Ilanna Ball jumped into real estate shortly after she graduated from Rhode Island College. She purchased her first investment property by age 21.
She added a few more, until she had six. And then the Great Recession arrived, disrupting her real estate path. She moved from selling and buying houses as a Realtor to maintaining a growing network of house and apartment rentals.
As owner and president of Total Asset Solutions LLC, Ball oversees six employees who maintain and improve some 250 houses and condominiums in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The company’s full-service property management extends from Warwick to Woonsocket.
Like many property investors, Ball wasn’t prepared for the market collapse that came with the recession in 2008.
As real estate sales ground to a standstill, her business selling homes and condos was replaced by new market demands, for property maintenance and management as potential sales turned into rentals.
“I was getting all of these calls from clients, saying, ‘Hey, some life event is happening. I need to sell. I’m being transferred for a job. I’m getting a divorce. What can you do for me?’ ” she said.
And Ball had to tell them: “I can’t do much for you, you’re $100,000 underwater. I told people, ‘I have experience renting places out. I’ll rent it out for you. And then you can sell when the market rebounds.’ ”
At the time, Ball owned and operated Finest Real Estate and Property Management.
“That’s how I opened the property-management arm of my business,” she said. The growth eventually inspired her to incorporate the property-management functions as Total Asset Solutions, in 2015.
The employee growth happened gradually, she said. Initially she had her own investment properties and hired a part-time person, then that person became a full-time employee. She now employs six, including her husband.
A year ago, she recruited a veteran landscape foreman and started a landscape-design arm.
How did the company progress rapidly to a clientele of more than 200 apartments?
“There are a couple of reasons,” she said. “I probably get 65 percent of my business simply because I show up. The biggest thing I hear from people is, ‘I called three contractors. You’re the only one who called back. You are the only one who showed up.’ ”
Another way she built the business was making sure that small projects get done. If someone wants a kitchen sink fixed and a handrail steadied, that’s enough. Many contractors will not work for small projects.
“Most contractors don’t want the small stuff. They want the kitchen renovation or your bathroom. I like the small jobs,” she said.
Ball operates as traffic control for the business, taking the calls, handling the books and dispatching the work crews. It gives her an advantage over solo operators who are trying to do all this on their own.
That doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing. As the business has grown, she’s become accustomed to frequent calls. She’s basically on call, 24-7.
“Everything comes to me, whether I’m on vacation or it’s a holiday,” she said.
OWNER: Ilanna Ball
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Construction, landscaping and property management
LOCATION: 32 Unity St., Woonsocket
EMPLOYEES: Seven
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2015
ANNUAL SALES: $300,000
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
