Month: October 2020

Meet Our October ResMan Rockstars

Posted on by Hannah Wood

Amanda, Head of People & Culture

Where did you grow up? Born in Minnesota, grew up in Texas!

When did you join ResMan? April 2015

What motivates you to come to work every day? Aside from being a complete HR Nerd, I love witnessing the passion of our team members who are revolutionizing our industry through innovative thinking and just being awesome ResMan stewards to our users! 2020 has really shone a light on all of the incredible people we have on our team who have come “together” (in the most proverbial sense of the word) to triumph over some pretty incredible challenges. The spirit of this team is pretty inspiring.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? A lot of what I do has an indirect impact on our customers, but a huge impact on our team members. Creating a safe environment for our team members to grow and be the best and most authentic version of themselves is what makes ResMan such a great product – and that has a huge impact on our customers!

What’s your favorite ResMan value statement? Honestly, it’s a tie between Believe in the Impossible and Win Together. I think we all need to have at least an ounce of belief in the impossible to give us the courage to push ourselves into the unknown. And Winning Together? That’s a no brainer. Who wants to stand atop a mountain alone? I love the fact that our departments have to work so closely together to achieve their goals. Not only that, but ResMan wins when our customers win. What a cool reality!

Halloween is here! What’s your favorite Halloween costume or memory? In high school, we had a big group costume effort: my brother was the president, and the rest of us were his entourage: the vice president, secret service, and I, decked out in my flight suit was the pilot of Air Force One, arguably the most important costume. Here at ResMan, my favorite Halloween costume was when I dressed up as The Target Lady from Saturday Night Live. “Hey Pat Sajak, I’ll solve the puzzle!”

Christina, Chief Marketing Officer

Where did you grow up? New York

When did you join ResMan? About a year ago.

What motivates you to come to work every day? I love the variety of my job, whether it’s helping sales achieve their deals, developing marketing campaigns, or looking for ways to drive velocity in the sales cycle. And most of all, I enjoy the creativeness of our collaborative, cross-functional teams.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? I most enjoy finding ways to connect with our customers 1:1, whereby they feel they’ve been heard, and their voice impacts our software’s future.

What’s your favorite ResMan value statement? Win Together is my favorite value statement. It’s the epitome of every day working at ResMan. We all believe it and live it. I couldn’t do my job without such supportive team members across the company – Product, Support, Marketing, Sales & Biz Ops.

Halloween is here! What’s your favorite Halloween costume or memory? My favorite so far has to have been last year. My husband dressed up as a giant dinosaur and walked around the neighborhood hand in hand with our 5-year-old (dressed as a princess) and petite dog, Kisses, who was dressed as a unicorn. The three of them spent most of their time scaring the neighbors. Lots of laughs!

Thomas, Software Developer II

Where did you grow up?  St. George UT

When did you join ResMan? April 2015

What motivates you to come to work every day? That’s a good question, if you find out before me let me know.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? Solve bug issues aka S1s and S2s

What’s your favorite ResMan value statement? Win Together

Halloween is here! What’s your favorite Halloween costume or memory? When Trevor won the best costume for the ROI contest

 

Nicholas, System Optimization and Reporting Product Manager

Where did you grow up? Keller, Texas (north of Fort Worth)

When did you join ResMan? July 2018 as a contractor/developer then as a full-time employee in January 2019

What motivates you to come to work every day? Being able to optimize workflows and processes for the various teams that I work with. Especially the scrum processes with my development team.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? I love designing new reports that give customers access to new data or explain existing data better.

What’s your favorite ResMan value statement? Own What You Do. It’s my favorite because when everyone owns what they do everyone’s work becomes easier.

Halloween is here! What’s your favorite Halloween costume or memory? I enjoyed dressing up as something scary, standing still in front of my house and waiting for kids to get close because they thought I was a statue, Then I’d jump at them. I always got unique reactions.

Jackie, Training Specialist

Where did you grow up?   Arlington, TX

When did you join ResMan?   June 2019

What motivates you to come to work every day? Helping others and empowering people is what motivates me the most. It doesn’t matter whether it is a colleague, friend or relative. It gives me a sense of confidence and belief that I can be of some help.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers?  That we can provide a solution to someone’s problems. I try to be positive myself. This allows me to instill the same optimism onto others when they need it the most, while learning an entirely new software system, which can be a really daunting task.

