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How much of a rent discount does your property management company offer to employees? (Property Managers excluded)

Lilah Poltz

Guest Insider 40% if they live and work at the same site. 20% if different sites. Onsite associates only.

Guest Insider Student housing… my company does 30% community assistants. May be slightly different for lower managers (LM and AM), but none of us use it, so I don’t know that policy.

Guest Insider Anyone know what Lincoln offers their property managers for a discount?

Lilah Poltz Curious about this one!

Guest Insider Mine was 10% off the lease amount. Extras like storage units or pet fees not included in discount eligibility. Max discount $200.

Shanna it wont let me select an option but ours would be 100% plus all utilities covered (except wifi/cable)

Guest Insider 20% office staff
40% maintenance staff

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I recently moved into an apartment with my 4 year old son. I have a registered service dog that I have had for 10 years for my disability. My son’s therapist and doctor both recommended an ESA for him about 5 months ago. I signed my lease and had to get updated paperwork for both animals because...

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Could use some help from the group. We are working on a rountable discussion regarding communication and somewhat respect between the Maintenance and Office.
What are the top 5 things the office can improve on and what are 5 things maintenance can improve on when it comes to communication?
Or what...

Guest Insider For office ask more questions when taking work order requests from residents. Example which bathroom, which bedroom, is it dripping, flowing, running constantly, etc. This way maintenance can go knowing exactly where to go and bring all necessary tools. For maintenance be descriptive on work order of what was completed. Example; changed out capacitator and cleaned coils; replaced solenoid in dishwasher, ran a cycle and it's draining properly.
The biggest thing is to make sure your team is calling ONLY the maintenance Supervisor with urgent matters so He or She can delegate who to send. Also, only call the Supervisor if it's an emergency. The more you call about new work orders the more you take them away from what they are currently working on.
My staff is pretty big and these are a few things that we have discussed. I have 6 in office and 8 in maintenance department.

Guest Insider Completely agree that office staff must make more of an effort to get details of the problem rather than "fridge stopped working". And same detail from maintenance how fixed. Makes everyone's life easier.

Jennifer Kennedy Amen to this. Years ago we created a question follow up for the office team. The issue now is most work orders are done online by the resident so totally bypass this opportunity

Guest Insider Office staff shouldn't make promises on what time maintenance will be there. A request can be made but not promised. Always ask permission to enter if not home and again encourage residents to allow us in if they are not home as it will speed up the process and get work done more efficiently.

Donje Putnam Also, have a weekly team meeting and manager and maintenance super have a morning huddle.

Chris Finetto That’s a giant question. I had very specific rules for PMs and how they communicated with Techs, a few things I did.
1) Designated Meeting Times - Every day at the same time PM and Lead had a 15 min meeting. Each providing an update on what’s going on.
2) Leasing Board - Simple and effective.
3) Communication - Limit distractions, don’t call them every time something occurs.
4) Finish Tasks - Do not pull techs off of a job to do another job (unless and absolute emergency). You wonder why it takes a week to prep a unit - cause your constantly pulling techs off the job to do something else.
4) Dates - It was a rule to absolutely avoid Monday or Friday move-ins. Mondays are just too unpredictable and chances are there’s details in the unit missed on Friday. Friday, because it just put everyone in a bad mood. The resident could move in on Monday/Friday but the unit had to be lease ready. I always took steps to flatten the turnover, evenly distributed throughout the year. That takes time and work... Show more

That’s a giant question. I had very specific rules for PMs and how they communicated with Techs, a few things I did.
1) Designated Meeting Times - Every day at the same time PM and Lead had a 15 min meeting. Each providing an update on what’s going on.
2) Leasing Board - Simple and effective.
3) Communication - Limit distractions, don’t call them every time something occurs.
4) Finish Tasks - Do not pull techs off of a job to do another job (unless and absolute emergency). You wonder why it takes a week to prep a unit - cause your constantly pulling techs off the job to do something else.
4) Dates - It was a rule to absolutely avoid Monday or Friday move-ins. Mondays are just too unpredictable and chances are there’s details in the unit missed on Friday. Friday, because it just put everyone in a bad mood. The resident could move in on Monday/Friday but the unit had to be lease ready. I always took steps to flatten the turnover, evenly distributed throughout the year. That takes time and work.

Ryan Pope I think a 5 minute powwow/ huddle every morning helps. Not a bitch session go over move ins, move outs. Maintenance and office goals for the dsy

Carletta Richardson-Cheeseboro Stop writing DONE or COMPLETED on work orders? WHAT did you do?? That is how you can follow up to make sure we have tried everything before replacing it.

