We looked at Intuit Real Estate Solutions'(IRES) MRI Residential system and knew it could provide the meaningful analysis we needed to take our strategy forward,” says Lisa Howat, Portfolio Controller/Vice President at Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, Inc. Based in Connecticut, Cornerstone is a Registered Investment Advisor.

Multifamily strategies

As Howat explains, “Cornerstone is embarking on a new strategy focused on the development of multifamily properties. We’re launching initiatives now to develop apartment communities.

“We selected MRI Residential because we heard good things about its reporting and analysis capabilities,” she continues. “We knew that as we moved forward with this strategy shift, quality portfolio reporting would become critical. And that’s where IRES came in.

“The Rent Roll system we were using simply could not aggregate the data or consolidate it in any meaningful way. After investigating several options, we selected MRI as the system that could best support our future growth strategies,” she says.

A complete commercial package

“Integration of our system was also important as we were already using MRI Commercial” adds Howat. Cornerstone had been on a Skyline system since 1992 before selecting MRI Commercial in 1999.

“It was time to evolve our technology,” says Howat. “At the corporate level, we wanted an open, flexible system. ODBC compliance and open architecture were important to us, thus it was time for a new solution. Ultimately we chose IRES because the company and its solutions had the flexibility to meet our business needs.”

“IRES worked with us to balance the needs of our sites with those of our home office,” she says. “Our sites needed affordable access to a site-friendly system while the home office needed the reporting power of Microsoft SQL Server, as well as a true asset management component for managing consolidated information.

“Understanding the changing business environment, we anticipated we’d be getting more and more requests for customized information and analysis,” adds Howat. “IRES positions us where we need to be for the future.”

Support and training

Once implemented, the Cornerstone staff was highly receptive to the new system. According to Howat, “because of the ease-of-use built into the IRES system, there have been few learning issues and training time was minimal.”

She continues, “IRES' support department provided the expertise and options we needed while transitioning from a legacy system.

“We’re a premium support client of IRES and we’re very enthusiastic about the program. I cannot speak highly enough of our representative. She is our lifeline. We depend on her and find her expertise invaluable,” says Howat. “When you go to a new system, it’s important to have a support staff you can count on.”

Getting connected

“My advice to anyone looking to make a software decision now is to really explore the communications options available today,” shares Howat. “Features are only part of the picture. IRES and Prudential Real Estate Investors have proven that IRES' NetSource application hosting solution works. This takes care of a lot of the challenges of getting up and running on the new system, thus it is a option worth considering.

“After exploring our options, we selected to maintain an in-house system utilizing both a distributive processing environment and, where appropriate, IRES' VirtualSite technology,” she says.

VirtualSite is a communications tool designed by IRES specifically for a centralized environment supported by Microsoft Terminal Server. VirtualSite makes it significantly easier to establish, modify and manage security controls, and to monitor and customize local operations on a site-by-site basis.

“VirtualSite has worked very well for us,” she says.

About Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, Inc.

Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers was established in 1994 to provide private real estate equity investment management services for their parent corporation, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), and tax-exempt and taxable institutions. Since then, they have added management of public real estate securities to our array of services.

The company has grown significantly since it’s founding. To best meet its clients' needs, Cornerstone has established Separate Accounts, a Co-investment Vehicle, a series of strategically focused, Closed-end Funds and has become the sub-advisor for a Mutual Fund of public real estate securities.

Their clients include public and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, and insurance companies. As of year-end 2002, Cornerstone had more than $4.4 billion in properties or committed capital under management. For more information about the company, please visit their website at www.cornerstoneadvisors.com.