Our residents are starting to call and ask how we are dealing with Corona Virus

Our residents are starting to call and ask how we are taking preventative measures to deal with Corona Virus. Is anyone else getting there calls? How are you responding?

Where are you located? I don't even understand how residents think management is in any way responsible for dealing with a global pandemic....

We sent out a mass email with links to information and preventative measures everyone should take before we received any calls. Proactive not reactive.

We’re loading the buildings with air purifiers, changing air filters daily, and having a hazmat crew on site 24 hours to remediate all common areas until the issue is no longer present globally. We’re certainly doing our part in solving the global pandemic.

I heard about that... Aren't air purifiers with daily filter changes recommended by the WHO as a way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.....?
I think you should take it a step further and swap out AC filters in every residents unit on a daily basis as well -- Just to be sure!

My senior property has people calling.

We put up posters and have informational handouts for those who ask. We also are not going to be shaking hands and will be saying why.

NAA has a good response on their website. We've used some of their info to give residents

AHMA has great resources, they sent out an email yesterday. King County public health and the CDC have posters you can print.

Has anyone made a flyer for their properties that they don't mind sharing?

We sent out a letter pretty much outlining the CDC prevention tips shown on the NAA alert letter and provided them contact info to the CDC website and local county health offices.

My budget only allows for a 2 pack of Glade Plug ins (in my office) Smells good but not sure it sanitizes??

Our company had us email a statement

I've been wondering about this also. And we have maintenance teams to protect as well.

The CDC has fliers you can post in your common areas

Tell them all to get a can of Lysol!

It's actually a great question that everyone should be prepared to answer. Odds are that many of you will end up with a resident on site who either contracts the virus or has to self-quarantine if exposed. If it isn't already, this should be a topic in every C-Suite in the country to be proactive about "What if?" scenarios and great resident communication to avoid uncertainty.

We have hand sanitizers everywhere, lysol wipes and spray in office.

on Coronavirus prevention...good advice from an expert!
This is the best info I have seen :
The author is James Robb, MD UC San Diego
Subject: What I am doing for the upcoming COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic
Dear Colleagues, as some of you may recall, when I was a professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the 1970s). I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS, MERS), from different animal sources.
The current projections for its expansion in the US are only probable, due to continued insufficient worldwide data, but it is most likely to be widespread in the US by mid to late March and April.
Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take. These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons, except for the mask and gloves.:
1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.
2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.
3) Open doors with your closed fist or hip - do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.
4) Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.
5) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.
6) Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home's entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can't immediately wash your hands.
7) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!
What I have stocked in preparation for the pandemic spread to the US:
1) Latex or nitrile latex disposable gloves for use when going shopping, using the gasoline pump, and all other outside activity when you come in contact with contaminated areas.
Note: This virus is spread in large droplets by coughing and sneezing. This means that the air will not infect you! BUT all the surfaces where these droplets land are infectious for about a week on average - everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon. This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs) The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth.
2) Stock up now with disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you - it is lung-specific. The mask will not prevent the virus in a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth - it is only to keep you from touching your nose or mouth.
3) Stock up now with hand sanitizers and latex/nitrile gloves (get the appropriate sizes for your family). The hand sanitizers must be alcohol-based and greater than 60% alcohol to be effective.
4) Stock up now with zinc lozenges. These lozenges have been proven to be effective in blocking coronavirus (and most other viruses) from multiplying in your throat and nasopharynx. Use as directed several times each day when you begin to feel ANY "cold-like" symptoms beginning. It is best to lie down and let the lozenge dissolve in the back of your throat and nasopharynx. Cold-Eeze lozenges is one brand available, but there are other brands available.
I, as many others do, hope that this pandemic will be reasonably contained, BUT I personally do not think it will be. Humans have never seen this snake-associated virus before and have no internal defense against it. Tremendous worldwide efforts are being made to understand the molecular and clinical virology of this virus. Unbelievable molecular knowledge about the genomics, structure, and virulence of this virus has already been achieved. BUT, there will be NO drugs or vaccines available this year to protect us or limit the infection within us. Only symptomatic support is available.
I hope these personal thoughts will be helpful during this potentially catastrophic pandemic. You are welcome to share this email. Good luck to all of us! Jim
James Robb, MD FCAP

Sending out informational notice before they start asking.

Yessss we put out antibacterial soap

Refer them to the CDC????????‍♀️

They would call! Jajajaja

I want to add one thought to this conversation. Be prepared to address the virus should you or a team member get it. Kroger is limiting the number of flu meds you can buy. There will likely be a shortage. So I stocked up on the medicines that make me feel better when I get the flu as well as a prevention regimen such as Lysol sprayed on all shoe soles when you enter my home and office, sanitizing wipes, and hand sanitizer all day long. So be prepared to get it and have the things you and your team needs on hand so you recover.

www.naahq.org/.../webinars/coronavirus-outbreak

OMG. No calls yet

We have a flyer that was created and emailed out to every resident and hung in all common areas.

Residents want to know if management and maintenance are working. They want to know if maintenance and cleaning staff are using disinfectants. If they are losing their income because of COVID, they are concerned that they cannot pay their rent.

The White House yesterday issued guidance. You can print or email the PDF for your residents.

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/20...nce_8.5x11_315PM.pdf

NMHC also put out a rather comprehensive document. Go to www.NMHC.org

We put out a notice to residents that we are still here to take care of their leasing, office and maintenance needs. However, until further notice, we are not servicing work orders for minor concerns, only urgent items like non-working appliances, clogs or HVAC issues. We explained that the least amount of contact and in/out of apartments, the more we can protect everyone. We postponed resident events. We simply explained in the letter that their health and safety is our main concern and that these are the preventative measures we are taking.

