What if your vacant units could manage themselves?
According to the National Apartment Association, the 15-year average resident turnover rate was 46.9% in 2021. That means about half of the residents at multifamily communities leave after one year. Over the course of the year, that is a lot of vacant units to manage.
Proptech has the ability to eliminate tedious, time-consuming tasks, like manually turning off lights and adjusting thermostats. Through vacant unit automation, proptech is changing the game for energy efficiency in multifamily communities.
Light and thermostat automation
In the chaos of move-out, it’s very rare that residents take time to consider whether they have turned off their lights or put their thermostat on an energy efficient setting. If they do, they may opt to turn their AC off completely, contributing to damaging humidity in the summer.
Instead of manually checking thermostats and lights, Homebase enables property managers to set vacant unit automations. Teams can save energy by configuring vacant unit thermostats to turn on when the temperature rises beyond a designated maximum or drops below the minimum. Lights and switches can also be configured to turn off or on at designated times.
Instant access to units
Turnover cost is currently at a record high, so when unit repairs are required, efficiency is key.
Teams can instantly and securely send access to in-house or external workers using Homebase Visitor Access. Visitor Access is timebound, automatically expiring, and provides real-time access activity notifications to staff.
Smart access also enables teams to dodge the process of rekeying locks. When residents come and go, access can be adjusted from Homebase Manager with a click.
Appliance maintenance alerts
In the United States, 41.4% of vacant units have been empty for two months or less, and 6.2% of vacant units have been empty for two years or more. When units are empty, especially for an extended period of time, it is easy for appliance issues to go unnoticed. A leak that would be easy to fix, if it was promptly discovered, can result in extensive damage over time.
This is where appliance maintenance alerts come in. Homebase integrates with LG smart appliances. These appliances are equipped with technology to identify issues as they develop and immediately send alerts to property managers.
This enables teams to be proactive instead of reactive. It’s especially valuable when teams are short-staffed because it allows them to avoid larger, more time-consuming repairs.
Easy tour preparation
When units are ready for tours, Homebase vacant unit automations make it easy to ensure they look their best. Empowered teams can remotely adjust the temperature and turn on the lights before prospects arrive.
Teams don’t even need to be onsite. With self-guided tours, leasing agents easily grant secure access to prospects who have passed a background check. Then they can monitor prospects’ progress with the Eagle Eye security camera integration.
When the tour is complete, vacant unit automation configurations will ensure that the thermostats and lights return to their energy-efficient settings.
Set it and forget it
Property managers have enough to keep track of. Vacant unit management doesn’t need to add to the mental load. When time-consuming and tedious tasks are automated with Homebase’s full suite of vacant unit features, teams have more time to do the valuable work of building community.
Interested in saving time, money, and resources? Chat with our experts about introducing efficient vacant unit management.
