Apartment Amenities

No matter what our role is within the multi-family industry, there is always one word which is used more than any other; “community.” Some of us own communities, some of us develop communities, some of us design communities and others of us lease or operate them. And chances are that many of us live in an apartment, condominium or townhome community as well. So then why is it that there is so little ‘community’ in our communities?

When it comes down to this failure’s root cause, it can really only be one of two choices;

a.       Either the management team does not expend their energies in a manner that creates a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere that encourages interaction, or

Years ago when I had the task of putting together my first leasing guide, I relied heavily on the advice of a good friend, a supervisor with years of experience and obvious selling chops. One terrific tip she shared with me was that a leasing agent needs to become adept at finding the things in each room of an apartment home that the prospect was not likely to see. She suggested that we require each leasing agent to go into all rooms of an apartment, even the baths and closets, and find at least two things that were not obvious and explain what those features meant and how they could benefit the prospect.

In the years since, I have used that great idea as a cornerstone in my training. Think about it. When a somewhat less engaged leasing agent does a property tour, they usually spend a lot of time on pointing out the obvious, if they are even interacting at all. I cannot count the number of times I have walked into a furnished model with a leasing agent I was “shopping” and been lead to a room with an oval table and six chairs while the leasing agent offered “this is the dining room.” What a master of the obvious! Why do we even waste the time and energy if we are only pointing out things that are clear to just about everyone. I have had leasing agents fall this up by steering me into the kitchen and pointing to an appliance with the comment “this is the microwave.” As a sarcastic person by nature, I usually cannot let this go. I usually respond with something snarky like, “Oh yeah! I have heard about those. Can you show me how to work it.” The deer-in-the-headlights look I typically receive is well worth it. But seriously, if your prospect doesn’t know what a dining room or a microwave is, do you really think they are going to qualify?

So many property tours lean more towards “follow the leader” than a real plan to lease an apartment. We become better leasing consultants, property managers and salespeople when we get past the obvious and uncover the little things people aren’t likely to see. I explain this in my seminars as similar to the concept of “whiteout”. Just as when driving in a blinding snow storm it can become impossible to see your path forward, a somewhat similar thing happens to a prospect looking at apartments. All the more when in a vacant, they see white walls, white ceiling, light colored carpet and often lighter cabinetry and appliances. It can be easy to get lost in the sea of white, so that little things don’t stand out against the vast white backdrop. Especially if a client has toured multiple communities and a half dozen or more units, it can be very hard to see the differences. That is where we come in. Finding those two things in each room is crucial, pointing them out and explaining why they may be useful is salesmanship. They can be simple or complex, ranging from two cable outlets in the living room to make furniture placement more flexible to something elaborate like the fact that the drawers in the bathroom and kitchen cabinetry go full depth, providing more storage space than the typical ¾ drawers found in most apartments.   

As much as we talk about the importance of recycling, the United States is the number one trash-producing country in the world.  This means that 5% of the world’s population generates 40% of the world’s waste! With last week being National Recycling Week, I thought it would be fun to show you some ways to conserve waste and save money by repairing, versus replacing, your appliances.  The below infograph, from Part Select, shows the cost to replace some common appliances.  If you click on the buttons, possible symptoms and their fixes are shown.  Have fun playing around with this and maybe next time one of your resident’s dishwasher leaks, you can save some money by repairing it.

For more visit Apartments.com/blog

Learn how to use descriptive language to spice up your marketing!

I’m all about saying something in a unique way when marketing apartments, but sometimes I find myself  with a brain cramp and it takes me a while to get those creative juices flowing.  How many times have you found yourself in the same situation while in a time crunch to get your copy out a.s.a.p. and all you can come up with to describe your community pool is “Sparkling”? 

My Community is located in a city that has seen an increase in job growth and demand for apartment living.  In response to this growth we were able to increase our rents by $100 for new move-ins.  We have been able to maintain an occupancy of 95% since August of 2010 and a turnover just over 65%(our normal).  Since January we have been increasing renewals 2-11% based on their lease term selected.

In August we introduced the Valet Waste door-to-door trash collection service to our residents. While some where excited about the front door trash pick-up, others are upset that we would bring in a service they did not request or seek their approval. Beginning with October renewals we are increasing their rents $18 for Valet Waste and 3-11% in rent, which is about $40-$100 total depending on the renewal lease term.  

We recently sent out renewal offer letters for November expirations with increases proposed as stated above.  I have just received a petition signed by 40 residents, several of which are not up for renewal at this time.  Why I can appreciate the community coming together on something, I am overwhelemed by their reasoning for no increases: 1) They did not have a say in the Valet Waste service. 2) Request for benches to be installed at playground has not been granted. 3) Our promise to provide proper house, safety and service has not been fulfilled entirely. Too many outsiders coming into the community anytime they want because there is no gate. 
4) Not enough laundry machines in laundry room and too many cob webs and dead bugs on front doors. 

