Now that we are trying to justify those rent increases and reinforce...

Now that we are trying to justify those rent increases and reinforce community and have events again. What are some epic events you’ve had In the past? Or what’s planned?
Please share epic events that were small budgets too-those are equally epic & inspiring! I can start in the comments with my 10 keg beer truck events....

Becky Dotson

Stephanie Oehler I ran a property in Ohio with a demographic of young professionals. 60% were in their first jobs out of college at Procter & Gamble. These young people LOVED to have a party. Our property became known for the epic events. One of them was when we'd have a band or DJ play by the pool in summer and we'd bring in a 10 keg beer truck. We would have 200+ people (residents, their friends, prospects because we invited them). We hired several off duty police officers to keep the peace. No major incidents (thanks be!). In fact, people renewed because of the parties and definitely rented because of them. We would have leasing agents book appointments for the next day right at the party.

Stephanie Oehler One of the secrets to our success with the parties was we would plan the entire year in advance. So we would publish the entire year's events in January. Residents would start calling Jan 1 to ask when the party calendar was going to be published! We'd hand it out to prospects. Each party would have a theme. We did Beers Around the World, Costume Parties, you name it. We even rented a bus and took residents to a Mighty Ducks hockey game with a private suite. EPIC.

Stephanie Oehler A small budget epic event that I would absolutely do again if I was running a property was our volunteer events. We would organize group volunteer opportunities like at the zoo, etc. Residents loved it and we were able to market our property via the t-shirts we would give the volunteers to wear.

Donje Putnam My best ever event was an early holiday wine & cheese party. People brought new wines to try, and we provided heavy appetizers. My favorite event was always our pool party and cook out. We had many themes over the year, but the pirate one stands out because I got to wear an eye-patch. We had treasure hunts for the kids and give aways for the growns.

Becky Dotson Oh my goodness, this Valentines day we handed out treat bags. We stood at the gate and handed them out as people were coming home. Two ladies cried and one jumped out of her car and hugged me. About 15 minutes later she comes back through - she had gone to Publix and bought me a rose to thank me for making her day! This will be a forever custom no matter where I am!

Stephanie Oehler That's so sweet, Becky Dotson!

Stephanie Oehler Any event with a costume, like an eye-patch, is epic!!! Donje Putnam

Lilah Poltz Donje Putnam the eye patch made me laugh! These events all sound epic!

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Unit based pricing is the norm in multifamily and I have some opinions about that, but before I voice them, I'd love to see some stats on how much companies are paying per unit per month on average, if you're inclined to share.
Also, if you know of reports or research already done that has some of...

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Miles Scruggs If you have crew bandwidth then 1 unit or 29 units at the same time doesn’t impact timeline. So really depends if you have one guy to throw at the problem or a team on contractors. What you’ve described can be done in 3-4 weeks.

Guest Insider Miles Scruggs one make ready Guy and an assistant to help here and there but work orders high due to previous owners and lack of caring. 30 work orders entered daily. 225 units

Miles Scruggs Bring in contractors asap or you'll go backwards in lost rent.

Guest Insider I would give them each three to four weeks stagger the projected ready dates. It can depend on if you have help on hand or if you need to contract stuff out.

Guest Insider I don’t know where you are but I’m in south Texas. Summer has already hit (heat-wise) and it’s getting very busy work order and unit turn-wise, on top of the A/C calls. School is almost out, the pool needs to be ready by this weekend (if not already) and the leasing staff is pulling out all the stops to get heads on beds. Can you commit to turning two down units a week on top of everything else? Six weeks minimum!

Guest Insider Geeze! It would save money on vacancy loss/ loss to lease to contract it all out and have them ready in 3 weeks. That is gonna take no less than 3 months. You have to plan for the unexpected which will cause delays. I hope your owners reconsider just knocking it out with a contractor/ vendor so your crew can ensure retention

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So your company just takes over a distressed, run down neglected property. Rents are low for the time being, but improvements are being made throughout the property and work is being done. You have 11 vacants, four of which were down units from the previous company. 8 require manifold swaps, tile work, kit install- ceiling fans, faucets, stove, fridge, door knobs, locks ,clear drains, etc. Flooring, full paint, counter top resurface. What do... Show more

Guest Insider Miles Scruggs one make ready Guy and an assistant to help here and there but work orders high due to previous owners and lack of caring. 30 work orders entered daily. 225 units

Miles Scruggs Bring in contractors asap or you'll go backwards in lost rent.

