MIAMI, FL, April 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MIAMI, FL - April 22, 2026 - -
Alex Samoylovich, executive chairman of Proper and co-founder of Livly, is highlighting the role Livly plays inside Proper's operating model as the national property management platform continues its rapid expansion. With Proper nearing 20,000 units across 15 states and adding operating companies across the country, the company is increasingly positioning Livly as a core technology layer inside the broader infrastructure supporting its consolidation strategy.
Proper formally launched in January 2024 with a model built around bringing established regional property managers into a national platform while preserving local brands, teams, and market relationships. In recent weeks, the company said it had scaled to nearly 20,000 units across 15 states following the addition of Alexander Properties Group, alongside previously announced operating companies including Novo Properties, FLATS, Guardian, CommonPlace, and Drexel. Proper has described its approach as one designed to pair local operating excellence with centralized infrastructure, streamlined processes, and advanced technology.
For Samoylovich, that technology layer is not a peripheral feature of the platform. It is part of the operating architecture that makes the model scalable. He said the property management industry is being reshaped by rising regulatory complexity, higher renter expectations, and the growing cost of modern operating systems, artificial intelligence, and centralized back-office support. In that environment, he said, independent firms need more than capital. They need access to infrastructure that can remove friction from day-to-day operations without undermining the local relationships that drive performance in the field.
"A rollup in property management only works if there is a real operating system underneath it," said Samoylovich. "What makes Proper different is that the platform is not being built around consolidation for its own sake. It is being built around better execution. Livly gives us a technology foundation that helps connect resident experience, team workflows, communications, and automation in a way that supports local operators instead of replacing them."
Proper has said its platform includes centralized staffing and back-office support, standardized recruiting and onboarding, process improvements intended to reduce administrative drag, and a technology ecosystem designed to help operators work more efficiently. Industry coverage of Proper's expansion has specifically described the company's model as using Livly-powered operating infrastructure alongside AI-first software and digital tools to automate repetitive work, support more cost-effective corporate staffing models, and improve the resident experience.
Livly, which Samoylovich co-founded in 2017 with Brian Duggan and Adam McCombs, has developed a multifamily operating system that brings resident experience, management workflows, communications, and property operations into a more unified environment. The platform's public materials describe a product suite that includes a resident mobile app, management tools, AI-powered property operations capabilities, amenity and event tools, smart apartment functionality, and renewal-focused features. Livly also says its technology is active in 136 U.S. cities and is designed to help property teams simplify operations while improving the experience for residents.
That alignment between operating software and operating strategy is becoming more important as Proper expands. Rather than forcing newly aligned property managers into a purely financial rollup model, Proper has framed its platform as a collective built around flexible autonomy. Operators retain local identity and leadership while gaining access to capital, centralized services, shared standards, data support, and enabling technology. Samoylovich said Livly helps make that structure more practical because it gives Proper a repeatable infrastructure layer that can support consistency across a national footprint while still accommodating market-level nuance.
"The companies joining Proper already know how to serve their markets," Samoylovich said. "The question is how to give them more leverage. Technology should make teams faster, more informed, and more connected. It should help reduce repetitive administrative work, improve visibility, and create a better day-to-day experience for both employees and residents. That is the role Livly is playing inside the platform."
Brian Duggan, chief executive officer of Proper and a co-founder of Livly, said the company's near-term focus remains on integrating recently added operating companies and proving measurable gains in efficiency, consistency, employee development, resident satisfaction, and owner performance. He said having a purpose-built technology layer inside the model supports that effort by giving the platform a stronger operational backbone as it grows.
"Scale alone does not create value in property management," Duggan said. "What creates value is giving local operators better tools, better systems, and better support. Livly is important because it helps us standardize the parts of the business that benefit from common infrastructure while allowing local teams to stay focused on service, culture, and execution in their own markets."
Proper's expansion comes at a time when many small and midsized property management firms are facing higher software costs, new compliance burdens, more demanding resident expectations, and growing pressure to adopt automation and more sophisticated reporting systems. Samoylovich said that reality is one reason he believes the next phase of multifamily consolidation will be defined not only by capital formation and acquisitions, but by the ability to build operating infrastructure from the inside out.
In that context, Livly is being positioned as more than a vendor relationship. It is increasingly being presented as part of the underlying PropTech framework powering Proper's national growth strategy. For Samoylovich, who has built companies across multifamily development, property management, and resident technology, that overlap reflects a broader thesis that modern housing platforms must combine local expertise, centralized operations, and integrated software to compete effectively at scale.
Proper is a national residential property management platform headquartered in Chicago and backed by TriSpan. The company is focused on unifying best-in-class local operators under a shared model built around scale, efficiency, and local stewardship. Livly is a Chicago-based multifamily operating system designed to centralize resident experience, communications, and property operations through software, automation, and connected workflows.
About Alex Samoylovich
Alex Samoylovich is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of CEDARst Companies, an integrated real estate developer responsible for more than $4 billion in multifamily and mixed-use projects across major U.S. markets, with a national portfolio exceeding 10,000 units. He is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of Proper, a national residential property management platform, and the Founder of Livly, a multifamily operating system centralizing resident experience and operations. Alex was named to Crain's Chicago Business "40 Under 40" in 2016. Learn more by visiting alexsamoylovich.com.
About Livly, Inc
Livly is a multifamily property-technology platform designed to streamline apartment operations and elevate the resident experience through integrated software infrastructure. Co-founded by Alex Samoylovich, Livly serves residential communities across the United States by unifying leasing, operations, payments, maintenance coordination, and resident engagement within a connected platform architecture. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more informaiton, visit livly.io.
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For more information about Alex Samoylovich, Founder, contact the company here:
Alex Samoylovich, Founder
Office of Alex Samoylovich
(708) 581-8561
office@alexsamoylovich.com
151 W Huron St
Chicago, IL 60654
