Day one - 8/24 (2026 PRELIMINARY AGENDA) - CST
- Evaluating the recently passed legislation and how they impact the industry and downstream property management
- What does the 21st Century Road to Housing Act’s specific mandates on eviction and resident communication say?
- Immigration audits and tenant deregulation screening… What you need to know
- FinCEN: What you are afraid to ask
- How will institutional PMs mitigate headline risk in emerging rent-controlled jurisdictions?
- Surveying the anti-landlord landscape where residents now use agentic AI and LLMs to automate litigation and coordinate rent strikes?
- What to know about increased debt loads and delinquency rates
- How will you ground management-side valuations in a new reality where junk fee bans directly compress traditional property management margins and valuations?
- Junk fees and how you need to prepare for all-in pricing models under new FTC fee transparency mandates
- Will you be an early mover… Moving from ancillary to all-in fees ahead of federal deadlines?
- What is your strategy on the 30-day immigration audit?
- Scratching the "7-Year divestiture itch": Early-on preparing for the inevitable
- FinCEN & All-Cash Transparency: How are you implementing compliance?
- Spinning off or merging: Will scale or de-scaling be a strategy?
- Operational Resilience: Executing change management protocols to stabilize transitions and auditing for single points of failure
- Stabilizing portfolios by addressing rising debt, delinquency, and DOM with AI-driven efficiency benchmarks and retention strategies to reduce CapEx
- Automate entry-level leasing/front-office tasks using AI
- Beyond lip service: How important is sustainability to you, your clients, and stakeholders? Really, how important?
- Preparing your clients’ rehab and improvement of existing house strategy
- How are you utilizing AI-driven lead management to mitigate the loss in vacancy and lead generation for A-Quality tenant conversion?
- What are the winning conversion tactics?
- What is the most effective way to strategize entry into new markets?
- Which trends are creating consolidation opportunities for PM companies looking to add doors organically?
- Should you provide a single brand and service model when scaling?
- Using AI to get better market data and tenants
- How should you leverage direct mail and SEO campaigns to target property owners effectively in Red vs. Blue state regulatory environments?
- What is the impact of legislative limitations on your market entry strategy, specifically regarding national ownership caps for your clients?
- The totally virtual property manager expansion
- How will you approach local builders to secure Build-to-Rent (BTR) management pipelines as traditional for-sale inventory slows down?
- As fee-income and acquisition pipelines are restricted, will you be forced to internalize operations to capture the remaining yield?
- How is the increased use of AI impacting your decision?
- What are the benchmarks out there you are using?
- Aligning incentives with internal workers and 3rd parties
- How many workers do you need for different approaches
- Control…
- Maintenance and other functions: Are you looking to change the way you manage?
- Cost management vs. expense control vs. operational efficiencies
- The latest tools and AI screen to counter deep fake applications without tripping up Fair Housing regulations
- What mandatory fraud defense tech will you deploy to detect sophisticated application manipulation and organized squatter residency claims?
- What are the automated 3-day notice protocols you have successfully executed?
- How will you navigate the right to counsel regulations and broader legal responsibilities and lawyer reviews needed to remain compliant when operating across red versus blue states?
- How are you finding better data and using AI to track micro-behaviors, demographics and communication sentiment to better manage the uptick in defaults
- How do you decide when to offer a payment arrangement versus moving directly to eviction in high-regulation jurisdictions?
- What is the current post-court COVID environment on the speed and reliability of regaining possession of an asset?
- One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch… Examining the lifecycle of costs of a non-paying tenant
- How will you use AI agents for outbound collection calls to reduce the workload on your localized property management staff?
- How are you supplementing high-cost skilled labor by deploying Human-in-the-loop AI models for maintenance coordination?
- The agentic maintenance dispatch… What maintenance tools are you using that leverage AI to diagnose issues before a technician arrives to reduce total work order costs?
