Better Homes LLC in the United Arab Emirates takes pride in seeing things just a little sooner than almost everybody else. Linda Mahoney formed the company in 1986 after noticing the lack of professional real estate companies in Dubai, the country’s largest city. Since then, she and her team have dedicated themselves to understanding their markets inside out, eventually growing Better Homes into the UAE’s leading real estate company. Better Homes’ services include residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, and holiday homes. The company has offices in Oman, Jordan and Qatar in addition to branch offices across the UAE. Launched as a rental agency, Better Homes opened a sales division in 2002 that has served tens of thousands of buyers and sellers. Another division created in 2015 organizes and promotes off-plan projects—properties without structures—in Dubai. Better Homes expanded from one woman working from a desk in a dining room to almost 500 employees staffing offices across the UAE. It preceded the Burj Khafila, the Burj Al Arab, the Marina, and other landmarks of Dubai’s stunning real estate development. This expansion arose from a business model that emphasized reliability, convenience, and visibility supported by a website that welcomes 24,000 page visits per day. “Every day, we look for ways to bring new and better services to our clients and maintain our market position,” says Ryan Mahoney, CEO at Better Homes. “The key for us has always been finding places for people to live. Our business is really quite simple: people and their homes. We do much more than that, of course, but people and their homes will always be at the heart of what we do.” Using the latest and most advanced property management technology is one way Better Homes executes its business with the desired level of personal service. Client service and internal efficiency were the principal factors that led Better Homes to adopt Yardi Voyager as its property management platform in 2014. “With our company growing across multiple verticals in the UAE, we needed a way to get an overview of the portfolio at one glance,” says Zubin Firozi, Director of Operations at Better Homes. “By housing financial and operational data in one place, Voyager gives us a full-business platform that covers all aspects of lease administration for every market we serve. Voyager delivers simple and understandable reports, electronic receipts and service that’s customized to each client’s unique requirements. Our staff spends less time on data entry and administrative tasks and more time managing our properties effectively—and finding homes for people. From an internal standpoint, Voyager makes data easily accessible to employees and saves money by reducing our reliance on paper.” Firozi applies more than 12 years of experience, five of them with Better Homes, to helping clients buy, rent or sell property. In his earlier role as head of property management, he oversaw an 80-member team that managed residential and commercial properties. Previous positions in business development and leasing management provided additional skills that help him back up founder Mahoney’s assertion that Better Homes is “the Middle East’s most trustworthy and dependable property agency.” “Real estate is all about the human connection. We constantly look for ways to offer new and better services to our clients. As a key collaborator and one of the world’s Top 100 private cloud companies as ranked by Forbes, Yardi helps us do that,” Firozi says. Learn more about Better Homes. This article previously appeared in Arabian...
Communication Counts
Accounting for Senior Living
When it comes to the senior living industry, one word reigns supreme: community. Whether it’s memory care, assisted living or simply providing the opportunity to live independently, all manner of senior living options pivot on the notion that residents and their families are keen to sustain connections and keep life in the golden years meaningful and nurturing. One key aspect integral to the creation of a senior community is communication, between staff, caregivers, residents and their families. “Communication is one of the biggest challenges we face as an industry,” says Dennis McCarthy, CIO at Superior Residences. “In the senior housing market, you are not just serving the resident, you’re serving the family that cares about them as well, so it’s important to ensure everyone stays connected.” Care, Comfort and Accountability Florida-based Superior Residences exemplifies the multifaceted nature of the senior living industry, with services ranging from independent living to assisted living and memory care. Superior Residences even provides a Day Stay Program designed to give at home caregivers a break by providing resident care for shorter periods of time from a few hours to the whole day. The company’s mission statement, “building trust so that residents, families and our team have peace” demonstrates Superior Residences commitment to creating an atmosphere of care and comfort based on a set of core values including “integrity, service, efficiency and fun.” As one of the company’s founders, McCarthy understands the essential role accountability plays in fulfilling those core values, an accountability made all the easier by the company’s use of Yardi Voyager for Senior Housing. “Billing needs to be as accurate as possible so that you can explain to resident why they are being charged and what services they are being billed for,” he explains. “When you have...
Timbercreek Communities
Canada Client Video
When David Melo, president of Timbercreek Communities, joined the company, his first call was to Yardi. Melo knew that the company needed a stronger, savvier technology provider to manage its complex accounting needs, and also enable the company to add vital solutions for ancillary services. Yardi Voyager delivered the tools that Timbercreek needed to succeed. Watch the video: Beyond superior accounting and reporting capabilities, moving from manual to automated processes within Voyager has provided Timbercreek with cost control and greater end-to-end operational efficiency. As an early adopter of Yardi PAYscan in Canada, Timbercreek has quickly realized the benefits of automating accounts payable. “Moving from a manual process to one that is automated with a workflow not only increases accuracy and processing speed, but also improves cost control,” said Melo. He added that the PAYscan mobile app is a great tool for staff who travel frequently, as it allows them to approve invoices from airports or anywhere else they happen to be. Timbercreek is also rolling out RentCafe resident portal and Yardi Maintenance, including the mobile app, across its portfolio. They expect significant time savings and improved responsiveness thanks to seamless Voyager integration. Melo commented, “We were manually receiving emails from our website for maintenance requests, which required someone attending to the email inbox and forwarding the messages to the right people. Now residents can simply log in to the resident portal, enter their service request and start the workflow.” Consolidating operations portfolio-wide on the Voyager platform has also improved communication within the company. As part of its inherently collaborative culture, Timbercreek has found great success with appointing “Yardi Champions” across its business. Melo commented, “We’ve empowered a small group of Timbercreek employees to be Yardi Champions. These individuals lead the charge and take ownership of each solution piece of our Voyager platform. This is an exciting new approach, and we’re already seeing great results from our 400 onsite employees. Yardi has absolutely helped empower our...
