Taking the Idea of Room and Board to a New Level

In the multifamily industry, all of our relationships are conditional, and basically, quid pro quo. Except one. And that relationship is the one that starts with the individual who has a dream, a fleeting momentary spark of imagination that gets set on fire. That first idea of, “Wouldn’t it be great if …”

Our entire world has changed since the last recession hit and dug its heels in for a “short” haul. It’s changed due to many reasons, of course, not just that one, and part of what propelled the change has to be due to all the technological advances of The Computer Age. Baby Boomers aging out of their single family houses and suburbs have added to the trendiness of moving to cities and thus relocating to apartments, rather than other, single family houses that may now be not modern with up-to-date amenities. There is a definite shift in the perception that it is hip and trendy and chic to live in cities, the preferred “Urban Playgrounds” in cities all around the country, and not just large metropolitan areas.

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

I am truly intrigued with apartment living, the concepts of creating communities and who participates. In my mind, I want to know, wouldn’t it be great if apartments were based around creating its own viable Walk Score? Apartment living needs to get rid of, once and for all, the idea of it being a “Complex” and start acting like a “Community.” What better way of doing this than including amenities such as onsite restaurants, onsite convenience stores, valet recycling services and meditation areas? I would love to live somewhere like this! I would pay more for an apartment that also includes these amenities because it would cut down on my need to always have to drive to purchase groceries or food, always have to tip the delivery driver of the local sandwich shop and give me the option to meet my neighbors, even if I have to initially go it alone. I think it would be nice to also include a “watering hole”: a nice wine/coffee bar with desserts, so that the fun would not have to end at 10:00 p.m. The idea of "room and board" apartment communities appeals to me.

Student Housing competes with dorm living a lot in most university towns. So what is so great about living in a dorm? Dorms are usually cramped, hot (no air conditioning) and rule-oriented. There is not a lot of education offered about independent living, such as how to select the floorplan that meets your needs, budget, and lifestyle, how to read a legal binding document (lease) and how to budget your income to fulfill the lease terms. The benefit of living on campus though is it may feel more secure and you can get food pretty much any time, whether you have a meal plan or fast food options on campus and you generally don’t have to have a car, even if you go to school in the suburbs. You can usually do your laundry on campus, too.

I think it would be fantastic to offer this same kind of truly all inclusive, easy lifestyle to students who want and would greatly benefit from living off campus. I also think it would be a viable lifestyle option for those who do not want to commit to a thirty-year mortgage (or even a 15-year one) because they aren’t sure the job they have now is the job they will have in 15-30 years, much less even next year for many. Couples who are starting out, but who opt to delay marriage or childbearing may also wish to have more time to pursue fun activities like weekends away, instead of mowing grass, raking leaves, buying and preparing food and having an onsite restaurant and/or coffee shop might be just the ticket to keep them renting longer.

I can build the castles in the air. Ahhhh, someday I would like to put the foundation underneath, too.

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.

Hello, Maintenance? I Need Pest Control

When my husband and I first got married, we lived in the 1400 square foot top floor apartment of his ex-girlfriend’s parent’s house. He was living there when we met and after eloping I moved in, too. Never mind that our bedroom was directly over his Ex’s and my husband would end up hushing my sounds of passion but that is a story best left unwritten. Anyway, one night while he was at work (he was a second-shifter) I kept hearing the sound of an animal in the attic. It would run back and forth its scurrying like that scared me. Why was it so frantic? Did it need to get out? Could it get out? How would it get out? I stayed up until Jeff came home and told him about it, but he kind of dismissed my concern.

Well, this went on for a couple more nights, but I told myself there was nothing to worry about and eventually … it might go away? Then after about a week and half, I no longer noticed the sounds so much. Until. Until the evening I was walking from the bedroom to the kitchen, you know, just living the Dream, and I heard gnawing coming from above in the hallway. I was definitely not liking the sound of that. I looked up after about an hour and saw a little hole appearing. Uh, oh. I watched that tiny little hole become bigger by the hour until finally true panic set in and I rushed to the phone and screamed at the Operator to go get my husband, this was an emergency! Usually in factories, employees are only allowed to take emergency phone calls if the person’s house was on fire and there I was screaming that something was eating a hole in the ceiling and I needed him to come home RIGHT NOW! The Operator said she would give him my message.

I promptly ran into the bedroom and closed the door tight.

My husband came home at the usual time and I am locked in the bedroom, sitting on the bed with the covers pulled up to my chin. “Did you see that??? There’s a squirrel up there and he stuck his head out of that hole and looked right at me!!!!!”

Thus began my long torment from all squirrels. I have since discovered them in my fireplace at my house in Indiana – sitting there inside, completely trapped because the screen was tightly closed and they could not escape vertically. I have had them run across the roof many, many times. Apparently the only way to enter the house was through the fireplace.

Their attraction to me is highly established. So, I was not even surprised this past weekend when I discovered a squirrel running around in my townhouse at the community I manage. Turns out, you shouldn’t leave your front door open when you are bringing in your groceries if you also happen to have four large trees right outside your front door. I was amazed that I was so calm. Other than a slight quickening of my pulse, I was really pulled together. I watched poor Henry, as I came to call him, bump repeatedly into the sliding glass door and I could imagine he was just cussing me as he tried to figure out why he could not get to the great Outdoors (because it was obviously there! He could see it.) When I realized he was panicked and I was not, I managed to open the door to the slider but Henry ran underneath the couch. I could see his fuzzy squirrel tail all peaking out. So I tried to open the front door, but then he ran there before I could get there and I inadvertently scared him again. Eventually though he figured out how to go and escaped the torture of the confinement in the Townhouse. Good grief. I hope the next animal that decides to adopt me is a cute dog because a dog is what I have been searching for since mine passed away.