Founded in 1977 as a company specializing in apartment ownership and management, Mid-America went public in 1994. Today, the company has a total market capitalization of $3 billion and owns more than 41,000 apartment units spanning 13 states, mainly concentrated in the southeast corner of the United States.

Bolton joined Mid-America in April 1994, shortly after the company’s initial public offering. At first, Bolton was put in charge of Mid-America’s expansion initiatives. In 1997, he became president and chief operating officer. He was named CEO in 2001, and he added chairman to his title a year later.

After a brief dalliance with new development in the mid-1990s, company leadership opted to focus primarily on acquiring and refurbishing existing assets, rather than new construction. Now, whatever new construction Mid-America does undertake normally involves value-add projects, such as property expansions.

“For the most part, our growth is through acquiring existing properties,” Bolton says. “In turn, we also manage all the properties that we own, so we’re very active on the asset management and property management side as well.”

Mid-America also operates a $500 million opportunity fund that seeks to acquire properties in need of capital improvements or “undermanaged” assets that offer turnaround or value-add potential. The fund has started to target assets that are closer to large urban areas, because Bolton contends that many properties in those areas have grown “tired,” requiring new capital improvements to enhance their appeal.

The Silverado apartments were acquired in 2006, are located in the Cedar Park suburb of Austin, Texas and are adjacent to the 90-acre Brushy Creek Lake Park.

Be Aggressive

Mid-America’s penchant for the “aggressive operation” of its assets is really the hallmark of its organizational philosophy, and that starts with cutting-edge technology, according to Bolton. He notes that the company has poured money into its systems and infrastructure during the last five years. The heavy investment has paid off in substantial automation, Internet-based systems, management-pricing software and enhanced communication with outside vendors, among a number of operating improvements.

“We have systems and capabilities on the operating side that really bring a differentiation and, frankly, a competitive advantage in a lot of the markets where we operate,” Bolton says. He counts Mid-America’s aggressive philosophy as the result of strong competition in markets with low barriers-to-entry. By creating efficiencies, Mid-America is able to pass the savings on to apartment consumers, Bolton says.

“When people decide where to rent, often times they’re compelled by price, so price does become a point of competition,” Bolton says. “As in any kind of a competitive business where there is the commodity aspect to what you do, over time the companies that prevail are those that figure out how to operate their business more cost efficiently than the next guy.”

As Bolton sees it, though, aggressive operation doesn’t just refer to computers and high-tech gadgets. There’s a human element as well, he says. This involves significant face time between upper management and Mid-America’s on-site staff.

“We’re very active at being out on the property and interacting with our staffs to help make sure they understand what we’re trying to accomplish and to support them,” Bolton says. “We happen to be selling people their homes, so it’s a very special relationship between our residents and property staff. We want our employees to feel very good about the property where they work and the company that supports them.”

That side of the sector is what Bolton says drew him to Mid-America and the apartment business. After a stint with Trammell Crow Company in Texas during the 1980s, Bolton had been exposed to every kind of real estate venture imaginable. The work he enjoyed the most, he says, was the kind that involved the workplace culture more than spreadsheets.

“Our business has more of a people-dependency component to it than some of the other real estate classes. Thus, you get into people, leadership and culture issues,” he says. “I enjoy thinking about those kinds of things and how we apply them to our business and to our real estate decisions.”

The Lake Lanier Club apartments are located in the northeast metro area of Atlanta, GA and among numerous other amenities feature frontage along Lake Lanier.

Starting Off on the Right Foot

In the “intense” atmosphere that accompanies the residential real estate business, where customers and leases can turn over quickly, Bolton says his greatest priority is to think long-­term. It’s a lesson he has learned over the course of a 30-year career in real estate and financial services, which has witnessed lows like the fallout from the savings and loan debacle and peaks like the buoyancy of REIT market upswings.

“I’ve seen multiple cycles where times are really good and times are really bad,” Bolton says. Those experiences have taught him not to forget “the inevitable downturn that will come” following hot periods of performance. Bolton argues that smart companies position themselves to capitalize on the unavoidable correction in these cases.

“When the music stops it gets very ugly, very quickly, and you want to be in a strong position to take advantage of those opportunities,” he says. “When times are good, we think it’s the time to build up our operating platform.”

Bolton maintains that the most important step in bolstering its portfolio is the first: “buy right.” This involves pricing a potential acquisition accurately and realistically.

“The problem is that if you make a mistake out of the gate by overpaying, you’re dead,” he says. “You can’t fix that.”

Bright Future

Bolton remains optimistic about Mid-America’s long-term success, thanks to the aggressive moves his company has made lately.

“We’ve made a lot of changes to our portfolio profile and operating platform over the last three or four years. We’ve brought a lot of strength to our execution capabilities and overhauled a lot of our systems, retooling the way we do things,” he says. “We think we’re in a position now to pick up some terrific buys for our shareholders and leverage this platform. The challenge is to be patient and to wait for the right opportunities to come our way.”