Guest Insider I would give them each three to four weeks stagger the projected ready dates. It can depend on if you have help on hand or if you need to contract stuff out.

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Hiring and supporting a maintenance professional in the apartment world was simple in the past. It generally consisted of: "Welcome to the team. Here are your keys." There is much more to it in 2024—particularly if you want the technician to remain with your organization. With a shortage of maintenance professionals in the industry, procuring high-performing associates can be a competitive process. The competition sometimes includes other industr ...

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Designing a logo for your apartment community is no easy task. It's not just about crafting a visual emblem; it's about creating the welcoming face of your brand, the first thing potential residents will see. Your logo serves as a digital welcome mat, setting the tone for your apartment's online presence.Much like ensuring your website is user-friendly, a distinctive logo is essential for catching the eye of potential residents, boosting communit ...

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Multifamily Operators: Is your company currently exploring the centralization of maintenance services across your properties?

Josh Hayes I’d like to see who else is doing this and get some feedback from them.

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Looking for a texting solution for my properties but need to have a language translator platform with the ability to communicate in different languages as our communities are ethnically diverse. Must be able to integrate with our property management software. Appreciate any suggestions.

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Madeline Nash Key Texting!

Jackie Koehler AI leasing has texting and will support different languages

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In multifamily, data is king. With an increasingly competitive landscape, decisions are made using accurate and granular data. NER, advertised occupancy, exposure, and concessions–the more specific apartment metrics you can get, the more data you'll have to base pricing decisions on. The problem is, how do you get specific data? What, aside from spending days online comparing listings, or hours on the phone conducting manual surveys, can you do? ...

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Anybody ever seen this one. Wires running out of the electrical outlets into bottles filled with a liquid. They had this set up all over the house. Also had ripped out pages from a Bible taped up everywhere.

Billy Aamodt Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Guest Insider That’s uhh… that’s a new one for me. I have had people do that exact thing with the wires, but never into liquids

Fred Montgomery That’s a new one for me. Prob thinks the ground will ionize whatever that crap is 🤷‍♂️

Guest Insider It is a very reckless thing to do. I’m guessing two wires got cut. But they cant join them using tape or by external means as there will be some resistance that will be developed at the ends and cannot ensure current flow. Hence the two wires are put inside a bottle filled with water, so that no external resistance is developed and current flow is maintained without any means to join the wires.

Kim Chewning I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I keep thinking the day will come when I can say I’ve seen it all… today is not that day! What the heck?!

Guest Insider Or, they don’t have an extension cord lol

Guest Insider Sounds like they may have some sort of mental illness.

Guest Insider What the heck! I have been doing this since I was a kid and I have never ween this. Even with East Dallas properties in the day.

Jill Wintermantel They probably think they are being spied on in some capacity and are doing that to divert the lines of communication. The Bible verses/pages are to help keep them safe.

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Does your maintenance team share in renewal commission?

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Guest Insider Yes

Sara Sprankles Yes. Our renewals are split amongst all property staff. $100 per renewal

Carolyn Steele Yes

Gary Wilson Removed

Guest Insider Yes they do, and should 🥰

Guest Insider Yes, all team members split. $100 per renewal.

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Love stories like this!!

Brenda Boyd

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Multifamily friends, in terms that of evictions, what percentage of evictions are you seeing at your properties / portfolios?
Please provide region and percentage.
I will go first, B+, Market Rate Portfolio in San Diego, CA has 2.5% of residents in eviction.
Interested to see how everyone is fairing out during these tough economic times.

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Miles Scruggs Wow that seems high. SE WA and we are at 0.2%. That seems odd to differ by a whole order of magnitude.

Chelsea Santiago I manage 9 communities in the nc triangle, only had one for holdover last month but this month I’m filing on at least four

Guest Insider I’m at a B property in central Texas and I’ve only evicted 2 people in 2 years.

Sarah Yadira Hong Most people I’ve asked in San Diego, CA are between 1.5 to 2.7% of residents currently in evictions.

Guest Insider All my years in So Cal I always saw fairly high percentages for evection. What did help over time was instituting higher security deposits. Example: requiring $750 on approval rather than $250. This process took a long time to implement but it really helped bring down those eviction filings. End result was it brought it from over 3% down to .5 - 1.5% Best of luck to you!

Brandy Blazen 644 units with 1% in eviction located in San Diego.

Cindy Shearer Screening times 3 when accepting new tenants. The last time we had to file eviction at our B property was in 2020.