What’s your favorite ResMan value statement?  My favorite ResMan value is Win Together!  We are one team, unified in our purpose and mission.  We all win when everyone does their part in service of the whole.   (Also, who doesn’t like winning?)

Halloween is here! What’s your favorite Halloween costume or memory? ResMan Halloween last year.  I worked in property management on-site for years and the staff never really dressed up for Halloween so it was really fun to be able to dress up myself and see so much participation at the ResMan office!

Ricky, Implementation Associate

Where did you grow up?  Dallas Tx.

When did you join ResMan?  April 1st, 2019

What motivates you to come to work every day?  Keep telling myself “I can do it”, stay positive in stressful times, and take control of my day.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers?  Work with time. Extract data from reports and complete integrations in a fast manner to provide the best customer service.

What’s your favorite ResMan value statement? Believe in the Impossible

Andreina Labarca – Digital Project Manager

Where did you grow up? Caracas, Venezuela

When did you join ResMan? March 2020

What motivates you to come to work every day? Definitely, the new challenges that come up every day, helping clients achieve their goals, and working with an amazing team of people that motivates me every day.

What’s your favorite thing that you do that impacts our customers? Helping them solve their problems quickly. ResMan makes it so easy.

What’s your favorite ResMan value statement? Believe in the impossible!

Halloween is here! What’s your favorite Halloween costume or memory? To be honest, I enjoy watching other people’s costumes more than anything. I guess it won’t happen this year but I loved going out to a restaurant, sitting outside, and just watching people in their hilarious and scary costumes pass by!

ResMan Announces the Multifamily Industry’s Only AI-Powered ADA Compliance Website Solution; Automatic Adherence to All Regulations Without Compromising Website Design

Posted on by Hannah Wood

PLANO, TEXAS OCTOBER 26, 2020

ResMan®, a leading property management SaaS platform provider, today announced the availability of ResMan Accessibility Pro, the multifamily industries only AI-powered, automatic solution proven to ensure complete compliance with domestic and international regulations including WCAG 2.1, ADA, and 508. The solution applies machine-learning to scan, analyze, and modify a website’s code and behavior to match each user’s needs. ResMan Accessibility Pro is integrated with ResMan Website Pro and Premium subscription plans and is customizable to any website design.

July of 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). With websites included under that act, not just physical spaces, critical businesses are compliant with the rules or face significant financial consequences. In 2019, there were 11,053 web accessibility suits filed in federal court, an 8.8 percent increase from 2018. In one such class-action lawsuit, Harvard University had to pay the Class Counsel $1,575,000 in attorney fees and expenses alone, not inclusive of the settlement to plaintiffs . Businesses are required to include video captions for those with poor vision, keyboard-based navigation for those unable to use a mouse, text alternatives for images that are compatible with text-to-speech software, color palette changes to make links and navigation easier for color-blind individuals to navigate, and more.

“With Accessibility Pro, property managers no longer need to worry if their website is compliant. It’s designed to allow all of the 56 million people in the United States and over one billion people worldwide who have a disability to get the information they need, in the way they need to receive it, without compromising the website’s design. It’s easy, and it’s automatic,” said Paul Bridgewater, CEO, ResMan.

“In a very litigious world, even the best-intentioned businesses can be targeted for a quick payday. I’ve seen more and more lawsuits regarding ADA compliance, and businesses aren’t sure how to respond. Having a tool like ResMan Accessibility Pro on the site gives me ease of mind so I can focus on the day to day tasks and how to maximize occupancy,” said a representative from First Choice Management Group.

Accessibility Pro’s AI technology analyzes each ResMan platform managed website to visually match the site’s elements to the context of millions of other website designs, learning each piece’s purpose. The system then automatically ensures compliance by updating the site to regulation standards. For example, Accessibility Pro scans all images to extract the embedded text using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and provides an elaborate alternative text to benefit a blind user of the site. The program re-scans every page of every site, ensuring new updates are being remediated to compliance instantly.

For more information about Accessibility Pro, ResMan is hosting a webinar on November 6th at 2 pm CT: Marketing Experiences for the Virtual Leasing Office. Attendees will learn how innovative property management companies use branded marketing experiences coupled with ADA compliance tools to turn renters into residents effortlessly. The agenda will also include how to drive more traffic to websites, as well as the tools needed for a virtual leasing office and marketing recommendations to make properties stand apart. Register here.

