Mark Hanrahan
Mark Hanrahan is a Certified Public Accountant with more than two and a half decades of experience. He
is currently focused on the fields of real estate and financial investment.
Before beginning a lucrative career, however, he got a bachelor’s and a
master’s degree in accounting. His academic career was split between four years
at the University of Northern Iowa and another three years at Drake
University.
After graduating, Mark Hanrahan worked for Carney, Alexander, and Marold CPA’s.
This is where he first learned how to service his accounting clients and go
about fulfilling his role in the market. After a while, however, he slowly
morphed to some other fields and began exploring things like property purchases
and passive income options. Hence why he presently operates in real
estate.
At first, he worked for the Principal Real Estate Investors. Although this
firm’s objective revolves around property transactions, he performed the role
of a financial analyst. And even though he simultaneously pursued his master’s
degree, he still managed to get promoted to the firm’s managing director of
acquisitions and dispositions for the entire Western United States
region.
Ultimately, he turned to sole proprietorship and started his own company called
Markmel Co. This was an attempt to make an impact on the market by utilizing
the knowledge that he obtained over the past decades. Fortunately, his idea
worked very well, and his company has been growing exponentially ever since its
inception.
What made you switch from accounting to other fields after spending multiple years going through a rigorous educational program and taking the CPA exam?
There were multiple reasons for this change. The first one was the fact that I
was not happy in my field and needed something more engaging and exciting. Of
course, this is not to say that accounting was not fulfilling. After a while,
however, I realized that my personality does not align well with the types of
duties that I had to oversee. I wanted more from my career.
Also, my life dream was to build my own business and watch it grow. If I stayed
in accounting, this would have been impossible to do given the corporate-based
environment. So, branching out and starting my own company was eventually the
best way to distance myself from the industry and focus on individual ventures.
Where do you think the industry of real estate is headed?
I see a lot of modernization approaching fast. We are already in the stage
where the online marketplace is making it easy to finalize complex sales and
close transactions that are very tough. Additionally, accessibility has
probably never been such a strong selling point for this market.
As far as the properties themselves go, it is hard to predict a specific trend.
After all, there are years when most sales revolve around smaller properties
with affordable prices that are noticeably below the market rate. Then again, I
also saw periods where people would spend much more and purchase larger
homes.
What do you think about the developments taking place in the Midwest of the United States?
Well, I noticed that there are more megacities being built. The structures are
slowly getting higher and the complexity levels of buildings are only getting
more difficult. Expectedly, this gives rise to wonderful creations that are
pushing the limits of what people thought was possible in the past.
Moreover, the Midwest is known for being very quiet, peaceful, and not an
overcrowded area. So, there is a plethora of space to go around to those who
may want to move there. Not to mention the fact that this is where some of the
top-rated schools and other attractions for families of all income levels are
located.
How do you evaluate properties when you buy remotely?
Well, this is where the technology comes in, through the power of things like
virtual tours and a never-ending amount of data. I also send an associate that
can conduct a hands-on analysis whenever I have the option of doing so.
What are some of your goals for the future?
I would like to continue growing Markmel and expand to a point where I can hire
at least a few more people. In order to get there, however, I first need to
tackle some of the current projects with outstanding satisfaction rates.