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In which areas of your multifamily operation is your company currently utilizing technology to minimize the need for on-site personnel?

If your answer is different from the four options provided, please leave your response in the comment section.

Guest Insider None should be an option

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Hello, I manage a small property management company and until now we have not had a parental leave policy.
Would you mind sharing your company's parental leave policy and/or what your experience was like (good, bad, ugly) taking parental leave in our industry? Many Thanks!

Brent Williams and Amanda Hill

Guest Insider Not that I’ve had my babies while in the industry but I wouldn’t follow the norm.
The first company I worked for, there was no paid leave and I had to file short term disability. After, the state did pay me a portion of my pay for 8 weeks. It was like $200 a week, that was nothing. I took 2 weeks off before giving birth - no pay.
But my employer did say I could take off as much time as I needed. My job would be here when I was ready, I just wouldn’t be paid. Which regardless of the pay, it was nice to not feel rushed back before I was physically or mentally ready to return.
I wasn’t ready to return regardless but I returned after 5 months. I was even allowed to bring my baby in for a few hours occasionally when my husband wasn’t able to be home with him because of work obligations. I was also allowed to leave for his pediatrician appointments and then return to finish my time that I’d missed.
I even had a coworker at the same company and his wife needed to be in bed rest but they had...Not that I’ve had my babies while in the industry but I wouldn’t follow the norm.
The first company I worked for, there was no paid leave and I had to file short term disability. After, the state did pay me a portion of my pay for 8 weeks. It was like $200 a week, that was nothing. I took 2 weeks off before giving birth - no pay.
But my employer did say I could take off as much time as I needed. My job would be here when I was ready, I just wouldn’t be paid. Which regardless of the pay, it was nice to not feel rushed back before I was physically or mentally ready to return.
I wasn’t ready to return regardless but I returned after 5 months. I was even allowed to bring my baby in for a few hours occasionally when my husband wasn’t able to be home with him because of work obligations. I was also allowed to leave for his pediatrician appointments and then return to finish my time that I’d missed.
I even had a coworker at the same company and his wife needed to be in bed rest but they had a toddler. They allowed him to work from home before WFH was a thing.
It wasn’t the best maternity - I would have loved a year off with even 50% of my pay lol. But in terms of American maternity leave it was great. It was great to see the CEO was supportive of families. I think of that company often, it was the best job I’ve ever had in terms of maintaining my mental health and feeling valued by my employer.
My last baby, I was working a new job for the government. I worked right up until 2 days before my due date. I would have had 6 weeks off for maternity leave if I had delivered normally. 8 weeks for a 6 c-section. Then I HAD to return. If I didn’t return, I’d be in the negative for sick hours and vacation time. Which meant I could not take my baby to doctor appointments, could stay home with my kids if they were sick.
I opted for a c-section just to have 8 weeks. My pay once again, was short term disability and it was $200 a week roughly. Again, nothing.
Luckily, my husband got a raise and I didn’t have to go back but I was so upset because I didn’t HAVE to do a c-section like I thought. I only chose it cause I could stay home with my baby longer. My body was also no where near recovered by 8 weeks either.
A woman’s body isn’t actually fully healed and back to normal until a year. Every woman is different too but it could take up to 6 months before a woman’s hormones balance out and that’s not even considering if she ends up with postpartum depression. Not considering if she’s breastfeeding either.
Not to get too political but with the way our country is going and women losing their rights, being forced to have babies. I just really hope companies can put out good maternity and paternity leave policies. Policies that support parents who are healing, their emotional wellbeing, bonding time, breastfeeding/pumping, doctors appointments, childcare etc.
Even though my first job I had a baby at didn’t pay well - them treating me well made all the difference. I’d work for that company again in a heartbeat. My government job with all its benefits, and that paid more - I wouldn’t ever go back. They didn’t actually care about you, or your family. You were just a number. Show more

