Facilitating easier, faster leasing transactions
GREEN Real Estate is in the process of building a best in class organization that supports the entrepreneurship, growth and development of the company. One of the pillars of such an organization is continuous insight in data availability of business information. In this context creating more seamless leasing processes was a goal for GREEN Real Estate, a real estate investor and developer with numerous projects in urban areas of the Netherlands.
Being able to access current transaction activity, company communication and approval workflows from an electric car outside the property? Well, that’s just a cool bonus.
We recently caught up with Steven van Ginkel, Manager of Finance and Control for GREEN Real Estate, who says that the use of mobile-friendly Yardi solutions for the company has been a game-changer.
The GREEN team works continuously to improve the combination of living, working, mobility and shopping in the Netherlands. They have used the Yardi platform since April 2015. Yardi was selected to improve data accuracy and transparency, simplify workflows, provide executive oversight and access to information from any online device.
Earning and approving new deals
Yardi Deal Manager, the most dynamic leasing solution on the market, enables asset managers and their internal and external brokers to reduce unit turnover, improve communication, work with prospects and provide managers and executives with all the real-time insight they need. It also makes it very easy to submit available lease options to potential new tenants.
“Proposals to prospective tenants are literally one mouse click. This creates time to improve quality to the offer and communication between leads and the asset managers,” van Ginkel said. Changes are also faster when made within the system. We save between 30 to 60 minutes each time we make any contractual change when using Deal Manager.
Additionally, communications within the company structure about new business are also easier.
“Yardi provides an ideal platform for communication between team members. Information is easily accessible on mobile platforms, and finance information is now combined with business information. That’s a win-win situation. Workflows within Yardi have helped us streamline our business processes,” van Ginkel said. For example, that means that GREEN asset managers can get all the most updated information they need from the Yardi Elevate and Deal Manager platforms, no matter where they are working that day – even if it is from the road. Van Ginkel has been known to check on a deal status from the touchscreen display of his car, for example.
“A big advantage is that the current contracts are visible to the asset manager even when they are not behind their laptop. They can view the contract information in real-time (accounts receivables, ageing details, legal obligations) and have accurate details from any mobile device,” he continued. That helps answer questions from prospects, current tenants and managers. Information on invoicing, accounts receivables, NER, interactive floorplans, ageing details, customer contacts and more are all at one’s fingertips.
Use of Yardi has also allowed GREEN Real Estate to easily greenlight new deals.
“Leases are now approved in Deal Manager. Previously, this was a process outside tech systems,” van Ginkel explained. “The data which is updated during the deal process is immediately available for review and used directly for a lease proposal, approval and contract in Voyager. This is much easier and more efficient for the asset manager and is also traceable and delivers transparency for management. All the workflows and tasks are measurable in the system as well and makes any hold-ups of processes visible”
Improving partner relationships
GREEN works with entrepreneurs, municipalities and other real estate owners, as well as property end users. That means it’s helpful to have all relevant asset information, continuously updated, in a single, centralized database.
“Before we implemented Deal Manager, the deal with all its facets such as service costs, abatements and market rent analysis remained reasonably separated from asset management. Each asset manager relied on his own notes. Centralising the administration created more insight,” van Ginkel said.
Of course, 2020 and the global pandemic produced unique challenges both for conducting safe transactions and intra-company communication. GREEN found that it was even more important than ever to have easy and trackable communication, a centralized, cloud-based source for storing deal information, and equal transparency on communications with clients and tenants. Thankfully, Yardi provided all of the above.
“Yardi brings the most important data together, which saves time and creates direct insight to the situation. This improves the quality of the decision-making and speeds up the deal process,” van Ginkel said. While this year has been tough, it has been easier to survive due to efficient and modern technology.
“The coronavirus period has not helped (improve asset performance). But by simply knowing how the assets perform, Deal Manager has already brought a fundamental improvement to our business,” van Ginkel said.
Yardi also helps GREEN Real Estate improve relationships with stakeholders.
“To achieve continues and long-lasting relationships you have to be reliable and professional. This starts at the core activities in the Yardi database. Additionally, we work on activities like finance, development and asset management. To work from one solution helps us to be a professional partner in each field.”
Learn more about how Yardi can help improve efficiency, communication and leasing approvals.