Help for a D Property

I will soon be taking on the management of a D property in Houston, TX. This community is primarily Hispanic and also in terrible shape. I do not anticipate much of a budget to "fix' it up. I need suggestions on low cost solutions to improving the property as well as some great marketing ideas for a property than basically has no amenities to speak of. Also if anyone has any ideas on resident functions that would be well received by low income minorities. Keep in mind there is little money in the budget for much anything.

I would like to congratulate you on taking the job, and more so for wishing to bring the property up to a higher level where possible.
There is to be some consideration as to what type of rental assistance funding you are under. In some cases this will make a difference in what monies are available to repair or improve the property. It will depend on who the finance agency is, and what are the standards that will be required for the level of maintenance. In most cases, long gone are the unkempt rental assistance properties of yesteryear.
You need to have a copy of the property budget. In many cases, this breaks out what is available for "O&M" or Operations and Maintenance. In the case you may be working for a private owner, who just happens to accept HUD, then you may not be privy to the budget at all, and may be excluded from that aspect. However, if your working for a property management company, I feel you, as manager, are entitled to a copy of the property budget, month by month. Usually, there is little extra money to be found in a standard budget, unless not much has ever been spent in the past. In these cases, the government usually makes a "Return to Owner" on the unspent money, who promptly pockets it as profits.
The cheapest and greatest upgrade on some properties are the simple planting of flowers, and neat and pretty entrances, porches, but not knowing your set up, this might not be a factor.
I suggest you tell us what "could" be done, and how the tenants would react to your asking for their help in beautifying the property. (Don't worry, I understand if the tenant aspect won't get you much help).
If your under HUD, those folks will mostly just make you meet the standards of occupancy, so not much help there. Again, if HUD, there is help from them in getting rid of non-payers, dirtbags, etc, so feel free to talk to them if you have problems.

I would approach it from the getting buy in first from the owners / Management Company. Let them know what you are thinking and will they be able to support it? The other thing is see what they are willing to do?

Then being armed with this information formulate a plan based upon a soft survey of tenants with a focus on what you know the management will buy into. Such as if the management would buy into flowers, painting, certain areas, then center the survey on these areas of in order of priority what the residents want to see. Wording is everything when presenting it to the tenants.

The things that Herb pointed out I feel were right on target as well and I am just throwing out a couple of other things out there.

To me and just taking over, I feel buy in from higher first is very important because it also ensures when you talk you have confidence and know what will and will not be supported. I would always look for what is easiest to do first, so that tenants can start seeing results right away.

I would start with what you already have and improve it. Here are some suggestions:
1. Send out letters to residents to clean up patios, porches and breezeways of their personal items. Let them know there will be fines for having personal items outside of their apartment, other than what is permitted. Also make it clear that anyone seen dropping a cigarette on the ground will be fined $50 for fire code violation.
2. If they have satellite dishes everywhere, change your policy where they have to be put in an area to the side or rear of buildings, not in front. Check to see if there are any not being used and cut them down.
3. Have a meeting with maintenance and tell them what issues you want to be reported to you, such as excessive cigarette butts in one area, dog poo on the grounds, etc. Make it clear that ALL trash, even the smallest candy wrapper must be picked up. The old saying..."If you keep it clean, they will." is very true.
4. Meet with your landscaper and walk the property with them. Point out where they have been slack and let them know you are counting on them to improve the curb appeal. Ask them if they have any leftover mulch or flowers from another job to bring it to your property, no matter how little it is.
5. Talk to your cleaner and painter. Let them know how important it is for them to do an exceptional job because you don't have a lot to work with and this is critical for leasing the apartment. Get them on your side and in your corner.

When advertising the property, emphasize the location. I don't have amenities either and I usually have a waiting list. It's my location and proximity to conveniences that attract renters.

Always ask residents for referrals. When I collect rent, I always ask how things are going and if they say something positive, I ask them to refer someone to me and go on ApartmentRatings.com and write about what they like about our community. I stress how much it would help me out and they always seem willing. I'm 100% recommended.

