Residential Financial Specialist

Working for Equity Residential means being part of a community – employees and residents – striving to provide the best in apartment living, speaking boldly about new ideas for innovation, and inspiring creativity in the ways we live and work together. That’s what our Be.Think.Play.Live. culture is all about.

Under the general supervision of the Residential Financial Supervisor, the Residential Financial Specialist (RFS) is responsible for ensuring the accurate bookkeeping/posting of all resident transactions for the properties/portfolio in accordance with set policies and practices; thereby ensuring income optimization. The RFS partners with on-site and regional property management and is charged with maximizing all income opportunities by analyzing trends and recommending process improvements.  The RFS is knowledgeable regarding state laws relating to collections from residents as well as internal policies and practices relating to property bookkeeping and systems.

WHO YOU ARE

Functional / Technical: demonstrates a high degree of knowledge of job functions / systems and routinely applies knowledge and skills to produce high quality outcomes.

Analytical: consistently gathers pertinent information needed to assess / understand problems.  Can establish links between multiple programs and then select/suggest best action (s) for resolution and future improvements.  Utilize organizational skills effectively.

Communicator: gets to the point quickly and succinctly; can make complicated concepts and data clear to others; exceptional listener, even under stressful situations; displays a keen sense of what to say in various situations.

Customer Oriented: always responsive to customers’ needs, asks questions and consistently anticipates customers’ needs, completes tasks for customers ahead of deadlines.

Dependable/reliable: consistently presents work that is timely, thorough, and accurate and goes beyond the scope of what is generally expected.

Problem-solver: proactively identifies potential problems and takes appropriate action for resolution; consistently selects courses of action that demonstrate excellent judgment and creative problem solving.

Strong Judgment: consistently gathers all necessary data and arrives at high quality decisions and recommendations with an eye on impact; appropriately alerts others of pending actions / decisions; uses keen observation and applies analytical thinking to make decisions, even under difficult situations.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Monitor residents’ accounts in the property management system (MRI) and perform detailed account research to ensure timely and accurate posting of rent and utility payments/collection related to move-ins, move-outs, renewals, transfers, evictions, etc.

• Generate Statement of Deposit and Accounts (SODA) for all move outs and cancelled applicants, which details refunds / charges for damages against security deposit.
• Handle return payments, runs delinquency reports and generates notices for distribution.
• Validate that evictions tie out with third party filings and are processed accurately in accordance with company policies and state laws.  Manually posts legal fees associated with eviction.

Monitor and process resident account adjustments to ensure all revenue is captured.

• Generate necessary reports to monitor resident status of outstanding transactions and ongoing activity.
• Post resident adjustments including, but not limited to, security deposits, late charges, resident utility billing (RUBs), charges or credits on cancelled applicants, and accurate application of concessions, etc.
• Perform closing steps in accounting cycle utilizing the monthly close out checklist and various accounting / billing reports detailing out of balance accounts.
• Perform reconciliation of residents’ accounts for each property in conjunction with property management prior to MRI monthly closeout.

Support on-site property management by responding to inquiries in a timely, respectful and thorough manner. Partners with regional management to identify trends, issues or areas of concern related to processes and procedures.  Act as a liaison and influencer of behaviors between corporate and field within the realm of managing the books.

• Review and process property ledger requests including fees charged to residents, e.g., utility billing credits, corrections for double fees, etc. Responds to Resident Notes submitted by property management.
• Work closely with properties to provide support and recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Communicate closely with Regional Managers (RMs) on an on-going basis; provides RM with constructive assessment of properties performance and identifies training opportunities as well as potential income opportunities.
• Maintain general working knowledge of state laws with respect to collection of delinquent accounts.
• Keep up-to-date on policies, procedures/principles and MRI system application.

REQUIREMENTS

• A high school diploma or equivalent is required 
• Four or more years of professional work experience required, along with knowledge of bookkeeping principles and practices
• Excellent computer skills required including proficiency in keyboarding and navigating in a windows environment
• The incumbent should demonstrate excellent verbal communication skills and excellent follow through.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• A college degree or some college coursework is preferred 

REWARDS

We recognize everyone has different needs outside of work. That’s why, in addition to a competitive benefits package (medical, dental, vision and paid time off), we offer many unique options to employees, like adoption benefits and paid time off for community service projects. To learn more, view our Total Wellbeing page here.