The Inman Connect event with over 1000 attendees was held in San Francisco this past week, and Yardi’s Saul Klein, Senior Vice President of Point2, sat on a Syndication panel with other industry leaders, and moderated by Bradley Inman, founder and publisher of Inman News.  Also participating on the panel were Spencer Rascoff, CEO of real estate search portal Zillow; Errol Samuelson, president of Realtor.com; Luke Glass, general manager of syndication publishing platform ListHub; and Mark McLaughlin, CEO of Pacific Union International. Brad Inman asked Saul to lead off the discussion with a capsule view of the syndication issues. Saul condensed it into these three words: “Distribution trumps destination,”  meaning that agents will syndicate listings whenever possible to expand their reach into other markets.  Sellers want to see their listings on the major sites, and they don’t care about the side effects. Point2 is one of the top two distributors of listing data to portals like Zillow and Trulia, among others. The Point2 technology offers brokers and MLSs the controls to choose how they want their listing data distributed. It was a great panel, and Saul was able to point out our strong relationships with MLS’s across the US and Canada.  Point2 gives users confidence in our listing information by displaying and syndicating content directly from the most accurate source—the MLS. You can read more about the panel at...

Will homes of the future have super powers sourced from nature? The concept of biophilia has intrigued architects since the 1970. Simply put, biophilic design is a building methodology that integrates natural elements into the building process, including construction materials, ventilation methods, lighting techniques, and more. The current popularity of green building practices has pulled the concept from the shadows, pushing it back into the limelight for further examination and use. Our bodies respond on a cellular level to natural stimuli.  In “Courting Nature in Design,” B.J. Novitski explains that humans “haven’t evolved away from a psychological dependence on the natural world, an affinity known as ‘biophilia.’” When architecture limits human access to the natural environment, our bodies suffer. Conversely, earth-conscious construction and healthy interiors promote physical and mental wellbeing in a manner that has become increasing quantifiable. Benefits of Biophilic Design What if multifamily firms could promote housing that noticeably improved residents’ health? Research into biophilia largely focuses on the mental and physical health benefits, though new research shows that there are social advantages as well. National Renewable Energy Laboratory researched the benefits of natural light  on building occupants. Findings include improved disposition, improved morale, and reduced levels of fatigue. Natural light exposure is also linked to reduced stress and anxiety levels. Exposure to plant life holds health benefits as well. Marjolein Elings of the Wageningen University and Research Centre has published findings in Plant Research International that document health improvements in people with prolonged exposure to living plants. Health benefits included lower blood pressure, increased productivity in the workplace, reduced anxiety levels, and heightened alertness. Health benefits are more noticeable when people work with the plants, actively caring for and interacting with them. In addition to nature’s benefits on the body, exposure...

If you have a touchscreen mobile device, Google is adding a third search feature to the usual typing-voice command combo. If you have an iOS5+ device, Android 2.3+ phone, or Android 4.0+ tablet, starting right about now you have the option to hand write search requests directly onto the screen. Here’s a peek at the new technology in action (WARNING: this video contains upbeat music & whimsical/potentially annoying search scenarios): Print and cursive writing in 27 languages is currently supported but if your cursive is messy you will probably run into a lot of mistranslated words, hopefully to comedic rather than disastrous effect. The immediate advantages seem pretty obvious: It’s faster than typing. More accurate than voice command. Great for people with big/clumsy fingers prone to double-keying. Effective workaround for disabled users who struggle with typing or voice. Writing on the screen is more fun. Activation is simple. From any mobile browser, load the Google home page. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and tap “Settings” (tablet users, tap the gear icon to open the Settings page). Find the “Handwrite” setting and tap the enable option; scroll to the bottom of the page and tap the blue “Save” button. Now that it is activated, reload the Google home page and the Handwrite icon (a little cursive “g”) will be displayed in the bottom right corner, just tap that to turn the handwriting feature on and off. You may now begin writing. Go ahead and write on the whole screen, don’t feel like you have to stay within the tiny search box lines. Brief experimentation reveals that drawing little pictures is not yet supported – I drew a feline shape, but was not offered anything even vaguely LOLcats related. Maybe that’s on deck...

