You Can't Only Show Up, People!

Two weeks of actual management on my new sites has made an impact on me and frankly, I am not proud of my initial emotional reaction to the situation. However, regardless of any problems with the team (lacking any team spirit), with insane micromanagement (a survival technique necessary when there is no onsite manager), with adjustment to new technologies (there’s a different software program for every property management task, no kidding) and just trying to find my way around a new area, I am adamant that I find a way to break through and turn this situation around.

These communities have had no consistent leadership for months on end, let alone anyone committed and passionate about building the communities into something more than “The Projects” as they are currently known to everyone I have mentioned the names to while exploring outreach marketing opportunities. That is sad in itself, of course, and at the very least it gives me a starting point. Ideally, I would love to change the communities’ names (I don’t think that is possible … yet?) and I would like to market our programs differently (which is totally, absolutely possible.)

Our communities lie next to a beautiful luxury community for seniors age 55+ and in close proximity to two other communities, one of which was revamped as a Green initiative offering recycling (They are all sister communities.) Of course, I am just “brainstorming” and “daydreaming” but I believe that my communities can become a place of connection: connecting Residents to not only safe, decent, and sanitary housing, but also to social resources, including a new youth initiative that is working to become self-sufficient. Bringing services into the property will build us into a real community – that is my goal. Apartment communities MUST develop themselves into cohesive, comfortable places for Residents to feel at home, to come home to and to see what possibilities may lie ahead so that they grow and prosper.

It isn’t enough that our maintenance and management staffs come to work every day. Just showing up is not enough. I intend to challenge our attitude that it is. It starts tomorrow – either we come together and focus on our Residents or we stay apart selfishly focusing on the philosophy of “What’s In It For Me?” I do not see myself as a boss. I see myself building a team that thinks about what is in the best interest of the property, Residents, company, team and themselves last. The self-centered way of doing things stops tomorrow. This may be a rocky road for a lot longer, but I know this is the only way for these properties to gain a better reputation, happier residents, and a new “lease on life.” It starts with me and it starts right now.

What Holds You Back In Your Life?

The other day one of our service providers stopped in for a Courtesy Call – you know, just checking to see if we needed any collateral marketing materials for the Leasing and Move-In packets. As we usually do, we ended up sitting and chatting about life. Pretty soon, I noticed the conversation take a turn on a much more personal level so I asked him if something was bothering him.

He went on to tell me how sad it is for him these days – still – after a tough break-up with his girlfriend. This kind of life change can devastate even the most stalwart of people. I listened intently. I searched his face (wanted to make sure I had some Kleenex nearby if needed.) All I saw and heard was a sad tale of woe and a man filled with regret. So I asked him if he still talks to his former girlfriend.

“Oh, yeah, we still talk. I still see her; we still get together.”

“Do you try to tell her you’re sorry” (basically for being a jerk and not treating her more like a girlfriend instead of a mother – his words, not mine.)

We discussed a lot of details about the relationship. I looked at him and told him two things. One, he needs to decide what he wants and he needs to forgive his past actions. Then, he needs to let her go. Stop calling her. Stop hearing her say she doesn’t want to get back together right now. Those words, “right now,” are killing your spirit because it encourages you to be hopeful of the wrong thing.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You are 36-years old. You already said you recognize how you could have been a better partner and not taken her for granted. You just said you want to be married and you want kids and to be a dad, the kind of father you never had.”

He nodded.

“Then go after what you want!” I said. “If you went to her and laid your heart right out there in the palm of her hand and she said this is not what she wants, then let her go. Stop living in the past and stop idealizing this girl. There is someone out there who will want the same things you do, who is ready for that, too, and who will love you as you deserve. But if you sit at home, taking care of a dog you think of as your baby, then you will be exactly where you are now in five years. Then you’ve passed the 40-year mark.”

Let go of the past. We must all do this. Otherwise, how can you remain hopeful and move toward the future? The first step is recognizing where you went wrong, making self corrections, setting a new goal and doing what it takes to get there. This works in our business life, too.

