Multifamily Owners Turn to Operating Savings to Protect Income
BH Management and MG Properties are centralizing administrative work, simplifying technology and scrutinizing expenses as uneven rent performance puts pressure on margins.
Multifamily owners are looking beyond rent increases and apartment renovations to build income, finding opportunities in everything from vendor contracts to model units that could be leased instead. At BH Management, combining renovations with operating improvements has increased net operating income by 20%, according to president and CEO Joanna Zabriskie.
That makes expense management more than a defensive exercise. For owners navigating uneven rent performance, it can also create value.
Speaking at the GlobeSt. Multifamily Fall Owners Forum 2026, Zabriskie and Mark Gleiberman, founder and CEO of MG Properties, described efforts to simplify property operations and protect margins. Both companies are centralizing administrative functions and using technology to make on-site operations more efficient, while BH is also reassessing spending on marketing, vendors and renovations.
Finding Income In Everyday Operations
For BH Management, years of declining rents prompted a broad review of how its properties operate.
"We have tried to figure out how to protect NOI margin and survive," Zabriskie said.
The company has centralized administrative responsibilities and reduced the number of technology platforms used onsite. It has also renegotiated vendor contracts, lowered painting costs and eliminated model units so those apartments can generate rental income.
Marketing spending has come under similar scrutiny, with BH directing dollars toward advertising channels that produce leasing leads and conversions.
The goal is to reduce overhead without sacrificing the resident experience. Centralizing back-office work is part of that effort, but Zabriskie said personal contact remains important.
"We want to still have that person-to-person contact, but just not so many people," she said.
Making Renovation Dollars Work Harder
The same attention to costs is shaping BH's renovation decisions.
Rather than applying a uniform approach to interior upgrades, the company is tailoring spending to each property and its surrounding submarket. The aim is to avoid paying for improvements that will not generate sufficient returns.
Zabriskie attributed the 20% increase in NOI to the combination of renovations and operational improvements—not expense reductions alone. Her point frames operating decisions alongside physical upgrades as sources of value creation.
"Dialing into the efficiencies of all the nickels and dimes has never been more important," she said.
That means looking beyond the renovation budget to recurring expenses such as staffing, technology, marketing and vendor services. In markets where rapid rent growth cannot be counted on, those costs take on greater importance.
Simplifying Work At The Property Level
MG Properties is pursuing a similar approach, Gleiberman said, centralizing operations, consolidating administrative responsibilities and increasing its use of technology.
For both companies, the objective is to simplify property-level work while maintaining service and improving margins. At BH, that includes reducing the number of systems onsite teams must use, rather than simply adding more technology.
These changes also broaden the scope of an operating review. Alongside decisions about major capital projects, owners are examining how work gets done, which responsibilities must remain onsite, and where spending delivers measurable results.
Matching Strategy To Local Conditions
The emphasis on efficiency comes as multifamily conditions improve unevenly.
Zabriskie said fundamentals are getting better, offering a more encouraging outlook after a difficult period. But Gleiberman's market comparisons showed why owners still need to make local decisions.
He said the Bay Area has moved quickly from offering concessions to operating without them. Denver, meanwhile, continues to contend with overbuilding despite ongoing job growth.
Those differences make market and submarket selection important to both investment and operating decisions. They also argue against a uniform approach to renovations, spending or property management.
For BH Management and MG Properties, tighter operations improve performance without relying solely on higher rents. The opportunity lies not just in what owners can charge, but in how effectively they run the properties they already own.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM