Apartment Operations
No more Apartment Leasing Commissions
I have been toying with the idea for a long bit of time. Then I ran across a report titled: A New Approach to Motivation Mediocre Agents . In reading through it the following quote caught my eye and instantly brought validity to my long-lasting thought about paying zero commissions.
Imagine you could construct a sales robot, programmed solely by the rules in any sales structure. How would it behave? It would steal deals off other sales people, sell customers campaigns they didn’t need, argue with its boss over its commission and back stab its colleagues.” Any of this sound familiar?
Pay Them Right and Treat Them Well
Take the game out of it. And, trust me it is a game. People get down right robot on each other all the time. If they call and I write a guest card and then you show them and they lease, it’s mine. Or, its half mine. Or if they call but show up when I am at lunch and you tour them, it’s yours. Or, any variation you can think of. Every office in America has an unwritten protocol with regard to how commissions get paid out.
Away With The Evil Apartment Leasing Commission
Let’s come up with a good and fair market rate [inclusive of assumed commissions] and be done. It takes the angst out of the picture and leaves everyone to focus on killing people with kindness and good service.
Any thoughts on the subject – would love to read them in the comment box below.
Your – ready to do away with the sacred cow apartment leasing commission – multifamily maniac,
M
Pic props: 365 Prepaid
Choosing Not To Do
“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” – Michael Porter
You may want to read and reread that last line a couple of times. [It’s okay – I’ll wait…..]
I think for many of us, me included, it’s usually more along the lines of what do we do next? What is the next thing to tweet? What is the next platform to try? What is the next marketing idea stone that needs to be turned over? How do we differentiate? How do we compete?
All good questions and likely good stimulates for conversation. But, what we leave out is equally if not more advantageous in forming an effective strategy.
What are you choosing not to do this year?
Related material: Two Lists You Should Look at Every Morning
Pic Props: TSLBO
Multifamily Monday: Out-Prepare
What is the key to crushing the competition or better yet; what is the key to creating new markets? He who preps best wins most.
My high school basketball coach’s favorite truism was; perfect practice makes perfect. He was relentless with his disciplines, focusing always on the basics; ball handling, proper footwork and hard-core defense. Shooting was always secondary to the core of our workouts. Not any less important but, in his mind, done better when the other things were mastered. As a result, we won many more games than we lost and we became better people in the process.
As you head into another week of routine, take on a mantra of: out-prepare. Be ‘that guy’ or ‘that gal’ that speaks from a good posit on everything related to your property or your portfolio.
Feel free to share your successes and or your shortcomings with us.
Your focused on Out-Preparing multifamily maniac,
M
The rise of the LED
While ’12, ’13 and beyond look a little more promising than the past two to three years; we still need to be mindful on the spend side of things. We are constantly looking for ways to save and we think LED technology may be a helper.
Out with the Old and in with the New
2012 marks the year that Edison’s staple lightbulb gives way to the heir apparent CFL. But wait, what about the LED bulb? The wait comes in the way of a $50 spend for a single bulb. The ROI on a number like that is likely too little for multifamily owners to get real excited.
But wait, with a little leg work you can find LED for sub $10. I spotted the sub $10 bulb about a week ago at the local Home Depot. Now, I am a bit skeptical as the brand was not one I recognized. And, the technology is new on the scene. So new that claims of 50,000 hours of bulb life are hard to believe.
Nevertheless, we are sourcing the bulbs now. Our intent is to pick an apartment community with multiple buildings that are individually metered. We are going to benchmark the electric use in those buildings and then outfit the common area spaces with the LED bulbs. And, then wait 60 to 90 days and compare the bills on a month over month basis. Once we have that data we will do a cost benefit analysis and publish the results.
What are you doing in this first quarter of ’12 to bring some revenue to the bottom line?
After Hours Lock Outs
We have all taken the 3 am call for lockout service. “Hi, I locked myself out of my apartment; can you have someone from your team come and let me in?”
And we all have some form of the following:
Apartment Lock-Out Policy
If residents lose their key or become locked out of their apartment, the following options are available: [loosely adapted from a quick search result on Google]:
- During posted regular business hours (excluding holidays), residents may come to the main office for assistance.
- After regular business hours, but before 9:00 pm, residents may contact the emergency phone number provided on the office door or the recorded message, and a staff member, if available, will open the door.
- After 9:00 pm, no lockout service is available, and residents have the option of calling a locksmith at residents’ own cost and expense.
Is it Customer Service or a Serious Liability?
I do admit that I see the people side of this in that we want to be there to assist with any after-hours calls, no matter nature.
I also see the downside in that many of us do the service but charge for it if it is after hours.
In that case, right or wrong, I see severe liability in asking my service team to collect a check, cash, or money order before handing out a key.
I also see an obligation in asking them to rifle through a resident’s file to compare and contrast ID’s against written records.
Or, even worse, they just take the resident’s word for it.
In any case, I am looking for some quick thoughts on the subject.
Is it a good move to stop doing lockout service altogether during off-hours and leave residents on their own?
Your always wondering multifamily maniac,
M
