Customer Story
Wexford Real Estate Investors, LLC: Optimizing Internal Operations and Investor Relations
Wexford Real Estate Investors, LLC
Established: 1994
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida
In the competitive world of real estate investment, finding efficiencies and staying ahead of the curve is not just a goal but a necessity. That’s especially true when managing a mixed portfolio of 3,000+ units.
Located in West Palm Beach, Florida, Wexford Real Estate Investors, LLC has a wide range of focuses including multifamily, senior housing, commercial, hospitality, strategic land, and structured transactions.
After struggling with previous software providers’ cumbersome tools, hard-to-use portals, and time-consuming manual tasks, Wexford leaders decided to move to AppFolio. Ever since a seamless onboarding experience, the Wexford team has seen significant improvements in both internal efficiencies and investor relations.
Multifamily, Commercial
$1.2 billion
“We were able to impress our investors and look a lot more professional by going with AppFolio Investment Manager.”
Zach Martin
Corporate Controller, Wexford Real Estate Investors, LLC,
Equity Under Management: $1.2 billion
Staying Competitive and Balanced Through Improved Investor Experiences
Wexford is an opportunistic real estate investment and development firm whose bread and butter is multifamily. One key to the success of the firm’s relationship with AppFolio is a shared prioritization and appreciation of technology.
Having an easy-to-use, one-stop shop with AppFolio Investment Manager has enhanced both productivity and work-life balance, freeing up time to invest even more deeply in higher-value tasks and relationships at work and at home. Having the right technology at hand also sets Wexford up for future success and for maintaining a competitive edge, especially as companies look to providers for more advanced solutions, such as customized features and AI utilization.
“In comparison to our previous portal, people now trust that all their information is there because of AppFolio. It is so well organized and visual. It gives us a professional reputation that draws investors in — which is very important — and hopefully, also helps us stand out.”
Zach Martin
Corporate Controller, Wexford Real Estate Investors, LLC
Equity Under Management: $1.2 billion
Leveraging Investment Management Technology for Greater Efficiencies
Managing a diverse portfolio of 3,000+ units and more than $1.2 billion in assets takes considerable time, effort, and resources. When workloads are heavy and hours in the day are limited, every minute matters in a growing — and thriving — company. Being able to eliminate manual work, time-consuming tasks, and repetitive or cumbersome steps is critical for both professional success and personal satisfaction.
The team at Wexford has found that using AppFolio cuts down a significant amount of time and overlap, especially in the areas of reporting, document management, and data management. Post-capital call distributions that used to take several days and extensive back-and-forth now only take about 20 minutes with AppFolio. The team has also found that reporting has become more efficient since AppFolio allows for pulling large amounts of data and then manipulating and creating reports with ease.
In an industry known for always being on, shaving time off critical business tasks can be both gratifying and game-changing for growth.
Zach explains, “We’re able to fill as many roles as we can because we’re saving time in AppFolio and not doing manual tasks. We’re also able to do more value-add activities and things that make us feel super whole … like we’re making a difference, which is rare in accounting. AppFolio helps us have the time to learn about our investing, our investments, take on more, work more, and still get home a little earlier, spend more time with the dog, and all the important things and personal activities.”
Tim Shields, Fund Accountant at Wexford, says, “AppFolio cuts down my workload. Something that might’ve taken 15 hours now takes 30 minutes. That allows me to catch up on my other duties and responsibilities.”
Straightforward Meets Sophisticated: Easy-to-Use Tools for Streamlining Tasks
A software platform is helpful only if it’s easy to use. Part of what saves time and gains the efficiencies mentioned above is the intuitive nature of AppFolio tools and technology. When Wexford’s team members transitioned to AppFolio from their previous provider, they noticed right away how much easier the system was to use. Having intuitive investment management software helps in all areas, but for Wexford, this was especially true in the area of document management. Moving away from manual tasks and one-off emails has been extremely helpful to the business.
For tax tasks in particular, team members have found that AppFolio automatically recognizes either the employer identification number or the Social Security number on documents uploaded to the portal and assigns the correct identification to investments, alleviating the need for dragging and dropping items into multiple places.
Tim shares, “The document management is fantastic. It is so much easier than emailing files to individual people. Instead of a manual email process where we had to track multiple communications, now we have people sign agreements in AppFolio and have all the documents together in one file …. Similarly, when we’re trying to fundraise for deals, we’re now easily able to track commitments, whereas before, it was a manual process across Excel and email with the risk of missing important deal communications. It’s a lot more organized now in one online platform.”
Zach shares, “AppFolio is just so straightforward. Everything is pretty obvious in the user interface; it’s similar to an iPhone in that it’s as easy as it gets. It didn’t take me long to understand how to use the system, which I can’t say for many other softwares I’ve used in my professional career. There wasn’t really any learning curve.”
