As we approach year 3 of the pandemic, we’ve come to realize that there are still a lot of adjustments being made to the way we approach everything. Adaptability has become one of the strongest skills to have; figuring out what works and what doesn’t (and finding a solution to the things that don’t) became a survival skill. One common solution? Software.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve already spent approximately 2 years in this pandemic. A lot has changed since January 2020.
If you’re like the rest of the world (and we’re betting you are) you’ve probably been remote at one point and have noticed that there are new challenges with managing debt out of the office that forced commercial real estate professionals to reevaluate their workflows and processes.
Does your team struggle with data accessibility?
It’s not just hard to manage your debt portfolio when you don’t have direct access to your information, it’s impossible.
Without access, you can’t make proper decisions for your portfolio.
For one client, a simple input error while working remotely didn't just lead to a bad decision; it ended up wasting multiple hours on a lawsuit and costing them millions.
They were seeking to run a defeasance penalty using an online calculator. But the analyst running the calculation didn’t have access to the loan docs and made certain assumptions about the defeasance provisions. Assumptions that ended up being wrong.
When a payoff was requested from the lender, the sale fell through because the Seller underestimated the defeasance by #1.1mm! All because the analyst didn’t have direct access to loan details.
Read more here: Why You Need Centralization
The need for data aggregation and accessibility was emphasized by the pandemic and remote work.
If using the right software and processes, they should have everything they need regardless of physical location. Users have all of their information on a single platform — all you need is an account and Wi-Fi!
Is it harder to catch mistakes now that you're not in the office?
A major perk to working in the office is supervision; you can regularly check in on colleagues without sending 1,000+ slacks and emails with updates/questions every two minutes. This makes it easier to catch mistakes!
Every field that is manually inputted is subject to error, every time it is inputted.
A broker once asked us to double check the yield maintenance for a loan they had originated four years prior, before signing a PSA with their client.
The estimate received and the one we calculated had a difference of $600k!
This difference was almost entirely attributed to an input error to an online prepayment calculator. For "Amortization Months", they put in 120 months when it was supposed to be 360. If they hadn't double checked their yield maintenance number, they would have ended up with $600k less in their pockets.
Read the full story here: Why You Need Automation.
By automating these processes with software, you're diminishing the room for error.
Has communication and collaboration been difficult while working from home?
When everybody had to be remote, communication and collaborative features became more important than ever.
Let’s face it, context gets lost when communicating via text, slack, or email. It’s harder to work together when you can’t turn around and ask a teammate for clarification or see a project’s progress in real time.
Technology can also make sure nothing slips through the cracks and that the right people will be notified of certain alerts and reminders when they need to be.
For one team, our notification feature helped save them from defaulting on a loan.
Like most firms, they didn't have a centralized process to manage deadlines and when things got busy, they missed a deadline — it happens — and they had to beg for an extension from their lender twice. With automated notifications, they were able to set a reminder for these deadlines and assign tasks to the appropriate team member to take action or to follow up.
Learn more about the situation here.
But our collaborative platform doesn't only increase communication within your internal team; you also have the ability to invite guests outside of your firm, such as your broker, to your deals. You can even invite them to edit loan details!
Clients have full control over who gets what permissions so you can collaborate with others and not be concerned over security — people see only what you want them to.
Gain an edge!
Technology in the commercial real estate world has been slowly picking up speed, but when the pandemic came along, its presence increased quickly due to strong demand.
The pandemic has certainly created unique challenges for the real estate industry. It is important to recognize that while the pandemic served as an accelerant, it did not change the trends that were already occurring.
- Jim Berry, Vice Chairman and U.S. Real Estate Leader at Deloitte
Software is used as a common solution to challenges in the commercial real estate industry. From data aggregation and availability to data analysis and strategic insights, commercial real estate professionals have a lot of pain points that can be addressed and new pain points are always popping up.
Our debt management software solves issues by providing holistic access of the entire portfolio to the entire team, ready to be analyzed. It provides live updates to ensure all information is current and accurate — you stay ahead of problems and are able to get insights.
Simply put, software makes your life easier.
Discover how we can help you pandemic proof your portfolio! Learn more.
Don't forget to stay in the loop for more industry insights.