Truth in Numbers
Accounting for Senior Living
Thanks to detailed accounting options and superior customer support, Sentio Healthcare Properties continues to expand its use of Yardi Voyager across its property portfolio. As a REIT specializing in senior living, Sentio Healthcare Properties oversees a diverse portfolio ranging from medical office buildings to senior housing, including independent living, assisted living and memory care facilities. At the company’s Orlando headquarters, about 20 employees work with third party operators at 34 properties located in 16 states. “REITS are not the easiest structure to understand,” admits Julia Avallone, Manager of Property Level Accounting and Asset Management (CPA) at Sentio Healthcare Properties. “I’ve been at Sentio nearly three years, and I’m still wrapping my brain around all the accounting complexities. That being said, I think it’s rare to find an accounting role where you feel that you are making a positive contribution to somebody’s life. I feel that my role at Sentio is mission driven and contributes, albeit in a small way, to the quality of life the residents in our facilities enjoy.” Making the Switch to Senior Living Avallone began her career in public accounting mainly for real estate clients. Eventually, Avallone decided to transition into another industry, and one of her managers recommended Sentio. “My husband was also in public accounting, and it was too much to both work in the (same) industry,” explains Avallone. “I was looking for a change, and one of my managers knew the controller at Sentio. It was a good fit.” Avallone used to handle accounting for approximately half of Sentio’s portfolio, but is in the process of transitioning to an asset management role. Because Sentio’s properties are located in a variety of different markets, each community comes with its own advantages and challenges. For example, Texas recently moved to...
Celebrating CSD Week
Recognizing amazing customer service
Each year, Yardi’s North American customer support team – better known as CSD – celebrates the outstanding accomplishments of its many associates. Clients are urged to recognize the support staff that help them troubleshoot, navigate and better utilize their powerful Yardi software by sending in kudos and appreciation for the CSD team members. We are pleased to introduce you to a handful of the staff who were singled out for exemplary performances this year. In their own words, learn more about these outstanding associates who are all passionate about delivering great customer service and support to Yardi’s widespread client base. *** Melissa Seehorn Senior Technical Account Manager – Georgia Three years of service What do you enjoy most about your job? My job includes but is not limited to assisting our clients with all of their support questions, providing training to both clients and new hires, and a smile to all of those I encounter. The best part of my job is the interaction I am able to have with my coworkers and our clients. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that I have the ability to positively influence those around me whether it comes to Yardi products or employee morale. I take each day as a new challenge to end all communications on a positive note. Tell us what aspect of helping Yardi clients is most rewarding for you. I am reminded of how rewarding my job is on a daily basis. It is always important to give my attention to our clients and to make sure that they know we are here to help and train them on how to better use Yardi’s products. When I give that attention, our clients are so thankful and continue to let us know how happy they are with our product and services. My clients are constantly telling me how grateful they are for my support and this small gesture just adds more fuel to my fire and encourages me to strive to provide the best service possible. When you’re not at work, how do you like to spend your time? When not at work, I am generally spending time with my husband and dog. My husband and I love traveling to new locations and enjoying the beauty around us. We also love spending quality time with our friends and family. *** Regan Heydari Senior Technical Account Manager, Voyager Commercial – Texas Two years of service What do you enjoy most about your job? This is a tough one. There are several things that I love about my job that cumulatively make my job enjoyable: -It’s never monotonous. I used to work as a technician at Lexus, and doing 100 oil changes/ tire rotations every day became tedious. I never have that issue with Yardi. Every day brings new challenges. -My clients. I love having close relationships with my clients. It’s rewarding to know that I make a difference to my clients. -My co-workers. I love the environment here, and being helpful to my co-workers. It’s gratifying that I can help my co-workers when they need it, or ask for help if I need it. –Wearing jeans! Tell us what aspect of helping Yardi clients is most rewarding for you. I think one of the most rewarding moments is when you are on the phone with the client and you’ve managed to resolve their issue and you can hear the relief, and smile, in their voice. Also, resolving any issues with Bank Recs always deserves a fist pump. When you’re not at work, how do you like to spend your time? On the weekends I spend my days at Rogers Wildlife as a volunteer. Evenings are usually spent relaxing with a book or watching TV with my hubby and our “kids” Joey (Boxer) and Harley (Macaw). *** Joel Santiano Application Specialist, Voyager Frontline Residential & International – Canada Six...
