Early answers to pressing multifamily questions

How are you mitigating risks associated with insurance cost increases and property tax hikes? At Benmark Capital, we take a proactive and strategic approach to mitigating the risks by rising insurance costs and property tax increases. In our underwriting process, we place a strong emphasis on stress-testing cash flows to account for potential expense volatility, ensuring our borrowers have sufficient financial resilience. We encourage clients to engage experienced insurance brokers to secure comprehensive coverage at competitive rates and to regularly reassess their policies in light of evolving market conditions. On the property tax front, we closely evaluate municipal assessments and projected tax obligations, building appropriate reserves and structuring loan terms that anticipate future adjustments. By maintaining conservative leverage and fostering a disciplined approach to expense management, we help safeguard both our portfolio and our borrowers' long-term success.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? At Benmark Capital, we’re always exploring ways to leverage technology and AI to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs. For instance, we are using data analytics tools to improve our underwriting processes, enabling us to make more informed lending decisions by analyzing historical market data and predicting future trends. Additionally, we are exploring AI-driven solutions for automating parts of the loan servicing process, which reduces administrative overhead and minimizes errors. By integrating technology into our operations, we can streamline workflows and provide faster, more efficient service to our clients while managing costs effectively.

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly? Interest rates are causing us to be more cautious on rents, I think the biggest thing is we know rents can't increase as much as they once did there for properties can't sell at low cap rates as they once did. We focus on making money on the buy and being conservative on the sale.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? My biggest concern is when will the market adjust. When do properties who have been struggling finally fall out. When do the deliveries from 2025 get leased up and how does this affect development over the next 2-3 years?

How are you mitigating risks associated with insurance cost increases and property tax hikes? We are negotiating requirements with lenders, and appealing taxes for all of our properties. We are forecasting no discounts and underwriting to higher cost on proformas.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? One trend I am seeing is that its extremely harder to raise rents on properties that don't have desired amenities, such as in unit washers and dryers. Those communities without get hit the hardest. Tenants are now demanding comfortability if they are going to pay a premium

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? Like everyone else we are having to be strategic with concessions, we are seeking to prioritize occupancy over raising rents, so we've made aggressive approaches to keep people rather than have them leave.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response? Due to a more competitive market, we have utilized systems such as flex or the guarantor in the effort to help people who are on the cusp of qualifying get buy. I think this has been a useful strategy. The reality is were having to take risk on more residents.

How are you handling vendor relationships and contract negotiations to control expenses and ensure high-quality services? Multiple quotes for every contract service!

What was the last concert you attended? Hulvey.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? In today's market, we're seeing increased demand for flexible leasing terms and properties that offer modern amenities. Many tenants are looking for high-quality, well-maintained spaces with convenient access to work, public transportation, and amenities like fitness centers and communal spaces. To stay competitive, we’re focusing on upgrading our properties with contemporary finishes, smart-home features, and energy-efficient systems. Additionally, we're offering flexible lease terms to cater to the changing needs of our tenants, especially with the shift in how people work post-pandemic.

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? To maintain occupancy in a softening market, we focus on offering exceptional customer service, keeping our properties well-maintained, and responding promptly to tenant needs. We’ve also become more proactive in marketing our properties, utilizing digital platforms and social media to reach a wider audience. Additionally, we offer move-in incentives, like reduced deposits or rent discounts for long-term leases, to attract quality tenants. By creating a sense of community within our properties, we build tenant loyalty, which helps retain current residents.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? We’ve integrated AI-powered property management software to streamline our operations, from tenant screening and lease management to maintenance requests and payment processing. This has helped us reduce manual tasks, improve tenant satisfaction through quicker response times, and make data-driven decisions regarding rent pricing and property upgrades. Additionally, we use smart technology for energy management to reduce utility costs and enhance property sustainability.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections in the DC and Maryland rental markets, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response? Rent collections have become more challenging with the economic fluctuations affecting many tenants. In DC and Maryland, we’ve seen an increase in late payments due to shifts in employment and income levels. To address this, we’ve adjusted our screening process by looking at tenants’ full financial picture, including stability in income and employment. We also offer flexible payment plans and work closely with tenants facing hardship to help them remain in their homes. Additionally, we utilize automated reminders for rent due dates and incorporate late fees for consistency in our rent collection efforts.

