Security companies develop new products to meet multifamily needs.

Apartment security has been a concern for owners, potential residents, insurers and anxious parents for decades. But in a nation where security has recently become Job No. 1, enhanced multifamily housing safety has moved into the realm of amenities, universally more desired, no doubt, than the sauna or the weight room. Greater security decreases resident initiated, crime-related litigation, which is an added incentive for property owners to invest in protective products and services.

Fortunately, the past few years have seen the rapid development of high-tech and affordable security systems. Reducing and eliminating crime in apartments is a complicated issue that requires a multipronged approach, and the security industry has risen to the challenge with a variety of offerings.

Whether the goal for a multifamily property is safety, crime prevention, peace of mind, streamlined record-keeping--or even home entertainment--management can rest easy. The security industry is staying up nights worrying about the needs.

Key Control

Keeping track of keys to individual residences, and limiting their access, has been a difficult task that is subject to human error, errant master keys, resident non-compliance and the cost of frequently changing locks. Computerized key control systems have reduced key control to a simple yet highly effective process.

These computerized systems do more than just speed up move-in and move-out. They make it possible for keys to be marked simply with a bar code, rather than the unit number, which helps eliminate the anxiety surrounding a resident's lost key. A database keeps track of key sign-out time, unit number, reason--completing work orders, for example--and time returned. This archive provides property owners and managers with a written history for use in case of a crime or litigation.

Beyond key control, however, the computerized systems automatically produce reports that previously took managers many hours to compile each month. The systems offer a variety of standard reports and some versions can be programmed to produce customized reports.

"A resident's apartment home is his or her castle," said HandyTrac CEO John "Lee" Lie-Nielsen. "Neither resident nor manager really wants keys to the castle available to just anyone." Lie-Nielsen is well-versed in both property" management and computerized aids for keeping track of apartment data. As CEO of Johnstown Properties, the nation's largest management company, in the early 1980s, Lie-Nielsen came up with the first computerized rent roll system, which has become known as "The [Manager's] Little Buddy."

HandyTrac's Generation 9 key control system is marketed as "the affordable system," costing as little as $10 per unit to install and $1 per unit annual warranty fee. Additional database/report services are available for a relatively low monthly rate. "HandyTrac's affordable price tag means more properties are able to provide this service," said Lie Nielsen, adding that this amenity "makes their units more attractive to prospective residents."

Generation 9's space-saving, wall-mounted unit consists of a key cabinet and a Datalog Microcomputer. An authorized individual can instantly access the keys by swiping an ID badge and entering a PIN, which opens the electronic lock on the 18-gauge steel cabinet.

Within the cabinet two coded, tagged keys are stored on a hook for each unit. This two-key setup allows managers to have an active set of keys to disburse as well as a complete original set. When a key is returned, the HandyTrac system randomly assigns a hook within the cabinet to prevent a would-be offender from memorizing a specific key's physical location.

Data input is ongoing, with the manager entering floe pertinent information when the resident takes occupancy.. For new clients, some security companies will input data on current residents.

Generation 9 gives authorized personnel a choice of standard reports that includes all activities (such as "preventive maintenance" or "management inspection") for a particular period, sorted by employee; all keys out at the time at which the report is run; or all key transactions for a given period sorted by activity (for example, all apartments that received preventive maintenance in the previous month).

Other data, such as what information source attracted the resident to the property, can help owners and managers analyze the effectiveness of and thus better target their advertising. HandyTrac recently added a feature to the Generation 9 system that makes it possible for owners and other authorized personnel to access their own information on a special Web site. The company does "end of period" reports that are available online, but the property managers/ owners print only as needed.

Another provider of computerized key control systems for multifamily properties is KeyTrak, which has been in business for 17 years. "We offer more types of products than other firms in the industry," said KeyTrak Sales Manager Richard Battle, including a wide variety of software tools for property managers.

KeyTrak's key control system relies increasingly on the use of fingerprint identification for access to the keys. "Fingerprint ID eliminates the sharing of ID cards and PIN numbers," said Battle.

Unlike honor-based key control systems that rely on the correct input of data by management, KeyTrak's system "passively collects" data. A semiconductor chip embedded in the key's tag automatically records when it is removed and by whom. Owners of many properties can manage their properties as well as their managers by accessing the data via a variety of industry-specific reports. And "You can't fudge the data," said Battle, citing the recommendation of the Chicago Police Department after a KeyTrak system proved who had the key at the time a crime was committed in a particular residence. Battle also stressed the fact that every employee who installs or services a KeyTrak system works directly for the company--KeyTrak has no independent distributors.

Both HandyTrac and KeyTrak promise that they will remain on the cutting edge of security and service. "We're on Generation 9 and still refining our product," Lie-Nielsen said. Battle pointed out that KeyTrak's future will see a larger presence in the world security industry, having just acquired a firm out of Australia with a product known as Key Safe.

