Multifamily Leasing Trends | Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Call Center for Leasing Apartments

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Happy call center employees with headsetApartment owners, multifamily executives, and property managers are busier today than ever. Unfortunately, there are still only 24 hours in any given day at last check. This leaves many multifamily executives looking for ways to streamline some of the responsibilities within their businesses in order to have the time and focus to take care of other important job functions.

Using call centers for leasing apartments is one way to do this. However, there are a few distinct pros and cons to keep in mind before deciding if you want to take your business in this direction.

Advantages of Using a Call Center for Leasing Apartments

Businesses today are continuously seeking cost-effective alternatives to the old way of doing things. And multifamily investors and executives are no different. Using a call center for leasing apartments offers the multifamily executive an alternative solution with marked benefits.

Specialization. Leasing agents wear many hats within their respective apartment communities. Many of these hats take them out of the office — and away from telephones serving people who are hot prospects looking for apartments now, or those who are already members of the apartment community. On the other hand, call center agents specialize in their roles, which can be a huge advantage. Call center agents have one responsibility, primarily. While they certainly answer prospective tenant questions, their main goal is to “soft sell” the apartment community they represent — and they become experts at doing so.

Free up valuable time. Multifamily Executive recommends hiring call center leasing agents to free up your valuable time, or that of your staff, to handle other on-site needs, such as taking care of existing tenants and prospects. In addition, someone else handles the training of call center staff members. This means you’re not dedicating valuable time bringing another team member up-to-speed and can devote your time and attention to your core competencies and pursuits that can bring in additional revenue, such as marketing and market research.

Preference of prospective tenants. People like to hear the voice of another person on the line rather than a recorded message or busy signal. Call center leasing agents are a lot more than additional staff members to pick up the slack when business picks up. They’re the warm body on the other end of the phone that prospective tenant callers respond to. They’re a live person who can answer questions, point out benefits, and add depth to your existing leasing team — even if they never set foot on the actual properties they’re helping sell.

Avoids missing prospective tenants. Call center leasing specialists also play an important, if not vital role, by ensuring that important calls and prospects aren’t missed before they roll over into voicemail. Many, if not most, people hang up when calls go into voicemail. Call centers are able to capitalize on these leads even if the lead calls after hours or calls at a time when an on-site staff member is unable to answer the phone.

Availability. The bottom line is that call center agents are simply available at times when it’s not always cost-effective to have an employee on hand waiting on the phone to ring. The world doesn’t operate on bankers’ hours anymore. If you truly want to make a lasting impression with prospective tenants, have a live person answer the call when tenants that work night shifts call in.

Cost. Investing in call center leasing agents can save apartment owners money over hiring full-time staff members and investing in infrastructure, equipment, warm bodies, and phone lines to do the job call center leasing agents do.

Disadvantages of Using a Call Center for Leasing Apartments

Call center leasing is not without its considerations. Take a look at some of the drawbacks of using a call center for leasing apartments.

Cost. The biggest of which, according to Multifamily Executive,  is the cost. For some smaller apartment communities, it’s simply too prohibitive to have on-site staff and off-site call center staff as well. However, many call centers have created packages with different price points to mitigate this so that it’s easier for even small communities and to bear the costs.

Transparency.  There may come a time when a prospective tenant asks to see the person they’ve spoken with on the phone. And some consumers may be disappointed they aren’t able to meet with the leasing agents they’ve spoken with on the phone when they visit the apartments.This lack of transparency can be a drawback, however there are ways around it. Simply train your team to inform them that the person they spoke with on the phone is an important part of your team that works off-site in a different facility.

Communication Issues. If call center agents have an accent, as might be the case if your call center for leasing apartment is outsourced out of the country, prospective tenants may have trouble understanding what is being said to them. You can circumvent this by carefully screening the company that you outsource this task to.

Lack of dedication and focus. When call center work for leasing apartments is outsourced to a third party provider who may have other client companies, outsourced call center agents may not be fully dedicated or focused on your company. In other words, their dedication and attention can be divided among a number of client companies.

Quality of calls. While not always the case, outsourcing call center for leasing apartments can lead to lower quality of calls, particularly when calls are not monitored and improvements are not made to underperforming call center agents. In the long run, poor prospective tenant satisfaction from calls responded to by call center agents can lead to reduced revenue opportunities. Be sure to hire a call center for leasing apartment that monitors calls, provides reviews to its workers, and takes pride in quality.

