How do Vendors and Property Managers feel towards donation/sponsorship request?

Have you ever wonder what your vendor is feeling or thinking when you ask for a donation/sponsorship request? As a vendor have you ever wonder what your property management company that you service is thinking or feeling when requesting a donation/sponsorship? Great then I need your help by taking a quick survey that is completely anonymous. I will keep the surveys up till 9 a.m. Friday September 9, 2011 for you to take and share with all your friends. Once I have reviewed the results I will share them in an article on Multi Family Insider for everyone to see. Thank you in advance for taking the time out to take the survey. Have a wonderful day and I will catch you on the FLY side of leasing or doing business with you.

Vendor Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BSJFCPN - Vendors Only

Property Management/Employee Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y2WLJVZ -Property Management Only

Thank You,

Jolene Sopalski

 

How do you deal with racism when it is you being attack by the resident?

This is going to be a touchy subject for many, but one that I realize we do not talk about enough in our industry. Today I experienced for the first time in this industry, racism towards me in front of a room full of people. I did not know how to handle it and it took all the strength I had to not cry or go off on the resident. No one ever trained me to know what to do when a resident is racist towards you!  I was trained on what to do when a co-worker or a vendor is rude or racist. What was even more embarrassing was the fact that I was the only one of my race in the room and the others were either speechless or giggling about what was being said.

So what do we do when this happens to us? Do we ignore it or address the issue right away? Would it even matter to the resident? I chose to calmly ask the resident to please leave my office.  I was told that I was denying them their right of freedom of speech. They did have the right of freedom of speech but not in front potential residents. This only added fuel to the fire and after several minutes of telling them to leave, they finally did. I turn around to see the astonished looks on my leasing specialist’s and the applicant faces.  I noticed that two prospects were giggling about the whole thing. I apologized to everyone that they had to hear that and then headed outside to pound on the doors of delinquent residents with my new leasing specialist in tow. 

The feeling I had of shame and anger was new to me and I did not know how to handle it. My ancestors were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland in the 1920’s. I know that they would have been appalled to have heard the comments that were made to me. How do you deal with ignorance like that and why does it still exist in 2011?

While I had my new leasing specialist with me I explained to him that the residents would treat me in a completely different way than they would him. True to my statement only 10 doors into my collection efforts I was given attitude and then when they noticed him they started to smile and actually were being nice. In the past when this behavior would happen I would tell myself that it had nothing to do with my race but had to do with my title of Assistant Manager aka the Rent Collector. But after the incident in my office and seeing what was happening while knocking on doors I no longer think this way. This made me angry and sad at the same time.

I know I have lived a somewhat sheltered life growing up and was taught to love one another as you would want them to love you. But what happen to this part of the world that I find myself in that is only 25 miles from where I started my multifamily career in. Did they not pay attention in school about the results of being raciest? Were they taught as children to automatically hate those who were different than they were?

I wonder who protects the property managers, assistant managers, leasing specialist and maintenance teams from raciest residents. How do we deal with the hurt of having horrible raciest things said to us by our residents? This has really bothered me today and I wanted to know what do we do about this? Our residents have fair housing set up to protect them but what about us, what do we have?

Professionally edited by Gerry Hunt

Are we as an industry automatically prejudice against those on Section 8?

Are we as an industry automatically prejudice against those on Section 8?

I recently participated in a Facebook discussion about how we stereotype those who receive section 8 or any type of government housing assistance. I will admit, I have been guilty of this and have to constantly remind myself that because of where I work and the person that I strive to be, that I cannot think like this.  It is very hard.  I had found myself resenting the fact that all or partial of their rent is paid while my partner and I work our butts off to support our family and are barely making it. There have been times that I let that resentment affect how I view these residents. However, no one wants to be resented no matter what their status in life is.

As professionals who are working with section 8 vouchers it is not our place to judge the person who is applying for our community solely based on the fact that they are receiving state assistance. Trust me, it is hard to do when you have the young parent in your office with 6 kids and can barely write a complete sentence. However, we do not know the type of life they have had, our position is to give them a decent home. That is the bottom line.

Do you offer incentives to your residents to improve themselves so that one day they may be independent of section 8?  Would you even want to try to make the difference in someone’s life that is receiving section 8? Would you continue to view them as beneath you or with resentment because you are the one not receiving the benefits?

Offering benefits to improve one’s self is a great way to make a difference for a family and it can affect the entire morale on your property and with the entire onsite team. Will you have a ton of people come to your classes? Probably not, but the handful that you do come will always be grateful to you.

My aunt heads a non-profit company that places women in affordable housing. She was telling me of a woman that was on state welfare and worked her way off of state welfare and into a property manager position. My aunt worked with her for several years to help her achieve this goal and feels very blessed to have been able to be a part of this property manager’s life personally and professionally. 

I hear comments all day regarding section 8 voucher holders and realized that it is resentment on all levels. We need to remember that even if a person is rich or homeless they deserve respect and not to be stereotyped.  If your property allows section 8 but you have looked at the person with annoyance, maybe rethink how you can affect their lives when they walk into your office next time.  A little help can make a world of difference to someone who is struggling.

Treasure Hunt Anyone?

My apartment community where I live inspired me to write this quick blog.

See, I started seeing these signs up around the community about a Treasure Hunt and did not really pay much attention until I came home on Friday and saw a red flyer on my table about a pool party.

The flyer had a pirate girl on it that said “Come Walk the Plank at ABC Pool Party. R.S.V.P on Facebook” okay that is new and I’m thinking finally my apartment community is coming to terms with social media and engaging residents.

When I went to the mailbox, I saw a treasure hunt sign that said “join the Treasure Hunt on Facebook by Liking us.”

I realized then that the pool party and the treasure hunt were the same.

So naturally I came home hopped on my laptop and searched for ABC apartments on Facebook. I could only find the places check-in.

There was no company page to be found so then I thought well maybe it’s on the flyer or the signs?

Nope, not a single flyer or sign has a link for the facebook page or a QR codes so we can find the facebook page. Maybe the real treasure hunt is finding the facebook page?

The idea of the treasure hunt is excellent. The only problem is the management team failed to direct the residents as to where one can find the facebook page.

We have to remember that if you do not share the link on your print ad or internet marketing people will not be able to find you.

Now I know you may be thinking, Jolene, why don’t you just go to your management office and ask for the facebook link?

The thing is, I do not have to time to call or go in and ask for the link and get a silly response of “I don’t know” and at this point I’m so frustrated that I do not even want to participate in the treasure hunt.

If I feel like this, imagine how the other 344 residents (not to mention all the drive traffic that see those signs) feel.

If you are going to have an effective facebook marketing campaign you must provide your residents and prospects with the proper tools to find you.

Printing Flyers or signs without the proper information is a waste of time and money. Please comment and tell me you agree?!

If you are planning on using social media to promote your campaign, make sure you put your plan into action.  You don’t want to give people a call-to-action and then not have it set up where people cannot find you!

The goal of facebook marketing is to engage with your residents or prospects not to frustrate them.

Hopefully, my apartment community mistake will prevent others from doing this.

Don’t take the fun out of treasure hunts by not letting the fun even begin by not being able to be found.

By: Jolene Sopalski

Professionally Edited by: Alisha Krueger

Is Your Apartment Community "The Voice"?

Recently NBC launched a new show called “The Voice” and it inspired me on so many levels. From the shows concept, marketing with the use of Social Media, to the coaches them selves.  While watching this fantastic show, I could not help but see how I could use this as a learning tool.  I also saw so many ways that the Multifamily Industry is similar to The Voice.  The makers of the show and NBC seriously had the formula down pat on the marketing side and knew how to keep your attention.  How does this work for our industry?

‘The Blind Audition’- This is my favorite part—before they ever get to your community or even call, prospects judging you from your advertising.  One of the things about the Voice that really impressed me was how they used Twitter, FaceBook, Blogging, YouTube and ITunes to market their show and artists. Each media was different so it kept you going from one media to another, to read/see more about the show.  They kept it fresh and exciting all at the same time. Do you stick to what everyone else is doing or do you jump out of the box and become different?  It is very important that the way you advertise, immediately sets you apart from your competition. Can your community advertising pass the Blind Audition?

‘The Battle Round’-Congratulations you have passed the Blind Audition now instead of 32 properties you are up against 8 other properties. How you answer the phone will determine if you move to the next round. This is very important! Are you upbeat, positive and willing to answer your future resident questions? Many of us get so busy with the everyday stuff that we forget that we are auditioning for an audience with a future resident every time we answer the phone.  Stop what you are doing, breathe, and smile before you answer the phone! Your prospect will hear the smile and feel your undivided attention.  (For great tips on “Leasing With a Smile” visit The Training Factor, Jonathan Sarr's blog.) Make sure you answer all the questions your potential resident may have. Push to make the appointment. This is your moment to shine. If you don’t make it through the ‘Battle Round’, you will lose the prospect.

‘The Sing Of’- Whew that was tough but you did it you made it threw the battle round!  Now it’s time to compete with the top four communities your future resident is going to look at. At this point anything can happen, you can make it to the semi-finals or you can go home. I prefer to make it to the semi-finals and then take it to the finals by winning. You have succeeded in scheduling the appointment during your phone call. Did you immediately follow up with an email, text message or a hand written thank you card?  I know you’re thinking, ‘why would I do that before they came in to the property?’  Simple you want to make a statement; you want to stay in the front of their minds! With all of our awesome technology why not use it to our full ability?  Instead of sending a regular email, why not send a video email of you or team in front of the community sign with balloons or in the apartment they will be living in?  If you do this, include a shot of one of the things that the future resident said was important to them~~like big closets.  This will help increase the comfort level of the future resident when they finally get to the property.  You are continuing to build a rapport with them. How you follow up to your phone conversation, prior to the appointment sets the tone for their visit.

‘The Semi-Finals’- GREAT!!  Your future resident just called and they are on their way to your community! Now it’s narrowed down to the final four communities!  They loved your video follow up. (If it was on ITunes you definitely would be number 1 on the charts!)  Your future resident comes in and they are ready to get the show on the road. Put a smile on your face and get to working on making sure these future residents do not leave with out placing an application. You know the tour will be awesome because you made sure the apartment you are going to show them looks great and smells great. In fact, the entire property looks like it could be on a postcard! The best part is you have a special gift just for them in, waiting the unit.  People LOVE surprises especially if it is a free one! Who says you have to wait until they move in to give a gift?  Keep it simple, something small, like a candle or pot holders with your community name on them, just something that will remind them of the Community and you.  Be memorable! Remember the video follow you did pre-tour well now it’s time to create the video tour. Yup, you are going to give the future resident the video camera and ask them to record their tour of your apartment home so they can show it to their friends and family when they leave.  When the tour has ended make sure you record THEM holding the gift in whatever room it would most likely be used.

‘The Finals’- WOW!!  This is it! You made it from the Blind Auditions, the Battle Rounds, to The Sing Off, and the Semi-finals to The Finals! Your future resident just told you they loved the community and the apartment! But wait~~they are saying that it is between you and one other apartment community! They want a day to think about what they were going to do. You try one more tactic~~ the Look and Lease Same Day Special.  They tell you they appreciate it but really want to make sure they make the right decision, after all, this is where they will live for the next 12 months. So what do you do now to make sure you come out as “The Voice” of all the communities?  Remember that video you recorded of the tour? Put the video up on You Tube make sure you mark it private and only the future resident has access to this. Then send an email/text message to the future resident saying that you have a special video that you wanted to share. The future resident will be able to review how they felt and see what they loved about the apartment all over again! Yup, I know crazy and brilliant at the same time!  Give the future resident some time but make sure you call them before you leave for the day to see if they have any questions. Keep following up with the future resident. Be memorable!  In the end only one community can be “The Voice”.  It is your job to make sure it is your community more often than not.

What are you doing to make this happen? See what is working and what is not.  Sometimes it can be something as simple as the way you answered the phone, to the apartment appearance, or even how you are advertising.  Remember the first thing people see is your advertisements.  If you have a ‘boring ho-hum just like everyone else’s’ advertising approach, then you have already lost the blind audition. Do not be afraid to stand out and be different. Be memorable!!

Why are we afraid to collect rent from our residents?

Why are we afraid to collect rent from our Residents? By Jolene Sopalski

Delinquency is such a dirty word in our industry that sometimes I feel like my mom should have washed my mouth out with soup for saying Delinquency! How did we come to feel that Delinquency is such a dirty word for us?  It’s a word that keeps Owners, Management Companies, Managers, and Assistant Managers awake at night for fear of it. Here's how I think it happened!! We started freaking out when occupancy started falling and the bottom fell out of the economy!!  We didn't want to offend our residents for fear of losing them, so we just ignored the late rent! And our residents learned to pay their rent later and later!! We as property management, owners, and managers set up a cycle that is unacceptable!!  In some weird wacked out way over the past two or three years we have given the residents the power over us for fear that if occupancy drops we will be in financial ruin, fear of a Fair Housing Lawsuit or our jobs will be threatened (I see this more often than not in this industry but that is a whole other issue in itself!).

It’s time to take a stand and regain control of our community. In reality we ~the management team ~ are sort of like parents and our residents are like our children, who we guide and discipline. Seriously, think about it and you will totally get what I’m saying in regard to that statement. In addition we are managing a Multimillion Dollar asset and we as Property Managers, Assistant Managers, Property Management Company’s, Owners should be managing like it is our money is not being paid. After all the money we take in is what pays our paychecks right? And without the rent, we have no money to spend on resident parties, maintenance and office supplies, landscaping, etc. 

I recently started working at a property where the residents were not pushed to pay on time and were allowed to pay whenever it was convenient for them. They were not even required to pay a late fee, I know that is insane! A lot of money was just being let out of the door.  I found this to be unacceptable as did my Property Manager, who had just started a month prior to me. Luckily I have no problem telling someone they have to pay rent or I will file for eviction. I have had the privileged of cleaning up accounts and enforcing the lease guidelines. It has not been easy in fact I spent my first two months working 10-12 hour days just to fix the mess~~yes,  it WAS a mess. At first I was getting called lots of colorful names and a few complaints about my notices.  My favorite was when I put out notices with a moving truck that said “Are you packing yet? Eviction procedures will begin on the 15^th!” I was told not to send that one again because of the very tiny small customer complaints. Let’s just say that after a month of being fluffy, sweet and nice ending with a high delinquency, I now can live up to my nick name of ‘JoJo Soprano’. 

Collecting on your delinquency can be frustrating and annoying but it will allow you to see a growth in your economic occupancy and getting rid of those pesky loud non-paying residents. Sure your occupancy is going to take a hit but it just means your leasing team is going to be challenged more to lease those eviction apartments quickly so they are only vacant for a short time.

Here are some tips to collect on your delinquency:

    1)   Do Not Be Afraid to give a deadline of when past due rent is to be in with late fees. If we keep allowing our residents to brake the lease terms we are not doing them, ourselves, or our owners any favors. In fact we will hurt everyone involved in the delinquency process. You have the right to file evictions on anyone who has not paid their rent per the lease contract.

