The multifamily industry has long since been a lucrative target for fraudsters, and recent years have only made it worse. While online leasing has streamlined the leasing journey for many applicants, it has also opened the door for bad actors to manipulate the system, resulting in unpaid rent and bad debt for multifamily owners. The good news is that you can deter fraud from the very start. Read on to explore how technology can enhance security and efficiency across your online leasing process. The rise of real estate fraud Real estate crimes have increased each year since the pandemic. The FBI’s internet crime reports the total reported internet-based real estate crimes soared from $213 million in 2020 to a staggering $397 million in 2022. The multifamily industry was no exception, with many fraudsters taking advantage of the rising popularity of online leasing. According to the Pulse Survey conducted by NMHC, 93.3% of survey respondents reported experiencing fraud within the last 12 months with 70.7% seeing an increase in the same time period. Fraudulent documents have evolved to become increasingly complex. It is now more challenging to detect false applications without the help of technology. And in this digital age, relying on onsite teams to play detective is not practical or efficient. Combatting fraud with technology With the help of AI and automation, tech can detect fake IDs and altered paystubs instantly, stopping criminals who are trying to exploit the system. Of the options out there, consider a system that is easy to use, can easily be trained and can seamlessly connect to your property-level data. Overall, you want to choose tech that makes it not only easy for quality applicants to apply, but also creates an uninterrupted experience from prospect to resident. How fraud prevention tech can benefit everyone involved Implementing an automated screening solution is not just about preventing fraudulent applicants during the leasing process. It’s a proactive approach that can be integrated into various stages of your customer’s lifecycle. Easy touring. Enabling ID verification before in-person and self-guided tours enhances security before your prospect enters your community. It can also be used to manage resident visitor and vendor access, enhancing security within your communities. Faster leasing. If you implement a connected identity verification solution that seamlessly guides prospects into the applicant stage, prospects who have already verified their identity for a tour won’t have to repeat the process if they proceed with an application. This makes it frictionless for prospects to complete their application and streamlines the approval process for your staff. Staff efficiency. Using technology to automatically cross-check information and detect any inconsistencies that may indicate potential fraud is a huge game-changer for leasing teams. But the tech doesn’t stop at identity verification. You can also leverage automation to authenticate applicant incomes, further ensuring that your applicants are able to afford the rent. Not only does this decrease your staff’s manual workload, but it’ll also remove the burden of being detectives. Ongoing verification. Be sure to provide residents with access to a secure portal where they can update their information as necessary. This contributes to a seamless and secure ongoing resident experience. As the multifamily industry navigates the challenges posed by rising internet-related real estate crimes, technology emerges as both a solution and a deterrent. Online leasing, when coupled with robust ID and income verification solutions, accelerates the leasing process and strengthens the industry against fraud. Discover how Yardi’s screening and fraud solutions, ID Verify and Income Verification, simplifies screening for your staff and future residents. Dweck Properties saved up to 30 minutes per applicant during the application process. Want to see it for yourself? Watch this short on-demand webinar on how you can automate ID and income verification to make screening easier for your prospects, staff and...