How are you handling vendor relationships and contract negotiations to control expenses and ensure high-quality services? We focus on building long-term relationships with reliable vendors, ensuring that they understand our commitment to quality and cost-efficiency. By negotiating favorable terms, bundling services, and regularly reviewing contracts, we’re able to control costs while still ensuring that our properties receive the best care. We also regularly evaluate vendor performance to ensure they meet our standards, and we remain open to renegotiating contracts or seeking alternative vendors if it benefits the bottom line and quality.

What was the last concert you attended? The last concert I attended was for artist 50 Cent.

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly? A lot of negative leverage deals that we are passing on.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? Short term concern: tenants are able to purchase tenant packages at bazar (w/ fake docs for very cheap), which is resulting in increased fraud throughout the country. Long term there is going to be not enough supply so rent growth will increase substantially.

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly? We are a third-party property management company so we are not acquiring assets, however all of the clients we work with are having a difficult time making deals work based on what sellers pricing expectation are. This is directly impacted by interest rates, stalled rent growth, and massive hikes in insurance costs.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? The biggest concern I have is related to Florida is continued increases in insurance costs if the state has further storms causing significant claims. Construction activity is slowing down tremendously so there should be a lack of new supply in the coming years which should drive rent growth again. If we get in a recessionary economic environment that could slow rent growth and occupancy.

How are you mitigating risks associated with insurance cost increases and property tax hikes? In order to reduce insurance costs, our owner clients are increasing deductibles, reducing coverages, and forgoing some coverages that are not mandatory. With regards to property taxes, we are assisting clients with annual appeals of assessed value.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? Demand has been fluctuating in recent months. We are adjusting specials and rental rates to react when leasing hits a slow period. We do expect rates and occupant to tighten up over the next 12-24 months as new supply is absorbed and nothing is coming behind it.

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? We deploy upfront rent specials, reduced rental rates, new advertising platforms, mini-models, and incentives for our leasing teams.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? We use AI for revenue management and rental prospect interaction.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response? The biggest challenge we have faced since COVID is fake or adjusted income documents. We starting using an income document screening software a few years ago and that has helped to identify these issues during the application process.

How are you handling vendor relationships and contract negotiations to control expenses and ensure high-quality services? We re-bid all service contracts each year to ensure we are getting the best pricing and also leverage our portfolio size for improved deals with vendors whenever possible.

What was the last concert you attended? Electric Avenue, an 80’s tribute band.

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly? Higher interest rates, given their negative impact on returns, are resulting in lower values, which is a good thing as a buyer for assets owned by sellers who need to sell. For those that don’t the higher rates are inhibiting transactions. We solve for both unleveraged and leveraged returns, so we have adjusted our underwriting criteria, looking for assets with higher unleveraged cash flows.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? Significant new construction, with moderating demand, has resulted in lower rental growth, in some cases declining rents, higher vacancies, longer lease-up periods for new construction, and more tenant turnover at lease expiration. Our biggest concerns are the impacts on value, financing and liquidity.

How are you mitigating risks associated with insurance cost increases and property tax hikes? We don’t have any stabilized properties, so not that relevant.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? Given the dramatic increases in home prices and apartment rents in South Florida, affordability is a major issue. As a result, smaller units are becoming necessary. We are addressing this through smaller units in our developments and have affordable allocations in our projects.

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? Providing superior product and amenities, meeting the market on concessions, reacting quickly to changes in traffic.

What was the last concert you attended? Cold Play in MetLife Stadium a few years ago. It was awesome.

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly? In the lending space, the rise in interest rates has been a double-edged sword. On one hand, rates have risen offering better absolute returns on both new originations as well as legacy floating rate loans. On the flip side, exit strategies for existing loans have become more stressed, creating more downside risk to the portfolio.

