Perhaps you’ve noticed it in your email inbox or text messages: there is a recent uptick in the number of attempts to gain private information that compromises your personal and financial security, as well as that of organizations and corporations. According to a recent report from Proofpoint, email-based phishing attempts became increasingly successful in 2021, as did ransomware attacks. As many as 83 percent of organizations said they experienced a successful email-based phishing attack in 2021, compared to 57 percent in 2020. These upticks appear to be continuing in 2022. Across a variety of industries, phishing attacks are becoming more prolific and targeting employees from entry-level to executives. That means it’s more important than ever to protect yourself and your business by exercising vigilant technology safety protocols and learning best prevention practices. The U.S. Cyberinfrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) offers the following tips that can help you and your organization avoid these attacks. Understand the threat. Phishing is a form of a social engineering attack, which means that common social norms are used to gain and compromise information about a company and its technology systems. Messages claim to be legitimate communications from vendors, banks, employees and other business contacts, but are really fraudulent attempts to obtain confidential information from recipients. The imposter may even offer information that claims to support their identity. Be skeptical, even when a message appears to be from a trusted source. An attacker may send email seemingly from a reputable credit card company or financial institution that requests account information, often suggesting that there is a problem. They could also pose as a vendor who needs account information changed or even an internal employee who claims to need verification of information. When users respond with the requested details, hackers can...

Yardi has launched Elevate Revenue, a CRE solution stack that streamlines the entire deal lifecycle from lead to lease. Specifically intended for owners, asset managers and leasing teams, the all-in-one solution was designed in collaboration with commercial experts and industry leaders. The end-to-end portfolio management suite, supported by decades of real estate research and software development knowledge, optimizes the deal workflow through powerful automation, enhanced team collaboration and extensive insights. Providing unmatched portfolio visibility, Elevate Revenue seamlessly integrates marketing, leasing system and commission management tools into one centralized platform. With Edge Marketing, real estate professionals can effortlessly market listings and generate verified leads through Yardi’s rapidly growing CommercialEdge Listing Network. From there, Deal Manager further streamlines leasing operations by enabling users to smoothly manage prospects and oversee each stage of the deal flow, while automatically comparing deal economics to approved budgets and prior leases. Additionally, to simplify the legal process and easily track legal documents, the Elevate suite includes Deal Manager Legal Module, an intuitive tool that allows users to automatically generate standard lease agreements directly in the application. And it doesn’t stop there. CommissionTrac, Yardi’s commission management tool, efficiently rounds out the leasing process by automatically tracking and paying the commissions of both in-house and third-party brokers. Elevate Revenue is fully integrated with Yardi Voyager thanks to Yardi’s built-in CRM — this smooth connection ensures maximum portfolio and deal pipeline oversight in real-time. Voyager clients can sync properties, spaces and availability across their portfolio. Listings are automatically published based on lease expiration dates or automatically unpublished once a tenant is activated for a specific space in Voyager. In October, Macerich — an owner, operator and developer of retail and mixed-use destinations throughout the U.S. — leveraged Deal Manager and Edge Marketing solutions to...

If you are still conducting live training courses, you are missing out on the opportunity to save time, save money and customize the learning experience for your employees. e-Learning can work on its own or in tandem with live trainings to expedite corporate education. Why e-learning?  The market size of e-learning is growing at exciting speeds. The market value surpassed $250 billion in 2020, and it is anticipated to grow more than 21% before 2027.This industry-wide shift away from classroom education reflects the perceived and calculated costs of live training courses. Yardi Aspire is a training solution that transitions clients to online learning using role-based plans. The customizable program offers savings in four key areas: Personnel This category includes the cost of all people involved in producing the training such as content designers, IT professionals, reviewers and approvers. Aspire software significantly reduces administrative costs through the introduction of technology. The software also allows users to eliminate travel and lodging expenses.Technology The cost of the e-learning solutions, computers, web conference system, and any other technology involved in conducting the training are included in this category. These costs are the primary reason many companies choose to invest in e-learning.Content This category includes the cost of content production and the cost of acquiring content from a vendor. By recording an instructor once and delivering the recorded course online, organizations can maximize the use of content and decrease costs associated with instructors.Administrative Significant time is spent recording training activities, setting up training opportunities, and communicating with trainees and instructors before and after the event. Decreasing administrative costs offers benefits throughout the organization. Cost savings, line-by-line  What do these savings look like in a real world, real estate example? Let’s take a sample client who is in the middle...

