By Darlene Bremer
Across a wide variety of sectors, new technology is revolutionizing the way real estate owners manage their properties.

The management at Colonial Properties Trust, one of the largest diversified REITs in the United States, believes new technology has been essential to their success.

"To successfully manage our portfolio of properties, we needed better access to information, and to be able to use that information to support decision-making," says Kenneth E. Howell, senior vice president and chief accounting officer.

Howell chose Management Reports International's Frontier system because of its ability to provide the solutions Colonial needed. "As a REIT, you always have analysts asking for multiple forecasts and multiple budget types and MRI could handle those things. That kind of reporting is essential to a REIT in the real estate industry, so MRI's power and flexibility were a huge point for us."

Colonial chose MRI's product, a web-enabled software package, to help the REIT to maximize investments. Frontier combines web browser technologies with the work flow technologies to provide a gateway for managing information, accessing decision support tools, facilitating business workflow collaboration, and simplifying transaction processing.

A number of software providers are beginning to respond to owners' demands and are developing new web-based systems that offer more extensive options that are designed to smoothly integrate with property management products.

"Information technology is changing every industry and real estate is certainly no exception," says Ron McComas, vice president of marketing at MRI. "The real estate industry will continue to be oriented around people. Embracing new technology will simply allow the real estate professional to make better decisions based on accurate, real-time information whether that's through the Internet or a Windows-based solution."

Going Mobile

CorrigoNet from Corrigo, Inc., Redwood City, Calif., focuses on providing mobile service solutions to managers of multi-unit properties. The system is designed to use the Web to enhance communication and data flow by connecting residents, maintenance technicians, vendors, and property management personnel and to distribute critical information between all parties in real-time. "CorrigoNet is part of the class of enterprise applications that uses the Web and telephone and wireless technologies to help property managers improve the delivery of services," observes Maya Babish, vice president of marketing.

For example, a resident in a large REIT-owned apartment building can log onto the system over the Internet to place a service request, which is then automatically routed to a field technician. "The technician no longer has to pick up service requests at the rental office, but remains in the field and uses a wireless device to get the order," says Babish. Since the system requires the resident to specifically delineate the problem, the technician has a better understanding of it and can arrive with the tools and parts necessary. The status of each request is constantly updated and can be accessed by the technician, the property manager, or the resident making the request.

CorrigoNet also includes a link to vendors that have been pre-selected by the property management company and allows the technician to call in a request for parts or technical assistance directly from the field.

As an application service provider (ASP), the company leases the CorrigoNet service over the Web to property management companies. Services include integration, implementation, training, application configuration and upgrades, and the necessary wireless devices. "The service is provided in such a way that the property management company can minimize its up-front investment in hardware and does not have to worry about the constant changes in wireless technology," Babish says. In addition, the information collected by the system gives management insight into what money and staff resources are being spent on maintenance, allowing them to make more informed decisions about allocations.

Web Centered

Founded by AvalonBay Communities, Alexandria, VA, United Dominion Realty Trust, Richmond, VA, and Post Properties, Atlanta, GA, Realeum, Inc., also based in Alexandria, delivers a Web-based property management tool designed to help the multi-family housing industry optimize assets. The Foundation product, formerly called Javalon, is in general testing now and components are expected to be released throughout 2001–2002. "Based on the Internet, the strategy is to allow companies to run and manage properties and portfolios from one centralized location," says George Fandos, chief customer officer.

Realeum Foundation 1.0 consists of Resident Services, Resident Billing and Accounts Receivable, and Configuration and Administration modules, along with a fully integrated reports and forms subsystem. "The Resident Services module is designed to automate the prospecting, application, leasing, move-in, renewal, transfer, and move-out functions," observes Fandos. Resident Billing and Accounts Receivable provides integration with the leasing information established in the Resident Services module and allows for concessions, discounts, and charges to be entered against a resident's lease. The Configuration and Administration module provides the property manager with the ability to customize the system to match company-specific policies and standards, such as amenity types, unit types, fees, and marketing sources. Finally, Reports and Forms provides the ability to produce parameter-driven reports that can be used to analyze data and eliminate inefficiencies. "The Foundation software is a management tool that provides information stored in a central database that includes everything from prospect through lease in a centralized, consistent, and integrated process," summarizes Fandos.

Foundation is Web-based and browser enabled. "The software is designed in an open architecture that allows integration through the Internet between the property management company and other participants in the rental process, such as vendors," Fandos says. As a hosted ASP solution, Foundation is designed to help property managers focus on their core competencies of building and renting properties. "Our goal is to provide a software solution that allows property managers to focus on generating rental and ancillary income," he adds.

Vital Integration

In January, Living Nexus, Arlington, VA, demonstrated the capabilities of its customized vertical operating platform to the property management industry at the National Multi-Housing Council 2001 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ. "Our goal is to offer property management firms a platform that integrates with current applications and that provides interfaces with employees that enable them to perform their jobs more efficiently," says Tom Coolidge, CEO.

The Living Nexus vertical platform is a database that uses the Internet, landlines, or wireless devices to deliver information to property managers. "The system interfaces with legacy applications to allow property management companies to communicate within the organization and for their current computer applications to communicate and exchange data," explains Mike Bender, director of sales. The system's current three modules include Property Management, Maintenance, and Management/Financial Reporting. The first module enables the site manager to input and manage all of the front-end accounting functions needed to conduct daily transactions. "Living Nexus uses the data already being used by the site manager and customizes a program that automates the process with the correct level of functionality," explains Coolidge. The Maintenance module is designed to tie seamlessly to the purchasing process and to automate work orders that provide real-time updates that can be accessed remotely by wireless devices. The fully integrated Reporting function draws all the information from the different modules and, through customized programming, delineates all of the data markers that the property management executives want to access. "The system is customized to provide a broader depth of information that allows strategic decisions to be based on a variety of indicators," Coolidge says.

