Both potential and current residents of multifamily residential properties often choose a home based on the amenities offered. While pools, dog parks, and package rooms are appealing, security and safety are crucial selling points that are often overlooked by operational management.
The safety and security of a multifamily residence is essential to the peace of mind and overall experiences of tenants and this satisfaction reduces the turnover rate. Traditional security measures are often not effective in preventing unwanted activities from occurring, as they are reactive and not proactive.
VirtuGuard™ remote video monitoring is a proactive and effective security solution used to prevent crime and unwanted behavior from occurring on your multifamily real estate. Continue reading to learn about the security challenges of multifamily residences, the downfalls of traditional security solutions, and how remote video monitoring can increase resident satisfaction and increase your businesses profitability.
Security Challenges in Multifamily Real Estate
Multifamily residential properties can be particularly difficult to secure. Factors like the high volume of residents, parking lots and decks, and common areas pose challenges to site security that traditional methods cannot address on their own.
High Traffic and High Volume
Multifamily residential properties, like an apartment building, can consist of hundreds of residents, and when combined with their guests and onsite staff, the amount of people on the property at a given time can create additional security challenges. The high traffic and high volume of these properties can make it difficult to differentiate between normal behavior and suspicious behavior. In mixed-used properties where commercial real estate is also involved, this problem is exacerbated.
Common Area and Amenity Security
Amenities like onsite gyms, pools, dog parks, meeting rooms, and package rooms/lockers can increase resident satisfaction but also create additional security risks. Whether all the amenities are open 24/7, have specific hours of operation, or require reservations, they often cover large areas and can be difficult to secure through traditional means.
The risk of theft and damage can be both costly to property managers and a nuisance to residents using the common spaces respectfully. Traditional solutions like security guards and access control systems can have certain behaviors slip through the cracks, especially when considering the volume of tenants using the amenities and the large areas that require patrols.
Parking Lots and Garages
Onsite parking lots and garages can pose risks of theft and other crimes. Often dimly lit and empty after dark, parking areas can have people and vehicles coming and going at all hours, making it nearly impossible for human guards to sufficiently monitor along with the rest of the premises.
The Cons of Traditional Security Solutions
Onsite Courtesy Officers
Residential property managers will often hire off-duty police officers to act as courtesy officers on the premises. While they reside on the premises for a reduced rate, their regularly scheduled jobs may prevent them from responding quickly or at all when a situation arises.
Onsite Security Officers
Onsite Security Officers can be effective on their own but have physical limitations when securing a large property. While conducting foot patrols of a multifamily residential property, which often consists of both indoor and outdoor areas, Security Officers are limited in their view of a property to what they can see before them. This can allow criminals or unruly residents to cause trouble by avoiding the area the Security Officer is in.
Access Control Systems
Access control systems can be used to control entrance into gated areas or locked buildings. However, access control systems are often expensive to install, especially in aging properties that are not built for the infrastructure. Additionally, they can be costly and difficult to maintain, often requiring maintenance that can only be sourced from specific companies, resulting in long wait times for service.
Access control systems are not always effective in keeping non-residents or unapproved guests out. For example, if an entry/exit gate is not working properly, there will be nothing to stop non-tenants from entering the premises. When access control systems are operating, there is still a risk that unapproved parties can enter the premises by “tailgating.”
Tailgating, or piggybacking, occurs when unapproved individuals gain access to a restricted area by following an authorized person onto the premises. This can happen at both entrance gates and secured buildings.
Surveillance Cameras
Surveillance cameras, while effective in capturing criminal or unwanted behavior, are only reactive security measures. Security cameras by themselves do not prevent unwanted behavior and cannot empower Security Officers, onsite staff, or local law enforcement to respond to an incident if no one is monitoring the cameras in real time.
Capabilities of Remote Video Monitoring
VirtuGuard™ remote video monitoring is a proactive security solution that can secure your multifamily residential property and give your residents, staff, and visitors peace of mind.
From our Command Centers, headquartered in Athens, Georgia, VirtuGuard™ Agents have access to live video surveillance streams and recorded video from your locations through security cameras and other infrastructure installed on your property. This security infrastructure, combined with AI (Artificial Intelligence) technologies, alerts Agents in our command centers to activity/events as they occur in near real-time. The Command Center Team then reacts accordingly to your site-specific protocols. Additionally, VirtuGuard™ services can replace or most certainly supplement onsite Security Officers by responding to AI-created events or by being proactive and conducting scheduled or random virtual remote video patrols of the property and people on-site.
