By Jay Pedde, True Residential/Veritas Investments

Q: You’ve spent roughly 15 years in property management. What has changed the most?

Jay Pedde: The business was always demanding, but it used to be more forgiving. Today, regulation is heavier, labor is more expensive, residents expect faster communication, and owners expect more data, more transparency, and more accountability. There is less room for error, and no room for sloppy execution.

In scattered-site multifamily, that change is even more pronounced.

Q: Why is managing scattered-site multifamily different from managing a traditional apartment portfolio?

Jay Pedde: Scattered-site operations demand a different level of discipline. You are managing a large number of small assets across multiple neighborhoods without the benefit of on-site teams at each property. Communication, maintenance, leasing, and resident services all have to be centrally coordinated. In a traditional single-site model, proximity can sometimes mask weak process. In scattered-site management, weak process shows up immediately

Q: Has the industry become more sophisticated?

Jay Pedde: Serious operators today need institutional-quality reporting, disciplined controls, repeatable processes, and real infrastructure. Property management is no longer just a local service function. At scale, it is a true operating platform.

Managing hundreds of smaller buildings across multiple neighborhoods requires a much more deliberate model.

Q: What role has technology played in that shift?

Jay Pedde: A major role, but mostly by raising expectations. Residents expect quick responses. Owners expect real-time visibility. Management teams expect systems that actually help them work.

The mistake is thinking software or technology itself, is the answer. It isn’t. If your process is weak, technology usually just makes the weakness more visible. The real value is in using technology to support a clear operating model and stronger accountability.

Q: How have resident expectations changed?

Jay Pedde: Residents want more speed, more convenience, and more transparency. Many want to communicate digitally, get updates quickly, and understand what is happening without having to chase someone down.

At the same time, good property management cannot assume every resident wants to interact the same way. Especially in older urban housing stock, you are often serving a mix of long-term residents, older residents, and people who may be less comfortable with technology. So while the operating platform has to be modern, the service model still has to be flexible. Digital tools matter, but so do clear phone support, simple communication, and making sure residents can reach a real person when they need one.

Most residents are reasonable when working to resolve a problem if they feel heard. What they do not tolerate is silence, inconsistency, or the sense that nobody owns the issue. Residents need to feel that the operation is accessible and responsive, even if the platform behind it is centralized.

That is one of the central challenges, and one of the advantages, of scattered-site management when it is done well.

Q: Has the property manager role changed too?

Jay Pedde: The role is broader, a strong property leader needs to understand operations, compliance, budgeting, vendor management, systems, and reporting. In centralized models, the job is less about handling everything personally and more about driving outcomes through teams and processes.

Q: What has stayed the same?

Jay Pedde: Good property management is still about execution. Residents want safe, clean, and well-maintained housing. Owners want assets protected, expenses controlled, and income maximized. Aging housing stock needs constant attention and problems still get more expensive when ignored.

Communication still matters. Follow-through still matters. That part has not changed at all.

Q: Where is the industry still behind?

Jay Pedde: Too many disconnected systems, unclear handoffs, and reactive workflows that create waste and inconsistency.

I also think maintenance is still undervalued. Leasing gets more attention because it is tied directly to revenue and occupancy, but maintenance has a huge impact on resident satisfaction, liability, asset condition, and turn costs. In older, scattered-site housing stock, a weak maintenance platform will show up everywhere.

Q: How has regulation affected the business?

Jay Pedde: It’s central to operations, especially in California. Compliance cannot sit off to the side. It has to be embedded in the way the business runs. Documentation, training, consistency, and procedure are no longer optional. They are core operating disciplines.

Q: What do many owners or operators still underestimate about property management?

Jay Pedde: They underestimate how operationally intensive good management really is. People sometimes assume that if you buy enough software or add enough people, the problems solve themselves. They don’t. Strong results come from clear process, disciplined execution, and teams that know who owns what.

Q: Why launch a brand like True Residential now?

Jay Pedde: Because brand and operating model should support each other. In Los Angeles, we are building True Residential around a modern urban multifamily platform, one designed for scattered-site operations, centralized execution, and a more intentional resident experience. To me, the future of the industry is not just better systems behind the scenes, it is creating operating platforms and brands that actually reflect how the assets are managed and how residents want to interact with them.

Q: How do you see the future of the industry?

Jay Pedde: More automation, more centralization, better reporting, and more AI in leasing, communication, and workflow management; In many cases it is already here.

But I don’t think the future is about replacing people. I think it is about enabling stronger operators with better systems. Housing is still a people business. Residents want trust and responsiveness. Owners want judgment and accountability.

That is part of what we are building with True Residential. It reflects a modern approach built around urban scattered-site multifamily, with centralized execution, clear communication, and a resident experience designed for how those portfolios actually operate.

Q: If you had to sum up the last 15 years in one thought, what would it be?

Jay Pedde: The tools have changed, the pace has changed, and the expectations have changed, but the fundamentals of good management have not. In this business, the operators who execute well still win.

Jay Pedde is Head of Operations for Veritas Investments and True Residential. True Residential is Veritas’ property management, leasing and repair services firm overseeing nearly 1,000 units in the Los Angeles area. For more information, visit www.trueres.com and www.veritasinvestments.com

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