- See the map below to find out where these rental homes are located.
- Metro leaders unaware of company’s play.
- Concerns over impact on property values chief among neighboring homeowners.
- Conrex boasts tough qualifications to rent, provide only four maintenance employees for 500 homes.
An out-of-state company backed by a Wall Street private equity firm has bought up hundreds of homes as rental properties in Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties, and more purchases are planned.
The move into Jackson metro, which has the potential to affect both homeowners and renters and fundamentally alter the real estate market for years to come, has taken place largely under the radar of many elected officials and residents themselves.
You are viewing: Who Owns Conrex Property Management
Since last year, South Carolina-based Conrex Master LLC has purchased 530 properties, said Josh Torrence, market director of Conrex’s Ridgeland office. Those properties are in every section of Jackson — including the Belhaven and Fondren neighborhoods — as well as Madison, Canton, Brandon, Pearl, Richland, Clinton and Byram.
“We’re here to stay. I’m not sure exactly how many more properties we intend on buying, but more are on the way,” Torrence said.
While some see Conrex’s investment as a positive — putting houses into circulation that might otherwise remain vacant and utilizing local contractors for the work — others are concerned about property values, the changing character of neighborhoods, diminishing prospects for first-time homebuyers and the company’s long-term commitment.
Where are the rentals located?
Conrex would not supply a full list of properties, and only properties currently available to rent are listed on their website. Using county land rolls, the Clarion Ledger was able to identify more than 300 properties owned by Conrex or a partner. The map below shows those properties we could confirm as being owned or managed by Conrex.
Who is Conrex?
Torrence described Conrex as a local company with 10 employees based out of a Ridgeland office. Secretary of State records show Conrex formed a Mississippi LLC in August.
“We are local. We operate in 19 different markets, but as a whole, we are local. We have an office in Ridgeland and local people are doing the renovations,” he said.
Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Nashville are among those 19 markets.
However, the parent company was founded in South Carolina in 2011 with an eye on the single-family housing market. Abbreviated from Connorex-Lucinda, the company bills itself as one of the fastest-growing property management companies in metro areas in the Southeast and Midwest.
It owns more than 8,000 properties and boasts the purchase of over 400 properties a month, according to its website. It’s aggressive entry into metro Jackson parallels a push by Wall Street private equity funds in recent years to add single-family homes to their portfolios.
Conrex is affiliated with the private equity firm AG Mortgage Trust Inc., which acquired 1,225 single-family rental homes in the Southeast from funds affiliated with Conrex, according to Business Wire. The fine print on property deeds in metro Jackson confirm that connection.
The company says it purchases properties primarily where there is an under supply of affordable housing and converts them into rental homes; it typically rents a home three to four months after acquiring the property.
City leaders unaware of Conrex, massive property purchases
Leaders throughout the Jackson metro were unaware of Conrex until contacted by the Clarion Ledger.
“It’s the first I’ve heard of them,” Jackson Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote said. “I think if they are buying up all these properties, it is a company we might want to look into.”
Jackson Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay advised due diligence on the part of homeowners in communities where Conrex has purchased properties.
“There’s nothing worse than an absentee landlord, so it’s really important the community holds them accountable, gets names and phone numbers of people they can reach out to. The homeowners in the communities need to be able to monitor the company,” she said.
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Brandon Mayor Butch Lee said he was not familiar with the company or their plans. He said the end results could be a good thing.
“…You do see this in older neighborhoods in particular, where people will buy homes and turn them into rental properties. It can make the neighbors uncomfortable, but sometimes (rental property owners) take better care of those properties than the (home)owners,” Lee said.
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What will increased rental properties do to neighboring home values?
A main concern with rental properties is the belief that their presence — if not balanced — will lead to a decrease in neighborhood property values.
Lindsay, whose Ward 7 covers parts of Fondren, Belhaven and Belhaven Heights in Jackson, said home ownership is preferable from a community standpoint since owners tend to take better care of their property. However, she said “healthy” neighborhoods include rental properties for mixed incomes, although it’s a careful ratio.