Do Call Center Leasing Agents Help to Generate Revenue?

In instances where staff members are missing a large volume of calls regularly, call center leasing agents absolutely do generate revenue, first and foremost, by freeing up the time of on-site leasing agents to seal the deal, reports Multi Housing News. They also help by setting more appointments simply because the call center is available after hours and at times when on-site staff members are busy seeing to other needs. Call center leasing agents allow multifamily owners to increase revenue by renting more apartments, streamline marketing endeavors (cutting expenses as a result), and increase profits with greater efficiency.

That said, there are drawbacks, like those listed above, along with the benefits. Weigh the pros and cons to decide whether investing in a call center for leasing apartments is a cost effective move for your apartment leasing needs.

Are you using a leasing call center? Do you have something to contribute to the conversation? Please feel free to leave your valuable comments in the section below.


JustinAlanis Justin Alanis | Company Website | LinkedIn Connect |

Justin Alanis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rentlytics Inc.  Rentlytics is based in San Francisco, CA providing deep analytics for apartment property owners and managers. View and analyze property operational and financial metrics more effectively and identify issues.

It’s a Landlord’s World Now

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Apartment Building

Another report – this time the Securitization Weekly Overview from Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BAC) – is forecasting a shift away from single-family home purchases to a rental market.

Granted, this is not the first time a report predicting multifamily growth has hit in the past few months, but it does reiterate a common theme – investors are betting on multifamily more often.

Just last week, HousingWire reported that more younger Americans are expected to pile into the multifamily market after spending years in their parents houses or sharing apartments with roommates.

But this younger crowd, while keen on homeownership, apparently lacks the momentum, due to job constraints and a general inability to obtain a mortgage.

It’s something Chris Flanagan, MBS/ABS Strategist with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and MBS Strategist Justin Borst also recognized in their newly published research.

“The December housing starts report provided some confirmation of the theme we discussed last week, which was that it appears as if a structural shift away from getting a mortgage and buying a single-family home to just being a renter is underway,” the pair said.

Such a transition is expected to subdue the possibility of dramatic changes in the single-family mortgage-backed securities market.

Flanagan and Borst note that “this shift should work to keep supply of single-family MBS at what may be surprisingly low levels well into the future. We also noted that we think this shift gives the Fed ample cover to taper its MBS purchases without much impact to mortgage rates, since gross supply of MBS may be shrinking more quickly than the Fed plans to taper.”

When comparing multifamily production today to the pre-housing crisis era, it is clear a major shift is taking place. BofA-Merrill Lynch notes that pre-crisis, the multifamily share of housing production hovered at roughly 20%, or one in five home starts.

Jump years ahead to today, and the latest multifamily share of production is up 33% and accounts for one in three homes.

The same analysts concede that with this higher multifamily share trend remaining for years now, a new “equilibrium” has apparently been reached.

The trend prompted Resource Real Estate, a firm led by CEO Alan Feldman, to announce last year that it will continue to try and serve the income-bracket stretching from $30,000 to $70,000 a year by refurbishing older apartment complexes for this growing segment.

“We touch real estate two main ways, we put equity capital towards investing, and we lend across a number of asset classes,” Feldman told HousingWire last summer.

By December, his firm was still employing this strategy, noting the forgotten middle-class is trending even more towards renting.

It’s a common theme that the numbers from BofA-Merrill Lynch seem to confirm for now.


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Kerri Ann Panchuk

Kerri Ann Panchuk is the Online Editor of HousingWire.com, and regular contributor to HousingWire magazine. Kerri joined HousingWire as a Reporter in early 2011 and since earned a law degree from Southern Methodist University. She previously worked at the Dallas Business Journal.

Choosing the Right Vendor(s)

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Chossing Vendors

Picture this – you have a large project on the horizon and you know you will need third-party assistance in order to complete it.   How do you determine who your vendor partners will be to ensure a successful project?

First, it is important to understand your short and long term goals and basic scope of work so you can best communicate to those that will be supplying you a proposal.  Next, create an RFP (request for proposal).  Remember, it does not have to be fancy or extremely elaborate. The goal is to ensure all vendors are bidding on the same scope of work.  Apple to apple comparisons related to pricing, timing, value and potential warranty included.