Never underestimate the value of early work experience. Kim Mathews of Unified Property Group was first introduced to property management in high school at the age of 17, with a job working for a commercial firm. Not long after college graduation, she found her calling – property management accounting – and has stuck with it ever since. “I love the variety in property management,” said Mathews, echoing the words of so many fellow industry employees. She’s come up through the ranks from a property accountant to her current role as Chief Financial Officer at Unified Property Group.  In between she held a variety of roles including Financial Manager, Controller,and  Asset Manager. Along the way, she’s had the chance to work in all of the housing sectors Unified Property Group manages, including senior, commercial, multifamily, and affordable. One of the verticals she’s found most interesting has been senior housing, where Mathews observed that there’s a trend toward older residents with more pronounced medical issues who are more likely to need assisted care. “Our primary focus has been independent living,” so this has prompted a new initiative at one of Unified Property Group’s Independence Village properties, she said. “We’re starting out by adding memory care and assisted living at one of our properties and (if it is successful), we plan on expending that to all of our offerings.” Unified Property Group manages about 100 properties with 12000 units, with 40 percent of the portfolio made up by affordable tax credit housing. One of Mathews’ current initiatives is moving Unified Property Group towards paperless offices at its properties. Yardi PayScan and CheckScan are among the products helping that effort. “We’re trying to get everything automated with latest technology to find efficiencies and make sure we have best practices...

There probably aren’t too many people out there who can say they met their significant other at a Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference. Robert and Deidre Podlesnik are among them. The Podlesniks happened to be in the same line for dinner at the Doubletree in Santa Barbara, Calif. back in 2001. He was a consultant, and she worked for a Yardi client.  Fast forward 11 years, and they have two kids, ages 6 and 3, and live and both work for Yardi in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Robert is the Director of Canadian Operations for the Professional Services Group, which handles software implementations for Voyager International clients. With a background in on-site property management, he finds his work to be a little less dramatic than condo operations, where he literally put out fires (in a condominium building hallway) and was twice threatened with fisticuffs by residents. “People get emotional with their homes. With that, you have to be able to manage those emotions and keep these people in check. I think I was able to carry those experiences into the Yardi world, where you’re dealing with clients who get emotional about their software implementations. I’ve learned over the years – no matter what situation you’re in, you can brainstorm a solution. Keep an open mind, be calm about it, and work toward the end goal.” Robert heads up a team of 10 consultants and project managers in the Canadian office, who handle standard service and full service implementations. Yardi’s software has been customized to meet the specific needs of specific Canadian market niches, including Canadian social housing, which is similar to the affordable vertical in the U.S. market. Yardi Voyager International makes multifamily property management easier for companies around the world. He loves the variety of...

There’s no arguing that the way renters search for a new apartment has undergone a dramatic, tech-influenced shift, one that is still evolving for multifamily. No matter what your property size, producing results via apartment search, mobile marketing and online leasing is crucial. When it comes to optimizing the online presence of an apartment community, Yardi’s RentCafe platform – which offers an Internet Listing Service (ILS) as well as customized property marketing web sites and secure portals– is on the rise and making great strides. We spoke with Patrick Lawler, Product Manager for RentCafe, who shared insight about the offerings of this dynamic product slate.  RentCafe is fully integrated with Yardi Voyager. A single-entry system  allows managers to upload property information to a RentCafe Admin site and then have those same details listed on the ILS. “Clients will love the integration with the Yardi PopCard and Yardi Call Center, and the price is super competitive at half the price of other major pay-for-performance ILS sites.  It also gives clients an easier way to manage not only their ILS listing, but also their Property Website and Portal as well as their Call Center administration; it all happens in one central site. Another thing that I love is the online lease execution,  allowing prospects to act and apply to rent while we have their captive attention,” said Lawler, who has worked for the company since 2000 in the areas of technical support, analysis, Billing, Cash and as the Director of Residential Programming. “Clients are dedicating more of their resource toward an online presence. They are increasingly accepting of online functionality, for application and renewal processing such as electronic signatures, payments, and screening. There is a growing demand for integration with social media sites and other networking...

