What part of your job do you NOT like?

I would have to say this would be dealing with the residents on a regular basis. I really don't mind the paperwork, going to court or the deadlines, but the residents can really rub my last nerve at times.

If I could do the paperwork and someone else deal with the residents, then I would be a happy Manager.

So, what part of your job do you NOT like?

Laugh with me, not at me...

So Fridays are suppose to be a fun day. This is where we will share funny stories that only other apartment managers will understand. I will go first, but YOU need to share your stories also...

Gosh, where do I start...

A few years ago, I moved this young lady into the complex. I went over her lease. She paid her security deposit and her first months rent. I gave her the keys to her new apartment and welcomed her to her new home. She was nervous, but excited and my gut told me she would be a good resident.

The next month rolled around and she didn't pay her rent. I sent the late notice and she came to the office, with tears in her eyes, and she said she didn't understand the letter. So I explained that she hadn't paid her rent and that this notice was sort of like a reminder with a price tag. She looked at me and said, "But I did pay my rent. I gave it to you the day I moved in. Don't you remember?" I looked at her and said that yes, I remember her paying the rent for the month that she moved in, but she still owes for this month. She looked up at me and said, "You mean I have to pay you every month?" I said yes. That is why I went over the part of the lease that told her when her rent was due and what would happen if she didn't pay it. Just as serious as she could be, she said, "I didn't think you meant that for me."

I just sat there and stared at her. I wasn't sure what to say, so I said, "Well I did. Just like I meant it to all the other residents when they moved in. And just so we are straight, in 5-days, I will be going to the courthouse to file in court for the money if it isn't paid."

She stood up and said, "Well, you just go ahead and file in court. No judge will make me pay for anything more then what I have already paid for."

"Why wouldn't they?" I ask.

"Because, I have my lease and I will take it for the judge to read. I bet you didn't think I was going to say that did you?"

"No, I honestly can say I didn't think that was going to be your argument."

"I guess I'll see you in court, then." She says...standing up and sticking her hand out for me to shake. "No hard feelings and don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this. Let them fight their own battles." and out the door she went.

We did go to court and yes, she did show up with her Lease. The judge asked her if I had gone over the lease with her and she said yes and that she couldn't understand why I was changing my mind after doing so. The judge looked at me and all I could do was shrug my shoulders. He explained to her that the lease was for a year and then he showed her in the lease where it said she was to pay this amount each month. She tried to argue with him but he stopped her and gave me judgment...she ended up moving back in with her parents. She came in a few months later and told me she really thought that it was a good thing that things happened this way, because she would never had been able to afford the new car she had if she would have still had to pay me rent every month...

I've thought about changing to crayons for the residents to sign the lease with...obviously the ink in the pen is too strong for them to handle.

Okay, so now you share...What's something funny that you've had happen to you?

You Are Who You Hire...

Did you know that 70% of all hiring decisions are based on "chemistry" and not on if the person is qualified or even if they are willing to do the job.

So what qualities should we be looking for:

• The ability to do the job. This doesn't necessarily mean their experience.
• Their wiliness to do the job.
• And are they teachable.

Employees with these three qualities will perform beyond expectations and be the "great staff" that we all hope we can have.

Now you've just hired a new employee. They have the three qualities that we are looking for, so now what?

Let the new hire know that you and/or another staff member is there if they need anything or have any questions. Give them feedback throughout the "getting to know things phase" (the 90-day probationary period) and let them know that you want to hear from them if they have any suggestions or problems.

You welcome your new residents, so why not welcome your new employees. Do a welcome letter/card and have it signed by all staff members. Let them know you are happy they on your team.

Give them a new hire packet that consists of things for their job and something special just for them. Most all packets could include: A list of when your company pay days are, a list of holidays your company take, if they have a time sheet that they need to fill out, a notebook and pen (employees from maintenance to porter to management always have a use for paper and pen in their jobs), give them an almond joy candy bar and let them know that you are over"joy"ed that they are starting work with your company, give them copies of insurance information, 401K information.

If they are not from the area, then do as you would with a new resident. Give them local restaurant menus, directions to schools, shopping centers, etc.

So what about the employees you already have? You didn't do anything like this with them and you don't want them to get upset.

Well - how about having a "what a great staff I have party". Get a pizza (or with the weather getting cooler outside, bring a crockpot to work and make some vegetable soup or chili), give each staff member a new hire packet and don't forget the letter/card that lets your staff know that you couldn't make it without them.

Motivate your staff by letting them know you think of them all as being part of your team. Let them know that together each of you can make a difference and who knows - you might even have a little fun along the way.

Keeping Your Residents Active

Activities...this is something that can take a lot of time, cost a lot of money and then no one (or very few people) show up.

So why do activities?

Because activities can be fun, can get you away from the boring work, can make your residents happy enough to want to stay at your complex and tell others to come live there.

