John J Eberle took over leadership at Ascentia Real Estate in 2009, in the middle of the recession that crippled the housing industry and nearly sank the company. No financial institution would refinance the maturing loans the company had coming due.
Eberle and his business partner, Boris Vukovich, made difficult decisions to cut staff by 30% and sell underperforming properties. Facing the prospect of losing the business, they took a gamble that no one else in the mobile home management industry was willing to make.
Traditionally, a mobile home is owned by the resident, and companies like Ascentia own the land the home sits on. Ascentia, though, elected to purchase new homes for all the vacant properties it owned, renting out the homes and the land to tenants. Demand for the new homes soared. As the company, which was called Colorado Real Estate Investment Co. at the time, emerged from the crisis, Eberle changed the firm’s name to Ascentia to represent both its ascension from the depths of the recession and residents ascending to a higher quality of life.
Eberle’s keen decision-making and leadership helped the company survive, and today it thrives. Ascentia Real Estate Holding Company owns and operates 6,000 mobile home properties in seven states. Revenue has grown from $24.7 million in 2010 to $57.6 million in 2021, and the company projects 50% further growth in the next five years.
“We have pioneered the idea of extensively deploying new, high-qualit y manufactured homes as rental units in our residential communities,” Eberle said. “We have leveraged our relationship with the best home manufacturer in the country to buy new homes in bulk to address a tremendous need for housing units in our markets and in the country. I intend to continue to champion that vision to fulfill housing needs across the country and to create homes and communities our residents are proud to call home.”
The company’s vision, under Eberle’s leadership, goes far beyond the bottom line. Ascentia’s vision is to build relationships, transform communities and enrich lives, the company said. “We serve people who often go unnoticed and frequently do not have a voice in the world around them. We create mobile home communities where our residents are appreciated and respected, where they can experience a sense of belonging and get to know their neighbors and where they can safely raise their families.”
As a pioneer in the mobile-home rental model, Eberle is recognized as an innovator in the industry.
“One of the greatest leadership lessons for me has been the power of a clearly defined corporate mission and vision,” he said. “Defining our mission helped our employees understand why our company exists. Defining our vision helped them to understand how to fulfill our mission.”
