ZVN Properties
A Network of Consummate Professionals
By Carole VanSickle Ellis
When Deanna Alfredo, senior vice president of the ZVN Properties Inc.’s Single-Family Rental (SFR) division, thinks about how the company is evolving with the times and the industry, she can sum up one of the biggest changes with one word: email. The ubiquitous electronic mail communications upon which most of the world has relied for several decades when it comes to communicating quickly as easily about both professional and personal matters is, Alfredo notes, transitioning off centerstage in the SFR space, and it is doing so much more rapidly than many vendors, contractors, and even investors realize.
ZVN, however, is ahead of the curve thanks to the company’s dedication to clear and effective communication with both clients and contractors in order to, as the company itself describes it, “provide high-quality service and accurate, on-time results [while] minimizing customer costs.”
The advent of the service portal on the client side of the equation has not come without complications on the service side of SFR, Alfredo noted. Today, nearly every SFR provider has its own unique, customized portal designed with the needs of that company’s specific residents and investors in mind. As a result, contractors and other real estate-related service providers may flounder as they navigate a vast array of automated and AI-powered systems. This tough terrain, Alfredo said, is where ZVN really shines.
“Nearly all of our clients have technology and portals in place today that require us to go into their systems [vs. the client using a ZVN-developed option] to submit results, photos, and invoices,” Alfredo explained. “That is a very different landscape from even just a few years ago, when most parties in the industry were still relying on email. It has made things very difficult for a lot of service providers, but for us, that is just part of the growth and maturation process of the industry.”
Bryan Lysikowski, CEO and co-founder of ZVN, agreed, saying ZVN’s ability to navigate client portals and platforms rather than requiring clients to enter into a standardized ZVN option is one of the things that makes the company stand out in the field.
“If you want to survive and thrive in today’s marketplace, you must be heavily technology-enabled,” Lysikowski said. “We are managing a network of professionals all leveraging elements including artificial intelligence, cost estimation tools, and many other technologies, so our clients can rely on us to communicate the status of any asset and also to react quickly to changes in the property.”
Unafraid & Unintimidated by Technology in Any Industry
ZVN combines cutting-edge technology from multiple industries and sectors in order to gain the best reaction times and results possible for their clients, even if that means diving into industries that might appear to have little to do with real estate on the surface. For example, when temperatures skyrocketed in Texas earlier this year, ZVN leveraged meteorological data and forecasting information in order to prepare for action despite the events occurring over a holiday weekend.
“We leverage technology that tells us what regions are likely to be hit by storms or weather events, including extreme temperatures,” Alfredo explained. “We can see these things at a ZIP code level and be prepared to respond.”
In the case of extremely high temperatures in Texas, ZVN reached out to their vendor management team, which Alfredo described as “robust,” and challenged the team to contact all ZVN AC vendors in the potentially affected areas in order to assemble a list of at least three names per service region that would be willing to operate on a 24-hour rotation of availability over the long weekend. When units failed under the pressure of the sky-high temperatures, ZVN clients were able to provide fast, effective maintenance to residents who desperately needed access to cooler temperatures.
“We went into that weekend knowing that if things went wrong (and they did for many residents), our partnerships with clients, vendors, and residents would effectively get us all through that,” Alfredo said. “We went in with a ‘crystal ball,’ but it took planning and communication to make sure we were all on the same page.”
Lysikowski added each client file has a comprehensive asset list indicating where properties are located and what types of events might affect them. “When things like tornadoes happen, we get a ZIP-code level indicator that we can run through a portfolio to let us know what areas are likely affected by the event. This enables us to provide a fast and accurate response. Such a response might include emergency inspections for properties in the affected ZIP codes to check on residents or visual checks on vacant properties,” he said.
“A lot of these potential issues are particularly hard on the elderly and families with children, so we make it a policy to always treat these issues with a sense of urgency,” Alfredo concluded.
