One thousand beds and 184 properties make up Roland Realty — the popular leasing company known for its creation of students’ beloved Seniorland. Sitting on First Street, its office sees prospective tenants enter through its doors each year in hopes they will have a property passed down to them.
Roland Realty has amassed a large following of students, not just through social media engagement, but by participating in student living to make them stand out amongst other leasing companies.
“We want to just maintain the relationship with the kids … first and foremost,” said Mark Germano, general manager of Roland Realty. “We want to be a brand that you can trust.”
Germano, who took over Roland Realty last November, said it’s been an exciting year. They transitioned to digitizing paperwork and are placing a higher emphasis on their social media presence. Throughout it all, Germano makes a point to have an open-door policy to continue rapport with their tenants.
Mary Therese Thavis, a University alumna and former two-year-tenant with Roland Realty, said Seniorland’s proximity to the bars added to its already lively atmosphere. She also noted its unique branding style as one that goes against the norm.
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“I thought that they were a really unique leasing agency in the sense that they promoted the party culture,” Thavis said. “Whereas I feel like other rental agencies definitely shy away from all of that kind of stuff because they’re worried about their buildings getting trashed.”
Rather than a free-standing building, Thavis preferred living with her friends in a single-family house. The quality of the homes makes students excited to live there, she said.
Understanding and reciprocating the students’ love for having a good time sets the standard of Roland Realty’s game. A relationship cultivated between a mutual sense of respect and responsibility is part of what continues the company’s reputation with its tenants, according to Germano.
“It has that family vibe to it; we’re a small community,” Germano said. “Unity. We’re gonna take care of each other like we’re in this together. It’s not an adversarial relationship. I don’t know how that gets started. It’s not me against you, it’s us.”
On the west side of campus, students coined the term “Seniorland,” and the name stuck until it became a trademarked community. Between darties, kickbacks and Greek festivities throughout the year, Germano said the company tries to be there for the students.
“The kids look out for each other,” said Conway Bloomer, maintenance supervisor at Roland Realty. “They really know each other. They know when somebody’s not supposed to be in the neighborhood … So you get a different, friendly feel of everybody in the same (area); it’s not a big high-rise building — it’s just more of a community.”
House pass-down forms serve as another unique aspect of the 100-year-old family company, Germano said. Essentially, current tenants choose the next tenants of the property — this is the deciding factor of the location of many Greek “senior” houses on campus.
The pass-down forms were so popular, that the company had to implement official stamps on them to avoid forgery. Other groups paid money to outgoing tenants for their pass-down forms, and according to Germano, tradition was born.
However, Roland Realty’s character wasn’t built overnight. Germano said it took years of handing out flyers and pamphlets to advertise to students and generations to get to where they stand currently.
With multiple other companies vying for the same clientele, property managers at Roland Realty heavily lean into their repertoire as friends of students. Amenities of high-rise apartments could sway prospective tenants’ minds, but Germano said he hopes the Seniorland experience will settle the decision.
“They’ve got a hot tub, a cold tub, back into the hot — I can’t compete with that,” Germano said. “But that’s not what we’re selling. We’re selling an experience. When you come to live in Seniorland, you’re going to have the best year of your life.”
When a hole is broken, they don’t charge for the repair — Germano just asks tenants to let them know. Every decision that a property company makes, Germano said Roland Realty would probably do the opposite.
“We are the misfit of campus,” Bloomer said. “But it’s the slight attraction. We’re sorry for partying.”
