#AptChat

For last week’s Apartment Chat, we decided to veer away from marketing-related topics to discuss another issue that every apartment operator faces — how to manage fixed expenses like property taxes, insurance, utilities and personnel costs. Here’s the recap of the conversation:

Have any of you used a service to fight your property tax bills? We are considering it, but paying out 1/3 of the savings seems high.

• Kimberly Madrigal: Yes, I used a fixed-fee service. Waiting to hear from County. Can do youself. Not complicated in L.A.
• Kimberly Madrigal: Had worked w/ them before during last recession and were successful w/SFR property tax reduction. Still waiting to see . . .
• Will Clark: Use it everywhere. Many good services out there for appeals. Can be complex (IN) but adds value to property.
• Kimberly Madrigal: Paperwork here is very easy. Don’t know abt where you are. Consider going to county office or check online and looking at forms.
• Will Clark: Get appraisals, cash flows, BOVs (Broker Opinion of Value), fire damage report, anything to show reduced value.
• Will Clark: LIHTC is particularly vulnerable to high appraisals. Assessors do not understand income limits.
• Lisa Trosien: I would guess that values have definitely fallen in most markets. Do you know the value of your property today?
• Will Clark: Check all your parcels. Are they correctly classified (improved, vacant, commercial, etc)?

One of my highest costs is payroll. How can I effectively cut staff without cutting service to residents? (You had a LOT to say about this!)

• Bob Gura: Trading services such as painting units rent credit is an area we are exploring.
• Heather Blume: Outsourced contract workers can be a major money saver dep. on the cost of benefits, but they’re not as stable always.
• Jeff Sandell: Hire only strong multi-taskers. No one can just be one thing and one thing only in this market.
• Heather Blume: If you (hypothetical), cut one leasing agent job right now, & then used staffing over the summer, you might come out ahead.
• Eric at Buildium: One example, posting online virtual tours may cut time spent on property tours, thus reducing staffing needs.
• Will Clark: Watch OT, explore flexible scheduling. Open late to prospects, give staff time to complete admin work. Use floaters.
• Charity Hisle: It’s important to evaluate staff carefully, to see if they ‘fit’ your company culture and values. If not, cut.
• Tamela Coval: Technology like iPhones for Service Techs is an efficient way to manage time therefore $$.
• Heather Blume: Another solution is to bring in a company like Community Northwest or CARES who can handle the retention side.
• Bob Gura: Outside of resident retention, there isn’t many things more important to take time for than property tours.
• Elena Ferranti: Change to a Wed to Sun work week to eliminate need for weekend staff. Maintenance continued Mon to Fri.
• Will Clark: Identify where people spend time and look for efficiencies. LIHTC apps, invoicing, non-resident svcs that are time sucks.
• Lisa Trosien: One company here in IL is cutting ALL benefits but keeping on all staff. Is that a solution?
• Kimberly Madrigal: UDR is using commission-only leasing agents.
• Jennifer Kennedy: I think you are better of retaining your best employees and keeping them happy – no cutting benefits.
• Heather Blume: Pay people well and APPRICIATE them, and they are more likely to be higher performers for you.
• Eric Brown: Many cuts in expenses may seem short sighted, but we have never seen economic times like these.
• UMoveFree: If you use commission-based leasing agents, make sure they are trustworthy and ethical or it could damage your property’s reputation.
• Darcey Forbes: Most companies are looking at how to reduce/consolidate staffing due to the implementation of programs like Level One or Crossfire.
• Leigh Curry: Use a health insurance auditor. Good auditors can find up to a 10% discount in total medical insurance costs.
• Bob Gura: We are coming up on one year with Crossfire and I am not impressed with the results. Our staff is much more engaging.
• Lisa Trosien: I have seen companies who do not reduce staff because they add a call center, but simply don’t replace staff who leave.
• Bob Gura: Don’t downplay stability at properties. It really impacts retention. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.
• Heather Blume: The owner/CEO of CSI took total pay cut my last year there in the hopes of not laying off people. Breeds loyalty.
• Lisa Trosien: REIT salaries of top execs are published; interesting to see if there’s any difference in year to year.
• Will Clark: As an owner, a good PM is always worth the NOI hit. I love seeing familiar faces and not retraining to my style and goals.
• Katie Roncadori: I think you can, as long as you have quality staff in place that actually cares about the community and the residents.
• Jonathan Saar: Broad question- but I don’t ever feel people going will aid resident service.