Guest Insider I always like to send new office team members to a maintenance 101 class. It was great for the to learn about different elements so they can ask those important questions over the phone… like “can you tell me if the button is set to on or auto” Saves a ton of service requests.

Jennifer Kennedy 1. If you see something say something! No animals listed on the work order but you see animals? Terrible housekeeping issues? Landscapers skipping areas behind buildings? Etc….Let your supervisor know.
2. Property Managers - let your maintenance supervisor know what you have done or doing to remedy items reported from #1. If the team doesn’t know that this reporting is appreciated and acted upon - guess what. They won’t tell you anymore because they don’t think you care.
3. If an applicant changes their move in date OR decided they want to change to a different unit Notify the maintenance supervisor immediately. They aren’t in front of a computer checking all day.
4. Maintenance Super - if an unforeseen issues arises that effect the turn time notify the PM immediately
5. If the office is handing out keys to turn vendor mark it in software as in progress or if still using traditional board designate a color to indicate that vendor took keys and out that color dot in that line item on the... Show more

1. If you see something say something! No animals listed on the work order but you see animals? Terrible housekeeping issues? Landscapers skipping areas behind buildings? Etc….Let your supervisor know.
2. Property Managers - let your maintenance supervisor know what you have done or doing to remedy items reported from #1. If the team doesn’t know that this reporting is appreciated and acted upon - guess what. They won’t tell you anymore because they don’t think you care.
3. If an applicant changes their move in date OR decided they want to change to a different unit Notify the maintenance supervisor immediately. They aren’t in front of a computer checking all day.
4. Maintenance Super - if an unforeseen issues arises that effect the turn time notify the PM immediately
5. If the office is handing out keys to turn vendor mark it in software as in progress or if still using traditional board designate a color to indicate that vendor took keys and out that color dot in that line item on the board so everyone knows the vendor came to do the work.
6. Make it to clear to ALL the the maintenance super directs the maintenance team. No one including the PM should ever be calling a tech or porter to take care of something. Tell the super as they know who is doing what and will also know that if this call is a priority it will take them away from assigned work
7. Someone from office walk ready unit’s IMMEDIATELY after or if possible preferably WITH super. Office and maintenance see different things for ready units. And nothing drives them crazier then having a unit ready for weeks and you wait until the day before the move in to walk it and decide you don’t like the way something was done.
I could go on and on 
These are more the team already in place. When hiring PM and MM we ask open ended questions about prior working relationships. We know that his is the most critical relationship for a properties success.

Guest Insider One of the biggest things I have found it the office calls maintenance for everything throughout the day. I have coached my teams to not allow anyone except the community manager to call maintenance (obviously exceptions are made when the community manager is not there) and coached the community manager if the building is not on fire or flooding, to simply take a note (literal note pad on their desk) until the maintenance supervisor checks in. I have also coached the maintenance supervisor to check in at opening, when leaving for lunch, when returning from lunch and one hour before leaving for the day.
Maintenance is often interrupted SO much throughout the day and the frustration is real. A maintenance supervisor has the team working on what is important but the office staff often deviates from that plan and the supervisor is then held accountable for things not getting done.

Guest Insider We had our office staff teach maintenance about the complaints they get on move in and our maintenance staff teach our office staff what questions they need answered to deal with work orders.
The important part was less about the info and more about coming up with these things together , being a team and letting our front line staff be the experts