In terms of new loan origination, I would say the largest change has been to increasing cap rate expectations moving forward. We do not see long term rates going below 4% and have adjusted cap rates accordingly.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? We are generally bullish on the Florida market as a whole and believe fundamentals will improve greatly as supply drops in the face of continued demand. Markets with the largest supply growth will be slower to grow.

We continue to be concerned about bad debt in lower quality assets.

How are you mitigating risks associated with insurance cost increases and property tax hikes? We have approached different brokers and carriers to evaluate the options out there and keep our carriers competitive.

Our opinion is that much of the underwriting we’ve seen in the market has been too aggressive in not projecting tax increases over time. Hence, the exit valuations have been overstated. We have seen property tax appeals be successful in 2024, a trend which may continue in 2025.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? Although we don’t operate directly, the properties in our portfolio which are most successful seem to offer a combination of strong and responsive management with a reasonable price point.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? We have begun using AI and other tech tools to augment and support our workforce to increase efficiencies. Whether it is repetitive daily routines or tasks which may require many hours to complete, we’ve seen these tools speed up these processes often from hours to minutes. The tech doesn’t feel like it will necessarily replace anyone, but make folks more productive.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response? This is paramount to success. We are seeing bad debt consistently 5%+ in many markets.

What was the last concert you attended? Gypsy Kings show in Miami Beach.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? Initially, we were concerned about the impact of new inventory entering the market simultaneously. Communicating this to owners and investors is always a challenge, but they understood that market fluctuations are beyond our control. Our approach has been to remain patient and forward-thinking, knowing that demand is expected to strengthen by 2026. Instead of across-the-board concessions, we’re using strategic incentives like lease term flexibility, referral bonuses, and move-in perks that drive urgency while protecting long-term revenue. In the meantime, we are staying proactive by closely monitoring market trends, refining our marketing strategies, and prioritizing resident engagement to maintain strong occupancy and competitive rent growth. A key focus for us is enhancing our teams’ customer service training, ensuring that our communities stand out through exceptional resident experiences.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market?We are seeing a strong demand from tenants who seek more than just a place to live—they want a true sense of home and belonging. This includes convenient smart home technology, top-tier amenities, and engaging social events tailored to their needs. Building a strong community remains our top priority, which is why we host monthly and quarterly events to foster connections and create meaningful experiences for our residents. By prioritizing resident engagement and making them feel valued, we enhance retention and cultivate a loyal community.

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? We’re leveraging data-driven campaigns, including social media ads, Google PPC, and retargeting, to reach qualified prospects actively searching for a new home. We continue to monitor our ILS and compare leads to real applications etc. Elevating the residents experience by fostering a sense of community by hosting resident events improving our communication with our residents.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? We’re leveraging chatbots and automated follow-ups to provide instant responses to prospects, keeping them engaged and seamlessly guiding them through the leasing process. This allows our onsite teams to focus on administrative tasks and delivering exceptional service to our residents. Additionally, we’ve implemented Tour24 self-guided tours across our communities, giving prospects the flexibility to tour at their convenience—during or after business hours—while helping us manage staffing costs efficiently and eliminate the need for overtime.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response? Our delinquency rates have significantly improved following a revision of our qualification criteria. We’ve expanded the required history for both rental and employment stability, ensuring a more reliable and financially secure tenant base.

How are you handling vendor relationships and contract negotiations to control expenses and ensure high-quality services? I oversee the ILS contracts and consistently seek opportunities to optimize costs and improve efficiency across all areas. Our primary focus is on the quality of leads rather than the quantity, ensuring that we’re driving meaningful applications. At times, this requires adjusting or downgrading a package or even exploring competitive options to achieve the best results.

What was the last concert you attended? The last concert I attended was the Romeo Santos concert in Hollywood Florida, November 2023.

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly? We are currently developing 1,600 multifamily units across six projects. Despite the high interest rate environment, we find it strategically viable to absorb the increased financing costs now, with the expectation of securing lower rates upon exit. A reduced interest rate in the future would drive higher valuations, aligning with our long-term investment objectives.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? Our concern is that rent growth has likely plateaued for now, which could lead to occupancy challenges. We do not anticipate growth exceeding 1% beyond the levels observed over the past two years.

