By Mary-Jane Tichenor
Berkshire Eagle Staff
July 28, 2000
PITTSFIELD -- Joel A. Less of 160 Mountain Drive, president of Berkshire Housing Services Inc. for 22 years, has
opened his own company, Joel A. Less Managed Properties Inc. He incorporated last April and has invested between
$8,000 and $10,000 in the new full-service property management firm.
"It is time for the entrepreneur in me to be challenged," said Less.
Berkshire Housing gave him the opportunity to run a company as if it were his own business and to develop property
management and leadership skills, he said.
Less said he recognizes the importance of property and asset management services for real estate owners, lending
institutions and investors.
"It's not just about collecting rents and leasing units, but managing an asset of considerable worth and creating
value," he said. "Property management is also for condominium homeowner associations and non-profit organizations
that hold real estate."
He said he will help owners and investors create and increase the value of their real estate. His company's portfolio
will include conventional apartment complexes, retail and office properties, government-financed properties, timeshare/resort,
condominiums and senior housing. He will do consulting for properties that are in financial difficulty or properties
that are trying to reorganize their goals.
His management team, beside himself, consists of Patti Mansfield, financial operations manager; Barbara Heaphy,
general manager; and Joan Tyer, financial and accounting consultant. Tyer formerly was vice president of finance
and administration at Berkshire Housing.
Less's first major client is the Ponds at Foxhollow, a timeshare resort in Lenox, where he has an office. The Ponds
has an operating budget in excess of $1 million, and a property market value of about $8 million. It has close
to 1,700 owners.
Less has about 20 site employees on his payroll for this property alone. "The timeshare industry is of great
interest to me and may offer new opportunities for my business," he said.
Under his leadership, Berkshire Housing consistently received the highest possible marks in its management reviews
from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, he said. Less
had a team of 80 employees.
When Less took over in 1978, he was responsible for the 350 publicly assisted rental units in three projects. It
now has approximately 25 developments with 1,200 units, not counting seven or eight condominiums, with a value
of more than $100 million, the largest professional property management firm in Berkshire County.
Less earned for Berkshire Housing Services Inc. accreditation with the Institute of Real Estate Management, Chicago,
as an accredited management organization, the only one in Western Massachusetts.
He implemented a maintenance service, Pittsfield Maintenance Service, as another profit center within Berkshire
Housing. It eventually contributed 25 percent to the bottom line of the company, he said. He also developed a social
services program. that received a community service award from the Massachusetts Finance Agency.
A North Adams native, Less graduated from Drury High School in 1965. He received a bachelor's degree in business
management from the University of Massachusetts in 1969 and earned a master's degree in health administration from
the University of Michigan in 1972.
He joined the staff of the city's Public Health Department in 1972 as its housing code enforcement director, a
post he held until becoming housing administrator.
Less said he is the only certified property manager in Berkshire County, a designation he earned through the Institute
of Real Estate Management. He is a licensed real estate broker and a registered sanitarian. He has taught seminars
on property management and has written several articles on the subject. Less is on the board of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse of the Berkshires.
He has a son, Ryan Less, an acupuncturist in Pittsfield, and a daughter, Tara Less of Middletown, Conn., an occupational
therapist at Gaylord Rehabilitation Center of Wallingford, Conn.
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