Joel Just wants your Las Vegas community to shine, and he and his company, CAMCO, know just how to do it.
CAMCO is one of the largest HOA management companies in the Silver State. It has enjoyed significant growth with the help of Nevada’s continued population influx, and in the past few years has specialized in working with developers to help establish new HOAs when a new neighborhood is built. The company also manages many long-time neighborhood HOAs in Las Vegas.
The CEO recently appeared on Patranya Media’s “Entrepreneur Showcase Series” video podcast, hosted by Patranya Bhoolsuwan, where he discussed the role an HOA management company like CAMCO has in communities, how he got started in the business and the future of the industry.
Today, CAMCO oversees roughly 300 communities. In their role, Just’s community managers act as an advisor on legal or administrative issues and best practices. Their guidance helps the HOA board make decisions about how to assure a community is maintained up to the standards set in place. But the CEO also said his company does not make the actual decisions for a community, a common misunderstanding that arises when a homeowner may call with a complaint for a member of his team. By law, CAMCO advises, but the HOA board makes decisions about how best to enforce community rules.
“I like to explain it this way. We put the people in place to help a neighborhood live up to its potential,” Just explained.
The executive brings a unique history to his position. He is an electrical engineer by trade who managed teams at large technology companies for a number of years. But he was drawn to community management at the encouragement of an acquaintance during the housing-led recession in 2009.
That year, he moved to Nevada to help an HOA collections company roll out a national expansion. After a few years, he decided to step away to start his own community management company. He purchased CAMCO six years ago and grew it into one of the largest and most respected HOA management companies in Nevada.
Just has built a culture where CAMCO employees are committed to engaging with the community. From sponsoring Girl Scout cookie drives that donate to essential workers, military and others to employees purchasing casual dress days with proceeds going to a local charity, to partnering with the Southern Nevada Homebuilders Association for the “Real Men Wear Pink” campaign, CAMCO employees are always looking to help others in the Las Vegas Valley. Employees also have a say in whom the company assists, too.
“We’re in charge of neighborhoods,” Just emphasized. “We’re those people who deal with what happens in the park on Saturday. … That’s why we’re very involved in the community and we give every one of our employees an opportunity to say which charity is near and dear to them.”
Going forward, the local HOA management industry has about 100 management companies, and is ripe for consolidation, Just said. He himself has purchased three companies.
“We may buy, we may merge; it’s the nature of the business,” he added.
He also talked about the keys to not losing personal touch with customers as you grow. For him, it’s all about trusting your staff to nurture relationships with communities and not micro-managing.
“If every decision comes through me, nothing gets done. I empower them to make a decision,” he said, “and matching the right managers to HOA boards is the key to success as well. You can’t have a strong board and a weak manager.”
For now, Just also finds gratification in the work his company does every day.
“I’m very proud when I drive through communities and see that it’s gotten better since we’ve managed them,” he added.