Joelis Barandica-Rodriguez Ok this is going to be a long text - so apologies in advance. It's great that you're addressing communication and respect between the Maintenance and Office teams. Open and effective communication is crucial .
For the Office Team:
1. Transparency:Share maintenance schedules and updates promptly with Maintenance, ensuring they have the information needed to plan their work efficiently.
2. Active Listening:Take the time to actively listen to maintenance concerns and requests, showing empathy and understanding of their challenges.
3. Documentation:Keep thorough records of maintenance requests, timelines, and work orders, making it easier for Maintenance to prioritize tasks.
4. Timely Responses:Respond promptly to maintenance requests and questions, acknowledging their importance and demonstrating a commitment to problem-solving.
**For the Maintenance Team:**
1. Clear Reporting:Ensuring consistency and clarity in communication with the Office.
2. Prioritization:Clearly communicate the...Ok this is going to be a long text - so apologies in advance. It's great that you're addressing communication and respect between the Maintenance and Office teams. Open and effective communication is crucial .
For the Office Team:
1. Transparency:Share maintenance schedules and updates promptly with Maintenance, ensuring they have the information needed to plan their work efficiently.
2. Active Listening:Take the time to actively listen to maintenance concerns and requests, showing empathy and understanding of their challenges.
3. Documentation:Keep thorough records of maintenance requests, timelines, and work orders, making it easier for Maintenance to prioritize tasks.
4. Timely Responses:Respond promptly to maintenance requests and questions, acknowledging their importance and demonstrating a commitment to problem-solving.
**For the Maintenance Team:**
1. Clear Reporting:Ensuring consistency and clarity in communication with the Office.
2. Prioritization:Clearly communicate the urgency and impact of maintenance tasks, allowing the Office to prioritize and allocate resources effectively.
3. Feedback Loop:Establish a feedback mechanism for the office to evaluate the quality and timeliness of maintenance work.
4. Professionalism:Maintain professionalism when communicating issues or challenges, focusing on facts and solutions rather than complaints.
5. Collaboration:Foster a collaborative approach by involving the Office in discussions about long-term maintenance plans and goals, promoting a sense of shared responsibility.
**Common Hindrances:**
1. Lack of Information:Both teams should strive to eliminate any information gaps by sharing essential details related to residents, units, and maintenance requirements.
2. Assumptions:Avoid making assumptions about each other's roles and responsibilities; instead, seek clarification when necessary.
3. Miscommunication: Address any misunderstandings promptly and constructively, focusing on improving communication processes.
4. Respect: Cultivate a culture of mutual respect, recognizing that each team plays a vital role in the community. Show more

Ok this is going to be a long text - so apologies in advance. It's great that you're addressing communication and respect between the Maintenance and Office teams. Open and effective communication is crucial .
For the Office Team:
1. Transparency:Share maintenance schedules and updates promptly with Maintenance, ensuring they have the information needed to plan their work efficiently.
2. Active Listening:Take the time to actively listen to maintenance concerns and requests, showing empathy and understanding of their challenges.
3. Documentation:Keep thorough records of maintenance requests, timelines, and work orders, making it easier for Maintenance to prioritize tasks.
4. Timely Responses:Respond promptly to maintenance requests and questions, acknowledging their importance and demonstrating a commitment to problem-solving.
**For the Maintenance Team:**
1. Clear Reporting:Ensuring consistency and clarity in communication with the Office.
2. Prioritization:Clearly communicate the urgency and impact of maintenance tasks, allowing the Office to prioritize and allocate resources effectively.
3. Feedback Loop:Establish a feedback mechanism for the office to evaluate the quality and timeliness of maintenance work.
4. Professionalism:Maintain professionalism when communicating issues or challenges, focusing on facts and solutions rather than complaints.
5. Collaboration:Foster a collaborative approach by involving the Office in discussions about long-term maintenance plans and goals, promoting a sense of shared responsibility.
**Common Hindrances:**
1. Lack of Information:Both teams should strive to eliminate any information gaps by sharing essential details related to residents, units, and maintenance requirements.
2. Assumptions:Avoid making assumptions about each other's roles and responsibilities; instead, seek clarification when necessary.
3. Miscommunication: Address any misunderstandings promptly and constructively, focusing on improving communication processes.
4. Respect: Cultivate a culture of mutual respect, recognizing that each team plays a vital role in the community.

Guest Insider Have a morning huddle and limit the office calling maintenance on the radio for every work order.

Guest Insider Great topic! I think the best way would be to ask for feedback via anonymous feedback requests. And then drilling down to the biggest issues and handling them. Just like residents, employees appreciate being asked and being heard!

Guest Insider Set up shadow days. The different sides of the house don't understand the pain points the other has. Even 4 hours would help improve understanding.

Sarah Atkins One of the most valuable training tools I have ever implemented were Swap Days. Have a person from the office spend a day shadowing maintenance, and vice versa until the entire team has done a Swap Day. Then, let everyone share during a team huddle what they learned from spending their day in someone else’s shoes… that’s a good start to a round table discussion, I think!

