At The Top - September 2007

McGarey Partners

Making Deals on a More Personal Level

Chris McGarey knows the key to managing property is maximizing income and reducing costs without giving up value. But shaking hands, exchanging words and putting smiles on the faces of clients and colleagues is what he and his partner (and wife), Monica McGarey, believe sets their company apart.

McGarey Partners’ mission statement conveys a desire to offer service that fosters the trust and loyalty that makes a client life long. “The way I look at it is, we need to make the tenants happy to make the landlords happy, and the landlords are our customers,” said McGarey.

McGarey first began working full-time in real estate in 1988 with Marcus & Millichap Investment Real Estate Brokers. It was largely in part due to McGarey’s research efforts on retail projects in the Inland Empire, Orange County and East Los Angeles County, that brokers at Marcus & Millichap were able to secure and sell listings of more than $2 million. Then, at NAI Americana/Horizon, McGarey was involved in the leasing and management of the redevelopment of the Greater Vegas Plaza which appreciated in value from just over $2 million in 1988 to $5.2 million 10 years later.

But in 2003, when Monica faced end-stage liver failure, McGarey realized his family is his most precious asset. Two years after Monica received a successful liver transplant, he partnered with her to start McGarey Partners.

McGarey Partners specializes in managing commercial property such as office, retail and multi-purpose complexes. The firm’s scope of service includes mostly smaller properties, valued from $2 billion to $10 billion – what McGarey affectionately calls, “mom and pop” type investors. Focusing on this specific market allos the firm to offer clients individualized attention and, in turn, higher quality service.

Because of McGarey’s reputation for integrity and quality service, as well as his and Monica’s experience in real estate, McGarey Partners immediately acquired 10 properties with former clients when they opened the firm. They currently manage 26 properties, ranging from small shopping centers to medium-sized office buildings, which are typically family-owned as opposed to impersonal, corporate investors such as insurance funds and real estate trusts. McGarey Partners also employs four leasing agents and launched a sister company to handle a major portion of the maintenance required by their client’s properties.

With the current flurry of construction and new projects planned throughout Southern Nevada, McGarey feels that the skillful management and maintenance of commercial property is essential. “Right now, a manager can make or break a shopping center or an office building,” said McGarey. At all levels – from the customers, to the tenants, to the investor – if the property is not properly managed, if it’s not generating the anticipated revenues and making the clients happy, those clients will take their business elsewhere.