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
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?
Apartment Operations: Respond or go to Jail
This is one of the more extreme documented cases of neglect by a property owner that I have ever read about. By the looks of it jail might be the best place for him but what if the judge ruled instead by requiring the owner to participate in the fixes. What if he demanded 500 hours of hands on repair by the owner to include living in the building until the work is complete. His hours would have to include education as to the ill effects of turning a blind eye to the issues. Requirements might also include certification, at the owners expense, in applicable remediation measures and practices, HVAC licenses and a minimum number of operation related education from IREM or NAA. I like that option in lieu of tax paying residents paying for his incarceration –
Bronx Landlord Jailed for Continued Housing Violations – Bronx Housing Court last week ordered Sam Suzuki to be held behind bars until he corrects the nearly 700 open housing violations | Katy’s Exposure
Apartment Education – The Heat of the Moment
It’s summer time and many – if not all- of us are heavily involved in turning apartments and fielding A/C calls. It’s a busy time of the year and as a result education and safety meetings have the propensity to get put off. The idea of that brings to mind a scene from the movie Crimson Tide where Denzel Washington’s character questions Gene Hackman’s character on a decision to run a missile readiness drill all the while there was a fire going on in the galley. Hackman’s response was along the lines of – war does not stop for fire’s in the galley and Hackman’s character suggest that is the best time to run a drill.
As it relates to our own operations: I am a big believer in repetition when it comes to education and this coming week, despite the busyness, might be a good week to dust off your mold remediation policies, procedures and brief your teams. The story linked above might be a nice supplement to the training. Siting the article as a example of the use of social media to draw attention to the story might be a good preface on the power of ignorance.
Have a smashing week – and feel free to sound off in the comment section below –