Interoperable electronic health records (EHRs) provide immense value in senior living, especially when you’re utilizing an all-in-one solution like Yardi EHR. By offering every feature you need on a single platform — and channeling interoperability via verified interface partners — Yardi EHR provides more value than your average platform. Read on to discover more about how interoperable EHRs work (and see what makes Yardi EHR stand out from the crowd). What is interoperability? Interoperability allows information systems to seamlessly exchange data with one another. In senior living, interoperable EHRs help you access real-time health information, save time, mitigate errors, support resident safety and more. Are EHRs different from EMRs? It’s important to recognize the distinction between EHRs and EMRs when discussing interoperability, so here’s a breakdown of the difference: An electronic health record such as Yardi EHR is a digital record of a resident’s chart — plus much more — stored in a dynamic online platform. EHRs connect all aspects of care by allowing multiple providers to access real-time resident data, submit updates and communicate from anywhere. An electronic medical record, on the other hand, is a digital record of a resident’s chart stored in a computer and accessible by a single provider. What makes Yardi EHR an interoperable platform? Yardi EHR is our single-stack solution that helps senior living operators deliver the best care, all from one secure platform. It unlocks the power of interoperability through a range of verified interface partners, meaning comprehensive data automatically flows to and from Yardi EHR in real time. Our support teams also actively monitor the platform, ensuring the highest level of accuracy. The system’s health interface partners include: Kno2 — you can connect Yardi EHR to all outside providers, HIEs and health systems via Kno2, a health information platform that offers access to unlimited cloud faxing, direct secure messaging and referral networks. Depending on your license, additional features available may include Kno2-to-Kno2 messaging, online identify verification, Kno2 and national provider directories, message handling, unstructured document QC tools and more. DS smart — you can instantly transfer EMR data (captured from supported equipment) to Yardi EHR through DS smart, a simplified connectivity solution built to capture, protect and connect resident information. Additional health interfaces supported by Yardi EHR include a nurse call system, dietary management platform, infection control solution and more. Explore all Yardi EHR interface partners here. Contact team Yardi Want to learn more about Yardi EHR and the power of interoperability? Book time with our senior living...

Yardi Canada Ltd. marked its 25-year anniversary in 2023 with a series of client events that celebrated the company’s growth, philanthropic efforts, and diverse staff in Canada. “It was wonderful to spend time with our valued clients in a social setting for the first time since the pandemic,” said Peter Altobelli, Vice President, and General Manager of Yardi Canada Ltd. “During our gathering, we had the pleasure of unveiling the forthcoming generation of Yardi products, which includes the highly anticipated Yardi Voyager 8 and Virtuoso. Additionally, we took this opportunity to provide an insightful update on the progress of our philanthropic endeavors in Canada. Altobelli has helmed Yardi Canada since the beginning and simultaneously celebrated his own silver jubilee anniversary at the company. In 1998, he could not have predicted where Yardi Canada would be today. “When we opened our Mississauga (Toronto) office in August 1998, we established a presence in Canada. The first set of employees were hired in October of that year. I could not have foreseen the remarkable journey from our humble beginnings to our current status as a market leader. It is truly beyond what I had ever dreamed possible,” Altobelli said. An expanded presence Today, Yardi Canada has approximately 500 staff members in three regional offices: Saskatoon, Vancouver, and Toronto. The Saskatoon and Vancouver offices were established as part of Yardi’s corporate acquisitions – of Point2 Technologies Inc. in 2010 (Saskatoon) and a division of EnerNOC in 2016 (Vancouver). Toronto-based Planimetron was also acquired in 2022. Each of our offices has dedicated teams that concentrate on different aspects of Yardi’s global real estate product and support functions. These are just a few examples of the diverse roles and responsibilities within our organization. We have much more to offer. ·Vancouver: Provides support for Yardi Pulse, Canadian residential and commercial clients along with product development for Yardi’s Home IQ ·Saskatoon: Focuses on product development for Yardi’s Home IQ, Matrix platform, Pulse and Machine Learning/AI initiatives as well as customer service for Yardi Breeze Premier and assistance with the management of our Cloud Services infrastructure. ·Toronto: Offers product support and sales for Canadian Breeze Premier and Voyager residential, condo/strata, social housing, commercial, senior living, and investment management clients. Yardi holds the majority of market share for both residential and commercial real estate software in Canada. Over the years, Yardi Canada has expanded its presence beyond being a preeminent tech supplier, becoming a true partner to many Canadian real estate organizations. Today, Yardi Canada continues to develop solutions that are utilized by Yardi clients worldwide. “We are now recognized as the leading expert. Our teams have the knowledge and experience to anticipate trends in the Canadian market,” Altobelli said. That includes the recently launched Canadian National Multifamily report, introduced in 2022. “It has become a prevalent report that the industry uses to understand the current state of the multifamily market, and to gain insights into each regional market across the country,” Altobelli said. (For additional information, download the report here.) Philanthropic contributions Caring for the communities in which our offices are located has been a part of Yardi’s corporate mission from the beginning, and that’s true for Yardi Canada as well. Dozens of non-profit organizations receive support through donations each year, and employees regularly gather for team volunteer outings. Canadian support is prioritized for organizations that combat hunger and homelessness, with an emphasis on building long-term relationships. “Our end goal is to make a difference in someone’s life,” Altobelli said. “We are dedicated to aiding families and individuals emerge from their unique challenges, fostering their ability to thrive and make their individual and valuable impact on society.” The environment is another area of philanthropic emphasis. In 2022, Yardi contributed to and closed the most significant conservation project in Canadian history—the Boreal Wildlands in northern Ontario. With Yardi’s help, the Nature Conservancy of Canada acquired the 145,000-hectare/350,000-acre property to...