Online payments offer benefits for renters and site staff such as convenience and lower costs. But before you can reap the benefits, you’ve got to get residents to enroll. We’ve got a few quick tips to make the process easier. Online payments add value for residents Per the National Apartment Association, about 78% of residents prefer to pay their bills online. Renters value the convenience of 24/7/365 access to their accounts. And they can submit payments at any time, rather than working within the confines of leasing office hours. Additionally, each online method reduces the risks and data entry associated with cash as well as the hassle of ordering, writing and waiting on paper checks to process. Online payments offer a variety of payment methods to fit your residents’ preferences. Bank account, credit or debit card ACH transactions may occur on single and reoccurring basis. TextPay and voice payments via Resident Services: Alexa Skill are added conveniences. All payment options are easily accessible through your RENTCafe resident portal, which adds value for your renters. More than 92% of respondents consider online rent payment an important resident portal feature. Optimize staff hours with online payments What can your staff accomplish in a workweek without opening mail, scanning checks, trips to the bank, or data entry? Much more. They can nurture new leads and promote retention by building rapport with residents. Both skills bolster your bottom line far more than tedious and redundant tasks like data entry. When you increase adaptation to online payment processing, everyone wins! But first, you’ve got to get renters to enroll. Check out these five tips to boost online payment enrollment. Create an awareness campaign including emails, social media posts, and print posters at the leasing office (especially near the rent...

Are you setting fresh, ambitious goals for your multifamily business? Quality customer relationship management (CRM) software can help you reach them. We’ve got top insights in what to look for when choosing a multifamily CRM solution. What is multifamily CRM? You’ve likely heard of CRM and even dabbled in some of its features. Such software is increasingly critical for the optimal efficiency and functionality of your multifamily business. CRM gives you a 360-degree view of your relationship with each contact, from prospect to former resident. It offers a centralized location for managing client info, tracking correspondences and compiling data on client behaviors. With such insights, you can market for more conversions, sign more leases, improve retention and revenue. A good CRM tool will also help office workloads feel lighter, resulting in more energized and focused staff with less turnover. If that sounds good to you, read on! What to look for in multifamily CRM… There are lots of CRM options on the market. To select the one that is appropriate for your business, consider the following. Scalability Different tools at different price points will offer options that are suitable for your business. Select an option that meets your current needs and can grow with you in coming years. Automation We will spend a lot of time here. Your staff will need automation to streamline workflows and reduce manual, redundant and often time-consuming tasks. Consider follow-ups: quick responses (under five minutes) are 21 times more likely to lead to a sale. This is because 88% of consumers expect a business to respond to their inquiry within 60 minutes. More than 30% expect a response in 15 minutes or fewer, per the 2020 NMHC/Kingsley Apartment Resident Preferences Report. With automated text messaging and emails, your CRM...

“We had to identify a single solution that could do what we needed, out of the box, instead of pursuing ten different vendors for ten different things. That was a big piece of choosing Yardi.” That’s what Chief Financial Officer Marc Abraham says about Abby Development’s path to Yardi solutions. From financials to business intelligence, this Texas-headquartered provider needed an integrated system — one built for their exact needs.    That’s just the beginning of Abby Development’s story. Luckily, we hopped on the phone with Abraham to get the full picture, learning all the details of their experience with Voyager Senior Housing and Senior IQ. And these interconnected tools are driving real success for Abby Development, company-wide. Keep reading for a highlight: The Challenge: Limited Analysis Abby Development was using a software system with limitations. As a fast-growing company, frequently compiling data and running reports, they needed a solution that enabled a deeper level of analysis. They searched for a single connected solution to capture real-time insights, eliminate errors and save time. The Solution: Yardi Voyager Senior Housing & Senior IQ Yardi Voyager Senior Housing unifies property management, finance and business oversight on a single platform. Built for the unique needs of senior living providers, Voyager ensures Abby Development has every tool needed to manage their communities. With Yardi Senior IQ, a senior living business intelligence solution, Abby Development accesses real-time data in attractive, sharable dashboards. Drawing portfolio-wide information from Voyager, Senior IQ helps Abby Development act confidently and make informed decisions. The Story: Comprehensive Insights Describing the system used prior to Yardi, Abraham noted, “It wasn’t the at level we needed — the functionality just wasn’t there.” By selecting solutions from the Yardi Senior Living Suite, Abby Development now accesses key metrics, reports...

