Our friends at The Allstate Blog have put together an infographic explaining the value of a safe room and some tips for creating one within your own home. As Allstate explains, simply put, a safe room is a secure, reinforced, well-stocked room where individuals can go to avoid the risks and potential dangers that may arise in other parts of a home. It is especially important for apartment dwellers to designate a safe room and make sure they are prepared, especially since they don’t have as much space to work with as a homeowner.

View the infographic below for more information about how to create a safe room, and consider sharing with your residents to help them prepare their apartments in case of future emergencies.

Infographic courtesy of The Allstate Blog.

It is extremely important that your property name is known on campus and that your communities presence is felt among the students. Find out what events the campus has throughout the year, and if they will let you advertise on campus. If they have a school market day, place a stand where you can hand out flyers, prizes, and give information to the students that pass by. At major events that are hosted by the school, you can have leasing representatives from your community hand out flyers with information about your complex and give out freebies to students. This will ensure that the students will already have information about your community, prior to searching for somewhere to move, and that you will build a good reputation on campus.

If there are sorority and fraternity houses on campus, try to see if you can host some of their sponsored events. Prior to the start of each semester, host an event at your community where students can come in and take a look at the community. At these events, leasing agents can go out and talk to the students about what they are looking for in an apartment and tell them a bit about what living at your community is like.

Making your student housing stand out is all about getting your name out there and having students remember it! Take the initiative to get your community known on and off the campus to ensure that when students are ready to rent, your property will be top of mind.

This is a guest post from Gabrielle Castaneda, who is currently enrolled at the University of South Florida pursuing a bachelor’s degree with a major in marketing, a minor in international business and a minor in management. In her spare time she enjoys doing outdoors activities. 

Initially, when potential renters are searching for a place to live, they will most likely use an online source to gather some information. Every property manager should make sure that their community is set up on most major social media – including Facebook and Twitter – to ensure that your community is easily accessible to potential renters online. Once you get started with your own social media accounts, it’s time to start listening! Try setting up Google Alerts for your property name, as well as other relevant keywords, to find out what people are saying online. Monitoring and managing your online reputation can be time consuming but it is also a major way to make sure you stay ahead of the competition.

Your online reputation is also an important tool for self-evaluation. It can be a great way to communicate directly with renters and provide them with great customer service if they are asking questions or in need of information. Additionally, being involved with your online community allows you to address any possible problems or complaints that may be occurring on social media or in online reviews. If there are negative comments about your community posted on the web, for example, it could really turn off prospective renters from visiting the property. However, if you are able to respond to the negative review with an answer or a solution to their problem, prospective renters will see that too and know that you are responsive to resident issues.

If you have impressed your current or potential renters, you’re also more likely to generate positive word-of-mouth. Word-of-mouth can be amplified even more online. To help promote positive word-of-mouth, ask your renters to share their feedback through community reviews!

How do you manage your online reputation?

This is a guest post from Gabrielle Castaneda, who is currently enrolled at the University of South Florida pursuing a bachelor’s degree with a major in marketing, a minor in international business and a minor in management. In her spare time she enjoys doing outdoors activities. 

Lead By Example

Go out and try to lease or market properties yourself, so that the other leasing agents on the team see your dedication and spirit towards doing the job. It will also allow you to spend more time in the office and make the whole team more tight knit, discussing strategies for achieving more leases. It will also encourage other leasing agents on the team to try and stay ahead of you, motivating them to work harder than their boss.

Offer Rewards for Individual Salesmanship

While this tip isn’t encouraging you to turn the leasing office into a Glengarry Glen Ross environment, it’s not a bad idea to create a contest out of the number leases that are signed with each leasing agent within a certain quarter. For example, whoever leases the most properties to new renters wins two round trip plane tickets to Hawaii or Las Vegas. There can be second and third place prizes of lesser value as well, allowing others who work hard to do their leasing jobs to be recognized and get a little extra for their efforts. Few things are more motivating then rewards.

