By Diane Batayeh, Village Green
To be successful at multifamily property management involves equal parts of communication, alignment and trust. There are several stakeholder groups to consider when making decisions about how best to operate and set up an apartment community for long-term success. Between residents, employees and owners, there are differing and sometimes conflicting objectives and perspectives to consider.
In today’s quickly evolving multifamily landscape, satisfying everyone can be challenging and it requires a delicate balance to maintain all stakeholders’ satisfaction while also achieving their respective goals.
With the right approach, however, multifamily executives can successfully navigate the wants and needs of all parties and effectively sustain their trust and satisfaction while positioning the property to achieve economic success.
Fostering connections
In multifamily property management, everything matters — from the property’s aesthetic appearance to the friendliness of onsite staff to the property’s digital identity and website navigation experience. These touchpoints are often referenced by both prospects and residents when evaluating their living experience, making it imperative to maintain and uphold a positive impression.
To protect a property’s reputation and best serve residents, it’s critical to remain aware of their impressions through regular resident surveys that measure preferences and satisfaction levels. Insights gained from their feedback can help identify opportunities for improvement and gauge how well the property meets residents’ expectations.
Maintaining open lines of communication is essential, so at Village Green-managed properties we regularly distribute satisfaction surveys to ensure we’re aware of residents’ wants and needs, thus allowing for timely adjustments. To encourage transparency and build trust, proactive communication with residents before launching a survey is crucial. Then following up by sharing results and outlining next steps must occur because collecting feedback is only valuable when it leads to meaningful action.
In addition to surveys, other touchpoints should occur to solicit feedback on key areas of the residents’ experiences, including move-ins, maintenance requests, management office responsiveness and payment portals. This creates an opportunity to uncover and mitigate pain points before they become widespread issues that may negatively impact lease renewals or resident referrals.
Consistent communication also ensures properties have a sound understanding of renters’ preferences, such as amenities or onsite programs that foster a sense of community. This data becomes particularly important for property owners as they evaluate the need for property enhancements and subsequent potential revenue improvement opportunities that can impact investment returns.
Generating trust
While aligning to renters’ expectations is key to maximizing occupancy and rental rates, it is equally important to stay aligned with property owners’ goals and objectives to ensure their sensitivities are always considered. A property’s success hinges on close collaboration and mutual alignment between owners and operators to identify and implement the most effective strategies.
An owner’s willingness to act on resident feedback is often impacted by the broader investment goal and owner’s vision for that property. What must also be considered are any underlying sensitivities that may exist with their investors and/or lenders.
For example, if a property owner’s goal is a longer-term ownership of an asset, they may be more willing to invest in major capital improvements that typically provide a greater return over time, such as adding smart technology or community amenity enhancements like a new fitness center or pool.
On the other hand, if an owner’s goal is a shorter-term investment, it likely wouldn’t make sense to execute large-scale renovations with a longer runway on economic returns. In those cases, authentic communication with residents about why a particular project isn’t being completed without creating undue anxiety about the disposition of an asset is a delicate balance, but necessary to garner trust and maintain open lines of communication.
Regardless of which strategy a property owner elects, having an experienced property management company by their side will help set them up for successful resident interactions.
Leveraging tools
With multifamily tech rapidly evolving, traditional forms of communication are often supplemented with new tools and software programs designed to help balance the needs of all stakeholders. Identifying the right solutions, however, takes time and research.
Before testing any new programs, be sure to have a clear understanding of each stakeholder’s preferences so the select application balances efficiency efforts without sacrificing important human connections.
For example, Village Green implemented artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots on our website to facilitate prospective residents’ inquiries about a property and/or to schedule tours. AI products can also be used effectively for other workflows that don’t require human touchpoints such as paying rent, submitting maintenance requests and other redundant administrative tasks.
While these AI integrations aim to streamline resident interactions and create efficiencies, they should not replace the onsite team, which is necessary to build relationships. That is integral to maximizing resident satisfaction and tenure. Since resident preferences are diverse, the communication and task options available to interact with property personnel must also be diverse to align with those needs.
To address the need for human interaction as a supplement to AI options, Village Green has also been piloting a proprietary program called VG Answers, which helps support onsite property teams with inbound phone calls, with the goal being to maximize telephone leads conversions. If a call to a property goes unanswered by the leasing office after three rings, the call is routed to and answered by a corporate team member. Simply put, a missed call is a missed opportunity, so VG Answers fills the gap and ensures no potential opportunity is missed.
This highlights the importance of creative solutions that leverage technology and centralization, when appropriate, while preserving the ability to create and proliferate relationships that are vital to developing and maintaining customers’ trust.
Finding balance
Multifamily property managers are tasked with a tall order in not just meeting but exceeding the evolving expectations of residents while achieving the financial goals of owners. Success hinges on a few principles: protect and enhance reputation by delivering a consistent high-quality resident experience and take feedback to heart; align daily operations with clearly defined property goals; and communicate with intention.
By embracing these principles and putting them into practice, property managers can turn complexity into opportunity and create environments where both residents and owners feel prioritized and satisfied. In the fast-paced multifamily industry, finding that balance is the key to long-term success.
Diane Batayeh is CEO and part owner of Village Green. This article originally appeared in the July 2025 issue of Heartland Real Estate Business magazine.