With the current state of the economy, we've noticed an increase in the multifamily industry of creative endeavors to bring in new residents and stand apart from the rest. The Dallas Business Journal featured a story of one such endeavor developing in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Los Angeles-based Learning Links Center plans to acquire 1,200 plus units over the next year with up to 3,500 over the next three years. With each community that Learning Links buys, the owners forgo rent on one unit and convert it to a study area where a teacher provides free after-school tutoring. These apartments will also offer free or discounted rent to teachers who agree to live in their community and tutor youth who live there.

"The goal is to make the apartments more appealing to renters and minimize vacancy and vandalism," says George Pino co-founder. "The resource centers in the two buildings we have them in have been very well received," Pino continues. "The kids, as well as the families and the communities in general, have loved the concept and have really taken to it."

As each year goes by, more and more people utilize iPhones and BlackBerrys. With all of this instantaneous email access, communication skews a little more toward email all the time. Certainly, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing—but it is important to evaluate which situations are most appropriately handled with email and which ones call for a good old-fashioned phone call.

Phone: Making a connection.

It’s basic, but it’s worth noting—if face-to-face interaction isn’t possible, a phone call is the next best way to make a lasting first impression. Emails are great for a lot of reasons, but they do not allow for the voice inflections and dynamic back-and-forth that phone calls offer. When you’re dealing with a new client or discussing potentially tricky matters, a phone call is often the best route to take. It personalizes interactions and allows you put more personality behind your words. Not only do phone calls allow you to sell yourself, but they can also provide a valuable first impression of potential tenants and may help you determine whether or not they are the type of renter you’re seeking out for your property.

I am really not sure who I am writing the blog post for, me or you.  However I thought it would be kind of cool to have a list of multifamily acronyms listed and their long version listed all in one place.  Maybe you will have some of your own to add at the bottom.  Even outside the industry we run across acronyms we kind of wonder about.  So for all of us with acronym deficiency syndrome (ADS), here is my list.  Let’s start with some common industry acronyms.

CPM–Certified Property Manager

CAPS-Certified Apartment Property Supervisor

I had a Fan on America's Top Apartment Leasing Best Practices ask for an idea that would incorporate a Bingo theme into a leasing incentive!!! After a little help from Google I created the fun idea of hiding Bingo balls throughout the tour route, clubhouse, amenity areas, and mini-modle! Each time they find a new ball they are one step closer to winning! I found the balls for only $17.99 for a Wooden 7/8" diameter with burned in numbers that won't rub off!

Then I found bingo game supplies for less than $20 that includes 1000 playing cards from us-bingo.com! This looks really cheap and easy! Hide & Go Seek Apartment BINGO - check out your new apartment & community to WIN!!!! I am cracking myself up today!!!!! :  )

Unless there is a new and more efficient way of generating really cheap electricity, the consumers should be more vigilant and efficient in their use of electricity or where ever they may be — including implementing ways to save energy and cut costs as well as reducing the carbon footprint to help protect the environment. One such innovation that is slowly being implemented is the use of smart meters.

What are Smart Meters and How Do they Work?

Smart meters or what is more technically known as the Advanced Metering Infrastructure or AMI is a technical advancement evolving from the electromechanical meters or the more updated automated meter reading (AMR) technologies used by electricity companies today. It is expected that within 3 to 5 years, AMI meters shall replace all installed electromechanical meters.

Since this is my first blog post I will come clean.  I'm a geek.  I'll be the first person to admit it.  It isn't necessarily a negative thing.  I mean ... we're all on a multifamily website looking for ideas, information.  That makes us multifamily geeks doesn't it?  The actual definition of geek is thus: (taken from Meriam Webster)

