Long before she became a commercial real estate broker, Michelle was honing the profession’s key skills: communication, negotiation, and problem-solving. For a decade she was the residential property manager for a large Ann Arbor-based company. There she managed a cast of thousands in her oversight of 900 rental units, most of them housing students. That meant negotiating and finalizing lease agreements between property owners and tenants; meeting with city administrators to be sure that regulations, codes, and compliance issues were addressed; designing and executing marketing campaigns; and coordinating maintenance and repair services.In fact, it was with her assistance that a maintenance department operating at a loss began to turn a profit for the company.

But Michelle saw that she could accomplish even more for property investors by becoming a broker. As a member of the Duke Company’s Washtenaw County team she now uses her exceptional interpersonal, organizational, and marketing skills to identify opportunities for both buyers and sellers, owners and tenants, then to help them take full advantage of those opportunities. Rather than the fast-paced, high-turnover relationships that characterize the rental market, Michelle can now build long-term, trusted relationships with her clients. That’s her greatest satisfaction.