The attendees of Heartland Mobile Council’s MobiU2012 Summit, held in Chicago on September 24, expected to learn a thing or two about mobile. Despite the fact that I was one of the presenters, I can humbly say the event did not disappoint.

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An act passed earlier this year – the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act – will open the US airways to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by September 2015. In fact, the FAA will be redefining laws related to UAVs (otherwise known as drones) allowing commercial drones certain privileges.

These new laws will offer several new opportunities for property managers – including high-resolution aerial photography without the expense of hiring manned vehicles. With new laws, however, also come concerns from residents and citizens. Read More

We’re all familiar with the typical shopping process: Go to the store to shop for a product, evaluate your options, make a purchase and experience your new item at home. In 2005, Procter & Gamble defined the in-store evaluation as the consumer’s First Moment of Truth (FMOT), with the Second Moment of Truth (SMOT) happening once the item purchased is brought home. But, what about the research that takes place before a consumer goes to the store?

We learned during the Importance of Online Video Training Series Live! webinar, hosted by Patrick Grandinetti,  Head of Real Estate at Google, that online research and reviews are changing the game and are becoming what Google calls the Zero Moment of Truth, or ZMOT. The ZMOT, which first came to our attention last summer, takes place before the First Moment of Truth. In his presentation, Patrick described how the ZMOT impacts the housing industry and what we as multifamily housing professionals can do to maintain and increase success through online video. Read More

Just like any home, the curb appeal of your apartment community can make a good or bad impression on potential renters. Ways to increase curb appeal can include adding exterior decorations, re-painting, or making improvements to the landscaping. There are a variety of simple, cost-effective improvements to elevate your curb appeal this fall.

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Kicking off premier week for the 10^th season of the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the team at Apartments.com had the opportunity to provide $20,000 toward free rent for a year to a family who lost their home during Hurricane Isaac. Over 13,000 people in the New Orleans area were affected by Hurricane Isaac, including the Schaffer family, from Braithwaite, LA. Despite their loss, Jesse Schaffer and his son, Jesse Schaffer, Jr., grabbed boats and set out to help those affected by the storm. Within a 24-hour period, during the height of the Hurricane, they had rescued 120 people and their pets and brought them to safety.

When she heard the Schaffer’s story, Ellen, a New Orleans native, wanted to recognize them for their heroic efforts. Apartments.com is proud to be able to provide the Schaffer family with $20,000 toward free rent for a year! Watch the clip below to hear more about the Schaffer’s story and see Ellen surprise them with free rent! Read More

A recycling program is a great way to help sustain the earth, but sometimes the hardest part is deciding where to begin. By creating a program for your residents, it can not only help the environment, but also build a sense of community and remove barriers that may prevent residents from recycling on their own.

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Happy Apartments.com Appreciation Week!

In honor of Apartments.com Appreciation Week, we wanted to thank all of you who have partnered with us and those of you who are considering us as an advertising solution in the future.  As a token of our gratitude, we are giving you a chance to win a brand new Amazon Kindle Fire!*

To win, all you have to do is to be the first to name the tagline of our new advertising campaign in the comments section below. Read More

We hear it all the time – I just don’t have the time or energy to stay current with Google or I don’t know the first thing about Facebook marketing, or worst yet, I have a website, that’s all I need to do.

While my post will touch on the latter two points, I am not here to endorse Facebook or scold you for abandoning your website like a bad habit. My goal is to provide you with easy-to-implement pointers on how to build a solid yet simple website that is both search-engine and user friendly without making your web developer burn the midnight oil. Let’s dive right in. Read More

Raising the rent is a necessary reality in the life of a property manager.  If you never raised rents, you’d be out of business before too long.  With retention as a primary goal for many property managers, tackling this topic with residents is a difficult and uncomfortable conversation for many to have.  However, we learned last week, during the Training Series Live! webinar, hosted by Sarah Greenough (@SGreenough), SVP and CMO of Princeton Properties, there are ways of having these conversations.  The key to communicating a rent increase is to deliver the news in a confident, positive manner while keeping the resident’s perspective in mind.

Here are five tips Sarah covered to prepare you when having the talk with your residents: Read More

Kids these days. What do we really know about them? Well, these coming-of-age youths of Gen Y are more technologically evolved than preceding generations, which is evidenced by their behavior: co-dependent relationships with their mobile phones, addiction to social media and video games likely accessed from their tablet. And, apparently, they prefer renting an apartment over owning a home. That’s one of the factors cited by Reis for the historically low vacancy and high rents being seen in the U.S. right now.

In a recent Chicago Tribune article, Ryan Severino, senior economist at Reis, says This generation doesn’t hold home ownership on a pedestal the way prior generations did. Read More