Mainland firm buys isle condo managers

Certified Management touts the deal as a way to cut costs and improve performance

Certified Management Inc., which runs more than 400 condominium complexes across the state, has been acquired by Texas-based Associa.

The merger closed on June 30, according to Certified Chief Operating Officer Arthur Heath. He declined to name the price.

CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT Condos managed: More than 400 Founded: 1973 Employees: 137

The 33-year-old company's portfolio includes owners associations on all four major islands. The properties range from Executive Centre to Kapolei Knolls. It also offers rental management and developer consultation services.

Certified was owned by Hawaii residents Jim and Sherree McKellar, and its 135 employees through a stock ownership plan.

Sherree McKellar, corporate vice president, said the merger is a step up for Certified.

"We're trying to raise the level of the professionalism in our industry," she said. "This gives us access to state-of-the-art training programs, the best trainers and years of experience across the nation."

One advantage of the new ownership, according to McKellar, is access to a menu of services -- from insurance to waste collection -- at nationwide pricing rates.

"It's going to be a huge cost savings in every area for our customers," she said. "We now have vendors that will give us nationwide pricing."

James McKellar will remain president of Certified, and Heath will still hold the post of chief operating officer.

Beginning in 2001, Certified acquired several association management accounts, including those of Fidelity Management Co. and Chaney Brooks on Oahu, and Island Property Management on Maui.

Certified's most recent acquisition was of AA Oceanfront Condominium Rentals on Maui, which closed on the first of July.

Associa, founded in 1979 in Dallas, has more than 50 offices across the United States and bills itself as the nation's largest company devoted exclusively to managing condominium and other community associations.

It services properties from master-planned communities to high-rise towers, subdivisions, condominiums, townhomes and commercial properties.

Besides Certified Management in Hawaii, Associa also recently acquired Today Management in Georgia and MAMCO in New Jersey.