Surviving the Storm: Navigating Hail Damage in Texas – A Guide for Multifamily Property Owners

In this episode of the Multifamily Innovation® Podcast, host Patrick Antrim spends time with Marc Ness, founder of WeatherShield, who shares his expertise on protecting property investments during severe weather conditions.

Marc, who has over two decades of experience in construction, investment, and insurance, provides insights on how to prepare for and handle weather-related property damage claims. He emphasizes the importance of understanding property insurance policies and claims processes to ensure maximum coverage and quick recovery.

Marc stresses the importance of being proactive in addressing potential storm damage to minimize future insurance claims. He explains that by addressing and correcting storm damage immediately, property owners can prevent further damage and potentially avoid costly insurance claims. Also highlighted the importance of being aware of storm damage to avoid selling a multifamily property for less than its worth due to undisclosed damage. Being proactive and knowledgeable about storm damage can help multifamily investors make sound and smart decisions to minimize financial losses. Multifamily property owners have a duty to mitigate damage and should address any issues promptly to prevent further damage and ensure coverage by their insurance company.

Multifamily investors can leverage insurance scenarios to make capital improvements without spending their own money. Acquisition teams need to look for properties that have the potential for found money in them where damage has occurred. By leveraging the insurance scenario, investors can get some capital improvements accomplished without spending capital improvement dollars. However, it’s important for apartment investors to be proactive in these matters rather than reactive, and to have knowledge and awareness of their options. Additionally, having a sound risk preparedness plan in place as part of an asset management strategy is important.

Hidden damages can be discovered by a trained eye, such as potential leaks, holes, cracks in vinyl siding, and broken windows. By being aware of these damages, apartment property managers can address and correct them immediately, preventing further damage and potentially reducing costs in the long run.

Additionally, being aware of storm damage can help property owners file insurance claims and potentially receive compensation for damages. The episode also highlights the financial impact of storm damage, which can lead to the devaluation of assets and loss of return on investment. Having foundational knowledge and being aware of storm damage is crucial in making sound and smart decisions to minimize risk and potential costs.

Timestamps:
[00:00:00] Severe hailstorm in North Texas.
[00:03:57] Severe storm damage.
[00:09:13] Apartment building vulnerabilities.
[00:12:14] Storm damage and multifamily property value.
[00:16:04] Independent evaluation for storm damage.
[00:20:41] Understanding deductibles in insurance for multifamily properties.
[00:23:00] Insurance premium misconceptions.
[00:29:36] Independent assessment for apartment property damage.
[00:31:37] Contractor vs Adjuster Perspective.
[00:36:24] Insurance claim mitigation in multifamily.
[00:38:47] Focus on one thing.

Connect:
Marc Ness: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-ness-101bbb7a/
Patrick Antrim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickantrim/

The Biggest Obstacles to Healthy Apartment Cash Flow

In this episode of the Multifamily Innovation® Podcast, host Patrick Antrim provides an inside look at the most recent meeting of the Multifamily Innovation® Council. This Council is open to multifamily owners and operators with 1,500 units or more who are dedicated to driving innovation in the multifamily industry.

The episode delves into the significance of comprehending the financial impact of a multifamily business and utilizing that knowledge to enhance productivity and improve the business. Antrim highlights that with the advancements in AI, there has never been a better time to reimagine a business. Furthermore, the discussion emphasizes the importance of educating employees about the financial picture early on in their careers and motivating them to invest in themselves and their skills. The ultimate goal is to elevate both the multifamily company and its employees, leading to a more successful and productive business.

Antrim stresses the importance of defining success and understanding how it is perceived by different people in the company. Asking regional apartment managers, property managers, and other employees to define success and paying attention to whether it is activity-related, occupancy-related, or financial-related is an effective strategy.

The episode also highlights the opportunity to educate employees about the financial picture early on in their careers and incentivize them to invest in themselves and their skills. By clarifying who the multifamily company is managing for, such as investors who could be teachers, firefighters, or first responders, employees can better understand the financial impact of their decisions and expect more from their company and themselves. Overall, the episode underscores the importance of defining success and ensuring that everyone in the company is aligned and working towards the same goals.