Improving Investor Satisfaction With a Professional Portal and Savvy Automation
The benefits of efficiency, visualization, and organization reach beyond just the team at Wexford. Tim and Zach confirm that AppFolio has significantly improved their investor experience as well. Keeping investors both happy and informed is invaluable, and investors have expressed positive feedback on the AppFolio Investment Manager portal, tools, and reports.
Tim says, “Our investors really like it. Again, it’s so easy. When they get a capital call notice, there’s a ‘Send Funds’ button. All they have to do is connect their bank account and click a couple of buttons, and the money’s on the way. Back in the day, we had to manually send PDFs to everyone, and then they would have to wire investments over from their bank accounts and verify.”
Zach says, “Now we can tell them when we got their money with just a click of a button as well. I don’t have to send an email, and providing real-time information to our investors is so valuable. We’ve heard feedback like ‘I don’t have to think about my accounts because it’s all reconciled in AppFolio,’ ‘I know how much money I put into each deal,’ ‘I know how much money I’ve gotten back, and I can see that easily,’ ‘I don’t have to email you guys to figure it all out,’ [and] ‘I just have a one-stop shop essentially for all my investment information.’ We’ve gotten really good feedback on it.”
Growing Together: The Value of a Responsive Technology Partner
Even the best software can have room for improvement or updates as an organization grows and needs to expand its technical capabilities. What sets a technology partner apart is the ability to listen and provide solutions for clients, such as Wexford, when opportunities for customization or enhancements arise. Being able to depend on a software provider to listen, care, communicate, and share new features is what makes for a successful, long-lasting partnership.
Zach shares, “I think number one for me with AppFolio is their willingness to grow with us and customize certain things for us. I think that’s super unique. We’ve had two or three calls with programmers, and they listen and work on possible solutions for key opportunities …. AppFolio listens to us. There were certain features that were not customizable previously that they’ve since built out for us and for other customers as well. They’ve improved their product with us, and we’ve grown with them. It has been great.”
How AppFolio Keeps Wexford Competitive in a Fast-Paced Landscape
Improvements to efficiency and day-to-day operations don’t just save time and improve the overall investor and team member experience. Being more efficient also makes a company such as Wexford more competitive. Cutting down on manual tasks with a technology partner such as AppFolio means being able to reallocate time toward speaking with investors, improving investor relations, and keeping a closer pulse on trends and industry opportunities.
By leveraging technological advancements and maximizing the available tools, investment firms can also offer more innovative and personalized services to their clients, better ensuring sustained growth and success in today’s fast-paced landscape and increasingly digital workplaces.
Tim confirms, “AppFolio improves our efficiency — and any improvement in efficiency is going to make you more competitive. We’re able to be better at our jobs. We’re able to give better service to investors, and they’re happier with the product we’re providing. That’s only going to spread by word of mouth, and other investors will see that positivity when we’re bringing them on.”
Two Like-Minded, Technology-Driven Companies
In addition to helping Wexford stay competitive and finding customizable solutions for growth over time, AppFolio also shares the Wexford team’s passion for future-proofing technology. With intentional investments in AI and other technological innovations, both AppFolio and Wexford are committed to making sure that tomorrow’s capabilities will be as efficient and successful as today’s accomplishments.
Zach says, “Any place that gives you the go-ahead to invest in this type of technology — technology that saves you time and allows you to do more and to advance your career — is fantastic. We are very big into AI, investing in our employees, and thinking of ways we can cut down on manual work. I’m really grateful for that.”
Ensuring Long-Term Success With Responsive Support and Innovation
From a seamless onboarding where AppFolio was there every step of the way to today’s improvements to both its operations and investors’ experiences, Wexford Real Estate Investors, LLC has found a true partner with AppFolio.
Having a one-stop shop software platform and a customization-friendly provider has not only transformed Wexford’s internal operations but has also significantly enhanced investor relations. The intuitive and user-friendly nature of AppFolio Investment Manager has enabled Wexford to manage its extensive portfolio with greater ease, elevated professionalism, and deeper employee satisfaction.
Moreover, the responsive support from the AppFolio team — paired with a commitment to ongoing technological advancements and customizations — ensures that Wexford can continuously adapt and thrive in a competitive market for years to come.
“Our leadership is very focused on making us the most efficient, most well-oiled machine possible, so we can beat out our competitors and offer the best service to our investors. AppFolio has definitely been a big help in that respect.”
Tim Shields
Fund Accountant, Wexford Real Estate Investors, LLC
Equity Under Management: $1.2 billion
Learn More on Our Real Estate Blog
Expert advice: how to craft a remarkable customer experience for your investors
By Nat Kunes
AppFolio Investment Management wins APPEALIE SaaS Award for Customer Service
By Nat Kunes