Leveraging Technology
to Prepare for the Growth Ahead

A Bit of Backstory

Founded in 1993, Sundance Property Management, LLC has expanded to include properties in four states including Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and South Carolina. They manage a residential portfolio that includes single and multifamily residential, and student housing. Michelle Flores has been with Sundance since 2007, working as the vice president of finance at their corporate office in Cincinnati, OH.

Interview with Michelle

We sat down with Michelle to learn how they leverage AppFolio Property Manager PLUS to fuel continued growth by expanding into new regions and strive to manage more than 6,000 units by year-end.

Why did you make the switch to AppFolio?

In 2013, we acquired a large group of multifamily properties and had outgrown our previous software. It was very cumbersome, was not cloud-based and there was no way to quickly run reports like we have today with AppFolio Property Manager PLUS. Every process was manual and required me to work three weekends a month to get everything accomplished. We made a decision in early 2015 to look for new software and researched every big player in the market. We were looking for the holy grail, something that could keep accounting and operations happy, and ultimately chose AppFolio for our business.

Without AppFolio Property Manager PLUS, we would've had to cap our growth and say no to new business, because we couldn't manage it. AppFolio gives us every tool we need to automate our manual processes so that we can stay focused on the growth and success of our business.

What processes are you streamlining with AppFolio?

If I look across our business processes, streamlining the leasing flow has been very impactful. We have greatly benefited from the ease of posting vacancies online and managing the application process with AppFolio. Before, we managed everything with paper applications. Now that everything is online, our operations run smoothly. The managers are able to post the vacancies with a click of a button to any of our websites, get the prospect to apply online and the whole move-in process can be completed with efficiency. The faster you can get renters approved and in the door, the better for the bottom line. It's a streamlined process from beginning to end.

How are you leveraging AppFolio's Performance Insights?

I can easily compare the performance of my properties, as well as compare actuals to budget with AppFolio's Performance Insights. Seeing the comparison is helpful, I can quickly identify which properties are out of budget and know where my teams are underperforming. Running reports on a dollar per unit basis is very helpful, I can easily compare flat dollar amounts between properties, without spending time calculating the difference in total units at each property. Now I can quickly compare data on my properties by metro, state or region — for example, comparing properties on the East or West side of Cincinnati is just a few clicks away.

How does technology drive new customer acquisition for Sundance?

In our market, many owners and management companies are stuck in the old school ways of property management. For us, having modern, innovative technology is a differentiator that gives us a competitive edge. AppFolio helps us to make everything easier for our customers and managers, through each process, all the way to our maintenance team. Everyone benefits from AppFolio. It's a win-win for our renters, the owners, and our company.

Can you tell us about your experience with AppFolio's training and support?

To ramp new staff, the Help Center is the first place we have employees start in order to learn more about the software and how to use it — they start by watching every training video. With our staff fully trained, there are very few issues that arise that we can't solve. I don't have to reach out to our support representative regularly, but when an issue does come up, it's nice to know that we have support — 99% of the time, our support requests are resolved same day or early the next day!

How is AppFolio a partner with you and your business?

I am very impressed by AppFolio's consistency and diligence in developing excellent software. I get giggly each time I see a notification pop up for a new feature or functionality — the continued development has been a very positive experience for our company. I have shared feedback with their product development team and appreciate that AppFolio takes the time to learn from us, the customers, and that their teams have a true desire to improve. In my experience, there is no other property management software with such consistent improvement as AppFolio.

How are you increasing revenue and growth at Sundance?

In the multifamily business, every dollar counts! We are careful with our costs, and AppFolio provides us great value for our money. AppFolio Property Manager PLUS, more than anything, has allowed us to run an efficient business from top to bottom. When I think about where we were before, the errors that our property managers and onsite staff were making, to where we are now, our business has changed with AppFolio. Today our managers are entirely independent, and the executive team is free to explore new revenue streams for Sundance. That's a win-win for us.