What are you holding onto that is holding you back????

All In a Day's Work For a Property Manager

A friend of mine posted the statement on her facebook page that she had been working for the past couple of days at the elementary school where she teaches setting up her classroom and making copies of these little booklets she uses with her kindergarteners. May I be honest with you? When she included the statement that most parents don’t realize that she has worked these two days – UNPAID – I took pause. It really irked me, I have to say.

Friend, I want to say, you use this same little booklet EVERY year. Why don’t you proactively make them before the end of the last school year so you don’t have to waste your time doing it prior to the first paid work day of the new school year? 

As a teacher, you have now obtained tenure, which means, basically you can screw up any number of ways and still keep your job, which pays you about $65K per year. Your work day, by contract, does not start a minute before 8:00 AM or last a minute past 3:30 PM. You never have recess or lunch coverage duty. Your contract makes it impossible for a parent to contact you outside of those hours except by email, but you are under no obligation to answer it. You have a huge number of sick days (because they accrue from one year to the next and can be banked.) You also have personal days. If you cannot be at work, there is a qualified substitute available at a moment’s notice. Your students are dropped off for art class, music class and PE class each week, which I know lessens your actual instructional time.

I understand this. I worked in the same school you teach in and I know the culture there is wonderful, welcoming, nurturing, very relaxed and friendly. You may have to submit lesson plans to your Principal but they are pretty much rubber-stamped with his approval. You are not obligated to attend PTA meetings, sponsor any extra curricular activities, or cheer on your Sixth Grade football or basketball teams. You do not have to attend the Spell Bowl meets or put together the Yearbook.

Let me tell what a property manager deals with whether she wants to or not. There is no choice to not participate. Property Managers are on call 24/7. That’s twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. They have to handle irate Residents who show up unexpectedly, out of the blue, often for no really good reason. They have to deal with emails from Prospective Residents, Current Residents, other Managers requesting verifications on past and current tenants whom they had no idea were considering moving leaving the property with a potential vacancy to be filled. They deal with scheduling painting contractors, carpet cleaners, landscapers, carpet installers and other contractors for special projects or emergencies. They create newsletters, marketing materials, Goodie Baskets for Move-Ins, perform Outreach Marketing, usually weekly and they must update websites, ILS services with the new rents and other property info. They must be Team Leaders to all the Maintenance Techs, Assistant Managers and Leasing professionals. They have complete responsibility for the total financial health and outcome of the asset they manage, including preparing and submitting a detailed, line item budget every year. A large majority of these professionals have no health insurance, very few sick or personal days, and cannot schedule time off if it is “inconvenient for the property.” They have to mediate between all conflicting parties and if the parties want to, they can take their complaints over the Manager’s head, up the corporate ladder and usually “win” and eventually get their issue resolved, whether it should be in their favor or not. They must decorate mini models and Model Units, show apartments and sell the property so that occupancy does not drop. They must submit daily, weekly and monthly property reports even though no one usually reads them and then calls to ask about the information directly because they “don’t have time to go through all that.” They walk the property whether the thermometer reads 105 degrees or -5 degrees below zero.

I know I haven’t listed all that a teacher does in the course of a day. Nor, have I listed everything a Property Manager does either. Both professions require continuing education, dedication, a passion and desire to educate and help others become and create. Teachers may be more concerned with developing an individual and a Property Manager may be more interested in helping others create homes, but come on, putting two “free” days in is really nothing to complain about in the long scheme of life. 

Does Your Boss Value You and What You Do?

Today's horoscope states the following: "This is one of those days when your head and your heart aren't reading from the same adventure novel." (Uh oh?) "You may be feeling softer and more compassionate than you are acting as your cavalier behavior masks your vulnerability. Thankfully, you can regain your focus by looking within and exploring your motives for not sharing what's in your heart." (Hummm. Maybe I feel this way because my boss blew into town on Tuesday and during the course of the visit I attempted to have a heart-to-heart discussion about my goals, etc. and he just Did.Not.Get It.) "There's no need to hide behind a false sense of bravado; just be yourself," continues my horoscope.

