Apartment Management
#apartmentmarketing: Persistence
“There are no magic wands, no hidden tricks, and no secret handshakes that can bring you immediate success, but with time, energy, and determination you can get there.” – Darren Rowse, Founder Problogger
A ton of rhetoric has been penned about social media as it relates to apartment marketing, resident retention and the such. Some of it is really good and some of it is just fluff and fill. Some has merit and some has not the sense god gave a billy goat.
Apartment management brass tacks
Toss it all aside and get back to the brass tacks of good old fashion property management – what do you have? Boring, mundane, uncompelling and anti-dramatic and melodic methods of madness. Anyone who has been in the business for a very long bit of time would agree that property management is not rocket science. Just a couple days ago I was sitting diagonal from a finance quant who thought he hit the nail on the head when he made that very statement.
Personality
At the end of the day – it’s the culmination of personalities laced with wit, wisdom, humor, elevated emotion and a purpose larger than life itself that bring about the want to persist with the quest of managing property. And, those who do it well would admit that it’s what gives them life.
It’s the time that they love to spend.
It’s the energy that they love to exude.
It’s the determination of pursuing a worthy goal that keeps them coming back for more.
Admit it – There’s something about this business!
What is it for you? What keeps you coming back for more? I dare you to tell me in the comment section below! Double dog…
M
Multifamily Management: Release
“My motto is ‘release’ I have it written in my violin case. ‘Release’ , meaning, ‘Step back a little’. Those are the words of world renowned violin virtuoso Charlie Siem. It struck me as I was reading through the latest copy of Monocle magazine. So many times in life and in the multifamily business we get caught up in the detail of things. We major in the minors making huge mountains out of what should be considered but mere speed bumps in the path of progress.
Major in the Majors
Charlie goes on to say, “Because when you hone in on all the tiny details, it’s natural to tense up – and then nothing flows.” Suffice it to say that everything moves at the speed of light anymore. Not when you tense up and take time to focus on the minutia at a very granular level. It stalls flow, it mitigates advancement and it stifles trust.
Granted mistakes can be and always are traced to the details of things and more astutely to people. Causes are often found in flawed policy and or application of business practices by teams or individuals. It’s still, at least in my head, not cause for alarm but rather time to address the mess and move on; a teachable moment.
I rather think you pick a course, put your metrics [budget] in place, gear yourself up [get the right people on the bus] and run the marathon set before you. Understand that you will experience adversities along the way, just make sure you have plans in place to address them quickly. But overall, stick with the majors. Sticking with the majors as it relates to a marathon would be to pace yourself, keep yourself hydrated and feed yourself mentally and physically along the way. Do that and the rest falls into place.
In contrast, focus on the nagging toe nail pain, foot pain, side cramp or bleeding nipples caused from friction between your shirt and skin and all of a sudden you stall your pace. You forget to hydrate and your mental and physical faculties give way to fatigue. It’s just not worth it.
My word this week – ‘Release’
Your releasing contributer,
M
Property Management: Money Orders are a Necessary Evil
I am turning to our readers today for some feedback on process.
A lot of renter’s in our communities are one life circumstance away from total financial ruin up to and including losing their apartment. It has given cause for desperate behaviors such as sacrificing their electricity, gas, phone, cable etc. in order to make the rent. In other cases they use creative means such as robbing electricity via extension cords run to your common area outlets in hallways and laundry rooms. It’s amazing what you see out there anymore.
Now one could argue that life choices predicated on fulfilling wants over needs or necessities has contributed to a lot of this and in the same respect I think there an equal amount of people out there that make all the right decisions and still get hit with the downside of adversity.
Our residents are not the only ones faced with making the rent. Many of our employees are waging the same battle month after month. And, sometimes it leads to desperate actions.
That leads me to the premise for my question – money orders left blank by the prospective resident and or current residents paying rent are so very tempting in a desperate time of need. Can you share some of your processes with me as it relates to keeping good people honest. What do you do to keep integrity in the system on your bigger sites where you have six, eight or even ten people working an office and handling money. Specifically, what do you do to make sure these blank money order gems are not used as float to get by to the next pay period? How do you make sure that once an application is taken that it is processed in your property management software asap?
While they are a necessary evil – I have to believe there is a system of handling that keeps theft to a minimum.
Thank you in advance for your considerations and feedback.
Your ready for some economic prosperity friend,
M
Apartment Management Fees to be paid on Economic Occupany
@mfguide posted the following tweet this morning – “We are now paying mgmt fees based on economic occupancy and #units Curious to know how MF friends respond.”
I have to say, I see the absolute logic in this and in the same respect see the value a property management firm brings to both the top line and ancillary services.
I am interested to hear the over-arching reason for moving this direction.
And, what are the thoughts of the community – please leave your feedback in the comments below.
Resident Pet Peeves
In a recent email interview I was asked the following question;
What are the top pet peeves landlords have of their tenants?
Shift in Thinking
In addition to being taken aback by the words landlord and tenant, my knee jerk response was a laundry list of have not and will do. Then I starting thinking in the context of new media and my whole person changed. It instantly shifted from a position of attack to one of concern. I questioned that if I posted my response in the form of an adverse laundry list and a resident read it, would they retort in an adverse manner? And, would they be right in doing so? The answer is very possibly yes, the real question is to what extent?
Now I am stuck and curious how the community might answer the questions – would love to hear your thoughts…
