Complex processes with rules left to interpretation can create uncertainty about what a team should do next and fear of making mistakes. That can lead to lost productivity, stagnation and the inability for an organization to grow. That’s a cycle that affects many affordable housing teams. As the complexity of compliance increases, the personnel required exponentially increases. It takes leadership within an organization to recognize the need for change and to seek out solutions. That’s where Babbie Jaco, the latest in Yardi’s series of Affordable Housing Visionaries, comes into the story. In 1984, Babbie joined a newly formed organization called Boyd Management. She was one of the first employees to be hired and as the company grew, became a principal in Boyd Management and their development entity, WWJ, LLC. In 2020, Babbie and her partners sold their interests in both Boyd Management and WWJ, LLC to CAHEC of Raleigh, NC as a strategy to secure the properties, its 475 employees and maintain the legacy of 35 years of excellent work. While her partners are now retired, Babbie continues to lead the team today as Senior Vice President of CAHEC Management, Inc. (CMI) Get to Know CAHEC Management, Inc. CMI is a leading affordable housing property developer, owner and manager based in Columbia, South Carolina. Its sustained growth and successful properties are laudable. Its portfolio includes more than 370+ properties and 16,000 affordable housing units across the southeast. As CMI grew, and as affordable housing reporting requirements became more complex, the team experienced significantly more compliance work particularly given the array of affordable housing programs the organization works under. Jaco recognized the challenge and saw opportunity to resolve them with assistance from Yardi RightSource. CMI Reimagines Compliance RightSource provides CMI with a dedicated team of...

What’s the best way for a real estate investment management firm to give clients the information they want when they want it? We asked Joe Biddle, director of information technology for Yardi client ABR Capital Partners, about ABR’s experience with the Yardi Investment Suite. Joe, can you tell us a little about ABR? We’re based in Baltimore and co-invest with clients and joint venture partners in properties across the U.S. Our portfolio consists of 7 million square feet of commercial space and 557 million square feet of multifamily units that comprise $1 billion of assets under management. What issues did you encounter with your previous accounting systems? We used a basic accounting package for property management and a homegrown investment management system. A major problem was the repeated manual data entry needed to transfer information between them. This labor became a drag on our limited staff resources. And clients seeking information on their investments had to request it from us via phone or email and wait for a response. Our clients and team needed, and deserved, a new software solution for accessing information. So, you adopted the Yardi Investment Suite. How did it remedy these problems? The Yardi Investment Suite replaced multiple manually executed operations – performance return calculations, joint venture partner reports, capital tracking, and information delivery to clients and employees – with a single connected automation solution that saves us substantial staff time and effort. Please explain how integrating accounting and investment management within the Yardi Investment Suite improves your customer service. With accounting data seamlessly flowing to the investment system, we can immediately communicate new opportunities to investors and prospects, customize investor reporting, and automate capital calls and distributions. This process is much faster and more accurate than using spreadsheets or...

Corey Rothgeb is the senior staff accountant for Self Storage Plus, an independent business that generates $3.6 million in annual revenue. We talked with him about what it takes to succeed in the storage industry, how he addresses industry challenges and the ways Yardi Voyager saves Self Storage Plus enormous amounts of time and energy. Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your background, and how long have you been in property management?I’ve been with Self Storage Plus since August of 2020. Prior to that I lived in San Diego, California. I studied at the University of California San Diego and received my bachelor’s in economics in 2019. I got my foot in the door in property management with a publicly traded REIT in San Diego. That’s where I practiced on property management software. I worked there for about nine months as an accounts payable clerk and financial administrator working on budgets. Then I made the move to the East Coast in August of 2020 and started as a staff accountant at Self Storage Plus. I’ve since progressed from staff accountant to senior staff accountant and currently hope to progress to controller. There have been opportunities to grow tremendously in property management, and I love the whole real estate industry in general. What challenges does property management software solve for your business?Voyager helps with reporting on our end. I think the biggest challenge we faced when the company switched to Voyager in 2020 was just having processes in place, and Yardi really helped provide structure for those. The invoicing and reporting automation in general provided a kickstart to getting all of our processes in place. What features in Voyager are helping you solve those challenges?The ability to run and automate specific reports. In fact,...