Not that I’ve had my babies while in the industry but I wouldn’t follow the norm.
The first company I worked for, there was no paid leave and I had to file short term disability. After, the state did pay me a portion of my pay for 8 weeks. It was like $200 a week, that was nothing. I took 2 weeks off before giving birth - no pay.
But my employer did say I could take off as much time as I needed. My job would be here when I was ready, I just wouldn’t be paid. Which regardless of the pay, it was nice to not feel rushed back before I was physically or mentally ready to return.
I wasn’t ready to return regardless but I returned after 5 months. I was even allowed to bring my baby in for a few hours occasionally when my husband wasn’t able to be home with him because of work obligations. I was also allowed to leave for his pediatrician appointments and then return to finish my time that I’d missed.
I even had a coworker at the same company and his wife needed to be in bed rest but they had a toddler. They allowed him to work from home before WFH was a thing.
It wasn’t the best maternity - I would have loved a year off with even 50% of my pay lol. But in terms of American maternity leave it was great. It was great to see the CEO was supportive of families. I think of that company often, it was the best job I’ve ever had in terms of maintaining my mental health and feeling valued by my employer.
My last baby, I was working a new job for the government. I worked right up until 2 days before my due date. I would have had 6 weeks off for maternity leave if I had delivered normally. 8 weeks for a 6 c-section. Then I HAD to return. If I didn’t return, I’d be in the negative for sick hours and vacation time. Which meant I could not take my baby to doctor appointments, could stay home with my kids if they were sick.
I opted for a c-section just to have 8 weeks. My pay once again, was short term disability and it was $200 a week roughly. Again, nothing.
Luckily, my husband got a raise and I didn’t have to go back but I was so upset because I didn’t HAVE to do a c-section like I thought. I only chose it cause I could stay home with my baby longer. My body was also no where near recovered by 8 weeks either.
A woman’s body isn’t actually fully healed and back to normal until a year. Every woman is different too but it could take up to 6 months before a woman’s hormones balance out and that’s not even considering if she ends up with postpartum depression. Not considering if she’s breastfeeding either.
Not to get too political but with the way our country is going and women losing their rights, being forced to have babies. I just really hope companies can put out good maternity and paternity leave policies. Policies that support parents who are healing, their emotional wellbeing, bonding time, breastfeeding/pumping, doctors appointments, childcare etc.
Even though my first job I had a baby at didn’t pay well - them treating me well made all the difference. I’d work for that company again in a heartbeat. My government job with all its benefits, and that paid more - I wouldn’t ever go back. They didn’t actually care about you, or your family. You were just a number.

Chad Christian Certain states have certain requirements. I’d get with an attorney to ensure whatever states you operate in you are within guidelines

Guest Insider 12 weeks 100% pay + STD + FMLA. Mothers can take up to 20 weeks paid and an additional 12 unpaid.

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What’s the correct way to go if military doesn’t pay? TIA!

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Guest Insider Same way as anyone else

Guest Insider If they are military you can't necessarily evict them. If i recall correctly, you have to do an affidavit saying you know they aren't deployed and they get assigned an attorney. Much easier to call base!

Brenda Sherrill You can call the housing office in base.

Robin Leasing Contact the commanding officer. That has always worked for me.

Stacy Carver Always have them list their first seargent as their emergency contact then call them. They will put a boot in them.

Guest Insider You serve them the required notice as you would anyone else. THEN as a courtesy you can call their housing director who them can contact their command which should be on yur application . The military have the ability to take that three day notice down and get a loan for the rent & when they do that then the $$ can be taken out of their pay. Remember, they rec BAH to cover their rent and utilities and can actually be court marshaled for not using these funds as to what they are attended for

Guest Insider Please be careful contacting their command without express written consent regarding financial matters. You can be responsible legally for providing that type of information as it’s considered their employer.
Check with your state and local laws but you can still give an eviction notice for non payment of rent as you would a civilian.

Guest Insider You would proceed the same way as anyone else. If the matter ends up going to court you will be required to provide an scra certification stating that they are active duty and their current deployment status.

Guest Insider I work for a community in a predominantly military town so almost all of our residents are military, therefore almost all of the residents who don’t pay are military 😂 the housing office is always a really good resource if you don’t know the correct way to proceed with anything when it comes to military. I have Really great relationship with our housing office.
When we go to court to file eviction we already have an Affidavit of Military Status filled out. The only way their military status affects the outcome in court is if they are deployed, then the courts will typically grant a 90 day stay to allow them to come home and take care of things. But yeah otherwise filing on military is just like filing on anyone else 🤷🏼‍♀️ at the end of the day it’s the soldiers responsibility to inform their command if they are in trouble, not ours.

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Multifamily communities experience a surge in activity during the peak leasing season, typically spanning the spring and summer months. During this period, a flurry of new renters arriving, existing residents renewing leases and an influx of prospects seeking living spaces can present challenges for property managers. This chaos can also lead to higher incidences of package theft. Today's renters, particularly younger demographics, love to shop o ...

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