Technology has the power to transform our work and our lives. During the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA) conference, Yardi sponsored and moderated the session, Impactful Innovation: Leveraging tech to gain visibility and empower your teams. Meherzad Bakht, senior account executive at Yardi Canada Ltd. moderated the panel attended by Kelly Black, chief administrative officer, District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board (DTSSAB), Clinton Reid, quality assurance and compliance manager, Woodgreen Community Centre and Abdulle Elmi, business lead, Housing Management Enterprise System (HoMES) at Toronto Community Housing Corporation.  The live virtual event explored solutions that can help organizations improve oversight and visibility into their facilities and operations, elevate resident management and tenant care, and inspire diverse teams and drive efficiencies. Here are some of the highlights from the discussion. The quest for change Different factors served as catalysts for change within their organizations. Two consistent threads emerged: front-line staff endured repetitive, time-intensive manual tasks that often resulted in inefficiencies and inconsistencies; and disparate systems resulted in murky reporting and limited data analysis. The organizations sought for a way to streamline reporting, requiring fewer employees to spend less time identifying a single point of truth. Reid explained, “When we communicate to leadership that we can get the job done, we neglect to convey the amount of time and effort required to pull and complete a report.” He continues, “When COVID hit, we realized the number of resources put into reporting was significant.” All three organizations experienced some resistance at the ground level. Staff were leery of learning complex software that didn’t completely meet their needs or understand the social housing reporting requirements. The request to document processes also resulted in a sense of unease, though leadership assured their teams the efforts would ultimately support and simplify their work. Elmi said,...

Do you know if your proptech will maintain its appeal to future generations of prospects? If not, no worries. We’ve done the research for you. We’re exploring proptech with staying power, tools for today that will continue to deliver results well into the Gen Z lifecycle. Cut costs with lasting proptech Proptech is a major investment in money and hours. The technology you choose should evolve with users’ changing needs to ensure that you get the best impact per dollar. Not all new solutions will stand the tests of time. Are you confident that your proptech lineup is ready for Gen Z? Read on for the essential solutions that your organization needs. REACH brings you the freshest data on Gen Z Gen Z is comprised of about 67 million people, the oldest of whom turn 25 this year. We learned more about the largest renter demographic ever through the REACH by RentCafe Gen Z Renter Study. This survey of more than 10,000 next gen renters gives insights into their habits and interests. The results confirmed what we’ve observed: Gen Z is an intelligent, tech-savvy generation that values efficiency and creativity. They value proptech that feeds their need for contactless transactions as well as quick and easy access to information and services. Tech for targeted and engaged marketing One average, Gen Z search terms are 4.9 words long, longer than all previous generations. They know that using detailed queries will bring them closer to what they really want rather than wading through pages of irrelevant results. Appeal to their specific searches with longtail keywords and campaigns crafted by search engine marketing professionals. Expert search engine optimization (SEO) strategies will help your content rank well and be discovered by prospects. When supplemented with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising,...

Smart home technology is expanding rapidly. Renters want smart home amenities for security and convenience. Property managers are interested in its easy and productive operational management. Smart home technology is also used for risk mitigation and real-time insights to improve buildings’ sustainability as well as property managers’ understanding of their properties’ processes. RentCafe Home IQ is Yardi’s smart apartment solution for the multifamily industry. It allows for increased revenue opportunity and resident retention by offering advanced technology features and experiences. Home IQ deploys and manages a fleet of connected devices without installing custom or third-party software, making it easy to add convenience, streamline operations and manage risk. With new technology comes fresh considerations and questions. Here to help is Vice President Greg Smith. He’s been with Yardi more than 20 years and has been instrumental in the development of Home IQ. Below he shares a little insight into the smart home market, why we made Home IQ and how it compares to other products for multifamily. What is the current state of the smart home market? Smith: Smart home is hopping! And it’s not just for the techies out there. We’ve seen that renters are beginning to look for it and, in some asset classes, expect it. The good news is that smart home tech has as many (or more) benefits for the property owner and operator as it does the resident. Why is Yardi getting involved? Smith: Smart home tech is a natural expansion for Yardi. It’s easy to think of smart home as just a resident function, but the reality is that it can be a huge efficiency gain for the owners and operators. Yardi is always working on solutions to help our clients improve asset revenue and decrease risk, and smart...