I have had the opportunity to speak with a few of the residents who brought the petition to my attention before receiving it. In doing so, I have been able to state my case for the need to increase the rents. I feel that my company has been more than fair during the tanking of the economy beginning in 2009 when we did not increase rents the entire year. In 2010, we increased rents by $8, because the unemployment rate in our city was the highest in the state.  

In 2011 a new plant brought in thousands of construction crews with contracts for 6mths-1yr. The big manufacturers here also began production and hiring again.  Our community is in a good position right now with all the job growth happening, therefore we are taking advantage of it. 

I know increases are not always easy to explain to residents who are on fixed incomes or those who have become accustomed to no increases. They do not want to hear that we need to increase the rent to continue to maintain the community.  But the reality is that is what we have to do to do so. 

I would love your feedback on dealing with rent increases happening at your community or company. Have you had a situation like this?

Having been on MFI for two years now, I feel that there is a need for another perspective that most Insiders do not see.  Most everyone here has been on the leasing end so long that the feelings and needs of the tenants is more theoretical as opposed to someone who has lived in apartments most of their life.

The word COMMUNITY is misused frequently here as it is not meant to be a grouping of people with a common thread (they all live at the same complex), but community to me is human interaction and exchange of ideas amongst residents of a community they call home.

Ask yourself, "What have we done to promote COMMUNITY and distinguish our property from the rest?"  If the answer is a great pool, playground, fitness center or clubhouse, you are missing the meaning of community.  A better question may be, "What have we done to build relationships with our tenants and improve their social interactions?"  WHile a small percentage of people want to be shut-ins and not talk with anyone, I have found that most people want to meet others that they have something in common with.  Where they live is a great first thing to have in common.

Interactions with tenants should not start off, "Yes?" or "Can I help you?" but should be, "Hi!  How are you doing today? Dis you see the new shrubbery we put along the fencing last week?"  Create a friendly environment for them to talk freely and work WITH you when they come to state their problem, concern or other ideas.

Interactions with other tenants take a little planning.  Tenant events are a great way to do that.  Unfortunately, most tenant events just go through the motion and say "Coffee and donuts on Sunday... drop by and get some"  Instead of, "Your presence is requested to meet your fellow residents at our monthly Coffee Clatch, this Sunday from 10 to noon in the clubhouse.  We will be serving Starbuck's coffee along with teas, donuts and fresh fruit for you to enjoy.  This is a great chance to meet some of the great people we have living here at XYZ apartments.  Hope you can make it!"

Besides events, anytime a staff member is interacting with a tenant and another tenant that they know comes by, by all means make the introduction.  You never know what one introduction can lead to.

The more people your tenants are friends with, the less likely they are to move!

That's it for this blog, but I promise to blog more in the near future.  I intend to do most of my blogs from the tenants point of view as there are far more qualified professionals here than myself.

-AF

With its 600 million users and average daily session time of 25 minutes, Facebook provides an exceptional opportunity for visibility, Google indexing, live search ability, and fan engagement.

But, if you build it, will they come? And if they come, will they stay and engage?

Be Interesting

Keep your audience engaged and offer something of value. When fans “like” a certain brand’s page they need to be provided with content or activities to keep them active on the page. In order to keep your page “alive” it is important to launch something interactive daily.

Here are some interesting and creative ways to engage and interact with your residents:

By Salvatore J. Friscia, San Diego Premier Property Management, San Diego, CA

Having to make repairs to your rental property should not come as a surprise. For some reason most owners drop the ball when it comes to handling maintenance requests from their tenants. Some owners struggle to understand the importance of addressing repair issues in a timely fashion. They fail to realize how the lack of maintenance affects the condition of their property and ultimately the quality of tenants the property attracts. The owner, not realizing that every rental property regardless of age will have its fair share of plumbing leaks, electrical problems, water heater issues, and broken appliances will either let maintenance repairs linger or handle them in a poor fashion.

Repairs should not to be confused with the normal upkeep such as cleaning, changing light bulbs or plunging a clogged toilet. These issues are the responsibility of the tenant. Repairs can be considered anything a licensed bonded contractor should take care of such as; plumbing, electrical, appliance repair, heating/cooling, flooring, & construction. These types of repairs are best left to the professionals and when handled appropriately, exhibit the owner’s willingness to resolve repair issues properly and in a timely fashion. In some cases a handyman can be useful and worth the small fee to resolve minor repairs. Now, if you normally handle repair issues yourself and have the knowledge and experience to do so then that becomes a judgment call, but most owners would rather sit back and collect checks then make repairs to their rental properties.

By Peter Lamandre, Better By Design Real Estate, Scranton, PA

I was out and about this week and while on the interstate I pulled behind a contractor that had a QR code on the back of their tow trailer. While I applaud them for embracing an emerging technology, it occurred to me that that may not be the best application of a QR Code. Some of you are probably wondering, “What the heck is a QR Code?”

QR code is an acronym meaning Quick Response code. It seems as though QR codes are the latest rage in advertising. But what are they? Without getting into the computer advantages of using QR codes versus standard bar codes; they are in essence a 2D bar code allowing you to pack a large amount of information in a small space.