Silver Linings

Can I tell y’all a secret???? Our company implemented a RUBS program a little over a year ago and now all Residents have been absorbed into the program. It actually went well even though there was quite a bit of “push back.” However, because there really is a trusting relationship between the Residents and me, I was able to finesse my way through all the explanations and other pitfalls without offending anyone. That said, the billing company we use to issue the monthly billing has been less than satisfactory, in my humble opinion! They use a system not compatible with my beloved Yardi software and it is just a headache every month. (Gives new meaning to the phrase “time of the month” for me.)

Anyway, I have been praying – yes, it’s true – that something would happen and the billing company would finally only be able to show the actual water charges on the bill instead of the all inclusive bills listing rent and other charges. The reason being that they always get some residents’ amounts WRONG and it drives me crazy. If someone has a credit on their account, they will credit them and then continue to credit them, which means that I have to send the poor Resident a BALANCE DUE notice at some point. Every month, I am always submitting a credit here, a balance due there when I submit the billing file to the billing company. It is frustrating, to say the least. It seems no matter how careful and precise I am in checking the amounts at Approval time, the company simply reverts back to whatever was charged the month prior despite my efforts!

So, guess what happened this month? Yes, it happened! There was a problem and the billing company couldn’t send the all inclusive amount to the Residents. Never mind that the Residents just received their bills in today’s mail … that is a complaint of another sort. Even though it is a pain in my behind, I will tell you it has been super nice to talk to almost every resident this month. Almost all of them have become so accustomed to seeing an amount that they have problems figuring out what they should be paying, so they are stopping by the Office, emailing me or calling me – and I LOVE it! I can easily ask if everything is okay in their apartment homes and they are telling me all their life updates. I do enjoy it. I like knowing what they think and how they are feeling.

Not to mention, now all the accounts will be caught up and straightened out, if only for this month. I don’t know if my asking for a hiccup resulted in this problem or not, but I am grateful nevertheless. J  

Residents Are Real Chatty Cathys

This is the kind of situation that must drive Residents crazy and I understand completely because it kind of drives me crazy, too. My daughter moved back into an apartment community where she had lived with a roommate for a short time. She liked the community a lot, not just because they pay for the gas utility and she is always cold, she lives in a cold weather climate and well, you get the picture but also because she feels safe there. She has a couple of co-workers who also live in the same community. One of those took a six month lease and it is up for renewal.

Those of us in Property Management should not kid ourselves. Residents talk. They do talk about how much their rents are and we are only deluding ourselves to think they don’t compare their rent amounts.

She found out that her co-worker’s new rent amount is going DOWN if he renews for another six months. “WTH(eck)?” she asked me. I kind of shrugged my shoulders.

“It’s the time of year,” I guessed. But honestly, it should not be less; at the least, it should remain the same, wouldn’t you think? And this is a big company in Indiana. They are known to NEVER run specials or lower rents even when they have a huge number of vacant units.

So, I’ll offer a word of caution. Offering a lower rental price at renewal may be your strategy; however, it offends those Residents who did not take that short term lease. It offends those who chose to stick it out a year trusting that you will make their year worry-free and thinking they were locking in a great rent rate for an entire year. How is it fair to lower someone’s rental rate when the person took a shorter term lease and was NOT even charged a premium for that convenience? Explain that to me so I can explain it to my daughter, please.

Can't You Read the NO SOLICITING Sign?

This happens frequently of late and I am beginning to wonder if people just cannot read, fail to notice or just plain choose to ignore our property’s No Soliciting/No Trespassing signage. Since the advent of the elimination of utility company billing monopolies, there has been every kind of so-called utility billing company sprouting up promising to lower your electric and gas bills if you will only allow them a copy of your bill for comparison sake roaming the property. And they show up every month, it seems. Not to mention all the AT&T U-Verse sales reps who converge on the property in packs of three. Never the same three, mind you, because I run them off each and every time I see them pounding the pavement. They are so obnoxious in their insistence that they can be here, that I resort to calling for police assistance to make them leave.