As a follow-up, Lisa Trosien posed this question:
Do we all believe the old rule of 100-1 units to staff doesn’t hold anymore? Thoughts?
Here’s how you responded:

• Will Clark: I can be persuaded that 1.5:100 is the new standard. Depends on age, turnover, needs of property.
• Laura at GABP: That rule didnt work when it was the industry std. How many U need depends on the quality of your people.
• Lisa Trosien: I think the # of people depends upon the level of service you provide and your tech sophistication.
• Elena Ferranti: Number of staff can also depend on history of prop. A problem prop needs much more staff.
• Bob Gura: Redesigning jobs to broaden responsibilities and staggering shifts can create a leaner more focused environment.
• Eric Brown: The number of people required verses the level of service can be overrated, More people doesn’t = better service.
• Eric at Buildium: I agree that 1 can’t manage 1,000. But a quality person will find a way to do a great job with limited tools.

We wrapped up the conversation with our picks for the Big Game — it looks like the #AptChat audience will be a house divided on Super Bowl Sunday.

There were a lot of interesting comments along the way about the training, technology, personality and motivation required to help onsite staff succeed — make sure you read the discussion, and leave your own comments below. Here’s the link to the full transcript — we had 338 tweets over the course of the hour, coming from 57 different contributors.

What are you doing to keep your expenses in check? Tell us what you think!

This week, we wanted to go on-site and explore one of the more time-honored traditions of apartment marketing — the property tour. Let’s get right to the recap, shall we?

What is the one mistake that you see too many leasing pros make when giving a property tour?

• Jennifer Kennedy: I have heard leasing consultants talk prospects out of an apartment by showing them the things that they may not like.
• Rory Ellis: Number one mistake … the premature hard close!
• Joe Foster: The notion that if the agent conveys to the prospects that time is short, they are more likely to lease.
• Mike Brewer: Giving up price at first request.
• Kim Cory: Sounding robotic … like they are reading off cue cards. Emotionless.
• Janet Rosseth: Big mistake = Forgetting the discovery phase and selling their own favorite features instead.
• Eric at Buildium: Sometimes apartment hunters don’t know exactly what they want. During the showing, continue to uncover their needs.
• Sara Goberdhansingh: When I’ve gone on apartment tours, nothing is worse than getting stuck with a tour guide who clearly wants to be doing something else.

Consumers know what they want, they’ve done their homework. How can we more effectively focus on their interests/needs/wants?

• Rory Ellis: Learn to ask leading questions, not simply give a pitch. Think consultant, not used car salesman.
• Apartments.com: Ask them what about the property brought them in to see it. Then you can focus on their needs.
• Eric at Buildium: 80/20 rule. Listen 80% of the conversation and speak only 20% of the conversation. Listening is key to finding the right match!
• Eric at Buildium: Learn from what prospects say. i.e. If a prospect mentions that she loves to bbq, then a ground level unit may be preferable.
• Kim Cory: If they are informed, have done homework & made it to your office, then it’s time ask what can you provide to help them commit & move in!
• Tami Siewruk: It’s about understanding inbound leads today & how they differ from years ago. People are different today & training hasn’t caught up.

What’s the one trend you’ve noticed while giving tours recently? How have you adjusted your strategy?

• Tami Siewruk: Trend: I just want to see the apartment. I don’t want to take the time to give you all that information.
• Tami Siewruk: Strategy: Walk & talk. Have the conversation on the way to the apartment.
• Tami Siewruk: Trend: They come educated and they already “think” they know more than you do.
• Tami Siewruk: Strategy: Find out — “ask” — what they already know about the apartment … gives you a starting place!
• Kim Cory: Strategy: Let them show you around! I bet you they have already been through most of your property before walking in the door.
• Jennifer Kennedy: Talk up the value of your community and build trust. People still buy from people.
• Kim Cory: When asked is this your first time to visit, we hear not in person, but yes online. They just want to put the images they have to reality.