It’s no secret that technology is beneficial. For seniors in particular, tech can help with socialization, safety and everyday tasks. That’s according to Yardi client Maplewood Senior Living, who published a stellar blog post analyzing the role tech plays in older adults’ lives. So if you’re curious how certain tech solutions can benefit residents in your communities, you’re in the right place. Benefits of seniors using technology   Citing research, Maplewood shares four ways technology can enrich seniors’ quality of life: Socialization — especially during the pandemic, seniors face an increased risk of loneliness and social isolation. Fortunately, tech can be used to prevent serious, long-term effects. According to a study shared by Maplewood, Internet use by seniors resulted in lower depression and higher levels of social support. Safety — rightfully so, family members may worry about the safety of their loved ones as they age. But tech solutions are built to help. From tools that track a senior’s care patterns to devices built to alert medical professionals in an emergency, the right system can reduce risks and provide peace of mind. Entertainment — tech can provide various entertainment options for seniors. This includes online classes, games and movies. Smart devices can also provide accessibility, catering their features specifically to seniors, allowing them to receive the maximum benefit. Exercise and health tracking — prioritizing mental and physical health is key for all ages, seniors included. With the right tools, seniors and loved ones can easily track important health information like activity levels or medication schedules.   Ways to utilize technology There’s a wide range of possibilities when it comes to technology. For seniors, different solutions can transform their day-to-day lives. Maplewood offers five key ways older adults can utilize tech: Manage financesSchedule appointmentsMaintain social...

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Antonio Marquez’ Comunidad Partners’ properties in Sunbelt markets throughout the U.S. were standouts in the affordable housing sector. Not only did they offer safe and affordable residences for families, but residents of the portfolio’s approximately 10,000 units could take advantage of after school programs, health and wellness classes, financial literacy and tax help courses, and more. Featured at a 2018 Fannie Mae conference hosted by The Atlantic and profiled in this exceptional video posted by Affordable Housing Finance, it’s easy to grasp the sense of community that Comunidad Partners created from its start in 2007 – when Marquez founded the company to invest in underserved workforce and affordable housing communities. Asked often about his “why” for such deep community involvement, Marquez says he was motivated by his family background. As immigrants and entrepreneurs, his parents Juan Antonio and Pamela instilled a strong sense of community responsibility in Antonio Jr. His father began his working life as a vineyard worker, but ultimately started one of the nation’s largest distribution networks of Hispanic foods from his garage. His son learned that with a good idea, and a lot of hard work, amazing outcomes could be achieved. After finishing his undergraduate degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California, he began exploring the multifamily industry. “I wanted to provide more than just shelter. These are living, breathing souls and families,” Marquez said. “I really boiled down my ‘why?’ to what I took for granted growing up. My parents made sacrifices and were phenomenal in terms of supporting us and providing a quality roof over our head, food on the table, a good education even though we were a low income family. My ‘Why?’ was to provide these same impactful things to...

Public housing agencies across the country are open for business, even when their physical offices are closed. Their services and resources are literally vital to the health, safety and welfare of millions of Americans. How do they make it work? Hagerstown Housing Authority (HHA), which serves the city of Hagerstown in Maryland, uses specialized software solutions from Yardi that connect their staff to critical workflows that serve waitlisted households, applicants, participants and residents, and landlords. “The coronavirus is an awful situation, of course, but it has given us an opportunity to help our staff realize the benefits of cloud-based software, as well as online solutions for our applicants and residents,” says Sean Griffith, executive director for HHA. HHA has been serving its residents for more than 65 years. As a high-performing housing authority, as distinguished by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HHA owns and/or oversees 1,320 dwelling units in 11 communities and more than 900 Housing Choice Vouchers for use by residents who do not dwell in HHA-owned properties. Approximately 12% of the city’s residents are assisted by HHA housing resources. The waiting list for housing assistance from HHA grows daily as economic variables affect local residents. “There has been a definite uptick in need for housing assistance. Our properties are in demand, and the waiting list for Housing Choice Vouchers is growing,” says Griffith. Using RentCafe PHA, HHA makes it possible for interested households to place themselves on its waiting list. The process is handled completely online without the need for an office visit. That feature is particularly timely for HHA given the circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency went live with the Yardi PHA suite in the spring of 2019 and considers cloud functionality one of the...

