Apartment Apps Move Beyond Convenience Features
For apartment owners, resident apps are no longer just a convenience feature. The technology is increasingly being used to move routine administrative work out of the leasing office, create more reliable payment processes and give on-site teams more time for the tasks that can protect occupancy and revenue.
That was the message from apartment operators speaking at Realpage's RealWorld Conference in Denver. Their examples pointed to a broader shift in how multifamily companies view resident-facing technology as a way to streamline the everyday work that can otherwise consume on-site staff.
Move-Ins Offer An Immediate Use Case
Move-in day can create a rush of paperwork, questions and coordination for both residents and property teams. Robin Fluharty of Pegasus Residential said its LOFT app reduces the effort required of on-site employees during that process.
"That allows them to focus on leasing," Fluharty said.
The app is designed as a one-stop shop, with a single login that allows residents to handle multiple tasks rather than managing a separate app for each one. That simpler experience matters for residents, but it can also reduce the number of fragmented processes that staff members need to oversee.
Centralized Information Cuts Through The Noise
For Ariel Baranauckas of Carter-Haston, the value lies in reducing the operational "noise" facing site teams. That includes tracking resident records, utilities, collections and other information tied to a household.
"All this information stays in their profile, which creates smoother tasks," Baranauckas said.
Keeping those functions within one resident profile can make day-to-day work more manageable for property staff. Instead of searching for information across different systems or relying on manual follow-up, teams have a central place to manage resident activity.
Affordable Operations Raise The Stakes
The case for a more streamlined resident experience can be especially strong in affordable housing, where administrative demands are more rigorous, according to Emily Corley of United Apartment Group.
Corley said her company's 191-property portfolio is 60% affordable housing and has achieved resident-app adoption of more than 50%. Giving residents the ability to use the app for a range of activities means site teams can spend less time chasing information and more time building resident relationships and working on retention, she said.
Digital payment adoption is a particular priority.
"Our goal is to take 100% online rent payments from affordable residents," Corley said. "There's too much risk in relying on paper payments. We don't take paper anymore."
United Apartment Group is required to offer at least one no-fee payment option and provides ACH for that purpose. The app also includes a loyalty program through which residents can earn rewards, a feature Corley said helps encourage use of the payment method.
The Payoff Is More Time For Residents
The operational benefit is not simply that residents can pay rent, submit maintenance requests, set up utilities or communicate with the property team from a mobile device. The larger opportunity is to reduce the administrative burden tied to those interactions.
For owners and operators, that can mean giving on-site staff more capacity to lease apartments, resolve resident concerns and focus on retention. As multifamily teams continue to work through the demands of collections, compliance and resident service, the strongest case for resident apps may be their ability to make property operations run with less friction.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM