Resource Center - Industry Articles
The 3 Most Important Things in Real Estate
by Douglas D. Chasick, CPM®, CAPS, CAS, Adv. RAM, CLP, The Apartment Doctor™, April 28 2009
Yes, I know: location, location, location - but we're not buying or building it right now, we're managing it, so I repeat, inspect, inspect, inspect. My old boss used to tell me "you can't expect what you don't inspect." So get out from behind that desk and out on the property!
But first, a few suggestions: Walk the property with the person or persons who will be responsible for making corrections. If you are a property manager, do the inspection with the manager and the service manager. If you find problems with the rent ready apartments, have the service technician responsible for turning units walk with you as well. Write everything down, with a deadline for making corrections -it should be a realistic goal, agreed to in advance by the person responsible.
Always follow up on corrections. Inspect your property at different times and on different days - and nights. Ask lots of questions and stick to those questions until you receive satisfactory answers. Speak to any residents you see during the inspection and find out what they think about living there. Don't just criticize the bad stuff, acknowledge and compliment all the stuff that looks good!
YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK - MAYBE!In many areas, I've found that the land in front of or on the side of the community belongs to the city or county. This supposedly means they care for it, mow it and clean it. Don't hold your breath! While you are "negotiating" with the city to see your tax dollars at work, make certain you look after that land. Why? Because people visiting your property will think it's you that is neglecting it, and judge your community accordingly.
STOP WAITING, OR THEY'LL BE VACATING! Why do we always wait until an employee or resident gives notice that they are leaving before we offer to give them what they want? If you are pro-active, instead of reactive, you will treat people, all the time, like you want them to stay. You know what they want, so if you can't give it to them, then you should address it before they have to come to you because by then, it's probably too late. Even if you give them what they want, they'll probably be left thinking "If I were really important, I wouldn't have had to ask for . . . " So be pro-active and let them know how important they are before you have to!
STOP COUNTING PIECES OF TRAFFIC! Countless studies link the way we think to the way we act; if you're thinking about leasing traffic as "pieces of traffic," how are you treating them? Get in the right frame of mind by counting the number of future residents that visit your community each day!
RESIDENT TRAINING 101! I advocate lots of resident training: a resident handbook that explains everything they ever need to know about the operation of everything in their apartment; the manager being present at move-in to "walk them thru" their new apartment home and demonstrate how everything works, and a monthly newsletter that keeps them informed. These things are the bare minimum in resident training. Whether or not you do these things, there will be times when your residents make mistakes, like trying to get the garbage disposal to process avocado pits! Before you charge them for the repair/replacement (unless you are certain they did it on purpose), send them a nicely worded note explaining how the disposal works and how they can avoid this problem in the future!