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the new normal of social distancing has created a big challenge for many businesses — and real estate firms are no exception. Fortunately for many multifamily operators, opportunities to streamline common business processes using online software solutions are helping to surmount challenges, while delivering unexpected benefits. That’s what Avenue5 Residential has discovered. The Seattle-based firm, which focuses on third-party multifamily property management, oversees more than 375 properties and 70,000 units in 13 states, with offices in Denver, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Spokane and greater Washington, D.C. Recognized as one of NMHC’s Top 50 Managers, Avenue5 is employing digital solutions from Yardi to protect their associates and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, all without sacrificing service or missing revenue opportunities. In order to continue serving clients and residents, collecting rents, completing work orders and maintaining site operations while following CDC and regional health recommendations, Avenue5 relies on the Yardi Voyager and RentCafe online platforms. With COVID-19 concerns requiring the company to close its property leasing offices to foot traffic, Avenue5 further deepened their focus on promoting online options to residents at the onset of the outbreak; it subsequently saw a jump in resident online payment adoption from 50% to 70% as a result. April and May rent collections were strong, and executives are optimistic about collections in the months to come. “We expect to see a long-term benefit as customers acclimate to the ease of paying online, and as our associates reduce the amount of time spent on manual processes,” said Pål Ottesen, chief financial officer at Avenue5. Ottesen also noted that moving rent payments online had reduced numerous risks associated with accepting paper checks. In order to support residents directly impacted by COVID-19, and...

For senior living communities, rolling out a new system interface is no simple feat, especially for a service as crucial as electronic medication management. And when you consider that pharmacy partners must be involved too, it’s not hard to see why implementations are often tricky. But that doesn’t mean they can’t go smoothly. Our Yardi eMAR team has years of hands-on experience in software implementation and building close relationships with both community and pharmacy staff. Where other software vendors may cut the pharmacy out of the process, we prefer to show caregivers how things work with a representative from the pharmacy right there with us. Implementation collaboration We’ve found that bringing everyone on site for the initial implementation helps the communities and pharmacies understand the workflow better. Since they can walk through the processes together, they get a clearer view of how the other side handles a medication order. Of course, if issues crop up down the road, we’re always happy to help out. “Yardi is always extremely responsive. I get answers very quickly and action very quickly,” said Taylor Smalling, manager of account support and enterprise projects at Guardian Pharmacy Services. “That enhances the quality of the relationship and helps build trust.” Guardian, the nation’s third-largest long-term care pharmacy, is part of the Yardi Pharmacy Network. We’ve integrated their pharmacy software with Yardi eMAR for real-time medication information sharing and automated prescription fulfillment. So when it comes time to implement the interface at a new community, the setup is much simpler. “With Yardi, we are usually in touch with one or two people. We can work with them directly to get all of the interface components set up,” said Taylor. “It’s a really efficient process, and I think it pulls in the right...

As multifamily real estate continues to adapt to new standards of social distancing and uncertain economic times, a longtime asset management executive sees signs of positive momentum for the industry. Greg Slang is executive vice president of asset management at KETTLER, a national recognized developer/owner/operator of multifamily assets in the Washington D.C. region as well as Florida and the Carolinas. With a portfolio that includes apartments in all asset classes from affordable to A+, Slang is positioned to observe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across property types and resident experiences. He recently sat down for an interview with Dhar Sawh, industry principal at Yardi, to speak about multifamily’s adaption to the changing times and KETTLER’s particularly swift response. You can listen to the full commentary here. Having worked through 9/11 and the Great Recession of 2007-2008, Slang provided an insightful look at the state of the multifamily industry from an asset management perspective. Among the topics covered in his interview: remote work, resident considerations during COVID-19, and what to look out for next. “This all happened very quickly,” said Slang. “It has been very difficult from a shock perspective. I liken it to 9/11, where one day all seems to be fine, and the next day, the whole world seems to be thrown into disarray.” Multifamily has reacted quickly to the social distancing circumstances required by COVID-19, incorporating the use of virtual tours, online leasing and other proactive measures. The only things that truly can’t be resolved remotely are major maintenance concerns. Slang said that the KETTLER team has reacted well to working remotely and is continuing to serve their residents effectively from a safe distance. That may be the norm in the months to come, he noted. “We were very surprised at...