Reward the Team

Reward your whole team with parties and dinners from time to time when they do a good job or lease a certain number of properties within a certain period of time. This will encourage the entire team to work together for one common goal, encouraging everyone to concentrate on making the renter sign a lease, rather than just concentrating on their own personal goals. In short, everyone will share in the company’s success. However, you have to be strict about when the team gets rewarded and doesn’t, otherwise the team rewards will lose significance.

Allow Team to Voice Complaints

If there has been lackluster performance in the leasing office and there is a real lack of motivation, create an open forum where leasing agents can air their grievances about why numbers are down. This will allow the employees to blow off steam and get any problems off their chest. It will also give you an idea of what you need to improve upon to get the properties leased and make everyone money. The more honest and fair the sales environment is in the leasing office, the more everyone will focus on doing their jobs to the best of their abilities.

What are your best ways to keep employees motivated in the leasing office?

Rising Rents as Young People Enter the Market

There is an emerging shadow market that is about to come back into play. According to Business Insider, around 3 to 5 million people are returning to the rental market now that the economy appears to have recovered. Many of them moved back in with their parents or shared apartments or houses with others in order to save money and ride out the recession. Now that everything is turning around, many of these 20 to 30 somethings will be looking for places of their own, making demand and prices of rental properties rise.

Easier Credit Standards

Now that the recovery has occurred, or is in the final stages, the credit markets have loosened up once again, allowing people to borrow money for down payments on condos or leased properties. It is also giving people who property managers may have been wary of in the past better credit scores. This allows property managers to lease more properties more easily to prospective tenants with a piece of mind that they will pay their rent on time.

Property Management is Booming

According to Business Insider, the FHFA began selling foreclosed properties to investors who would maintain them as rentals in the foreseeable future. Which means there are a large number of incredible properties out there that need property managers who can be creative when leasing to tenants. Property management companies have suddenly become some of the most profitable in the real estate market as there is a ton of demand for their services out there these days. In other words, property managers can get creative in their business strategies over the next few years, as they will have no shortage in prospective tenants.

Higher Construction Costs

Due to the recovery of the housing market and the boom of first time home buyers, according to Business Insider, it only makes sense that construction would also rise in price, as there is more demand everywhere. This is important for property managers to know about, as they may have to repair tenants properties and will want to do it for as cheaply as possible. In other words, good property managers need to find a construction company or maintenance company that won’t be outrageously expensive every time they need their construction or repair services, allowing them to put more money in the pockets of the property owners. Having a good relationship with a maintenance or construction company that does quality work will keep tenants happy and make more money for the property owners, putting the property manager in the best possible light.

What trends are you watching out for at your property?

Set Up Facebook and Twitter Accounts

Property managers should set up Facebook and Twitter accounts for their properties and promote their pages to current and prospective residents. This way, they can leave announcements and updates for renters easily on their pages, which will show up on the news feeds of those who follow the community. These announcements can range between notifications of the power being down for a short about of time during the day to property parties that will be held in the middle of the apartment complex. This can help renters and management form a better sense of community.

Update Everything Regularly

Setting up the aforementioned Facebook and Twitter accounts is only the first step in the whole social media communication process. Property managers should update their page and tweet regularly, ranging from important updates or announcements to even funny videos and sayings, making their presence a part of their residents social media lives. Be wary of doing too much – you don’t want to take over your residents news feeds, but the more you promote the easier it will be to communicate important messages via social media.

Hold Contests

Contests can be held through social media usage around a property as well, encouraging renters to use the social media pages and twitter feeds that have been set up by the property managers. These contests can range from number of times a residents has checked in to their apartment complex in a month on Foursquare or Facebook Places, or how many times they swam in the pool or used the gym. You could also hold a Facebook photo contest, where residents upload pictures of themselves around the apartment complex and the best photo is chosen by the property managers. Winners should get a prize of some kind, ranging from a month of paid bills to gift certificates for restaurants or stores that the property managers award them.