Shopping for a key control system is like shopping for a car--it's important to determine the priorities and compare the benefits (a process that isn't always straightforward) of each system vs. its respective costs.

Individual in-Unit Alarms

While management enjoys most of the benefits of key control systems, residents are likely to perceive individual in-residence alarms as a greater amenity. Once found only in single-family, upscale homes, alarms can offer the same peace of mind to multifamily residents. This sense of security for residents can be translated into greater leasing rates, reduced turnover and higher rents for owners and managers.

Inexpensive "local" alarms are designed to make a lot of noise, calling attention to the residence that is being broached. But these noisy alarms can be a nuisance, as well as a source of anxiety, to other residents. Furthermore, in high-density communities, identifying the unit from which the sound emanates is difficult and serves to delay emergency response. Frequent false alarms can result in residents' simply ignoring all warnings.

Monitored alarms, however, offer the benefit of silently summoning the appropriate community service personnel without unduly upsetting or annoying neighboring residents or getting them involved in potentially dangerous situations. An associated benefit of monitored alarm systems is the deterrence that their presence (advertised liberally throughout the property with stickers and signage) provides.

Network Multifamily is the industry leader in multifamily-specific alarm systems, with offices in nine states. The company has installed alarms in approximately 500,000 apartment homes and provides monitored alarm service for more than 350,000 of these units in 43 states.

Network Multifamily President Steve Williams is especially proud of the contract his firm was recently awarded by the U.S. military to provide alarm services for more than 12,000 residences. "These are people who are extremely aware of security, where the spouse is often away from home for months," he said. "Before we got the contract, they put us through a litany of tests to make sure we could do what we claimed."

Twenty years ago, when the multifamily alarm industry was starting up, systems were installed mainly in A properties. Now, said Williams, "There has really been a pulldown in the market, with many B and some C properties being wired as well."

Property owners pay the cost of installing and monitoring the alarm systems, which has come down to about $11 per month per unit for installation and monitoring. Passing that expense on to the resident, said Williams, "would turn a marketing tool into a disincentive by making the resident feel 'nickel-and-dimed.'" Network Multifamily wires and alarms communities as small as 50 units and as large as 1,200 units, but the average size is about 200. The firm will only wire properties with onsite managers.

Network Multifamily's newest wireless monitored alarm system is known as the Freedom 3000. A unique feature of this system is the physical separation of the control panel and the Dialog Telephone Interface Module (DTIM). The control panel emits radio waves that activate the DTIM to report a problem. Even if the control panel is damaged during break in, the DTIM will be able to report the event via phone line. This separation also makes for convenience of panel location for the resident and easy installation of the DTIM for the owner.

Managers appreciate the 3000's "apartment access key," a device with built-in software that can be easily programmed to deactivate the alarms of individual residences temporarily so that staff can enter to complete work orders or inspection without knowing the resident's personal access code. When the work is finished and the staff leave, the alarm returns to its prior status or can be reactivated with the key.

The software allows the apartment manager to develop a daily schedule of work orders and program the key with access to only the residences to be entered that day and for a predetermined period of time. After the day's work orders are finished, management can access an event history of which residence was entered at what time, which employee entered the residence and how long he or she stayed.

Network Multifamily provides 24-hour monitoring from its multifamily-exclusive central monitoring station, personalized staff training by company representatives and training materials for residents.

Williams pointed out that Network Multifamily wires both new and existing buildings at approximately the same cost to the owner. Of the growth in the number of new properties the company is wiring and monitoring, Williams said it reflects the trend where what is defined as an amenity is more and more "what I have between these four walls." However, he also commented, that "our service is changing from a perceived amenity into a definite necessity."

In terms of name recognition, Brinks is synonymous with security--as in armored cars. Multifamily is a new market for the security company, but they bring knowledge and technology from single-family that has easily translated into systems for rental apartments. In addition to offering around the clock monitoring for its multifamily alarm systems, the company boasts customer care service 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Brinks has recently roiled out products that include its new 3000 series alarm panel, a system that updates its own soft ware and technology through an internal modem. The company is charging full speed ahead into the future, offering forward thinking property owners the chance to prewire for future computer-related amenities during system installation, including whole-apartment stereo, surround sound for home theaters, multiple phone- or data-line capability, and even remote control of the residence's lighting and temperature.

NSC Members Who Provide Security Services 

Brinks Home Security 800/399-7388

HandyTrac Systems 941/795-4760

KeyTrak Inc. 979/595-2724

Network Multifamily 800/626-9096

Saflok. 949/722-5400

Janice Myers is a freelance writer based in Albuquerque, N.M.