Two majestic felines were spotted this week: a wild mountain lion on the UC Berkeley campus, and the OS X Mountain Lion, the new feline addition to the Mac family.  In the case of the first lion, authorities advise not hiking alone, and if the animal is encountered, stand your ground and try to appear large by raising your hands. In the event of an attack, be aggressive and fight back. (To be fair, mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare.) In the case of the OS X Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8), we are dealing with a tame and educated feline.  At $19.99, its price point is $10 less than the previous Lion version. OS X Mountain Lion doesn’t want to eat you for lunch, but to make your life easier and your compatible Mac devices more seamless and communicative.   A central octet that’s improved in this version is the Messages/Safari Browsing/Game Center/AirPlay Mirroring/Notification Center/Sharing/Power Nap/Dictation. These features are now able to unify their functionality on all of your devices. Just sign in to iCloud once and it’s all set. You can now reply to messages received on your iPhone from your Mac because iMessage has landed here also; messages will appear on all your devices, allowing you to start your conversation on your Mac and keep chatting from your iPad or iPhone, having the complete history stored on all devices (including photos and HD videos); Safari flaunts its unified Search field; the system will return the most relevant results based on bookmarks, browsing history and other data. Users will have the luxury to switch from Mac to iPad, picking up the browser where they left off. Moreover, it saves entire web pages in your Reading List (not just the URLs)...

With dual expertise in Human Resources and Information Technology, Carrie A. Traeger of Property Management, Inc. (PMI), is well-equipped to make smart business analysis decisions. Pennsylvania-based PMI, specializing in commercial, residential, manufactured housing and homeowner association management, has 225 employees and is predominantly a third-party, fee-based management firm. PMI manages 5.4 million square feet of commercial office space, 80 homeowner’s associations (6000 units), 14 manufactured home communities (1400 units) and 45 residential communities (4000 units), all in Pennsylvania. The company has made a name for itself with professionalism and proven results for holders and investors, and has recently seen tremendous growth in its commercial sector. We recently had the opportunity to gain Traeger’s insight on trending topics in HR and IT, a combination she calls “a fun umbrella,” as well as best business practices.  A member of PMI’s team since 1994, she is active in the Society for Human Resource Management and the Human Resource Professionals of Central Pennsylvania. Traeger holds a MBA and accounting degree from Pennsylvania State University. In her free time, she serves as director of the PMI Charitable Foundation, which  provides funds to not-for-profit organizations from programs which seek to enhance human dignity for those who are economically, educationally, and emotionally challenged. Traeger is also  a member of her Church Finance Committee and as a leader in the Awana Program (children’s program). Many thanks to Carrie Traeger for agreeing to answer these questions for us. TBS: How do you manage dual oversight of IT and HR? CAT: My daily focus is on PMI’s mission statement. Our mission statement is to “provide superior property management services which exceed the expectations of customers and clients by focusing on prompt service, reliability, dedication, teamwork, education, training and innovation.” Almost every one of the...

Imagine you’re on a game show – call it Real Estate Jeopardy – and have just been awarded a brand new home. The two prizes are behind unmarked doors – all you have to do is choose. (Drum roll please.) Behind door No. 1, you’ll find: A mansion modeled on the French Palace of Versailles. Located in Florida, this is the home featured on the film “Queen of Versailles,” which featured the Florida homes’ current owners, David and Jackie Siegel, and their opulent taste in size and design. It’s current on the market for $75 million – as is, unfinished – or $100 million, a price tag that includes finishing everything up before you move in. Take a look around on the house’s official sales video tour: Behind door No. 2., we have another residence that’s been in the news recently: an apartment that’s no bigger than a suite-sized hotel room. Maxing out at 300 square feet and being heralded as the solution for space-crunched cities like New York and San Francisco, micro-apartments are geared toward young professionals who want to work and play out in the city, not entertain at home. They’ll have a kitchenette, teeny-tiny bathroom, convertible furnishings and minimal storage space. Renters or owners will be simplifying their lives – and jettisoning possessions – before they move in. Some of these units are inspired by Airstream trailers, which define efficient mobile living. A look: The two extreme styles of living say a lot about America’s transition into a new housing economy. The Siegels had to stop work on their home due to the financial crisis, which made completing a 90,000 square foot place that has 10 Segways on site to get around a little less than feasible, even for a billionaire....

