Guardian Property Management

What Guardian Property Management does

Guardian Property Management Services LLC is a privately held, family-owned residential property management firm founded in 2004 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company manages over 1,100 housing units—single-family homes, townhomes, condos, duplexes, and multi-unit buildings—for approximately 250 residential real estate investors across 14+ suburbs in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, including Bloomington, Maple Grove, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, and Woodbury. Operations are run by an in-house staff of 28 organized into functional teams covering leasing, collections, maintenance, and licensed general contracting, supported by a preferred vendor network for specialized repairs. Service offerings span resident screening and leasing, rent collection with financial reporting, lease renewals and move-in/move-out processing, 24/7 maintenance, HOA management, and a Contracting Division for larger capital projects.

The company operates on the AppFolio Property Manager cloud platform, which provides online owner and resident portals (web plus iOS/Android apps), vacancy syndication to hundreds of listing sites, a built-in rental comparison tool, resident screening with credit and background checks, and electronic work-order management. Revenue is generated through multiple streams: monthly management fees at 8-12% of monthly rent (recurring subscription), tenant placement/leasing fees at 50-100% of one month's rent (transactional), maintenance and repair coordination with 5-15% markup (managed services), lease renewal processing fees ($100-$300), and contracting services for capital improvements. Go-to-market is sales-led via dedicated leasing consultants covering Minneapolis/western suburbs and St. Paul/eastern suburbs, supplemented by SEO-optimized website content, Google reviews, industry association memberships (MMHA, NARPM), and earned media through Star Tribune Readers' Choice awards (Gold 2023-2024, Silver 2021-2022) and Minnesota Business Journal 100 Best Companies recognition (2017-2018).

Name

Guardian Property Management

Legal name

Guardian Property Management Services LLC

Website

https://guardianprop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Guardian Property Management is a privately held, family-owned residential property management firm serving approximately 250 real estate investors and managing over 1,100 housing units across 14+ Minneapolis-St. Paul suburbs via the AppFolio platform and in-house maintenance and contracting teams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Property Management

NAICS

Residential Property Managers (531311)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Single-Family Rental (SFR) Property Management (BPAJAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Multifamily Apartment Property Management (BPAJAFAA)

Keywords

• Residential property management
• Tenant screening leasing
• Rental maintenance services
• General contracting remodeling
• Rent collection reporting

Headquarters

HQ city

New Brighton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Monthly Management Fees: Ongoing property management services including rent collection, tenant communication, basic maintenance coordination, and financial reporting. Charged as percentage of monthly rent.
2. Tenant Placement/Leasing: One-time fees for marketing vacant properties, applicant screening, property showings, and lease preparation.
3. Maintenance and Repair Services: In-house maintenance services with vendor coordination, including preventive, turnover, seasonal maintenance, and capital improvements. Owner approval required for repairs exceeding $500.
4. Lease Renewal Processing: Fee for processing lease extension paperwork for renewing residents.
5. Contracting Division Services: Licensed general contracting for larger projects including kitchen/bathroom remodeling, roofing, siding, foundations, masonry, and other capital improvements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Guardian Property Management provides full-service residential rental property management for single-family homes, townhomes, condos, duplexes, and multi-unit buildings across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Services include resident screening and leasing, rent collection with monthly financial reporting, lease renewals, move-in/move-out processing, 24/7 maintenance and repairs, and licensed general contracting for capital projects, all delivered by in-house functional teams on the AppFolio platform.

Product overview

Guardian Property Management is a residential real estate management company operating a suite of property management services built on the AppFolio Property Manager cloud platform. The core offering consists of resident screening and leasing, rent collection with financial reporting, lease renewals and move-in/move-out management, and 24/7 maintenance and repairs. Supplementary modules include the Online Resident Portal (web and mobile app for rent payment, maintenance requests, and communication), the Owner Portal (for financial reporting and property oversight), a Rental Listings Platform, the Guardian Property Maintenance division (in-house maintenance with mobile workshop), and the Guardian Contracting Division (licensed general contracting for larger projects). Services are delivered through a functional in-house team of 28 staff, and the company manages over 1,100 housing units across the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area for approximately 250 property owners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Resident Screening and Leasing In-house leasing agent service covering market analysis, targeted property marketing 60+ days before lease expiration, thorough background and credit screening, income verification, and Fair Housing-compliant lease preparation for residential property owners.
• Rent Collection and Financial Reporting Dedicated in-house collection agent service providing flexible online rent payment options (portal, credit card, e-check) and detailed monthly financial reports with income, expense, and work-order breakdowns for property owners.
• Lease Renewals, Move-ins, and Move-outs Property transition management service covering welcoming calls, lease renewal processing, move-in/move-out inspections with photo documentation, and security deposit processing for residential rental properties.
• Guardian Property Maintenance Comprehensive in-house maintenance and repair division with full-time staff and mobile workshop offering preventative, turnover, and seasonal maintenance, 24-hour emergency response, and preferred vendor relationships for specialized repairs to managed residential properties.
• Guardian Contracting Division Licensed and insured general contracting service exclusively for Guardian investors covering kitchen and bathroom remodeling, windows, doors, roofing, siding, foundation repairs, masonry, concrete, and deck building delivered by vetted professional crews.

Quantifiable outcome

• Unit count increased from 127 to over 1,100 since 2004 under CEO Jennifer Olson Spadine
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AppFoliocoreTechnology or IntegrationAppFolio Property Manager is the core technology platform used by Guardian Property Management for all property management operations including leasing, screening, rent collection, maintenance coordination, and financial reporting. Guardian uses AppFolio's integrated software for online portals, work orders, and vacancy marketing.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Real Property Management: National franchise network of residential property management offices serving single-family and small multi-family landlords; competes with Guardian for franchise conversions and direct accounts across the Midwest.
• Greystar Real Estate Partners: Largest U.S. rental housing operator and manager; serves as a benchmark for scale in residential property management and adjacent to Guardian's multi-unit building segment.
• FirstService Residential: Large national residential property manager (sub-segment of FirstService Corp) that serves HOA and condo boards as a core line; overlaps with Guardian in owner services and adjacent MN accounts.
• Cushman & Wakefield (Multifamily/Asset Services): Global commercial real estate services firm with multifamily management capabilities and institutional-grade technology; represents the upper-end competitive threat for larger Twin Cities owners.

Others

• Buildium (by RealPage): Cloud property management software platform serving small-to-mid residential landlords, comparable to Guardian's underlying AppFolio stack and an indirect competitor for self-managed owners.
• Minnesota Multi-Housing Association (MMHA): Regional industry association whose membership and programming shape the Twin Cities residential property management ecosystem in which Guardian competes and networks.

Direct peers

• Cedar Management Group: Minnesota-based residential property management firm offering leasing, rent collection, and maintenance to single-family and multi-unit owners in the same regional market.
• Renters Warehouse (RW Real Estate): Minneapolis-headquartered residential property management company focused on single-family rental and scattered-site investor portfolios; one of the most directly comparable Midwestern regional specialists to Guardian.
• Homerun Property Management: Residential property manager serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro with leasing, tenant screening, and maintenance services — competes directly for the same Twin Cities investor accounts.
• Keyrenter Property Management - Minneapolis: Franchise-affiliated residential property manager covering the Twin Cities, targeting small-portfolio landlords with leasing, screening, and maintenance services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GuardianPropertyManagement

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Guardian Property Management