Discover the latest trends disrupting the multifamily industry. Explore cutting-edge technology innovations such as smart home solutions and AI-powered leasing that will shape the future of apartments in 2022.
The Emergence of AI-Powered Virtual Assistants: Revolutionizing Technology Interaction
Discover the transformative power of AI-powered virtual assistants in our latest blog post. From Siri to Alexa, we explore their rising popularity and game-changing capabilities within the world of technology.
The Importance of Due Diligence for Apartment Building Owners and Operators
As an owner or operator of an apartment building, there are many important factors to consider when evaluating a potential acquisition. One often overlooked area is the property’s risk of storm damage and the importance of understanding its insurance claims history. This is where due diligence comes in, and why it’s crucial to have experts on your side.
Many buyers focus solely on the financials of a potential acquisition, but neglect to investigate the property’s insurance claims history. This can be a costly mistake, as storm damage can result in significant expenses that can eat into profits. However, by thoroughly examining the multifamily property’s claims history, owners and operators can identify unreported or uncovered claims that can provide the funds needed for capital improvements.
This is where having experts in your corner, such as our client WeatherShield, can be invaluable. These experts can help owners and operators navigate the complex world of insurance claims, ensuring that all claims are properly reported and that the maximum amount of funds are recovered.
“You would never want to go into an insurance claim on a high-dollar value property without an expert that understands damage identification. Someone who understands the insurance processes, the estimating, the evaluation, and how to handle large-scale commercial projects,” says Founder of WeatherShield, Marc Ness.
In addition to the potential for hidden capital improvement dollars, owners and operators need to be aware of the risk of storm damage to their property. This is especially important in areas prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, or other severe weather events. Understanding the property’s risk of storm damage and taking steps to mitigate that risk, such as reinforcing the building’s envelope or installing storm shutters, can help prevent damage and ensure that the property remains safe for its residents.
In the event that damage does occur, having experts on your side can be crucial in ensuring that the insurance claims process goes smoothly. This can be a complex and time-consuming process, but with the help of experts, owners and operators can recover the funds needed to make necessary repairs and improvements.
Due diligence is a critical part of the acquisition process for apartment building owners and operators. Understanding the property’s risk of storm damage and thoroughly examining its insurance claims history can help identify hidden capital improvement dollars and prevent costly surprises down the road. Additionally, having experts on your side can ensure that the insurance claims process goes smoothly, providing the funds needed to make necessary repairs and improvements. By prioritizing due diligence and partnering with experts, owners and operators can make informed decisions and protect their investments.
Connect with Marc Ness on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-ness-101bbb7a/
Visit the WeatherShield Website for more information: https://weathershieldpro.com/
Proptech: The Multifamily Industry’s Secret Weapon to Economic Resiliency
In this episode of the Multifamily Innovation® Show, Patrick Antrim talks with Kyle Finney, Business Development Manager of Arize, to illustrate how smart tech can be leveraged affordably. And how, even in tight cost-cutting times, owners can fortify their portfolio by optimizing their operational efficiencies, maintaining strong retention and occupancy rates, and building more resilience into their assets. At the end of the day, Owners need to justify the expense and see the short-term and long-term value when cost-cutting.
Patrick and Kyle covered the following topics:
- The current climate in the multifamily industry.
- How and why proptech is the secret weapon to multifamily’s
economic resiliency. - How proptech addresses operational efficiencies in multifamily.
- What is centralized leasing and how it benefits owners and operators of multifamily assets.
- How to implement these solutions while staying within budget.
- Integrations and installations within existing multifamily properties.
Connect:
Kyle Finney – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-finney/
Patrick Antrim – https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickantrim/
Multifamily Innovation® – https://www.linkedin.com/company/multifamilyleadership/
Websites:
https://www.arizehub.com/
https://multifamilyinnovation.com/
The Multifamily Investment Secret They Don’t Want You to Know: The Hidden Storm Damage Threat
Do you know the biggest threat to your multifamily investments? It’s not a market crash or a natural disaster, it’s something much closer to home.
In this episode, Patrick is joined by Marc Ness, Founder of WeatherShield. Marc is a construction expert with 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, who will reveal the hidden storm damage threat that could cost you your investments and the secret to protecting them.
Marc is a seasoned expert in the property insurance claims and construction industry, with a background that spans over two decades. He grew up in central Iowa where he developed a love for construction and worked in lumber yards and construction companies before starting his own construction company while in college.