How do you efficiently run an affordable assisted living community? We spoke with Nicole Graham to get the answers. Nicole is a licensed administrator for Nevada HAND, the largest nonprofit for affordable housing in the state. They’ve helped thousands find a place to call home – including older adults. Nevada HAND owns and operates two affordable assisted living communities in Las Vegas under the Silver Sky brand. Nicole’s in charge of their location at Deer Springs. Nicole revealed how they grow their community, connect with family members and provide the best possible care for residents through the Yardi Senior Living Suite. We’ve transcribed a few highlights from the interview here, but be sure to catch the video below too. Q: What Yardi products have been most transformative for you and why? We have definitely enjoyed Yardi EHR and Senior CRM. On the marketing side, it’s about knowing where our prospects are coming from and if we want to go back to that market area. But then once they are a prospect in the lead database, it goes all the way through the workflow on to the care side with EHR. Just being able to visually see that whole process has been really great. Q: How does your team maximize lead conversion with Senior CRM? Because you’re able to see the reports and analytics in Senior CRM, we know how long each lead takes and why they might not have moved in. We understand where we are at with that prospect. Are they in rehab? Are they still at home making the decision? Are they over resource because of our affordability and our income limits? Or are they waiting on other resources because they need to make the rent limit? So knowing those lead conversion...

Riyadh Davids joined apartment manager and Yardi client Nasser Lootah Real Estate, part of the Nasser Adbullah Lootah group of companies, in 2010. As general manager, he is responsible for all asset development and operational management, including the implementation of Yardi Voyager as the company’s property management and accounting platform. He offered perspective on his company and its relationship with Yardi from his office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Q: Mr. Davids, how has Nasser Lootah Real Estate grown into one of the largest diversified groups in the Middle East? A: We consistently provide innovative technologies and comprehensive know-how that benefit customers in many Gulf countries. In our 25 years of existence we have become active in travel, shipping, cargo, logistics, real estate, IT and interactive media, among other industries. Our portfolio includes more than 30 buildings across all asset categories. We aimed to provide superior professional services in every field, resulting in satisfied clients. Q: How would you describe the company’s business culture and philosophy? A: We have a heritage of hospitality and collaboration. This environment of professionalism directly translates to the advancement of our clients’ interests as well as those of our employees. Q: What’s the most critical challenges to maintaining your brand identity and market position? A: The most immediate one is avoiding complacency with our achievements and continuing to focus on building a lasting legacy. We constantly seek to create new partnerships while securing higher levels of trust from our current clients, associates and employees. Q: What were the challenges that led you to select Yardi Voyager as your real estate technology platform? A: With our company growing across multiple verticals in the UAE, we needed a way to get an overview of the portfolio at a glance and communicate...

How do you effectively track your sales activities? You got to make it fun, says Nicole Moberg, chief sales officer for Thrive Senior Living. Based in Atlanta, Thrive Senior Living operates more than a dozen communities across eight states and Washington D.C. Over the past decade, they’ve worked to redefine what senior living stands for, and they’ve dedicated themselves to building meaningful relationships with their residents. Nicole recently spoke about her team’s experience with Yardi Senior CRM. They’ve been using the solution to attract, nurture and convert leads in creative ways. Part of their approach includes a daily event they call “Party With Yardi.” Now, I know what you’re thinking. Drinks and dancing are the key to more move-ins? Not quite. For Thrive, Party With Yardi is just a fun, tongue-in-cheek moniker that lets the sales team know it’s time to sign in to Yardi and get down to business. It’s when sales team members prospect and follow-up with leads, which keeps the team on task and Senior CRM up to date. “We protect the hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and our sales team does time blocking every day,” said Nicole. “The whole community knows during those hours, you’re in Yardi following up on prospects. We even hang something up on our doors so everyone knows that is a time of no interruption.” Thrive has also developed its own creative follow-up cadence to boost numbers. “It was built by ‘those closest to the work,’ the high-performing sales team members,” said Nicole. “The team follows this and enters their info in Yardi.” Once a sales team member has keyed in what they’ve done with a lead, they’re not finished just yet. Senior CRM won’t let them move on or close out the record...