Okay, so being the very understanding and patient person I am, I knew he was distracted by several important phone calls from his staff at the other Management Company of which he is President. So, I just 'finished' the conversation and wished him safe travels and easy flight when he left. I tried not to feel ignored.

The next morning he calls and starts in with he didn't understand my statement that "I don't feel like I have any value any more." He asks me why I would say that. He says I should approach every day as "Business as usual." I already so this, I tell him.

Then I hear his cell phone ring in the background, which he anwers. I hear him tell the party on the other end he will call them right back. He turns to our conversation and says, "I have to take that call. I will call you back in a few minutes." Today is Friday .... I have yet to hear from him. So, Dear Horoscope, why should I try to explain how I feel if the other person is not interested in hearing what I have to say?

Here's To The Maintenance Techs!

Our Maintenance Tech, who has been in this position since 2005, came into the Office yesterday morning pretty upset. When I asked what had gotten him to riled up, he asked me if I get alerts to one of the apartment ratings sites.

"No, why do you ask?"

"I got on last night! I can't believe what someone wrote on there. I'm gonna write back and tell them what I think of them!"

I looked at him and told him I did read it last night, too (wondering how we were on the same page at the same time!!!) and I wasn't concerned about it. I asked him who he thought it was and then I asked him if we could have handled their issue better. Apparently, this particular person has had a couple of issues with the air conditioner and was not happy about it. They complained that they pay a higher rent and - this is what upset him the most - they wondered how the Maintenance Guy could afford to live here, too. It was a pretty rude kind of observation to make let alone to post it was not very nice, and it apparently hurt his feelings. It actually hurt my feelings, too, because of its condescending tone.

I told my Maintenance Tech that I was planning on writing a reply that morning, which I did. I posted a reply explaining how we handle work orders, etc. and I supplied my email address and telephone number for follow up contact purposes and thanked them for the opportunity to understand their concerns and address them. He read my reply and agreed that it was probably a better public response than what he would have posted. :-) Of course for the next twenty minutes we discussed which Resident we thought had written the original post and could not agree on any one person. And I told him I guess it doesn't matter who wrote it, but it does matter how we respond to all the work order requests. We must be proactive; we must be efficient and prompt. We must continue to provide excellent customer service every day to all our Residents.

So, I was thinking that it is time to TOAST the Maintenance Team here! I think for the entire month of August, I will have a Treat-of-the-Week for them,  some special little surprises sprinkled throughout the month, too, and publicize it to all our community Residents, vendors and the whole city itself. It is time to celebrate our unsung heroes in a big way. They do work hard and they all deserve more appreciation.

Fortify the Relationship With Your Landlord

Generally having anyone show up on a Saturday looking for an apartment is a great thing. However, this past Saturday I must have had the most diverse group of Prospects as I have ever had in my life. But my “favorite” was a couple where one half of the couple came in to “scope” out what I would say to their rental dilemma. Apparently, she said she and her family arrived from out of state, went to the Leasing Office to sign the lease and pick up their keys. They had visited the property once before and had seen a different style of two bedroom, but when it came time to reserve one, they chose a completely different floor plan from the one previously viewed.

She proceeded to tell me every little thing she was dissatisfied with and ask me how I would handle that if it had occurred here. I answered, “It doesn’t really matter how I would handle it. The question is, how did they handle it? You must still be upset since you are here today.”

“Oh, they gave us a $75 Gift Card but I would rather not have had it happen in the first place.” She then listed several things that occurred and I agree, it was not an ideal situation.

“Are you planning on breaking the lease,” I asked.

“Yeah, maybe. But I don’t want to go somewhere and have my appliances not work, my toilet leak and flood the bathroom and all this other stuff!”

I do understand her frustration. However, the team at the other community fixed things as they occurred and gave them a Gift Card. They apologized as well. But then the Prospect added this, “I just don’t trust them any more.”

I have said it before and I will say it again, trust is the key ingredient in all relationships. I told her that trust is a two-way street, too. This person, while the experience has been less than satisfactory, should not be threatening to bale on the lease obligation at the first sign of trouble. Both parties need to fortify the relationship.

