Sync or Swim: The Multifamily Growth Show

"We are building new tools to help drive conversion rates to make teams more responsive and reduce time to market for your vacant units." — Diego von Sohsten The new Rentsync Platform is officially out of beta! That's the product formerly known as "The Lift System," by the way. On this episode of Sync or Swim, we discuss how we've rebuilt the Rentsync Platform to meet our customer's ever-evolving...

"It can be really easy to be distracted by industry buzzwords and flashy new technology. But the reality is, there's lots of technology that many have not implemented yet, but it's been around for many, many years." — Joe Easton COVID-19 proved it: Some companies weren't ready for change. But that didn't stop them from jumping into whatever they had to do to protect their team and their renters. ...

"Make sure you're supporting each other because we are seeing that simple acts really do help build resilient communitie s." — Colleen Krempulec Apartment buildings are empty shells. It's the people who call them home that bring life and personality to any community. When a pandemic keeps everyone separate, how can you instill resilience into the community you've worked hard to build? On this epis...

"If you really want to start learning how to get funnier, just go watch comedy of all kinds. Whether it's a Simpsons episode or a late night talk show...try and observe patterns and timing and absorb that over time." – Jon Selig Description What do multifamily rentals and stand up comedy have in common? At first glance, probably not much. But if you think that the rental market couldn't be made mo...

"I believe that the market will bounce back much faster than a lot of people expect and it's going to be surprising to many." — Shaun Hildebrand The way the pandemic has disrupted rental housing makes a ton of sense given the impact on employment, immigration, and the student population.  But the data offers some surprising insights into how the rental market has changed.  And it offers a glimpse...

So it forced, I think all of us, but especially myself, because I was so new, to learn a lot about the industry at a rapid rate, and look for solutions to problems that multifamily owners and operators and marketers were experiencing at the time." – Nicolina Savelli As we move into season two of the Sync or Swim podcast, there are exciting changes happening. Some new developments, new guests, and...

"As an industry, we have done a really great job of creating digital opportunities for people to find out about properties when they're looking for properties And then once they actually go on site to check out the apartment, there is a huge need for technology." Have you, or do you know anybody, who has tried to rent an apartment during the COVID-19 pandemic? If so, you've likely noticed that tec...

"While the world is changing and people are looking for apartments differently, your presence online needs to be just as polished and consistent , sending the right message to the renters you're looking to target." — Austin Joynes 2020 accelerated several trends in the purpose-built rental industry: Digital presence and virtual content swelled in importance. Virtual service moved to the front of t...

"As a result of COVID, two things have struck me: 1) just how resilient multifamily is as an asset class; 2) how much innovation has actually occurred in this industry." After the longest shortest year of everyone's life, the Sync or Swim podcast is wrapping up our first season's 13-episode run. In this episode, we examined the trends and ideas we uncovered in our interviews: More and more people...

"The importance of frontline staff — the grocery store guy, the superintendent, the leasing agent — frontline staff is critical. They need to be valued, trained, paid, and motivated. We can all improve, I think, on that." — Derek Lobo Apartments are going to be very successful in the future for 4 reasons: Investor demand for a stable asset grows during uncertainty. Apartments are scalable. Interes...

"Your competitive weapon is to deliver something to the residents that they don't expect, and in doing so, turn them into advocates for the property." You don't have a secret sauce. Oh, but you do, you say? You have nice properties, smart amenities, and friendly leasing staff? So do all your competitors. Your only advantage is experiential. So your competitive weapon is to deliver something to the...

People spend a lot of time shopping online. So, why couldn't you do that for real estate? What would it take to create an e-commerce experience for renters on your website? The online shopping idea offers just one example of using brand trends in fashion or other industries to influence what we do in real estate, and how to differentiate from the competition. And that's the focus of this episode o...

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And real estate in America hasn't broken since the early 1900s. But in the last 10-20 years, real estate as a physical asset has morphed, a trend the pandemic has exacerbated and accelerated.  Thirty years ago, warehouses were the inferior asset class and retail the hottest. Now, no one wants a mall. Because these transformations happened so quickly, investors coul...

"Trends usually don't influence my decisions, usually go for long term longevity and good location, because you can't change that." — Allan Drewlo, (6:20-6:31) If, like Drewlo Holdings Inc. , you've been developing, constructing, and managing apartment buildings since 1958, you've learned a lot of valuable lessons along the way. Your company has probably persevered through challenging times, and t...

Whenever there's a difficult period, whether it's the Internet bubble in the early 2000s, the financial crisis in 2008, or COVID, companies have to figure out how to transition through that difficult period and come out the other side stronger. In this episode of the Sync Or Swim podcast, we discuss how to navigate a company or organization through uncertain times. Featuring: Dan Jauernig , presid...

"Corporate America hates the word fun because they think it doesn't imply business results. You can't change your culture by talking about it. You have to give people a toolkit they choose to use when you're not around. So, make it fun. And then you can change your culture." – Duncan Wardle in E07 of Sync or Swim: Navigating COVID-19 with Creativity & Innovation In this episode of the Sync Or Swim...

"We were seeing this growing number of people, especially Millennials, turning to the rental market. The problem was, the options for these renters were quite limited, particularly in the higher-end rental market." — Julian Battiston Millennials have turned to the rental market for housing. But their options, particularly in the higher-end rental market, are limited. Besides, these renters are cop...

Since COVID-19, multifamily operators and marketers have ramped up their adoption of technology to run their companies and to do business in a new way. Although historically the property real estate market has been slow to adopt technological solutions, both the pandemic and an influx of capital have reshaped that pattern. In this episode, we discussed real estate technology for 2020 and beyond on...

"I think the next generation of the marketplaces are going to be full stack where you don't just do marketing, you actually help the renter and landlord through the entire transaction on one platform." – Anthemos Georgiades (21:33) The real-world experience of queuing up for access to university housing, inspired Anthemos Georgiades , Co-Founder and CEO at Zumper to ask:  "Why can't I book a 12-mo...

Adapting your multi-family marketing strategies to the unpredictable and remote-based digital environment that has been forced upon us is a challenge we are all facing.  Roselyn D'Ascanio , Marketing Manager at Starlight Investments sits down to share some of her insights about how she is adapting her approach to accommodate a COVID world.

Get to know the story of one of Canada's Top 100 fastest-growing companies . The Rentsync leadership team sits down with Sync or Swim host Mitch Fanning to round up key highlights from their past 10 years together and explore their plans for the future as a leading provider of marketing solutions for the multifamily industry.  Featuring: Jason Leonard , President and Co-founder, Rentsync David Kos...

"You can't move a building. So you're stuck with a location. Whether it's a great location or a poor location; you're stuck with it as a marketer." — Max Steinman   In this episode of Sync or Swim, Max Steinman , VP of Sales at Rentsync joins Mitch Fanning to discuss best practices for optimizing Net Operating Income (NOI) for new real estate developments.   What we talked about:   The 4 lease up...

Marketing for multifamily has historically been complex, fragmented, and time-consuming. Sometimes it can be challenging to know if your efforts are truly paying off. In fact, it can almost feel like you're swimming upstream... If you can relate, then this podcast is for you! Mitch Fanning, VP Marketing for Rentsync, hosts Sync or Swim, a biweekly podcast brought to you by Rentsync, where listener...