As Baby Boomers downsize and Millennials urbanize, people are renting multifamily properties more than ever, and developers are scrambling to keep up. These renters aren’t looking for any multifamily space, they want the best, and that demands differentiating your property. One way is to leverage your security system as a marketable amenity. Bisnow partner Kastle Systems has given us four reasons why security should be your multifamily property’s top priority.

1) Reduce Liability

With an HD video surveillance system that features an easily searchable and accessible cloud database, you can provide footage to the authorities and protect yourself from litigation. In a slip-and-fall claim, for example, you can review footage to see if the incident occurred and know all the details. Allowing for live look-ins from anywhere on a property, from any device, the video surveillance systems of today can be the dividing line between winning or losing a court case. Some systems include proactive notifications sent directly to your smartphone so you can be alerted and respond in real time.

2) Competitive Advantage

With so many properties hitting the market, tenants are looking for amenities that differentiate a multifamily space. Common areas, gyms and happy hours may impress residents, but a high-tech safety net tops the list. Kastle says security is one of the leading criteria for home selection in the multifamily market. People are more willing to live in properties that can provide them convenience and peace of mind with hands-free access, fobs instead of keys, and other protective capabilities.

3) Cutting Costs

In addition to saving you potential legal fees, communities can augment (or even eliminate) their security guards with video and other security systems. You can charge higher rents and be more competitive with better security.

4) Security Is A Massive Undertaking

In multifamily properties, the sheer volume and turnover of tenants makes keeping track of metal keys difficult, and with the increasing prevalence of shared spaces such as fitness rooms, you need to make sure you have a security system that can provide secure access for all of your property’s amenities.

No longer contained to package rooms or common areas, electronic access systems can now be implemented at the unit level, eliminating metal keys and giving you utmost confidence everything's secure. Today, credentials are delivered via apps on smartphones — which 80% of the workforce owns — giving tenants mobile access, package receipt alerts, visitor alerts and more.

To make sure you’re getting the best service, you need a security partner who can not only install these products, but also can make sure they’re maintained and administered. This new tech is useless without strategic, careful and seamless management. So heavily weigh who you’re partnering with when setting up your next multifamily security system.

To learn more about our Bisnow partner, click here.