Author: veritasinv

How technology can serve as an amenity

BY KALI PERSALL

Institutional Real Estate Inc.

As larger garden-style and mid-rise operators search for the next “it” amenity in new construction, small-scale apartment assets of less than 50 units, which comprise the majority of apartment properties in the United States, are often limited by space or resources constraints.

For all the attention given to resident preferences, there is relatively little addressing how technology can be leveraged as a resident-facing amenity and a tool to achieve scale, among other benefits. A recent paper by Veritas Investments, an owner/operator of smaller, classically styled buildings in irreplaceable locations across the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, explains how smaller assets can compete by utilizing proptech, which places innovation at the center of the resident experience and enables operational scale.

To read the full report, click here.

Veritas Investments, one of San Francisco’s leading managers of apartment homes, issued the following statement about the end of misguided efforts by a local tenant group to stop residents from applying for rent relief:

“We at Veritas are heartened to see the end of the campaign orchestrated by the Housing Rights Committee and its proxy tenants organization to keep those in need from applying for rent relief. We have been working diligently to collaborate individually with our residents to help those who have been adversely affected by the pandemic economically to remain safely housed. A few holdouts, misled by the Housing Rights Committee, had rebuffed our multiple attempts at outreach. The voluntary end to their debt strike will finally allow us to work with all our residents to receive the rent relief to which they are entitled under the state law.” said Jeff Jerden, COO of Veritas Investments.

“We hope this marks the end of the Housing Rights Committee’s efforts to undermine the housing stability of renters in this city in pursuit of its policy goals,” Jerden continued. “The misleading information coming out of the HRC served only to further confuse renters trying to navigate the complex rent relief process offered by the state at a time when their focus should have been to help those most in need.”

Veritas has implemented industry-leading pandemic rent relief efforts and has made every effort to help residents understand and apply for the relief available to them. Veritas’ most recent resident-first policy was a Dec. 14 announcement of a “Backstop Plan” that affords Veritas residents an unprecedented safety-net should they qualify for and apply for relief.

It is important to state that these initiatives are the product of Veritas’ continued efforts to meet the needs of its residents as a result of the pandemic. HRC and its proxy organizations have consistently tried to falsely claim credit for our programs and quite frankly, we know why — because no other property manager in the state has enacted such wide-reaching resident initiatives.

Key aspects of the Dec. 14 “Backstop Plan”:

• Veritas will forgive the uncovered portion of a resident’s back-rent who has applied to and qualifies for State relief funds but may later find that such funds become depleted, up to the maximum 18-month benefit.
• For residents who have a pending or approved application for State rental assistance, the company will continue to hold off on imposing annual rent increases.

As demonstrated repeatedly throughout this unprecedented pandemic, Veritas remains committed to finding a resolution individually with each resident to keep them safely housed.