To help professionals across senior living prep for industry changes ahead, we joined Senior Housing News (SHN) last month to host an insightful roundtable webinar — Senior Living in Flux: C-Suite Changemakers Discuss a Transforming Industry! Featuring experts Sarabeth Hanson of Harbor Retirement Associates (HRA), Earl Parker of Commonwealth Senior Living, Sevy Petras of Priority Life Care and Yardi Director of Healthcare Solutions Fil Southerland, the conversation offered tangible ways to navigate change expected for 2024. Read on to discover the webinar’s key takeaways on topics crucial to senior living today: Major ways the senior living industry is changing The importance of the middle market How to meet the needs of a new consumer Key ways technology is shaping the industry’s future 2023 Changemakers + Yardi expert share advice and insights When asked where they see the industry changing, the panelists shared a range of answers. Sevy focused on the power of technology and data, stating the two will push the industry forward come 2024. For Sarabeth, change is centered around serving a new consumer — baby boomers — as well as senior living staff, who now have different expectations than years prior. Earl brought the conversation back to technology, emphasizing the small margin for error in today’s industry and how that’s driving a focus on data. He spoke to Commonwealth’s success with Yardi Senior IQ — our business intelligence powerhouse — in harnessing real-time data to make sharper, informed decisions. Fil relayed Yardi’s focus on digital transformations and accelerating complex workflows to meet the needs of today’s communities. Sarabeth chimed in to share more positive experiences with Yardi’s evolving solutions, focusing on the benefit of using fully integrated tools that unite on a single platform. Shifting gears to speaking on the middle market,...

From Nov. 1-3, NMHC OPTECH brought together the brightest minds and the latest innovations in the multifamily industry. Las Vegas was the hub of important conversations surrounding the present and future of real estate technology. Here’s a quick recap of the event, including more information about the new AI-driven, human-centered solutions we recently announced.  Meet your maestro, Yardi Virtuoso Whether you went in person or were staying updated from the sidelines, one innovation stood out amidst the bustle of the conference: Yardi Virtuoso. By weaving artificial intelligence across the Yardi platform, you’re not just streamlining your processes — you’re transforming workflows. Virtuoso is your gateway to a more efficient future. It offers an AI-powered agent that seamlessly integrates with Yardi solutions, revolutionizing your workflow through the power of generative AI. This new tech also leverages machine learning, natural language processing and more powerful capabilities to help solve problems in your day-to-day and drive your business forward: Tap into the power of an AI-powered assistant to do more with less – effortlessly track tasks, generate reports and more with a simple voice command Significantly reduce invoice processing time and cost Improve prospect and resident communications with a bot that can chat, text, email and call It’s the future of AI in real estate. Virtuoso doesn’t just analyze, it harmonizes — bringing together disparate, manual parts of your workflow and creating an AI-powered, human-centered symphony. Stay updated. A medley of insights Yardi leaders contributed to pivotal discussions at the event, delivering insights on technology’s evolving role within the industry through the following sessions: Yardi Vice President Michael Tuer participated in the “Multifamily Technology Spending and Staffing” panel, offering insights on necessary adjustments the industry must make to navigate an increasingly tech-centric future. In “Operationalizing Resident Fee...

When you lack efficient leasing tools, turning senior living prospects into residents can be challenging. But how do you identify the best tools? Which solutions are built to last? Paper-based processes aren’t optimal due to the risk of manual errors and lost documents. Not to mention, they can be costly. Electronic leasing tools are much more efficient, especially when you opt for a fully integrated solution likes ours. With tools across the Yardi Senior Living Suite connecting on a single platform, you’re set to simplify move-in workflows, reduce expenses and make the prospect-to-resident journey seamless. To show you just how valuable electronic leasing tools are, we have a helpful cost analysis checklist in store. Learn more and get a glimpse at what the checklist offers below. What is electronic leasing? As part of an overall set of leasing tools, electronic leases are a digital version of the rental contract you already know. They replace paper leases and ancillary forms with secure, digitally stored files. But keep in mind that with the Yardi Senior Living Suite, you access more than just digital documents. We offer integrated electronic leasing tools that streamline every step of the move-in process. In short, you can easily generate custom leases in RentCafe Senior CRM, mark them for electronic signatures in RentCafe Senior Living Portal and automatically store completed documents in Voyager Senior Housing. Without electronic leases and an integrated workflow, on the other hand, you face: Perpetual operational costs Hours spent generating leases and ancillary documents Lost prospects who wish to sign forms remotely A halted sales cycle and decreased move-ins And more How to compare costs with our checklist Now that you know more about electronic leasing, we invite you to review our cost analysis checklist! It’s an intuitive...

