The FORT Podcast: Craig Lashley
Craig Lashley is the President of Valiant Residential, a property management firm based out of DFW that leverages the best in next-generation technological advances to make clients’, residents’ and potential residents’ experiences as rich as possible. They discuss the phases a company will go through as it grows, what separates a great property manager, the idea of buying time and the process of working out a deal and what can kill it.
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1:54 – The Early Days of Valiant
4:30 – The Process of Hiring and Finding Leaders
6:23 – Phases and Changes of a Company
7:52 – First Big Kahuna
9:18 – Craig’s Evolving Day-to-Day Job
12:20 – How do you identify units to service/manage?
15:05 – What separates a good property manager from a bad one?
17:09 – Are there any easy fruit to get things in line to make a property more profitable when you take it over?
20:40 – Are people living differently now than they were 5-10 years ago?
22:46 – Buying Time in the Urban Core vs. Moving Out to the Suburbs
29:04 – Time
32:16 – Is there an average of how many communities a renter will look at before making a decision?
35:33 – Are people moving more frequently than they used to?
38:05 – What will affect rents and underwriting deals?
43:38 – Supply Component and Development in Different Markets
48:07 – Different Ways of Living in Different Cities in the US
50:10 – Work/Life Balance
51:08 – The Process of Working Out a Deal and The Things That Kill a Deal
MORE ABOUT CRAIG
Craig started in the financial sector of the mutual fund division for Wells Fargo before making his way into real estate in asset management and property ownership, acquiring more than 10,000 multi-family units and three million square feet of commercial space throughout the United States. Due to his frustration in working with management groups, Craig took what many consider a reverse approach in his real estate career: going from asset management and ownership to property management. Drawing on these experiences, Craig gives Valiant clients the benefit of knowing exactly what asset owners need. He worked with Valiant (formally SIMC Management) and his mentors, George Martin and Michael Zimmer, for many years before taking over as president in 2014. Since then, Craig has turned Valiant into a top 10 management company and Top 100 Places to Work in DFW. His professional relationships, passion for people and knowledge of the industry embody every aspect of the Valiant lifestyle.