Since 2013, the Yardi Cleveland office has hosted an annual food drive called the “Fight Hunger Games” as part of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank’s Harvest for Hunger.  Harvest for Hunger is a collaborative effort covering services in six counties. Food collected and funds raised make it possible to provide nutritious meals to local residents in need. For those struggling to make ends meet, the burden of hunger can be a difficult distraction at all times of year – not just the Thanksgiving to Christmas season, when much attention is focused on food charities. Hardworking families and seniors on fixed incomes across Northeast Ohio face tough choices – put food on the table or pay for other basic essentials such as medicine, utilities or transportation. One in five children in the greater Cleveland area is food insecure.  Yardi’s Cleveland office knew they could help make a difference through the Fight Hunger Games. The rules of the Games are thus: Yardi-Cleveland employees are divided into Team Districts.  The teams collect food and supplies. One representative from each team is selected (or appointed as some of them have experienced) to participate in the Hunger Games. Points are awarded to the winners of the games. Points are also added to the teams according to the number of donations the team has collected. Award ribbons are presented to the top three teams. There  a snack system to collect money to purchase donations for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Snacks are available at each suite. They are purchased by hungry Yardi employees and all profits are used to purchase items to be donated to the Food Bank. Friendly competitions for the Hunger Games included tower building with cans of food, a guessing game to promote office name retention, ball...

If you’ve ever heard of rocker Jon Bon Jovi’s philanthropy on behalf of a Philadelphia non-profit that creates permanent housing and support resources for the city’s homeless population, that was Project HOME. The HOME stands for Housing, Opportunities, Medical and Education. It makes sense that Housing is first in the list, because many homeless advocates consider stable housing to be the most pivotal initial step to getting homeless Americans back on their feet. The organization’s mission statement: “The mission of the Project HOME community is to empower adults, children, and families to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, to alleviate the underlying causes of poverty, and to enable all of us to attain our fullest potential as individuals and as members of the broader society. We strive to create a safe and respectful environment where we support each other in our struggles for self-esteem, recovery, and the confidence to move toward self-actualization.” It may sound ambitious, but it’s working. Project HOME just celebrated its 30th year and is on track to provide 1,000 units of affordable housing in Philadelphia within a few years. The organization is also a longtime Yardi client. We recently caught up with Patrick Farrell, Project HOME’s business/financial analyst, who is a passionate advocate for the non-profit’s use of the Yardi affordable housing platform. Farrell has worked on Project HOME’s Yardi platform for the last six years – the organization has used the software for about twice that duration. “Yardi is the workhorse application for us at Project HOME,” said Farrell, whose job supports the property, accounting and human resources departments of the non-profit. “It is the foundation of all of the other applications that we use throughout our business.” As the organization’s mainstay database, Yardi Voyager data powers all...

It’s a well known fact that the senior living industry has struggled to identify and retained talented personnel. Yardi client The Living Springs has found a way to nourish its talented employees through programs that promote personal and professional advancement. Through its efforts, the organization—and the overall industry—can cultivate a stronger support staff and enhance resident care. Creative Problem Solving Three years ago, Lisa Maynard, director of people and process at The Springs Living, noticed a trend. Employees were eager for professional advancement, mostly in the nursing field. Yet they lacked the resources to make their dreams into a reality. Simultaneously, care providers strategized ways to attract and maintain talent, often in vain. Maynard and the team at The Springs Living realized that both issues could be addressed at once: a scholarship that empowered employees to pursue higher education. Through the Team Springs Scholarship fund, the brand could build loyalty with current employees. Those same employees would gain the education needed to provide higher quality care for residents. “Generally, we find employees want to gain more knowledge with the goal to return and help out our residents in a higher-level capacity,” explained Maynard. The scholarship fund is not limited to long-term care or health care, Maynard says. But that isn’t a deterrent. “We do have a mission to change the way people, think, feel and experience working in senior living.  If we can get our younger generations to see the career opportunities, we think they will come back in some form or fashion.  Even if it is just referring us to another talented friend or family member.” The Springs Living also invented the Shine Academy. The in-house program assists with on-boarding, on the job training, and continuing education.  The Shine Academy encourages staff to...

