Niche

By Linda Day Harrison, Manager Labs, Chicago, IL

There are business models in all shapes and sizes. There are retail stores, medical and legal practices, cleaning companies, general contractors, grocery stores, etc. So when you think about a business, how many business models do you know of where the business owner outsources the entire business to another party? For instance, if you visit your local grocery store, is it managed by a grocery management company? How about a retail store management company? So what makes the residential real estate investment business any different? Why are there so many property management companies and outsourced service providers to the property industry?

According to a colleague of mine, the answer is quite simple, “It is not easy, there is so much at stake, and there are many moving parts.” Also, when you think about properties as investments, there are often multiple partners and joint venture groups who own the assets. In those cases, the managing partner realizes they do not have enough time or expertise to do all of the functions required of them to maximize the value of the asset. That is what outsourcing offers.

Not long ago, I toured an apartment complex with two friends; one was the architect who designed it and the other, the developer who built and owns it. The exterior was gorgeous and appropriate. The amenities were unique and clever. The units appeared to be attractive and reasonable for the market…that is until we entered the kitchen. This room was comprised of dark hardwood floors, rich wood cabinetry, stainless appliances and a builder-grade white laminate counter (that stuck out like a sore thumb). I winced. I looked to my architect friend- who gave me the ‘this isn’t the time’ slight head shake. We continued the tour. 

Later, I took the architect aside and asked ‘What the f@*k was that?’ He explained that there were originally granite counters spec’ed, but that they were lost in the V.E. process. To me, this was yet another example of the bad results of not training our young developers to know the difference between a good and a bad decision. It’s the problem of not teaching them that development happens in the real world- not on a spreadsheet. Which brings me to our theme;

‘Whenever there is a decision, there is always a good decision to be made.’

Many of the topics that we discuss in this blog are related to three basic themes;

1.       The Industry is broken and in need of a major overhaul.

I’m 30. There, I said it, I got it out there. I’m 30 and my husband and I just had our very first baby, 3 weeks ago. Up until now, we both favored college and then careers over family. We wanted to be established, be able to provide for a child before we committed to having one. For the last few years, thankfully, we’re at a point where we can provide the way we want to and so the “having a baby” journey, began.

So why am I telling you this? Well… at 30, I’m established in my career and my husband and I are accustomed to having fun and traveling… and with a baby, well, a LOT of things will have to change… or will it? If you read any “mommy” books or blogs, many describe motherhood and caring for a child as the single hardest thing they’ve ever done… clearly they’ve never worked during budget season for a multifamily company, but I digress…

Today, I’m excited to announce the release of our annual Top 10 Best Cities for Recent College Grads list with Hartford-New Haven claiming the #1 spot! 

Faced with a sluggish economy, many college graduates who collected their diplomas in the spring are still looking for jobs and a place to live as summer comes to a close.  As competition for jobs soars, along with the cost of rent, there is hope for many of these newly minted graduates who know which cities afford them the best opportunity to jump-start their professional lives.  To help give these post grads a leg up, Apartments.com and CareerRookie.com—the collegiate job website from CareerBuilder.com—have revealed their 4^th annual best cities list to paint a realistic landscape of the current job market and cost of living in the most popular cities for young adults.

I’m not new to the virtual workplace but I’m new to working for my current company, virtually and I have a confession to make…

I’m WAY more productive at my home office than at our corporate office. Shocked? In disbelief? Think I’m not exactly being truthful? Well, then do let me explain and I’ll make you a believer!

When I’m working from my home office, I’m doing just that… working from a HOME OFFICE. I’m not in bed; I’m not watching TV… I’m at my desk just like a “real” employee. What I don’t have is: 

I hadn't been in Multifamily housing in a few years... instead I left and worked with the Dale Carnegie Training Organization, honing my craft and providing training solutions and direction to businesses across the globe. I was, however, eager to get back to my first love... the Apartment Industry! 

Things hadn't really changed much... on one hand, I was glad, because I could get right back into the swing of the "business" without missing a beat on the other hand, I couldn't believe that evolution hadn't really happened. It was "the same old"... 

Upon joining the Sterling family, I developed our all new Intro to Leasing course in my first month of joining the organization (and 17 other courses since then). The company had lacked any real training prior to my joining the company and it was so welcomed, that I felt a little overwhelmed at its reception (in a good way, of course). 

Let’s face it… the internet is NOT a fad (sorry Al Gore) and the role both the internet and computers play in our business is vast and ever growing. Let’s take a look at what parts of our business are computer and/or internet based:   

• Communication (with Colleagues & Prospects)- Email, usually Outlook is used in our business
• Learning Management Systems- Does your company offer online learning?
• Property Management Software- On our computers and generally on the internet
• Social Media
•  Rent Payments- A good portion of us allow residents to pay online
• Advertising- Our biggest source of traffic, in a lot of instances is apartments.com
• Weekly/Monthly Reports- Excel and Word play a big role in how we relay information
• Performance Appraisals- Many are integrated into our HRIS systems, which are internet based
• Payroll Time Tracking- Does anyone use a manual system anymore?
• New Colleague Orientation- Unless your company is 100% local, the internet is often used
• Accounting- Most accounting departments use our property management software in conjunction with computer and/or internet based financial software
• Payroll- The majority of us rely on Direct Deposit, which uses a computer to transmit.

I could go on and on… I think the writing on the wall is pretty clear, to be successful in our business you MUST have some sort of computer know-how. I’m not talking learning HTML here… I’m talking the VERY BASICS of computer understanding!

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

“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” - Benjamin Franklin

We all work hard to build our reputations. I was speaking with a potential property management client yesterday, when I asked him if he had any questions about my firm. His reply was simple; “Yes, are you honest?” I chuckled and reminded him that he was a referral from one of our oldest clients. The fact of the matter is that people like to do business with those they know, like, and TRUST. In property management the TRUST part is a big piece — after all the owner of the property is basically saying here is my single biggest asset, you’re in charge; please make me lots of money.