How are you mitigating risks associated with insurance cost increases and property tax hikes?
While we cannot control insurance costs, we routinely seek competitive quotes from brokers, though this approach has yielded limited results. Regarding property taxes, we file an appeal annually in an effort to secure potential reductions.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? Service is the key differentiator in multifamily, as the core product remains largely unchanged. At the end of the day, it all comes down to customer experience. Centralization plays a crucial role in ensuring residents are directed to the appropriate department efficiently, while AI integration enhances proactivity and responsiveness.

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? Service is an added value that, when combined with community engagement initiatives, enhances the overall living experience. The focus is more on fostering a strong sense of community rather than solely on the property itself.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs?
We are implementing AI-driven phone systems as the first point of contact to streamline communication and reduce direct interactions between residents and employees by 70%.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response? Our primary challenge has been fraud originating from the application process. Elise AI has been instrumental in identifying and mitigating this issue, improving the integrity of our leasing operations.

How are you handling vendor relationships and contract negotiations to control expenses and ensure high-quality services? We are in the process of expanding nationally, currently operating in four states. Establishing strong relationships with key partners is essential, as it enables us to secure more competitive pricing and operational efficiencies.

What was the last concert you attended? Hombres G

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly?

FOR OUR BUSINESS, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO ASSUME THAT INTEREST RATES WILL NOT BE REDUCED AS QUICKLY AS EVERYONE HAD HOPED. WE REMAIN CONSERVATIVE ON THIS POINT WITH THE HOPES OF RATE REDUCTION BY THE FED IN THE FUTURE.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market?

WE ARE SEEING A DEMAND FOR TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENTS. AS TRAFFIC CONTINUES TO WORSEN, TENANTS ARE LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVES AND WE DO NOT BELIEVE THE WORK FROM HOME ENVIRONMENT WILL REMAIN. BUILDING CLOSE TO TRANSIT CENTERS AND TRAIN STATIONS ALLOW FOR MORE COMMUNITING OPTIONS.

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly? Yes, we are cash on cash focused at the moment so borrowing costs affect pricing directly for us.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? A lot of supply came in but in migration has also been extremely strong, seems like the sweet spot of when rent growth and occupancy will get back to normal is summer 2025 maybe 2026.

How are you mitigating risks associated with insurance cost increases and property tax hikes? We got a master insurance policy which helps with volatility and efficient pricing. We also have been using tax attorneys to challenges abnormal assessments to keep taxes in line with market.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? No particular macro-trends in tenant demand but depending on submarkets there’s little trends.

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? Staying ahead of the curve by offering concession renewals, addressing work orders quickly so residents enjoy living in our communities, etc.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? AIRUM, Lisa, and other prop tech tools that leverage AI to make managers more productive and responsive.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response? Yes, we use more screening tools now to combat fraud. Seeing an uptick in fraud.

How are you handling vendor relationships and contract negotiations to control expenses and ensure high-quality services? Leveraging our scale for best pricing in our markets.

What was the last concert you attended? Michael Bibi block party DJ set during Art Basel.

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly? A higher for longer environment is encouraging a more cautious approach to underwriting. We are closely scrutinizing exit cap assumptions, targeting a higher untrended yield on cost, and considering alternative sources of capital when building the capital stack.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? The fundamentals of multifamily remain strong. Consumers' personal finances are strained, savings are low, and the barrier to homeownership remains elevated. The increase in inventory will be absorbed and data reflects that. It's just a matter of time before rents and occupancy bounce back.

How are you mitigating risks associated with insurance cost increases and property tax hikes? To contain insurance costs we are reevaluting deductibles, evaluating master policies, and putting in risk management strategies to prevent and limit claim activity. Regarding property taxes, we are targeting acquisitions in cities that offer property tax incentives for the creation of affordable and workforce housing.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? Properties with the best overall value proposition remain in demand. We solve for an appropriate mix of services, amenities, quality, and price to compete for renters' dollars.