You never know where life will take you. Many of us find ourselves in jobs which may be unexpected. Fate, it could be argued, has as much influence on our professional path as our our conscious decision making. That type of fateful, unexpected turn is what Michael Joiner, manager of Yardi eLearning Client Services, seems to have experienced five years ago. While finishing up a PhD in Musicology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Michael began to teach writing courses. That step in his professional career came with a new appreciation for learning, as well as new options for the future. “Towards the end of my dissertation, I began to weigh options such as becoming a music history professor, a writing instructor or to work in the nonprofit industry with a focus on higher education,” said Michael. Teaching and learning is a common theme to each of those pursuits, so it was natural for Michael to become intrigued when he was referred to apply for a position on the Yardi eLearning team. “I realized I could use my passion for teaching and education in a new way with Yardi. It was also a chance to build on my experience in video and audio multimedia development,” said Michael. The rest, as they say, is history. Michael now manages of team of staff supporting Yardi eLearning, and is heavily involved in product development, creating new courses, implementing new clients and anything else that comes his way. “Working with clients is something that gets me going—I get pumped to create more courses or help them find creative ways to train their staff to help them use Yardi products as best as possible, and to be amazing property management professionals in general,” said Michael. Away from work,...

Said Haider, regional director of Middle East sales for Yardi, spoke to us from his office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an update on the region’s rapidly growing real estate market. Q: Said, what are your principal responsibilities and how Yardi is performing in the Middle East? A: I manage our sales and business development efforts in the region. When we started our operations back in 2012, we had handful of clients; now we work with more than 80 clients in the Middle East and North Africa regions, mainly in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Without a doubt, it’s one of our fastest growing markets. Most of our clients have varied real estate portfolios and almost 90% of retail space in the UAE is managed with Yardi software. Q: When did Yardi enter the market and what was the impact? A: We launched Yardi Voyager there in 2012 and almost immediately saw high demand across multiple vertical markets. We were able to replace customized solutions with a Software as a Service platform that fulfills virtually all business operations requirements out of the box. This allowed companies to focus more on their business and worry less about the tools. As we continue to grow, we are introducing the Yardi Elevate Suite, the most comprehensive set of commercial asset management solutions available on the market. Q: What are some key trends in the region? A: The commercial, retail and residential sectors are growing fast. The real estate investment trust and shared office space concepts are also gaining footholds. Q: What’s our approach to the Middle East and Saudi Arabia in particular? A: Customer experience is the key to competing in this market and that’s how Yardi made its mark. We offer a single integrated solution...

Robert Colbert, VP of Assisted Living with Nevada HAND, has seen his fair share of clinical software. About 14 years ago, he started by making rounds as a registered nurse. Today, he is an executive of Nevada’s largest affordable housing provider. He has experienced software as a daily user in the field as well as a leader with his eye on the bottom line. Colbert trusts Yardi to support the next chapter of growth for Nevada HAND. “Everything from operations to marketing to nursing, I believe that we have almost every one of your products,” he said. Achieving Excellence As Nevada’s largest nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to the development, construction, management and preservation of affordable housing, Nevada HAND has assisted many thousands of Southern Nevada residents to have a place to call home.  Currently, Nevada HAND provides affordable apartment homes to over 7,200 adults, children, and seniors.  Nevada HAND owns and/or manages 34 properties with over 4,200 apartment homes.  Nevada HAND also has the only two affordable assisted living communities in the State of Nevada. The leadership for the assisted living division has strong relationships with The Board of Examiners for Long Term Care Administrators and provides their communities as a precepting site for future licensed administrators and also sit on the Assisted Living Advisory Council to provide a voice for changing the senior living industry through policy and regulations.  Nevada HAND works with fellow industry leaders to develop best practices for senior care facilities throughout the State of Nevada. In the field, their Westcliff Pines property received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Award, the highest recognition level for environmental design and construction. The organization also received a US Green Building Council “Excellence in Operation” award.  Nevada HAND’s two assisted living...

