Redstone Residential initially relied on manual office system to manage their student housing buildings. Eventually, they realized teh only way to keep their sanity and create a growth plan would be to implement a fully-integrated property management software. AppFolio Property Manager was there to help, read this case study to hear their story.

1. Property Manager
“The interface is
incredibly easy to
use and took very
little time to figure
out. It’s exactly what
we needed.”
Grant Collard, Partner,
Redstone Residential
Redstone Residential Leverages AppFolio
Property Manager To Effectively Handle Student
Housing At Four Universities.
Summary
Redstone Residential, Inc. focuses on purpose-built student housing at four
Utah universities: Brigham Young University (BYU), Utah Valley University
(UVU), Utah State University (USU) and Snow College. Founded in 1991,
the Redstone Residential team features both executives with decades of
experience in student housing, and younger staff who fully utilize technology
to fulfill current student housing needs. This provides the company with a
unique strength in its market, as many traditional property management
companies lack student housing experience, are slow to integrate technology,
and may not relate to the students they serve. Currently Redstone
Residential handles more than 6,600 beds, including a significant portion
of the off-campus housing at BYU and Utah Valley University.
Key Benefits
Web Based
Easy Vacancy Posting
Prospect Tracking
Online Applications
Professional Websites
Built-in Screening
Collect Rent Online
Accurate Accounting
Insurance
AppFolio Contact
Sales
866.648.1536
Sales@AppFolio.com
AppFolio, Inc.
50 Castilian Dr.
Goleta, CA 93117
www.AppFolio.com
Challenge
Redstone Residential initially relied on manual
office systems to manage their buildings.
“Early on in the days of Redstone, we were
still using paper ledgers and DOS-based
accounting systems, with people who
transcribed the ledgers into the computer
system,” said partner Grant Collard. “This
led to a lot of human error, and was very
labor intensive and expensive. Eventually, we
realized the only way to keep our sanity and
create a growth plan for ourselves would be
by implementing a fully-integrated property
management software.”
Unfortunately the platform didn’t deliver the
benefits Redstone Residential hoped for.
Despite the system being heralded as “the
industry standard,” the staff considered it
cumbersome. It was found that the platform
required extensive and ongoing training, which
posed a problem in terms of the company’s
student employees.
“We’re a young company. Most of our
employees are under thirty. That’s been our
competitive edge – being in touch with the
Generation Y market,” explained Collard.
“So we tend to spend a lot of time and
resources on training. This means we needed
a system that was both intuitive and easy to
understand—not one that virtually required our
own internal tech support line to keep it going.”
© 2013 AppFolio, Inc. - Redstone Residential Case Study
Results
Redstone Residential credits
AppFolio Property Manager
as being a critical part of its
success and says the platform
will assist with its expansion
plans into Nevada and Idaho
later this year.
“The software has
transformed our system.”
Satisfaction
Greater resident satisfaction
with a simple, easy to
understand interface
Accuracy
Accurate accounting and
record management
Flexibility
Convenience and flexibility
to accommodate varied unit
arrangements
Efficiency
Cost savings through
enhanced productivity and
streamlined workflows
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2. The previous software proved costly in other ways as well. “Our previous
platform was not easy to use, but it was easy to break,” Collard recalled. “The
databases became corrupted quite easily from a misstep made by a front-line
employee, and were very expensive.”
It was obvious that Redstone Residential needed a new property
management software solution – one that was intuitive, reliable and tailored
to the needs of student renters. After the search led to AppFolio Property
Manager, Redstone Residential made the switch in early 2013.
Solution: AppFolio Property Manager
“The software has
transformed our
system. I’m happy
to finally see a
technology company
get involved and
create innovation
in the space, rather
than the same tired
software repackaged
as SaaS.”
Grant Collard, Partner,
Redstone Residential
AppFolio Property Manager delivered immediate rewards for Redstone
Residential. “The interface is incredibly easy to use and took very little time to
figure out,” said Collard. “It’s exactly what we needed.”
Collard has also found that AppFolio Property Manager is unique in being able
to accommodate the company’s range of properties. “I really like its flexibility,”
he said. “With a lot of other software, pricing is per property. It isn’t with
AppFolio Property Manager. We often buy small properties – like town homes
and rental properties that don’t always fit into a large building model – and
AppFolio’s pricing model accommodates that. You pay by the unit, so you can
add as many users as you’d like.”
The company has also noticed consistent and vocal appreciation from its
student residents. “We get a lot of compliments on how easy it is to pay rent,
use the interface and make maintenance requests,” said Collard. “Another
nice thing with AppFolio is that there’s no convenience fee with ACH payments
and transfers. Most others charge that back to the resident, so eliminating
those charges is yet one more benefit we can offer our residents.”
Collard said the platform features have increased efficiency and automated
the workflow for the office, saving time for employees in every role. “AppFolio
Property Manager has been such a major part of what we’ve done – both for
internal processes and on the student end,” said Collard. “The software has
transformed our system.”
“Rent week used to mean a line of students out the door holding rent checks.
But now that they can make payments online, our team can concentrate on
leasing and not lose a week every month to manually process payments,”
said Collard. “We can also upload files and notes quickly on residents, scan
invoices and run our end of month accounting reports.”
Most recently, the company has decided to explore AppFolio Property
Manager’s newest feature, RentMatch, which compares other local rental
prices to make sure property managers are getting the most competitive
price for their units. “It’s just another way we can save time and be even more
efficient,” said Collard.
Learn how AppFolio can help your business at Appfolio.com.
© 2013 AppFolio, Inc. - Redstone Residential Case Study
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