ATLANTA—In property management, the ability to drive cost-savings is a competitive differentiator. And eco-friendly strategies are at the fore.

We've been talking with Chris Normandeau, director of FS Energy, the energy management and advisory subsidiary of FirstService Residential, about not leaving cold hard cash on the table. He also shared with us seven ways to cut multifamily operating costs now.

“One of the clearest ways to show board members that there's room for improvement and savings is to compare energy usage and strategies,” Normandeau tells GlobeSt.com. “In South Florida and other warm climates, that means performing an EOA as a benchmark and using it to continuously compare a building's energy usage and costs. In other regions with cold winters—like the Northeast—comparing a building's energy usage and strategies with similar buildings can make a significant impact.”

According to Normandeau, knowing the building down the street is using less electricity while maintaining the same level of amenities and services for residents can help management teams show boards what resource management and conservation goals are realistically possible to attain. Indeed, he explains, since lower energy consumption may well equate to reducing fees for members and having more resources on hand for valuable “lifestyle” improvements – and thus, an overall higher appeal to potential new buyers—the relative evaluation that these comparisons provide can be motivational.

“If it comes down to costs and the board won't budge, another effective way to encourage board participation is to research and champion the many incentive programs available today that make energy retrofits and improvement projects easier and less costly,” Normandeau says. “In addition, shared-savings agreements can sometimes finance retrofits with limited upfront cost. In these instances, a project is financed with the promise that it will be paid for with annual savings over time. Similarly, low-cost loans are available.”

His bottom line: Managers should share these payment options with board members and present projects in terms of their payback potential. In other words, how long until the project is paid back through savings?

ATLANTA—In property management, the ability to drive cost-savings is a competitive differentiator. And eco-friendly strategies are at the fore.

Instant Insights /

A Key Competitive Differentiator in Today's Market

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