Growth can be a mixed blessing. San Diego-based MG Properties Group, for one, certainly didn’t mind significantly expanding its portfolio of properties in California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. But by 2015, the company’s investment management technology couldn’t keep pace, and the company, which acquires, rehabilitates and manages apartment communities, was approaching a stark choice: Modernize or risk stagnation. Cramped by Spreadsheets The spreadsheet programs MG Properties used for investment calculations and investor reporting couldn’t keep up with the rising volume of work. A single report often contained up to 450 tabs, for example. “When we loaded a number and hit “Enter,’ we crossed our fingers and hoped the whole system didn’t crash,” recalls Joe Anfuso, the company’s chief financial officer. “The old method was stressful, error-prone and hindered our performance.” It became clear to him and other executives that the company needed a modern, professional investment management software platform, one capable of automatically capturing and distributing all relevant investment information. Anfuso and his colleagues also realized that if they wanted to compete with the major players—the big institutional investors—they needed to invest in technology that removed pain points, time and effort and enabled more efficient operation. “That’s when we decided to ditch our spreadsheets for a more modern solution,” Anfuso says. A Single Connected Solution That solution, adopted in July 2015, was Yardi Investment Management, which automated MG Properties’ asset, investment accounting and investment lifecycle. The system helps MG Properties track not just the movement of dollars, but the result of the investment they represent, from the moment an investor makes a commitment. MG Properties grew its investor base by 150%, its properties by 24% and its units by 50% without needing additional staff or expenditures to manage them. The quarterly distribution process...

Food insecurity affects one in every six seniors in Idaho. This vulnerable population relies on local aid to stay healthy. Yardi Boise teamed up with Metro Meals on Wheels and the community of Treasure Valley to combat hunger among seniors. Meals on Wheels In America, more than 9 million elderly adults struggle with food insecurity. About 6.9 million seniors live in poverty with incomes of less than $228 each week. About one in every four seniors lives alone with one in five reporting feelings of loneliness. When seniors lack adequate nutrition and face loneliness, their mental and physical health suffer. Meals on Wheels is a federally supported organization that combats hunger and loneliness. Its volunteers deliver life-saving to 2.4 million seniors nationwide. The capstone service is meal delivery, in which seniors and other people with limited mobility receive fresh food delivered to their doors. Volunteers deliver 225 million meals each year. During deliveries, Meals on Wheels also conducts welfare checks. Representatives asses seniors’ personal wellbeing and living conditions. Through these services, seniors are better able to remain independent while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Meals on Wheels has also expanded its services to house pets. Seniors that struggle to feed themselves often lack the means to feed their furry friends. Supporters can make donations towards pet food so that no one is hungry or alone. The local chapter, Metro Meals on Wheels, addresses the needs of seniors in metropolitan Boise. Volunteers assist approximately 1,000 seniors every weekday and 700 seniors on weekends. Although Meals on Wheels receives federal support, it is severely underfunded. More than 80 percent of low-income and food insecure seniors do not receive the home delivered meals that they need. To raise money, Metro Meals on Wheels partnered with Blue Cross of...

With the excitement of spring and summer holidays ahead, most of us have in mind that the key to a great vacation is careful planning, research and a clear idea of where you want to go. Lifting a real estate company out of individual spreadsheets and into collaborative systems is a very different kind of adventure, but mapping out the steps in the process and knowing what results you need are no less critical to having a successful experience. Going Digital Without Hiring Engineers Many real estate companies in Asia Pacific, and elsewhere globally, are starting their journey toward mining the data from their team activities and customer experience with systems that look much the same as what they had been using in the 1990s. This can put property firms at a disadvantage as they expand into new markets or try to ramp up growth. With online analytics now common in finance, ecommerce and other firms, more real estate companies are looking for ways to get accurate, real time data on their businesses, but get put off by the challenge of adopting new systems, Bernie Devine, regional director for Asia at Yardi, explains. “Our message for them is that the benefits are worth the pain, and there really isn’t that much pain anymore.” Devine indicates that that while systems like Yardi’s, which allow real estate firms to manage their leasing, track building maintenance and link their financial reporting directly to the front end of their businesses, are built by teams of programmers, implementing them does not require technical knowledge. “The key to getting your business online is having a clear understanding of how each step of each process works and being able to map those steps out,” Devine said. After having helped scores of...