Yardi is showcasing new solutions at the 2023 NMHC OPTECH Conference & Expo, including the latest generation of Yardi Voyager, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform and a Microsoft® Power BI connector. The event is set to take place Nov. 1-3 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is a yearly gathering for leading figures in multifamily operations. Yardi is proud to be a longtime supporter of NMHC OPTECH and is once again a Platinum Sponsor for the event.  Booth 105 will showcase new AI-powered and human-centered technology from Yardi. This includes solutions designed to help operators “compose their future,” leveraging the combination of one connected system and AI to drive performance and maximize efficiency.  Eventgoers can schedule demos with the Yardi team at the booth to see the new solutions for multifamily, including: Yardi Voyager 8, the latest generation of the industry-leading platform, now with a fresh update to further enhance the user experience. Yardi Virtuoso is an AI platform built to complement Yardi solutions. It leverages AI, large language models and machine learning to drive operational efficiency between people and technology. RentCafe CRM IQ, a customer relationship management system that provides full visibility into prospect, applicant and resident workflows, in addition to enabling centralized leasing and operations. RentCafe Chat IQ, an automated attendant that answers prospect and resident questions via chat, text, email and calls. Yardi Data Connect, a secure data feed from Voyager to Microsoft Power BI that allows more customization capabilities and inclusion of third-party sources, along with preconfigured dashboards. Book a meeting to see all new solutions up close during the conference or join an on-demand...

Halloween is around the corner and got us thinking some spooky thoughts—the market for “probably haunted” real estate. In New Orleans, “haunted” properties are so common that some properties include “not haunted” tags on their For Sale signs. Let’s delve into some practical advice for individuals interested in purchasing a potentially haunted property. In a recent article, a funeral home in Massachusetts was listed. Instead of the traditional “for sale” sign, the real estate agent decided to pique the interest of paranormal enthusiasts and staked a sign outside that read “probably haunted.” Is the property haunted? Nobody can know for sure, but given the history, it’s a possibility. Every state differs on what is to be disclosed to buyers. Material defects such as a leaky roof or older HVAC systems are disclosed, but life gets a bit more interesting when the house’s flaws may be tragic, gruesome or paranormal. A murder-suicide inside the house is considered a psychological stigma and does not constitute a material defect. One caveat is that a seller cannot misrepresent a property’s history. If asked about crime scenes or family tragedies, a seller must be truthful. Buyer Beware: We are Haunted. Caveat emptor is a common law doctrine that places the burden on the buyers to reasonably examine property before purchasing. A buyer who fails to meet this burden cannot recover for defects in the product that would have been discovered had this burden been met. Buyers need substantial “due diligence,” especially if the price of the home is “too good to be true.” Knock on the neighbor’s door or hire a medium, because you’ll likely never know if you don’t ask. Research local town legends and the historical records of the building, especially if it is a particularly older...

At the recent Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference in San Diego, leaders in real estate investment management exchanged insights into industry challenges, trends and how Yardi solutions make a difference in their business. Participants in the briefing were: Adam Vanni, senior portfolio manager for Fairfield, a San Diego-based multifamily property investment company with about 42,000 units under management Bailey Breish, CFO for Alturas Capital Partners, which manages a real estate investment fund with more than 45 assets. Donnie Penney, principal business analyst for Invesco, a real estate investment manager based in Dallas. Josh Gladstein, chief technology officer for Berkshire Residential Investments, which manages more than 120 multifamily properties and about $27 billion of assets under management from its Boston headquarters. Taylor Waldo, director of IT project management for San Francisco-based Prime Finance, which invests across all real estate asset classes through 10 active funds. The session was moderated by Yardi Investment Management team members Vicki Dodig, director of sales, and Susan Freehauf, senior director of professional services. Discussion at the session, edited for length and clarity, included: Keeping Pace with Evolving Technology Waldo: “The accounting cycle doesn’t change, the tax cycle doesn’t change. But our team members need to constantly adapt to get their business done. So we try to create a culture of change that helps our team feel comfortable. I work to make sure everybody from the leadership team understands the impact that change will have on them and be trained on using the new technology. If you want somebody to give up their beloved spreadsheets, there has to be something in it for them, even if that’s just words of encouragement, words of acknowledgment that they’re getting help to do things the right way. My job is to get all our business...

