Pre-leasing
Vacancy is the number one thing that eats a rental's returns. We start marketing before the current lease ends, so whenever we can, the next resident is lined up before the last one moves out.
Grand Rapids property management
We manage your rentals the way we manage our own.
85 West is a boutique property management company run by Cole Strange and David Jackson. We own 57% of the units we manage, so every home gets the same care, the same trades, and the same attention to the numbers as ours.
21 yrsof real estate experience: owning, building, buying, selling, and managing
57%of the units we manage, we own
10%management fee, earned on offense and defense
Our philosophy
Four simple ideas, done every single day
Own good properties
We buy and keep homes we're proud of, and we take on outside properties we'd be glad to own ourselves.
Take care of your tenants
Good residents stay longer, pay on time, and treat the home well. That starts with how we treat them.
Minimize vacancy
An empty unit is the biggest leak in a rental's returns. Everything we do is built to shrink the gap between leases.
Mind maintenance and repairs
Small fixes done early beat big fixes done late. We watch the house the way an owner would.
The sweet spot is where tenants and owners both win. That's the whole job.
How we protect your returns
Good offense. Good defense.
A sharp rolodex
We've paid $1,200 for a clogged toilet. Every owner has a bill like that. We keep sharpening our list of trusted trades so repair costs stay sane, and when one comes in high, we often hold that weight ourselves.
For jobs bigger than a handyman call, we own Strange Jack Builders, a licensed and insured construction company.
10%
We unapologetically charge 10%. And we earn it.
The 10% is a trust deal. It pays for two owners who are paying attention: pre-leasing so the rent keeps coming, and a sharp rolodex so repairs don't eat it. As owners, we hate getting nickel-and-dimed, so we'd rather earn our fee by keeping your home full and your repair bills sane.
Boutique on purpose
Small enough to care about every door
We haven't figured out how to keep this kind of care at hundreds of units, and we may never try. We're okay with that. We own 57% of the units we manage, and a few lucky owners who trusted us early run on the same system we use for our own homes.
It took us a while to say it out loud, but 21 years of flips, multifamily, short-term rentals, sales, and being landlords ourselves makes us the experts. We're also always tooling our systems. We're AI-curious and build our own tools, so the routine work runs tight and our time goes to your property.
How we work
From first call to monthly statement
Consultation
We talk through your property and your goals. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so.
A plan for your property
Rent, leasing timeline, and maintenance, built around your home and what you want from it.
A smooth handoff
Coming from self-managing or another manager? We take over leases, deposits, residents, and keys.
Ongoing communication
Monthly statements and clear updates, so you always know where your property stands.
For out-of-town investors
Grand Rapids is a city on the rise
In 2025, LinkedIn named Grand Rapids the No. 1 City on the Rise in the U.S., ranking mid-size metros on hiring momentum and the talent moving in. The city is building to match.
12,000
Acrisure Amphitheater
A 12,000-seat riverfront amphitheater opened downtown in May 2026, with a $271 million mixed-use high-rise planned next door.
Opens spring 2027Amway Stadium
A soccer stadium is under construction downtown. AC Grand Rapids starts play there in spring 2027.
2.5 mi
Bringing back the rapids
After nearly 20 years of planning, the Grand River restoration is restoring the rapids through downtown, alongside an 85-mile river greenway.
620K
Medical Mile keeps growing
Corewell Health is planning a 620,000 sq. ft. Butterworth expansion, with construction expected to start in 2027. That's on top of a new 12-story care center and resident physician housing.
8 → 14
A bigger airport
Gerald R. Ford International is in the middle of a $600 million expansion that takes it from eight gates to 14.
35,000
Homes needed
City officials estimate the area needs about 35,000 more housing units by 2027. Demand for good rentals isn't slowing down.
From acquisition to management
Invest here with people who already do
Cole and David are licensed real estate agents with Edison Brokers + Co, where David is a founding member, and Grand Rapids investors themselves. We can help you find the right property, buy it, get it rent-ready, lease it, and manage it, all under one roof.
Find
We know the neighborhoods and run the numbers like owners, because we are.
Buy
As licensed agents, we represent you through the purchase.
Improve
Our own licensed and insured builder, Strange Jack Builders, handles the work.
Lease
Marketing, screening, and pre-leasing to get rent started fast.
Manage
Full-service management at 10%, with statements you can check any time.
- Grand Rapids
- Wyoming
- Kentwood
- Walker
- And the surrounding area
Sources: City of Grand Rapids, LinkedIn "Cities on the Rise" (July 2025); Experience Grand Rapids development report. Photos via Wikimedia Commons: WMrapids (CC0); airport by dsearls, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Who you'll work with
Meet Cole and David
Founding partner
Cole Strange
Cole is a founding partner of 85 West Management Services, taking an unconventional path into the field. He bought his first property at 18, balanced a medical career while investing, and eventually went all-in on real estate. His hands-on experience with flips, multifamily, short-term rentals, and residential sales inspired him to help launch 85 West—focused on building reliable, scalable systems for property owners who want worry-free management.
Founding partner
David Jackson
David is a founding partner of 85 West Management Services, with a background in real estate sales, investing, and property operations. He plays a key leadership role in shaping company systems, guiding policy, and upholding service standards. David co-founded 85 West to provide dependable management for his own investment portfolio and his clients'—freeing him to continue helping people buy and sell homes across West Michigan.
Let's talk
Is your property a good fit?
We're always open for a conversation. Tell us a little about your property and we'll give you an honest answer, even if that answer is that we're not the right fit.
We manage in Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Kentwood, Walker, and the surrounding area.