Ok.... let's get a question going.....

YESTERDAY was my first day as a manager at a Tax Credit, senior property with a severe lack of budget; much like my entire state. What makes this worse, is there is a HUGE issue with vacancy (of 65 units; 25 are in some combination of vacant, on notice, or pending to go to legal).

My question is: Besides Craigslist, what other FREE marketing venues are there?

You can use several free sites:

http://www.ebayclassifieds.com/You can use several free sites:



We use these site and get amazing results.

Craig List is going to be your biggest online free site, everything else will provide minimal results if any. However, the most return in your marketing and is free is outreach by visiting your local business, flyers at shopping centers, and connecting with the community. Also, make sure your curb appeal is up to date, you need to capture that drive-by traffic.

Johnny,

Here's a web site I saw today.
www.backpage.com/

Looks like a Craiglist knockoff -- but it's free as well.

Good luck with the new position.

Best regards,
Leigh

Don't forget when you do spend your money on advertising or even if you are using a free site to think about who you are advertising to. Several managers of senior units miss the mark on their advertising because they advertise to the seniors. In most cases, it is the children of these seniors that make the choice on where they live and if not the total choice a good consideration of their children's wishes are taken. How many seniors do you know poking around craigslist? Or the internet at all? In most cases they have their children or even grandchildren navigating the internet for them as well as calling the properties. Steer the advertising to them and you will get a lot more hits...

I had a thought the other day and will be following up on this soon.... My Rabbi is connected with several interfaith groups. I am going to try and connect with her and see if any of them maintain a list of housing providers for senior citizens on fixed incomes (55+ AND 60% AMI).

What about contacting your local Senior Center and see if you can volunteer one day helping them out...this will get you out in the community, the other seniors will get to know you...and like you...they will see that you are helpful and care and this might bring them your way...

We have a Senior Center in my area and although I manager a family property, I do have elderly living here, so I contacted them and made arrangements to help out there one day...thats when I found out that my seniors weren't going to the Senior Center...so I had a contest for them...all they had to do was go once and they got their name in a drawing to win a prize...they did, they loved it and now they all go...so you might want to check and see if your seniors go to a clubhouse, etc. of sorts and if not try to get the them involved also...Since doing this, I've had a few seniors come my way...so it has helped...

I don't know if you do this or not and I know budgets are tight...but elderly love activities...I know one of our properties started a monthly bingo and the prizes were things like paper towels, $5.00 gift cards to the local grocery store, etc. they tried to make the gifts things that the resident would need and that would help them save their money for other things...This has been something that they've kept up..and once a year they invite seniors from the senior center to join in a big Bingo day...this gets seniors to the property so they can see what it looks like, they see how the staff acts, and they feed them a little snack, etc...its really worked out well for them...

I too manage a Seniors TC site. Mine is 62+. While the owners understand the necessity of a strong advertising budget we have come up with some creative free marketing ideas.

Recently we held a "Fall Fair" allowing vendors to come in and set up a booth in our community room. This offered our residents the chance to get a jump on their holiday shopping and we were able to showcase our community to the vendors who may know someone looking for an apartment.

We have a spring and fall yard sale every year. On that day we also hold an open house so the "yard salers" can take a tour while they're here.

Bingo is every Tues. and we encourage our resident to invite a friend.

We offer meeting space for outside groups as well. At one time we had a business owners networking group meet here weekly. We were able to get 3 leases out of that group.

While it's not free we have found having an activities director helps too. Mine is a resident. We give her a $100 monthly concession to plan our activities. More often than not seniors are looking for something to do and want to be active anyway, so an added incentive of a title and money off their rent is a great motivator.

Good Luck!

I'm also on a affordable senior property as an assistant manager and it is all knew to me. My background has been in multifamily affordable properties so its new. Can I just say one thing it is so nice not to be cussed at or yelled at. Now I agree with the marketting to the younger crowd because it is the children or the grandchildren who doing the looking for their parent or grandparent. Just before I left for lunch today I had a grnddaughter come in with her grandmother and she was the one asking all the questions. I love the volunteer at the Senior Center and the talking to the rabi I think those are great ideas. Church leaders are going to know which of their members are in need of housing. A active resident activities director is the key to sucess. Also not changing the staff up every two to three months will make a big deal in the occupancy. Seniors like to know who is handling their money and like to see the same face everytime they go into their office. It make them feel safe. If anyone has anymore ideas for marketting a senior property please share!

Jolene Sopalski
Assistant Manager
Finlay Management,LLC

We offered to have the local Red Hat Society chapter hold a meeting at the property. These ladies are very active in the community generally speaking and we have received plenty of referrals from them.

Bingo is such a huge hit and when money is tight, we have suggested residents bring a canned good or paper product they may not need and use that as their "entry fee" to play. It adds up and allows them to play many more games.

If the community has a television and DVD player, burn photos of community events on a DVD and have that playing on the TV instead of the news, etc. It's a great way to show off how much fun residents have. Where we didn't have the luxury of a TV, many of our sites print photos and have them displayed throughout the office/community room.

We advertised at the local Y. It was very inexpensive to get an ad on their TV screens they have throughout their facilities and we not only reached seniors, but their children. This really works! Advertising on community transit vehicles has also been effective.

Good luck! I have tons of ideas for community activities that are out of the ordinary. Please email me and I will be happy to share.

Here are a few we use:

hotpads.com
socialserve.com (social services free site to post)
backpage.com
oodle.com
ahrn.com(this is for military off-base housing, but you never know when you may need it)
craigslist.com

I would also contact your local county or state housing programs. I always leave our flyers and goodies at Section 8 Housing as well as Pima County Housing Program. I would target where resident's that fit your qualifications gather or search assistance.