As a residential property manager or landlord, you know that high tenant turnover rates can be a significant challenge. Not only does it take time and effort to fill vacant units, but it also costs you and your company money in advertising, maintenance, and repairs. Plus, high turnover rates can be a red flag to potential tenants, making it harder to attract new renters.
One solution to this problem is VirtuGuard™ remote video monitoring. VirtuGuard™ connects to the security cameras, systems, and other infrastructure at your residential rental properties. A Virtual Agent can then view recorded video and live-video streams at our Command Centers headquartered in Athens, Georgia.
This technology allows us to keep an eye on your properties 24/7, from anywhere in the world. By monitoring your buildings remotely, you can detect and address issues before they become major problems, ensuring your tenants feel safe and secure. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of remote video monitoring and how it can help you say goodbye to high resident turnover rates for good.
The Importance of Tenant Retention
Tenant retention is critical to the success of any rental property. Retaining tenants not only reduces turnover costs, but it also leads to a more stable and predictable cash flow. Satisfied residents are more likely to renew their leases, recommend your property to others, and even pay higher rent prices. On the other hand, high turnover rates indicate that something is wrong with your property or management style. Tenants may be leaving due to safety concerns, maintenance issues, or poor communication. By addressing these concerns and keeping your residents happy, you can improve your retention rates and increase your bottom line. By increasing security measures and becoming aware of and addressing issues on the rental property before they escalate, your existing tenants can be confident in their residence.
What is Remote Video Monitoring?
VirtuGuard™ remote video monitoring is a technology that allows Virtual Agents to remotely view live or recorded video footage of your residential properties. This technology uses cameras and sensors to detect any suspicious activity, such as unauthorized entry, fire, water damage, and much more. Additionally, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) and advanced video analytics can be added or layered over security cameras and devices to send alarms directly to our Command Centers.
The footage is then transmitted to a cloud-based platform, where it is reviewed and verified by a Virtual Agent. After an event has been verified, Virtual Agents then follow site-specific protocols to respond and resolve an incident. Our team works with your property manager or property owner to develop site-specific protocols, so that we can respond to events at your residential rental properties in an appropriate, brand friendly manner. Below are a few examples of services offered by VirtuGuard™.
Virtual Guard Tours
Similar to a patrol conducted by a physical security guard, a virtual patrol utilizes technology to tour an entire rental property in a fraction of the time it would take traditional security guards. A physical Security Officer’s view of a property is limited to what they can see in front of them. With VirtuGuard™, a Virtual Agent can tour an entire site in minutes, which allows them to intervene in events quickly and even stop incidents in progress.
Alarm Response
When AI or advanced video analytics detect abnormal or prohibited activity occurring on your residential property, a live Virtual Agent receives the video footage in near-real time to verify whether the alert is based on a threat or not. Additionally, other systems, like intrusion detection systems, electric strike doors, broken glass detectors, flood/fire monitors, and more can have alerts sent to the Command Center for an Agent to review and respond to.
Two-Way Audio
We recommend that each of our clients install two-way audio speakers throughout their rental properties. This allows our Virtual Agents to intervene instantly in an event on your property, whether it is a trespassing event, vandalism or theft in-progress, a resident failing to clean up after their pet in a common area, and much more. When an event is detected, our Agents can deliver brand-friendly voice announcements directed towards specific locations or individuals.
Onsite Security & Local Law Enforcement Collaboration
If an event at your residential property cannot be resolved through two-way audio announcements, VirtuGuard™ can collaborate with onsite Security Officers and local law enforcement to resolve an incident. A Virtual Agent will first verify an alarm or a threat and can then communicate details about an event and the individuals involved to Security Officers and Law Enforcement Officers, relieving the risk of responding to event blindly. By relaying the specific location and details of an event, responding parties can be better prepared to respond effectively, efficiently, and safely.
Benefits of Remote Video Monitoring for Residential Property Management
Remote video monitoring offers several benefits to residential property managers. Firstly, VirtuGuard™ can detect and respond to emergencies quickly. Our Virtual Agents can spot any suspicious activities, such as vandalism or trespassing, and alert security personnel or law enforcement right away. This also helps to deter criminal activity, as potential offenders are less likely to target your property if they know it’s being monitored.
Secondly, remote video monitoring helps to reduce liability by providing evidence in case of accidents or incidents. You can use the footage to prove that you took reasonable measures to ensure the safety of your residents and property. Additionally, VirtuGuard™ can take over the security responsibility of property managers. Let our Virtual Agents observe, protect, and manage the safety of your residential rental properties 24/7/365 to reduce crime and vandalism and increase renter satisfaction and retention. VirtuGuard™ can also ensure that residents and employees are following site compliance rules and procedures at all times.
Lastly, remote video monitoring has the ability to improve communication between property managers and tenants. Residents feel more secure knowing that their safety is being monitored, and they can report any concerns to property managers right away.