For senior living providers, collecting payments online reduces staff workload and increases cash flow. For senior living residents and their family members, it saves time and eliminates hassle. A win-win all around. So why is it then that so few residents pay online? At Validus Senior Living, the finance team understood the value of online payments, and they knew residents and their loved ones would appreciate the convenience once they got on board. They just needed a push in the right direction first. Validus Senior Living offers residences across the spectrum of care: independent living, assisted living and memory care. They have 15 current communities throughout the Southeast, and they plan on developing two to three new properties per year. Getting their residents to pay online would streamline finances as the organization continued to grow. Validus finance staff had already offered ACH as a payment option, but adoption was low. To top it off, staff had to enter a resident or family member’s bank details manually to get them in the system, which took extra time and risked errors. So Validus turned to RENTCafé Senior Living for self-service online payments and launched a variety of initiatives to make it the popular choice for bill pay. The results were clear: They achieved an average 60% adoption rate for online payments across their communities! How’d they pull it off? Here’s what Lindsey Hacker, chief financial officer at Validus, revealed: Offer a discount to current residents Old habits are hard to change, but a simple incentive can work wonders as motivation. Validus ran a promotion for existing residents, asking them to sign up for online payments. In turn, they would get a discount on their bill. Though incentives like these may seem unaffordable for senior living providers,...

When you work in an industry where margins are tight, having the data to see exactly how your business is performing – and what steps you need to take – is vital. This is especially true for senior living, which currently faces one of its lowest occupancy rates in years. Greg Puklicz of 12 Oaks Senior Living knows just how essential data can be. As the company’s CFO, he’s always measuring performance across his communities and finding ways to make that data practical for his team. “I want the accounting and our reporting to be nimble and useful. If you give someone a report that is 8-10 pages long, they may not glean what’s relevant from that, which is why I identify the key metrics,” Greg said in a recent interview with Senior Housing News. “We can turn our attention to those things and chip away at the issues as soon as they arise.” Based in Dallas, 12 Oaks Senior Living provides third-party management and operation services for 16 senior living communities throughout Oklahoma and Texas. A Yardi client, the family-run organization has found a lot of success in lease-up and turnaround properties, and they’re currently looking to expand their portfolio to 25 communities over the next two years. As part of their journey to scale, 12 Oaks relies on Yardi Voyager Senior Housing for property management and accounting. The platform provides real-time performance analytics, pulling data from across the Yardi Senior Living Suite to shed light on areas across their business. Check out this excerpt from Greg’s interview with Senior Housing News to learn more about how 12 Oaks uses data to ensure they’re operating as effectively as possible: Would you say it’s true that senior living has gotten more operationally and financially...

With shared space workplaces becoming ever more common, it’s important to have the right technology to ensure client success and happiness. Us&Co offers private offices and coworking space in London and Dublin and has a devised a successful model that serves professionals of all kinds. We spoke with Sylvi Wilamowska, head of operations at Us&Co, to find out how on-site tech fits into that experience. An experienced Industry professional, Wilamowska enjoys helping businesses grow and succeed by providing professional workspace they can be proud of, and by taking away the hassle of day to day building management of their own space. Tell us about Us&Co  and the company values, mission & objectives? Wilamowska: Us&Co seeks to provide beautifully designed, high-end, professional workspaces, with a variety of uses. We offer our clients space where they can grow and thrive, which is complimented by first class service, delivered by our onsite team and partners. We are strong on design and appeal to a wide variety of businesses. We major on quality furniture, good natural light and space. Whether our clients are from the financial or tech sectors, they expect excellent IT both in the offices and throughout our extensive break out areas. Client satisfaction and therefore retention is our main objective which we achieve through attentive service from our staff and the best systems available. How does Us&Co fit into that? Wilamowska: The market is expanding fast but so is demand. Some markets are becoming overly competitive and some operators are doing unsustainable deals which are creating challenging trading conditions. At Us&Co, we both own and operate our buildings which gives us stability. We want to expand in a measured and controlled way with a long-term horizon. Prior to the relationship with Medusa, what were the...

