Efficient property onboarding is crucial when managing single-family rental (SFR) or build-to-rent (BTR) portfolios. It ensures that your new properties are integrated into your existing property management system.
To add to this pressure, property onboarding also plays a critical role in establishing your relationship with a new client. If your property onboarding process takes too long or has too many bumps in the road, your client may be left questioning if they made the right choice.
A strong property onboarding process also influences your reporting procedures later on. With a smooth and efficient onboarding, you’re all set to have access to the data you need to efficiently report on and optimize the performance of your portfolio.(BTR)
An Overview of Property Onboarding
It’s not breaking news that property onboarding for SFR and BTR portfolios is complex. If you own or manage single-family rental or build-to-rent properties, you know that there are many tasks you must complete.
Because of the complexities of property onboarding, it’s crucial that you and your team have a clear roadmap to follow. Even when you’re using Yardi to onboard properties, you need to have a plan in place.
That’s why we’ve taken the time to outline the very basics of the Yardi property onboarding process for you. Our experts have years of experience onboarding SFR and BTR portfolios using Yardi.
The Basics of Property Onboarding
Check out our steps below to learn the very basics of the property onboarding process, or to get inspiration for reflecting on your own procedures when onboarding new SFR and BTR properties.
1: Load Property ETL's into Voyager
- Different ETL's are used based on your Yardi setup. If you have BTR assets, you may use the multifamily setup and set your properties up as units. If you're using the SF module, you set up Homes.
- Pay close attention to Property Attributes for SFR Yardi configuration because they drive the property lists used for user access and reporting.
- Use the User Defined Fields or Custom Tables to store information not stored on the standard Yardi imports.
2: Complete your System Configuration
- Add homes to bank accounts and have payments configured if applicable.
- Complete Property Interfaces setup.
- Use Functional Scripts and Yardi tools to copy configuration from existing properties.
3: Add Homes to RentCafe
- Copy property configurations to new properties.
- If you're using syndication in RentCafe, set up marketing configurations (i.e. photos, amenities, etc.)
4: Add Residents if Homes are Occupied
- Required data is dependent on your clients.
- Import basic lease and resident information.
- In most cases, you should only import current/notice/eviction/future residents (no past residents).
- Add ledger balances and security deposits for all residents.
- Some resident attachments may be requested, lease copies or ledgers are typical.
5: Maintenance Files (if bringing occupied homes)
- Map maintenance categories.
- Upload all open word orders.
Streamline your Property Onboarding Procedures
Are your property onboarding processes as seamless as you’d like? Or are you looking to improve your efficiency? That’s where our experts step in. Streamline your property onboarding process by leveraging the knowledge and expertise of our team. We help you identify where your process is strong and where you could use improvement. Then, we’ll work with you to decide what actionable steps to take to get you where you want your process to be.
To learn more about our expertise, process improvement opportunities, and other services we provide, please check out more of our blog posts or by following us on LinkedIn.