After working for one of the top 5 insurance carriers for almost 20 years, Marc went on to oversee operations for a commercial roofing company, where he saw first-hand the challenges that multifamily and commercial real estate investors face in their investment and asset management strategies. Marc recognized a gap and created WeatherShield, a company that helps investors and property managers avoid making costly mistakes related to storm damage.
Here are some of the topics covered in this episode:
- Why multifamily investors and property managers seem lack awareness the resulting effects of storm damage.
- What things need to be considered if someone thinks they have storm damage and are considering filing a claim.
- The biggest opportunities being missed by multifamily investors.
- Common mistakes real estate investors and property managers make when it comes to managing storm damage risk.
- The importance for investors to have a thorough evaluation of their properties by someone trained in storm damage evaluations.
- Overview of WeatherShield and it’s helping the industry, how to learn more and how to get in touch with Marc.
Make a Connection:
Marc Ness: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-ness-101bbb7a/
Patrick Antrim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickantrim/
Multifamily® Innovation: https://www.linkedin.com/company/multifamilyleadership/
Websites:
https://weathershieldpro.com/
https://multifamilyinnovation.com/
Multifamily Innovation® Advisory Council Chairman Patrick Antrim to Attend CES 2023
Antrim has been selected as multifamily industry analyst to attend CES® 2023. He will receive access to Media Days which is an exclusive, media-only event that takes place in Las Vegas before CES opens to the tech industry.
January 2, 2023 - Scottsdale, AZ -- Patrick Antrim, Founder and CEO of Multifamily Leadership and Chairman of the Multifamily Innovation® Advisory Council, has been selected to attend CES 2023 as an industry analyst. Antrim will explore opportunities for the future of the multifamily industry at the exclusive CES Media Days event, which takes place on January 3rd and 4th in Las Vegas.
While at CES, Antrim will focus his attention on turning industry blind spots into breakthrough innovations through collaboration. He plans to meet with forward-thinking innovators to discuss the use of open integrations to advance technology adoption in the multifamily industry. Additionally, Antrim will work to attract investment capital to the industry in order to advance innovation through collaboration.
Media Days, which is open exclusively to CES media, gives access to press conferences and a preview of the products launching at CES® 2023. The event will feature top exhibitors in addition to showcasing new products and technologies. According to CES, “Kicking off major tech announcements, Media Days gives registered media access to news-breaking press conferences and CES Unveiled Las Vegas, a first-hand preview of the products launching at CES 2023.”
The multifamily industry plays a significant role in the US economy, with apartments and their residents contributing $3.4 trillion annually and supporting 17.5 million jobs. With growing demand for apartments, the industry must continue to innovate and find new development approaches to meet this demand.
Antrim will bring the information and insights he gains at CES back to the Multifamily Innovation® Advisory Council, a private, invitation-only group that meets weekly to discuss real-world experiences with using technology in multifamily communities. Council members are free from vendor influences and sales pitches, allowing them to openly think through challenges and find solutions for their operations. The council also meets in person annually at the Multifamily Innovation® Summit.
Membership to the Multifamily Innovation® Council is by application only and is open to those who own or work for firms that own or manage a minimum of 1,500 apartment units.
To learn about membership opportunities, visit MultifamilyInnovation.com.
Media Contact:
Patrick Antrim
media@multifamilyleadership.com
480-719-4409
Meet the Sponsors Series – RealPage Smart Building
Multifamily Leadership, is an events, news, and media platform. It’s where Multifamily Innovation, technology, Investments, and Leaders converge. As part of our Multifamily Innovation® Summit, we share time with innovative brands as part of our “Meet the Sponsors” series that showcases those brands that are supporting the platform to advance technology, innovation, leadership, and investments.
Be sure to register for the Multifamily Innovation® Summit at multifamilyinnovation.com
Today Patrick shares time with Mark Schmulen who is now the General Manager at RealPage SmartBuilding, but was the Co-Founder and CEO of Chirp Systems, a company acquired by RealPage.
In this episode, Patrick and Mark discuss:
- What is RealPage Smart Building and how is it making life better for apartment owners and operators?
- Mark shares how brands like Stratis, Chirp Systems, and RealPage come together while remaining focused on delivering great value to apartment property staff and management in a seamless manner.
- Mark discusses how he Co-Founded Chirp Systems and what the process was like for them as they worked closely with Camden Property Trust to develop the product, which ultimately led to the acquisition by RealPage.
