SMS Assist, a mobile and cloud-based multisite property management company, announced its expansion into residential real estate with the creation of its residential service team.
According to a release from the company, SMS Assist is launching its residential division with “major clients” already on board, including Colony Starwood Homes, Home Partners of America and others.
SMS Assist said that its “disruptive” technology platform and “world-class” team help clients reduce spending and improve service efficiencies for the residential and real estate investment trust market.
To lead the new residential service team, SMS Assist added Mike Travalini as president.
In this role,Travalini will expand the company’s management, repair and maintenance capabilities as well as the technology platform for its residential and REIT clients.
Travalini brings more than 15 years of real estate experience to SMS Assist, most recently as the senior vice president of operations for Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust, where he oversaw customer service, repairs and maintenance for a national portfolio of 17,000 homes.
Travalini was also involved in data management and strategic partnerships for the brand, which merged with Colony American Homes in January 2016 to form Colony Starwood Homes, the third-largest single-family rental REIT in the U.S. with more than 30,000 homes.
“Mike is a real-estate all-star and his proven success managing elite teams and large portfolios reflects our entrepreneurial values at SMS,” said Mike Rothman, CEO of SMS Assist. “Our platform, presently servicing more than 110,000 locations, helps clients save time and money, and Mike’s world-class talent is helping us grow our services to create a true one-stop shop for our valued residential clients and affiliates.”
Prior to Starwood, Travalini was the director of acquisitions at the Laramar Group, a Chicago-based residential owner and operator with more than 40,000 national apartment units. Previously, Travalini was an analyst with the Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation and a senior auditor within the real estate practice group at Ernst & Young.
“I’ve experienced the transformative quality of the SMS Assist platform firsthand, initially as a client and now as part of the world-class SMS Assist team,” Travalini said.
“I believe in the technology because I’ve seen what it can do,” Travalini added. “Not only does the platform improve in-house employee efficiencies and quality of service while saving time and other costs, but working with SMS Assist to maintain residential and REIT properties can actually help protect the asset value over the long term, which creates better experiences for the individuals and families renting the units and ultimately, driving value for the property owners.”