“You really want a nice mix. Ideally, rentals aren’t bad but the question is whether or not the management company allows the tenant to become homeowners eventually. If you don’t have that, it can change the face of the entire neighborhood,” she said.
Bill Brister, a professor of finance at Millsaps College who lives in north Fondren, said Conrex has bought up 10 properties in his neighborhood. If all those become rentals as expected, he fears it could change the character of the neighborhood.
“There’s a healthy balance between home ownership and rentals in a neighborhood,” Brister said. “I’m not against rentals, but there’s always a concern about absentee landlords — especially from out of state — who have less incentive to keep the property up or to enhance the property. Sometimes, in fact, they let the properties run down.”
Brister also wondered what Conrex’s long-term commitment would look like.
“Is Conrex going to be a good corporate sponsor with the city? Will they give back to the city, engage with it? Will they furnish money for parks, that kind of thing. What is their long-term commitment?” he asked.
Lee said that in some cases rental property owners provide better upkeep than some property owners, thereby increasing the property value of an area.
“If they have high property maintenance codes, or standards, it can be a good thing for a community.”
Torrence made this same argument. He said the company follows detailed standards for renovation and upkeep and hires local contractors. Some long-vacant properties are being utilized, he said, subsequently increasing property values.
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Few maintenance employees, high fees raise concerns over Conrex properties
Conrex employs four maintenance workers to oversee more than 500 properties throughout the Jackson metro. Torrence said that number is sufficient, though the number of workers could increase with future purchases.
Torrence also brushed off suggestions Conrex would engage in questionable practices used by other investor-driven companies that have been exposed in some media outlets, such as charging tenants fees for maintenance requests or making them responsible for normal property management upkeep such as pest control and sink and sewage backups.
Conrex, however, does make clear its fees list for maintenance requests if damage is determined to be caused by a renter.
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Torrence said the company has a good maintenance record, although a sample lease that details its maintenance protocols was not made available. It does, however, offer an extensive settlement charges guide for renters moving out.
Conrex boasts tough qualifications on rental applications
Conrex properties rent from about $800 to $2,400 a month, depending on the location, and the company accepts low-income applicants who qualify for Section 8 housing through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Conrex conducts credit and background checks on all applicants, Torrence said.
On its application form, the company states it does not approve any applicant with felonies in the past seven years or any felony offense related to property damage or of a violent or sexual nature. It also prohibits applicants with a misdemeanor or felony offense that requires registration as a sexual offender or violent crime against a minor child.
Conrex also prohibits any applicant with any bankruptcy — even if it was discharged — in the last 24 months.
The company will not rent to anyone with an eviction in the last five years.
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Concerns over ‘slum lord’ conditions extend to post-Katrina experiences
Belhaven resident and real estate agent Lynn Clark said neighbors are concerned with the scale of the purchases and Jackson’s history of property owners who are from out of state.
The city currently lists about 1,600 condemned properties, adding to an estimate of about 5,000 to 6,000 total blighted properties.
“I think some are concerned that there’s no local investment, that they don’t live here so there’s no investment in the community,” Clark said.
As an example, she recalled the flood of developers that came into Jackson and purchased properties after Hurricane Katrina. Several tax incentives influenced the companies, many from out of state. When the dust had settled and the incentives had expired, properties were left abandoned, contributing to Jackson’s blight woes.
“This is one of the things we’ve seen in the past, and so there’s naturally some hesitation out there,” she said.
Out of concern for neglected properties, Clinton city officials passed a rental housing ordinance two years ago, spokesman Mark Jones said.
The city now requires an inspection before a rental license is considered valid.
The goal of the ordinance is “to prevent or correct slum and blighted conditions that presently exist or could exist in the future.”
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Contact Justin Vicory at 769-572-1418 or [email protected]. Follow @justinvicory on Twitter.
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