“Give them the benefit of the doubt,” I said. “Tell them you are unhappy and you think you have made a mistake. Ask them what they plan to do to restore your confidence. Then, tell them you love the community and the gym and all the reasons you chose them in the first place. Wait a bit before you dump them and start shopping again. You are, in fact, legally obligated to do so.”

I am still wondering why people leap to the conclusion that life sucks at the first sign of a problem?

Let This Be My Mantra

I feel like a blade of grass. It doesn’t matter if you limit my intake of nutrients, cut me down to the size you want me to be or stomp all over me, I will still grow. I will still find a way to thrive in harsh, challenging conditions. I may have to lie dormant for a while, if I have to, to survive long term. I’m in it for the long haul. So, go ahead, walk all over me; I will eventually rise to meet a new day, bright, glowing, and green!

Let this be my Mantra.

This property management business can be tough. There are rough situations over which we may have no control. There are rude people; there are pleasant people. There are chronic complainers we’ve learned to see the charm in. There are Residents who don’t clean up after their pets, Residents who litter the property with their Taco Bell wrappers, Residents who drive past you and never wave or smile. There are bosses who expect too much and some who never give you the time of day or a moment of their time or a word of encouragement. But I decided long ago to be that blade of grass that chooses to dig deep and plant roots and learn to thrive through harsh conditions and wait for the rain. My day will come.

Learn Some Life Skills, Why Don'tcha?

When I was teaching kindergarten, there was a small portion of the curriculum devoted to teaching our youngest students emotional intelligence. It was based on Christian concepts and centered on introducing actual skills children will need as they grow up in this big, complicated world. Later, when I “graduated” to grades K-6, the overall concept in the public schools labeled these skills Life Skills. There were several of these, including Responsibility, Integrity, Honesty, Trust, Flexibility, Cooperation, Perseverance, Sense of Humor, Empathy, and about five others. I always thought trying to instill these values in children was a worthwhile cause as, sadly, many do not learn these values in their homes. 

It is safe to say these Life Skills are also very important in property management. Clearly, I was thinking as I headed off to Court the other day, it would have been nice had a couple of my new Residents learned them before they came to my property. This couple rented an apartment and moved in as recent as May 19, 2012. And here I was heading to Court to testify at their REQUESTED Eviction Trial. Apparently during the initial Hearing they objected to the charges of non-payment of rent and sought a trial.

As the trial progressed and the Resident was called to testify, it became very apparent to me that he was just plain old lying. I mean, he was telling bald, right to your face, lies, even though he had been sworn to tell the truth. I sat there incredulous, although a bit fascinated, at his boldness and stupidity. For me, when a Resident comes to me with a problem, I try to resolve it any way possible. However, right then and there I began thinking, I don’t want anything more to do with you and I can’t wait to get you off the property. Apparently, I have to wait to officially do this, as here in Ohio, the Judge does not make an immediate ruling. In the meantime, I will discreetly place some moving boxes at their door. Hint, hint!

Sooner Or Later, Something Shocks You

If you stay in the property management field long, you are bound to run across something that shocks you. This happened to the on-call maintenance tech during the recent Fourth of July holiday weekend. Apparently, he received a page from the Resident in apartment X reporting the air conditioning was not working. He received two different calls, as a matter of fact, and because he couldn’t make out the phone number of the second call he called me to decipher it. I have an excellent track record of doing this.

We confer and I figure out whose number it is and think nothing more about it. I call the Resident and tell him the on-call Tech will be there in about an hour. It was a Saturday night. At 11:02 P.M. I receive the first distress call, followed by another a couple minutes later. Suffice it to say it was not a good time for me… we’ll let it go at that. Two words: Food Poisoning. Use your imagination. Anyway, I call him to find out what the matter is.