Guest Insider This is something that we have been working on… but our office team is quick to pick up the phone and call our maintenance team about things throughout the day. Emergencies yes always, but these days as the residents have become more demanding, we are quick to pick up the phone and call them for something we could easily tell a resident that we will find out and get back to them after lunch time or as soon as maintenance steps back into the office. It does disrupt maintenance when they get get interrupted in the midst of fixing an a/c or are in the middle of pulling apart a dishwasher or a multitude of other things. Sometimes the office does not realize just how much time it takes away each time we simply pick up the phone and call. Just one small thing that has been communicated back to the office staff that has helped them get more work done throughout the day. And when we flip it around, maintenance will check to discuss with the office any questions.

Guest Insider For maintenance emergencies maybe these could be Text messages in a WhatsApp group or something like that to Lead MX so lead can dispatch accordingly. Calls slow everyone down. A lot can be site specific though so ask your staff together what can help them, like a family meeting. The same as I think MX should jump on a few leasing tours. You could always tell the prospect you want your MX to tag along just in case any MX questions come up. The MX can then hear what customers are asking and wanting.

Guest Insider 1. CM only allowed to call the SM or service team.
2. Train office on the right questions to ask and make sure the portal is doing the same.
3. Whoever turns the unit has to go back and do all service requests the next 30 days after MI.
4. Require everyone to partner up and have job switch day.
5. Required all team meeting once per week. Everyone brings a peice of information. Leasing=leasing numbers ACM= delinquency, renewals and so on

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It amazes me how many people do not read our letters, emails, and notices.

Kristina Janis Agree

Guest Insider “I wasn’t notified”

Guest Insider Omg at my Property also. Never!

Guest Insider My favorite is “I wasn’t notified!” And then I go into our yardi crm and look at the email analytics and can see they opened the email. I then say “Well we sent the email on x and I see here from our analytics that you did read it.”

Nathan Baker Allie Gartside Or I enjoy when I happened to be the one that put the notice on their door and they claim they didn't see it and I say "well actually I was the one who physically put it on your door so..." lol

Guest Insider Nathan Baker yeah, I had a manager who was a little neurotic. Used to drive me crazy but I appreciate it now. She would have me email, Mail and post any notices so that way there’s no excuse for them to say they didn’t receive notification. Because then, at that point, they’re literally covering their hands over their eyes, and choosing not to see it lol

Nathan Baker We put out an important notice the other week and we opted to print them on bright orange paper so it sounded even more ridiculous when they argued about not knowing. In addition to printing off the emailed notice with the check mark showing they read it

Mark Tanguay Before I post notices, I highlight the one or two lines that are crucial. I know they're not going to read the rest of it.
Xxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xx water shutdown xxxxx xxxx x xxxx Thursday xxxx xxxxx xxx

Guest Insider Nobody does. Everyone I know has thousands of unread emails notifications. It makes me insane.

Robert Garcia but they read the texts

Guest Insider It went to my spam folder and I don't check those.

Guest Insider I just had one tell me that she is not obligated to read her emails and felt like she should not be held accountable for something she didn’t know even though it was sent to her.

Guest Insider People are overwhelmed with information. Have a small focus group and ask for their ideas!

Guest Insider I have started putting PLEASE READ in my subject line.

carol adams Residents don’t read ours either

Guest Insider And then look shocked when you say something or rhe sheriff appears with a court notice.

Guest Insider Facts and then come into complain about whatever the notice pertained to and you’re like I sent a notice with an email blast on this date about XYZ…. Well I didn’t get it….. no you just didn’t read it

Patty Peterson My fave was when we were paving and sent notices. Had two residents in the same Apt. that didn’t read the notice to be out of the designated area by 7am. His excuse: we send many notices to all tenants in his building that don’t apply to him, so he didn’t bother reading it. That was an expensive $150 towing bill for him. They had different vehicles and license plates that weren’t in our system.

Guest Insider My 55+ property has many long term residents. Standard renewal notices get boring year after year so I craft a new one each year that's more fun. There is always some related item included. So when they don't respond we follow up with a call. If the reply is they didn't receive the notice we ask how they enjoyed the S'mores bar. They liked it? Well then you received the renewal notice bc the granola bar was wrapped inside the notice!

Guest Insider Literally was just thinking, hmmmm I guess when the power is off for 3 hours next week they will call me...

Guest Insider Same here. I accidentally sent an email with the wrong attachment. I had over 50 replies. Like really the one time your not needed to read my mass email you read it.

Guest Insider I’m sorry … did you expect them to read the papers?! Lmao no no no …. That would be too much lol

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Hey everyone! I’m speaking on a panel at an upcoming BTR conference and was wondering what everyone’s feedback was on current demands they’re noticing for interior/design, amenities, finishes, etc. I’m especially curious about BTR communities, but would also love to hear feedback on apartments. Thanks in advance!!!

