Centana Property Management: Space for lasting impressions
Centana Property Management
Established: 2019\ Location: Butte, Montana\ Portfolio: Multifamily, single-family, commercialCentana Property Management manages small multifamily apartment complexes, single-family homes, and commercial properties across Montana. In conversation with Cora Langel-Person, Office Manager and Property Manager at Centana, we explored how using AppFolio Property Manager has enabled the team at Centana to better market their business and provide the kind of modern experiences their renters and owners expect.
Units managed
500+
Time saved on rental payments
10 hrs per week
Increase in online applications
80%
Time saved on maintenance requests
4 hrs per week
“Having online applications allows us to process a large volume of incoming leads and speed up the leasing process.”
Using the right solution since day one
“As we have added new team members, they have been able to pick up on AppFolio very well. It was easy for me to get them set up in the system. Plus, there are a lot of different tools that help new hires get up to speed fast, such as different how-to videos and step-by-step tutorials that are integrated into the software. So that really saves us time.”
Centana Property Management prides itself on being responsive and attentive to its customers' needs. Having a software platform with built-in, modern communication tools has enabled the team at Centana to respond to current residents, prospective renters, and owners quickly and efficiently, which has resulted in a better customer experience. Cora shares:
“We pride ourselves on being great communicators with our owners and renters. We have a ton of different ways that we can communicate, whether it's through text messaging and emailing through AppFolio, phone calls, social media, or through our AppFolio-built website. We also have an emergency line and a call forwarding line, as well as a business email. We always try really hard to respond immediately. I think that's probably one of the best ways we retain our customers and gain new business relationships.”
In addition to maintaining clear and consistent communication, the online portal enables the team to keep owners informed about the performance and status of their properties without having to make a phone call or schedule a meeting.
“We have some owners that live in different states, different countries, or are constantly in various locations for work. Having the owner portal helps them to stay in touch. They can make online contributions, see reports or invoices, and check on work orders at any time.”
Making a memorable first impression
“Everything looks very professional through our website with AppFolio. A lot of the informative tools are integrated into the website so that when people go to our page, they can see pictures, they can read about how we manage our properties, how to apply, etc. We basically have our website doing a lot of the work for us and getting people intrigued. Then they reach out, whether it's on the ‘Contact us’ page or through a guest card.”
Along with being able to find information quickly on the website, renters can also search properties by location, which helps Centana to be more targeted in its marketing efforts.
“We have our website set up so it puts all the Great Falls properties in one area so that everyone's not looking through and seeing Great Falls properties and Butte properties at the same time and getting confused. We're able to separate properties by location through the same website, which makes the renter’s home search experience much better.”
In addition to marketing, AppFolio helps Centana stand out from the competition and make the most of demand when it comes to leasing. With self-service and digital features such as virtual showings and online applications, the team can attract more renters and fill vacancies faster. Cora shares:
“I think the main thing that sets us apart is the fact that we have online applications and virtual tours on our vacancy listings. Every time I've heard feedback from people, that's usually the number one thing they like — that they can do a virtual tour. It helps a lot. They can get the bigger picture of the layout and just more detail than a photo would show.”
Maintenance made easy
“Being able to submit a maintenance request right from the online portal makes things easier on our renters. We can easily respond to them, ‘Hey, we received your service request,’ and then we can tell them which vendor we have assigned to their case and that they will be reaching out to set up an appointment. So all of that is very streamlined and easy — for us, the renter, and the vendor.”
Along with increasing visibility for renters and vendors, the reporting tools within AppFolio enable the team at Centana to see how efficient their maintenance team is and find out if there are any areas in which they could improve. Cora explains:
“In AppFolio, we can look at the labor summaries on the reports to see how efficient our maintenance team is and that they're getting these things taken care of in a timely manner. There's a report for almost anything, and we can also customize reports. I think that helps the most, especially when we’re not alongside our maintenance team all day; it helps bridge that gap.”
Having a fully digital accounting system with on-demand tools for renters like online payments saves the team at Centana almost 10 hours per week and ensures payments are made in full and on time. Cora goes into more detail:
“We have 91% of our renters activated on the online portal and almost all of them pay that way every single month. So just the foot traffic — not having to be in the office for people to make their rent payments and then having to enter them in and run to the bank to make deposits — has saved us about 10 hours a week.”
Innovation built to scale
“Our relationship with AppFolio is really good. I know that every single one of us loves using the software. It's really easy, and AppFolio is improving every single day. You always know tomorrow they’ll come out with a new feature that is going to make it even better.”
When the team at Centana feels something is missing or could be improved upon, they have an open dialogue with AppFolio, and their feedback is heard and implemented. Cora explains:
“There are several different ways you can make suggestions for things that you would like to see within AppFolio. And I think that, generally, our feedback is taken very seriously and implemented right away. If there's something we think is missing, it seems like it rolls out shortly after.”
Space for lasting impressions
Centana's biggest priority at the moment is marketing its services and properties to attract new renters and owners. Having an AppFolio-built website means the team is not only able to showcase their differentiated approach to property management but also save time since everything is integrated into AppFolio Property Manager.
“AppFolio helps us make a great first impression so that we have time to focus more on personalized marketing. And the fact that we can instantly post and update our vacancies there and on third-party sites is game-changing.”
Office Manager & Property Manager, Centana Property Management
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