You can always ask for suggestions or examples of work in the RFP.  This will allow your potential vendors to share their expertise and creative ideas that may elevate your project and potentially exceed your expectations.  Once you receive the RFP responses – look to see who responded on-time, who took the time to follow your specific instructions for submission, and who went above and beyond in their response.  These simple checkpoints will tell a lot about who may be the best match for your project.  There are excellent vendor options out there and there is no reason to settle.  Always follow your company guidelines on insurance requirements, reference checking and best practices to protect your asset when choosing such vendors.

Once you have narrowed down your choice, invite your chosen vendor to the site for a walk-through and a deeper discussion related to the scope of work and goals for the project.  This will let you know if your communication style and personality is a good match.  Now it is time to award the assignment.  Do this immediately upon the selection process and notify those that will not be participating, and thank them for their time.  If you are sincere, let them know you will consider them for future projects.  Proceed to contract and begin the project.

Communication is key throughout the process, be sure you are available for any potential questions and set the tone and expectations so everyone remains on the same page.   If your selected vendor meets or exceeds your expectations be sure to tell them and thank them for a job well done, and pay them according to your agreed contract.  Celebrate your successful project!


MultifamilyZone_logo MultifamilyZone.com | Company Website |

The mission at MultifamilyZone is to assist multifamily professionals in finding the products and services to help them achieve top competitive positioning.  Through an engaging and interactive website, we will provide current information on a wide-range of qualified, pre-screened vendor partners.  As wll, we spotlight industry news and trends to become a primary resource for all things property management.

Supply and Demand, Lease Your Apartment Today!

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Our apartments are vacant now!  We need move ins now!  Leases signed now!  Commitments now!

First consider, is the leasing team able to challenge the move in date? Ask the question of “When do you plan to move?” “Are your plans flexible?”

imageThis is similar to hotel and airline reservations. Plan to travel on Thursday, but the deal is better if reservations are booked to fly on Wednesday. Or apply a retail application, the best selection is available by shopping early. Waiting for sales, will offer lower prices, but the selection of sizes and color options becomes limited.

If an applicant has a “MUST HAVE” list, the ability to meet the “demands” is lessened as the supply of vacant apartments decreases with other leases. Use this criteria to create a sense of urgency. Popularity of apartments on the top floor, ground floor walk outs, or end units will limit their availability.

How effective is the staff in creating a sense of urgency? “I can see how excited you are about this apartment, waiting might mean this apartment won’t be available, is your move in date flexible?”

imageDepending on the volume of vacant apartments, there may be a variety of possible closing tools. Every day that passes between the visit date, and the pre-lease or move in date allows the opportunity for an individual to choose another location. Getting a lease signed closes that door, it may involve a few days of free rent, but in return is the commitment of a year lease.

If the property has a large volume of vacants, it may be difficult to embrace the sense of urgency. Using a hot list, where the leasing staff only “sees” the units available to be leased that week, not an entire inventory of vacant apartment homes, can limit the information to prevent leasing units not ready or future availability. On the hot list, the supply will reflect two or three apartments of each unit type. This information allows the leasing staff to be absolutely focused on a limited supply, “This is the only apartment available with a ground floor walk out.”

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Without challenging the anticipated move in date, the prospect walks out the door to continue their search for a home.

  • The move in special ends Friday
  • The limited supply of the apartment that meets expectations
  • Desired building or location on the property

Use these criteria to narrow down the supply of apartments, the economics of supply and demand can assist in creating a sense of urgency to close a lease commitment.


Lori_Hammond Lori Hammond | Company Website | LinkedIn Connect |

Lori has 30+ years’ experience in the Property Management Industry, working with both market rate and affordable housing.  Lori has been privileged to work with some tremendous industry leaders during employment tenures with Oxford Management, NHP Management, AIMCO, Alliance Residential, Boston Capital, The Sterling Group, P.K. Housing and currently Management Resources Development.

 

Best Bang for Your Buck: Remodeling Costs vs. Value

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Apartment Unit UpgradeWinter’s the best time to plan for the upcoming remodeling season.

When it comes putting your hard-earned money to work for you, The National Association of Realtors®  2014 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report proves it pays to focus on curb appeal.

A home’s curb appeal is crucial because it can be the first thing buyers — and tenants — notice about a home.