The AVE motto is live better, and the team there is truly committed to delivering the best living experience possible for their residents. Apartment floor plans are designed for comfort, amenities and services are programmed for convenience and wellness, and events and initiatives are offered for community engagement. Their latest campaign “AVE Goes Pink” partners up with Susan G. Komen Philadelphia® to support its mission to reduce the number of late-stage breast cancer diagnoses in the Philadelphia Area while continuing to provide education, resources, and access to services to those who are battling the disease. AVE Goes Pink “AVE Goes Pink” (link to www.aveliving.com/pink) launched October 1st to support Susan G. Komen Philadelphia®, a respected voice in breast cancer education. “We turned all our logos on our social media channels pink to raise awareness for the cause and to let those who are currently fighting breast cancer know our thoughts are with them,” says Lea Anne Welsh, COO of Korman Communities and president of its AVE brand. “Our teams at the properties will also be wearing pink throughout the month.” “Typically, we wear black or dark grey. When a resident sees me in pink, they ask and it starts up a conversation about breast cancer awareness,” says Lauren Brauer, Leasing Manager, AVE King of Prussia. She continues, “Breast cancer awareness really hits home for me. Having had family members and friends go through the struggles of breast cancer, I want to do all I can to support them, as well as all others who have gone through it and are currently battling it.” Lights for the Fight Much of the Philadelphia skyline is getting involved. Susan G. Komen Philadelphia® and CBS 3 manage “Lights for the Fight.” The duo coordinates with city landmarks to...

In 1966 Harry H. Hunt III, the founder of HHHunt, saw the need for faculty and student housing at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Now, after more than five decades, HHHunt is a leader in diversified real estate development throughout the Southeast. As president of HHHunt Asset Management Group, a position she assumed in 2017, Janet Riddlebarger is responsible for the operations of the organization’s apartment and senior living communities as well as the development division, which is comprised of the land acquisitions, development and construction groups. How has HHHunt changed since it was founded in the 1960s and what aspects of the culture and mission continue to endure?   Riddlebarger: The organization has changed in many ways. We have added senior living, home building and communities development to our very stable apartment living platform. We have focused on providing a great place to work, and our employment now sits at close to 2,000 teammates. We also have expanded our market footprint. We began in Blacksburg, Va., and grew regionally in Virginia, especially in Richmond, and now have communities in Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina as well. Our culture and our mission are still part of what makes our company special. Although we officially created our vision, mission and our brand promises in 2013, we were living the values and exhibiting the behaviors associated with that brand long before they existed in writing. We have become more employee-centered with the help of our HR team and business partners, creating programs such as HHHunt University as a way for our team to grow and develop. We also offer competitive compensation and our benefits simply rock. What’s the best part of your job?  Riddlebarger: There are two best parts of my job. First, I get to...

Not long ago, most real estate companies made business decisions based on guesswork and backward-looking data aggregated into spreadsheets. Today, new technology automates data collection with advanced analytics to provide a complete picture of a portfolio’s opportunities and future risks. That’s big data. When it comes to leveraging big data for big results, Diana Norbury knows her stuff. Norbury is senior vice president of multifamily operations for Seattle-based Pillar Properties. Her experience includes over a decade of managing mixed-retail multifamily communities throughout the U.S. Pillar Properties is an award-winning developer, owner and manager of luxury apartment residences in the Puget Sound area and a developer of senior living communities through sister company Merrill Gardens. Since joining Pillar, Norbury has focused on refining revenue management and business intelligence practices, talent management and education, operational systems implementation, and lease-up and marketing strategies for the company’s growing portfolio. Yardi recently sat down with Norbury to learn more about the benefits of big data. How do you use big data to drive performance? Norbury: I use big data in a variety of ways. Big data is a huge resource when we’re having team calls. For example, I can go to the data when we’re talking about vacancies and pricing. With Asset Intelligence, we finally have a tool that incorporates all our property and leasing data with historical traffic and pricing data. The system marries all that information together. I can find information fast without having to dig around. It also helps us format and present our data, which we can export into Excel or PDF — I think that’s really cool. How do you use predictive analytics? Norbury: I use Asset Intelligence and predictive analytics specifically for upcoming exposure and vacancies. In the past, we’d use a variety of...

