Customer Story: CAP Real Estate

Cincy Area Properties (CAP) Real Estate is a third-party management and apartment investment brokerage company located in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area. The organization manages between 1,200 and 1,300 units, buys and sells apartment buildings, and conducts third-party management for clients. Operating since 2010, CAP Real Estate’s mission is to provide quality housing that’s economical for tenants and a good, sound investment for owners.

A Unique Challenge for CAP Real Estate

“Since we’re a third-party, scattered site management company, it can be very challenging because we’re not at our properties every day,” says Jesse Brewer, Owner/Founder of CAP Real Estate. With scattered site management, there is a lot of trust and team building involved to ensure everyone is doing their job. Jesse tends to wear many hats in the company. “Sometimes I’m an accountant, lawyer, property manager, and guidance counselor. With staff and tenants, I have a hands-on approach because there’s always something to do.” CAP Real Estate’s Director of Operations, Michelle Bryant, agrees. “I help train and set up Rent Manager for new employees, troubleshoot any issues we may have, answer owner and resident questions—I do a little bit of everything.”

Customizable Solutions Within Rent Manager

Everyone at CAP Real Estate uses Rent Manager property management software. “It’s the only software we’ve ever used,” explains Jesse. “Rent Manager is so customizable; we’re ingrained with it.” The organization regularly customizes property, unit, and tenant accounts with User Defined Fields.

Further, Jesse and his team built many processes using the customization available in Rent Manager. “The fact that we can customize our owner statement packages and the reports we want to see is very helpful.” And since Jesse started as a property owner, he has a unique perspective on what his customers want.

Mobile App Solutions

Both the rmResident and rmAppSuite Pro mobile apps are instrumental in helping CAP Real Estate manage communities. “rmAppSuite Pro allows us to streamline and track our work order process, conduct inspections, and receive resolutions in a timely manner,” explains Michelle. The company is even creating videos for their maintenance techs on how to use rmAppSuite Pro for daily tasks. “rmResident gives our tenants the ability to easily submit service issues, pay rent online, and review lease information all on their mobile device—helping us to improve the overall resident experience.”

Leasing, Support, and More

Rent Manager has also increased the efficiency of CAP Real Estate’s leasing process. “We no longer provide paper leases and applications—we do it all online,” says Michelle. “Prospects can go to our website and apply. Once our leasing agents see their application, they are able to walk through the entire process with them.”

Having an entire team available to provide expert guidance and best practices for using the software has proven to be invaluable for the organization. “Our Customer Success team at Rent Manager is fantastic,” shares Michelle. “I can’t say enough positive things about them. Being able to call our Customer Success Specialists and the Product Support team is priceless. Everyone is super friendly and can always answer our questions.” Jesse agrees. “We have become good friends with our representatives—they have been a real godsend to us. Every person goes above and beyond.”

Staff at CAP Real Estate recently started using Rent Manager University (RMU) for training and it’s been a great experience so far. “There’s not a single thing in Rent Manager that doesn’t have a class in RMU,” explains Michelle. “I love the training tools. RMU is a huge reason that I know how to use the software so well.”

Additionally, the company employs many of the PropTech solutions delivered by the Integrations Program. According to Jesse, these solutions have made their lives “a lot easier.” “PetScreening is a really big resource for us, and we recently switched over to one of the newer integrations, Boom. If it weren’t for Rent Manager, we wouldn’t have found that company—we are very happy with them.”

Why Choose Rent Manager?

“For someone looking for property management software, I’d say do your due diligence and choose what works for you,” says Jesse. “Since Rent Manager is so customizable, you can envision what you want and a way to make it happen. Life without the software would be challenging. Rent Manager is an essential tool in our toolbelt and necessary to do our job. It would be like starting over from scratch.”

“The joke around the office is that Rent Manager is my boyfriend,” shares Michelle. “I don’t know how I would act without it. Rent Manager makes my job so much easier and if we didn’t have it, it would be like working with our hands tied behind our backs.”

The Future of CAP Real Estate

CAP Real Estate is expanding their services to offer back-office support solutions to property management companies across the United States. Services include organizing processes, closing out owner statements, handling reconciliations, paying bills, and much more. As the company advances, they are confident that Rent Manager will continue to support their growth.