A boost to healthy lifestyles was delivered late last month when HUD and HHS unveiled two smoke-free housing toolkits. Working conjointly with public housing authorities across the country, the effort is an attempt to provide healthier homes and to cut costs for maintenance. One toolkit focuses on property owners/managers and the other targets residents. “A healthy home is a smoke-free home”, said Jon Gant, Director of HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. “If we’re serious about promoting healthy living conditions in federally assisted housing, then we have to get serious about promoting smoke-free housing. HUD is pleased to join hands with our partners in this important effort to create a healthy home environment for families and their children.” Fewer complaints from nonsmokers, reduced risks of fires, protection from secondhand smoke, decreased maintenance and clean-up costs, better retention of current residents, greater appeal to prospective renters; these are just a few benefits after adopting the nonsmoking policy. Once made visible and marketed accordingly, the policy will attract many prospects, specifically interested in nonsmoking units. Some apartment complexes have announced their residents that within a determined period of time they’ll become fully nonsmoking, starting with one floor after another, and even offered to give them resources to help them quit. Addendums to the leases will be signed by all those who live in the smoke-free buildings. The toolkits contain information on health effects of secondhand smoking, how to implement non-smoking policies as owner, a smoke-free guide for the resident, a home smoke-free pledge kit, and other useful resources, put together by HUD, HHS, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Lung Association. Over 140,000 fires were started by cigarettes, cigars and pipes in the U.S. in 2007 only, causing $530 million in...

A major new business software implementation can be a daunting process. When the team at Colonial Properties Trust decided to make the switch to Yardi Systems, they were looking for a partner who could deliver a platform that would meet their day-to-day needs and grow along with the company. Ray Thornton, senior vice president of information technology at Colonial Properties Trust, explained it this way: “We wanted a partner in a company that was committed to the industry, had significant industry experience, and had a vision for the technology in the industry that went beyond just standard property management.”   Over the last three years, Colonial Properties Trust, a publicly-held REIT, has focused its efforts on residential property management, and as of the most recent quarter, managed a total of 116 multifamily properties totaling 34,959 units across the Sunbelt. The company also has a large commercial division, and wanted to move general ledger accounting, payables and procurement, and day-to-day residential and commercial property management tracking and reporting systems to a Yardi platform. After doing the research, asking plenty of questions and seeing the software demos, Colonial Properties Trust was ready to make the leap to Yardi, but the real test of this new business relationship would come during the Voyager implementation process. As Thornton puts it, “the proof was in the implementation pudding.” A successful working relationship between Yardi’s team and the Colonial Properties Trust staff, as well as third party vendors, made the process a smooth one. “Yardi has proven to us that they’re very client-focused and very success oriented,” Thornton remarked. “We’ve gone to them with a lot of crazy ideas and  they very rarely have pushed back. They’ve said ‘maybe not,’ but they’ve never really said no.” Adopting a more flexible...