- Ensure your in-house team is performing at the same level for both owned assets and those managed for 3rd-party institutional clients?
- How do you quantify the ROI of Smart Home hardware—like leak detectors—on reducing emergency capital expenditure?
- Centralized maintenance dashboard applications to identify recurring system failures across a national portfolio… What should you look for?
- Can you go paperless? Assessing the 100% digital work order system
- Smart maintenance vs traditional reactive models: How much reactive repairs do you need to build in?
- Computer vision inspections: How are they supplementing what inspectors miss?
- Using autonomous robots for exterior maintenance, landscaping and snow removal?
- What are the newest standardized processes that have been added to the punch list?
- What kind of technology is out there to assist in ensuring seamless transfers?
- What to look for in contract level due diligence and compliance requirements
- Tools you are using to keep communications transparent with owners and tenants
- Personnel & Culture Integration: The "Keep vs. Replace" debate—How to evaluate inherited staff
- What AI can tell you about document-level review
- What you can learn about an operation from tenant satisfaction metrics
- Aligning the new acquisitions with your priorities: What should the roadmap look like?
- The painless tech transfer: How did you get there?
- And the first thing you need to do to a new portfolio is always…
As federal regulations tighten around acquisitions, the primary path to institutional scale is shifting toward assets requiring profound structural transformation. This session explores how top-tier property managers are using 'boots-on-the-ground' maintenance data to source distressed properties that qualify for new regulatory exemptions. Learn how to bridge the gap between property management and high-volume construction to 'manufacture' the institutional inventory of 2026.
- Using your internal maintenance and inspection data to identify neighborhood clusters ripe for high-yield, heavy-rehab projects
- Aligning Expectations: What are the questions you need to ask your owner to make sure all the work you put in will result in what they are looking for?
- Leveraging the latest AI applications to instantly estimate deep rehab budgets and post-renovation "After Repair Value" (ARV)
- Tactics for reducing vacancy and holding costs during the high-stakes period when a rental is effectively a major construction site
- How to seamlessly transition a deep-rehab project back into your property management lifecycle once it meets 2026 habitability standards
- Building the specialized "heavy-lift" partnerships needed for structural work versus daily maintenance
- The Exit roadmap: Preparing an asset for sale and transition
- The retention pitch: Strategies to hit up the new owner for the management contract
- What is really AI and what is not?
- Tech stack, infrastructure & data needed
- Risk of AI-bias
- Defining Robotic process automation vs. machine learning vs. natural learning process vs. small language models
- Best practices in training systems and creating algorithms
- Big data, noise prevention & AI
- Chat GPT & AI copilots
- AI autonomous agent development
- Computer vision and machine learning
- Living large with LLMs
- Supervised vs. unsupervised learning
- Recommendations of getting up to speed
- Don’t forget about data privacy…
How must executive leadership evolve as a firm grows from a local "cub" to an institutional "tiger," and what management shifts are required to drive vertical integration and recapture lost margins by identifying which functions to insource for profit versus which to outsource for efficiency. This journey demands a fundamental transition that we will debate moving from hands-on operational oversight to a tiered leadership model where specialized VPs govern through institutional-grade data and AI predictive analytics rather than "gut feel." Finally, we will evaluate whether today’s regulation dictates a "growth at all costs" M&A strategy, or if it is time to "get your house in order" to land the big fish—positioning your platform as the elite choice for national institutional owners or a prime target for a high-multiple acquisition.