- Patrick and Mark talk about how smart apartment homes and smart multifamily buildings are becoming less of an amenity and more of a necessity, and what RealPage Smart Building is doing to centralize building management and automation.
- Mark is excited about their apartment retrofit solutions and talks about the new innovations that are allowing operators to get more creative and find ways to realize cost savings, staff productivity, and operational efficiencies.
Connect with Mark on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markschmulen/
Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickantrim/
Register for the Multifamily Innovation® Summit: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/
Eyewitness Surveillance for Your Self Guided Tours
Joe Curd is the Director of Multifamily National Accounts at Stealth Monitoring. Stealth protects assets for businesses with high quality video monitoring and surveillance.
How Rent Delinquency is Affecting Profitability and Beyond
Rent delinquency is increasing and as we all know, resident priorities are shifting as well. This is causing the multifamily industry a lot of uncertainty during a time of already rapid change. Due to these changes in wants and expectations, multifamily companies must start strategizing for the future to ensure profitability and continue to create places that residents want to live.
It is always important to listen to the customer, which is something that is often overlooked in this industry. Yet it is also important to make sure that they are following their agreements by paying rent on time and that they have the ability to do so. Everyone is looking to raise rents to meet certain revenue goals; however, there are other issues going on beyond the scope of rent increases.
We invited one of our clients, Lisa Strauser from CredHub to speak on what they are doing to alleviate some of these stressors.
CredHub is a service that companies in the multifamily industry incorporate to help reduce multifamily rent delinquency. It works by associating rent payments to tenants’ credit reporting agencies. For most tenants, that’s a great thing – it allows them to use their largest expense as a way to improve their credit scores, just as mortgages do for homeowners. For others, it’s the extra incentive they need to pay their rent on time, so their credit score isn’t brought down by a late or missed payment.
Lisa Strauser is the Sales Director for CredHub. In this recent interview, she discussed some of the ways the multifamily industry is struggling, as well as how it can improve.
Strauser says the way to make sure properties aren’t bleeding out revenue to delinquent payments is to make sure their residents are truly held accountable for their rent. If they aren’t held accountable, there’s no incentive to make their rent payment a priority among their list of bills.
By implementing resident credit reporting, Strauser says that the accountability factor is put in place immediately. In fact, she says properties that implement CredHub’s technology see the delinquency rate lower within a period of just 60-90 days.
“The delinquency rate naturally reduces when there is finally a consequence for not doing what one is supposed to be doing,” explained Strauser.
CredHub also goes above and beyond by impacting credit scores for previous residents who still have an outstanding balance with the property.
“Impacting their credit for balances owed has a way of motivating people to pay outstanding expenses to remove it from their credit report,” said Strauser.
She says that although CredHub aims to ensure rules are followed, the company’s work isn’t about punishment – on the contrary, it’s about helping boost those who are paying on time, typically boosting FICO scores by 42 points. It levels the playing field between renters and those with mortgages who see improvements for on-time payments on their living space. Some people are credit invisible and can use this as a way to leave their mark.
“For those with established credit profiles, the increase in FICO scores leads to an offering of better interest rates on credit cards and higher credit limits,” said Strauser. “For those without social security numbers, in assisted properties, or lacking social security numbers, it establishes for the first time a credit identity by rewarding them for their timely rental payments.”
Strauser also argues that CredHub can, in some instances, be the final deciding factor in where someone wants to live. It should be included as an amenity, just like a pool or gym, since it’s something intended to improve the residents’ lives. If a potential renter knows they’ll pay on time, they would see an enormous benefit in renting from a property that offers CredHub. Likewise, the usage of that technology would discourage those who know they may not pay on time, meaning the property gets a higher quality resident.
By using services like CredHub, multifamily properties can incentivize residents to pay on-time, increase resident retention and create a competitive advantage for their property. Services like these are paving the way for residents to get credit for one of their most costly expenses and to hold others accountable who may have fallen behind.
Ready to find out more?
Text "Credit" to 480-780-2611 for a free report with more information.
Investments at Different Stages of the Apartment Lifecycle
Real estate is a unique industry that faces unique challenges. When you seek out new technology, you should be careful about the investment. Tom Spahn talks about what to look for in the investments and commitments you make, how to know whether that product will be a good fit for your company long-term, and how to spot a truly great team.