“With many factors to consider such as cost and time, deciding what remodeling projects to undertake can be a difficult decision for homeowners,” said National Association of Realtors® President Steve Brown, co-owner of Irongate, Inc., Realtors® in Dayton, Ohio. “Realtors® know what home features are important to buyers in their area, but a home’s curb appeal is always critical since it’s the first impression for potential buyers. That’s why exterior replacement projects offer the greatest bang for the buck. Projects such as entry door, siding and window replacements can recoup homeowners more than 78 percent of costs upon resale.”

Eight of the top 10 most cost-effective projects nationally, in terms of value recouped, are exterior projects. Realtors® judged a steel entry door replacement as the project expected to return the most money, with an estimated 96.6 percent of costs recouped upon resale. The steel entry door replacement is consistently the least expensive project in the annual Cost vs. Value Report, costing little more than $1,100 on average.

deckingA wood deck addition came in second with an estimated 87.4 percent of costs recouped upon resale. Two different siding replacement projects also landed in the top 10, including fiber-cement siding, expected to return 87 percent of costs, and vinyl siding, expected to return 78.2 percent of costs. Out of the top 10 projects, the fiber-cement siding replacement project improved the most since last year, with costs recouped increasing by more than 15 percent.

Two garage door replacements were also in the top 10; a midrange garage door replacement is expected to return 83.7 percent while an upscale garage door replacement follows closely at 82.9 percent of costs recouped. Rounding out the top exterior remodeling projects were two window replacements; a wood window replacement is estimated to recoup 79.3 percent of costs and a vinyl window replacement is estimated to recoup 78.7 percent of costs.

According to the report, two interior remodeling projects in particular can recoup substantial value at resale. An attic bedroom is ranked fourth and is expected to return 84.3 percent of costs; nationally, the average cost for the project is just above $49,000. The second interior remodeling project in the top 10 is the minor kitchen remodel. The project landed at number seven and is estimated to recoup 82.7 percent of costs. Nationally, the average cost for the project is just under $19,000.

The improvement project likely to return the least is the home office remodel, estimated to recoup 48.9 percent.

For the report, Realtors® provided their insights into local markets and buyer home preferences within those markets. For 2014, the national average cost-value ratio stands at 66.1 percent, a jump of 5.5 points over last year and the largest increase since 2005, when the ratio increased 6.1 points to reach a high of 86.7 percent. For the second consecutive year, Cost vs. Value data shows that the value of remodeling is up for all 35 projects included in the survey.

apartment unit_1

Additionally, for the first time in four years, improved resale value of residential housing had more of an influence in the cost-value ratio than construction costs. A modest 2.2 percent increase in average national construction costs was more than offset by an 11.5 percent improvement in average national resale value.

The 2014 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report compares construction costs with resale values for 35 midrange and upscale remodeling projects comprising additions, remodels and replacements in 100 markets across the country. Data are grouped in nine U.S. regions, following the divisions established by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the 16th consecutive year that the report, which is produced by Remodeling magazine publisher Hanley Wood, LLC, was completed in cooperation with NAR.

“Every neighborhood is different and the desirability and resale value of a particular remodeling project varies by region and metro area. Before undertaking a remodeling project, homeowners should consult a Realtor® as they are the best resource when deciding what projects will provide the most return upon resale,” said Brown. “Realtors® have a unique understanding of local markets, home features and buyer preferences and know that there are a variety of factors that affect a home’s value, such as location, condition of surrounding properties and regional economic climate.”

improvinghousingmarketSeven of the nine regions covered in the report outperformed the national average, a distinct improvement over 2013, when just four regions performed better than average. Once again, the Pacific region, consisting of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, led the nation with an average cost-value ratio of 88 percent, due mainly to strong resale values. The next best performing region was West South Central with 76.4 percent, followed by three regions tied at 74.6 percent: South Atlantic, which improved from 63.7 percent in 2013, New England, which improved from 56.2 percent in 2013, and East North Central, which improved from 54.8 percent in 2013.

To read the full project descriptions and access national and regional project data, visit www.costvsvalue.com.

“Cost vs. Value” is a registered trademark of Hanley Wood, LLC.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

New Tenant Legal Fee Equality Law

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Legal FeesTouted as a major victory for New Jersey tenants, Governor Christie signed into law a bill that gives tenants the right to collect lawyer’s fees and costs from landlords when they are successful in court.

The rule applies if the landlord has reserved the same right in the lease. The new law applies to all leases entered into on or after February 1, 2014.

