Great resident stories

We always hear about the resident horror stories; let's change it up and talk about great resident stories... I'll start:

My community is a 4 story all interior building. We have 1 and 3/4 miles of hallways that are carpeted. The carpet colors are all beautiful, but darker colors that show every little piece of lent. Well my housekeeper who keeps these halls looking spectacular is on a much deserved two week vacation. In the mean time with several move-ins happening the halls weren't looking so good. Yesterday I hear the roar of a vacuumed coming my way; I look out of my office to discover one of my residents is vacuuming the 1st floor (and she lives on the 3rd fl). Anyway it seems she and several other residents have gotten together, divided up sections of the hallways and made themselves responsible for the upkeep until the housekeeper is back.

You know you have a great community when the residents take ownership and show such pride in their homes! At move in we always let the new resident know we are providing them with a beautiful well kept apartment and we expect them to maintain it as such. Is great that they feel that responsibility extends outside of their doors!

This was not a property where I was a manager, but I happen to be there doing some consulting when a tenant of the property came in and told the manager that they noticed a couple of kids that did not belong in the community walking around. The manager got in her golf cart right away and went to check on the situation.

Turns out that there was a group of kids that belong to a gang of kids that were ripping off cars. The tenant that made the report was a young teenager as well.

Come to findout that all tenants in the community worked together to assist in keeping their community safe and it seems as though they had help stop a couple of crimes from happening in the area to include some individuals that were selling drugs.

So, because of their actions it seems as though anyone thinking about a crime not to go into their area and it is only the uninformed that make the mistake of trying someting there as well.

Seems that even people of possible dubious character do not apply for being tenants as the neighbors all watchout for one another!

There is only so much one person can do, and if that one person does not possess a green thumb, well ... it can be dismal with no flowers in the summer! So, there is one resident who handles planting flowers in the property's containers every year. There are about six others who tackle planting annuals in other parts of the community as well. You have no idea how pretty it makes the property look! I have taken to rewarding them with little tokens, but this year I am treating everyone to lunch where it is that they work. (I actually budget for the landscapers to plant at the entrance, etc., but it is so wonderful seeing their added touches throughout the community.)

The first property I managed was new a tax credit community in South Carolina. I worked as a leasing consultant during lease-up and later became manager. One of our first residents was a single mom. She had a good full-time job and was working toward a business degree through Phoenix Online.

She would use the computer in the business center often to take classes online. I gave her the clubhouse key several times when her computer was down so she wouldn't miss any classes. Her books came through the mail and since they were too big for the small mailbox, I would sign for them. She worked passed our office hours, so I always took them to her apartment and gave them to her daughter when she got home from school.

About 3 years later, she called me and asked me to be sure to watch for her mail and put it in her apartment when I got it. She was expecting her diploma! The day it came was very exciting! I signed for it and called her and told her it was finally here.

We both squealed on the phone with excitement. She got off work early and brought it over for me to see it. That was a great day!

She was also in the program to get a house through Habitat for Humanity. She finally got one, too. Her photo was in the newspaper with her new house. Moving day was a sad day for me and a happy one. I'll never forget her and her determination to make things better for her and her daughter!

Sandy - Great story ... and I might add that I think this resident was lucky to have you in her corner! You helped make a true difference in her life.

What a great idea for a discussion thread. At Rainbow our Resident Service Coordinators are making these kinds of stories happen every day. Thanks to all who have shared, here is one of ours from a low-income property in Arizona that we told during this year’s golf tournament.

At all of the communities Rainbow serves, a Resident Service Coordinator (RSC) opens a Resource Center complete with programming for both adult and youth residents. This particular resident first entered the Resource Center late last year with the goal to create a professional resume and have a job before the Christmas holiday. She had been unemployed for such a stretch of time that her unemployment benefits were about to run out. Now she was faced with the prospect of not being able to provide for her family, and as the holidays approached, it pained her to realize that there would be less for her to give her children and grandchildren.

Rainbow’s RSC made an assessment and helped her determine what kind of jobs to look for. It became clear that retail or manufacturing would be ideal, given that the resident had work history in both industries. Working together, the resident and RSC were able to create two resumes each targeting a preferred job sector. One was geared towards her retail experience, the other towards manufacturing expertise. Taking full advantage of the computer and fax equipment, the resident diligently came in everyday to the Rainbow Resource Center searching for jobs, writing cover letters and submitting applications.

As December loomed, the resident was about to give up on the search because her deadline for finding a job was fast approaching. Then, she received a call from two different retail stores. One wanted to hire her for a cashier position at $8.00 an hour. The other store wanted to hire her as a supervisor for much, much more. Due to her tenacity, and the direct assistance of Rainbow, she has now been working as a supervisor ever since and loving it!

But above all, she is truly enjoying the pride that comes with being self-sufficient!