3 : an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity <computer geek>

It  says "an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field" so it doesn't necessarily apply to just tech.  Point is we are all geeks about many things.  When you're a geek, you have a tendency to digest and learn as much as you can, and try every new thing.  It's your appetite and passion that keeps you going.  As I read about ILS's, rental websites, check processing, ACH, online availabilities, social networking, craigslist, utility billing, etc, I begin to wonder if while implementing these things we aren't beginning to lose focus on the core fundamentals.  Establishing a rapport with your prospect is job #1.  Are we becoming blinded by the geekery (I don't think that's a word and I don't care) and cool techy things and forgetting what a great thing building that relationship with a prospect is?  We create systems to point them in our direction, guide them towards a unit, fill out the application and come close to moving them in automatically.  (If keys could be made electronically then it would).  This stuff is expensive and honestly... does it really help you rent apartments or can you just have a good website and with some excellent rapport building, drive the same types of results?  Definitely something to think about.  Curious to hear what all of you have to say.

Really? Is there something with no app for it? The way we access/ exchange information and connect has shifted over the past 5 years. One of the most dramatic shifts has been seen is the ease to access a series of mobile applications that seem to be able to do anything. It has given us communication in real time and that has simply changed the world.

We access our Social Media through our mobile devices and post texts like messages for our “friends” to see. We post the same message to our friends that are the same friends across 3-5 different networks. It is not simple to manage… As I have observed twitter, Facebook and many other networking forums there is an interesting part of the puzzle that no app can (yet) do for us. It is HOW, HOW MUCH we communicate and WHAT we communicate. Social media is now almost a new art form. Finding ways to give the right message at the right time, finding that balance between marketing and socializing are critical facets to make sure you social media marketing strategy works for you. When done poorly social media also generate immediate response.  

I recently observed an exchange on twitter that was based on the perception that a message created. One felt that the message was marketing slipped into a tweetup and called out the originator of that message. It really did not go anywhere but does remind us that social media is a great tool but people will draw conclusions on the kind of person you are.

 When I first started participating in SM I made many mistakes and was called to order by a couple of people (all done in  very professional way I should note). I had to learn by trial and error and still learn everyday by reading and participating. Social media is simply more of the same… but different… It is a different way to share the same information. It requires attention to details and a plan. It requires common sense and a will to learn. I truly appreciate the shift that has/is/will happen with real time and social media but when it comes to how we use it there is no app for that!

For those of you aren’t familiar, today is April 22, and today we are celebrating Earth Day.  The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 and it marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement (thank you, Wikipedia).

Since then the movement has picked up quite a bit of speed, evolving from a small political outcry to a full blown trend. Now it’s cool to be “green.” There is so much pressure to be green that one might have an anxiety attack in the grocery checkout line when asked the simple question “Paper or plastic?” (For the low down on which is really best, check out this handy article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18538484)

How does this pertain to you, dedicated apartment management teams?  Well, if your community doesn’t already have at least a recycling program, you’re slipping behind the times.  Here are a few ideas to help you get caught up:

Over the months, we’ve discussed the value of many different types of technology: websites, Twitter, and social networking sites like Facebook. But one thing we haven’t yet looked at is YouTube. Have you considered including YouTube videos into your online marketing strategy? Well, here are a few reasons you might want to.

Save yourself some time.
Photographs are a near-essential part of any rental listing. With a text-only listing, it’s often difficult for would-be renters to distinguish from one property to the next and, therefore, your units are at a disadvantage from the start.  But even photographs are sometimes misleading. Based on angling and point of focus, it’s possible to (either strategically or inadvertently) make a rental unit appear much different than it actually looks.

Videos allow potential tenants to obtain a more realistic feel for what a given unit really looks like. As opposed to photographs, videos can provide a potential tenant with a realistic vision of the layout of a unit, its size and, if you’re feeling really ambitious, exterior and building features.

As of today, April 22, 2010, all contractors that work on pre-1978 homes and may disturb paint through their work MUST become a Certified Renovator and the firm they work for must become a Certified Firm through the EPA.

This rule affects painters, carpenters, plumbers, handymen, restoration companies, property management firms that do their own repairs.

The EPA is fining $32,500 per day per violation and they are serious about enforcement.  If a building takes out a permit for work you can bet your are on a list for enforcement personnel to stop by to make sure the RRP Standards are being followed.

To learn more visit:   www.PuroCleanChicago.blogspot.com