Prior to the enactment of the law, landlords could reserve the unilateral right to be compensated by tenants should the landlord prevail in any legal action.

According to Matt Shapiro, President of the membership-based New Jersey Tenants Organization (NJTO), this new law is the most important advance in tenants’ rights in many years. “New Jersey has some of the best tenants’ rights laws in the country, but, until now, not when it came to these unfair legal fees,” said Shapiro. “Nearly every lease in the state has one of these clauses giving the landlord the right to sue for legal fees and costs in addition to whatever else he’s suing for, but it’s been a one-way deal.”

The NJTO successfully argued that the  a one-way legal fees provisions could be intimidating to tenants, who had little bargaining power to change the terms of the lease agreement.

According to Shapiro, a major advantage of the new law is the requirement that landlords inform tenants of the requirement by using bold print in the same clause that gives the right to landlords to collect legal fees.

“Now tenants will finally have a fair shot at having their day in court,” Shapiro says.


logo_aaoa American Apartment Owners Association | Company Website 

Rental property management can be very demanding. Our job is to make this day-to-day property management process smoother. AAOA provides a host of services ranging from tenant screening to landlord rental application forms and contractor directory to apartment financing. 

5 Strategies of Successful Landlords

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

It’s no coincidence that successful landlords use the best management strategies. In fact, there’s a direct correlation between these five good habits and the profitability of your rental business:

Landlord_1

1. Quick response to repair requests.

Can a leaky faucet lead to late rent payments? Believe it or not, the two are connected. Landlords who fail to respond quickly to repair requests or fail to maintain the property will find that, over time, tenants lose respect.  That leads to more problem tenants. After all, if you don’t care about it, why should they?

Quick repairs show a high level of customer service, and will lead to better tenant retention, a/k/a profits.

In addition, this habit lowers cost, and protects the value of the property.

And, in the event of an eviction, the good repair record will thwart a bad tenant’s attempt to delay, garner sympathy,  or try to offset unpaid rent.

2. Respect tenant privacy.

High on the list of tenant “don’t likes” is the landlord who drops in unannounced. These landlords face high turnover, and even costly lawsuits for breach of lease or invasion of privacy.

Except for emergencies, you’ll need to provide notice of visits, and you’ll need to have a reason
to be there.

Follow the law and set a good example for your tenants. In return, you will have happy tenants who behave, and who refer their friends to the property.

Making your tenants’ security a priority, whether it’s diligently re-keying locks,3. Focus on tenant security.

maintaining outdoor lighting, clearing weather off sidewalks, monitoring visitor access, or running criminal background checks, will pay off by attracting — and retaining — the best tenants.

4. Stay in touch

It is impossible to build a good relationship with your business customers — your tenants – if you do not communicate regularly. Create a flow of routine communications, like e-newsletters, a website or social media pages, sending rentreceipts and monthly invoices, providing a suggestion box — anything that proves you are present and accounted for.

By building rapport, you will be the first to hear complaints so they can be quickly resolved.  You will find out about maintenance issues, or problem tenants.  You also can generate more tenant referrals and fill vacancies more efficiently.

5. Strive to give back the deposit.

Some landlords believe that there is little risk of losing money over property damage,  so long as they charge a high deposit.

Because security deposits are so strictly regulated, it is impossible to make withholding deposits into a profit center.  Where damage does occur, often the deposit doesn’t come close to covering the full cost.

But if you set your sights on returning the money, you’ll be sure to set management policies that encourage a unit to be returned clean and ready for the next tenant. That means spelling out the tenant’s obligations in the lease agreement, checking up on the property throughout the term of the lease, and doing a preliminary walk-through about four weeks before the tenant moves out. You’ll have their forwarding address, because they’ll want their money back. Then, you’ll ask the tenant to do a formal walk-through with you at move out.

If tenants believes it is realistic they’ll get their deposit back, they are far more likely to get all of their stuff out and clean the unit on the needed time line. You don’t lose any of your own money by returning the deposit, and you get the property back in move-in condition. It’s the ultimate win-win.


logo_aaoa American Apartment Owners Association | Company Website 

Rental property management can be very demanding. Our job is to make this day-to-day property management process smoother. AAOA provides a host of services ranging from tenant screening to landlord rental application forms and contractor directory to apartment financing. 

