Jason Barker, Property Manager, joined SRO in 2016. Jason is responsible for several key assets within our portfolio across both Washington and Utah. He is involved in all aspects of managing our buildings – from operations and financial activities to building and managing relationships with tenants and vendors. Jason brings great energy and collaboration to his work and to the SRO team. Prior to SRO, Jason graduated from Washington State University in 2008. He obtained his real estate license and started his career as a commercial real estate broker and then worked for a Seattle-based management company overseeing their portfolio of multi-family and commercial property assets.
Outside of work, Jason lives in Renton, Washington. He coaches his children in T-ball and is known locally as the Phil Jackson of T-ball, blending Zen philosophy, dynamic walk-up music selections and athletic dominance to lead his teams to championships. Married to his better half, Lauryn, with whom they have a son, Lucas, age 4, daughter Riley, age 2, and Archie, a golden-doodle. When not juggling the kids’ schedules, he loves to cook, go to concerts, cheer on the Mariners, Seahawks, Kraken and Sonics, and spend time with family and friends.
Q: Why did you decide to join SRO?
A: It became very clear during the interview process that SRO’s core philosophy aligned with mine. SRO has a business strategy that works and has been very successful over many years. One thing that stood out above the others was how well they treat their tenants. Nothing is more important than our tenants, making sure they are valued above all else, is what I believe truly separates SRO from the rest. Plus, as a signing bonus, Ivor offered me 20 VHS copies of Jurassic Park, so it was a no brainer.
Q: How do you describe what you do to your family and friends?
A: A property manager needs to wear many different hats at any given point in the day. Within a week you can find yourself fostering relationships with tenants, working with building vendors and their contracts, overseeing construction and tenant improvements projects, performing financial analysis, budgets and financial reviews, and negotiating leases. The main reasons that I love being a property manager are how dynamic and engaging each day can be and getting involved in so many of the key details to effectively run a property.
Q: What do you like best about SRO and your team?
A: They are my family away from my family. I’m very lucky to enjoy doing what I do, but also enjoy who I do it with. Everyone is a key cog in keeping the SRO wheel turning. From our engineers, admin, project manager, accounting staff, assistant PM’s and property managers to our senior officers. While our roles are different, the level of support everyone provides to one another is unlike anything I’ve experienced and what makes it such a great place to work.
Q: If you had to be stuck in an elevator with any three people, who would they be and why?
A: Chris Farley, Bill Murray, and Marshawn Lynch – Just to be there for a good time and to not get fined.
Q: What did you think your future career would be as a child?
A: Baseball player or being a Ghostbuster.
Q: What is your favorite book or movie and why?
A: Ghostbusters. I was obsessed as a kid and now my kids love it which makes it even more fun to re-experience with them.