A History of Evolution & Customized Customer Service
When Lysikowski founded ZVN just over 20 years ago, he did so in response to the “wild west” element of asset management preceding and during the housing crisis of the mid-2000s. ZVN started out in default services, striving to create order from the chaos that ensued as high volumes of properties plummeted into REO status and, eventually, institutional ownership.
“It has been a very interesting journey over the last 20 years,” Lysikowski said. “No matter what area of real estate field services you are in — fixing properties, maintaining them, cutting the grass, etc. — there has been a parallel growth of the SFR industry and that service genre as all the volume hit [the sector].”
He described a burgeoning need for services like ZVN, which considers itself a “one-stop-shop” for real estate services, and the emerging demand for centralized, professional, technology-savvy companies to manage services on a national level.
“When we entered the industry, there was not a lot of regulation surrounding what we did,” he noted. “Fast-forward 18 years, and you had all of these giant landlords buying pools of properties, and there was not a whole lot of oversight there, either. In order to survive and serve their residents effectively, both groups needed providers like us to scale.”
ZVN distinguishes itself from other service providers in the field in multiple ways; one of the most evident is the company’s determination to incorporate client practices and platforms into services provided. Instead of requiring clients to integrate into a ZVN platform in order to standardize and track repairs, maintenance, and other services, ZVN dedicates time and personnel to learning the intricacies of each client’s platform.
“They are all a little bit different; it is very diverse,” Alfredo said. “We are a boutique shop even though we do business in all 50 states as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and that means even though we are tech-enabled, we are not going to cram a client down a rabbit hole of the way we do things.”
Lysikowski added, “We listen, and we build processes and workflows that meet our clients’ needs and expectations. That is a differentiator for us. We give you best practices, and we can handle anything from acquisition repairs and inspections to bidding to resident-occupied and emergency repairs.”
Becoming a One-Stop Resource: National Services on a Local Level
ZVN is an unusual specimen in an industry of “national” operators: The company operates in 50 states and three territories, yet routinely describes itself as a “boutique” operation. Alfredo noted that this specialized element gives ZVN a huge leg up over other service providers when it comes to handling a particularly difficult element of SFR services: resident-occupied repairs.
“Resident-occupied repairs are some of the most difficult types of repairs to handle in this industry,” Alfredo explained. “They are hard to do because they tend to take place after-hours while people are upset. At ZVN, we thrive under those conditions, and we do those repairs as a team.”
Alfredo said the key to successful resident-occupied repairs is ZVN’s ability to centralize communications so that the company’s service providers, which operate regularly in 42 markets, are easily managed via one central point of contact.
“Our clients get savings on the back end with our in-house team because they need fewer people to manage their portfolios, and we thrive on those sometimes-complicated, resident-occupied repairs because we get to them fast and communicate a lot with the resident as well as the owner of the asset,” she said.
Alfredo added many clients use ZVN as a jumping-off point when they believe they are ready to scale up their operations because the company not only handles existing portfolios, but also the acquisitions process and associated renovations. “It can be hard for SFR services and businesses to create positive cash flow, so our dedication to creating efficiencies has helped a lot of our clients grow,” she said. “We access industry-leading cost-estimation tools and unbiased resources that drill down to ZIP code levels and collect data so we know how much things will cost, market rates, and how long they will take. We are very transparent, and we do not have to rely on a single guy in a truck to tell us timelines or predict expenses.”
Lysikowski added, “We also operate a 24/7/365 call center that can, if the client wants, manage the entire process of maintenance and dispatch. This helps our clients avoid that top pitfall for lease non-renewal, a poor maintenance experience. We make data-driven decisions, and that is why our customers and clients trust what we do.”
Making Growth & Change Familiar Partners & Friends
Founded just before the initial stages of one of the biggest real estate upheaval events in U.S. history, cultivated during an unprecedented and global pandemic event, and planted firmly in the 21st century when it comes to communications and tools in its arsenal today, ZVN keeps a close eye on how the industry is evolving and changing. This, Lysiskowski says, will be the key to assisting current and future clients as the SFR industry continues to metamorphose in the coming years. One thing, however, remains the same, he said.