“With Accessibility Pro, property managers no longer need to worry if their website is compliant. It’s designed to allow all of the 56 million people in the United States and over one billion people worldwide who have a disability to get the information they need, in the way they need to receive it, without compromising the website’s design. It’s easy, and it’s automatic.”
Paul Bridgewater
Chief Executive Officer, ResMan

ADA Compliance: Does Your Website Discriminate Against Those with Disabilities?

Posted on by admin

The disability rights movement has, for a couple of decades, brought the injustices faced by people with disabilities to the public’s attention, eventually resulting in the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) in 1990. Designed to address discrimination in the areas of employment, public accommodation, public services, transportation and telecommunications, the ADA continues to expand its efforts to ensure equal opportunities for all.

Property owners and managers are familiar with physical ADA standards such as wheelchair ramps, and parking and lighting accommodations, but are you paying enough attention to your website?

All government websites and the websites of any organization that could be considered a “public accommodation” are required to comply with ADA guidelines.

Your Website is One of Your Properties

Though the use of technology has increased at a rapid rate, even for those who are sight and hearing impaired, guidelines for accessibility have grown at a slower pace. The most recent set of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) came ten years after the 2.0 version.

The new guidelines increase the number of “success criteria” that are possible, but in most cases, allows for organizations to comply at differing levels:

  • Level A: Compliance with WCAG 2.0
  • Level AA: The level property managers should comply with
  • Level AAA: Compliance with WCAG 2.1

Why should you level up, if you can? The new success criteria not only address changes in technology, they also expand the range of disabilities that may be helped by greater accommodations. In addition to sight and hearing disabilities, this can include those with limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity and even some learning and cognitive limitations. Gaining greater access to vital information via desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices can be a life-changing for disabled individuals.

Download our 7 Key Steps to ADA Compliance on Property Websites

In our new download, you’ll learn:

  • Why ADA compliance is important
  • How ADA compliance provides a better experience for all users, potentially improving your organizations’ bottom line
  • The ADA guidelines your team should know how to implement if they add or update content on your website
  • How to stay informed about ADA updates

BONUS: Contains a convenient compliance checklist!

Download 7 Key Steps to ADA Compliance on Property Websites

handicapped person accessing computer

Check out the Features that Make Up ResMan’s Virtual Leasing Office

Discover for yourself how ResMan can help you continue to adapt and innovate.

Request a Free Demo

Resources to Help You Stay Ahead

Committed to Service and Support Through COVID-19

Read More

The 9 Essential Skills of a Property Manager and How to Build Them

Read More

Using Texting to Safely Communicate During Covid-19

Read More

Monitoring Affordable Compliance in a Crisis (and Beyond)

Posted on by admin

In a recent blogpost entitled 4 Tips for Weathering the Storm, our founder and President Elizabeth Francisco wrote in the early days of COVID-19 that her first experiences with property management occurred during a crisis – the Great Recession of 2008. 

It was during this time that what was already difficult became unmanageable with the old methods (namely: stacks and stacks of Excel spreadsheets). Something had to give!

ResMan was birthed out of that refining challenge.

NAVIGATING THIS CURRENT CRISIS

For a crisis such as COVID-19, we’ve certainly seen unprecedented changes. Internally you’ve endured staff reductions, office closures and work-from-home staff, the need for PPE and social distancing, and widespread unemployment that impacted your residents. 

Externally, COVID-19 has heavily disrupted the policies, procedures and deadlines of the Affordable Housing industry. The subsequent CARES Act has demanded massive learning curves for keeping up with a swiftly evolving situation.

But sometimes crisis doesn’t just create new challenges, it puts current bottlenecks, barriers, glitches and inefficient workflows on steroids. It forces us to address problems and issues that were perhaps merely annoying or troublesome before with an openness to consider new ways to provide relief. In other words, we come to a point where something has to give!

3 ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR AFFORDABLE COMPLIANCE

With COVID-19’s physically altered protocols for managing your property, it’s clear that technology is the way through. Ms. Francisco stated that “Reluctance to adopt efficient technology ultimately means you won’t be able to compete.” You’ll also find affordable compliance untenable without these tools.