I do have a 'work in progress' type of blog I am in the process of developing and am willing to share what I have so far; let me know what email to send it to.

First Johnny congratulations on your new job! Now this is me. Most places have a stigma as do some cultures. First to me is to get the residents to take pride in where they are. Get them involved. Find out what the management can do before you meet with them so you know what the management will support and what they will not.

Once you have the residents together and this can be a meeting and / or news letter asking for what they would like to see as a community and see if any of those things would fit into what the management can support.

Then there is the taking pride in the community and the culture. You do not have to have much to make something look good. Once things start looking good people will start taking pride in what they do have.

Marketing I would start once the people are engaged as they can start saying positive things about where they are when people start asking and they will talk to their friends.

Sorry, should have clarified. This is not a HUD property.

Thanks Johnny. You can sendit to [email protected]

Here are a few more tips:

If there are things you can improve on the property while making money most owners will go for it. You just need to present it to them as a way to increase income. For instance I wanted to upgrade my countertops. The cost per unit was $250. I convinced the owners that if we did these upgrades I could get another $15-$20 dollars per unit per month. They went for it. Owners want a ROI so you just need to convince them they will make money.

My last community was very similar to yours in terms of demographics. I contacted local government groups that work specifically with the Spanish community. They were a fantastic resource. They helped with things like starting a Boy Scout troop, conducting ESL classes, healthy eating classes, and even helping residents learn to budget.

Also contacting local Spanish owned businesses and asking them to provide discounts for my residents, sponsor events, etc. Not only did the residents appreciate this but I got referrals from those businesses all the time. In my experience Spanish residents tend to do a lot of referring. Make sure you are offering a referral bonus of some kind to keep them coming.

As Sandy said, hold all your employees and vendors accountable. When an apartment is turned do your best to make it look brand new. Keep the community clean. Landscapers should be giving you their best. If the property has been neglected it may take some time for residents to by-in to helping you maintain it, but it will happen.

Problem residents should be evicted as soon as legally possible. Set an example that you are not going to put up with lease violation.

If you have several buildings have the resident compete to see who keeps the cleanest building. The winners get a pizza party. Have an inexpensive banner or sign made to put in front of that building announcing it as having the best residents.

Get the kids involved. If you have some areas that are bare and could do with flowers buy a few trays of pansies and have the kids help plant them. Give them a sense of ownership. Ask them to help keep the community clean by picking up trash if they see it. If they are caught doing good keep a treat on hand to give them. I always kept ice cream bars in the freezer. If I say a kid picking up trash, helping their parents with groceries, or playing with their younger sibling I would quietly go back to my office and return with a treat. They are bound to brag to their friends who will in turn want a treat. Know when report card day is and invite those who passed all their classes to come by the office and pick up cookies and a juice box. The high school age will want in on this to.

Charmaine, I think the first I would do is contact the police department and meet with the local beat cop assigned to your property and neighborhood. Evaluating the neighborhood should be a priority. Evaluating security is your focus and for personal reasons I would start with the leasing area. Look at where lighting may need to be improved. Spruce up the entrance to your Office: is there signage? Good exterior lighting that is working? Add some signage indicating your Office hours and make the entrance welcoming. You have been given excellent marketing ideas to market your demographic already! I can't add much to this except, try to get brochures, print materials and flyers written in Spanish. Duplicate your signs inside your Office (like not taking cash) with a Spanish translation.

Next, do a file audit and make sure you check every resident against a Sex Offender database, just in case. You need to know who your Residents are. Get rid of late payers and troublemakers. I would follow this with a property wide inspection of all units. Assess possible deficiencies and areas for improvement. Let's face it. Ownership has invested in this property to milk a cash cow. They are probably least likely to make major improvements, but you need to develop an Action Plan for small improvements. These include overal property signage, upgrades to onesite laundry machines, usually at no cost to the property, landscaping upgrades including adding succulents and other drought resistant plants. Ant possibility of adding play equipment if no parks are nearby would increase your chances of attracting longer term residents if you have more 2 and 3 bedroom units. If al you have are 1 bedrooms, you are bound to have a lot of turnover because solo residents tend to move a lot.