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? Retention is of greater importance at the moment. Initiating open lines of communication with our residents to understand their financial limitations and exceed their expectations is critical. Learn what is important to their tenancy and find a meaningful way to act on the information.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? We are doing our homework on new green technologies and AI agents.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response? Nothing out of the ordinary at the moment.

How are you handling vendor relationships and contract negotiations to control expenses and ensure high-quality services? We are targeting smaller contractors in the hopes of establishing mutually beneficial long-term relationships in exchange for competitive pricing while bringing procurement in-house whenever possible.

What was the last concert you attended? Jhene Aiko

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? The workforce housing shortage is contributing to maintaining high occupancy rates but at the same time it is challenging to achieve rental increases. Rental growth has been declining over the last 6 months and according to Costar, of the 18k new units that came online during 2024, the absorption rate was only 15k units. We also have to be wary of possible mortgage interest rates decreasing over the next few years making home buying more affordable. We already see many renters leaving the area for less expensive areas in Central and Northern Florida so it would suggest that many renters are being priced out of South Florida.

At renewal, tenants are demanding more in return in amenities, appliance upgrades, timely maintenance responses, and an overall better resident experience. It is very difficult in today's market to achieve a simple 5% increase when new units coming online are offering 2 months of concessions. Makes more economic sense for tenants with expiring leases to move to a new product with 2 months free and brand new appliances.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? We have leveraged AI throughout our portfolio by scheduling tours, contacting prospective renters and sending out renewal letters for expiring leases. AI is also contacting tenants that are delinquent and making payment arrangements whenever possible. We will be implementing AI to handle tenant work orders that will help us be more efficient in scheduling our maintenance staff and addressing tenant concerns on a timely basis. This will allow us to be more efficient in our labor hours and will provide cost savings in staffing and productivity.

How are interest rates impacting your acquisition strategy, and are you adjusting your underwriting criteria accordingly? Interest Rates- most multifamily cycles last 18-24 months at most. This one is pushing close to 30 months, with no specific end in sight. Few, if any, interest rate forecasts have been accurate since 2022, so the confidence in predicting the thaw of the market has been difficult. A large volume of deals hitting the market, but very few transactions are getting done because buyers and sellers are still between 10%-15% off in expectations of pricing. Lots of capital sitting on the sideline, but no one wants to be the first into the game. The flood of “troubled” deals is still just not there, so all the capital still sits there. Lots of folks focused on the Asset Management side of the business due to the interest rate decisions they made in 2021 and 2022, so folks are reserving cash to solve those problems. Hopefully, we see some predictability in the market in the second half of 2025, but that still needs to be seen.

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? Ability to push rents over the past 12 month has been a concern, getting investors to realize the 12-18% increases throughout multiple years is not sustainable. Providing an opportunity for the rents to reset in the current environment. Evaluation of property business plans and realizing rent growth and occupancy growth year over year is not obtainable .It is more reeducation to the investor pool which is biggest struggle – do they want a 6% lease over lease satisfied with a 9% vacancy or are they alright with a negative rent growth and 96% occupancy?

How are you mitigating risks associated with insurance cost increases and property tax hikes?

Insurance and RE Taxes- we are going to see a 15% drop in insurance costs in 2025, due to have a great loss ratio over the last few years. Increasing the capacity of our captive continues to allow us to take more of the first loss position in these assets- so that has really helped in the process. RE Taxes- by fighting so hard over the last few years (with many of those wins locked in for 3 years), we have established a good position in the near term. Once meaningful transactions start happening again, we are going to get a lot of pressure when the municipalities start chasing values again. No one knows what the values are today because deals are not happening.

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? Resident demands are on the rise, getting the newer generation renters to understand apartment living and what it entails coupled with helicopter parents has been an interesting phenomenon. A several of our sites we have revisited our new move in orientation to include items like how to use the washing machine, dishwasher as well as change a light bulb etc. Utilizing Moved for our new move in process has proven to assist with this as it allows a step by step move in process with reminders on setting up electric, internet, gas etc.

Residents have started to look at internal environment more, this has increased drastically over the past 12 months as we exit the Covid no interaction hang over stage. Increased resident retention, resident clubs and functions have increased.

