A finger pointing at a graph of our rents from 2020 to present. That's gonna change!

In 2008 & 2009 when the housing market tanked and we experienced rent drops, I was on-site. Here are my thoughts for those who are potentially going through this again in the current market:

1. Service matters! Those properties that have settled for less than stellar service and have been cruising on the easy leasing to combat their higher turnover will suffer. Even fairly well-run properties without stellar service will find themselves a little behind. Service is what differentiates your community from the neighbors and your residents are comparing your service to other industries, not just other properties. Amazon can get a package to their door in 24 hours but you can't get a service team member out to check out their AC when it's 90 degrees. Market to your residents, and woo them to renew!  Lowering turn over will be a lifesaver in a market when traffic dies.

2. Your reviews & referrals are more important than ever. Even back when ratings were not as reviewed by prospects as they are now, having good reviews is a leg up on competitors and speaks to number 1. Prospects are savvy enough to read through the reviews of residents or people that you know and have asked to review, and the unsettled residents who blast you. They are looking for consistent, generally positive ratings and to see how you resolve problems and respond to requests. In my opinion as a consumer - the truth is in the 3 & 4 star reviews. If you haven't been working on a consistent survey and review program, you want to start that today because you are behind.

3. The LC becomes the most important role. Everyone leases. Owners called me every day - Do you have any leases? Did you have tours? How did they go? Answer your phone. Stand up when prospects come in. Stand out in a market of square boxes! Brag about items 1 and 2 on the list. Have perfect turns ready. CLOSE. And I'm not an aggressive salesperson, but people come to you looking for a home and you have one for them. Get them in it! Sign the lease as fast as you can. (Also watch out for flipping fraud, it's rampant, and that wasn't yet the case in 2009). 

4. Build Word of Mouth Marketing into your plan. This includes Outside Marketing, Reviews, Referral programs, Vendor relationships, and Sister property and Competitor relationships. You should be working these avenues for leads and leases, but that's all going to depend on number 2, which depends on number 1.  Once you have a program for those items and get them where they need to go, make sure that you talk about them all the time.  

5. Collections are also important as it gets hard to pay the mortgage when your occupancy falls below 92. Properties are probably tighter financed now as a lot of aggressive deals were made over the past 3 years because the market was good. Act quickly and double-check your delinquency policies to align with the owner's goals. It's a sad truth that when people get a certain amount behind, they can never catch-up and they run from the debt. High-balance residents are essentially vacancy loss. Have a list of resources for residents before they get to that point. And there are approximately 6 people in the history of the world that have fulfilled their payment plan. Do with that what you will.

Yes, I also walked to school in snow over my head.  And I typed leases on a type-writer and used carbon paper.  Things have changed a lot, but I think these 5 ideas will be the same in the upcoming market turn.