Now, I am dealing with a religious group busing in groups of ten and twelve slapping reading materials on doorknobs. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in witnessing to others and ordinarily I don’t mind reading pamphlets some religious affiliations leave. However, don’t the residents living in an apartment community on private property deserve, well, some privacy? I cannot decipher what religious group this is as their door hangers do not identify their affiliation, only, from what I can tell, the end is near according to Revelations.

There is a reason that there are No Soliciting and No Trespassing signs on private property. Residents who choose to live in a rental community do not need to be subjected to unwelcome interactions, and having complete strangers tramp up to one’s door, knock and try to sell something interferes with one’s expectation of quiet and peaceful enjoyment of one’s home. The main reason I dislike having these strangers on site, uninvited is because it can be scary to some Residents. Many elderly Residents are freaked out by this intrusion and they are also easy prey, in my opinion. I cannot tell you the number of times they have called me to ask, “Mindy, do I need to have AT&T instead of cable?” or, “Mindy, I switched to this company for my electric bill and now I got my bill and it’s $60 more than it was last month with DP&L! What should I do?”

It is frustrating to have so little control over this issue. After all, the very nature of our business is to welcome strangers to come for a visit. But it hasn’t gotten to the point now, that in this economy, we need to enact other measures to dissuade the door-to-door peddlers.  

Home Is Where My Heart Is

What happens when you don’t like the company that buys your community? I mean, do you have an option of just not accepting an employment offer from the new owner/management company? What if you don’t have any other offers on the table? This is what I am facing now. And it’s tearing my gut up to the point that I want to scream, and cry, or God forbid, just give up. Or, do all three. I realize I am probably not supposed to be saying this, at least not out loud. L

I hate that this is all such a secretive thing. It is just not fair to have all these questions and no answers. Yes, ranting out loud, and there is nothing to do except continue the job search and try not to worry about what will happen to “my baby” and all the work that has gone into making this such a vibrant, fun community all while ensuring it keeps its charm and its quaint and thoroughly relaxing, peaceful feel.

I see the word bantered back and forth about the definition of community. Wow. Just come here! Oh! My eyes to the heavens soar – this place where everyone does seem to know one another, where if you’re feeling sick your neighbor will bring you soup. A place where I have wandered over to the neighbor next door to grab an egg out of her refrigerator because I stupidly forgot to buy some at the Kroger down the street (and who wants to have to actually put shoes on – much less make-up – to run to the store again?) A place where a couple of the neighbors sit outside with a flat screen to watch The Ohio State football game on the patio and down a couple of beers, laughing and relaxing. A place where there is clique of little girls sitting in the Gazebo giggling and playing. A place where when I am here on a UK Basketball Game Day, no one cares that the TV in the Leasing Office is televising the game and I am sporting my Blue! Go Cats!

If I cannot be at home in my house in Indiana, here is home. It’s where my heart is for now and I suspect a little piece will remain no matter what happens.

A Great Community Has Great People

You know I have written about some of the funny, odd, outrageous things my Residents have done or said but today I received a phone call that took me by complete surprise. Let me tell you about it.

First, a bit of background. Now, I know no one knows me from Adam but just from reading some of these posts you have probably figured out that I am a bit opinionated. Hopefully, too, you see I have a sense of humor. And sensitive! I hope you see I am a sensitive, caring person. But my Residents only see me as the “Manager,” not really as a person. It’s kind of like when I was teaching. If I was at the supermarket and one of the students saw me, they just couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“Mrs. Sharp! Mrs. Sharp! Mommy, I see Mrs. Sharp! Mrs. Sharp is here, here at Martin’s (a local grocery store).” Kids are funny like that. They don’t think you actually cook and eat and go to the bathroom and do all the stuff they do. J

I sent out a Notice to all the Residents this week letting them know the Office would be closed until Thursday of next week because I would be on vacation. Usually, on larger properties there is someone who also works in the Office and everyone covers when someone is away. But here it is different for me, as I truly work six days a week with no breaks, sometimes not even for lunch. This is my choice. I have a lot of fires in other ovens, so to speak, so my Office here is my work home base. The Residents are used to seeing me here – literally all the time – though they know I travel for work and occasionally the office is closed on weekdays. But my absence in that respect practically never affects them. Even when I am on the road, I can take care of them because I have email access and phone access and they can text me, too. I have been known to lease apartments from my kitchen in Indiana, at another property in a different state and even from my car.

