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Multifamily Monday: Collect Moments not Things
Mike Brewer · · 1 Comment
Looking forward to another crazy over the top uber-cool week? Me too. This week we are penning on the idea of collecting moments.
Let’s start with a story to set the context for our post. I was recently remarried to my first and only wife – Stephanie. It’s a long story and this is not a post to garnish congrats and atta boys. It’s an amazing story and one I will cherish. Cherish in the sense of what being in relationship really means. It’s work that is worth it and it is work that is hard. I cherish it for all that it has taught me and all that it will teach me. And, my encouragement to you – embrace the ones that are near and dear in your life. Go make some moments.
Collect Moments not Things
Stephanie and I would rather collect moments any day of the week. Faced with the choice of buying our kids toys, gadgets or the latest and greatest widget or taking them on an amazing adventure in a foreign country – #gameon foreign country. Faced with sitting around playing games inside or building a fort in the woods behind our house – #gameon fort (or, fourt as our kids so aptly name it and wrote is with a sharpie no less). Play some Wii or go to a water park – #gameon water park. Sit around on a Saturday or volunteer some time at a dog shelter – #gameon dog shelter. (Okay, for those of you that know me – animals are not my thing. But, Stephanie, J and K love them and they give back time for them). To us – our kids education comes down to activity that sparks emotion, creativity, need to be resourceful, collaborating and giving back in the way of time and energy. And, creating moments for the such.
Resident Moments not Things
What the heck does this have to do with my Multifamily Monday? Everything! It has everything to do with it.
Stop giving residents things, i.e. money, carpet cleans, accent walls or whole new paint jobs. Ok, give those things if you want to but make a moment out of it. Make a moment of truth. Make a moment of celebration. Make a moment worth sharing.
Here is my short speculation. Get enough crazy good resident moments collected and they will pay back in two ways: 1. if you have a bad moment – the good will offset. 2. When it comes time to renew (another chance to create a moment) – they are locked in and thirsty for some more moments. Your job – feed the thirst by creating the moments.
Your collecting moments not things multifamily maniac,
M
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Apartment Budgets: Rental Income
The Numbers
It all comes down to the numbers. Be it an operational spend or a big capital spend, it all comes back to a math problem to be considered and or solved. At that and the prompting of one of our accounting team members at Mills Properties, I will be dedicating Tuesday to the numbers.
Walking Through an Apartment Budget Top to Bottom
We are going to take apart one of our budgets by defining each and every line item, one at a time, over the next year or so. Yes, we really have that many line items. The thought is that over time we will, as a group, gain a very deep and thoughtful understanding of the line item definitions, relationships and things that drive each. We will learn tips and strategies to move income and expenses in the right directions.
Speaking Greek
Full admission – numbers are not my favorite part of the multifamily business. I can do it. I understand the relationships. And, I know how to move them in the right directions. But, as much as I try, I am just not the analytic left brain thinker. I am as far from pragmatic and methodical as you can get. I am a right brain thinker, creative in nature and never like to do the same thing the same way twice. Numbers are the work side for me.
I say all that to say this, this will be as much an education for me as it will hopefully be for you. So, comment away. Call me on the carpet when I am off. Add to the conversation when you see fit. Do it under the premise that you will be helping tons of people get a confident understanding of our financial game plans.
Apartment Rental Income
Item of note: I am working from a non-revenue management model.
This is the top line. This is where it all starts. Some call it market rent, others call in the pixie dust sprinklers as the line is really meaningless.
Rental Income can be defined as the maximum rents at 100% occupancy. It’s the number you would collect if every single unit were physically occupied and everyone paid their rent at the full value of the lease.
Where do we derive the number? It really is made up. In all fairness it is predicated on your comps in the market place. We like to think of our comps as the three to five communities that you lose the most leases to. I like to think we make the market and the comps predicate their tops lines accordingly. Whatever the case, it’s a market generated number.
When does it change? It can move down but more often than not it moves up. It is predicated on a good number of factors to include broader things like the economy, jobs and household formations. Or more minutely on the classic supply and demand factors set inside of seasonality. And, it is down on a unit type basis. If you are very highly occupied in a specific unit type then you should raise. If you have tons of inventory with little to no demand – you keep the rents neutral. That last sentence might drive you to think you should lower rent. And, in some management companies that would be a true statement. For us, we leave it in place and compete with concession – which we will discuss in a future post.
What is the fastest way to move this line item up-up-up? By being remarkable.
Perspectives
I have left a number of perpectives out of this post and maybe treaded on others – please keep the discussion going in the comments section below. My accounting friends will love you for it and I will thank you for the education.
Your, digging into apartment budgets, multifamily maniac,
M
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#apartmentmarketing: Twitter
The biggest mistake we see companies make when they first hit Twitter is to think about it as a channel to push out information. – Tim O’Reilly & Sarah Milstein – The Twitter Book
For those veterans out there in the media space this seems like a no brain-er but in a world steeped in tradition, it seems like the right thing to do. Take a new medium, insert old practices and principles and voila, we experience success. Except that we don’t.
Apartment Twitter Marketing in Saint Louis
Just this week, I followed up some new #STL Twitter handles [new apartment deliveries in the city proper]. I will admit, I was very encouraged to see their use of the medium included push marketing. Special after special, floor plan after floor plan, us – us – us & look at me copy – it all makes me smile inside.