Antrim also mentions the importance of incentivizing employees to learn financial skills and focusing on preventative measures for late rent payments in apartment communities to improve the business. One suggestion is moving the date for collection bonuses earlier in the timeline to encourage employees to be more proactive in addressing late payments. Antrim also emphasizes the importance of training multifamily employees on financial understanding at every level of the business and defining success based on financial metrics rather than just occupancy or activity.

Additionally, Antrim discusses the idea of offering incentives to apartment residents for timely rent payments and including provisions in leases that allow for one free waving of a late fee in case of financial hardship. A focus on financial education and preventative measures can lead to improved business outcomes for the multifamily industry.

Timestamps:

[00:00:36] Cashflow obstacles for apartment operators.
[00:06:33] Using negative energy in business.
[00:07:26] Lease incentives for financial accountability.
[00:11:28] Emotional collections during COVID.
[00:15:28] Financial understanding in a multifamily business.
[00:19:56] Car ownership and payments.

Resources:
Connect with Patrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickantrim/
Join the Multifamily Innovation® Council: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/multifamily-innovation-advisory-council/
Register for the Multifamily Innovation® Summit: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/

Standardized and Normalized Data in the Multifamily Industry

Today on the Multifamily Innovation® Show, Patrick Antrim discusses the importance of standardized and normalized data in the multifamily industry with Elizabeth Braman, Co-Founder and CEO of Revolution RE. Elizabeth’s company provides tactical insights and reporting for peak apartment performance.

The episode also includes announcements for the Multifamily Innovation® Summit and the Multifamily Innovation® Council, which provides support and networking opportunities for owners and operators of 1,500 units or more.

Patrick and Elizabeth discuss how using data for benchmarking, resident experience analysis, and risk management can help improve apartment property performance and retention. This includes analyzing year-over-year performance, team productivity, performance metrics, online reviews, sentiment, and emails to determine the health of a particular multifamily property. Data can be used to identify opportunities or potential weaknesses in multifamily property performance for risk management purposes.

Other use cases for data include multifamily revenue growth, testing new technologies, and regulatory compliance. By having standardized data in the same environment and format, comparative analysis can be done to improve upon current practices and learn from the competitive set.

Additionally, today’s episode delves into the benefits of offering apartment amenities and experiences to residents, which can enhance their overall experience and increase retention. One way to measure their impact is by analyzing online reviews, which are the primary means by which most people find housing these days, especially within the multifamily industry. Positive reviews can lead to increased traffic from online leads, while negative reviews can have the opposite effect. Although determining the value of these offerings can be difficult, it is crucial to consider their overall impact on resident experience and retention.

Elizabeth stresses the importance of having a structured and focused data strategy for multifamily companies to effectively use data and achieve results. She recommends starting by identifying which data sources to work with and setting achievable, measurable, and worthwhile goals. She also emphasizes the importance of involving everyone in executing the plan and committing to training and exploration.

Time Stamps:
[00:06:53] Clean data for AI applications.
[00:09:55] Thinking about data today in the apartment industry.
[00:13:01] Standardizing data for comparative analysis.
[00:19:40] Using data to prove the multifamily business model.
[00:28:47] Predictive analytics in real estate.
[00:33:25] Rental property data challenges.
[00:35:00] Small clients benefit from data.
[00:43:17] Building a consistent multifamily brand.
[00:44:09] Predictive models in property management.
[00:48:26] Increasing value of products.
[00:52:33] Responding to negative reviews.

Resources:
Revolution RE – https://revolutionre.com/
Elizabeth Braman – https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethbraman/
Patrick Antrim – https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickantrim/
Multifamily Innovation® Summit – https://multifamilyinnovation.com/
Multifamily Innovation® Council – https://multifamilyinnovation.com/multifamily-innovation-advisory-council/