Send Individual Messages

Social media for property managers also allows a non-invasive way for them to check in with renters on a regular basis about maintenance or any questions or concerns they may have, and vice versa. Monitor your property name across all social media channels to be able to answer any questions or complaints that may come in from current or prospective residents. It becomes one more way for the parties to stay in touch beyond email, phone calls or face to face meetings.

How do you use social media to communicate with your residents?

Of course, there are right and wrong ways to go about increasing rent rates. You still want to keep an eye on resident retention while implementing a rental rate increase, especially when you’re dealing with good renters. Any increase is almost guaranteed to trigger conversations with current residents about why their living costs are going up, and how you handle these interactions will affect the smoothness of the transition. Here are a few tips to help you minimize turbulence and raise rent without burning your current residents and damaging your reputation.

Be Transparent About the Change

Unless the rent increase is solely aimed at fattening your bottom-line, your property likely has valid reasons for upping rental rates. There’s no need to be vague or cryptic: Instead, rental property experts Judy Tremore and Deborah Boersma Zondervan recommend that landlords and management be honest about why the change is occurring. You might be trying to keep up with the going rates of the surrounding area, or you might be facing increases in operational costs — maintenance, groundwork, utilities or otherwise — that need to be covered. Emphasize that you don’t want to increase the living costs of your residents, but that the property’s current economic situation has made an increase unavoidable.

Inform Renters Early

In most cases, state landlord-renter laws require at least 30 day’s notice before increasing rent. Keep in mind, too, that you can only increase rent at the end of a lease period, unless existing lease agreements contain a clause allowing for rent increases in certain circumstances. While 30 days in the minimum amount of notification, the earlier you can advise residents, the better. That will give them more time to discuss the matter with you and/or review their options without feeling rushed to make a decision. In fact, some residents might move out on principal if they feel that you have tried to mislead them or pressure them into re-signing.

Offer Flexibility to Good Renters

No rental property wants to lose trustworthy residents with a strong track record. Some residents will approach you to explain that they can’t afford the proposed rent increase. If you highly value their business, don’t be afraid to negotiate a smaller increase for those individuals. A good resident is an asset worth retaining, even if it cuts slightly into your rental income.

Most residents value property management that understands the perspectives of its renters. It isn’t hard to unveil rent increases in a way that considers their effects on residents, and those individuals and families will respond much better to management that shows a “human” side. This more sensitive approach will help your property retain residents — particularly the good ones — while protecting public opinion regarding your property. In an age where the Internet has amplified the power of word-of-mouth advertising, every impression counts.

How do you handle rent increases with your residents?

There are simple ways a landlord and leasing staff can accommodate residents to make them happy and keep retention rates high. The following is a list of simple ways for making renters happy:

• Give a grace period of 2-3 days for the rent to be collected. The renters will appreciate the convenience of having an extra day or two to come up with their rent money. Also, the renter will not feel as stressed and pressed for time when it comes to paying rent; less stress and more time will ensure you have a happier resident.
• Offer amenities that are available during all hours and that are conveniently located in the community. For example, a 24-hour gym is great for the residents that have busy and/or non-traditional schedules. In addition, offering a 24-hour laundry room is important because you want renters to be able to do laundry whenever is most convenient for them.  Placing amenities by the leasing office or in the center of the community is recommended, this way they are easy to find and not too far from a single apartment.
• Address resident complaints right away. If a renter is complaining it is because something has made them unhappy. By addressing the situation in a tactful manner you are letting that renter know that they are important to you and it shows you want to help them. Solve the resident’s issue promptly, or try to accommodate them to the best of your ability. Keep their satisfaction a #1 priority.
• Follow up with all maintenance orders. Have maintenance orders fixed as soon as possible so that residents do not have to repeatedly ask when an issue will be solved - tenants only ask once is a good goal to have. Sometimes, renter satisfaction can be achieved simply by having a properly functioning unit. It is a great gesture to send out an email to a resident, after a maintenance order has been completed, that inquires about the completion of the order.
• Offer referral programs. This is a great way to make your residents happy while bringing in new renters. A great example is to offer $100 off a current resident’s rent for the next month if a family member or friend signs a lease.
• Offer extra incentives. A great way to keep residents happy is to have community gatherings. Host holiday parties or other social gatherings just because it is a nice gesture to your residents. At these gatherings, offer food and beverages while your residents mingle. Other great and fun incentives are raffles, contests and other prize giveaways.

