Walking into a grocery store, the first thing you are inundated with is the brightly labelled, expertly stacked, obnoxiously full endcap blaring in big, bold writing the “$5.99 special” of the week. You can’t drive past a car lot without big, bold “Special Financing, Only $15,000” signs galore or stroll through a mall without every window proclaiming their latest and greatest under “$10 sale”. While these tactics may work great for cartons of soda pop, inexpensive cars and seasonal sweaters, at Quarem we tend to think the software that manages your CRE portfolio should be a little less gimmicky.
1. Cookie-Cutter Pricing for Cookie-Cutter Software
Some companies are able to provide you with up-front, bundled pricing on their CRE portfolio as part of a one-size-fits-all mentality. Whether your portfolio is large or small, is in need of lease abstracts only or detailed analytics on occupancy, you pay one flat price. The problem is, no two CRE portfolios are the same, and the software they use to manage their properties shouldn’t be either.
2. All the Options You Don’t Want, None That You Really Need
When it comes to bunded software packages, you will often end up paying for options that you don’t need, or want, bogging down your users with pointless module’s and extra features that still hit your pocket book and bottom line. These “extras” can make a piece of tech much less intuitive for new and existing users and will certainly create frustration every time someone says “oh, we don’t use that feature.”
3. Want Customization? No Can Do!
One price fits all property management software packages also don’t allow for customization to your investment’s particular needs. Want an extra reporting option that breaks down your properties by region? Sorry, can’t do that. Or worse yet, you’ll end up paying extra for the add-on.
4. You Get What You Pay For
Speaking of extra fees, when using price as your primary consideration in a property management partner you can often get caught up in the attractiveness of a number, only to find out the real costs in the end. Hidden fees for implementation and integration with current systems are often hidden deep within the fine print in these types of deals. The price you see advertised online is often the bare bones minimum for a piece of software out of the box. When it comes to getting your data up and running into your new fangled tech toy, well, that will cost you extra, if the service is even available.
5. What About Support?
About that customer service: bundled management services are touted at “one low price” but rarely provide for detailed customer support. If you have a question, problem or need training on how to best use and implement your new software you will typically be limited to an hour or two of inexpert set-up advice or will have to pay extra to purchase support bundles over and over again over the life of your software. Sensing a theme regarding those pesky hidden fees yet?
Real Pricing means Real Analysis
An experienced CRE software company such as Quarem knows that it’s impossible to price a product that will be designed and implemented around the needs of your particular portfolio of properties. These types of property management partners will put time and effort into listening to your needs, researching your business, and then creating a proposal and budget based on all of your individualized factors.
Admittedly, this approach means that you can’t walk into a store, or peruse a quick Google search, and download a piece of tech over your lunch hour. And that’s okay with us. Our technology solutions are designed to expand and grow with your over years, not to be repurchased every year like a piece of boxed software. At Quarem we aim to be your long-term partner in your CRE empire.