Apparently, the first call went fine and he went to attend to the second page. When he reached this unit, he was greeted by an aggressive female, baring breasts and asking him for a little sexual escapade. Really, I’ll tell you, most Maintenance Techs at one time or another encounters this very thing. However, what my Maintenance Tech soon discovered was the female, who was not on the Lease, was staging the encounter to be “filmed” and broadcast over the internet by the actual Resident on the Lease. He was horrified. No kidding. I was horrified but not shocked. My Maintenance Tech was shocked. I worked a Section 8 property once where a couple was making pornographic “shorts” (no pun intended) to be viewed by paying customers on the internet. I caught a little discrepancy in their reported income when it came time for their annual recertification. <grin> They no longer live there.

The Tech kept asking me what I was going to do about this. I told him to report it to the police department and I’d take care of it on Monday.

On Monday I served the “Guest” a Trespass Notice with a police officer. In fact, we escorted her into a cab and sent her to the bus station. Once I had police reports in hand dating back to incidents from the previous month (Month!) I gave the Resident a Notice of Non-Renewal. It took him more than a week to call me to discuss the letter and ask if he could stay. “No,” I told him. “This is now an issue where I have an employee who feels as though he cannot do his job properly. He feels threatened. So, no, I can’t allow you to stay when your lease ends. You will need to find a new residence.”

“Okay,” he replied. He is now looking for a new home. I don’t feel bad about it either.

This Is Why I Wouldn't Hire You, Ms. D

Recently there was a discussion thread on the Multifamily Insiders site regarding this Post:

“I have been a leasing consultant for 4 months now. After one month I felt like this wasn't the place for me. My assistant manager and property manager are both very fond of me but I have to consider my future. Is it too early to start looking else where?” ~Danielle

“It depends on if you see a future in this industry. When I was a leasing agent, I was overqualified (in my opinion) and felt that I could be the property manager because at the time, I already had a college degree and a real estate license--both of which my property manager didn't have.” ~Nathan Borne

“Thank you Nathan!! I feel so much better after reading your response; mostly because I can relate. I felt the same way when I got hired. I felt overqualified and the pay is too low. I have a 4 year degree and my manager does not. The only thing they have over me is the experience in this field. But I have very many transferable skills from working in the education, staffing, and non profit markets. Not to mention I was a Resident Assistant in college for two years!” ~Danielle

Here’s the thing, Danielle. You have been in the industry for about a minute and already you think you can do the job of managing a multimillion dollar company better than the person in place. And maybe you can. However, DON’T come to me and ask me to hire you. This is why.

1. Attitude. I think your attitude is questionable, to say the least.
2. Ego. Please check your ego at the door. Property Management is a team sport. Yes, of course there are stand-out players, but even the Star Players need to control their egos.
3. Attitude. Sorry, I can’t get past this one.
4. Closing Ratio. What is yours? If it is less than 65%, you cannot qualify to lease for me because right now you think you know it all.
5. Trainability. Your attitude will prevent you from being open-minded about learning new things.

I suppose this sounds harsh. However, I invest a lot of time and money in whomever I hire for any property management position. I don’t want someone to come on-site who has no experience at MY PROPERTY or with MY COMPANY and feels she/he knows more than I do about MY PROPERTY or MY COMPANY.

This is not to say that after two weeks on the job, you won’t be able to be promoted. This is not to say that after a month on the job you couldn’t run the whole show. More power to you! But there’s a way to show me you can do it. Come in every morning embracing a new leasing strategy, a new technique for turning the units, a method that will save the company money, or do something simple like set a goal for leasing a certain number of apartments that week and then achieve it.

What I don’t want to see is you sitting at your desk texting your friends but not the Prospects. I don’t want to hear you answer the phone in a dull, listless monotone. I don’t want to know that you are rolling your eyes every time I say something, the Assistant Manager says something, or the Maintenance Techs do. I don’t want to hear you muttering in your cell phone to your mother about how bored you are and how you should be running the company because you are so much smarter than everyone here and at the Corporate Office. You may well be very qualified to do that. However, while you are working at XYZ Property you owe it to yourself and to every person there to do the best work you are capable of producing without complaining and posting how much you hate your job.