What are other ways to promote resident happiness at your property?

This is a guest post from Gabrielle Castaneda, who is currently enrolled at the University of South Florida pursuing a bachelor’s degree with a major in marketing, a minor in international business and a minor in management. 

Time management is something many people struggle with, and these painless tips can help both at home and in the leasing office:

Planning: Planning out your day can save you time by helping you stay on track. Create a to do list; a pen and notepad work just fine or try an app like Evernote to keep track of your daily activities. Review your list each morning and determine what your priorities are, and what, if possible, you can delegate to others.

Prioritize: Instead of checking your email first thing in the morning, or jumping into the newest project right away, tackle the most  important thing first. If you’ve been putting off a big project, getting it completed will lift the pressure off your shoulders. If you have a project that you just can’t seem to get started on, try breaking it up into smaller, more manageable chunks of time.

Say No: Sometimes, you just have to say no. Consider your workload, schedule and sanity before saying yes to every project. Sometimes it is better to sit back and evaluate before jumping in headfirst.

Evaluate Your Time: Make a list of everything you do for every hour for one week. Then, evaluate what is taking up the majority of your time. If it’s something you don’t think is important, start making strides to change your habits!

Schedule Time with Yourself: Set up appointments with yourself that are designed to accomplish specific tasks. Putting a set beginning and ending point can help keep you focused. Make sure to stick with your appointments, or this tactic won’t work for long! Another tip is to schedule your time for tomorrow before you leave work today so you can hit the ground running in the morning.

What are your best time management tips? Share them in the comments below!

Summer Socials: Take advantage of nice weather and create outdoor activities for your residents. If your property has a pool, invite renters to attend a pool party and grill up hamburgers and hot dogs for the guests. Have an ice cream social one night, or hand out treats to residents as they pass by the leasing office as a nice surprise as they come home from a long day at the office.

Holiday Cheer: Spread cheer to your residents through holiday events. Hold a canned food drive at Thanksgiving or encourage residents to donate gifts through a charity like Toys for Tots. Have a potluck dinner where residents who may not be able to spend the holidays with family have a place to enjoy a meal and spend time with their neighbors.

Book Club: Book clubs are a great way to help renters meet and befriend their neighbors. Organize a book club for your residents that meets once a month. Surprise book club members with fun party favors inspired by the book as a great way to end the night.

Fitness Fun: Help your residents be more fit by providing free workout classes on property. Hire an instructor or put a call out to seek out fitness professionals already living in your community to lead the class. If you don’t have a fitness facility at your community, don’t worry. Host classes such as yoga, kickboxing or Zumba that can be done in a large open space that do not require expensive equipment or props.

Sports Night: Rent a projector and play big games like the Super Bowl, NFL, NBA and MLB playoffs, the NCAA basketball tournament or college football bowl games in a common area, or even outside during nice weather. Encourage residents to bring their favorite tailgate foods and provide chips, sodas and other snacks during the game.

Remember, residents are more likely to be social if they feel comfortable within your community. Make sure leasing agents are friendly and inviting and that you notify your renters of upcoming activities. Hang signs, drop flyers in their mailboxes and promote using word of mouth.

What are some other tips for throwing successful social events?