Living Nexus acts as an ASP to the property management company, or the customers can opt to host the system themselves. "Either way, the interfaces are designed to be transparent," says Bender. The platform is also expandable to include future advances in new applications. "Rather than providing a single software application, our goal is to provide a platform that allows the industry's best-in-class software programs to integrate seamlessly," he adds.

Global perspective

New from J.D. Edwards, Denver, CO, comes the OneWorld Property Management program. "This program is targeted at very large real estate companies with global operations that require a more sophisticated system," observes Lee Schalop, real estate equity research, in a report from Banc of America Securities, LLC, New York, N.Y. Currently in general release, the program starts with an extensive accounting backbone into which other applications plug, such as e-procurement, work order management, fixed asset management, and property-specific intranets used by residents.

"We offer a complete end-to-end solution for building management, including all lease administration functions, and complete suites for facilities maintenance, project management, financial tasks, human resources and payroll, and e-business applications," says Andrew Rains, worldwide industry manager. Each application is completely Web-based and hosted by J.D. Edwards, through a third party business partner, or by the property management company's own server. "All the applications are designed to help automate building management processes," Rains adds. With the ability to customize an Internet portal for the owner, employees, and tenants, the site becomes a key communication tool that allows a higher level of collaboration between the property management company and the rest of the real estate community, such as vendors.

"OneWorld provides property managers with the flexibility to run different applications that fit their needs," Rains says. "The key to the system is that it allows the IT staff in the property management company to focus on technology, and the executive staff and on-site property managers to focus on business."

A Team of four

RealPage, Inc., Carrollton, Tex., was formed by the combination of four apartment-related technologies companies (Rent Roll, RealPage Communications, Inc., M/PF Research, Inc., and Channel TECH, Inc.) to offer the multi-housing industry products and services designed to handle the entire property management process, including applicant screening, market intelligence, accounting, budgeting, property and facility management, and compliance reporting. OneSite is a Web-based property management system offered by the new company, and is comprised of nine distinct applications covering the various aspects of property management. OneSite replaces Rent Roll, which is still supported by the company in over 20,000 properties, and the new applications are in various stages of development or beta testing, with general release expected throughout 2001.

"OneSite is a fully integrated suite of applications that automates most of the business processes of a facility, and which requires only an Internet browser to use," says Steve Winn, chairman and CEO. The suite of applications is hand-held wireless enabled, allowing users to interface with the programs through pagers, cellular phones, or PDAs, and should provide all levels of the property management team with the ability to retrieve real-time information. The system is hosted by a data center, which is continuously updated. "To avoid any downtime, the center is equipped with dual fiber optic connections to the Internet, dual processors for every server, and dual power connections," says Winn. Users log onto the system through the Internet to gain access to the applications. Another data center to handle the load is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2001.

The main benefit of the OneSite system to the property manager, according to Winn, is simplicity. "There is no software to install, no database to back-up, no LAN or expensive networks on-site, and reduced economic vacancies through increased leasing efficiencies." The system is designed to also provide residents with improved satisfaction through better service and faster and more efficient response time to maintenance issues.

The Realm of technology

Another legacy system that has recently been reconfigured to be Web-based is the B.J. Murray product from The Realm, New York, N.Y. For more than 20 years, the company has provided property management systems to property owners and managers as a single-source vendor of solutions for a broad range of requirements. According to Banc of America Securities, B.J. Murray's residential management software is a suite of separate UNIX-based applications that can be hosted and delivered via an ASP model using B.J. Murray technology, as opposed to being individually installed on each of an apartment property's computers. "The software is especially suited for New York with its extensive rent control features," writes Schalop.

The various modules of the program, including Project Management, Work Orders, HUDWare, Resident Application, and other accounting and reporting applications, are designed to be fully integrated with each other and to keep detailed histories that provide the property manager with the ability to track any tenant's account in real-time. The Property Management module works as a leasing system and keeps track of the various leasing operations. The Work Orders module is tailored specifically for residents to use the Internet to make their service requests. "The automated tracking system provides real-time information via the Internet that can be accessed remotely, providing the property manager with the ability to more efficiently track maintenance and repair activities and to ensure that work is being performed," says Joseph Mawad, vice president of operations.

In areas such as New York, where compliance with HUD regulations and the ability to provide government agencies with accurate reports is particularly intensive, B.J. Murray offers a module specifically designed to help property managers comply with state or federal HUD requirements. "The system allows property managers to enter the applicant's information, get pre-approval, and electronically voucher the government for payment," Mawad observes. In addition, the system's other reporting functions allow users to see reports on-line and to use the Internet to transmit reports to any interested parties. "The goal is to facilitate the quick communication of data."

The company will serve as an ASP, or will provide property management companies with their own server. According to Mawad, implementation of the B.J. Murray system can take as little as two weeks, and customized training is available.

According to the Banc of America Securities report, although everyone agrees that the old DOS-based property management systems need to be replaced, and that Web-based systems will replace them, it is too early to determine the winners among the systems on the market today. "One of the key factors of success will be the impact of existing relationships," Schalop notes.