If you work in multifamily, you know this moment.A resident walks into your office upset because their package is gone. And now they're looking at YOU to fix the problem. And you're sitting there thinking…"I wish I could. But I can't."I've experienced this on multiple levels. On-site (as a leasing consultant, assistant and community manager), and also at the corporate level when I was the Customer Care Manager for a large comp ...

You track bad debt, right?You track vacancy loss. Concessions. Cost per lease. Cost per click. You track all the numbers to determine whether or not the asset is doing well, or not. But there is one line item that may just be costing you a lot of money per property, and it's not tracked, at least not in the way that makes it clearly obvious what it is. It doesn't have it's own line on a report, or a column, maybe not even a budget!But it's there. ...

"What's the point of doing all this work if they're just going to get denied anyway?"Sound familiar?That's what people are actually saying right now. After the third tour of the day… the third "we love it"… and the third denial. And it's not just frustrating, it takes so much of the energy out of you!Because it feels like all that work was for ... nothing. So now you've gotten very familiar with these nagging thoughts in the back o ...

I've been spending more time lately with teams in affordable and senior communities, and transitional housing. And if I could sum up what I keep hearing in one sentence, it would be this:"I didn't expect the job to feel like this."Many of these professionals came over from the conventional side of multifamily housing, so while there were VERY well aware of the challenges inherent in the industry, many of them still found themselves surp ...

My heart sunk. It was news I knew was coming. Yet, when I read it, it still hit me like a gut punch. My dear friend Annie had left this earth and stepped into eternity. When I first met her in 2004, I was struggling in all the ways. At the beginning of the year my unexpected divorce completely upended my world. One moment I thought I was happily married, and the next, the future had never seemed more bleak or uncertain. As a result of the divorce ...

There's a point when you stop caring. You know, when a resident is upset. You go into your "shtick". You listen, you explain, you keep it professional. When the resident leaves you don't feel better or worse, you just move on to the next thing on your list. A client wants to rent from you, and you say, "great". But, honestly, you're not that excited. On the one hand, you're glad that you rented that apartment, and don't have to hea ...

If you're a regional manager in multifamily, there's a good chance you're feeling ... tired, with a side of pressure and stress. I have a ton of respect for regionals like you. You occupy the messy middle space between corporate (ownership) and the onsite teams. The regionals I've worked with over the years have told me that they feel like their jobs are less about strategy, or more about how to just make things work. How ...

Are Conferences Broken?It's a question I hear more and more in the multifamily industry.Before I go any further, let me be clear: I'm a fan of conferences. Yes, I'm a professional speaker and I make my living speaking at conferences across the country, including the big ones you're thinking of. That helps. But that's not why I believe in them.I believe in conferences because they are often where decisions get made. The kind where someone hea ...

"So... what's the real rent????"This question is being asked at apartment communities all across the nation, right now. Why? Because a prospect sees the "base rent" listed and assumes that's the rent. Then, the prospect goes deeper into the process and realizes that it's the base rent PLUS pest control, landscaping, locker, technology and other assorted fees. And this creates pain. I know there are legitima ...

There was a time when the role of a property manager was relatively clear.Manage operations. Lead a team. Connect with residents. Handle budgets, inspections, audits, vendors, and the daily realities of running a community.As someone who was a community manager I know that It is demanding work...but the work was clear. Today, that role (and that of regional managers) has expanded into something else.Modern commu ...

I'm just going to say it:People in our industry are losing heart.Not because they're lazy or not motivated, it's because the system we've built is wearing them down. And a lot of leaders don't see it because they're stuck inside the multifamily bubble, where everyone talks the same, celebrates the same wins, and slowly drifts away from the reality onsite teams live every day.It's like politicians who've been in D.C. too long, they still thin ...

 Today's prospects know more than ever… and yet somehow know less than ever.Let me explain.Prospects walk in loaded with information. Before they ever meet a leasing professional, they've already:Compared pricing at every compReviewed floor plans and availabilityRead Google reviews, TikTok tours, Reddit threads, and Facebook community groupsWatched virtual tours (sometimes more than once)Mapped out commute timesChecked every amenity listIt's ...

In my time undercover as a temp (if you haven't yet done so, read the first post in this series to get the backstory) one of the biggest lessons that I've learned is that teams (office and maintenance) are stretched thin. Staffing shortages, centralized processes, and constant change have created an environment where professionals are expected to do more with less. The irony is many of the things that are causing the ...