Building Stronger Communities with Flexible Rent Solutions and Higher Resident Satisfaction

In this episode of the Multifamily Innovation® Podcast, host Patrick Antrim, Chairman of the Multifamily Innovation® Council, sits down with Brad Robins, Principal Product Evangelist at Flex. Flex, a financial tech innovator and official partner of the Multifamily Innovation® & AI Summit, offers a unique approach to providing financial flexibility to renters.


Brad dives into Flex’s mission-driven approach, which empowers renters, reduces pressure on property owners, and contributes to the overall financial wellness of the multifamily industry. As Principal Product Evangelist, Brad explains his role in storytelling and building customer understanding of Flex’s mission, differentiating his focus from the product engineering team. His work emphasizes communication, helping both industry partners and renters understand Flex’s value.

Flex’s product is designed as a financial wellness app, giving renters the option to pay their rent flexibly by splitting payments into two smaller, manageable portions each month. Brad notes that this approach meets renters’ needs, especially for those with irregular income or sudden expenses. This unique product-market fit propelled Flex’s rapid growth, reaching over 8 million units across 2,000+ management company partners nationwide. Brad highlights the importance of this growth, emphasizing how Flex’s offering reflects a larger trend set by leading consumer brands, such as Amazon, which now provide diverse payment models to align with consumers’ financial situations.

Collaboration with partners is central to Flex’s product development. Flex is continuously iterating based on feedback from clients in the multifamily industry, such as the suggestion to create a rent payment flexibility option specifically for employees of management companies. This co-created solution reflects Flex’s commitment to its partners and to enhancing its product to better fit the needs of multifamily clients. Patrick and Brad discuss the impact of Flex’s product on multifamily operators, detailing how Flex streamlines rent collections while improving the resident experience. 

Flex’s mission extends beyond payment flexibility, encompassing a culture of genuine support and understanding. By empathizing with renters’ financial challenges, Flex strives to make a difference in the resident experience. 

About the Multifamily Innovation® Council:

The Multifamily Innovation® Council is the executive level membership organization that makes a difference in your bottom line, drives a better experience for your employees, and allows you an experience that keeps demand strong for your company. The council is uniquely positioned to focus on the intersection of Leadership, Technology, AI, and Innovation.

The Multifamily Innovation® Council is for Multifamily Business leaders who want to unlock value inside their organization so they can create better experiences and drive profitability inside their company.

To learn more or to join, visit https://multifamilyinnovation.com/council.

For more information and to engage with leaders shaping the future of multifamily innovation, visit https://multifamilyinnovation.com/.

Connect:
Multifamily Innovation® Council: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/council/
Multifamily Innovation® & AI Summit: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/
Patrick Antrim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickantrim/

How PetScreening Transforms Pet Policies and Boosts Profits for Multifamily Operators

In this episode of the Multifamily Innovation® Podcast, host Patrick Antrim sits down with Arlene Mayfield, Senior Vice President at PetScreening, to explore how PetScreening is reshaping pet policies and operations across the multifamily industry. With over 7 million units under management and partnerships with more than 24,000 property management companies, PetScreening brings innovative solutions that enhance resident experiences, boost property revenue, and streamline compliance with HUD’s guidelines for emotional support animals.

Arlene emphasizes the importance of trust, communication, and collaboration as the foundation for strong partnerships. These values are essential as PetScreening helps property management companies tackle pet-related challenges and improve overall efficiency. PetScreening’s solution alleviates the burden of HUD compliance for Emotional Support Animal (ESA) requests, removing the legal complexity from property managers and reducing potential liability. Additionally, the service is cost-effective: property management companies can implement PetScreening at no cost, as fees are only charged to residents with household pets, allowing managers to avoid “junk fee” concerns.

With PetScreening, properties gain insightful access to pet demographics, such as tracking bite histories, which help properties understand and mitigate risks associated with pet ownership in their communities. PetScreening’s software can be implemented in a week, with two-way integrations into most property management software, making setup fast and effective. Their system enables properties to capture additional revenue through pet fees while also creating a reliable process to verify ESA claims and deter false documentation.

Arlene also shared PetScreening’s plans to expand into the short-term rental space, enabling pet-friendly travel accommodations and office environments where pets can help increase employee engagement and satisfaction. As she notes, “Pets are the new kids, with more pets now in households than children.” Through its offerings, PetScreening builds peace of mind, with the ESA compliance service not only lifting a legal burden but also offering properties a streamlined approach to managing pet policies.

About the Multifamily Innovation® Council:

The Multifamily Innovation® Council is the executive level membership organization that makes a difference in your bottom line, drives a better experience for your employees, and allows you an experience that keeps demand strong for your company. The council is uniquely positioned to focus on the intersection of Leadership, Technology, AI, and Innovation.

The Multifamily Innovation® Council is for Multifamily Business leaders who want to unlock value inside their organization so they can create better experiences and drive profitability inside their company.

To learn more or to join, visit https://multifamilyinnovation.com/council.