After getting to know Gen Z, REACH by RentCafe investigated how these young renters search online and how they use ratings and reviews while doing so. Today, we’re sharing data related to one of the most notable and important aspects of this generation’s lifestyle: social media. All about social media, all the time Welcome to the world of social media, where Gen Zers are no strangers to the posts, snaps, influencers, advertisements, stories and hashtags that dominate these platforms. And how could these young renters not be well versed in the art of social media? They have grown up in the age of smartphones, tablets and computers. In fact, 95% of Gen Zers use a social media app or website at least once a week, while 33% claim they spend most of their time outside of work or school on social media. It’s important to grasp the prominent role social media plays in the lives of Gen Z so you can attract these young renters. After asking over 10,000 members of Gen Z to name their top 3 social media channels, REACH by RentCafe found that those most often chosen included Instagram (46%), Facebook (43%), YouTube (39%), TikTok (33%) and Snapchat (30%).Interestingly, this data informs marketers about what exactly Gen Zers are doing while on social media. Most of these platforms center around videos, meaning that Gen Z is spending a great deal of time seeking entertainment. In a survey, Gen Zers identified the three things they felt most connected with while using social media: entertainment, their friends and the world. Reaching Gen Z on social media So how can you attract Gen Zers using social media? We have a few tips to help you out: Use storiesDid you know that Instagram alone has...

You might be hearing a lot about the benefits of connecting the accounting, operations and investor relations within real estate organizations in a single technology platform. It’s natural to wonder what the appeal to this approach is. The single connected platform strategy stems from a growing realization among investors and investment managers of the deficiencies of spreadsheets, inefficient communications and other outmoded tools. Entering data into multiple spreadsheets and relying on disparate investment, investor and accounting systems can be inefficient and error-prone for investment managers. For their part, investors increasingly expect on-demand service and self-service access to key metrics, capital transactions, documents and reports. Technology that facilitates these operations has become widely available to investment manager service providers over the past several years, improving collaboration among investment participants and increasing investor confidence. A single connected platform centralizes investment managers’ communications with existing and prospective investors, automates the management of capital call and distribution notices, and improves collaboration on investment opportunities. Such a platform also improves efficiency for internal stakeholders. Executives needing a report, can get it themselves from the centralized database without asking Accounting. Investor Relations has full access to investor information readily available from the platform. An added benefit comes in the form of a higher level of investor confidence that comes from the online delivery of timely, responsive data. Investors can view property-level metrics, and investment managers can communicate new investment opportunity information through a secure portal rather than email. Yardi Investment Manager is one example of how a technology platform can unite real estate investment activity. It provides a single source of the truth for investor and investment information that eliminates the need for disparate systems and manual data transfers. Investment managers are empowered to give their investors timely access to...

With many workers staying at home during the pandemic, commercial buildings emptied but the obligation to maintain security for buildings, technology, hardware and data remained. Now that many of those employees are on the verge of returning to work, managers of residential as well as commercial properties are bolstering traditional physical security – the protection of outer and inner perimeters and interiors with guards, fences, locks, video surveillance, fire detection and more – with new capabilities. Seventy-five percent of respondents to a recent survey of U.S. physical security and facility management professionals said the pandemic increased the importance of physical security in their organizations. Propmodo, which covers the global property industry, notes, “The expectations about safety and security have changed [after the pandemic] and security teams and the buildings they manage need to be prepared to meet these new higher standards.” Enhanced systems for evolving needs As a result, many property owners seeking to mitigate risk are embracing a notion of security that combines traditional physical security elements with access control technologies that have evolved, as Georgia-based real estate investment advisement firm Think Realty says, “to support a digital environment for tenants and property managers.” Advanced access systems encompass door entry, video surveillance and intrusion detectors, and real-time monitoring of entrants and the property. Many such systems are cloud-based, enabling remote management and scalability. Many employ voice, retinal, and facial recognition, thermal imaging and artificial intelligence. Engaging a technology platform capable of seamlessly physical and data security operations with other Internet of Things building infrastructure elements gives security and facility managers “the opportunity to create an environment that is not only safe and secure, but promotes productivity, collaboration and success,” Propmodo says. Commercial and residential property owners most likely will adopt other new practices...