“It is important to understand the real estate market, in general, is very cyclical,” Lysikowski explained. “The early part of our careers took place during one cycle, and we are currently in a cycle with a better, stronger economy. Eventually, what is up will come down. The thing that never changes in real estate is that it will always eventually change. ZVN makes a practice of being prepared for those changes and making sure our clients are, also.”
Lysikowski noted that some changes are underway already, such as declining volumes of homeownership in the past few years. “People who are more than capable of owning whatever home they want are choosing the freedom of renting,” he said. “That has been a pivot.”
These residents are often different to work with than traditional renting residents because they have different expectations about maintenance, repairs, and improvements in properties they have voluntarily elected to rent instead of buy.
“You have to be ready for change, or you won’t be in this industry for long,” Lysikowski concluded.
“There are going to be more groups advocating for [short-term] tenants’ rights,” Lysikowski predicted. There is going to be a shift toward increased empathy and compassion for people in all short-term rentals by the most successful operators, while those who lack in that area will not stay in the business,” he warned.
When it comes to short-term rentals, Lysikowski sees changes ahead also. “Regulatory changes are already in effect, and more are coming,” he said. “The ability to react to resident issues in STRs will only increase in importance as other factors continue to intensify competition in this sector.”
In short-term rentals, acceptable timelines are often compacted due to the temporary nature of a resident’s stay. However, the long-term effects of failing to meet customer expectations can be exponentially extended in the event that the property owner or manager fails to “read the room” when it comes to the severity of a problem.
“ZVN stays on pulse with understanding residents’ needs in all scenarios,” Alfredo said. “We are that empathetic person on the phone that lets the client and the resident know they have someone to go to, whether it is the client knowing we already have secured the most cost-effective product and are moving through the maintenance process as quickly as possible or the resident knowing their problem is well on the way to being solved. It’s a lot of work, but it is exciting to see the process and system work, and that is what ZVN is all about.”
SIDEBAR 1
A Sister Company Helping to Scale
Granite Creek Cabinetry
In addition to providing valuable, centralized services in the SFR space, ZVN has a sister company dedicated to the aesthetic side of personal and investment properties. In 2004, around the same time he started ZVN, Bryan Lysikowski also founded Granite Creek Cabinetry as a sister company to the service provider.
“We wanted an alternative product option for anyone renovating a home, so we ship to every ZIP code and are one of the affordable alternatives out there for anyone needing cabinets or assistance with kitchen or bathroom design,” Lysikowski explained. “We consider the relationship with Granite Creek Cabinetry an ancillary service upgrade.”
Granite Creek cabinet styles include:
» Kitchen cabinets
» Bathroom cabinets and vanities
» Garage cabinets and storage solutions
The company also provides complimentary, three-dimensional design renderings and offers design advice on its blog and via professional design services. The company prioritizes quality, boasting a full array of solid wood cabinets that do not contain particle board.
Learn more about Granite Creek Cabinetry at GraniteCreekCabinetry.com.
SIDEBAR 2
12 Service Verticals on One National Framework
ZVN offers clients 12 distinct service verticals, and these verticals may be combined to create custom service packages in one or more markets. Those verticals are:
» Construction, including multifamily, portfolio, insurance claims and cabinets
» Rental maintenance & repair
» Facilities maintenance
» Inspections
» Pre- and post-sale maintenance
» Repairs
» Hazard-claim services
» Clean solutions
» Dark property management
In order to offer these services on a national level, ZVN has spent the past two decades building a fully vetted network of small and minority-owned businesses across the country. Each ZVN market boasts vetted crews that help maintain positive resident interactions in the event of maintenance emergencies and a “boots-on-the-ground” mentality.
Ultimately, this infrastructure results in an ability to alleviate volume-related stressors in the event of a far-reaching maintenance emergency and keep clients forewarned in the event of a spike in the cost of materials or services.
“Being part of our network is being dedicated to providing high-quality services and accurate information quickly and efficiently,” said co-founder and CEO Bryan Lysikowski.
Learn more at ZVNProperties.com.
