You’ve almost finished those turkey leftovers and the boxes of holiday decorations have been dug out from the depths of the closet and are ready to be hung. This can only mean one thing: colder days are on the way. And for financially-savvy landlords and property managers, cold weather means winterizing. Last year we looked at the top seven things every landlord should do to prep their properties for the winter months (to ensure that you’re doing everything possible to keep heating costs down and unit temperatures up, be sure to take a quick refresher look at that post). And for even more tips and ideas for winterizing with the best of ‘em, read on.

Door stoppers.
Most of us have been programmed to make sure that any gaps between the front and back outside doors and the floor are filled in with rubber door stops. But don’t stop at the exterior doors. Consider doors inside of your building that may be allowing heat to escape. Doors leading to attic stairwells are a prime example of an often-overlooked heat vacuum. Survey your property carefully to make sure that all doorways (both interior and exterior) are fitted with weather-stripping and rubber stops as necessary.

Pre-set temperatures.
If you’re providing tenants with controlled heat, investing in an electric, programmable thermostat will likely save you a lot of money in the long-run. While you certainly don’t want to freeze your tenants out, it’s also not necessary (or comfortable, for that matter) to keep the heat cranked up to maximum levels 24/7. An electronic thermostat will allow you to pre-program temperatures according to the time of day. For example, you may want to increase the temperature by a few degrees in the morning and evening hours, when the weather is likely cooler and tenants are home. Remember, these thermostats will allow you to over-ride the automatic settings should it become necessary to increase or decrease the temperature at any given time.

A question for y'all. If this is you, it may be time to revisit your facebook strategy.

 

Dear Abby:

I've been looking for an apartment over the last few weeks and I've noticed some strange behavior on the part of the salespeople who are trying to get me to lease apartments. I believe they are called "Leasing Agents" or something like that. It's sort of annoying and I want to know what you think.

I went to a lovely apartment community to see about renting a two bedroom. The Leasing Agent was very nice, but after she filled out this card about me, she started doing the strangest thing. She kept using my name, over and over and over again. I thought maybe she was just forgetful or something but then when I went to the next place, the Leasing Agent there did it too! And at the next place and the next. They were doing it on the phone all the time as well. It was really starting to bug me. So, I actually started counting how many times they used my name.

Good blog link about giving even the "worst" customers our best service possible.  Written about freelancers, but I think it could apply to any industry:

 http://freelancefolder.com/why-your-worst-clients-should-still-get-your-best-service/?utm_source=Tweetie&utm_medium=twitter

 Have you been giving all of your customers your best service, regardless of their response or attitude?

Thanksgiving is around the corner. I'm going to take a break from my 3-part series on facebook, and be thankful. I'm  thankful for some of the hardest working yet most underappreciated people in our industry - the vendors of the multi-family industry.

I should also point out, that as an industry, WE, ourselves, are vendors. We are vendors to every person who rents an apartment from us. Knowing how bad it feels when a renter takes out their frustrations on us, why do we do that to our vendors? We know that it takes time to learn about someone in order to sell our value proposition (remember all those questions from the guest card?), and how frustrating it is when our prospects say,  "just tell me how much it is," and yet we're always asking this of our vendors all the time. (Remember when you asked your sales person to *JUST* give you a number, without taking the time to explain what you want?) How hard is it to sell on value when you prospect says, "Well, ABC Apartments down the road is giving away 2 months free rent," and we turn right around and tell XYZ contractors their bid is 2 cents too high. Our renters don't buy IT, as we aren't buying IT ourselves. Kinda sucks when the shoe is on the other foot, huh?

Don't get me wrong - smart business is still smart business. We definitely need to know where the market is and demand competitive pricing from our vendors. Whether the service is software, advertising, carpeting, screening, information, bulk purchasing, etc., beyond asking that vendors be competitively priced for the market, the secret to my success has been carefully choosing the right business partner for my needs. THIS is the exact intersection point where smart business becomes GOOD business. The "smart" business person in me would have squeezed that extra 2-3% savings out of a vendor. The "good" business person in me realizes a 2-3% savings will be repaid back ten-fold through a healthy business partnering relationship. The right business relationship can mean the extra competitive edge it takes to succeed in today's economy.