Organic market expansion will no longer be the only way to grow. Scaling to 1,500 doors requires a shift to a sophisticated M&A and market expansion model. This interactive session vets the methodologies for targeting direct mail and SEO to dominate local markets and expand into alternative asset management, alongside the "buy vs. build" strategy of acquiring smaller property management firms. We will break down the mechanics of closing these deals, exploring new geographic markets, and mastering the post-sale integration process to prevent resident and staff churn. Finally, we’ll discuss the team building and vendor partnerships required to maintain service quality and institutional standards across a rapidly expanding, multi-market portfolio
New reporting regulations for the residential real estate sector went into effect on March 1, 2026, with the implementation of FinCEN’s Residential Real Estate Rule. This nationwide requirement increases owner transparency for non-financed transfers and adds to the existing compliance burden of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
This discussion will detail the best ways property managers can comply with these rules and navigate the expanded reporting landscape. Most importantly, we will explore how property managers must now act as the central "information hub," gathering and verifying complex beneficial ownership data to ensure their owners avoid the severe federal penalties associated with non-compliance and the potential for transaction delays due to incomplete information.
- How does increased use of AI impact your decisions?
- Balancing automation and human-in-the-loop decision making
- The ethics and regulations of AI in tenant screening, setting rent levels and junk fees
- The role of AI in tenant experience
- What are the new ratios of staff per house when you go all AI? What are the new titles and skill sets needed?
- How the all-AI approach will let you better compete with bigger institutions
- AI and keeping owners, tenants and stakeholders up-to-date in real time
- Changing the tech stack from a 3rd-party legacy to all AI set-up
- Making the transition: What are the keys?
- Which specific metrics and AI-tools are used to quantify the scale alpha and determine the exact basis point improvement in NOI?
- What is causing the valuation gap between buyers and sellers? What are some ways this gap can be bridged?
- How are you navigating M&A due diligence hurdles when integrating bespoke tech stacks from diverse regional acquisitions?
- How do you manage investor expectations during a merger to ensure operational continuity?
- What is the consequence of failing to implement post-sale integration protocols for specialized services like tenant insurance & maintenance?
- Utilizing AI to streamline the drafting of legal documentation and ensuring compliance during high-volume transitions?
- What are the newest financing solutions available for mid-market managers buying out smaller Mom & Pop operators?
- Competing against national PMs for smaller, local providers
- ESG compliance: Something still on the checklist in this political climate?
- Portfolio diversification vs. staying with what you know
There are always winners and losers when there are regulatory changes. Many SFR professionals feel that strategies like lease-to-rent, downpayment assistance and the use of joint ventures will increase. This session will outline some food for thought including
- How do you modify management workflows to account for co-living and micro-leasing models?
- Converting long-term renters into sticky residents by using rent-to-own and downpayment assistance plans while maintaining fee income?
- Administering joint ventures from a property management point of view
- How do you change maintenance budgeting in these alternative environments?
- How will you leverage specialized property management tools to bridge the service gap between alternative housing types and tenant expectations?
- What kind of consumer protection regulations do you need to be aware of when managing Lease-to-Own portfolios?
- How about 100 owners? Looking at fractional approaches
- Are ADUs one unit or two?
- How do you deal with non-payments and defaults?
- Going about partnering with for-sale builders to secure BTR management pipelines before the paint is dry?
How do you prioritize real-time P&L reconciliation and the immediate identification of variance triggers within the top 5 KPIs for institutional PMs?
- How do you benchmark your Days on Market (DOM) and vacancy loss against the top providers to identify operational gaps?
- How much should you spend on tech? What is your target ROI?
- What is the measurable impact of monthly P&L review surprises on the difference between a performing and underperforming portfolio?
- How will you quantify the ROI of Smart Home hardware on reducing emergency capital expenditure and increasing long-term asset value?
- What specific metrics define a viable business in terms of revenue generation per door and ancillary profit margins?
- Tracking time metrics on turnovers… What are your best practices?
- How are you using AI for better data analysis?
- How are you being proactive on the insurance front?
- Quantifying labor-cost reduction and insurance liability shift created by automated parcel lockers and secure delivery ecosystems
- Using predictive analysis to forecast and improve tenant turnover while ensuring compliance with pricing algorithm regulations
- How does increased use of AI impact your decisions?