2)      Use local resources like your banks to set up financial planning classes at your property. I have learned that sometimes residents just do not know how to budget their money so that they are always paying on time. Make sure the class is always at the first of the month, this way if a resident comes to you needing to do a promise to pay you can say I will only accept it if you go to this class. Once they get hooked on the classes and see the changes they will keep going. Make the resident responsible for fixing their budget and paying you on time.

3)      Use Email, Social Media, Text Messaging, Flyers, and Bandit Signs as a way to communicate with your residents.  Send out reminders: rent being due in 5 days, rent will be late in 24 hours, rent is now late, please submit your payment in the form of certified funds with late fees, last day to pay before Evictions are to be filed. All of these can be done and actually work. Bandit Signs at the entrance and exit of your property will be seen by everyone.  My favorite saying to put on them is ‘Stop Did you pay your rent today?’  I’m still trying to talk my boss in letting me get a big flag banner that says this. The point is to use all of the tools you have to collect rent on time.

4)      Remember to say Thank You when a resident pays their rent late or on time. A thank you will go a long way. The more you tell them you are so grateful to them for paying their rent the more likely they will continue to pay on time or start to pay on time.

I know it can be scary to collect delinquent rent and to follow the lease terms because you do not want to offend anyone or have them move out. But we have to do this~~it is part of our job! I don’t know about you but I get a rush every time I see my economic occupancy go up and my delinquency go down. After working really hard to re-train my residents on paying on time, I started the month with 12k less delinquent rent than the previous months. To me that is a big accomplishment and I know that they are starting to hear me. 

If all else fells you can just get a U-Haul Truck with a banner that says ‘This could be yours if you do not pay your rent on time!’  It is time to take back our properties! I challenge everyone to stand up and expect Residents to pay their rent on time. Accept no excuses!!  And evict a resident for non-payment!

Professionally Edited by Gerry Hunt

Why be dull when you can be extraordinary?

I want my property to stand out from everyone else’s in every way from my print ad, social media presence, to my sales pitch, and curb appeal. So how do we do this, how do we make a statement to our prospective renters that we are a different management company or community? It is very easy, so easy that you are going to hit your head with the palm of your hand for not thinking to use a little trick that Lisa Trosien talked about in a recent webinar presented by App Folio. Are you ready? Here is the top secret advice: Care about your residents and their voice by sharing what they have to say about your community!

It’s very simple!  Your greatest asset is your residents’ voice. They already live at your community and know what your management company can offer them. So why do we not use this great asset? Are we afraid to be the first in the market for our area to be different or are we just comfortable being the same?

I like to think that we can overcome our fears of trying something new.  Goodness knows I have tried many new things in many areas of my life. I can tell you what I would do if I had the ability to make my community stand out from everyone else.

First, I would have a testimonial board in my leasing office. I would position this where the first thing the prospect sees is my resident’s testimonial of the community.

Second, in my leasing office I would frame pictures of my residents in their apartment, using the amenities or at a community function. This simple and inexpensive decoration will show that you like your residents; you mean what you say in your sales presentation, print ad, and social media advertising.

Third, I would have additional resident testimonials in the model or mini models. I would put some over the bed in the master bedroom, bathroom mirror, refrigerator and the front door to read as they are leaving the unit. I would even incorporate Toni Blake’s “I Love This” picture book of the residents around town or around the community. I would leave it open on the coffee table as an attention grabber.

Fourth, I would create a slide show of pictures using the testimonials of residents, their pictures and pictures of the community to send as an email follow up.

Lastly and most importantly, I would incorporate resident testimonials and pictures of community events into my print ad, internet marketing, and social media sites.

These five things will set you so far apart from your competitors that you will be remembered. Why would you want to be the same as everyone else when you can be extraordinary? I challenge everyone to do something different with your presentation of your community.

By Jolene Sopalski

Link's To Names Mention in Blog:

Lisa Trosien http://apartmentexpert.com/

Toni Blake http://www.totallytoni.com/

Professionally Edited by Barbara Savona of
http://www.watchyourbusinesssprout.com/