TriArc has cultivated a team of truly engaged leaders. We believe empowerment starts at the bottom, and only when all members feel personally connected to their community and free to express ideas do you achieve maximum success.
Many companies say they have empowered leaders but don’t truly invite input or recommendations from the teams charged with running their community. Our company was built on the strengths and experience of our team. Our boots on the ground approach engages the team responsible for making their individual property a success. Because each community has its own strengths and weakness, we don’t use a cookie cutter approach and empower our teams to help formulate the winning combination of ideas. Our teams are proactive in mitigating downturns because they are engaged in the solution, our culture not only invites but expects our teams to know more about what their community needs than anyone in our organization.
TRIARC LIVING ASSOCIATIONS
Local operating offices are managed by senior executives, all seasoned real estate
professionals with expertise in the market, both nationally and locally.
PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
Carrie Breneman, president of operations and co-founder of TriArc Real Estate Partners, boasts an impressive career with over 30 years of experience in the multifamily real estate industry. While involved in all aspects of the business, her primary focus is the day-to-day operations of apartment communities, both owned and third-party. Among her many contributions, Carrie has been instrumental in the success of TriArc’s portfolio from providing critical input on underwriting to masterfully executing the business plan to producing accurate and detailed reporting throughout operations. Having lived in Houston most of her life, Carrie understands the local market better than most. Her vast experience and knowledge make her a vital resource ensuring company targets are met during the underwriting and acquisition of new properties.
Carrie’s career began as a part-time leasing consultant for the Dallas apartment community where she once lived. After moving to Houston, she stuck with the business learning everything she could about property management “boots on the ground” (before the internet) with a little help from the Dewey Decimal System and the Encyclopedia Britannica. She progressed through the ranks from assistant manager to regional vice-president managing 5,000- to 11,000-unit portfolios along the way. In her first management position at Southwest Property Trust, Carrie received the prestigious President’s Award for exceptional property performance for three consecutive years.
The industry has been a great fit, supplying endless opportunity to use her gift of service, which brings Carrie great joy. As the senior regional manager at Lincoln Property Company, one of her most memorable projects was working with sponsors Arcon and Goldman Sachs on the 15-property repositioning project in Greenspoint. In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of 5,000 units, she interfaced with the renovations team that was spending $5,000 – $25,000 per unit while working with a PR firm to change the reputation of the entire submarket. In 2001, Tropical Storm Allison flooded 2,000 units in the portfolio she managed, and Carrie and her colleagues worked countless hours to rapidly relocate residents, rebuild, and lease the units back up, achieving stabilized occupancy in record time.
Over the course of her career, Carrie has navigated the industry through periods of prosperity and economic downturn. When the housing market collapsed in 2008, she worked with lenders, servicing agents, and venders to mitigate financial impacts. After Hurricanes Ike and Katrina and numerous floods in the Houston area, she collaborated with officials on disaster recovery. Positions at multiple property management companies created diverse opportunities for Carrie to develop expertise in repositioning properties, new construction lease up, and renovations from minor interior upgrades to complete exterior and interior rehabilitations. She’s managed as many as 15 properties at a time from all classes, A to D, in both primary and tertiary markets while directing over 60 employees. She’s also able to see a deal from multiple points of view: resident, employee, and investor. All this adds up to an unparalleled versatility to address almost any multi-family issue and a unique perspective from which to assess new opportunities for TriArc and third-party owners.
In 2012, Carrie opened her own third-party property management company, Kindred Residential, with Deborah Newsome and Cindy Cannon, and together, they grew it to over 2,000 units in two years. Kindred filled a void in an industry where most third-party property management companies offered only a fixed set of services whether multifamily owners needed them or not. In its first year of business, Joseph Bramante hired the company to manage his 26-unit property, and four years and many deals later, when Carrie and Joseph merged their two companies to form TriArc, Carrie brought with her the same core value: the business should work for the client, and not the other way around.
After hours, Carrie serves the community through her church and other ministries. She was a preschool coordinator at Champion Forest Baptist Church for five years and is on the board of directors and the building committee of one not-for-profit and the prayer team of another. Carrie is also a member of the Houston Apartment Association, as well as the Corpus Christi Apartment Association.
VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
TriArc Real Estate Partners co-founder and vice president of operations Deborah Newsome is known for being a straight-shooter. In addition to overseeing all aspects of third-party-owned property operations, Deborah is responsible for overseeing and growing the company’s portfolio in Corpus Christi. Dedicated to personally directing new business, she relocated to the city in January 2019. Most of Deborah’s clients are real estate investors with full-time jobs seeking to best position themselves for retirement. Each has unique property management goals, and the diverse expectations can be a real challenge. The due diligence process is an excellent tool to help clients understand property performance issues. By analyzing local market trends, comparable sales, and actions taken by the previous management company, Deborah can assess a property’s true potential and generate a plan to increase net operating income. It’s a skill that’s enabled her to routinely improve performance on challenging properties.
She’s been in the industry since 1990. El Campo, the small town where she grew up, offered limited opportunities after high school. Uncertain about what she wanted to do with her life, Deborah followed a friend to Austin. The friend worked as a part-time leasing consultant at the residential community where they lived, and Deborah took over the position after she changed jobs. In less than a year, a full-time position opened at her employer’s second property, located in Houston, and Deborah transferred to be closer to family.
Looking back, “leasing agent” was one of Deborah’s favorite roles. Residents were so excited when they picked up their keys and helping people find a home was immensely satisfying. Everyone had a story – single moms, college students — and Deborah loved making sure all were well-cared for.
Before co-founding Kindred Residential in 2012 and TriArc in 2016, Deborah advanced her career accepting positions of increasing responsibility at top real estate firms including Lincoln Property Company, Fairfield Residential, Sentinel Real Estate, and Gables Residential. She has completed numerous large renovations and new construction lease ups. As a senior business manager at Lincoln, she simultaneously directed a $3.5M renovation on a 168-unit class A property and $1.5m renovation on a 96-unit townhome community, gutting each unit, executing improvements, and completing what would typically be a two- or three-year project in only 18 months. She increased overall monthly rent by $350/unit and was recognized with the prestigious Golden Medallion award for her achievement. Deborah’s diverse background and experience spans property classes (A++ to D-) and styles (garden to high-rise).
Deborah is a member of both the Houston and Corpus Christi Apartment Associations. She holds a Texas real estate license and is an Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) Certified Property Manager (CPM) candidate.
ACCOUNTING MANAGER
Cindy works hard as our accounting manager, bringing more than twenty years of experience in multi-family management and training to TriArc Real Estate Partners. Currently, she leads our property accounting team while managing our finances, accounts payable, budgeting, forecasting, and implementation of accounting systems for our portfolio.
Cindy’s experience in the real estate industry has awarded her prestigious accolades, including being named Property Manager of the Year, as well as being given the Gold Medallion award —- the most prestigious award of a previous employer. As a member of the Houston Apartment Association, Corpus Christi Apartment Association, and the Texas Apartment Association, Cindy is dedicated to providing top-level care and customer service to each of our clients while remaining up-to-date on industry standards.
According to Cindy, she loves working in the real estate industry because of the family feel of both her coworkers and industry peers. Each day, the TriArc Real Estate Partners team develops close ties with new professionals and experts, allowing every moment to be a learning opportunity. She enjoys taking a task from the start and seeing it to fruition while solving challenges that arise along the way. Work with Cindy and the rest of the TriArc Real Estate Partners team by getting in touch with us today.
