Most rental investors hire a property manager and a general contractor separately. We do both under one roof. Chase Calhoun Real Estate and Apex Professional Construction are sister operations, same ownership, integrated workflows, and a single accountability line. When investors ask us why integration matters, the answer is operational, not theoretical. Here’s what vertical integration actually looks like inside a 150+ door Arkansas rental portfolio.
The hidden cost of disconnected operators
When your GC and your property manager don’t talk, three things break. Turn timelines stretch because nobody is coordinating cleaning around contractor work. Capex projects bleed into rent-ready prep without anyone tracking which budget owns which line item. And owners get conflicting recommendations on whether a deferred-maintenance item is a “capex now” item or a “maintenance later” item. We’ve onboarded properties where the prior owner was paying two separate teams to argue about who owned what.
How integration changes the math on capex
Roof replacement on a 1,500 sq ft single-family rental from a retail roofing contractor runs $9,000-$14,000 in Central Arkansas. Through our integrated construction arm, the same work typically runs 10-20% lower because we’re not paying retail markup, we have standing materials relationships, and we schedule the work during a planned turn so the unit doesn’t sit longer for the work.
Where vertical integration matters most
The biggest wins are on build-to-rent projects, on heavy turns that require capex work, on properties moving from rehab to lease-up, and on portfolio capex projects that need to be scheduled across multiple units. The smallest wins are on routine ongoing maintenance, a leaky faucet doesn’t need integration, it just needs a plumber.
What we won’t promise
Integration isn’t a price guarantee. We get our pricing right, but we’re not the cheapest GC in town. We’re not trying to be. The value is in coordination, speed, and the elimination of accountability gaps, not bottom-dollar pricing. Investors who optimize purely for the lowest bid end up paying for it on the operational side.
How our process works for investor clients
When an investor brings a property into our portfolio that needs construction work, we run one scope, one schedule, one budget. The PM and GC sides coordinate weekly. The owner gets one project lead, one set of progress photos, one final walkthrough, and one handoff to lease-up. No “ask the other guy” responses.
What this looks like on a real deal
Recent example from our portfolio: owner acquired a 1,400 sq ft single-family rental in Bryant requiring a full turn plus HVAC replacement plus minor electrical update. Disconnected operators would have run this as three vendor relationships with three timelines. Our integrated process scheduled HVAC and electrical in parallel during the standard turn window, hit rent-ready in 18 days from acquisition close, and listed at $1,725/month against a $1,650 proforma. First lease signed 11 days after listing.
FAQ
Do I have to use the construction arm if I use the property management arm?
No. They operate as separate businesses. Many of our property management clients use other contractors for capex work. Integration is available, not required.
Does using the integrated approach cost more?
No. Our construction pricing is set the same way for owner-clients as for outside customers. Integration produces speed and coordination value, not pricing premium or pricing discount.
Can the construction arm work on properties you don’t manage?
Yes. Apex Professional Construction works with non-portfolio properties regularly across Central Arkansas.
How do I get a scope and bid?
Call 501-650-5137 or use our contact page. We’ll walk the property, scope the work, and provide a written bid.
One operator, one accountability line
If you want a single accountability line on your Arkansas rental portfolio, we run integrated property management and construction under one roof. Call 501-650-5137 or see our property management services.
Find every operator playbook in our Resources Library.
Markets we serve: Little Rock · North Little Rock · Sherwood · Conway · Benton · Bryant · Maumelle · Cabot · All Locations
Operator services: Property Management · Build-to-Rent · Real Estate Sales · Cash Offers · All Services
Want help running the numbers on your next Arkansas deal?
We manage roughly 160 doors across Central Arkansas and we invest here ourselves, so we can pressure-test your assumptions before you buy. Get a free rental analysis on a property you are evaluating, explore build-to-rent if you are building from the ground up, or see how our property management keeps returns on track.