More effective than onsite Security Officers, more proactive than security cameras, and more efficient than access control systems, VirtuGuard™ can be used alone or in tandem with these other solutions to fully secure multifamily real estate.
No More Blind Spots
VirtuGuard™ works with your management from the design stage and onward to ensure that you are getting the most out of our security solutions. We collaborate with onsite staff and installation companies to place and position surveillance cameras to ensure that there are no blind spots that would allow criminals or unruly tenants to slip through the cracks.
No More Access Control Failures
In the event that your access control systems fail, VirtuGuard™ can virtually monitor and manage your access control to keep the premises secured. Virtual Agents has more control of gates and doors from our remote Command Centers through our Virtual Doorman services.
Additionally, VirtuGuard™ can monitor for and prevent tailgating through video monitoring, which cannot be achieved solely by access control systems.
Two-Way Audio Capabilities
Two-way audio capabilities are a key feature of remote video monitoring that makes it a proactive security solution. When a VirtuGuard™ Agent becomes aware of an incident occurring on the premises, whether through AI alarms or proactive patrols, they can activate a location-specific audio announcement.
For example, if an Agent observes someone attempting to pull on the handles of vehicles in the parking lot, they can issue a custom audio warning to tell the individual that they are being monitored and recorded and that they need to leave the private property if they are not a resident.
Additionally, if VirtuGuard™ observes individuals swimming in the pool after the hours of operation, Agents can instruct the people to vacate the pool, as it is against operational policy for the pool to be used after hours.
While audio announcements are effective in deterring criminal or unwanted behavior before it escalates, there are instances where it is best to not alert people of concern that they are being monitored and recorded. For example, if VirtuGuard™ observes an individual in the process of breaking into a vehicle or attempting to steal a catalytic converter, Agents will closely monitor the actions and movements while dispatching onsite Security Officers or local law enforcement to the area.
Assist Onsite Guards and Local Police
VirtuGuard™ collaborates with onsite Security Officers, property staff, and local law enforcement to resolve issues that require a physical presence. If an incident cannot be resolved through audio warnings, VirtuGuard™ can alert onsite Security Officers to settle the problem in person.
If your residential property does not utilize onsite Security Officers, VirtuGuard™ can immediately alert and dispatch local law enforcement. Similarly, if an incident is deemed to be too unsafe for a Security Officer to respond to alone, VirtuGuard™ will prioritize calling the local police.
VirtuGuard™ continues to monitor the incident and the individuals involved and relay critical information to the responding officers. Agents can provide detailed descriptions of the individuals involved, relevant vehicles, and the exact location of the event, better preparing the responding officers. This communication allows for quick and effective response and also promotes de-escalation.
Increase Profitability of Multifamily Real Estate
Investing in a quality security solution can appear to be costly, especially if there is no existing infrastructure like surveillance cameras, two-way speakers, and access control systems. However, a real estate investment in a service that brings residents and staff more peace of mind reduces the resident turnover rate and increases the overall profitability of your multifamily residential property.
Increase Resident Satisfaction
Security is an important factor considered by prospective residents and current residents who are given the opportunity to resign their lease agreement. In multifamily residential communities, criminal or unwanted activity like loitering, cleanliness, theft, drug use, harassment, property damage, and more can alienate potential and current residents, which will ultimately increase turnover rates and the costs associated with it.
Reduce Turnover Rates
According to RentPrep, the average apartment turnover cost is around $1,750 per month but differs depending on factors like property costs, location, and the necessary maintenance. Common costs that affect the average cost of residential turnover include the rent loss during vacancy, marketing costs to find new residents, labor costs of screening and approving resident applications, maintenance needs, paint and carpet refreshments, cleaning, and even utilities.
Resident satisfaction, or lack of satisfaction, with the safety and security of your multifamily residential property directly impacts turnover rates and costs. By investing in a quality security solution, your business saves money associated with turnover.
Related Topic: HOW MUCH DOES REMOTE VIDEO MONITORING COST?
Affordability and Efficiency of VirtuGuard™ Remote Video Monitoring
VirtuGuard™ remote video monitoring is only a fraction of the cost of traditional physical Security Officers. VirtuGuard™ can operate 24/7/365 and does not experience the same human or physical limitations of physical security solutions, like environmental conditions.
Security is essential to resident satisfaction and the overall safety of a multifamily residential property. To learn more about the cost of VirtuGuard™ and how it can increase the satisfaction of your staff and residents, complete the contact form below.