The senior living industry is anything but static. Leaders are constantly challenged with new obstacles as the industry changes, prompting the need to get creative, develop unique strategies and keep a pulse on what disruption lies ahead.   To help you assess what change is coming in 2024 — and learn thoughtful ways to navigate it — Senior Housing News (SHN) is hosting an impactful roundtable webinar this month! The webinar will feature an amazing panel including three of this year’s Changemaker honorees as well as a special guest from team Yardi. We’re pleased to sponsor the webinar and bring you fresh perspectives from each contributor. Explore the key takeaways to expect and get the registration information below. Get the details and meet the Changemaker panelists Not familiar with the Changemakers series? You can learn more in our recent wrap-up post here on the blog, but in short, it’s an inspiring interview series honoring a batch of senior living trailblazers. Yardi and SHN have partnered each year for the last five years to recognize these individuals, gathering their stories and advice for all to enjoy.   With the 2023 Changemakers offering insights relevant to today’s operators, it’s only fitting they speak in the upcoming roundtable webinar. The webinar — Senior Living in Flux: C-Suite Changemakers Discuss a Transforming Industry — is set for October 18 from 1-2 p.m. CDT. In attending, you’ll have a front row seat to the panelists’ fresh ideas and viewpoints, learning exactly where they see the biggest potential for change in 2024. Get ready for insights from: Yardi client Earl Parker, Chief Executive Officer, Commonwealth Senior Living Yardi client Sarabeth Hanson, CEO and President, Harbor Retirement Associates (HRA) Sevy Petras, Chief Executive Officer, Priority Life Care Meet the special guest,...

October is Energy Awareness Month, which gives businesses and consumers lots of opportunities to learn about, adopt and promote energy-efficiency practices that reduce consumption and save money. First comes Energy Efficiency Day on Oct. 4. Even more opportunities come just a week later – on ENERGY STAR® Day, Oct. 11. ENERGY STAR Day seeks to use Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other platforms to connect audiences, particularly underserved communities, to all the ways they can save with ENERGY STAR. The website for the program, which is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), encourages partners, including Yardi, to “co-amplify the important message of energy efficiency and a clean energy future for all” with their own ENERGY STAR-tagged messages. Other ways to participate in ENERGY STAR Day include community service and education projects. By engaging all levels of employees in ENERGY STAR Day, employers can “provide valuable energy and money-saving opportunities … while enhancing your commitment to energy-efficiency, sustainability, and social responsibility,” EPA says. ENERGY STAR Day’s focus on equity stems from a study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. It revealed that low-income households pay up to three times more on home energy costs than more affluent households, representing nearly 20% of their income. “Addressing this access disparity is a priority for EPA, and one we know we can address by working together with our partners,” the EPA says. See how you and your organization can participate in ENERGY STAR Day and enable ENERGY STAR to amplify your energy-efficiency success...

How does Vitality Living achieve more with the Yardi Senior Living Suite? Find out in our latest case study! Featuring in-depth insights from Vitality’s chief financial officer and vice president of wellness, the resource sheds light on Vitality’s major successes with our single connected solution. Sound interesting? Explore the snapshot of Vitality’s story below. The challenge For financial accounting, Vitality used to rely on manual processes and disparate systems — taking time away from priorities, generating errors and causing confusion among teams. From monthly ACH pulls to building financial reports, key tasks became increasingly arduous. Vitality searched for a dependable, integrated solution to serve as their source of truth and alleviate the challenges they were facing. In terms of gathering data and presenting insights, Vitality also utilized manual processes — as their data was scattered across siloed solutions. Not only were these processes time-consuming, but they also prevented Vitality from unlocking insights regarding occupancy, falls and more, since data lacked the organization and presentation needed to reveal important trends. Not to mention, Vitality’s data wasn’t being updated in real time. Leaders sought a business intelligence solution that would present up-to-date, business-wide data in a visual format — all in one place. The solution After searching for a trusted technology provider known for creating integrated solutions on the cloud, Vitality began their journey with Yardi. Now, they’re driving success at every level with Voyager Senior Housing and Senior IQ. With Voyager, Vitality accesses automated accounting functions, real-time reporting and complete business oversight in one centralized location. “When you’re running a report in Voyager, you’re getting real-time data,” shared Nick Byrd, chief financial officer at Vitality. “The system is integrated with all of these pieces which allows us to get a true picture.” And thanks to...

Since its founding in 1990, NAREIM has promoted best practices for real estate investment management with an array of education, networking, research, thought leadership and student program opportunities. Yardi has consistently supported NAREIM events as a sponsor, exhibitor and presenter over the years. Close out 2023 on a high note by joining the Yardi Investment Suite team at these dynamic NAREIM events: Event: NAREIM Executive Officer Meeting Date: Oct. 4-6 Place: Deer Valley, Utah Summary: Roundtable sessions and group discussions on building effective relationships, creating organizational strategies, and meeting the challenge of finding the right skills for asset management, transactions and portfolio management. Extras: Alpine slide and tubing down the 90K ski jump at the Park City Olympic Village. Meet with Yardi: Fill out a contact form. Event: NAREIM Capital Raising & IR Date: Dec. 6-7 Place: New York CitySummary: NAREIM Capital Raising & Investor Relations committee update, followed by sessions on managing ESG and DEI issues, elevating fundraising skills, raising capital from non-institutional sources and looking ahead to 2024. Extras: Networking dinner at the Liberty Bistro in downtown Manhattan. Meet with Yardi: Fill out a contact...