We have closed all of our offices but are allowing staff to continue to work. Maintenance is only doing work orders for emergencies only. Tours are virtual and most everything is currently being done online and virtually. For the most part everyone appreciates it. Part of my letter that went out states we want our staff to be there for everyone through this and that is why we are taking the measures we are. We are planning for a lockdown and have put measure in place to keep our residents interacting with our staff if worse comes to worse. We will be doing raffles and games through social media to keep residents entertained and to keep our employees working amd earning money.

Your ability to help do your part to slow the spread of the virus is dependand on the size of your property and your staff. Our company, Sunrise Management in NY, has implemented the following protocols:
1- Every resident who has submitted a work order is asked if they or anyone in their home is feeling ill.
2- We are currently moving toward completing emergency work orders (flood, clogged toilet, no heat, etc.) Any non-emergency work orders will be tabled for the time being.
3- All of our common areas are closed (fitness, clubhouse, community rooms)
4- Our team are preventative cleaning with disinfectant spray and wipes common areas that can't be closed. Halls, elevator buttons, door knobs, call boxes, handrails, etc.
5- Sub-contractors visiting the sites are asked if they are ill and if they are, told they cannot service the property.
6- We have a focus on keeping out staff isolated in turnovers. They are not interacting with each other and supplied needed are being delivered by the maintenance supervisor. We are using facetime to allow staff to "meet" or discuss issues that arise in an apartment.

It's everyone's responsibility to help slow the spread and we shoud do whatever we can to help our residents feel as though we are doing our part.

We sent an email, much like any other company sent, and added changes we have made also. We are in Cincinnati with no confirmed cases in our county, yet, but have done the following

All offices are closed to public until 4/6
All tours are via social media
Online echeck payment fees waived until 5/5
Maintenance restrictions
Questionnaire filled out prior to entering for maintenance

Turns plan to go on as normal but the entering/exiting of multiple homes a day we are trying to cut out for the next few weeks. Cutting back on all of this will reduce the likelihood of staff being sick all at the sametime and/or spreading it through your buildings for 14 days before you know someone is sick.

Although Covid-19 is not the end of the world, you just wouldn't want 30%+ of your property to become sick and not be able to pay rent all at one time.

We also sent an email on how to apply for unemployment as all bars/restaurants are orders closed here. Wait times to file has been reduced to 1 day.

We have links on our websites too. Check our footer on CopperHillApartments.com to see what we have done

We have taken steps by notifying residents of how we are handling the situation; closing down all common areas, restrooms, functions, additional cleanings, office by appointment only, etc. The biggest problem we face now is people who are out of work calling because they won't be able to pay next month's rent.

Our Management Company has been handling it very efficiently to keep our employees safe and our residents aware of whats' going on at least 2 a week. Luck for us we were already doing electronic leases, work orders, and Rent Payments. We did however have to close our Fitness Center and discontinue Resident Events.

The only problem is that unemployment will not be paid for several weeks leaving people to accumulate 1-2 months of rent owed before they can pay.

SAMPLE DRAFT

As a valued resident of <community name>, your safety and wellbeing is our top priority. With continued news around coronavirus (COVID-19), these are the steps we are taking to protect residents and on-site employees:

• We are carefully monitoring the situation and following guidance from the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health authorities.

• We’ve always taken seriously the cleanliness of our facilities and common areas. We know this is more important than ever. Aligned with guidance from health authorities, we are implementing additional measures to further clean and disinfect our facilities and common areas, such as <add any extras that you’ve begun doing here – additional hand washing stations, doubling cleaning assignments, etc.>

• While we look forward to continuing to serve you during this time, we recognize some access to shared facilities and common areas must temporarily change. To provide you with alternatives due to these changes, we are strongly encouraging you to use the drop-box for rent payments or make your rent payments online <if applicable at your location>. Residents who have already reserved the clubhouse are encouraged to call the park office to discuss options.

• Employee wellbeing is also a top priority. We are encouraging our staff to follow health authority best practices like frequent hand washing and staying home if they are feeling ill.

We’ll keep you posted on when we will be able to resume normal operations through <our email, social media, newsletters, etc. – enter however you’ll be communicating with park residents>

Thank you for living in a community managed by Insert your Property Management Name. Now more than ever, we are reminded of the importance of serving our residents.

Ohio's unemployment filing wait time has been reduced to 1 day so all that have been laid off from the state's closures can file now.

Our firm conducted a study with 1000 Multifamily residents last week to understand their concerns and the role they believe management/owners play in helping mitigate and stem a potential outbreak for this and other infectious diseases. I am attaching a tear sheet from the study you can share with your teams.

Here is a great flyer we have printed in our office in regards to COVID-19. Feel free to share.

We've prepared a notice to our tenants informing them that the health & safety of our residents & staff is our priority. We've taken measures to do our part by asking tenants to refrain from visiting the leasing office in person unless absolutely necessary. We are requiring all maintenance requests to be submitted via online or telephone & will complete requests on an emergency basis... even then, asking residents to self-screen their own health & not request in-house services from our staff if they are ill. Rent payments are to be made online or in our drop box. Many of our residents' employment here in Las Vegas is also effected by the shut down of many major resorts and casinos, so we are prepared to delay any payment notices for the month of April in hopes that the economy resumes by May (fingers crossed!).

We have also put out notices requesting visits to the office cease until further notice and utilizing the phones, fax, computers and drop box for rent payments and communication as well as placing work orders on an emergency basis only.

We are seeing a huge uptick in communication to residents through their Mobile Doorman app. We had to increase our bandwidth multiple times over the weekend to accommodate the messaging going out. Many are keeping resident calls and resident visits down through using push notifications that are more likely to be looked at over an email right now.