Streamline For Success
Using Data Analysis, Visualization and Cycle Optimization to Achieve Success
By Kori Covrigaru
PlanOmatic recently launched PlanOlabs, a research, data, and consulting hub for PlanOmatic.
For years, the team at PlanOmatic has been working with real estate investors to assist them in improving their overall performance. Our team has access to endless data, process maps, and benchmark reports to support our clients’ efforts in streamlining their operations. With this vast amount of information at its fingertips, PlanOlabs was launched to coach, consult, and support clients in better managing their real estate investment (REI) portfolios.
How can PlanOlabs support your portfolio?
Improve Your Profit with Optimized Real Estate Investing
Let’s begin with a goal.
Is there a particular piece of your process that is falling short? As you think about your REI processes, you might find that an issue always arises during tenant turnover, maintenance projects, or some other point in the process. Through client conversations, we learned that they had many questions that went beyond our photographing and virtual tour assets. They needed to know what to do with their aged inventory, determine who is accountable for tenant turnover, and so much more.
Let’s walk through the PlanOlabs process and how we help our clients work through their unique challenges.
Workflow Optimization
The first step in optimizing your workflow is to identify which piece of the process needs to be improved. With that in mind, determine who is accountable for each step in the process and where handoffs are taking place. Handoffs are usually the place where bottlenecks occur.
Once we understand the process and who is involved, we can then look at how tasks could be centralized or automated to simplify the process.
Property Lifecycle Strategy
When we began building PlanOlabs, the first thing we did was create a property lifecycle map. Regardless of the issue or problem, the solution can be found in the property lifecycle. Within the larger property lifecycle are smaller cycles for acquiring or building the property, renovating the property, marketing the property, managing tenant turnover, and creating an exit strategy. Each of these cycles can be streamlined, which is where the Workflow Workshop comes in.
During a Workflow Workshop, we work with our clients to paint a picture of what their workflow could look like. We identify the parts of the process that can be automated or streamlined to achieve optimal performance.
One goal we often see from our clients is to reduce vacancy time. To accomplish this, they need to pre-lease. In order to pre-lease, professional photography is required ahead of time. Beautiful real estate photography must be completed at the beginning of the REI journey with a space designated to store those photos. When it comes time to pre-lease the property during a tenant turnover, everything is set to go.
Data Analysis & Visualization
PlanOlabs acquires its data from a number of sources, but often, real estate investors already have that information – they just do not know how to use it.
PlanOlabs takes your data, analyzes it, and determines where a process can be adjusted.
As an example, we had a client who had the necessary data but did not know how to use it. They knew they had a challenge with quick turnovers. They always found a large gap between a turnover and a new move-in but could not pinpoint what was causing the issue. Their data provided the answer.
After analyzing the data they provided, we discovered that there was a regional correlation. This issue was only happening in a few markets. So, with these insights, our client was better able to determine the best-performing markets, learn their process, and replicate it in the poor-performing market.
Industry Research
Another way PlanOlabs gathers data is through data mining. Data that is publicly available from competitors, vendors, and other investors is carefully researched to produce high-impact information. With this information, PlanOlabs can provide benchmarks for their clients who want to move up to that next tier in real estate investing. Without benchmarks, you will not know what success looks like.
If you are new to this high tier of real estate investing, you will want to know what other investors are doing so you can be at their level. For example, 51% of institutional investors use professional photography while only 30% of the overarching rental market do so. If you want to keep up with the institutional investor, you will want to do the same.
At PlanOmatic, our goal is to help our clients win. Whether winning is defined as reducing vacancy rates or growing into an institutional investor, our data analysis and visualization, cycle optimization, and industry research will help you achieve those goals.
