Lease Renewal

When recently asked about which skill I felt was the most important for a real estate developer to possess, I was stumped for about thirty seconds (which is an eternity when someone is staring at you and waiting). My mind raced. How could I not just rattle-off something well thought out and brilliant? Shouldn’t this be a question that every developer must be able to answer without flinching? Well- I flinched. But at the end of that short eternity, my answer was ‘They must be great storytellers.’

 I say this for one simple reason: At his most basic level, the developer is a master salesman. We sell our visions and dreams to our investment committees, the communities in which we work, municipalities, equity partners and debt providers, and eventually to the end user.

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

In a recent notice received by our legal counsel addressing this very issue, apparently if you own rental property in California the scary answer is yes! The great state of California is widely known as a pro-tenant state when it comes to tenant-landlord related issues. Many cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles are saddled with pockets of rent controlled areas making investment opportunities less attractive. They also have unfavorable statewide eviction laws that allow deadbeat tenants to continue residing in properties months after defaulting on rental payments.

Are your residents vanishing from your community at a rate that makes you consider putting up "missing" posters? If so, did you know that their disappearance was probably preventable? Before you contact the milk carton company, let me explain…

We do an awful lot of training and spend so much money on advertising our communities to get them in the door…  but once they’re in, it’s like we change our focus to who’s next. To me, that’s utterly absurd and honestly… it’s quite expensive.

·         According to research data provided by Satisfacts, the average cost to “lose” a resident is around $4,000. Now, this can of course vary… but the least I’ve EVER seen is around $2,000… still a pretty good chunk of change and too much, in my opinion (and I'd wager that it's too much for any owner as well).

For those of you who’ve met me or taken one of my classes, you know that I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I talk the talk and I walk the walk. I tell it like it is (professionally and with care, of course) but If it has to do with not sugar coating things, I’m your girl (of course, I’m not referring to using “visit us” or “live here” words during leasing… then a little fluff is just fine). But in normal every day dealings onsite and at the corporate office… I don’t see the point in wasting time beating around the bush, because TIME is MONEY!

There have been numerous occasions that I am aware of, sadly, that a property manager has not filed an eviction on a resident who hasn’t paid rent by the time it’s due. Despite the action being spelled out, very clearly, in our policy and procedures manual (and common sense if you’ve spent any time in the business).

The manager will have a wide range of reasons as to why they won’t… but the last time I heard the excuse, I nearly fell out of my chair (seriously). She said “Well… I needed the occupancy numbers”. WHAT? What good is a high occupancy percentage if you’re not collecting any rent? She didn’t know the answer. Turns out, this person was a habitual late-rent payer and eventually ended up skipping out… owning an absurd amount of money to the community. Worst yet… he’d been renewed without increase. TWICE!

You want to raise my rent how much?

I have been involved in quite a few renewal conversations, and what always makes it difficult is when residents are taken by surprise.

Renewal conversations are difficult enough, and to have a resident come into it angry is not a good start.  I think if they knew what to expect from the beginning (move in or even during the initial tour), life would be easier on everyone.

Today, I purchased my lunch at Noodles , one of my favorite fast-but-good food restaurants. And I love how the one by my house is so 'green'. I get  preferred parking, right by the front door, because I drive a hybrid vehicle. And when I pay, they always ask me if I need a receipt. If I don't want one, they don't print one. I know it's small, but I like that they ask me.

Today, as my order was 'to go', my server asked if I needed plastic silverware and a napkin. I didn't and I made a very specific point to tell them how much I appreciated them asking me. I abhor waste of any kind, and oftentimes,  take out orders get a lot of 'extras' that really aren't needed. 

Shortly afterwards, my name was called, I gathered my bag and left. Upon my arrival at home, I was dismayed to find  - you guessed it - silverware and a napkin in my bag. I checked the instructions written on the bag label and it was clearly marked "Silverware - Yes".  