Meet Zach Scott. As vice president of programming for Yardi in Canada, Scott leads a team of engineers conducting research and development. This diverse group, primarily located in the Saskatoon and Vancouver offices, works diligently on designing and coding features for some of our leading edge solutions such as Yardi Matrix, Pulse, and IoT.  Read on to learn from Scott about some of the fascinating work they do to improve Yardi’s proptech platforms on a daily basis. Are these solutions used primarily in the U.S. or throughout North America? Scott: Over the last two years these products have gained in popularity within the Canadian real estate industry and leadership at Yardi Canada is ready to support the need. Tell us about your team’s involvement in Yardi’s early development of the Internet of Things (IoT) platform? Scott: In 2018, as part of a one-month moonshot challenge, we designed a hub and built the software that now serves as the core of Yardi’s IoT platform. The hub sits in an apartment unit and bridges communication between the various smart devices in the unit and Yardi’s cloud-hosted software. We can’t reveal much about how the hub works or what exactly went into making it but what I can share is that in addition to building software solutions, Yardi has now entered the era of building hardware that connects our clients’ buildings to their business workflows. What do those efforts look like today? Scott: Every month, Yardi ships IoT hubs to be installed at client properties. With hundreds of hubs operating 24/7 today, the team has successfully turned an idea into reality. We continue to add features guided by client feedback. We also have a list of enhancements we’d like to add to the hub, features like Wi-Fi...

If you’re like many multifamily operators, the technology you thought would be “nice to have” became “must have” when COVID-19 hit. With those must-have contactless services and automated transactions in place, companies are now asking, “what’s next?” to move business forward. To answer that question, we talked to Chad Munitz, vice president of development at Towne Properties, Jennifer Price, director of systems at Walton Communities, and Greg Slang, executive vice president of asset management at KETTLER, about the metrics they’re focusing on in 2021, and how it’s shifted the way they do business. The bottom line: They can still improve net operating income beyond rent increases by reducing expenses, increasing efficiencies and leveraging new technology in their operational processes. Keep reading to hear their stories and get some ideas to incorporate in your business. Virtual tours and online leasing According to Munitz, Towne prides itself on being a high touch management company — and technology has increased its capabilities to offer more to its residents. With the onset of the pandemic, Towne quickly provided more contactless services. “When the pandemic started, one of our initial fears was how do we keep those relationships and touches going with all of our residents. It allowed us to figure out the services we wanted to roll out quicker — including allowing people to pay rent online and sign leases digitally. We really started focusing on a centralized leasing and management process and honed-in on some of our urban properties where we were seeing the most negative impacts of the pandemic in terms of revenue. So, we centralized all our leasing and management at one location and implemented technology to support it. We were as in touch with our residents as we were before, and we increased ways...

At every step of your journey, there are opportunities to elevate your asset performance. Today’s technology can equip you with the tools and insights needed to make the most of every square foot. Read on to learn how you can maximize rents at every stage of your project. Design for density To maximize net rentability, begin with your design. Dense multifamily housing offers more units and the potential to garner more rents. Data from Hanley Wood explores ways to increase density in multifamily, along with the benefits and disadvantages of each methodology. Explore site plans that truly show the relationships between design options and core development metrics. Of the most favorable options, you might: apply for a variance to decrease the setbacks on the site. This relatively simple adjustment can boost your buildable square footage. increase the net rentable square feet (NRSF) by increasing the depth of your units at the desired square footage. In longer runs, you can increase density and the potential for rents. get creative with amenities. When possible, decrease their size and explore options such as an outsourced gym with Amenify or outsourced communal space. With improved density, you help to increase your NRSF and position yourself for greater net rentability. Maximize rents with the latest data If you’re working with a built structure, there are ample opportunities to maximize rents. Implement a program that optimizes the value of your asset using big data, predictive analytics and prescriptive actions. Overall, this approach helps to keep costs low, increase your revenue and mitigate costly operational risks. Consider a solution that allows you to benchmark your operating income and expenses against your competition. Transparency within your portfolio is crucial as well. A robust system synthesizes data throughout your integrated property management, leasing...