And if that’s true any given day, it’s even more vital during our current economic disruption. Here’s what you must have:

1. Cloud-based software

With many staff still working from home, residents socially isolating and vendors operating only online, cloud-based software is an absolute must. It’s more important than ever to be able to access your information from anywhere, at any time.

2. Unlimited Document Storage

With electronic forms replacing paper forms due to the need to avoid contact, it’s vital for both you and your residents to be able to easily access all documents. They’ll need to be able to scan forms and upload them. This is something you needed anyway, in today’s consumer-driven quest for convenience.

3. Compliance Guidance

The CARES Act and frequent changes to local and federal policies have turned our industry upside down. 

     -You have questions about stimulus funds (is it a lump sum or recurring? what type of forms/reporting do you need to complete?). 

     -You’re trying to stay abreast of the ever-changing evictions process. 

     -You’ve got to devise a way to keep up with new payment plans. 

And these are just the tip of the iceberg.

The good news is that there is help available!

  • For starters, consider participating in associations such as NAHMA, to share and network ideas and to have a voice with the governing bodies of the programs.
  • Next, we recommend working with compliance experts dedicated to your success. (We have three, with 60 years’ combined experience!) Easy access to affordable housing experts and software that keeps you within intuitive compliance guardrails is game-changing during a crisis. (And pretty awesome the rest of the time.)

 

HOW RESMAN HELPS AFFORDABLE PROPERTY MANAGERS ANYTIME

The reality is that even before the pandemic, Affordable Housing compliance could feel like a crisis on any given day. So, whether it’s 2020’s calamities or business-as-usual, you can put your compliance in ResMan’s hands:

  • Our Affordable comprehensive compliance suite is always up-to-date, automating, ensuring accuracy and helping you avoid costly compliance risks. 
  • Our Affordable experts speak your language!


Request a free demo of ResMan Affordable to see how we’re changing affordable property management software to make your job easier than ever before.

Check out the Features that Make Up ResMan’s Virtual Leasing Office

Discover for yourself how ResMan can help you continue to adapt and innovate.

Request a Free Demo

Resources to Help You Stay Ahead

Committed to Service and Support Through COVID-19

Read More

The 9 Essential Skills of a Property Manager and How to Build Them

Read More

Using Texting to Safely Communicate During Covid-19

Read More

Let Us Be Your Compliance Experts: ResMan’s Affordable Expertise at Your Fingertips

Posted on by Hannah Wood

As anyone who works in affordable housing can attest, it’s complex. The property managers and owners who do so are passionate about helping low-income families. They must constantly jump through critical, evolving compliance hoops, and they do so for some of the lowest compensation levels in the business. No matter how big or small, every property management company is at risk for compliance lawsuits.

No one needs more resources and support than the Affordable property manager. But as with any complex field, the support must come from those who know the complexities inside and out. We’re proud of ResMan’s Affordable solution, but it wouldn’t be what it is without our team of affordable experts. 

Together, these three members bring a combined 63 years of affordable and conventional experience and leadership to both our Affordable product and to our affordable housing clients. Their expertise (which continues to drive our Affordable product innovation) and their passion for the niche are a truly winning combination.

Meet Our 3 Affordable Experts

JANEL GANIM

Twenty two years ago, Janel Ganim found her way to affordable housing through two separate property management roles that included accounting and new software implementation. In 1998, she took a job with a property management software vendor, where she was asked to learn HUD.  She applied that knowledge for more than 13 years across Support, Quality Assurance, Business Analysis, and, finally, Director of Product Management, Affordable Housing. 

During those years, Janel focused on affordable housing, becoming deeply involved with industry clients, NAHMA, HUD, tax credit industry events and pre-sales events. She holds NCHM Certified Occupancy Specialist and Tax Credit Specialist certifications.

For NAHMA, she vice-chaired and chaired the Affiliates committee, each for two years. A highlight of her affordable experience is being elected to the one Affiliate seat on the Board of Directors. She has served one year of her three-year term. For HUD, Janel has participated in several industry groups before industry roll-outs, co-chaired and sat on multiple groups, including co-writing the draft notice for electronic signatures and storage, her biggest industry impact to date.

