LaSalle Group First in Multifamily Industry to
Send Wireless Work Order Using RealPage’s OneSite® Facilities
CARROLLTON, TEXAS, April 15, 2002 – RealPage,
Inc., a leading provider of property management products and services to
the multifamily industry, today announced that the LaSalle Group became
the first property management company to send a wireless work order using
OneSite®
Facilities.
Using an Ericsson R289LX with AT&T service,
LaSalle Group’s Maple Knoll Townhomes in Maplewood, Minn. completed the
first wireless work order.
“With OneSite Facilities, our staff is now able to
view a list of work orders, select one, enter the time and complete the
work order, all without touching a desktop computer,” said Jeff Siler,
system administrator for LaSalle. “We are very excited about this new
technology because it allows us to respond faster to the needs of our
residents.”
OneSite Facilities is one of nine product centers
from RealPage’s web-based property management system. It allows property
managers to process and track work orders so they can capture and analyze
maintenance activities accurately, then act to lower costs and improve
efficiency. It also allows them to streamline maintenance services,
resulting in faster responses to resident needs.
“The system we have created is the foundation for
our wireless technology component,” said Dean Schmidt, chief operating
officer of RealPage. RealPage acquired ChannelTECH, Inc., a leading
multifamily wireless provider, in November 2000. The acquisition combined
the web technology initiatives under development at RealPage with
ChannelTECH’s pioneering success in facility management applications for
handheld computing devices.
“For many property management companies,
maintenance costs are difficult to manage and control,” said Schmidt.
“Frequently, facility maintenance information is not tracked at all, or
little of it filters up the decision-making ladder. RealPage recognizes
the strategic value of maintenance management. OneSite Facilities helps
property owners and managers realize significant competitive advantages by
enhancing the management of maintenance services.”
The OneSite Facilities wireless work orders option
enables any OneSite user to manage their work using any common cell phone
equipped with an Internet browser. Properties can select the service
provider that offers the best wireless service in the local area. The
wireless work orders tool also can be used on a RIM Blackberry pager.
“Good maintenance is critical to attracting new
residents and retaining existing residents,” said Schmidt.
“Dissatisfaction with maintenance often leads to negative referrals, and
reports show that 65 percent of residents will not renew their leases if
they are dissatisfied with the level of maintenance services offered. When
residents have visible evidence that the apartment community is attentive
to their needs, then resident turnover is minimized.” In the next
iteration of OneSite Facilities, residents will be able to make
maintenance requests online.
OneSite Facilities is currently in general
availability along with OneSite Screening, OneSite Property, OneSite
Leasing & Rents and OneSite Learning. Other product centers will be
released in the coming months. Together, the nine product centers form a
comprehensive suite of e-business, browser-based tools that fully automate
important property management functions.
More than 20,000 apartment communities across the
United States use RealPage’s products and services, which handle the
entire management process for both affordable and conventional properties,
including leasing, applicant screening, market intelligence, accounting,
budgeting, property management, facilities management, marketing and
compliance reporting.
RealPage is headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, a
suburb of Dallas, with offices in Williston, Vermont. It is the
combination of four industry leaders: Rent Roll, Inc., the largest
developer of multifamily property management software; RealPage
Communications, Inc., the premier designer of custom web sites for the
real estate industry; M/PF Research, Inc., the leader in apartment market
research; and ChannelTECH, Inc., a leading provider of facility management
applications for handheld wireless computing devices.