Alan Stalcup, CEO of GVA Property Management, attributes his firm’s recent investment losses to market conditions rather than fraud allegations. In an interview with the Austin Business Journal, Stalcup responded to accusations from investor Bryan Kastleman, who claims GVA falsified financial records and misused funds for personal benefit. Kastleman alleges he invested $11.3 million in several GVA projects and has filed a lawsuit asserting that the company manipulated its books to secure and refinance loans. Both GVA and Stalcup deny these claims and have countersued Kastleman for defamation and business disparagement.
Stalcup is also facing legal action from Benefit Street Partners, a private lender based in New York, as well as an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in January. The SEC alleges that Stalcup may have misappropriated up to $100 million from investors.
Despite these legal challenges, Stalcup maintains that external economic factors are responsible for GVA’s difficulties. He cites rising interest rates, inflation, and an increase in apartment supply across the Sun Belt as key reasons for declining property values. According to Stalcup, “Not only do the valuations go down, but debt service went up, and we’re fighting costs of inflation, labor, property tax and insurance. Then supply really kicked in in 2023 and 2024.”
Industry data supports this view: Patton Jones of Newmark’s Central Texas office told the Austin Business Journal that Austin entered 2024 with about 50,000 units under development after significant population growth during the pandemic years. This oversupply contributed to falling rents while borrowing costs rose—a combination that affected many apartment owners with high levels of debt.
Stalcup explained that timing played a major role in GVA’s troubles since about 80 percent of its $4 billion real estate portfolio was acquired after the pandemic began. The firm defaulted on several loans in San Antonio—including at Solara, Bella Madera, and Melia Apartment Homes—and sold other properties below their assessed values. The number of apartments managed by GVA dropped from around 30,000 units at its peak to roughly 5,000 today.
Since last year, GVA has been working on sales strategies, equity recapitalizations, and negotiations with lenders; however, Stalcup noted that many lenders were unwilling to modify loan terms which led to foreclosures. Despite these setbacks, he said the company still operates with about 150 employees managing a stabilized core portfolio.
The outcome of both Kastleman’s allegations and GVA’s counterclaims will be determined through ongoing court proceedings. For now, Stalcup stated his firm is waiting out debt maturities with hopes that property values will recover before significant loan obligations come due around 2028.
