Topic: Turning Units

In reviewing our current standards/strategy to turn apartments after someone moves out, I'd like to discuss some best practices.

Our goal is turn a unit in 5 business days so that it is "made ready" in our system. We're not achieving this due to a number of variables like budgets, pre-leasing the unit, or having another vacant of that style already available and "made ready".

So here's my question: Are you turning apartments in X days regardless of these factors, or are these variables for you as well? What's your standard/strategy?

We start the process before the tenant moves out. We do a preliminary inspection about a week before the actual move out date, and create a list of everything that would need to be done to make the apartment ready. This includes upgrades (appliances, windows, tile in kitchens and baths, repairs and painting and a final cleaning. The turnaround time varies depending on the condition of the apartment. We paint all apartments the same color which makes touch ups and repainting much quicker. With some pre-planning, we can have all of the necessary materials and supplies ready for the first day of vacancy.
Good Luck and Happy New Year!
Bob

I can share the mechanics of what we do, Mark:

1.) Mgrs / Maint Supervisors meet at least weekly to schedule the turn process;
2.) We do not turn by budget, we turn by balancing pre-leased with ready vacant inventory to show, meaning: all apts with a deposit must be ready 5 days prior to move-in (we are a "sign the lease as soon as possible" company, so we want those days prior to move-in to get the new resident in there and correct anything they may not like); AND balance that with ready inventory that represents the mix of unrented vacants (e.g. have a block of 2/2's to move? Get them ready so you have a real vacant to show.....you can use the virtual tours to show the 1/1's that fly off the shelf).
3.) Turns are to be scheduled when the resident gives notice to move (we do not pre-inspect, but do an estimate based on previous inspections - all units inspected every year regardless of whether or not the person is moving);
4.) Budget restriction - no, we do not turn by budget, we keep moving to ensure ready inventory;

***We do NOT have a standard # of business days that we deem acceptable to get them ready.... but of course you are accountable to the schedule you've set and your made-ready ratio is measured.

We do, however, maintain a metric measurement of # days to turn - since it's end of year, I just peeked at December prelim metrics and it looks like we achieved about 10.2 as the average days to turn a unit. I have no idea where that stacks up to the industry. Ours varies a lot...our product is a bit older and properties are in various stages of rehabe (a unit is not turned until the rehab is complete) - so maybe we could do a little better than that without the rehab component??

We do include pre-leased notices in that average, and that typically helps the average. This year, there was so much traffic in our markets that we typically had all notices covered and moved into again by the 10th of the next month (we ran really high pre-leased percentages all year). I don't know if you are separately measuring the turn speed on those that go vacant unrented versus vacant leased.

Our policy is a "framework" to operate within - since the make-ready procedure is such a moving target.

Take care!

-S

Bob, thanks for the feedback. Preinspecting is a great practice to get into. We do this well for our student properties, but probably could do better at our other communities. Thanks for your contribution.

Steve, Thanks for sharing. All good stuff. It sounds like you guys have a pretty nice strategy. I think each property does have it's unique challenges, but setting some benchmarks seems like something that can be beneficial for people to go after. I agree it is a moving target regardless.

Our benchmark is 7 days, but we do consider the budget as scheduling. The goal is to keep adequate ready product based on the specific community’s exposure, per unit type. We share in Bob's pre-inspection practice to insure we are prepared; which helps with pre-leasing.
Take care,
Ashley

Great topic and discussion, and Bob, you are correct. Performing pre-moveout inspections is critical and provide you with the tools to react when you need to. Basically, in my opinion...budget be damned. You can't meet revenue if you don't have the unit to lease. While expenses are important, it's about money in the bank and heads on beds...period end. Variables include conditions, age of community, market demands,and variables such as capital needs. We all know markets can change rather quickly. If you have two ready of a certain floor plan and say, "Don't need to turn that one because I have two in inventory," what do you do if three people walk in tomorrow and want that floor plan for the day after. I would rather say I rented and had moved in six residents this week and justify the expense, than try to explain why income was down. Once you loose income, it CAN NEVER be regained. Turn them to earn income in them.

Our policy is to turn within 5 days of moveout. We too perform pre moveout inspections 2 weeks prior to the moveout date. Once the moveout inspection is completed, the schedule is created for the maintenance team and vendors to ready each unit and we are ready to turn immediately upon keys being turned in. In a slow leasing season, we very well may end up with more ready units than necessary that month but we are prepared for that "rush" that always happens.

I see it as a grocery store not restocking the bread until their down to the last loaf. The bread is on the shelf regardless of sales. Having to ready alot of vacant units that have been sitting and ready them now because of a change in the market can create stress, pressure, and sometimes chaos for our vendors and site staff to perform and can sometimes cost more.

I understand there are alot of different opinions on this subject and they all make sense to me. I just prefer to have at least 95% of my inventory on all sites ready to lease.

Mark,
In my experience 5 days is both prudent and reasonable. While we all look at unit mix availability, cost and complexity for the turn it has always been my belief that keeping all units in a rent ready state by turning as quickly as possible without added cost ie overtime is still the best policy from a management standpoint. Once you tell your staff to ignore a unit the message becomes very blury on the importance of ready units. If 5 days is not working pick a number that works as stick to it. Russell

A reasonable expectation is 3-5 days from move out to make ready status. More times than not, units aren't turned due to how a staff is bonused if additional expense may prevent the bonus. I easily would prefer that units are turned within 3-5 days with an emphasis on having make readies of each type of unit prepared first. Maintenance bonuses should be based upon a combination of make ready completions in a timely manner, work order completion and NOI or expense control.

I agree with the 3-5 days schedule. However, you should target less to keep your overall costs down. Carey's bonus structure will help.