However, since I would be gone longer than ever before, like a good mommy/manager, I notified the Residents to let them know. I did not expect to have Residents stopping in to say things like, “Have a great time!” and “Good for you! You deserve a vacation!” or posting comments on the facebook page telling me they hope I have a fun vacation. I certainly did not expect to have a Resident personally call me to say, “Hey, I just thought I would call and let you know that I'm hoping you have a great time on your vacation.” Then he asked me what my plans were and seemed to really be happy for me and then he said, “We’ll all be okay while you’re gone. And Greg (our Maintenance Tech) will take care of things! You have a great time!”

But that’s what I got. And it made me pretty humble. And … happy.

Today, I Am Just a Human Being

This morning just before it was my pew’s turn to exit for Communion, a side door opened and a woman entered the Church. Beside her was a small boy, about eight years old who looked very pale. Even I could see this.

She stated in a panicked, though soft voice, “I need a doctor!”

Those of us within hearing range turned to look at her. A couple of people repeated what she said and she said it again; this time a little louder, “I need a doctor!” Then louder, “I need a doctor! My son says his chest is hurting!”

At this point, I think every person nearby was upset. I started looking around to see if anyone claiming to be a doctor had heard. Surely, in this crowd of several hundred, someone would be a doctor!

An Usher rushed over and they laid the little boy on the floor. “Have you called 911 yet?” he asked. "I will do it!" he said. The lady sitting two rows ahead of me rushed over. Her arm was in a cast. Maybe she is a doctor or nurse, I thought. I watched her as she knelt down and softly put her hand on the mother and began to pray out loud. Three men also approached and quickly assessed the little boy’s condition and they scooped him up and out of the sanctuary with his mother running behind never dropping her little boy’s hand.

No one in the front of the church knew what was going on as Father Scott continued with Communion. Within minutes we could all hear the ambulance coming and I breathed a sigh of relief. The hairs on the back of my neck were still standing up and I was tearing up; I was so scared for that mother and her son. The lady beside me, the one in front of me, and the two behind me – we all looked at one another – and I could see their expressions mirrored my own.

A team of experts assembled from all parts of the church. They assessed the situation and took action. We don’t live alone in this world. We must all work together to achieve a good outcome. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are at any time; it takes us all to get through life.

Pay Rent Or Live In Your Car

There is a couple who moved into the community this summer. They are professionals who belong to an athletic club (the kind that you pay dues for in excess of $200 monthly) and talk about their many adventures whenever I see them out walking. You know – just basically nice people. They’ve never been a problem.

The wife started “selling” a weight loss shake product and her husband is frequently inviting me to get involved with the program. Okay. They look amazing! When they moved in, I did not really notice either of them being overweight. However, after a couple of months drinking these shakes, I did notice they certainly were looking slimmer and trimmer. I saw them walking and biking daily. Now, me, well, I could stand to lose some weight. I mean, maybe my middle age has spread more than I care to think about.

Anyway, the husband came into the Office one day at the end of August to tell me his wife was doing so well that she earned a new BMW car, loaded to the gills with all the fancy features and decided to quit her job to boot. I congratulated him, declined his offer to join the Pyramid, and as he walked out of the office, I thought to myself, “Hummm. Something is not right with this picture!”

Yeah. Wait for it. The first of the month comes and no rent check is given. The second comes and still no check. I send a little reminder note. Eventually, the husband calls to tell me they will have to pay a little late this month, he’s as sorry as he can be, etc. I talk to him on the phone and let him know what the amount will be including the Late Fees. He is okay with that and everything is taken care of.