Since 1970, Earth Day has served as a reminder to honor our beautiful, fragile, and generous planet. What started as a single day is now a week-long observance! Below, you will find ideas for Earth Day programming that build loyalty and community among your staff. Yardi Atlanta even offers a full week of fun, informative activities that you can adapt to your site.    Build loyalty Employees favor eco-friendly workplaces over traditional models. Millennials in particular desire workplaces that “improve society.” When working for an earth conscious employer, employees report a heightened sense of well being and purpose. Sustainability measures are popular tools to attract and maintain talent. Use Earth Week to highlight your existing green efforts or jumpstart new programs at your organization. In the process, you will build loyalty amongst employees and position your brand well with prospective new hires. Explore an office-wide celebration If a week of earth-friendly activities seems overwhelming, take heart. You don’t have to go in alone. Yardi Atlanta, for example, collaborates with local businesses to get employees involved in Earth Week. Its programming piques employee interest in sustainability while encouraging workplace satisfaction. Starting April 22, Yardi Atlanta will host fun and informative daily activities. Sustainability Within Atlanta Yardi (SWAY) teamed up with Yardi client and property management company, Cushman & Wakefield, to host these events: On Monday, Yardi corporate sponsors a healthy breakfast for staff. Selected foods will emphasize the role sustainable farming practices play in overall environmental health. Tuesday emphasizes sustainable transportation. A representative from the Georgia Power Electronic Vehicle Program will facilitate a session on EV car chargers and rebates. Guests are also invited to a car show with contributions by local dealers. Tesla, Porche, Land Rover, Jaguar, Nissan, and BMW will have cars and...

When you think about your senior residents and their families, do you think of words like “tech savvy,” and “forward thinking?” You should. Breck Austin, VP of operational services with Clearwater Living of Newport Beach, understands the importance of exceeding clients’ growing tech expectations. His organization has identified software that allows the company to advance with the times. We sat down with Austin to learn how the organization uses RENTCafé and Senior CRM to make life easier for residents and staff. Q: What are one or two business objectives you’ve been addressing over the last year? A: At Clearwater Living, our objective is to enhance residents’ experience in the senior platform. So one of the things we look at is technology. We look at how do we make ourselves more relevant? How do we make the residents’ experience relevant? We use a variety of things that we are addressing, from technology down to our philosophy of care. Q: How did Yardi technology help you accomplish this? A: Yardi technology was the best thing that ever happened to us in a growing state. It provided one single integrated platform that allowed us to address the growing need of the family’s involvement and their need to know what’s going on, transparency, to our consumers. So, it’s no longer just a resident living in our community. We’re addressing the family members or those that are responsible for members of our communities. The ability to communicate with them through technology, Yardi provided that outlet for us. And it’s integrated so that it addresses all areas of our touch points and building on the connections with our residents. Q: What Yardi products have been most transformative for you and why? A: Two products that have been transformative to the...

With healthy demand almost balancing out supply, Chicago’s multifamily market seems to have left the fear of overbuilding behind, at least for now. The city has been adding jobs at a more accelerated pace—particularly in the construction, manufacturing and education and health services sectors— and has been strengthening its tech hub status, which fueled demand for housing across the metro. According to a recent Yardi Matrix multifamily report, at the end of last year, rent growth reached the highest value since 2016—2.5 percent, which, although still below the national rate, represents an achievement for the market. Growth was mainly led by suburban submarkets such as Grayslake and Chicago-Heights North, but several neighborhoods near Downtown, including Hyde Park, Bronzeville and South Shore, also recorded rent increases. Yardi client Pioneer Acquisitions is a multifamily investor with a portfolio of roughly 2,000 units in Chicago. James Peterson Jr., founder & principal, said that “the fundamentals in Hyde Park are very strong” and the neighborhood has been attracting a lot of interest from investors and residents priced out of Chicago’s core areas. Peterson reveals what other submarkets are strong for investment, the evolution of rent growth in 2019 as well as the company’s strategy for the year ahead. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Chicago’s multifamily market? Peterson: Strong demand remains one of the main strengths of Chicago’s multifamily market, particularly in Hyde Park and the far north side neighborhoods. We continue to see tenants being priced out of near north side neighborhoods and moving north, along the “L” lines, to find units that fit their budgets. One of the main weaknesses, particularly downtown, is the continuing introduction of new supply with elevated amenities and leasing incentives, which encourages tenants to trade up to newer buildings. Soaring real...