 

Survey Reveals the Best Incentives for Retaining Tenants

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

According to property management reviewers Software Advice, apartment managers are in an advantageous position today–more people are choosing to rent instead of buy, and multifamily construction has grown by roughly 300 percent since 2010, giving renters many more living options should they choose to move at the end of a lease. So, what can property managers do to make their apartments more appealing to residents and gain an edge over the competition?

Retaining residents is far less costly than finding new ones, so we set out to learn which incentives are most effective in convincing existing residents to renew a lease, and when the best time is to offer these perks. To do this, we surveyed approximately 4,600 former and current renters. Here, we highlight the biggest takeaways.

The Most Convincing Incentives for Retaining Tenants | IndustryView from Software Advice

Property Management and Leasing: Proactive vs. Reactive Efforts

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Proactive vs. Reactive Efforts

PropertyManager_1

Resident service has two sides. Reactive service is delivered “after the fact,” typically when a resident has a special service request or complaint, or is simply unhappy or dissatisfied. It’s a concept that we are, unfortunately, all intimately familiar with. On the other hand, proactive service begins even before the future resident walks in the door. It’s composed of all the steps we take to ensure that we’re fully prepared to do “whatever it takes” to fulfill the needs and wants of our residents both prior to leasing and after move-in.  This is quality apartment management and leasing and  includes what I like to call “setting the stage.”

“Setting the stage” is one of the best examples of proactive service in action, and it involves making the leasing experience as comfortable as possible for the future resident. This is where the details matter. Reduce the time it takes to fill out the application (after all, banks approve $20,000-30,000 loans based on a name, address, place of employment, social security number, and telephone number. Why can’t we?).  Don’t just stop there… pare down processing time whenever and wherever you can without sacrificing the value of the leasing experience, and prove to your future residents that you value their time as much as they do. Polish the appearance of both your leasing center and staff so that the environment is pleasant and visually appealing, and creates the all-important positive first impression that your residents will carry throughout their relationship with you and your community. The entire leasing experience should begin wit h the message, “We’ve been waiting for you!” and last well beyond “Welcome to your new home!”

Proactive service and retention does wonders for a community’s bottom line. The more special details you incorporate into this proactive approach, the better! Consider such niceties as thanking residents for coming in, even when they have a complaint, or thanking them for simply paying their rent on time.

Value-Added Service

For the longest time,especially when I was first getting started in the apartment industry, “value-added”seemed to be everyone’s favorite buzzword. Every one of my supervisors told me that it was the kind of service we were supposed to be providing to our residents, but no one ever stopped to explain to me what it meant. Frankly, I’m not certain they fully understood themselves. In hindsight, I think the term entered our industry at a bit of a disadvantage.

Service Check List

Way back when our idea of resident service was collecting rent checks and dispatching “maintenance men”,  it would have been a stretch for us to grasp the concept of value-added resident services as much more than providing the bare minimum of courtesy that’s expected of us today. As the concept of customer service evolved, and our residents’ expectations began to grow with each instance of great service that they encountered in their day-to-day lives, we finally began to get the hint and expanded our own service offerings accordingly. As a result, I believe we came to think of providing value-added service as a means of “keeping up with the Jones’s”– the Jones’s being not only our competition, but every other retailer and service provider who was out there serving our residents well and raising their expectations in the process.

Here’s the reality check.Value-added service doesn’t mean simply living up to our residents’ expectations–it means going the extra mile. One of my favorite examples is the”Baker’s Dozen.” You pay for twelve cookies and receive thirteen. If you really want to compete, you throw in a couple more. It’s important to know that value-added doesn’t just mean giving something away for free. Where added value can be clearly demonstrated, the customer is most often willing to pay a bit extra for it. If you offer custom upgrade options to your apartment homes at a fair price; you’ve seen this principle proven time and time again; ditto for that special location with the super view and higher rental rate.

Another of my favorite examples of value-added resident service is the trend toward policies that clearly state: “Resident satisfaction is more important than company policy.” Not only does this empower employees to solve problems on the spot (one of the key factors to great internal retention), but it also helps to guarantee all of the nice things that happy residents bring, like renewed leases and referrals. Conversely, residents who are either overtly told or treated as though company policy stands between what they want and what your team can provide are not likely to stick around for long, if at all. Referrals? Don’t hold your breath.