Guest Insider Fenced in yards in my community in SC. We have retainer ponds and while they love the view, want to keep a guard up from possible alligators the million geese and keeps pets and children safe.

Guest Insider I have several BTR communities I’m working on in Florida. Biggest challenge we are facing in the initial planning is navigating risk with contractor selection. The GC’s that we would typically use on our larger new build communities are not competitive in the BTR marketplace.

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I have been the manager at "My" property for 12 1/2 years. I supervised a major renovation and leased most of the residents their apartments. I have always enjoyed a great relationship with "Our" residents. I know every resident's name, their children's names, and their pets. To make a long story short, our residents are very open and comfortable when speaking to me. I have always been in pretty decent shape. I am 6'3" and try to stay around... Show more

Guest Insider I'm sorry to laugh, but the elders know they are on the way out and do NOT care about anyone's feelings!

Kathy Porter Not sure why old people have no filter! Children, I understand, but old people?!

Stewart Beal 6’3 and 202 lbs or 217 lbs, trust me, you are looking good.
6’1 and 240 over here (and also looking good)

Sheila Singer I’m pretty sure in TX the appropriate response is “bless your heart.”

Guest Insider Sheila Singer bless your heart is the soft "FU"... love it

Guest Insider This sounds like the residents I used to have at my senior property!

Guest Insider Same!! I had a resident tell me after I have been at my property for over 4 years.. you need to go to the gym..seems like your putting on the pounds..and he out weighs me by at least 60 pounds…I’m 5’9 and weigh 180

Guest Insider “Congratulations! Omg! You’re pregnant!” Ummmm i work multi-demographic apartment (s) and I’m just fat!!! I just ate!!! I bloat when I eat, have irritable bowel… yeah not pregnant but thanks for the reminder to suck it in!!! (I’ll also add I was 135 when comments were made and now 125 and haven’t had a comment!) People are weird and unfiltered!!!

Guest Insider She must be Filipina. My MIL complains about "getting fat" when she stays in the US because she doesn't walk like she does in he Philippines. And she straight says FAT like it's the color pink.

Guest Insider I think I was 25-26 dealing with cystic acne out of no where. I was an AM at a property, one of our older regulars came into my office and goes “oh you need to get the cream for the zits”. I wanted to die.

Guest Insider I worked a site when pregnant with my first. I was about 7 or 8 months along and a resident said "Oh Girl, you are big and pregnant!" I had to laugh...and just said yeah "I'm getting close to earning my own gravitational pull." While on maternity leave with same kid, we received a $50 payment for her from an organization, made out directly to me. It was sent back and reissued to the site. She moved to avoid eviction, taking the refrigerator with her and called leaving voicemails saying I stole money from a church and so on....I dont think I will ever forget her lol

Kathi Marie seniors and lack of filters...i miss those days sometimes lol...they really do pay attention dont' they

Guest Insider Too funny! Working at a 55+ community was never dull that’s for sure! At least they can’t ask you “when are you due?”

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I see it as a well seasoned kitchen.

Miles Scruggs It’s not everyday that tenants buy you a new kitchen. Generous!

Guest Insider A little over done in my opinion lol

Karen Pepper Goodbye!

Guest Insider Geez. That’s awful.

Guest Insider What the hell is in that bowl? 🤢

Rafael Benavides No worries, what ever it was, it will never fly again.

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Looking for suggestions for long-range tracking devices for the safety of our staff when escorting new prospects. I'd rather them not use their phone as a device, but instead consider something like Tile, which they can keep with their keys. Any advice is appreciated.

Dave Holland Apple air tag

Guest Insider And you can get all kinds of holders for them - lanyards, keychains, bracelets, something that goes on a belt, etc.

Dave Holland Keep in mind, staff may not want to put an air tag on their personal keys. This would allow you to track them even when they are off the job.
I would say you’d be okay putting it on work keys that stay at the office overnight

Josh McKibben Dave Holland Agree 100%. I actually wouldn’t require them to use it at all. But I’d like to let them know the importance of their safety and let them know they have an option .

Mike Powers Tile and AirTag both rely on adjacent phone.
You are still using phone.

Guest Insider iPhones

Guest Insider Get one of those and put it on a vacant key or a master.