New to ResMan since February of this year, Janel started in a business development role to focus on affordable housing thought leadership, the Product Development roadmap, and staying ahead of the market’s compliance needs. In April she was asked to oversee the Product team (Core, Affordable and Reporting products). She is currently focusing on budgeting product updates, a custom report writer, updates to our affordable housing waitlist, tightening up functions of existing features and improving our partners’ first 90 days with ResMan by collecting better data upfront during onboarding.

Janel recognizes that affordable property managers have greater challenges, responsibilities and liabilities than others, and often less training opportunities. “I love to create a great product that keeps site staff within intuitive compliance guardrails,” she says.

RUE FOX

Twenty three years ago, Rue worked at a property management company where she met her current Affordable coworker Janel and also leasing agent Elizabeth Francisco, who would go on to become ResMan’s founder. 

In 1997, Rue moved to another property management software organization, where she spent 13 years in Sales and two years in Affordable Business Development. During this time, she received her affordable accreditations through NAHMA, traveling around the country meeting with reporting agencies, building credibility and trust, which resulted in deep, ongoing relationships within the industry. Affordable became Rue’s “home.” 

With certifications in HUD Section 8 and Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Rue has chaired and participated in NAHMA committees for 20 years. She holds both a Certified Professional of Occupancy (CPO) and Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM) designation.

Rue learned about ResMan through a few different sources, but when dragged to meet someone at a 2014 NAA show, who turned out to be none other than her former coworker Elizabeth Francisco who had launched the ResMan start-up, she knew she wanted to be a part of that team. She has served as the face of Affordable at ResMan since 2016. With 20 years in sales, she now leads as a Solution Engineer, learning the needs of the industry, presenting solutions within the product and delivering product feedback to Development. She and Elizabeth eventually persuaded Janel to join ResMan.

Rue has met many affordable housing managers and owner/agents, including a woman who had to walk her property with a shotgun, it was so unsafe. She is amazed at their love and commitment for serving low-income families, and it made her want to make their lives easier. “And I love how the affordable industry gives back, such as NAHMA’s annual college scholarship for a low-income college student of any age. We’re making a difference in people’s lives at every level. As for ResMan, it’s fun to take this fantastic product to market and get to hear people’s reactions and “wow” moments,” she says.

CORBIN du MONT

In 2001, Corbin du Mont graduated college with a major in Business Communications, a minor in Marketing, and no knowledge of affordable housing whatsoever. He fell into it in his first job, PAWA House of Florida, a leading training organization and HUD service bureau, where he found, to his surprise, that he loved working with subsidy programs. When the company was acquired by PMCS, he worked remotely in a supervisory role with 80-100 sites in his portfolio, remaining a total of five years. During this time, he received training with NAHMA and SAHMA. He later went on to a variety of affordable property management organizations, serving as both a conventional and HUD property manager and a HUD Compliance Officer and earning designations in Certified Occupancy Specialist (COS), Tax Credit Specialist (TCS), Certified Professional of Occupancy (CPO) and Rural Housing Development. He also received REAC certification/training through American Property Consultants.

“ResMan is my dream job,” he says. “After the vendor solution testing I’d done, I always wanted to work with a vendor in affordable housing.” He’s been with ResMan since 2017, serving as a Senior Business Analyst/Product Manager with a focus on the vouchering process and HUD. He brings his work with clients and the affordable industry to the ResMan product team with a view to staying ahead in the industry and leading the charge for affordable property managers.

“The jobs I’ve had really set me up well to understand how fundamentals in the background work and how to use that knowledge in creating what the affordable industry needs. ResMan was already a huge jump for affordable property managers, better than others, but it has grown into an even better product.” He’s especially proud of the automated TRACS messaging on the compliance dashboard, the special claims calculator, and the ease of certification workflows. 

You Can Put Your Compliance in ResMan’s Hands

The ResMan Affordable comprehensive compliance suite is always up-to-date, automating, ensuring accuracy and helping you avoid costly compliance risks. 

But you’re never on your own. Our three affordable experts speak HUD, Tax Credit and Rural Development. They know the language and will even work through your challenges with your contract administrator, if need be.

Check out the Features that Make Up ResMan’s Virtual Leasing Office

Discover for yourself how ResMan can help you continue to adapt and innovate.

Request a Free Demo

Resources to Help You Stay Ahead

Committed to Service and Support Through COVID-19

Read More

The 9 Essential Skills of a Property Manager and How to Build Them

Read More

Using Texting to Safely Communicate During Covid-19

Read More