It’s important to realize that a service needn’t be new in order to be value-added. Take a close look at each of the services you currently offer. A new twist here and an enhancement there can make a world of difference in how your residents perceive the level of service they receive.

Let me close this post by with sharing my feelings towards residents when I was on-site.

PropertyManager_2  I had a built-in feeling or reaction towards every single contact I had with a resident. Most of those contacts were not pleasant because I was always dealing with distressed communities. No matter how busy I was, and I was normally very, very busy. I stopped and gave the resident I was in contact with 110% of my attention, put a smile on my face and focused on making that person feel like the most important person in the world. Each contact was followed up with a hand written note (very impressive today in the electronic world) thanking them for bringing what ever new challenge I was presented with to my attention. These notes were delivered at the end of my day as I walked the community. I always felt that walking the community at the end of the day was another resident retention technique. Letting the residents see me walking the community showed that I had a personal interest in the community. The residents would never see me driving around in the available golf cart unless I was with a future resident or service technician. Managers, give it a try you will be amazed with the results of this simple and cost free way to endear the residents of your community.

Actions:

What other ways can you be proactive in the service you provide to your residents? What can you do for them before it needs doing, so they will want to continue living in your community? Write down ideas, add them to your plan, and then try to implement one or more of these fresh ideas every month. Your community’s bottom line will be rewarded with the results.

Take 10 minutes and walk the community at the end of every day. Give it a try for one month and you will be amazed at what you see, learn and the difference it makes with your residents. PLUS imagine the health benefits you will receive!

2013 Year-End Shows Sustained Rent Growth for Apartments

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

RealFacts_logo

Our year-end apartment round up shows sustained nationwide rent growth.  However, the distribution is heavily weighted towards the California markets.  Six of the top ten ranked are in California, as are the top three.

RealFacts annual review of the best performing rental markets of 2013

RealFacts_RentGrowth2013

Other strong performers in 2013 are Austin, TX up $56/yr. from $949/mo. to $1,005/mo. and Atlanta up $54/yr. from $880/mo. to $934/mo. 

Overall the rental market performed well with 32 markets out of the 40 published by RealFacts at or higher than inflation, CPI and cost of living—all three indices for 2013 are approximately 1.5%.  The national average rent was up 5.1% or $53/mo. from $1,040/mo. to $1,093/mo. yr./yr.  Over a four year period, the national average increased by 12.3%, from $952/mo. to $1,078/mo. or $126/mo. gain in absolute dollars.

Over the past four years, apartments grew to be very popular with investors because its returns are predictable and stable. In 2010, when the economy was sluggish, rental housing was thriving.   Turn the page to 2014 to find apartments competing with far more lucrative investment opportunities.  In 2013, the stock market grew by 29% and 35%.  For- sale housing is rebounding–trading at levels not seen since 2006.  Meanwhile, San Jose, arguably the most aggressive rent growth market we track posted a four year average increase of 35%.  The San Francisco MSA was up, 29%; Denver 24% and Seattle 19.4% over the four year period.   Annualized those rent increases range from 4.7% to 8.7% for our strongest markets in the nation.

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So, what do these statistics suggest about the direction of rental housing in 2014?  RealFacts predicts it will bode well for renter and investor alike.

Investors should set their sights on those markets that haven’t fully appreciated in terms of rent growth such as Greater Los Angeles.  A recent RealFacts report shows its four year average increase is just 11% or 2.8% per year.  Los Angeles also has a high barrier to entry.  That means it’s expensive and time consuming for developers to bring new supply to market.  High barrier markets rarely become unbalanced, at least not to a degree that would accelerate a market bust.

For the renter, there are still many affordable options in the heart of the Bay Area with plenty of units available to rent.  If one finds San Francisco too pricey at $3,056/mo., cheaper housing is available in the city of Richmond at $1,305/mo. on average.  It’s a seventeen mile drive or easily accessible by public transit.  Or, for those who prefer Berkeley, but can’t afford its price tag at $2,502/mo. they can opt for a quick commute to the city of San Pablo, just under ten miles away, and pay around $1,266/mo.


SarahBridge_RealFacts

Sarah Bridge | Founder/Managing Member of RealFacts LLC

REALFACTS apartment data is created, maintained and sold by a small staff of hard working people. You talk to us on the phone. You respond to our telephone surveys. You order reports. You ask when our new data will be uploaded. Now you can put a face to the voice; take a closer look at the RealFacts staff.