So what activities can you do that are fun, inexpensive and don't take up a lot of your time? Well, how about:

1. Set up a coloring contest for the children? Print a picture out that has to do with the season/holiday and invite the children to color them and bring them back. When you get them back, give each picture a number (ex...Little Suzie and Bobby each bring back the picture they colored. You put the number 1 beside Suzie's and the number 2 besides Bobby. Then on a note pad or computer program you put #1 = Suzie, #2 = Bobby.) You leave scrap paper in a basket next to the bulletin board where you have hung all the colored pages. The tenants write the number down of the picture they like best. (If Mrs Smith and Mr Campbell each like the picture that has the #2 beside it, then they would write down the number 2 and put the piece of scrap paper in a drop box or drop it off at the office) Make sure you don't tell anyone who actually colored the picture until the contest is over. When the contest deadline comes, then you count up the votes and the child with the most votes wins a prize. How much money or time do you have in this activity? VERY LITTLE. Purchase a coloring book that has seasons in it or holiday pictures (you may have to get different levels of difficulty depending on your age groups - just make sure the 3 year olds have a different voting section of their own different from the 7 year olds), make copy of the page you want to use for the contest. Hand it out to the children on your property. Depending on where you get the coloring book you may have anywhere from $1.00 to $5.00 cost (and the web has lots of places that you can print out coloring pages for free). I don't' know about your office, but mine always has scrap paper that I can use for the numbering of the artwork and for the votes. Cost - nil. As for the prize, make it what your complex can afford. A free pizza (some local restaurants will give you a $10.00 coupon if you purchase a $10.00 coupon - so you now have two prizes for the cost of one and you can use the 2nd prize for another contest later on), a $10.00 gift card to Wal*mart (this is like gold to some children) or give movie tickets, etc.
2. Have door decorating contest. You can go with whatever holiday is coming up or be more creative and use something fun like: The first week of August is National Smile Week, so have a contest that the decorations have to make you smile. Ask three business people to be the judges (a police officer, a teacher, the florist, etc.) You may be shocked at how many people will agree to come look at the doors and vote. Not all of course, but keep asking. And what if the teacher, the florist, or the officer knows someone looking for an apartment...now they know what kinds of things you do for/with your residents and bang...you have someone applying for an apartment. You can give out only one prize or the top three
3. Another simple thing is to create an activity board. You take a cork board and you decorate it with a theme. Since today is Halloween, I will use that as an example...I took a cute Halloween coloring picture and I colored it, then I stapled it to the bulletin board. I found a few quick and easy "gross" recipes (Jell-o has some neat stuff on their website), so I printed the recipes out and stapled them to the cork board, then I found some simple Halloween crafts (from decorating your house to making a simple trick or treat bag) and I printed them out and stapled them to the cork board. Then I made copies of each, the uncolored pictured, the recipes, the crafts...I used a different colored paper for each item and I put them in a 3 tier wall file holder next to the bulletin board. This way when the residents came into the community room, they saw the bulletin board and they could take the copies home to do there.

Activities don't always mean a group thing (although we will talk about those kinds of activities later). An activity is taking the time to give your residents a chance to shine...in public or in the privacy of their own home...

Try these activities and/or let me know some of the things you have done with your residents.

Ya gotta get them through the door

Move-ins...we all need them at some point in time. But what if you live in an area that doesn't get much traffic? That is when you need to promote your property!

I don't know about you, but I don't have time to send out letters to agencies or post brochures all over town. What I do have is "word of mouth". Your residents can be the sugar that fattens up your wait list. If they enjoy living there, then they will tell someone and that person will tell someone and so on and so on. But what can you do for your move-ins?

Things that make your new Move-ins feel special are not hard and doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

One of the easiest things to do is: Create new move-in folder/notebook for them. This folder/notebook can have as little or as much as you want.

• a few address change cards from the post office
• menus from local restaurants
• gift certificate to the local grocery store with a note that says "Let us take care of dinner tonight."
• Information on how to keep the units clean
• Information on how to handle a work order or an emergency if they have one
• Your laundry room hours, policy
• Your snow removal policy
• Directions to the nearest grocery store, movie theatre, park, swimming pool, etc.
• Local school information (phone numbers, directions, etc.)
• Phone numbers to the local police, rescue, fire department (non-emergency numbers)
• Information on how to get the electric, water turned on in their name. The phone numbers and utility company that your property uses.
• Information on your local library. The reading programs, etc.
• And don't forget to put a copy of their lease in the move-in folder/notebook

I'm sure there are many more things that pertain just to your property or area that you could put into this move-in folder/notebook.

Again, depending on your budget, you could get those 3-prong, paper-type, report folders, dividers, etc. so everything can be kept in a nice little spot. So if the resident has any questions, they can check out the folder/notebook. Or just purchase a folder pocket...anything that will keep the information in one place.

Just make sure the information you put in the book are things they may use. If you do a newsletter, put a couple of past months in there. If you are doing any kind of activity for your residents, make sure that information is in there. Making the new move-in feel like part of a family, will help with that word of mouth

I have a lot of residents that have never lived outside of their parent's homes and they have told me that this little notebook that I give them helps. Some of these residents have never had a utility bill of their own, so they can look at my instructions and they don't have to ask the parents for help.

Fit it to your complex. Do as little or as much as you know will work for your property and that will fit into your budget.

And don't forget a "Welcome to your new home" letter/card. Let them know that you are happy they chose your property as their new home.

