By Jo Valderas

Technology offered by the telecom Providers is constantly changing and multifamily owners/operators want to remain competitive by offering the best service possible to residents at the best price. Existing communities present a unique set of challenges compared to new developments, because existing contracts, providers and wiring is already in place and need to be considered. To add new providers or services, upgrade existing technology, or provide better service to your residents a retrofit can be necessary. That’s where RealtyCom comes in to ensure the process is smooth for the site and manage the Service Provider transition.

RealtyCom’s process is centered around a Scope of Work that we identified at the time of proposal negotiation and contract execution.  As part of the transition preparation our Account Managers create a Transition Planning document to ensure the success of the project – identifying objectives, critical milestones in the timeline, and communication plan with the team (this includes the site team and local construction team from the Service Provider).

There are many types of transitions, below are some examples:

• Additional Provider – a new service provider is brought onto a property that currently does not serve that property
• Bulk Commencement or Termination – converting […]
  

By Cristy Boucher

We’ve all been impacted both personally and professionally by the pandemic, and, like us, you may have been affected by other disasters; wildfires, extended electricity shut-offs, flooding or even hurricanes.  While the circumstances this year have certainly challenged us, we found it also gave us a unique opportunity to formulate new communication plans and operating procedures to weather any storm (quite literally!).

No doubt, you and your teams have adjusted to new norms that allow you to operate effectively even remotely, changed your hiring procedures and updated your response plan. RealtyCom focused first on what was most important to keep us united as a team, and to continue providing the same level of service our clients have come to expect.

Communication | Check in, check up

When our routines are upset, talking not only with your immediate teams, but checking in with colleagues we don’t normally interact with was important to make sure no one felt “left behind.”  Having a committee set up to quickly disseminate updates and working schedules helped us get buy-in from several groups quickly. Many jumped in to help make online Staff meetings work, created new Teams channels to share information, scheduled Zoom happy hours and new […]

By Brian Seiffert and Joseph Rodriguez

Prospective owners may not have a crystal ball to avoid bad investments, but they can surround themselves with industry leaders and professional consultants to give them a good idea of what to expect. Today, it’s more important than ever to conduct a pre-acquisition technology infrastructure survey that runs a figurative fine-tooth comb over a community’s telecom components. It’s simply not enough to identify current providers and their service offering, as those services may not be competitive with advanced services being deployed at competing communities nearby.

A RealtyCom pre-acquisition site survey is conducted prior to a client’s purchase of an existing multi-family property. The survey includes inspection of existing structured cabling (i.e. homeruns to units, wiring between buildings, wiring within common areas, etc.), photo/video documentation of existing space and equipment within telecom closets ( MDF, IDF, AV, back of house, etc), and all conduit/sleeves/pathways. During the structured cabling portion of the survey, our field engineer identifies cable types in use and provides insight on feasibility of potential post wiring solutions. This information is gathered by:

• Identifying how difficult upgrading/placing new cables will be (use of attic space to retrofit IDF to unit homerun wiring)
• Noting whether the […]