. Her young grandchildren are 2, 4, 9, and 11 years old and it has been hard for them, as well as for the children of her tenants. She has enjoyed staying at home and feeling closer to her family as they experience the pandemic together; a time as one who experiences the pandemic now will always remember it.
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Scotts Valley Property Management LLC
Phone: (831) 438-2208 • Fax: (831) 438-3206 • 24 Hour Maintenance Emergencies: (831) 246-2868 • Physical & mailing address: 4615-B Scotts Valley Drive, Scotts Valley CA 95066
Story By June Smith