Keeping the Residents you have, happy...

As we all know, this can be the hardest part of our job. There are some residents, that no matter what you do, you can't make happy. Then there are those residents who just love everything you do.

Customer service is, of course, the biggest way we can keep our residents. Be friendly, get their work orders done in a timely manner, etc. But I don't want to beat that dead dog. We all know these things and I'm sure we all do them.

But there are so many other things that we can do to make our residents happy (or at least happier).

Residents love to know they are important to you and your staff. Just waving "Hello" when you see them out and about is a simple and easy way to do this. Not to mention it is a very, very inexpensive way to let them know you are happy they are living on your complex.

Another way is by giving them things. Like for their birthday. Yes, you heard me, Birthday gifts. These "gifts" don't have to be expensive or time consuming. Here is a list of simple ideas that can make your residents feel special:

1. You can purchase inexpensive Birthday Cards or type up a "standard" birthday letter, only make sure you address it to them personally and add a paragraph at the end just for them and put them on their doors, so when they come in or out, they will see them.
2. Get those inexpensive party hats, tip it upside down and put things in it. You can put a handful of mints, some miniature candy bars, or a box of animal crackers for younger children. Anything small that doesn't weigh very much and wrap them up in colored plastic wrap that you tie off with a little ribbon and then put this little "package" inside of the party hat. Insert a card or a birthday letter that you and your staff has signed and hang it from their door knob.
3. Make Birthday signs on your computer. Decorative paper doesn't cost that much and a simple Happy Birthday typed in large letters and posted to their door might get them some birthday wishes from their neighbors. (and as we all know - if your residents get along with each other, life runs a lot smoother on a complex)
4. Start a Birthday of the month club. Each resident who has a birthday in that month gets their names put in a drawing. You pull a name out of hat (you can pick more then one name if your property has the money) and give the winner(s) a small gift. It could be a birthday cake/cupcake from Walmart/Food Lion, etc. or a gift card to the grocery store/gas station, etc. or give them a "Birthday Menu" and list 5 different things they can choose from. The amount you spend depends on the money your property has. It could be 5 different items that cost $5.00 each or $50.00 each. You could have a different list for the adults and the children.
5. Purchase the candy bar "100 Grand" in the mini sizes and give each birthday person 10 of them with a note that says "Here's a million to spend anyway you want for your birthday"
6. Do a Birthday bulletin board up and put snapshots of your birthday residents on it...have balloons, etc.

These are just a few ideas and I'm sure you can come up with even better ones. The important thing is to make your residents feel special on their special day.

If you do a newsletter, make sure to include the Birthday'ers in the newsletter. (I will have more on newsletters later).

p.s. These ideas can work for your staff birthdays also...

Our First Q & A...

Since Saturdays & Sundays are Q&A days, I thought I would start off with a question that I think we have all asked ourselves at any given time:

QUESTION(S):

Why did you become a Property Manager? And why do you continue to be a Property Manager?

MY ANSWER(S):

I became a Property Manager almost twelve (12) years ago. At the time, I did it out of necessity...I was a single mom and needed a job.

As the years passed, I found I did enjoy doing this type of work. Don't get me wrong, I still have days when I wish I were doing something else, but all-in-all this job has given me experiences that I would never have gotten anywhere else. The days are never the same and my Residents keep me on my toes.

I have met some wonderful people (other managers) who have become great friends and that makes the job worth it (at times)...grin...

So what about you? Want to share your story with us?

The Leasing Notebook

Since this is the very first post, I thought I would take a minute to explain what THE LEASING NOTEBOOK is all about. This is a site that will hopefully help make your job a little easier.

I have been in Property Management for almost twelve years. I have a very poor property, so I have had to find ways to keep my residents happy so they will stay put. I

Being a poor property, I can't afford expensive parties and/or gifts, so I have had to figure out a way to make things look expensive, but cost my budget very little. These are the types of things I will be sharing with you, along with tips on motivating your staff with some other useful tips thrown in along the way.

Our complexes can't operate without our Residents, so each Monday, I will post a new idea on how to make your Residents feel special and how that will help keep your apartments rented.

On Tuesdays, I will share ideas on how to make that new move-in happy they chose your complex and hopefully they will spread the word and your wait list will be thicker for it.

Wednesdays, I will give you some neat, inexpensive ways to entertain your residents. From newsletter ideas, to parties that cost very little.

Motivating your staff will be the Thursday topics. These will consist of ideas that, again, are inexpensive, but will help keep your staff motivated and working.

Fridays are for fun. I will be sharing fun (funny) things that have happened to me over the years and I hope you will share your stories also.

Saturday & Sundays are all about the Q&A's. I will come up with polls and questions that I hope will help you with situations you may be having at your complex and who knows, maybe your answers will help another manager with a problem they are having. I will post a Question on Saturday or Sunday so you have the weekend to answer...

I hope that you will share your ideas, problems and questions with me and the other PM's that might read this blog. The Leasing Notebook is here to help you. I know, from experience, the amount of work that we managers have and I'm hoping this blog will be the light at the end of the workday for you.

Welcome and please jump right in with your comments.