You’ve got the location, the amenities, the staff and the software you need to manage your properties. So what’s missing? Why are apartments sitting vacant and renewals at an all-time low? It might be time to reconsider your brand. In this age of customer experience, your brand is critically important. It sets customer expectations for an experience that matches. According to a recent PwC survey, customers are willing to pay as much as 16% more for a better customer experience. Adding weight to that, a Walker study found that by the year 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. Executed correctly, your brand will help you get (and keep) more residents, support rent increases and beat the competition. But without a cohesive brand, you can’t compete. In the words of Brenda Studt, VP / Creative Director at Excelsior Creative, an affiliate of The Excelsior Group, “If you don’t have a brand strategy, you’re building a house without a foundation. It’s really just a house of cards.” Tweet this. At TEG’s Creative Studio, Brenda helps real estate clients, both residential and commercial, ] build and transform their brands. We asked her to share some property branding tips and tricks with us to help you create better customer experiences, whether you’re working on a new lease up or rebranding an existing asset. What services does TEG’s Creative Studio provide? Brenda: We’re a boutique agency with a focus on storytelling for real estate-related business. Our services include branding, digital experience design, print design and marketing strategy. Branding is my favorite. We offer target audience analysis, muse creation, naming, copywriting and brand element creation, including colors, typography and logo design. What is a brand strategy? Brenda: I’m sure other people will define...

Since opening its first community 20 years ago, Brightview Senior Living has established itself as a leading developer and operator of independent and assisted living and dementia care facilities across eight Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states. The company, based in Baltimore, will open its 40th community by the end of 2019 and intends to continue opening three to five new communities annually. Marilynn Duker, CEO of Brightview, has spent much of her 27 years in the real estate business focused on the firm’s success. After completing a presidential internship for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, she joined forces with a lawyer-turned-developer and began developing affordable, market- rate and mixed-income communities. The partnership soon added a property management arm that at one time oversaw some 22,000 units for clients. Eventually, the business expanded into senior housing and gradually disposed of the property management operation and apartments. Tell us how Brightview began and why senior living appeals to you. Duker: Senior living is really an operating business that happens to have real estate as a platform, so it’s much different than other real estate asset classes. Arnie Richman, who had built and ran a large nursing home company, joined us in the 1990s and brought the operating experience, and we had the development platform. While we have grown significantly over the last 20 years, getting to scale wasn’t a big goal. Instead, it has always been about providing a high-quality experience to our residents. We have a lot of control over our destiny, too. The four business partners have owned 10 percent of every equity fund we’ve raised, and we have had tremendous repeat investment. (Brightview’s first fundraising effort in the 1990s attracted about $6 million.) Its most recent fund in 2017 topped out...

Could the most important component of technology be the instructions? It’s arguable that a complex piece of software cannot live up to its potential without well-trained users, no matter how well it is designed. Fortunately, Yardi has taken user training beyond a manual with Yardi eLearning, a dedicated learning management system just for Yardi users. Property management companies such as Viridian Management have found Yardi eLearning indispensable considering the benefits it offers vs. traditional training methods. Getting Started with Yardi eLearning Yardi eLearning arrived just in time for Viridian. Late in 2018, their leadership team was developing a training curriculum for staff to use Yardi Voyager, the property management, accounting and affordable housing compliance software used by Viridian. They soon found it was very difficult to craft training content for their users, even with all of the support documentation available for Yardi software. “We were in a bottleneck because there is so much to cover. As we inventoried the skills we wanted our staff to master, we found it would take hours and hours of training to get users where we wanted them to be. When we saw the courses included with Yardi eLearning, we discovered that about 70% of everything we wanted to teach was already available and ready to use,” says Patrick Patterson, president of Viridian. Training on Affordable Housing Viridian manages 120 properties with more than 4,000 affordable units spread throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho. They specialize in developing and managing tax credit properties, and have experience with USDA Rural Development, HOME, HUD Multifamily Housing, as well as state and local sources of funds. Training for each of those housing programs is facilitated by specific learning tracks in Yardi eLearning. Viridian can simply assign staff to those learning tracks based on...