Here’s the latest of our periodic reports on projects undertaken by businesses and academic institutions that are sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the U.S Department of Energy’s R&D arm. Domestic energy production projects In August, the DOE announced funding for 18 ARPA-E projects designed to establish potential new areas of technology development and information that could bolster domestic energy production, cut consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The funding recipients include: WH-Power of College Park, Md., which will develop a zinc battery – inherently safer and less expensive than existing batteries – that can operate at both high and low temperatures in residential and grid-scale energy storage applications. C-Crete Technologies of San Leandro, Calif., which will create new insulation for large power transformers that could save the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars annually by reducing the number of power outages associated with transformer failures. The University of Notre Dame, which will design a low-cost power transistor for devices used in electric vehicles, industrial power control and more. The proposed design could lead to possible energy savings of one quadrillion British Thermal Units per year, about 1% of annual energy consumption in the U.S. Perseus Materials of Knoxville, Tenn., which will develop new composite wind turbine blade manufacturing modes that could reduce labor costs, cycle times and factory footprints at the same output levels. Clean energy and data centers Another round of funding announced in June earmarked $100 million to support the commercialization of clean energy technologies. In May, 15 projects received $40 million from ARPA-E to develop high-performance, energy efficient cooling solutions for data centers that house computers, storage systems and computing infrastructure. Data centers account for approximately 2% of total U.S. electricity consumption while data center cooling can...

The Yardi Investment Management team has a full slate of events across the country as the 4th quarter beckons. Along with cosponsoring several of these major industry forums and conferences, Yardi sends expert teams to demonstrate the value of the Yardi Investment Suite, an end-to-end technology platform that automates the real estate investment lifecycle. Key upcoming real estate investment events include: IMN Real Estate CFO & COO Forum Date: Oct. 2 Place: New York City Geared toward CFOs, COOs, tax and accounting officers, controllers and treasurers, the 11th annual staging of this event offers insights from real estate developers, lenders, REITs and operating companies. Sessions focus on trends in accounting, regulations and technology, along with fund raising, the power of AI and more. See more event information. IMN Real Estate Family Office and Private Wealth Management Forum Date: Oct. 4-5 Place: Miami This event showcases opportunities in the family office asset class, which allocates about 15% of its portfolio to real estate direct investments. This forum is suited to asset managers, debt and equity financiers, family business owners and investment consultants, among others. Learn more and meet with the Yardi team. IMN Middle-Market Multifamily Forum West, Northeast and Arizona Date: Sept. 19-20 (West), Oct. 10 (Northeast), Nov. 13-14 (Arizona) Place: Carlsbad, Calif. (West), New York (Northeast), Litchfield Park, Ariz. (Arizona) Targeting small and mid-sized multifamily owners and operators, these deep dives explore issues, opportunities, strategies and trends that impact a class that comprises 75% of all multifamily investors. Value-add strategies, working with institutional capital and the “acquisitions shark tank” are among the industry leader-led sessions on tap. Learn more about the Carlsbad, New York and Litchfield Park events. Learn more about the industry events that Yardi participates in as a sponsor, expert and...

We’re thrilled to announce the newest features in Yardi Senior IQ — our dynamic business intelligence solution for senior living. From brand-new dashboards to improved reporting capabilities, each enhancement is available now! That means if you’re currently using Senior IQ, you can start enjoying the latest functionality right away. We roll everything out automatically to make the transition as easy as possible for our senior living clients. Ready to see what’s new? Read the highlights below to learn what this release brings to the table.   Explore what’s new For starters, we’d like to thank our amazing senior living clients for providing feedback on Senior IQ. The following enhancements are inspired by what’s been shared with our team, and we’re pleased to continue evolving Senior IQ based on our clients’ wants and needs. First up, we’ve made it easier to use Senior IQ as a central location for gathering key data and generating reports — and to share that data with teams across your organization. Enjoy the ability to quickly reference miscellaneous reports and dashboards, displaying the KPIs most important to your organization, in routine meetings, variance calls, department check-ins and even at community stand-ups. Moving on, in relation to labor and staffing, we’ve added the ability to integrate your daily labor data. This allows you to analyze overtime — sorted by department and job positions — and identify areas for improvement.   Next up, we have three new dashboards! Here’s a snapshot of what they offer:   CRM success metrics dashboard — as the first of its kind, this CRM dashboard presents key metrics regarding occupancy, closing ratios, lead status, sales counselor performance and more. Leasing documents dashboard — serving as a usage check for those operating with electronic leasing, this dashboard captures...