Ready to make smarter, faster decisions through 2024 and beyond? Business intelligence (BI) is key, but not all solutions are built the same. Senior living operators need BI software designed for their unique needs — solutions that offer the power of integration, customizable tools and ever-evolving functionality. Yardi Senior IQ is our BI powerhouse that checks every box, and in the spirit of the new year, we’re sharing everything you need to know (including the platform’s top features, key integrations and more). Read on to see how this all-in-one solution offers everything you need to thrive. Learn about Senior IQ Senior IQ is our fully integrated BI solution that surfaces real-time data in attractive, shareable dashboards. That means you have the power to view impactful data at the click of a button — data that’s specific to your communities. No more digging through spreadsheets or siloed databases to find the answers you need. By presenting actionable information in one secure place, Senior IQ helps you make faster, more informed decisions. It’s also the only BI solution built just for senior living, and it’s completely customizable to your needs. Our dedicated team works to improve the functionality and add new features year-round based on feedback from our clients. See key features that make it unique Save hours searching through spreadsheets, reports and databases with an analytics platform that integrates with key elements of the Yardi Senior Living Suite. View at-a-glance, pre-configured KPIs in one intuitive place. Hundreds of measures for finance, operations, marketing and care are available out of the box. Empower your teams to work smarter by giving them access to role-based, customizable dashboards with metrics that matter to them. Compare your communities with internal benchmarks and data from the National Institute Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). Benchmarks include occupancy, average rent and average rent growth. Access business-wide data in portfolio views, or drill down into communities to see specific details like expected unit availability. Easily share data and reports that investors, board members and senior leadership expect to see. Enhance your care services with real-time clinical data, automatically drawn from Yardi EHR, that helps you analyze resident falls, streamline reporting, track vaccinations and monitor antipsychotic medication usage. Mitigate risk and streamline operations with a staffing analysis tool that ensures shift assignments meet resident care requirements. Hear from Senior IQ clients building success Quintin King, president at Brightwater Senior Living: “Senior IQ is outstanding — it’s the most valuable thing that I have as a leader because it does consolidate everything into a single space. You’re not going to Voyager, you’re not going to CRM, you’re not going to EHR. I go to Senior IQ, and it gives me everything on a single page — my key metrics.” Syndell Lawhon, VP of wellness at Vitality Living: “Nurses are very visual people. When they can see the numbers in a graph pulled right up in Senior IQ, it clicks so much faster. Numbers on a piece of paper are not as powerful.” Michael Bowles, project coordinator at Dial Senior Living: “Senior IQ is fantastic because it establishes orderly workflows and creates new reports from existing ones, complete with custom dashboards. Investors can get very specific information on demand without having to wait for us to send it.” Reach out to our team Ready to elevate your communities with Senior IQ? Reach out today for more information and to book a...