Having sold 35.1 million iPhones and 11.8 million iPads during the first three months of 2012, Apple is one of the world’s most ubiquitous technology companies.  Chances are, you own one of these devices. But do you use it to its full potential? Even a longtime iPhone user may learn a few things from these helpful tricks. Photo functionality: if you don’t like taking photos on your iPhone by pressing the virtual shutter button on the screen, you don’t have to. You can use either the increase (+) volume button on the left-hand side of the phone, or the button on the headphone cord. The latter method cuts down shaking of the phone after you’ve framed up your shot. Sending multiple photos: Trying to send more than one pic at a time by email or text message? All you have to do is open the Photos app, tap on the album you want to send your photos from, tap on the right top corner icon and choose those you wish to forward. Tap Share in the bottom left of the screen and choose Email, Message or Print. Define words: A few months ago Apple added a built-in dictionary that you can access with all apps that let you select a word within an email, iBooks, and text messages. Once you select a word, a pop up is displayed with the option to “Define” its meaning. Wet iPhone: You are not the first or the last to drop yours in a sink or – heaven forbid – the hot tub. If it happens, leave the phone turned off (to avoid short-circuiting), and gently towel it dry. Never use a hairdryer as it can push the moisture into areas that aren’t wet. If you have a...

Hoarding has affected multifamily housing firms long before any reality show.  Also known as compulsive hoarding and cluttering, hoarding is the excessive collection of possession or animals. According to the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, it is closely linked with obsessive compulsive disorder, a mental illness that affects nearly 3 million people throughout the nation. As a mental illness, tenants that hoard are protected under the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the Disabilities Act, and must be cared for accordingly. On-site staff members  face the delicate task of  early detection, fair treatment, and effective recourse against non-compliant tenants to ensure the safety of property, staff and residents. Nearly 100 task forces and agencies have been established in the US to assist tenants with hoarding issues, as well as provide guidance for property managers. Task forces vary by state with multiple task forces present within some governmental and humanitarian agencies. Public health, mental health, protective services, fire safety, and animal control are just a few agencies that often support hoarding task forces. The Risks of Hoarding Many owners and property managers are not equipped with the skills needed to asses and treat compulsive hoarding. It is advisable to request the assistance of a local task force to create a fair and accurate assessment of tenants’ living conditions. These agencies can help to differentiate between a zealous collector of diverse items and someone whose collecting results in dangerous health and living conditions. The later creates an environment that is perilous to the hoarder, neighboring tenants, and the property. Some signs of a hoarding situation: Possessions that block emergency exits, hallways, and windows can block access for emergency personnel and may also result in personal injury or even death for the tenant. Possessions that block or interfere with...

Dena Xifaras started her professional life as an international management consultant, work that involved international travel to oversee decidedly for-profit projects. But she’s found her true calling back home in Massachusetts, where Xifaras has built a successful career in multiple roles for Boston-based Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), a national non-profit and Yardi affordable housing client that focuses on rehabilitating properties and retaining their affordable status. She’s worked in development and financing, restructuring troubled properties, as a systems development lead, and was recently named Vice President of POAH’s Asset Management division. Xifaras is also an attorney, and earned her law degree in night courses from Suffolk University while working full time. Making the transition from her former life at Accenture to the nonprofit sector has been immensely rewarding for the former globetrotter. “I didn’t even realize until I had switched how meaningful it would be to me to do something (professionally) that contributed to society,” Xifaras told us in a recent interview. A lifelong volunteer and athlete with boundless energy, her passion for improving the lives of affordable housing residents was confirmed by her very first POAH project. The project was in Narragansett, Rhode Island, an affluent coastal town where housing is often out of reach for median-level wage earners. The work brought Xifaras in touch with some of the residents of the small affordable housing community POAH was redeveloping, among them a firefighter, and teacher and a nurses’ aide. “These were great contributing members of society who otherwise could not live in the town where they worked,” she said. “The idea that they could live in rental housing, stay in the community, have a four minute commute, and have their children go to school with the same kids that that they were teaching...