- Balancing automation and human-in-the-loop decision
- The ethics and regulations of AI in tenant screening, setting rent levels and junk fees
- The role of AI in tenant experience
- What are the new ratios of staff per house when you go all AI?
- What are the new titles and skill sets needed?
- How the all-AI approach will let you better compete with bigger institutions
- AI and keeping owners, tenants and stakeholders up-to-date in real time
- Changing the tech stack from a 3rd-party legacy to all AI set-up
- Making the transition: What are the keys?
Join your peers for a closed-door, unvarnished discussion on the reality of the 2026 tech stack. We’re moving past the AI hype to discuss what is actually moving the needle, what is causing the most 'brain damage' during implementation, and which apps are finally delivering on their ROI promises. Come prepared to share your wins, your integration nightmares, and your 'must-have' tools for the year ahead
Scaling to 250 doors is the ultimate inflection point where manual oversight must be replaced by a vetted tech stack and automated systems. This session provides a step-by-step roadmap for auditing your current operations, identifying AI-driven lead management, and determining which operational strengths to keep in-house versus which offshoring strategies are needed to scale without bloating your payroll. We will break down how to transition into a high-margin, institutional-ready model while ensuring rigorous compliance in an evolving regulatory landscape
With the 350-home investor limit and new federal mandates currently looming in D.C., the industry’s top owners are facing a high-stakes question: do you wait for the final gavel, or do you pivot now? This plenary explores how proactive owner-operators are already transforming their internal property management infrastructure into a third-party growth engine and a vehicle for future Joint Venture partnerships. Join our executive panel as they debate whether the future of SFR dominance is shifting away from the deed and toward the operator
- With proposed ownership caps looming, are you transitioning your PM infrastructure into a third-party growth engine for JV partners?
- Amid revenue pressure from delinquency and regulation, is your ops budget increasing to drive "Institutional-Grade" efficiency or decreasing to protect margins?
- How does a potential mandated divestment window change your long-term capex and asset management strategy today?
- Regulatory Landmines: From rent control to eviction compliance, how are you overhauling internal procedures to de-risk your platform for institutional capital?
- As "Junk Fee" scrutiny intensifies, what is your 2026 strategy for ancillary income? How will this shift your vendor partnerships?
- What are your specific AI initiatives for 2026 that will make you more competitive in reducing cost for services and price for management?
- Is more insourcing in your future?
- From rent control to eviction compliance, how are you overhauling internal procedures to de-risk your platform for institutional capital?
- How will you be managing the need for high junk fees that make the institutions you manage happy vs. the new regulations?
- How are you using smart routing software to ensure field technicians spend more time fixing homes and less time in traffic?
- Using IoT sensors and predictive maintenance algorithms: How much can you save by automating preventive work orders?
- How will leveraging AI to automate turn operations be a time saver?
- Automating notices for rent payments, overdue collections, and evictions
- How should you utilize human-in-the-loop frameworks to focus on high-stakes decisions?
- What is the impact of implementing AI-enabled phone systems to manage inbound lead surges?
- What are the consequences of over-reliance on automation when handling sensitive delinquency negotiations?
- How are you making the data easily visualized?
- AI-driven scheduling tools: What’s available?
- What kind of technology is affordable for the small operator?
Mitigating operational inefficiencies and ensuring compliance with rent control, eviction, and fair housing regulations
- Leveraging vendor-provided AI tools for fraud detection, maintenance diagnostics, sentiment analysis, and tenant screening
- Underwriting vendor agreements to align with ancillary revenue goals
- Benchmarking vendor performance metrics
- Scaling operations efficiently and the use of offshoring and virtual assistant solutions
- Evaluating vendor pricing models: What works best to ensure alignment with NOI improvement goals
- Getting the vendor on board with your resident satisfaction, BOI, and amenity monetization goals
- Addressing tension points
- Comparing the ROI of vendor-provided services vs. in-house operations
- Insuring success when onboarding and integrating API