Guest Insider Just saw this at the Arizona trade show

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Social Media. It's a love-hate relationship for most people, and many marketers as well. Things change fast and every couple of years there seems to be a 'new kid in town' competing for our screen time. In the post below, we're taking a dive into a handful of common questions we get asked at Brindle regarding multifamily social media marketing and apartment Facebook ads, including: What platforms should my apartment be on? Do I have to advertise ...

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Is your property pet-friendly? If you're one of the 70-80% of market rate rental housing operators who accept pets, you've probably just answered that question with a resounding 'yes.' But from whose perspective? Yours? The family with a 95-pound golden retriever? The single parent with two kids and a cat, struggling to make ends meet? A seemingly innocuous question – 'is your property pet-friendly?' – becomes quite provocative when v ...

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Rant-
A company with a high employee turn over is a company who does not care to give employees a Life Balance, mentorship, development and believes they can always find someone else who will allow their bad management. READ BELOW! I want to work for her.

Guest Insider Totally agree!!!
I wish more people had this mindset

Guest Insider I love this however we have to understand that not all people we hire have this type of worth ethic.

Guest Insider This is a great mindset and works well when you don’t have office hours and people facing customers. Working from home, leaving early and coming in late is just not feasible in our industry. With that said… we shouldn’t be skipping lunches, staying after and taking work home. But I see people in this industry do it all the time and then look at the management company for their burnout

Guest Insider I am flexible with my staff. Im a regional over 6 properties and as long as the office is manned I work with people. You need to have happy employees to have an employees that work hard and care.

Guest Insider That’s great! Yes of course work with people. I always have as well 🌻 I think your key statement ‘as long as the office is manned’ says it all. We don’t have the capacity to just let team members choose when and where they work as that shared post suggests.

Guest Insider I totally agree. Unfortunately, there are residents who want to see a person. This is where some may take advantage of it and mess up for the staff that ethics and morals.
I love this mentality.

Guest Insider This is how my team operates too!

Jomar Rager This doesn’t exist in our industry

Guest Insider Jomar Rager what industry are you in? I’m in multifamily and I’ve used this and it works. Don’t be afraid of trying new things unless you are not on the position to make that happen - find your joy

Guest Insider Wish more employees or managers were like this.

Karen Mallinger A little leeway goes a long way toward keeping your staff happy & engaged. 2 examples just this week: 1) I have a painter who I know has been having transportation problems. The part he ordered to fix his truck came in, but the place was only open until 4pm. It was an easy decision to let him duck out an hour early so he could make sure he has reliable transportation to get to work. 2) a new maintenance tech had to take a bit longer lunch yesterday because he is responsible for dropping off his daughter at school in the AM and didn’t realize he needed to make arrangements if he doesn’t walk her all the way inside. For and extra 1/2 hour, he got peace of mind and an employer that cares about his family so he can be present and get the job done.

Melanie Thompson Good leadership

Guest Insider Can’t love this post enough!!!!!

Miles Scruggs It’s a bit out of place to not realize this is a two way street. They seems to completely not understand employee handbooks, company policies etc all exist because everyone has different work ethics, goals etc. No one woke up one day and said: “You know what would be fun to do? Write a bunch of policy stuff. No we don’t actually need it but I just going to write it anyway.”
If you stack your roster with rock stars, that is how I have to operate as I hate micro managing people, then it works great. Unless this is your second day in the workforce and heading into month three of your life, then you know the world is also filled with piles of people that without parameters will show up for 2 hours every second Monday. So you either completely excluded them from the workforce entirely or you provide them the structure to thrive in.
It’s a naive to think that all people will just inherently do their job, some need the handholding and babysitting. Then if those people exist and you aren’t... Show more

It’s a bit out of place to not realize this is a two way street. They seems to completely not understand employee handbooks, company policies etc all exist because everyone has different work ethics, goals etc. No one woke up one day and said: “You know what would be fun to do? Write a bunch of policy stuff. No we don’t actually need it but I just going to write it anyway.”
If you stack your roster with rock stars, that is how I have to operate as I hate micro managing people, then it works great. Unless this is your second day in the workforce and heading into month three of your life, then you know the world is also filled with piles of people that without parameters will show up for 2 hours every second Monday. So you either completely excluded them from the workforce entirely or you provide them the structure to thrive in.
It’s a naive to think that all people will just inherently do their job, some need the handholding and babysitting. Then if those people exist and you aren’t treating everyone the same (even though they aren’t and they shouldn’t be) then you get those discrimination complaints because someone that needs the parameters can’t fathom why diligent Sally just took the afternoon off without a reason.

