"We're going to offer more personalized service than the larger companies with thousands of units. We have a smaller staff and a smaller portfolio, but as much experience in the Phoenix market as the larger companies do," says Thomas K. Shelton, Western National Property Management's president. The experience comes in the form of Sandi Cashen, a 20-year veteran in the industry who earned her colors with Greystar Real Estate Partners by supervising a portfolio consisting of 26,000 units throughout the southwest. Cashen is now heading up Western National's Phoenix efforts as regional vice president, with help from property managers.

The Phoenix office is currently managing Esteban Park Apartments, Silvercreek Apartments and Ridgepoint Apartments. Also in the collection is Harmony at Sunrise, located in Surprise. Shelton tells GlobeSt.com that more will be added to the portfolio from both the Phoenix area and Tucson.

"The great thing about working in Arizona is that Tucson is easy to get to," he remarks. "Sandi's managed in the Tucson market and is familiar with it, so we're open to working there."

Shelton says Western National will manage a variety of property types, though prefers complexes with a minimum of 100 units. The company is also not picky about entities it's willing to work with.

"We're opportunistic," Shelton acknowledges. "We've gotten inquiries from owners with existing deals. We have calls from brokers aware of possible deals trading hands, with the new owners needing management help. We've gotten calls from lenders and institutions who want to know what we can do to add value. We're open to all possibilities."