Chase Lawrence, Owner of CollegeTown Properties

By Tim O’Brien

For Chase Lawrence, starting something like CollegeTown Properties was always a part of the plan.

Lawrence, founder of one of Athens’ most prominent real estate companies, was born in Nashville, but he decided to stay in Athens following his graduation from the University of Georgia.

“I came to UGA with my wife, Courtney, because we had met in high school in Atlanta,” said Lawrence, who went to Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross. “We’ve been together since our junior year.”

Lawrence, who studied housing and consumer economics in HACE, got his start working on a construction site for The Woodlands, a student-housing complex on the east side of Athens, while he was in school. Then he went from there to the leasing office and then to corporate sales, before graduating and carving his own path in the Athens real estate market.

“We're a family shop,” says Lawrence, “which I think makes us more personable and approachable than most of the companies.”

According to Lawrence, CollegeTown found steady growth over the years, but in 2017-2018 when they were in their highest growth mode, with about 5,000 beds across the southeast, in seven different cities, across five different states, he wasn’t happy.

“I was at the lowest point from a quality of life standpoint that I've ever been, so I was the most discontent, the most anxious, you know, I was spread as thin as you could be,” said Lawrence.

According to Lawrence, it was too hard to maintain that level of customer service and attention with a small team.  “So what I decided a few years ago was that: Athens is home,” said Lawrence, “and I really want to put our focus exclusively here.”

So CollegeTown dismantled all of their property management outside of Athens, and consolidated to only the local market, Lawrence said. “That gives us the ability to really keep our finger on the pulse of what's going on.”

Some of the benefits of this is that all of their properties are within a few miles of the office and if there is a problem one of their team members can be there in minutes, Lawrence said. “That gives us a lot of peace of mind and a higher quality of life.”

Lawrence said his ultimate plan for CollegeTown is “to be a 100% wholly owned family shop.” With three kids, ages eight to thirteen, it is important for Lawrence to stay local. “It enables me to be home for them. It enables me to be you know, present at all of their sports events. I'm able to take them to school every morning because I'm not rushing to get on the road to get out of town somewhere.”

Lawrence’s wife Courtney, who was in real estate before he even started, stepped away from the industry to raise their kids, but has since joined CollegeTown in investor sales. This is what makes CollegeTown a family owned business, and dealing with that work-life balance is all a part of the lifestyle.

“It's a definitely a healthy balance,” said Courtney, “I mean, we know when it’s Kid Mode, but I think owning your own business definitely has its perks, and that you can kind of like control what you want to bring in and what you don’t.”

“I have a three minute commute to my house,” said Lawrence, “it’s pretty special to have this.”

They also claim it frees them up to be more creative. “We’re able to really look at problems and address them, rather than rushing through them,” said Lawrence, “because when you're spread really thin, you can't give your full attention to anything.”

Courtney says that what makes Chase successful compared to others in the industry is his work ethic, but Lawrence wouldn’t call it work.

“When I'm driving around town, and I find a deal, and I know nobody else knows about it, and I figured something out, it gets me going so much, that it's the same as like a hobby,” said Lawrence, “you know, it’s something that just gets you really excited.”

With a job and lifestyle he’s so passionate about, Lawrence doesn’t see retirement. “That doesn't really make sense to me,” said Lawrence. “This brings me a lot of joy and fulfillment, so I kind of always want to be doing this in some capacity.”

Lawrence’s passion even makes an impression on those around him. “I met him for the first time when I went to the entrepreneurship building” says Stella Williams, a marketing major at UGA who works in the CollegeTown office. “He just seemed like he's really interested in what he does and I thought it was super cool how he kind of like built it all himself.” She also added that he is always a welcoming presence in the office.

Like CollegeTown, for Lawrence, it’s all about community. “We’re all kind of trying to slow down,” said Lawrence. “The biggest key is to slow down, slow down the pace, make room, make space and time, so that you can be present with your friends and family, and you'll just have a lot more peace.”