“Technology moves fast, and while it is challenging to keep up with new features and new functionality, it is useful to have those at the ready.”
Brett McAnally, Prism Realty Management
Flat-Based Pricing as a Differentiator
“We saw a great opportunity to offer homeowner associations flat-rate pricing,” he said. Typically, a neighborhood gets different pricing each month and doesn’t know what to expect. At least in his market, most companies will charge a management fee and charge for a variety of things, such as envelopes or labor override. “I’ve seen instances where associations might pay a monthly management fee of $1000 and then pay another $1000 per month in ancillary fees.”
By offering flat-rate pricing, neighborhoods can anticipate what the monthly fees will be and can budget better for it, Brett said. “It’s very transparent and successful in winning a lot of business. We may not be the cheapest, but HOAs know what they’re paying for,” he said.
Transparency Built Trust with Customers
Whether it’s for their HOAs or themselves, Prism values transparency. The flat-based pricing provides transparency, so HOAs can budget and make better decisions on spending. It alleviates a lot of confusion over billing, which creates trust, and enhances the relationship between the management company and HOAs, Brett said.
Communicating goes a long way in creating satisfied HOAs and in attracting new clients. Brett said that quickly responding to questions and giving HOAs visibility to access information easily demonstrates professionalism.
That approach is working: Prism initially averaged about ten new properties a year, and now averages about 12 per year.
Technology Is Driver for Flexibility and Change
It’s not uncommon for new property management companies to initially use tools like Excel, QuickBooks, or even pen and paper–at least until those methods are outgrown.
But for Brett, that wasn’t even a consideration. “Twenty plus years of technology experience made me realize the value of automation and getting things cloud-based and off paper,” he said.
