Courtney Ingleman Career Background
What is your biggest career achievement?
- My most significant career achievement is also my most recent one. I was promoted in December 2019 from Regional Property Manager to Director of Real Estate, Operations. I am one of the youngest team members to hold this title. I am extremely proud of this achievement. However, it would not have come if it weren’t for other achievements leading up to this promotion. Throughout my life I have always stuck out as “the youngest.” My birthday is September 28th so I was typically younger than anyone in my grade. I had always felt prideful about being the youngest because I knew I was a hard worker and I felt like I was accomplishing goals quicker than others. I felt this way until after high school when I had to enter the real world.
When I graduated from high school, I found a job as a Community Assistant and was quickly promoted to Leasing Professional. Then, in late 2009 I was offered the position of Leasing Manager. I was 19 years old. I was constantly asked about my age, which I thought was taboo, but I learned that was not the case. The same aspect of myself that I always felt prideful of was becoming an insecurity. However, I did not let that stop me. I flourished as a Leasing Manager. I was overseeing leasing at a 1026 bed property and I loved the position. I was also putting myself through college during this time. I took three or four classes a semester and I was quite the workhorse. During this period is when I development a skill in time management. Fast forward to 2013, I was offered a Community Manager position. I was 22 and still in school. I accepted the position and I noticed again, my age seemed to come up in conversation. It wasn’t until December 2014, when I graduated from the University of North Texas, that I finally overcame this insecurity. At 24 I had put myself through college debt free, purchased my first home, and was at the beginning of my property management career. If it weren’t for these experiences, I would not be standing here today as proud as I am. I am honored and humbled to be one of the youngest Directors within an industry that sees the value of young professionals.
What is your ultimate career goal within the rental housing industry?
- My ultimate career goal is to oversee a housing platform as an Officer. An Officer is responsible for the overall direction and strategy of the business. This is the ultimate leadership position within a company and leadership is something I am extremely passionate about. I have told many of the team members that I supervise that the key to success is being an authentic leader. An authentic leader is someone who illustrates behaviors in business that will gain them respect but also instill trust. Being part of the Greystar and EdR merge, I have been exposed to levels of leadership that are held accountable for substantial business decisions. Seeing their passion for strategy and focus on the business as well as their focus on people was very inspiring. My ultimate career goal is to be the person in the Officer role who will inspire others around me.
What's one rental housing trend you have your eye on?
- It is no secret that people in America value the way they spend their time. Instant gratification is in and the time spent seeking goods is too valuable to waste. Almost every person I know orders from amazon either weekly or biweekly. The majority of my neighbors receive some kind of meal delivery kit from one of the dozens of meal delivery platforms in the market. I order from uber eats at least once a week. These services put thousands of choices at our fingertips and has created a culture that is moving away from the traditional way of making decisions.
These delivery platforms are not limited to minor decisions such as what you are going to eat or what you are going to wear. Carvana is a car buying service that will come to your house on your time to evaluate your current vehicle and show you a new vehicle to purchase. The rental housing industry would benefit by adapting to this generation’s appetite for self-service. A new option in touring is emerging which gives the renter the ability of a self-guided tour 24-hours a day. This means that the renter will tour the community on their time. They are not limited by business hours or lunch breaks. The impact of the industry’s adoption of the self-serve trend would of course have to align with our automated leasing platform. If both cornerstones of the rental process work well congruently this would have a huge impact in our industry. The effect is simply, more people tour our units more frequently therefore the demand for the units increases, which means (in time) rate increases as well. I foresee this becoming a trend in some of the more urban or tech savvy markets such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and Chicago. I am certainly tracking this new innovation and keeping my sights out for a market in Student Living where I can test this platform.