Two years after its acquisition by Pretium, a specialized investment firm focused on U.S. residential real estate, residential credit, and corporate credit, BH Management Services says the partnership is delivering on the thesis articulated from the start: pairing BH’s multifamily operational expertise with Pretium’s residential investment platform to unlock new growth opportunities.
“The relationship has matured in exactly the way we hoped. We’re seeing deeper alignment across teams, consolidated technology, and real efficiency gains. Pretium’s continued build-to-rent (BTR) investment has also been a direct growth driver, helping BH expand our BTR-managed footprint, allowing for labor savings with team sharing, lowering individual properties’ operating costs,” says BH CEO Joanna Zabriskie. “Another advantage of operating across Pretium’s residential ecosystem is the ability to identify trends earlier and respond more quickly. Because the single-family rental market often serves as a leading indicator for multifamily and BTR performance, those shared insights help us stay proactive rather than reactive.”
BH strives to be ahead of the curve, from processing rent payments inside ChatGPT to its commitment to price transparency, to meet the needs of its customers. The firm manages over 94,000 units, ranking No. 13 on the National Multifamily Housing Council’s top 50 apartment managers of 2026. Owning 30,359 units, BH comes in at No. 37 on the owners list.
Zabriskie breaks down what’s most important to her as a leader as well as BH’s latest innovations.
What are BH’s priorities for 2026? What’s in the pipeline?
Our priorities haven’t fundamentally shifted: We’re focused on delivering an exceptional experience for our residents, creating a rewarding environment for our employees, and continuing to grow a business that does both without compromise.
What has evolved is our ambition on the resident side. We’re reimagining the end-to-end resident experience, leveraging technology and local teams focused on service to make their leasing and living experience effortless. Also, we have always been committed to price transparency, and we’re expanding our Total Monthly Leasing Price program, because residents deserve full clarity on what they’ll actually pay each month. Transparency isn’t a marketing message for us; it’s a design principle.
On the growth side, the market is setting up well. New supply is being absorbed, occupancy is stabilizing, and we expect rent growth to reaccelerate. Combined with Pretium’s continued BTR investment and our pipeline of new management contracts, we’re entering this next phase with real confidence.
What are some moves BH has made in the past year to become a stronger company?
We’ve made some intentional moves to strengthen our leadership team. The most significant was naming Melody King as president in November. Mel has exceptional leadership instincts and a deep commitment to BH’s mission. She’s been focused on driving alignment across the organization and leading us into the next phase of growth, and that focus frees me to spend more time on capital strategy, market positioning, and deepening our integration within the Pretium residential platform. It’s the right structure for where BH is headed.
In today’s cycle, what’s most important to you as a leader?
Trust, transparency, and the courage to practice both even when it’s hard.
Residents and employees need to feel that BH keeps its promises. That means being honest about challenges, celebrating wins authentically, and making sure our people feel genuinely heard.
Today’s renters’ expectations are sky-high, and they want an “Amazon-easy” experience from first search to lease renewal, and our employees are the ones who make that possible every day. Taking care of them isn’t separate from taking care of residents. It’s the same job.
I’m also focused on execution over everything else right now and improving net operating income margins. We are actively simplifying our tech stack and shedding point solutions that only provide one service. We are asking our tech partners to do more for us so that we can reduce costs for our clients. The operators who stay disciplined and drive performance through superior management, not just market timing, are the ones who will create lasting value in this cycle.
BH continues to lean into technology. Can you talk about some of the latest innovations?
We have some incredible relationships with technology partners who have worked with us to build our digital platforms to continue to meet our residents where they are. A great example is Funnel, our artificial intelligence (AI)-powered CRM partner. In February, BH and Funnel completed the industry’s first rent payment processed inside ChatGPT.
It sounds futuristic, but the philosophy is simple: removing friction from everyday moments and making interactions with BH feel intuitive, modern, and resident-first.
Instead of asking residents to learn a new tool, we’re making one of the most routine parts of renting faster and simpler with the tools people already use every day.
Beyond that, our in-house data platform Fusion continues to get more powerful, with new reporting features, deeper AI integration for resident support, and greater efficiency across our operations. Every investment we make in technology helps us give our teams more time for the human moments with our residents that matter most.
What does scale allow BH to do today that simply wasn't possible five years ago?
It lets us build the kind of infrastructure that genuinely moves the needle for residents, consistently, across 90,000-plus units. In the last few years, we’ve focused on creating what we call our Mint Experience. The Mint Experience is BH’s resident-first service philosophy focused on making every interaction feel intuitive, seamless, and human-centered. It combines centralized support, technology, and on-site hospitality to remove friction from everyday moments. With 85% of our portfolio now on Mint Services, we deliver faster service, more personalized support, and a more consistent resident experience than any on-site team could manage alone. We’ve also brought past-due collections in-house, improving recovery rates while ensuring residents in difficult moments are treated with consistency and care.
Scale also gives us a real data advantage. We have visibility into leasing trends, renter behavior, and operating performance across our entire portfolio in real time, and we use that to make smarter decisions on everything from pricing to capital allocation. We’re seeing renewals happen more quickly and at a higher rate as a direct result.
What opportunities are you seeing today in the multifamily industry?
The market setup is genuinely compelling right now. After the supply wave of 2022 and 2023, deliveries are slowing, inventory is being absorbed, and we expect rent growth will eventually follow. That's a strong backdrop for well-run operators.
The opportunities we’re most focused on are assets that are underinvested, undermanaged, or need help accelerating to stabilization, places where our operating platform creates measurable value. The common thread is execution: acquiring at the right basis and driving returns through superior management.
Internally, expanding our centralized services model remains one of our biggest opportunities. Our four pillars, Contact Center, Applicant Screening, Renewals, and Resident Account Management, are more sophisticated than they were a year ago, and we’ll keep building on what we've already created.
What new challenges are you navigating?
Fee transparency regulation is accelerating, and it’s both a challenge and a validation. BH has always been committed to price transparency, because we genuinely believe residents deserve to know exactly what their total monthly leasing costs will be, and we continue to expand our Total Monthly Leasing Price program. The operators who proactively adapt their policies and disclosures will be better positioned, both to protect themselves and to create a better resident experience. We’re ahead of this, and we’re actively working with our ILS [internet listing service] partners to raise the standard across the industry.
The macro environment is the other variable. Higher interest rates and tighter capital markets have added complexity, but the pricing dislocation that’s come with it represents a real opportunity for disciplined, well-capitalized operators. That’s exactly what BH and Pretium are built to be.
What are you preparing BH for now that most of the industry isn’t talking about yet?
The resident interface is changing in ways most operators aren't fully embracing yet. AI assistants have become the default operating system many consumers rely on every day, and renters increasingly want to stay in those environments to manage their homes.
Our ChatGPT rent payment was a proof of concept, but rent is just the beginning. Work orders, applications, renewals, mid-lease changes, all of it will eventually support engaging with our residents and prospects in their channel of choice. It’s all about meeting our residents where they are online.
What I want BH to be ready for is a world where the entire resident relationship can be managed through whatever interface a resident prefers. That requires trust, security, and the right operational infrastructure underneath it.
We’re building all of that now, deliberately and responsibly, so that when the rest of the industry gets there, BH is already ahead.