In the dynamic world of multifamily real estate, implementing the latest technology is not just an option, it’s a necessity. Modernizing your leasing strategy is more important than ever as renters increasingly demand instant, automated and personalized experiences. But above all, they value experiences that put them in control of their journey. We’ve identified five key tools and strategies that you can implement or enhance in 2024, putting your customers in the driver’s seat while elevating your NOI. These solutions not only enhance the customer experience, but also streamline your onsite teams’ efficiency. Let’s dive in! 1. Chatbots as virtual leasing assistants Chatbots are revolutionizing customer interaction across industries, and the multifamily industry is no exception. Chatbots can free up leasing teams by fielding the bulk of common inquiries, but what’s the point if it only creates more hassle for your teams with multiple logins and disjointed data? As customers expect more instant gratification and answers, it’s more important than ever to leverage a chatbot that can do more than just chat — the right bot will act as a true extension of your team, answering chats, texts, emails and calls in the voice and tone your organization prefers. Additionally, a chatbot that has access to your property and customer data can help you provide consistent customer experiences from the start. Chat IQ has direct access to Voyager data, providing accurate unit availability, pricing and tour appointment schedules. Here’s a quick overview of what else the right chatbot can bring to the table: Generate conversions with prompt customer service and automated tour scheduling Improve resident retention by facilitating rent payments, maintenance requests, lease renewal notifications and more Reduce operating costs by automating repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows 2. Self-guided tours to empower prospects Want more interested prospects, a speedy leasing process and fewer vacant units? Implementing self-guided tours can help. Self-guided tours offer a more convenient and flexible way for prospects to explore units. Unlike traditional tours that require a leasing agent to be present, self-guided tours can be booked outside of leasing office hours. Plus, you don’t have to hire additional staff. Onsite teams also benefit greatly from self-guided tours, shifting the focus from just showing prospects around to more strategic efforts for enhancing the customer experience. This focused approach not only generates more high-quality leads, but also paves the way for job satisfaction and subsequently, better staff retention. 3. Automated screening for better efficiency and security Your leasing agents are leasing agents, not detectives. Automated screening tools eliminate the need for tracking down lost papers, tedious back-and-forth emails and the responsibility of ensuring whether documents are legit. Automated screening is also a win for prospects. Facial recognition and automation technology reduce obstacles prospects face in trying to apply for an apartment, accelerating their journey to becoming your resident. The same goes for technology that allows prospects to verify their income on the spot. With technology that seamlessly allows prospects to take a selfie and upload a paystub, they’ll be able to get approved for that unit faster. 4. Centralized data for operational excellence Centralization is more than just a buzzword. It’s a strategy that has the potential to yield lower costs, increase efficiency and increase satisfaction for both renters and staff. But a long-term strategy to centralization requires a more nuanced approach. When considering how to centralize, focus on your onsite staff’s expectations, how roles will be specialized and the structure of your centers of excellence. Kim Young, vice president of shared services at Fogelman Properties, suggests refining your automation strategy before jumping head-first into the centralization hype. “Until you know what humans don’t have to do, you can’t know how and where to centralize,” she said.  No matter how you go about it, a thoughtful approach to centralization paves the way for long-term operational efficiency. Need a place to start? CRM IQ gives you visibility into...