Handing out Good Housekeeping Certficates to those whose apartments pass your Inspection may motivate and instill a sense of pride for your residents. That worked wonders at one of my properties. If you can get some Grocery store and Gas Cards to hand out as rewards to Residents and publish winners in a one-page newsletter will also assist in developing a sense of community.

Class D properties are usually in the worse neighborhoods, so anything you can do to show your residents that you care can help start the ball rolling to improving. I love all of Stephanie's marketing suggestions. Keep on hand all resources available to help your Residents: people who can help with filing taxes, people who can give training program information, career development and all educational opportunities that may be available to minorities.

You need support of your property's Owners. Find out what they want and how much support they're giving. Upgrading outdated windows and appliances is one idea and there are energy write offs and tax breaks for these kinds of property improvements and saving on energy and utility costs can be wonderful to the overall lifestyle experience the Residents have. They stay longer and will pay more for these improvements. Adding water saver features can also help, and many gas utility providers will install them at no cost to the Owner if there are gas appliances, like a water heater.

Finally, evaluate common areas like the hallways. Make keeping these clean a priority. Make sure the hall lighting works. Meet with your Maintenance team and enlist their help. They are your eyes and ears. You need each other to make this property better.

I have a question that has been bugging me:

Why should managing a D property be ANY different than managing an A property? Sure, if you have an affordable property, you do have some differences in the application and renewal process, but the last time I checked, rent is still rent and it must be collected, a clogged toilet is still a clogged toilet and it must be unclogged.

Fair housing teaches us that everyone is equally entitled to housing that is well maintained, clean and safe (to the extent you can control that). You are still likely working with someone's single biggest line item on their monthly budget. Should it really matter if that budget can only support a $500 studio as opposed to a $1500 3 bedroom?

I see your point. While that is true, in my experience the Owner/investor expectations may differ slightly. Class D ownership is not out to put in any money into the property. Class A ownership may be the actual builder/developer and they know they aren't going to see major profit right away. Generally, Class C owners try to reposition their properties at acquisition, especially if the location is excellent. Once the property is brought up to brand standards, they can expect an exceptional return on their investment. As a Manager, I need to understand what my role will be to satisfy those expectations. There are more basic challenges on a C or D property, as in everyday safety, collections, and maintenance than say an A property that may be in lease up mode.

Don't forget deferred maintenance. We don't have a budget for anything because all of our extra money, what little bit it is, goes into repairs that are needed from neglect of other repairs. It looks good on the outside, good location, but don't look too close. We are just waiting for next month's rent to come in to fix all of the broken A/C drain lines under all of the buildings, put in new water lines because we have 2 leaks a week, etc., etc. If I can use Craigslist and get enough prospects from them and our signs at the road to keep it full, we'll have enough money to fix all of the deferred maintenance by the year 2025!!! (hopefully sooner :laugh: )

I went through a management transfer with my last property (owner fired the company that originally hired me and brought in another company as a means to avoid losing the property to the lender). As part of the transition, the owners were extremely supportive of efforts to improve the situation at hand. We were able to sell the owners on a series of small, but needed improvements in terms of the standards we wanted to set going forward. I had a 5 pound box of unpaid invoices totaling $100k to work with and had the assistance of the owner to resolve before we could begin to think about what else needed to be done.

Pick your battles wisely; start with the small improvements and work your way up to major issues. You will have more support when you have successfully made (and carried out) certain decisions to improve operations and have demonstrated success in terms of finding ways to save money. Look at your vendors and renegotiate whatever you can; even if it means locating new vendors and playing them against one another. Act like it is YOUR money!