I find the biggest road block to effective turns is simple planning. I'm always surprised by the number of management/maintenance teams that don't plan their daily/weekly/monthly activities; especially turn work. This includes inventory and vendor scheduling. This is a great opportunity for the leasing & maintenace staffs to work together.

When turning units, one of the main concerns should be customer satisfaction. The first impression new residents get when they walk into their new apartment for the very first time is going to be a lasting impression, and this can determine how long they will stay in the apartment, and how easy or how hard will be to keep them satisfied during the lease term. Making sure the first impression is a good one should be one of the main priorities. The time that takes to get units ready varies, depending on how old the property is, how long the prior resident lived in the unit, and in what conditions was the unit at the time of move-out. Planning is the key to have a successful make-ready process, and part of this plan should be to walk units before people moves out to get an idea of the conditions of the unit and start scheduling the work that needs to be done, as well as ordering the materials needed to complete the work. Three to five working days is an average amount of time many companies in the industry used as a guideline, understanding that in some cases when the unit is in excellent condition at the time of move-out, the process will take less time, and other times, when the unit at the time of move-out is in conditions beyond the normal turn, the process could take much longer. Some samples of work considered beyond normal turn could be replacing flooring, plumbing fixtures, cabinets, counters, and any other items that fall into the rehabbing or remodeling categories. Having a well trained maintenance team who possesses the skills and knowledge to perform at their highest potential is the key to increasing customer satisfaction, employee success, and company revenues.

When you say 3-5 days, are you doing paint, carpet, and housekeeping in-house or contracting?

Vicki, it all depends upon your staffing expertise & workload. Typically, carpet & paint are handled by vendors. House keeping/cleaning can be handle in-house easily. For mid-sized to larger groups, these activities may be handled by a regional in-house team. But the key is having a system in place to handle the upcoming workload, as well as the unexpected.

3-5 days is reasonable. Painting and carpet cleaning done by contractors.

I would emphasize that having all empty units make ready is important to have a choice for the prospective customers. They may love the property but insist on being close to the entrance, don't have to walk far to take the garbage out, like a view of the treed area, close to the pool, or any number of reasons that you won't know when making a decision to turn or not. If its vacant it needs to be move-in ready so you can give the leasing team all the tools to close or give them the best possible chance of meeting the customer's needs. Pre-inspection also is a preemptive process to settle with the resident any possible discussion regarding the condition of the unit. When this is done before move-out it helps to minimize any surprises. The other comments regarding scheduling were great and could not agree more with meeting and planning and having processes coordinated and planned.

How many maintenance guys working in the unit?

Oh holy...... The rent determines the budget.... I you have no rental income, how could you decide on a budget??? You have to turn the apartment as quickly as possible so that it available to create the income that creates the budget.....

Some of this depends on the size of the apartment community. A person who is experienced should be able to schedule for an apartment to take no longer than 3 days. You should always have alternate vendors just in case you have a quick move-in.

My goal is to have a unit turned in three business days.

Here is the rule of thumb
Day 1: Maintenance and Painters (they tend to leave a little bit of a mess so we have them get in first)
Day 2: Cleaners
Day 3: Carpet Cleaners (this should be done at the very end)

At our complex we do semi annual inspections so we are able to have an idea of what kind of shape the apartment is in prior to them moving out. With these inspections we assess any maintenance issues as well as how well the tenant is keeping up with our property. If the carpet is has a grade of a C I know when they move out that I will most likely have to replace the carpet. When this happens I schedule a carpet vendor day one and three after move out. Day 1 to assess the carpet and see if it is "saveable" if it is we continue with cleaning on day 3, if not I cancel that appointment and schedule the replacement.

I always try to either check the unit right before the vendors leave or at least the same day that they are there so if any redos are needed we can take care of them ASAP.

If all goes as planned then the unit is only vacant for 3 days and we have a tenant already scheduled for day 4!

now is a turn that should be done in less then 6 days also include removing all the hardware cab handle hinges door knobs door hinges plastic of 1110 square foot apartment remove any and all shelf tack paper with heat gun prime said kitchen cab 15 of them paint said cab repaint all the walls when done replace the hardware with all new chrome hinges and knobs plus paint all the wood trim white then have new carpet and vinyl installed and then have apartment cleaned

Hmmm...Asking people who have probably never done an apartment turn about turning apartments? I must question your logic here.

Race, gender, and age profiling are not allowed when it comes to RENTING apartments, but they are in terms of predicting maintenance. More importantly, length of time in residence. A young woman with four kids is going to be harder on the unit than an old man who won't even hang pictures. If you ask your maintenance folks how long it will take to complete the turn, they will tell you "until I'm finished." How long it takes to do a turn depends on how big and how trashed the apartment is. Cleaning and Maintenance should be done by two different people. They require two different mindsets.

We use a program called Make Ready Manager to help schedule tasks to be done between tenants. It is a computer version of a make ready board. We schedule pre-moveout inspections so we know to what extent the turn may be, the moveout inspection to be done after the lease expires or when they turn in keys, general prep, flooring installation, painting, cleaning, carpet cleaning and a final inspection. We schedule all this ahead of time for our units so everyone knows where they need to go and when. We generally give 5 days to turn a unit just to make sure there aren't any problems during that time with someone not showing up. Make Ready Manager has a phone app for our employees and vendors so they have access to their task list from their smart phone. The program is great for managing turn over work schedules. Our biggest challenge is workmanship from people.

Planning, how?

We should have a five day turn, and its not happening. I have 2 maint. people on staff. We are income based, 138 units with 22 vacants. :(

Im new at management and am not sure how to implement new procedures.

I have a question what included turn over and how much to charge?