The Preiss Company has no doubt become a powerhouse in the world of student housing, thanks to the hard work and dedication of many people in our company. But, just like all great things, we had to begin somewhere, and in our case, this “somewhere” was not student housing. In fact, our company’s roots were established in conventional property management, to which we still take part in today.

Dorothy Davis oversees the Preiss Company Corporate Property Management Department. From the moment I stepped into her office, Dorothy made me feel welcome and wanted. As someone commonly referred to in the corporate office as “Mama D”, it came to me as no surprise that she was eager to sit one-on-one with me and talk about her personal journey as well as the history of the Corporate Property Management Department.

To understand Dorothy’s initial connection to the Preiss Company, you’d actually need to go back even further than when the company was officially formed in 1987. Dorothy first met Donna Preiss when she worked as Donna’s assistant teacher in special education. They worked together right up until Donna left to pursue her passion for real estate.

A few years later, Dorothy was looking for a home to rent and came across a listing managed by “The Preiss Company”, and knew it had to be Donna’s company, especially since not a lot of people spell their last name that way. At that same time, Dorothy was job searching and after reconnecting with Donna, realized that her next move needed to be joining Donna’s newly formed property management company and what we all know now as The Preiss Company. The rest is truly history.

When Dorothy joined the company, we did not own or manage multi-million-dollar student housing assets the way that we do now. Instead, we owned and managed a portfolio of smaller, multifamily conventional properties that were leased one by one. Dorothy fondly recalls that the very first property the company owned was “1117 Shetland”. From there, the company continued to acquire additional properties and grew to a portfolio of just less than 100 properties. Eventually, Donna led the company into the student housing industry by developing student housing complexes in Raleigh, Clemson, and Charlotte.

Dorothy loves the conventional side of our business because similar to student housing, she enjoys building relationships with so many tenants. However, unlike student housing, she gets to also develop long lasting partnerships with the 150 owners that her department manages properties for. These owners and investors have trusted her and her department to make essential decisions about their properties including selecting the right flooring, paint, cabinet colors, countertop material, and overall aesthetics in order to make the property as desirable as possible. The most rewarding part of her job is knowing the amount of effort, care, and consideration she is able to dedicate towards each property.

The CPM department has different challenges to deal with such as dealing with a year-round Turn, not having a model apartment close by to show, and having to schedule specific appointments with prospects which includes driving to different locations throughout the day. Also, unlike student housing, Dorothy and her team are working with a wider demographic of people, including those who are recent graduates, newly single, small and big families, or even friends who are looking to live together. Dorothy enjoys these challenges as it keeps things very interesting at all times.

This desire for building relationships and maintaining trust has also made Dorothy a wonderful Corporate Office Manager, a role in which she finds herself overseeing tasks such as planning fun office events, addressing any facility issues, and keeping the office stocked with snacks and supplies.

But, above all else, Dorothy loves to help others and be a listening ear for anyone who needs her. She lives a life of treating those the way she would want to be treated, and stays true to herself in hopes that people will see and love her for who she is. She takes this way of life and strives to apply it to her job as well, day in and day out, which might be why so many people love to work with her.

Dorothy was able to show me what our Corporate Property Management Department was all about. And while the CPM department is local to Raleigh, NC and is a smaller aspect to our current business in student housing, the need for both are so important to our company.

Dorothy Davis is a big part of the roots of our company’s history, and for that we are so grateful to have her still with us today to remind us where it all began.

Thanks again, Dorothy!