Using Technology to Boost Efficiency, Consistency, and Speed across the Property Inspection Process
Boston Capital’s leadership, running one of the largest multifamily housing investment companies in the country, recognized the need to innovate their property inspection and compliance processes. “Timely, detailed reporting on the status of our properties are critical to our investors and our general partners. It’s also vital in demonstrating our compliance with Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, the low-income housing credit,” says Lauren Roy, Boston Capital’s Vice President of Asset Management.
Boston Capital’s previous paper-based inspection process was easily recognized as inefficient and too time consuming. After spending weeks on the road completing property inspections and meeting with management companies, Boston Capital’s inspectors returned to the office and faced the laborious task of translating their hand-written notes and recollections into formal documentation. Once finally complete, email and other basic tools were used to manage findings to resolution. The result was a process that took too long and was difficult to track and manage.
“It’s critical that upon completing a property inspection that we document, escalate, and communicate in writing our findings as quickly as possible,” states Roy. “Due to our outdated process, it was taking my team much too long to complete an inspection—this extended timeline was no longer acceptable and certainly wasn’t meeting our high standard of excellence.”
Deploying an Automated, Mobile-First Strategy to Property Inspections
Boston Capital’s leadership selected CIP Reporting’s Incident Reporting software to power its mobile-first, automated property inspection process. “CIP Reporting was the only solution we could find capable of meeting all of our requirements including streamlining our property management and IRS Section 42 compliance processes and workflows, enabling our inspectors to capture findings real-time using mobile devices, and integrating with our other critical systems,” shared Jennifer Marks, Boston Capital’s Assistant Vice President.
With CIP Reporting, Boston Capital’s Asset Management team gained:
The ability to document findings real-time, onsite using a mobile device
Boston Capital-specific checklists outlining each step required to complete an inspection
Automatic notifications and escalations per Boston Capital’s pre-defined workflows
Ability to review and manage tenant compliance with Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code, the low-income housing credit
Automatically-generated reports and letters outlining findings, escalations, and resolutions
Dashboards showing real-time status and details of all inspections
Integration of collected data into other critical Boston Capital systems
The transition from a paper-based inspection process to CIP Reporting’s Incident Reporting software has enabled Boston Capital to more quickly identify and track deferred property maintenance and further minimize any partner exposure to non-compliance. “With CIP Reporting, we’re able to minimize risk and exposure through the life of the asset,” shares Roy.
With CIP Reporting, Boston Capital’s Asset Management team gained:
Getting communications and reports within hours of inspection
Receiving high-quality, consistent, professional reports
No longer being asked for redundant partner information
“Our ability to effectively manage our own assets has always set us apart from the rest,” states Roy. “Now with the efficiencies we have gained with CIP Reporting, we have bolstered our position as true industry innovators.”
About Boston Capital
Founded in 1974, Boston Capital is a multifamily housing investment company focused on providing equity and debt financing for the development, acquisition and preservation of apartment communities. With more than 1,400 properties and $20 billion in total housing portfolio development cost, Boston Capital has been recognized by groups like the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) as one of the largest owners or syndicators of apartments in the country.