Inside Imagine Homes: Making Life a Little More Convenient

At Imagine Homes Management, helping people is at the heart of what we do. We sat down with Rajané Brown, Director of Resident Services in Minneapolis to talk about her experience transitioning into the managed rental properties industry, what it’s like over at our Minneapolis market, and why she feels people choose Imagine Homes.

My name Is Rajané and I’m an artist, a performer, and a people person.

I’m local and live in the St. Paul area and most of our homes are easily accessible to me. Outside of my work as Director of Resident Services in Minneapolis, I’m trained in musical theater, so you probably have seen me onstage around town.

I’m new to the world of property management in general. Since graduating college in 2017, I’ve been able to make a living doing theater. I was always interested in working in real estate on the side, but just never had the time to pursue it. After the pandemic hit, I thought that [while the theaters are closed], I now had time to get into the industry.

Finally getting a foot in the door with real estate was a bit of a happy accident, but it did lead me to discovering Imagine Homes on Indeed for the position I’m in now.

I’m part of a really great team here in Minneapolis which includes Tony [Pavelko, Regional Acquisitions Manager], Sondra [Foster, Renovations Project Coordinator], Shane [Kadrlik, Regional Renovation Manager].

I describe our working relationship as an exchange. I feel that we perform very much like an ensemble cast. We are all trying to accomplish the same goal and we each have different parts that contribute to the completion of that goal. When one of us wins, we all win! For example: Tony goes out and gets houses; I fill them.

At present, we’re in the process of hiring a maintenance person because we are getting a lot of houses and we are in need of some handy people.

As someone who feels that actions speak louder than words, it’s great to know that my place of work tries to honor the lives of people who look like me.

If I’m not mistaken, I was Imagine Homes’ first African American employee. But even before I came into the company, I had learned that Juneteenth is a holiday that they have celebrated ever since last year.

The fact that the company I am part of respects and honors a day that is so important to black people is beautiful, and I’m grateful for that.

As I mentioned earlier, working in this industry has been a big transition for me. Because of that, I’m most proud of how I’m able to juggle sending out leases and getting the homes filled.

The work has been a learning experience. I never had a job where customer service was a part of the day-to-day before. Working with residents means that I “virtually” meet new people all the time.

As a company that is based largely online, it can often feel like you’re just talking to cyberspace. So when applicants and residents finally do talk to someone on the other side of the phone, it’s a great feeling.

I think people choose Imagine Homes because we are people who care about people. We understand how much it means to make life a little bit more convenient for our residents.

Because we are in the managed rental properties business, you have a maintenance team on-hand, and you don’t have to worry about being responsible for everything, so to speak. I have found that a lot of people who have just sold their homes look for rental properties. And because we’re everywhere in the midwest, they come to us.

Having Rently and being 100% keyless is also a big perk. Being able to do a lot of things from your phone eliminates having to meet up with people at a time where social distancing is still something that is encouraged.

Then there are the homes themselves. A lot of residents rent our homes because they love the feel of our properties. I personally look at them all the time and think that if I didn’t just move apartments, I may have to be my own tenant.

Tony does a really good job of picking homes. He finds places that are really great. They are cozy, they have character. And of course, behind the scenes, we are always out to improve and better ourselves. So if you are either interested in renting a home or have just sold your home, we’re definitely a great choice.

If you don’t see something specifically on the website, reach out to us and we can check if there is anything coming down the pipeline. We’re always adding new properties. We try to add new ones every single week. So if you are an applicant and you see something you like, but someone just rented it, I’m sure that we will have something similar in a location that is also close.

Experience all of the benefits and advantages of homeownership—in a rental.

Our residents deserve to feel truly at home. Beyond fully-renovated homes, our locations are also second to none. We make it so easy, all you have to do is come home.

Talk to our team—we’d love to know how we can help.

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