For more information and to engage with leaders shaping the future of multifamily innovation, visit https://multifamilyinnovation.com/.

Connect:
Multifamily Innovation® Council: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/council/
Multifamily Innovation® & AI Summit: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/
Patrick Antrim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickantrim/

Multifamily Innovation_Council_8

Multifamily Leadership Announces Finalists for the 2023 Best Places to Work Multifamily®

Scottsdale, AZ (October 21, 2022) – The national finalists for the official Best Places to Work Multifamily® will be honored during the upcoming Multifamily Innovation® Summit on December 7-8, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona.

At the Summit, each company will learn how they ranked nationally amongst the other participants and will be recognized on stage for their incredible achievement. 

An exciting new development with the awards this year is the addition of categories.

68 of the finalists are Multifamily Management/Owners. 24 of those finalists were ranked in the 1- 4,999 units category. 37 were ranked in the 5,000 – 19,999 units category and 7 were ranked in the 20,000+ units category.

As a separate category, 15 Multifamily Suppliers/Vendor finalists will learn how they rank nationally. 

And finally, 58 of the finalists will find out how they rank on the Best Places to Work Multifamily® for Women list.

In its 8th year, the Best Places to Work Multifamily® program continues to fulfill its mission to advance leadership and innovation for multifamily professionals by recognizing those organizations who own, manage, and support apartment communities nationwide and who are making an impact in the world through employee engagement.

“This is our opportunity to showcase the hard work, loyalty, and dedication of everyone who helps make the multifamily industry what it is today. We love recognizing the people within these incredible companies every year and showcasing what they’re doing in order to receive this honored distinction within the multifamily industry. These are the best of the best building healthy organizations from the ground up,” stated Carrie Antrim, CO-Founder of Multifamily Women®.

Patrick Antrim, CEO of Multifamily Leadership explained, “Next generation leaders want to know their company is making a positive impact in the world. Companies have been measuring resident satisfaction for years and the leading indicator for organizational success is the link between employee engagement and the resident experience. Employees are presented with hundreds of opportunities each day to be their best, but it’s the behavior that drives a successful organization, not satisfaction or size. The Best Places to Work Multifamily® companies have stepped up to play that role and will have a much bigger voice in the future.”

The national research and benchmarking program demonstrates the industry’s focus on people, while illustrating its overall potential— as it annually contributes more than 3.4 trillion-dollars to the U.S. economy and supports more than 17.5 million jobs. 

Leaders who are looking to drive their teams forward are encouraged to register and attend the upcoming Multifamily Innovation® Summit on December 7-8, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona, regardless if they’re participating in the Best Places to Work Multifamily® Program. 

Sponsorship opportunities are available and can be secured here as well for those who want to get their brands in front of these top CEOs and decision-makers not only at the Summit but across all of Multifamily Leadership’s social media platforms, broadcast emails, and website. 

So, without further ado, the 2023 Best Places to Work Multifamily® finalists arranged alphabetically are:

Alco Management, Inc.
Apartment Dynamics, LLC
APARTMENT SEO, LLC
ApartmentGeofencing.com
Ashford Communities
Avanti Residential
Baron Properties
Berger Rental Communities
BSR REIT
Carter-Haston Real Estate Services, Inc.
CHARLESGATE
Chestnut Hill Realty
City Heights Asset Management LLC
Confluence Communities
Continental Properties
Croatan Investments
DASMEN Residential
Decron Properties
Domuso
Eenhoorn, LLC
FCI Residential
Fogelman Properties
Frankforter Group
Gables Residential
Ginsburg Development Companies, LLC
GoldOller Real Estate Investments
GrayCo Properties, LLC
Hankin Apartments
IMT Residential
Indus Communities
ITEX
JVM Realty
Keener Management
Knock CRM
Lantower Residential
Laramar Group
Lawson
Leonardo247, Inc.
LoanBoss
LURIN Property Management
Marquis Asset Management
Mission Rock Residential, LLC
Morgan Properties
MRI Software
Northland Investment Corporation
NorthPoint Management
O’Brien Realty Group
Passco Companies
Peak Properties
Peg Property Management Group
Perennial Properties
Picerne Real Estate Group
PLK Communities
Poole & Poole Architecture, LLC
Portico Property Management
Presidium
RealSource Properties
Redwood Property Investors, LLC
RentDebt Automated Collections
Rently
REPLI
Respage
ResProp Management
Scully Company
Security Properties Residential LLC
Stoa Group
StoneRiver Company
SYNC Residential
The Bascom Group
The Franklin Johnston Group
The Garrett Companies
The KSC Group
The Life Properties
The Prime Company
The RADCO Companies
The REMM Group
The Westover Companies
Valiant Residential
WeDoTrash
Weller Management
WRH REALTY SERVICES, INC.
Zego
Zocalo Community Development

PRESS CONTACT:
Patrick Antrim
patrick@multifamilyleadership.com
480-719-4409 x101
multifamilyleadership.com