I couldn’t resist saying to him, “So, Ed, what is the issue? I mean, I hope this is not going to be a continuing problem.” Not that I meant to be rude, you understand, but I wanted him to know I am concerned.

After all, I know that BMW is nice and all, but who wants to live in their super tricked out brand new Beamer? Trust me, I hope he got the point.

What Time Is Your Office Open???

Apples and Oranges.

Apples TO Oranges.

Two completely different “same” things erroneously compared to one another. For once, I understand this concept. Recently on a Discussion thread posted on the Multifamily Insiders website (www.multifamilyinsiders.com) someone wrote that he is better off keeping current RESIDENTS happy than taking care of the MAYBE ones. It really struck a nerve with me.

Obviously, to me, Residents are different from Prospective Residents and each has different needs and reasons for coming to the Leasing Office. I think it is important to take care of both. One is not more important than the other; however, those who are already living in my community already understand what we are about and how we can help them. For example, they may place work orders on line; they may pay rent on line; they may call and leave a message or send an email for all their questions and they can reasonably expect a response within fifteen minutes. Prospects visiting the property for the first time are our guests and deserve our time and attention when they arrive.

At issue was handling those Residents who arrive at your Office as the Office is being closed. Do you stop everything and take care of their needs? The discussion evolved into closing the Office at the end of the day so you can handle Resident issues, return phone calls, and “catch-up.” This is simply the worst way of providing customer care that I can think of in our industry.

Quite frankly, every apartment community caters to a certain demographic. There are properties whose residents are on limited incomes so this Office may deal with Project Based Section 8 renters, or the income restrictions of Section 42, or they may accept vouchers issued by the Housing Choice Voucher Program. There are properties with age designations where residents must be aged 55+ or disabled. One property may be oriented to those who are students attending a nearby university or college. There are others whose residents are made up of all people who happen to meet all the selection criteria and are qualified to live there (which could be anyone!)

My point is, people are different, with varying needs and schedules, and they deserve to have business hours that meet those needs. For properties who have vacant units to rent, does it make any sense at all to turn someone away who happens to arrive at 5:45 PM on a sunny June evening just because you want to close at 6:00 PM? For properties who handle several Recerts each month and an Open Waiting List to keep filled, does it make any sense to close your office during the hours that the bus system runs? People who have transportation limitations should not be told that you cannot extend your hours because your office is always closed on Saturdays or Wednesday or every day from 8:00AM - 11:00 AM to new Applicants.

I don’t feel taking care of my Current Residents is more important that helping new Prospective Residents. Companies should staff their properties according to the needs of the community they are serving. It is not an either or proposition.

Resident or Prospect? I just can’t imagine closing the door in someone’s face because your “time is done for the day.” I also cannot understand someone who has a conventional 200-unit property with eleven vacant units to fill, closing the Office between 4-6 PM to “catch up on paperwork.” Too many times, this is when people get off work to come and look for a new home. If you close every day at 4:00 PM, how mnay leases are you missing? Whose needs are you serving? Yours or thos of your Residents and Propsects?

Whadda Ya Mean, I Gotta Pay a Late Fee?

How is this even possible???? Rent is due on the first of the month. It has been like this every month on every property all over the United States, and certainly here at this property, and now, in the fourth year of this Resident’s Lease, she calls and says, incredulously, “I thought rent was due on the fifth!”

Yeah.

No.

The first of the month.

“There is a 3-day Grace Period, Linda. But the rent is actually due on the first,” I say.

“But the Office was closed yesterday!” she whines.

You know what makes me crazy? It’s the fact that any Resident thinks if the leasing office is closed for business on a national holiday, they are excused from paying their rent on time. I think I would rather have had her just say to me, “Oh, with the holiday, I forgot!” Maybe that would be a more honest answer than trying to pass off her mistake on to me as though it is my fault she is paying late and incurring a $75 Late Fee.