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? Back to grass routes marketing. Getting into the employers, speaking with relocation specialists. Increased involvement with corporate rentals focused on travelling nurses and short term employment centers. Focus on where current residents work and implementing “pick your neighbor” programs.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? We are not a high AI company. We have worked on centralizing some of the administrative duties on the sites to provide more opportunity for the managers to manage the real estate and not be administratively over burdened. Implementation of Moved has assisted us with the move in process, reduce cancellations and ensure units/ residents ar prepared for move in day.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response. Our main issues with rent collections has been due to jurisdictions in some of the areas we manage. Allowance of pay to stay mentality has forced us into a high DQ environment .Fraud was a huge factor for us in many of our markets – Florida specifically in Jacksonville and Tampa. We have implemented a fraud detection double authentication process which has resulted in higher declines however we are hopeful this will continue to reduce our bad debt exposure.

IN several of the markets we have looked at our rent multiplier as the rents increased in 2023 begin of 2024, salaries at that time were not following suit. We have reduced this in some markets.

How are you handling vendor relationships and contract negotiations to control expenses and ensure high-quality services? First is to not treat them or look to them as a vendor however as a partner in our business. Utilizing economies of scale when and where you can. Educating your teams on how to communicate with a partner appropriately and how to build a relationship. Companies need to realize these partners are going to make mistakes, allowing mistakes to happen. Communicating and working through the issues. I ask my teams to look at in a way which we are not perfect with our residents, we expect corporate to understand teams make mistakes. Why is this different? Lastly inspecting what they expect, communicating directly in the moment when issues arise.

What was the last concert you attended? Jelly Roll at NYE Nash Bash 😊

What are your biggest concerns regarding rent growth and occupancy trends in the Florida market? A reevaluation of rent growth when taking into account that several Florida markets have soften existentially over the past two years. The same can be said about occupancy with a historic number of units being delivered with slow market absorption. Florida is doing above average compared to the country as a whole; however, it is imperative that clients, or developers, to look at current market data and fall back on the tired and true multi-family saying that “It is cheaper to keep a resident than to replace one.”

What trends are you seeing in tenant demand, and how are you positioning your properties to stay competitive in today's market? In South Florida residents are focused on affordable housing. Cover your bases with the offering a solid gym, comfortable work-from-home spaces, and an inviting pool but keep in mind that residents are demanding an affordable place to call home. At Crown Residential we have pioneered the roll out of workforce housing and live local act programs in West Palm Beach, Broward and Dade County while advising clients on how to maximize their NOI during the development process. It becomes a win-win for residents and developers alike.

What strategies are you using to maintain or improve occupancy rates in a softening rental market? At Crown Residential we have made swift and agile decisions that include not just front-end marketing adjustments but also back-end retention solutions. Are marketing team dives into the details to ensure that our properties exceed market averages in leads while our operations team ensure we deliver a tailored service to our residents. A one-two punch that keeps us ahead in the scorecard.

How are you leveraging technology and AI to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs? We are leveraging and actively piloting new technologies as it is a pillar to our business model. We embrace the use of AI ranging from prospect follows to operational tasks to ensure we have our teams focused on delivering the highest level of service. We embrace AI as a partner, not an enemy.

What challenges are you facing with rent collections, and have you adjusted your screening or leasing processes in response? Fraud is a major topic in our industry with South Florida being the epicenter of it all. We have adjusted our marketing to focus on sources that deliver quality leads consistently and have leveraged AI and technology to streamline the screening and leasing process. This allows for a more efficient collection of leads and an expedited and enjoyable leasing process for the prospective resident.

How are you handling vendor relationships and contract negotiations to control expenses and ensure high-quality services? Expectations are the key to success with managing vendor relationships. It lays the foundation to building a relationship with our vendors and a mutual respect for one another. At Crown Residential, we see vendors as a member of our team and treat them accordingly fostering great relationships that translate to high-quality services at fair rates.

What was the last concert you attended? I am a big fan of latin music especially that from my home island of Puerto Rico. I was able to attend a multi-artist concert that ranged from Salsa to Reggaeton. Nothing beats dancing alongside 20,000 people under the stars.