Class-A multifamily lease-up cuts loss events 87% in 60 days

Outcomes

Context

A 312-unit Class-A multifamily development inside Houston's Loop 610 was 90 days from certificate of occupancy. The final lease-up window is the highest-loss period of any multifamily build: appliances are staged in units, copper is fully run, finish materials are stockpiled, and the perimeter is partially lit but no longer fully fenced. The general contractor was self-managing security with rotating patrols and a recording-only CCTV install — and was losing five-figure values of appliances and copper weekly. Builder's risk renewal was approaching and the carrier had signaled that recording-only CCTV would no longer be acceptable on the next term.

The Challenge

Three problems had to be solved simultaneously: stop the active nightly losses, produce documentation the carrier would accept for renewal, and avoid disturbing the early move-in residents already occupying the south wing. Patrols were too easy to time around. Posted guards would have cost more than $40,000 per month for adequate coverage and produced no video-verifiable audit trail.

What Guardtress Deployed

Guardtress deployed two solar mobile security trailers — one at the north parking ingress with LPR on both lanes, and one at the construction staging perimeter facing the appliance and material stockpile. Both were monitored 24/7 by US-based live agents with two-way talkdown and direct escalation to Houston Police Department dispatch. Talkdown was tuned for directional output toward the construction zone and away from the occupied south wing. The dispatch protocol included a same-day report to the construction superintendent and a monthly underwriter-ready package for the builder's risk carrier.

The Result

Inside 60 days, documented after-hours loss events dropped 87% — from a weekly five-figure exposure to a small number of low-value tool losses. LPR resolved two repeat-offender vehicles to plates the Harris County Sheriff was already tracking on related cases. The builder's risk carrier accepted the monthly Guardtress report at renewal and held the premium flat despite the regional market increase. The general contractor extended the Guardtress deployment to two additional projects in the portfolio inside the same quarter.