Misty White Im the worst about taking vacation sometimes. I will sometimes take a long weekend, but other than when I was sick with Covid, I haven’t been away from the office longer than five days in a row. Granted, we are a very small family owned company and I do the majority/all of the leasing and marketing, but I know that for my sake, I need to take a break when I need one. Not that I’m overwhelmed or stressed out because I’m not.

Guest Insider I feel this….I have created a name for myself in the area I’m in. My resume speaks for itself. So, when you hire me, you are hiring someone who knows how to do their job and do it well. I don’t need someone breathing down my neck micromanaging me. Trust that I’m doing my job well and give me a chance to show you that.

Kelley Martin We are in a people business which means we must be available to our people. Is work / life balance important along with healthy boundaries… absolutely! Those people include “our people” and flexibility is so important but that flexibility should be accessed in needed situations not the norm.

Guest Insider I say this regularly "I am not a clock watcher" if your job is done... You know what you need to do. LOVE IT

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When you hear the words "search engine," most people immediately think of Google. However, Gen Z and millennials may be utilizing another search engine when hunting for their next apartment — TikTok. TikTok and other short-form video platforms are now a vital ingredient in your marketing mix and one of the most important ways to attract prospects.Multifamily marketers are leveraging TikTok to showcase their properties creatively. From virtual tou ...

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Does your maintenance supervisor complete actual work orders or does he/she just delegate them all?
Our large property (600+ units) is way behind on work orders dating back to 60 days or more due to a number of emergency calls over the summer and being short staffed. Typically, we are rarely behind....

Guest Insider All hands on deck. Regardless of the title.

Guest Insider 100%! Just jumping in to say that. A lot of a large building maintenance supervisors job is admin. There is no reason the office staff cannot lean in on these tasks.

Guest Insider There's not enough info here to answer your question, but it sounds like you don't trust them. Being short handed and overwhelmed saps your motivation and an office employee telling them how maintenance works, instead of exhibiting leadership and helping is counterproductive.

Guest Insider My supervisor does work orders

Guest Insider Look at all the easiest work orders ie: replace air filter, new key made, weatherstripping and etc. maybe you and the office staff could help them out and make it happen. The maintenance guys are overwhelmed with the work they already have.

Guest Insider Ummm. He needs to get his hands dirty. One team

Guest Insider My BEST supervisor was on 400 units in FTW, TX. He elected to be the one to do the maint part of the make ready units (he knew he wouldn’t have callbacks after move ins) One of the office staff was responsible to order the painters and carpet cleaners. This way he could help the guys when they were stumped or behind. He had a meeting every morning with his team. They knew their job for the day and always knew where he was. The mgr at this site would not allow the office staff to radio any of the maint other than for fire, flood or blood. The supervisor would check into the office mid morning and again mid afternoon. The office would help by going to units w/upset residents, they knew how to make keys and they clearly knew they were a team! After a year this team had all work orders completed within 24 hours. Every member of that team was trained and ready for their own supervisor positions.

Jason Mallette Absolutely.. have everyone work where they're strongest, and then build the missing or diminished skills over time

Guest Insider All supervisors are “working supervisors “.. we do what needs to be done! As a property manager, I my job doesn’t stop at admin duties.. would jump in and lease or clean grounds if that is what the team needed. 1000 percent the same for a maintenance supervisor.. lead by example

Guest Insider I'm a maintenance supervisor and I have always done work orders in between doing my dutys

Aleisha Parongao Ours always helps out...

Susan Sherfield The property manager should ask the maintenance supervisor to develop a plan, with timeline, to catch up on work orders and then the two of them sit down to discuss it.

Guest Insider I'm a multi-site supervisor and I'm the 1st to paint, do work orders, handle emergency situations, goes on emegency on-call, schedules all carpets cleans and replacements, scheldules the cleaners, inspectors if needed, ordering all parts, making sure mutiple sites are fully stocked, all maintenance personnel know what they have to do daily and letting the mangers know also what maintenence is doing daily. I update the make ready boards evey Monday and Friday to account for leases / notices to vacate over the weekend and throughout the week. TRUST Me you must lead by example or other maintenance personnel which are leaned on heavily will not reach their full potential. If the boss doesnt give 100% no way you can expect or assume they will give 100%.
We also do all turns in house with full paints and maintenance with high turn over rate and high work order rate. The supervisor should be a mentor or they are just acting the part instead of fulfilling the part as a Leader.