It makes me smile because I don’t think it’s what those who use the space expect or even want to see. In other words, it’s a big turn off and at best it’s ignored and left to rot in a digital dump-ground way off over there in the dark ‘Cloud.’
Not that we at Mills Properties have it all figured out and are knocking it out of the park as a result. That being said, we do seem to experience a ton of participation from the people that work with and for us, the people that they serve in our some fifty properties in the Saint Louis Apartment Market and our coaches and mentors in the multifamily industry. All by using just the opposite approach and all for which we are immensely thankful. We keep experimenting, failing, learning, tweaking, experimenting & thanking those who give us feedback along the way.
Push Marketing on Twitter
Back to the point at hand; is there a time and place where this works? Have we reached that point or are we approaching a time where the masses that frequent Twitter, Facebook and the like expect, heck even desire to see some push marketing for goods and services?
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Multifamily #Trust30: A Call to Arms
Day 24 of the #trust30 challenge – it’s a big one!
The secret of fortune is joy in our hands. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
What if today, right now, no jokes at all, you were actually in charge, the boss, the Head Honcho. Write the “call to arms” note you’re sending to everyone (staff, customers, suppliers, Board) charting the path ahead for the next 12 months and the next 5 years. Now take this manifesto, print it out somewhere you can see, preferably in big letters you can read from your chair…
(Author: Sasha Dichter)
I kind of feel like Jerry McGuire right about now.
I can’t help but to call upon the great Tom Peters for this exercise. Back in 2006 I drew from Tom’s: The PSF is Everything! Manifesto to re-imagine the way we did business in Portland. I had just inherited the Regional Manager role where I was responsible for managing fourteen properties consisting of over 5000 units spread over five sub-markets. It was a daunting task and I had no illusions that I could run the deal by myself. I knew it would take the collective efforts of our 100+ people as lead by eleven site managers. It was a bonus that they were the best in business.
If given the charge today to chart the course for the next 12 months and beyond; I would break it down just like we did back in 2006.
- Enhance Work & The Legacy
- Enhance Firm & The Brand
- Enhance Employee Commitments
- Enhance Resident Commitments
I would assign our top talent to each of these four over-riding areas. The task? To Develop the next generation of Mills Properties. It would be on each team [with as little guidance as possible] to come up with amazing over the top and executable strategies to create excellence.
Enhance Work & The Legacy
People want to be a part of something bigger than self. And, it all starts inside with the innate need to move character. It starts with a
company that is convinced that organizations are put in place to serve the people that serve it. It stars with mission, vision, strategy and values. As such we would take action on the following:
- Get a crystal clear point of view
- Create a dramatic difference
- Create a culture where ‘Stretch is Routine’
- Create a culture of ‘Game-Changer’ – WOW Projects
- Work only with ‘Playful Clients’ – Life and Business is Too Short to work with Jerks
- We would get obsessed with LEGACY
- We would part ways with anyone who says ‘apartments are commodities’
- We would never shy away from ‘Radical’
Enhance Firm & The Brand
- We would define what it means to make our business ‘cool’
- We would recruit the absolute best talent
- Integrity would rule the day
- Execution would rule the seconds, minutes and hours
- We would create a ‘Swarm Team’ as a way to support
- R&D would get front and center attention
- We will own the relevant Saint Louis digital frontier
- We will aim to be no less than a ‘LOVEMARK’
- Passion would be the guiding principle
Enhance Employee Commitments
- Our talent would breed talent – FANATICS
- We would hire peculiar
- We would manufacture Early Opportunities for new Talent
- They will rise up or be out
- We will make way for YOUTH
- We will get committed to Renewing our CURRENT base of Talent
- We will get obsessed with MENTORING
- Everyone is a leader
- Bring in the Best in Breed
- INTEGRITY with everyone
Enhance Resident Commitments
- We will invite our residents in as partners
- We will draw in only the best vendors to Serve our residents
- Have residents claim that working with US is THE BEST EVER
- Implement Implement Implement
- Our Chief AIM? Resident’s assist in creating CULTURE
- The measure? Did we make a Dramatic, Game-Changing Difference? Will they tell a friend, family member or co-worker about us?
That’s it! That would be my framework for the next twelve months. After that year we would go on an EXECUTION and IMPLEMENTATION QUEST! It would be a No Holds Barred Journey into Compelling, Over the Top, Amazing and downright Stunning Achievement!
Your always striving contributor,
M
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Multifamily #trust30: Death
Day 23 of the #trust30 challenge
We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.
1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.
2. Write the story that has to be written.
(Author: Gwen Bell)
Let it be know first and foremost to my children; play nice, say please and thank you. Laugh out loud – often. Cry when you need to, it’s okay to do so. When you need to yell – go outside and face the wind. Yell loud, curse and let nothing be left inside. Handle the forward with staid character and with simple words. Be kind to animals. Take care of each other and never let hugs and kisses escape – they matter much. Work hard, work smart but above all be true to your word; it’s the one thing that matters most. Share. And, give of your time not expecting in return.
To that one which I loved the most – you are my best friend. You are tough where and when I need it. And, you are tender when I need it. You endure much and love nonetheless. Might life lend more time and have it been more gracious; I would echo the same sentiments to you. Dream always and be sure to act. Keep love in your heart and keep your soul free.
To my family and friends – live out out! Change the world in the way that you would have it. Have good relations. Face the wind and run head on for all that you will become. Remember it’s the journey, not the destination, that sharpens the wit and matures the soul.
Whoa – that :15 went by fast…
Your now thinking deeply contributor,
M