Companies strive to better understand their customers and stay a step ahead of their competitors. Various methods of accomplishing these goals have come and gone over the years but none has stirred as much buzz as Big Data. Through such analytics, companies now have the power to explore human-generated data in addition to transactions, market trends, and interactions with customers. In the past, the real estate market operated through a rearview mirror. Forecasts were cloudy, based on month-old figures at best. Today, Big Data allows residential and commercial firms to step forward with trends as they happen, making predictions based on real time information. No longer relying on quarter-end results, firms reap the benefits of daily and weekly data on inventory levels, price fluctuation, asking rates and lease rates, and beyond. Analysts can focus these figures on one property, one neighborhood, the entire city or on a national and global level. Big Data has become the most sought-after tool for harvesting, interpreting, and implementing vast quantities of information with adjustable levels of precision. The applications for Big Data seem endless, with common best use cases varying by industry. Big Data could help commercial and residential real estate firms to: predict risks to investments earlier and more accurately, such as depreciation rates or changes in demand adjust construction and operation costs based on the most recent sales and cost data, resulting in fewer setbacks and surprises during project completion create event- and behavior-based targeting analyze daily and weekly sales figures for competitive pricing and profit optimization increase cyber security for a safer online leasing experience for renters monitor energy consumption on properties, identifying areas of resource inefficiency evaluating proposed business strategies and suggesting measurable goals Of all the data harvested, users are gaining the most...

Anyone who has ever worked in onsite property management probably has a small arsenal of stories to share. But WinnResidential’s Emily D’Urso is the first mom we’ve met whose kids ask her to entertain them with tales of a property manager’s daily life. “I had so many stories about things I had to fix or crazy residents. They have their favorite stories that they love for me to tell them over and over,” she told us during a recent interview at YASC DC. Her 6 and 8 year old will say: “Tell me the one about how you put the locks on the doors, or tell us the one about when the sewers backed up into people’s closets.” Now an experienced business systems analyst for WinnResidential, D’Urso describes her first job out of college, working as an assistant property manager for five affordable properties in Boston, as “the most not boring job ever.” Though she took the position simply to be self-sufficient after finishing college, her onsite property management work turned out to be an entry point into the multifamily world, leading her to a fulfilling career doing what she loves. And it gave her a first-hand look at the challenges faced by on-the-ground property staff. After moving up the property management ladder, her technical problem-solving skills were recognized during implementations of new technology, and she accepted a position in the systems department.  (WinnResidential’s merger with Lend Lease Real Estate, preceded by Lend Lease’s acquisition of Boston  Financial Group, brought D’Urso to the Winn team.) WinnResidential’s multifamily portfolio includes 94,190 units across the United States, the majority of which are affordable housing. The company is known for its rehabilitation of historic structures, and has received numerous awards for turning decaying old buildings into newly vibrant...

Earlier this month, Microsoft pulled an Apple move and debuted its new Surface tablet to a hushed crowd of tech media bigwigs. It had all the hallmarks of a classic Steve Jobs production: a rented out art studio space, regal staging, and fanfare designed to shock & ahhh. This aggressive cribbing from the productions that launched the iPad was intentional: Microsoft designed the Surface to compete head-on with Apple and become the market’s first iPad killer. They just might be onto something. And they also may have launched the product that will prompt consumers to decide between a tablet-style device, like a Surface or an iPad, or an ultra lightweight laptop, like an Ultrabook. Price points for Surface are expected to be slightly higher than for the iPad, meaning that it won’t be competing in the same space as Google’s low-cost Nexus Tablet, which is now available for $199, but with the more expensive, high performance Ultrabooks. Surveying the Surface It’s the not-so-little things that stand out so far and make the Surface RT (basic model) and Surface Windows 8 Pro (all-in) look like they might make good on those David vs. Goliath aspirations: It’s got a keyboard. When the Surface keyboard was revealed, you could practically hear a chorus of angels sing and wild cheering from the balconies and the sound of a million hearts shouting forth the virtues of love, peace, and happiness. ‘Cause that’s how stoked people are to have a tablet with a real keyboard. The Touch Cover model gives solid keyboard performance, the Type Cover replicates true keyboard feel. Either way, Surface provides consumers the platform to do a lot more than just send off tweets and emails. It’s bigger. Size matters, and at 10.6 inches the Surface display...