Last month, Multifamily Insiders published the latest edition of their study on the most common Ancillary Income types for apartment communities. (You can read the full report here.) I'll give you the top five types:

1. Application Fees
2. Late Fee
3. Pet Rent
4. Early Termination
5. Month to Month Fee

And here are a few more personal favorites:

• Lapse in Renters Insurance Fee
• Redecoration Fees
• Resident Discount Program (This seems counter-intuitive unless we're at CostCo.)
• Marketing Coordination Fee (to pay for social media at the property)
• Eviction Holdoff Fee (You can't pay, so we're going to charge you not to kick you out.)
• "We also have community gardens which we charge for"

Does anyone else feel nickel and dimed? (There's a reason cable companies and airlines are among the most despised industries.)

Please don't misunderstand this as a lack of empathy for the property owner and manager. I have zero issue with value-add services or fees that cover legitimate business expenses. There's a hard cost to process applications and run background and criminal checks. It makes total sense to apply a penalty to encourage on-time payments. Pets cause damage.

But we want to charge customers more because we run an Instagram account? Or for the opportunity to plant a garden? I can't imagine too many customers feeling great about giving up their hard-earned dollars for fees like this.

What's better than fees? Value worth paying for.

It's not like we have to give everything away for free. There are better ways to generate ancillary revenue for your property and deliver more value to your residents. And create a competitive marketing edge for your community, too. Here are just a few:

1. Sell/rent moving boxes to new residents.
2. Refer business to moving services. Place an affiliate link on your website and new resident welcome emails.
3. Install an automated Stockwell or vending machines.
4. Sell laundry/cleaning supplies.
5. Sell cleaning services.
6. Offer dog walking/dry cleaning pickup services.
7. Offer a steam cleaner, power washer, or other useful tools for rent by residents.
8. Place native ads/sponsored posts from relevant local/lifestyle businesses on your community blog.
9. Offer furniture rental packages.
10. Sell ads on the digital signs in your leasing office/elevator lobby/parking garage.
11. Create moving kits with tape, boxes, packaging, etc. Sell them from your website, or build a set of items you can resell through Amazon. One-click buy and move!
12. Shared sponsored posts from local businesses on your property Instagram account.
13. Upsell garages, bike lockers and/or storage space.
14. Upsell smart home technology packages.
15. Offer RentPlus to help residents build long-term credit. They charge a small fee to the resident, you get a cut.
16. Rent rooftop space to cellular providers.
17. Place Google banner ads on your blog.
18. Install solar panels. Sell excess energy back to the local electric provider.
19. Sell featured space in your resident loyalty app to local businesses.
20. Sell renters insurance to new residents.
21. Offer interior design consulting through Havenly. Make affiliate income when your renters buy goods and services through the app.
22. Buy cable and Internet services in bulk at wholesale rates. Resell them to residents at a discount and make money off the markup.
23. Host resident events. Partner with brands who are willing to pay to get in front of your renters as a target audience. (There are lots of them out there.)
24. Publish a resident newsletter (print or digital). Sell ad/editorial space to local businesses.
25. Rent space to Amazon so they have a place to put their lockers.
26. Offer move-in upgrades: electronics setup, upgraded thermostat, priority parking/access to loading dock/elevators, moving assistants.
27. Turn your move-in gift into a subscription box trial. Make money when new renters upgrade to an ongoing subscription.
28. Host “premium” resident events that get people excited. Charge a small admission fee. Open them to the public and charge more for non-residents.
29. Sell the furniture and items you showcase in your model. Partner with Wayfair, West Elm, or a local furniture store on this.
30. Sign up for Amazon Associates (or any other affiliate marketing network). Create timely gift/necessity guides (Mother’s Day, spring cleaning, back to school) that are relevant to your residents.
31. Open your community business center to local coworkers. Charge an hourly/daily fee for use of the space and services. Make it free or significantly discounted for residents. Provide coffee.
32. Rent out space in your common areas to a small food/beverage retailer. Craft cold brew coffee, anyone?
33. Open your property to short-term/corporate rentals.

By no means is this an exhaustive list. It's only intended to give you some ideas for ways to create value, deliver services, and add layers to the rental experience that customers are willing – and often happy – to pay for. Many of these are happening right now at properties across the country.

What else are you doing to generate more income for your properties? What are the things you've tried that customers didn't want? I'd love to hear from you. Let's take this conversation beyond fees and help each other find more increase the value of our assets in meaningful, substantial ways. Let's make some money.