Jose Murillo served four tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps before returning to apartment work. Using the discipline and teamwork he learned in the Marines, he started fixing heating, cooling, and electrical problems at one property. By 2014 he was in charge of maintenance for two buildings, and soon after he took over a 500-unit student community.
A company called Olympus noticed his skills and flew him to jobs in California, Arizona, and Texas to teach other crews how to turn vacant units faster and follow energy rules. His side projects—like buying and selling houses—also taught him how to handle budgets.
In 2022 Greystar hired him as Regional Maintenance Manager for New Mexico. Today he oversees 49 apartment communities, leads a five-person support team, and uses virtual-reality lessons and AI tools to solve repair tickets faster while keeping big-ticket spending on track. Jose’s path shows how a “jack-of-all-trades” who loves to serve can rise from fixing one building to guiding an entire portfolio.
Why veterans thrive in multifamily
Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen spend years mastering “commander’s intent”—understanding the goal, improvising when conditions change, and finishing the job. On a property that means diagnosing a chiller at midnight, calming residents after a burst pipe, or running a make-ready schedule without daily hand-holding. Discipline and accountability are baked in; the industry’s chronic talent gap is not. Federal data show roughly 157,000 maintenance and repair openings will surface each year through 2033 as older tradespeople retire. Recruiting from the veteran pool is more than goodwill—it is workforce insurance.
Servant leadership in action
Now that Jose is Greystar’s Regional Maintenance Manager for New Mexico—watching over 49 apartment communities—he still runs his day like a Marine.Each morning he leads a quick safety huddle with every site’s lead tech, then shares “need-to-know” info: parts on hand, resident trouble spots, and fair-housing rules to remember.On Fridays he holds a short “after-action review” on video call. The team talks about what worked, what didn’t, and who needs backup next week.By keeping safety first and lessons clear, Jose makes sure crews across the whole region stay sharp, supported, and ready to serve residents well. That military style of continuous improvement keeps emergency calls down and morale up, key factors in cutting the industry’s high technician churn rate.
Translating combat skills to property performance
– High-pressure decision-making. Combat vets assess risk fast, they choose whether to patch a boiler gasket tonight or isolate the loop and schedule a full swap tomorrow.
– Team of teams. Squads rely on tight communication; on property that means seamless hand-offs between maintenance, leasing, and vendors.
– Mission focus. Veterans accept odd hours and steep learning curves because the objective—resident safety and asset value—is clear.
Commercial real-estate giants have noticed. Cushman & Wakefield’s Military & Veteran Program has hired 1,400+ veterans into facilities and engineering tracks, citing “best-in-class work ethic” as the payoff.
How multifamily can tap the talent pipeline
1. Partner with bases and veteran programs. Job-fair booths near final-out processing centers put your brand in front of service members months before discharge.
2. Translate job ads. Swap “maintenance tech” for “resident services specialist—mission-critical facilities role.” List leadership, problem-solving, and emergency response alongside EPA 608 and CPO.
3. Offer a squad-style ramp-up. Paid eight-week fellowships echo the military’s structured training and quickly prove culture fit.
Veterans like Jose show that multifamily maintenance is a natural second tour of duty—protecting residents instead of rations, budgets instead of battle plans. With intentional outreach and clear career maps, owners can convert military discipline into operational excellence and close the talent gap before it widens.