Multi-Housing News - June 2009 - (Page 4)

How do You Use Technology? The economic slowdown has resulted in a more frugal mindset shared by apartment residents and owners in all property classes. From an operations point of view, this means focusing on the basics: a strong leasing and renewal effort, an emphasis on customer service, and tight expense controls. Industry leaders have shared their concerns that growing revenue from current sources has been, and will continue to be, difficult in 2009. Ancillary income sources are therefore more welcome than ever—as well as strategies to stretch operating dollars. Energy management is one way to shrink costs while also reducing the property’s carbon footprint. Small properties don’t have to put off energy management until they’ve invested in sophisticated technology. They can get started immediately with a simple spreadsheet to help determine usage patterns. Interest in energy management is growing and not only among asset managers. As smart grid pilot programs are rolled out in cities like Boulder and Austin, multifamily residents will become more interested in regulating their own energy usage—as well as being able to adjust and monitor what’s going on at home from remote locations. Another way to watch the bottom line is with convergent billing and payment, where both rent and utilities are combined into one invoice. This may tend to speed up payments by eliminating one of the bills, as well as help to eliminate “forgotten” small balances that may slip through the cracks. Please join MHN on Wednesday, June 17 at 2:00 pm EST/11 am PST for “Found Money: How to Streamline Financial Operations and Gain Efficiency,” a live, interactive webcast sponsored by NWP Services Corp. Hear about new ways to streamline bill paying and rental collection and discover how automation of financial operations can make your business run more efficiently. Register now at www.multi-housingnews.com/webcast. We’ve come to take for granted the technology that enables virtual meetings, seminars and trade shows; but think back to how differently business was done five or 10 years ago. Asset management, too, has been impacted by technology. “There are so many ways now that you almost have to take a step back to appreciate how much of an impact technology has on our management,” says Lori Reeves, vice president, chief information officer of Forest City Residential Group (“Managing the Portfolio,” page 8). “With central reporting capabilities you don’t have to wait for others to send you information. You can go get what you need when you need it. Having data and metrics that are fresh allows us to react to market and occupancy conditions.” Kristy Simonette, vice president, information technology and chief information officer at Camden, adds, “We do not have to get in a car to go to the apartment community to see what’s happening with the traffic. Giving the site employees better tools enables them to provide better customer service.” And isn’t that what it’s all about? MULTI-HOUSING NEWS MHN GROUP PUBLISHER & SHOW DIRECTOR Daniel J. Corcoran daniel.corcoran@nielsen.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Natasha Selhi natasha.selhi@nielsen.com 516-682-6041 ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Associate Publisher: West, Mountain and Southern States Natasha Selhi natasha.selhi@nielsen.com 516-682-6041 Account Executive: Northeast and Midwest States Douglas Runner douglas.runner@nielsen.com Director of Digital & Live Events: Jason J. Wafalosky Multi-Housing World/Multi-Housing News jason.wafalosky@nielsen.com 484-228-8481 CLASSIFIED & GALLERY ADS Account Executive: Fatima Ruiz fatima.ruiz@nielsen.com 646-654-5763/fax: 646-792-7108 MARKETING DIRECTOR Kevin Marty kevin.marty@nielsen.com 516-682-6149/fax: 516-682-6166 ONLINE PUBLICATIONS www.multi-housingnews.com MHN Daily Newsletter MHN Property Management MHN Green Building & Design MHN Finance & Investment EXHIBIT BOOTH SALES & SPONSORSHIPS Jason J. 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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Multi-Housing News - June 2009

Multi-Housing News - June 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Executive Insight: Acquisition Strategy
Investment: Construction Conundrum
Property Management: Tech Tools
Strategy: Property Management
Case Study: TOD
Technology: Resident Payments
Turning Over Apartments

Multi-Housing News - June 2009