How did Larry Connor scale an apartment business to billions in assets?

Short answer: Larry connected the apartment strategy to lessons from his computer business, saying the team brought an operating-business approach to a new industry (0:56 and 1:24).

Larry described how the Connor Group operates apartment communities.

Larry on apartment operations

Larry said the Connor Group treated apartment communities as operating businesses rather than passive real estate investments. He said it bought well-located properties where service, expenses, or rates could improve (1:24 and 1:53). (at 1:24)

Larry on third-party management

Larry said institutional owners often hired third-party managers paid on top-line revenue. He said the Connor Group focused on profit and resident service, seeing room to improve operations at properties it bought (2:48 and 3:16). (at 2:48)

Larry on the four Ps

Larry said the Connor Group's advice for starting or buying a business, in real estate or elsewhere, was to find aligned people, make a plan, build processes, and persevere (7:14 and 7:43). (at 7:14)

Larry on property screening

Larry said the Connor Group typically received information on 700 to 800 apartment communities a year across its 18 markets, underwrote 300 to 400, visited 175 to 225, and bought eight or ten (5:44 and 6:15). (at 5:44)

"We would buy nice apartments, great location, maybe the physical facility is nice, but they were being poorly operated, the resident service was poor, their expenses were high."