As we approach Thanksgiving and we ponder on what we have to be thankful for this year, I'm sure we're all thinking of our friends, our family, our health, etc. But with this crazy industry we work in, one where there's never a dull moment, there's a whole different meaning to the term "thankful." Here are the top 10 things you have to be thankful for this season when you're a property manager....

*disclaimer...this is meant to be humorous :)


10. Be thankful that you're fully staffed and that they've all passed their drug screenings and background checks!

9. Be thankful that the police haven't been called to your property in over a month!

8. Be thankful that your regional manager is on vacation and you haven't heard from him ALL week!

7. Be thankful that the resident you evicted a few weeks ago actually left on his own without having to get the Sheriff involved!

6. Be thankful you're leased at 95% and your competitor is only leased at 93%!

5. Be thankful you got 5 leases this week...and not a single one was declined!

4. Be thankful you haven't had any vendors calling your property this week trying to collect on that invoice that your corporate office "forgot" to pay!

3. Be thankful that the H1N1 flu hasn't hit your office and none of your employees have called out sick!

2. Be thankful that half of your residents are out of town for the holidays and you don't have to listen to their whining about who's being loud, who's parked in the wrong parking space and who's leaving their trash outside of their door.

And the number 1 thing you have to be thankful for when you're a property manager this Thankgsiving.....

1. Be thankful that your maintenance tech on call didn't get drunk on Thanksgiving and can still respond to the emergency calls!

Morgan Oney, CAM

Maximize your marketing efforts and reach more prospective residents with a community video. Highlighted below are the top eight ways to generate even more exposure through various social networking avenues using your community video.

1.      Email Signature:
Including a hyperlink to your video in your signature allows prospective residents easy access to virtual contact with your property.

2.      Facebook® Status Updates:
Posting the YouTube^TM link in your status update provides a measurable distribution channel allowing syndication of your video through fans' newsfeeds. It affords residents the opportunity to showcase their apartment community to family and friends who are potentially searching for apartments, leading to increased views and positive sentiment.

What are the first images that come to your mind with this opening title?  Hold that thought.  The drum is one of the most ancient of instruments and still has the ability to make us tap our feet, tap our desk, make us run faster, work out harder, and pretend to dance better.  The drum is a fundamental instrument at pep rallies.  Can you imagine a pep rally with all flutes?  I think you get the image.  The drum has the ability to inspire, motivate and pursue whatever goal you aspire to achieve.

At Brainstorming last week, the keynote address was presented by top executives in the multifamily industry.  The CEO of Camden Property Trust, Richard Campo, used the expression "keep beating your drum".  His message was to inspire all of us to pursue the ideas we feel will work, investigate options that will benefit our company and keep presenting them to our superiors.  He encouraged vendors to provide hard data and infomercials in order to communicate effectively with decision makers. 

Believe it or not, it is already time for students to sign up for next semester's classes.  As they decide what they want to take and which professors they want, I'm sure the traffic on RateMyProfessors.com will skyrocket.  Instead of blindly choosing their professors, students want to know what they're getting themselves into: impossibly hard tests, long nights of homework, eye candy at the front of the classroom (ie: the hotness total as indicated by the red chili pepper symbol).  Although it is clear that occasionally those who are leaving comments are just holding a grudge about a bad grade that they really did deserve, for the most part you can get a pretty good feel for what the class will be like.  It's even possible to find out that your professor father tells the same corny jokes in the classroom that he does at home.

People love to talk about their experiences, and when marketers caught onto this phenomenon they labeled it "word-of-mouth marketing".  While it can be one of the driving factors in a business's success, it can also be the downfall.  In the apartment world, websites such as ApartmentRatings.com are king.  And yet, from the looks of it, apartment managers are having a hard time catching on...