According to a Business Wire article there are more than 100 million “unbanked” consumers living in the United States today. Many banks and financial intuitions have started to offer prepaid debit cards as a method to help solve the financial needs of this large segment of customers. These “unbanked” residents represent a large portion of potential renters in the multi-family housing industry.  Before the option of paying rent with prepaid debit cards, these individuals would have had an immense amount of trouble making secure rent payments.   

Prepaid debit cards work much like regular debit or credit cards, except they are not tied to a bank account or credit account, allowing a broader range of people to use them. Below are several of the benefits that accepting prepaid debit cards can bring to a property. 

 Benefits of prepaid debit cards for residents: 

·Pay Rent Online- Electronic payments are the way of the modern era. With prepaid debit cards residents can make their rent payments online without ever having a banking account or credit card.

·Secure Payments- There’s no need to worry about security issues when prepaid debit cards are used to make payments instead of cash or money orders. Payments are delivered securely as long as you use a PCI Compliant online payment processor.

· Avoid Check Cashing Fees- For residents without bank accounts; cashing checks can get really expensive. Taking advantage of the direct deposit feature of prepaid debit cards can eliminate this expensive and unnecessary hassle.

·No Interest- With prepaid debit cards, money is taken directly out against the balance on the card that has been previously paid for. Since no money has been loaned, there are no interest charges.

·No Debt- Since no line of credit has been extended, there’s no danger of going into debt. If there’s an attempt to use the card for more than its available balance, the transaction will be denied.

·Make Purchases- Residents can use prepaid debit cards in stores and online without having a bank account or credit account, allowing them to shop in a wider variety of places.

Benefits of prepaid debit cards for property managers:

·More Potential Residents- Accepting electronic payments, and thus prepaid debit cards, at your property opens up a much larger segment of potential residents to your business. The large portion of “unbanked” residents in the US will be able to rent at your property if they can use prepaid debit cards to pay rent and utility fees.

· Secure Payments- Prepaid debit cards are a safe and secure way of collecting rent payments from a group of residents who would otherwise use cash or money orders to make rent payments. This allows your business to collect rent securely and to not worry about the manual accounting that comes with cash transactions.

·Fewer NSF Payments- With prepaid debit card transactions, there is less worrying about non-sufficient fund check payments and the effort to re-capture the funds from your residents. There is no checking account attached to a prepaid debit card so either the money is available and the payment is processed or the card is immediately declined.

·Fewer Late Payments- Cut down on late payments by offering more flexible payment options to your residents. Collecting rent payments online will save you and your residents time and money by avoiding cash and money order transactions.

·Higher Renter Retention- Studies show that more flexible payment options give your property a competitive advantage and increase renter retention. Residents will be less likely to leave if they feel their community is doing everything to make paying rent easier.

Residents with prepaid debit cards are able to utilize many new payment options including online pay, paying by text message and mobile iPhone Apps. Plus, residents are then eligible for a variety of benefits by making electronic payments including secure transactions, paying remotely, and rent reminder emails. With prepaid debit cards both property managers and residents win. Property managers get a larger number of residents to market to and residents get the ease and flexibility of electronic payments without the worries of having credit. 

I know consumer reviews are scary.  Trust me.  Having worked in public relations my whole life, user-generated content that can disparage a brand I’ve been working years to uphold, has kept me tossing and turning more than one night.  Something you used to have control over is not totally in your hands anymore: your public image (e.g. branding, advertising, marketing collateral, and even to some degree, the press being generated about your company).  Sure, people could complain about your property, but that was typically somewhat contained.  Today, anyone can publicize their praise or contempt for your brand by going online.  What’s worse than consumers finding it?  Consumers looking for it, especially renters.  In fact, 58% of renters, who are also active on social media, told us at Apartments.com they search for additional apartment information and recommendations online when looking for a new place to live.

My name is Tammy Kotula, and I’m addicted to review websites