In addition to all of these benefits for residential property management companies, remote video monitoring can be an additional amenity to use in marketing materials and efforts. When you make in an investment in your property’s security, VirtuGuard™ can pay for itself. In some cases, you may even gain insurance benefits for increasing the security measures.
How Remote Video Monitoring Reduces Tenant Turnover Rates
Remote video monitoring can help to reduce tenant turnover rates in several ways. Firstly, it helps to improve safety and security. Residents are more likely to stay in a property where they feel safe and secure, and remote video monitoring can help to deter criminal activity and respond quickly to emergencies.
Secondly, remote video monitoring helps to improve maintenance and repairs. By monitoring your properties remotely, VirtuGuard™ can detect maintenance issues and report them to the property managers to address before they become major problems. This helps to prevent inconveniences for your renters and shows them that you care about their living conditions.
Lastly, remote video monitoring helps to improve communication between property managers and your rental property tenants. VirtuGuard™ can provide many resources for both your residents and employees, including creating a unique phone number for each property. Property managers can advertise a “See Something, Say Something” tip line for their residents. Residents can report any concerns or issues to VirtuGuard™. When someone calls the tip line to report suspicious activity or security concerns, we will report this information to property managers to be quickly resolved. This builds confidence in your residents that the property is going above and beyond to create an environment that prioritizes safety and comfort.
Case Studies of Successful Remote Video Monitoring Implementation
BOS Security has vast experience providing physical guard and VirtuGuard™ solutions to residential properties. Below are a few examples of issues that have been addressed and resolved with the help of remote video monitoring.
Example: Pet-Friendly Residential Property Management
At a luxury pet-friendly apartment complex, VirtuGuard™ Agents were conducting a regular Virtual Patrol when an Agent noticed a puddle in the hallway of the sixth floor. Suspicious of the puddle, the Virtual Agent reviewed the video footage, finding that a resident had allowed his dog to use the bathroom in the hallway twice. In addition to this, the Agent discovered that the resident had left a bag of trash outside his door for several hours, despite there being a trash room on the same floor.
VirtuGuard™ was able to identify the exact unit the resident belonged to. Agents put together a detailed report with photo evidence of the incidents and the resident’s photo and unit number. With this report, property managers were able to fine the resident for the cost of the clean-up and issued a lease violation for failing to follow pet and trash disposal policies.
By identifying the resident responsible for the mess and charging him for clean-up costs, property managers were able to resolve the situation and take action to prevent it from happening again, promoting a clean and pleasant environment for all residents.
Example: Proactive Monitoring Catches Trespasser in Athens Apartment Complex
VirtuGuard™ provides remote video monitoring services for a luxury student apartment complex near the University of Georgia. Virtual Agents were conducting a Virtual Patrol when they observed an unfamiliar man entering an elevator around 4 o’clock in the morning. Agents noted that the man looked confused and was possibly homeless. They followed his movements up to the sixth floor, where the man began wandering the hallways.
VirtuGuard™ Agents called the local police as well as the complex’s after-hours answering service and spoke to one of the off-duty residential police officers to alert him of the incident in-progress. A Virtual Agent stayed on the phone call with the residential police officer, keeping him updated on the trespasser’s location and behavior as he began his search. Additional police officers arrived, and Virtual Agents directed them to the trespasser’s location.
They approached the man and questioned him on why he was in the complex. Soon after, the police officers led the man onto the elevator and out of the building. The residential officer told VirtuGuard™ that the man was barred from the property for trespassing and that he would be arrested if he came back on the property. Agents reviewed the recorded video footage to find that the door to the elevator room was either unlocked or malfunctioning, reported this to the after-hours line, and continued to monitor the entrance closely to prevent other trespassers from entering the building.
To view more examples of VirtuGuard™ for residential properties, visit our blog or contact us to request more case studies and other information.
Remote Video Monitoring vs. Traditional Security Measures
Remote video monitoring is a more advanced and effective security measure compared to traditional methods such as physical guards or alarms. Guards can only monitor one area at a time and may miss suspicious activity, while alarms can be triggered by false positives or fail to detect certain types of threats. VirtuGuard™ remote video monitoring, on the other hand, can monitor multiple areas at once and can detect a wide range of threats, including unauthorized entry, fire, water damage, and much more. Additionally, remote video monitoring provides evidence in case of accidents or incidents, which traditional security measures cannot provide.
VirtuGuard™ for Residential Property Management
Reducing tenant turnover rates is critical to the success of any rental property. Remote video monitoring is an innovative technology that can help you achieve this goal by improving safety and security, detecting maintenance issues, and improving communication with residents. By implementing remote video monitoring, you can reduce costs, increase renter satisfaction, and attract potential customers to your property. Say goodbye to high resident turnover rates with VirtuGuard™ remote video monitoring and see the benefits for yourself.
Whether you are a property manager of single family homes, townhouses, student apartments, or multifamily rental properties, BOS Security can customize a solution for you. Submit the contact form below to speak with one of our security experts about how VirtuGuard™ can increase tenant retention and satisfaction today.