Based in the heart of Texas, Yardi client Churchill Residential is an affordable housing provider with a focus on senior housing that works to provide exceptional customer service for its residents. We recently caught up with Michelle Bless, director of accounting, to learn how the company has benefited from its use of the Yardi affordable platform and how the Walk In Payment System (WIPS) is truly a game-changer for affordable housing providers. Michelle, tell us about Churchill Residential? We were founded in 2002, and pride ourselves on developing and operating high-quality, 100% affordable housing communities, most of which are for seniors. We’ve leveraged Low Income Housing Tax Credit funds to build 17 communities and more than 2,700 units across the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. What does Churchill do best? Customer service is at the forefront of Churchill’s mission. Our guiding principles focus on enhancing the lives of residents, onsite staff and office employees. When we see an opportunity to make a change towards improving service, we take it. What changes have you gone through recently? We’ve achieved improvements in staff efficiency and resident services by implementing the Yardi integrated software platform. That change has helped us improve performance by simplifying many processes and improving data transparency across our organization. How does having an integrated accounting software translate to happier residents? Time savings for our onsite staff definitely benefits our residents, as the staff now has more time for personal interactions every day. As far as resident-facing technology goes, electronic payment processing is a nice perk for our residents because they can log in at any time to check their up-to-date ledger. We couldn’t offer residents that type of real time information prior to adopting the Yardi integrated software platform. Churchill just went live with...

The economy is approaching a decade without a downturn. U.S. and global GDP are likely to hit a multi-year high at about 3 percent this year and the consensus view is that growth will slow only slightly in 2019, according to a recent Yardi Matrix report on the state of the real estate market. However, the same report shows that rising interest rates and affordability are making it difficult for first-time buyers to afford homes, with construction getting more and more expensive. Soaring land and materials costs have made it difficult to pencil all but high-end new projects in many metros. Multi-Housing News asked an industry veteran to weigh in on the poignant affordable housing issue. Aaron Gornstein is a leader in affordable housing policy and development, with more than 25 years of executive experience. He is currently the president & CEO of Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), a national nonprofit organization that owns more than 7,000 units across 11 states. Gornstein used to serve as undersecretary for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. Prior to that, he spearheaded the passage of state and federal legislation, launched innovation programs and helped form numerous coalitions as the executive director of Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association. How serious is the affordable housing crisis in the markets you currently operate in? Gornstein: Several major national studies show a severe lack of affordable housing in every state in the country. A new report from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, for example, found a shortage of seven million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters and found that no state or major metropolitan area has an adequate supply of rental housing for the poorest renters. There is a serious shortage of affordable homes in every...

Aarty Sonambekar, a director with Yardi’s Global Solutions team, believes the secret to her success is understanding people. Based in Yardi’s Pune office, she focuses on the company mission to “take care of our clients” and “take care of our employees.” Growth naturally follows. Her team of nearly 90 PSG consultants, account managers and technical resources are responsible for supporting clients across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Each interaction, she said, gives her a better opportunity to understand client needs and how to meet them. “My role helps me to be in touch with clients in the Asia Pacific region,” Aarty told us. “This gives me better insight of how the product is used and how we can actually partner the clients in their growth. Making the same product work for different clients across different countries is both fun and challenging.” “Managing teams also helps me interact with different people on daily basis, study their reactions and understand them,” she added. The human-centric approach has served her well in more than 13 years with the company. That isn’t to say that she has always enjoyed smooth sailing. Aarty has encountered her fair share of challenges. “A major challenge is being able to multi-task and handle multiple projects at the same time,” she said. “I am getting a better hand over it by improving my time management techniques.” Mastering time and task management are lessons that can never be learned too soon, and they can always be improved upon. “My advice to my 20-year-old self would be ‘First thing first.’ This helps one to prioritize things according to importance. It improves focus and brings in the virtue of systematization,” said Aarty. Nourished by Creativity For Aarty, balancing her technical work with creative expression is key...