How do you deal with an irate resident?

The absolute worst thing you can do is immediately start citing what the lease says.

All three of these from Isabella is gold, but my go to has always been the first.

Ask if it’s ok to take notes so you fully understand the situation, sit down, and just listen.

Yes, you may already know the answer, so it’s incredibly tempting to immediately provide that, especially since you have a ton of other things you...How do you deal with an irate resident?

The absolute worst thing you can do is immediately start citing what the lease says.

All three of these from Isabella is gold, but my go to has always been the first.

Ask if it’s ok to take notes so you fully understand the situation, sit down, and just listen.

Yes, you may already know the answer, so it’s incredibly tempting to immediately provide that, especially since you have a ton of other things you need to be doing.

But if you do that, you aren’t providing what they are often looking for - someone to care about the situation.

Sure, they want their issue resolved, too, but if we can’t provide that, we can still offer our attention and caring.

When I was on site, I found that once they got it out of their system, they would calm down.

And even if I couldn’t provide what they wanted, they appreciated that I actually cared about their plight.

One caveat: you are not a punching bag. An upset resident I can deal with, an abusive one I cannot.

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Isabella Jiménez

The challenge of transitioning from Leasing Consultant to Assistant Community Manager isn't the spreadsheets or even the software. It's navigating high-stress conflict.

When I first took on this role in April, those intense resident conversations made my stomach churn. They were overwhelming, stressful, emotional, and filled with escalation and frustration.

Now, a few months later, I've learned a lot – and I feel confident that I've learned more than I thought I would.

Here are some of the lessons that conflict has taught me:

• De-escalation requires silence

You don't have to dive straight in with policy explanations or solutions. Sometimes, just letting someone air out their frustration will help defuse the situation. The best thing you can do is listen, because understanding is part of the job.

• Distinguish the person from the problem

Residents aren't lashing out at you, they are reacting to an environment that feels out of control. This perspective keeps you grounded and focused on resolution rather than self-protection.

• Clear is kind

We can't always give residents what they want. But giving a straightforward, honest response is always more helpful than making promises that can't be kept. A resident who feels heard is more likely to accept an answer of "no."

Conflict isn't ever easy, but engaging with these interactions has turned out to be one of the most satisfying aspects of my leadership journey.

To all of my property management colleagues: How long did it take you to get good at handling resident conflict? Do you have a go-to technique for de-escalating? Show more

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately:

I don’t want to just be a manager.

I want to build people.

I want to be the person who sees potential in someone, gives them an opportunity, teaches them what I know, and eventually watches them become better than I was at the job.

That’s what leadership means to me.

Not creating a team that can’t function without you.

Not keeping people beneath you because you’re afraid they’ll outgrow you.

Not...Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately:

I don’t want to just be a manager.

I want to build people.

I want to be the person who sees potential in someone, gives them an opportunity, teaches them what I know, and eventually watches them become better than I was at the job.

That’s what leadership means to me.

Not creating a team that can’t function without you.

Not keeping people beneath you because you’re afraid they’ll outgrow you.

Not collecting titles just to say you have them.

I want to build departments, teams, and companies that are strong because of the people in them — not because of one person holding everything together.

And honestly, that’s the direction I’m realizing I want my career to take. Show more

Renting remains substantially cheaper than owning, but the affordability gap is only part of what's supporting apartment demand.

The average monthly cost of owning a home was $3,070 in the second quarter, compared with $1,894 for renting an apartment, according to Newmark. That's a $1,176 monthly...

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Saw this posted in another group. Interesting.

We have a new management company taking over our property in the coming weeks. They are based out of Colorado. We are in the sunbelt.

They want to have it set up within a couple years where no leases will expire from Sept- February. They strongly prefer to have no move ins or move outs for nearly half of the year. Our property is still very busy in what they deem the so called winter months. We...Saw this posted in another group. Interesting.

We have a new management company taking over our property in the coming weeks. They are based out of Colorado. We are in the sunbelt.

They want to have it set up within a couple years where no leases will expire from Sept- February. They strongly prefer to have no move ins or move outs for nearly half of the year. Our property is still very busy in what they deem the so called winter months. We don’t get snow in our region unlike the area where most of their portfolio is located. Some of their new properties will be in Florida markets where the winter months are busier than summer with the influx of snowbirds.

They are offering very random lease terms and it is already raising concerns for our prospects who prefer a traditional 12 month lease. Some of our leases will go from nine months and then jump all the way to 16 months or more.

Several people in our major southern market feel this new company has not done their due diligence. People move year round.

If anyone is familiar with this how did your team adjust to it and overcome what we expect to be major objections? Show more

Yes, NIMBYism is real, and is one of the largest roadblocks to building quality housing.

But the fears of multifamily development often do not match the outcome.

Love this from Patricia:

“We often talk about economic development as if jobs and housing are separate conversations, but how could...

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The Momma Bear and her cubs that live on my property!

Have used Yardi for 20 years. Thoughts from accounting and PM roles?

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“Yes, that is a bottle of liquor sitting on a gas stove — and yes, the gas stove was ON. We discovered this during routine preventative pest control. The resident appears to have skipped out while under eviction.

This could have ended very differently. Thankfully, our team entered the apartment when they did.

Property management friends: What would you do in this situation?”

💻Tech adoption! Are you experiencing any tech fatigue on site with new products? How are you combatting it?