Daily Bread Food Bank, a nonprofit suported by Yardi Canada, was founded in 1983 in Etobicoke, Ontario. Unlike other food banks, Daily Bread is a member organization and delivers food to 207 meal programs at 132 agencies across Toronto, Etobicoke and Scarborough. One in ten people in Toronto rely on food banks, twice as much as in 2022. Daily Bread distributed nearly 28 million pounds of food in 2022-2023, a 50% increase from the previous year. Clients have doubled over the years since the pandemic, and in December 2023, Daily Bread had over 284,000 clients, surpassing previous records. “Before COVID, we spent $1.5 million yearly on purchased food.  Now, we are spending that each month. This past year, we spent $22 million on food, 14 times more than pre-COVID,” said Carol Eby, senior manager for corporate partnerships. Daily Bread hopes the Canada Disability Benefit Law will be approved in the federal government’s March budget. Since many of Daily Bread’s clients rely on the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), this will help them out of deep poverty and be less reliant on food banks over time. Daily Bread ensures they have enough food to provide for those in need. “Our food budget is presently $22 million, and we anticipate this will increase this year to $29 million based on economic factors remaining status quo and the impact these have on an increase in food bank clients,” Eby shares. Funding from Yardi helps Daily Bread purchase food needed to manage the consistent increase in food bank clients it is experiencing. It also helps with research and advocacy efforts to provide foundational research from clients as to why they need to use a food bank. For food bank clients to decrease, Daily Bread strives for systemic change. “This important research is used to inform and educate the various levels of government on policies that need to be created to manage the various economic issues that are impacting the citizens of Toronto,” explained Eby. As poverty rates soar and the hunger crisis worsens in Toronto, Daily Bread recognizes donors like Yardi Canada, “We are so appreciative of the very generous support from Yardi Canada. We do not receive any government funding; we rely solely on corporate donations and individual giving,” expressed Eby. Elena’s Story Many clients of Daily Bread have had compounding medical issues, leaving them unable to work. Elena, a Daily Bread Food Bank client, was in this challenging situation. Health complications forced her to shut down her sales agency, and today, Elena survives on the limited income she receives from the ODSP and support from her local food bank. She is thankful for the food bank’s having fruits, vegetables, and proteins like meats and lentils so she can keep a balanced diet to help aid her health issues. “I see more and more people using the food bank every time I go,” says Elena. “The volunteers and staff are working hard to keep up. I know it is tiring, but I want to remind everyone what a difference they are making in people’s lives, people who are struggling to have food in their cupboards.” At Daily Bread, they are committed to supporting Elena and thousands just like her today who are facing extreme challenges to meet their essential needs. Volunteer Opportunities The Daily Bread Food Bank offers shifts on Thursday and Friday mornings from 8:30 am to 11:30 am and afternoons from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm. A maximum of 20 Yardi team members can join them for the morning or afternoon food sorting. Please get in touch with Carol Eby at [email protected] to organize volunteer shifts. Find future non-profit profiles...

Yardi has again been named a winner of Glassdoor’s 16th Employees’ Choice Awards, honoring the Best Places to Work 2024. The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award is based solely on the input of employees, who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback by completing a review about their job, work environment and employer on Glassdoor, the worldwide leader on insights about jobs, work environments and companies. “We are humbled to be included with so many great organizations and by the consistent, positive support of our global employees, which resulted in this honor,” said Kevin Yardi, vice president at Yardi. “For over 40 years, we have achieved steady growth by taking care of our customers, employees and communities. If you are looking for a great place to grow your career, Yardi is hiring in many offices worldwide.” Find career opportunities at careers.yardi.com. Yardi is the only software company focused on real estate on the 2024 list. The company was previously honored in 2023, 2020 and 2018. “Work life is rapidly changing, and professionals are turning to Glassdoor to share their experiences about working for some of the most competitive employers in the world,” said Christian Sutherland-Wong, Glassdoor Chief Executive Officer. “The Best Places to Work award is a stark reminder of the power of Glassdoor, from arming professionals with career insights and real-time conversations about all things work and life, to providing employers with feedback to improve.” Employees’ Choice Award winners for the Best Places to Work 2024 were determined based on Glassdoor-approved company reviews submitted by U.S.-based employees between October 18, 2022, and October 16, 2023. During the year-long eligibility period, employers considered for the large list must have received at least 75 ratings for each of nine workplace attributes (overall company rating, career opportunities, compensation and benefits, culture and values, diversity and inclusion, senior management, work-life balance, recommend to a friend, and six-month business outlook). The final list is compiled using Glassdoor’s proprietary algorithm, led by its Economic Research Team, and considers quantity, quality and consistency of reviews. For the complete list of the Glassdoor Best Places to Work winners in 2024, please...