With winter and the holiday season quickly approaching, many of us could use some time to think about what we can do to make sure we stay healthy through this busy time of year. Changes in the weather increase our chances of catching a cold or flu, and decadent food – from Halloween candy to Thanksgiving pies and Christmas cookies – is available at every turn.

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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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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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By now, most of us have heard the term SEO. You might even know it stands for Search Engine Optimization. But, what exactly does that mean? If your response is along the lines of something about showing up in Google, you’re on the right track, but there is so much more! SEO helps your website be found, read and favored by search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Many of us shy away from SEO because it sounds confusing and hard to manage, but it’s not. With a few tips, you can take control of your SEO!

To prove our point, we asked Amado Candelario, SEO Manager of Apartments.com, to host the Apartments.com Training Series Live! webinar on search engine optimization. In this 30 minute session, Amado covered a lot of ground, explaining why SEO is crucial for small business web design, how to implement an SEO strategy and what to avoid. The recorded webinar is available for you to view here. A few of the highlights from the Q&A session are: 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

Many savvy renters are continually on the hunt for tips to maximize their living space.  Below are three must-have products to share with your residents to help them create storage even in the smallest bathrooms by using floating shelves, tiered bathroom storage and an over-the-door shoe rack.

Floating Shelves: Read More

Memorial Day is the official start of the summer season!  Instead of just entertaining your residents with parties this summer – rally them for a cause that gets your community noticed.  Why? There are so many great reasons, including building relationships, contributing to a cause that is important to your residents and great publicity for your community.  Follow these steps to get your charitable event off the ground:

1.  Select your cause – Engage your residents early to determine a cause, so you generate ideas that are not only creative, but appeal to your community. Read More