Dave Scruggs I've been a supervisor for the past 23 years. I do just as many, if not more work orders than my tech does. GIT-R-DONE!

Guest Insider I feel you’re running the ship and just need to have an honest conversation with empathy with your lead. Dig into what tools could help them to achieve at least a 50% close out of work orders each day…people, teams need iPads, golf carts, are work order descriptions not clear when entering, etc ~ this isn’t about titles, it’s about what I call pivoting and moving but it’s all in how you present it.
Being reassuring that you want to help and achieve the goals if it means going to bat for them and getting them the extra tools speaks volumes to them. I’ve been a manager of a 500 unit property with an outside team of 5 and it never seemed to be enough man power so we had to figure out systems to get the flow right. It won’t happen over night but as long as they feel you’re trying to support them as the captain it will happen. Feel free to message me to help ping some ideas together, you’re not alone. You got this!

Guest Insider Our Service Manager (386 units) does most of the service requests. We've got a 3 man team; one for service requests, one for turns, and one for both wherever he is most needed. Contacted day porter for grounds.

Jason Mallette Idc who you are, that's some bs.. if the supervisor doesn't get in and get dirty, then a that work falls on the next tech and that's not fair to do at all.. if i can do 2-3 turns per week and 8-15 wo's per day, that supervisor has 0 excuse.. the only way a person should have that title is bcuz they've clearly demonstrated that they have the skills and abilities to do the job.. anyone can sit behind a computer and call vendors.. on that note, we shouldn't have to come in behind these vendors and fix the stuff they were hired to do.. be the example of what you expect..

Guest Insider It's a working position in my book.

Guest Insider All our Maintenance Leads do whatever is needed, turns, grounds, work orders

Guest Insider They are working supervisors, just like the PM. If we have to tour a prospect or handle a move in because it is busy, that is what a working manager does.

Amanda Buyalos I feel that leaders should lead by example…it’s time for him to get his hands dirty and help out. As a manager of about 12 years I have cleaned apartments, I have picked up trash, I have watered flowers, shoveled snow, emptied pet stations….and so on.

Megan Goodmundson If they arent already jumping in to help get them done and they are behind this much im going to make the assumption the MS is the problem in this scenario.

Stacey Pichette Sounds like it’s time for the PM to go through the work orders and assign them to the appropriate team members. I also hope that someone from the office has been communicating with these residents to apologize for the delay and inconvenience. Being short staffed isn’t a viable excuse.

Guest Insider All hands on deck regardless of title!!! I am a property manager, we have been short staffed so I have been scheduling punches, doing work orders & having on call, etc. Team work makes dream work!

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Just repaired my own 5 ton- 1 year old Coleman hvac unit😎 my maintenance teams taught me well❤️

Brent Williams Awesome!! What was wrong with it?

Staci Ruis Brent Williams It was the main wire from the furnace to the outside unit.. it had a raw spot on the wire that my ex had installed over a water value outside… it was grounding out. I pulled the main exterior AC breaker and wrapped the wire in electrical tape. Restated the unit😎

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By Whitney FraserAs soon as I stepped into the bustling conference center, it was clear that this event was more than just another industry gathering. It was a celebration of women who are not only thriving in, but reshaping, the multifamily housing sector. The speakers and conference focused on the importance of AI. AI plays a pivotal role in the multifamily space by revolutionizing property management and tenant experiences. Through predi ...

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I have recently taken on a property that has a lot of homeless people coming into the building. I am looking for suggestions for automatic locks to go on the exterior doors to keep them out. I have been told that people give out the codes to the key pad and key fobs get lost. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Guest Insider I’d start by changing the codes to the key pads and not telling any of the residents what it is. They need to use their fobs.

Brandy Blazen I did exactly this at my community.

Mike Powers Fobs/badges are best choice if locations have access to power/network. Those are programmable, easy to activated deactivate.
Remote entry points are problematic for anything network or electronic.
Also, lose it, no entry or $100 rekey charge.

Guest Insider I killed our garage gate codes that were "#" followed by 4 numbers. The only code they get now is a 3- digit code that calls their cell phones. The resident must press 9 to allow access. For delivery food services they use a different code for the pedestrian gate. This eliminates the ability for someone to show up and just start pressing numbers to gain access. More work but it works like a charm. Good luck!

Guest Insider We have the same program and if they loose their fobs, they are charged and the fob is then disconnected. They get their new one during normal business hours.

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