Addressing deferred payments for MRI Residential Management

This article was written by John Seaton, Enterprise Sales Executive from our partner, RealFoundations.

In response to shelter-in-place orders and the rise in unemployment caused by COVID-19, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) published a series of recommended principles that residential owners and property managers should follow to help financially impacted residents retain their housing.

As companies pause on evictions, cease rent increases and implement payment deferment programs for residents, they must also consider the impacts on financial reporting as well as the evolving requirements for maintaining accurate and detailed records that municipal, state and federal law may require for compliance purposes. Developing a strategy that includes consistent general ledger accounting, information management and portfolio reporting is crucial.

Recognizing the significance of the situation, RealFoundations, a long-term MRI Certified Partner, quickly engaged with MRI and other industry vendors to assist our mutual clients in deploying rent collection strategies that reduce disruption and enable quality oversight by management.

The deferred payment agreements feature developed by MRI Software undoubtedly assists property managers in meeting their residents’ needs and accounting for future repayments on individual resident ledgers. Recording each individual repayment plan is critical when dealing with this fluid situation, but additional components need to be addressed when designing and deploying a full-scale solution, including but not limited to:

• Deployment of MRI’s deferred payment agreements feature
• Configuration of deferred rent and repayment charge codes
• General ledger account mapping for consistent financial reporting
• Modification of existing operating policies and procedures
• Documentation and training of new required processes
• Report development for repayment projections, automated resident correspondence, etc.
• Implementation of new controls for information management
• Management reporting and process governance

At RealFoundations, we have a clear understanding of the deferred payment agreements functionality, as well as MRI’s Commercial Management solution for tenants, and have thoroughly tested various scenarios and reporting within our own MRI system. Our team has unparalleled experience helping even the most complex real estate organizations forge ahead in uncertain times. Our Management Consulting and Managed Service practitioners are prepared to help guide you through the decision making and planning process to account for a variety of resident scenarios while considering the major concerns of management and identifying areas of risk. Leveraging our Modern Digital Workplace, all solutions can be delivered over distance, using the collaborative tools of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Visit the RealFoundations website to learn more.