What are some of the more creative ideas you’ve seen/tried on a recent tour? How did they work?

• Brian Owen: I know some communities that are giving prospects flip videos to record tours and then emailing them the video after! Brilliant!
• Tami Siewruk: We used motion-activated vids, music, lights … we had all the tech built in.
• Mark Juleen: You need to offer testimonials and stories of other residents and how they have decorated or enjoyed features of the community.
• Tami Siewruk: Has anyone used barcodes yet?

Should we even call it a tour? What can we do to make it more of a demo of the property, get the prospect more involved?
(Submitted by Mark Juleen)

• Eric at Buildium: Call it a “simulation” and paint the picture of the prospect living there.
• Mark Juleen: Screw fancy ideas. people just want to have an enjoyable experience. be consistent, ask questions, and build trust.
• Brian Owen: Give them the keys to the guest suite for a night and call it a “test drive”! Anyone done that?

What’s your best property tour secret? What the one thing that seems to work for you every time?

• Tami Siewruk: Infotainment is what they want in a tour! Make it interesting and you score!
• Jory Rozner Strosberg: You don’t need to be “sales-y” to lease apts. Create trust & comfort. My PM leased one this week. No sales exp.
• Kim Cory: How about NO secret. If they were informed before showing up & now confirmed they like what they see … ask for the CLOSE.
• Tami Siewruk: People demand more. They insist you be interesting, informative, & entertaining; it’s what potentially makes your tour memorable.

One of the more interesting side conversations that came up in this week’s discussion revolved around the Go Solo program that Urbane Apartments is using, allowing prospects to tour apartment communities by themselves. Some were for the idea, some were against it, some were just curious about it. Here are some of the highlights:

• Eric Brown: Our Tours and Rentals increased exponentially when we got out of the way.
• Sara Goberdhansingh: That’s important, too. If someone wants to wander, let them. Tour guides need to know when to talk & when to let people look.
• Eric Brown: It is the only way we do tours.
• Mark Juleen: Just like anything, it won’t work for everyone. Happy you guys are successful with it.
• Tami Siewruk: A combination is Excellent Guided & Solo gives people the control they want & the control you need.

Eric even posted the marketing collateral his company gives to each prospect to guide them on their “Go Solo” tour. You can view that collateral here.

Here’s the link to the full transcript for those who want to dig in a little deeper.

So what’s your take? What strategies for property tours are working well for you? What consumer trends do you see affecting how you do property tours moving forward? And what do you think about the Go Solo idea — is it something you’d try at your property? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Our top contributor this week was Jennifer Kennedy from Property Counselors Management Group in Florida. Jennifer will receive a iTunes gift card, sponsored by TurnSocial. Congrats, Jennifer!

“Craigslist is not for everyone. And it doesn’t work well in all markets. Not a ‘one size fits all’.” ~ Lisa Trosien

For our first chat of 2010, we decided to jump right into the deep end. We recruited the help of Eva Panagiotopoulos and Eric Broughton from RentSentinel to help us understand how to get more out of Craigslist and other free classifieds sites like Google Base, Kijiji and BackPage.

After a few technical difficulties with Twitter, we finally got things going. (Thanks to everyone who stayed with us through the fail whales!) Here are the questions, and a few of the highlights from the discussion:

How often should a community post to Craigslist?

• RentSentinel: Every community is different but we have seen 2 – 3 times per day spaced out at key posting times to be best.
• Tara Smiley: We post on average 15-20 CL a day.
• Trevor Henson: We post our individual vacancies Mon Wed and Fridays on C-list.
• Lisa Trosien: Many of the REITS have been blacklisted this year and have had to retool their strategy. They were overposting.
• Eva Pana: Key posting times vary by community, this is why we use analytics to track each community’s specific times.
• Eric Broughton: At most we have seen some of our customers post up to 8 times per day spaced out at 1 per hour. No more than that.
• Lorena Fikes: We ask our properties to post 3-4 a day is possible, spread out throughout the day as well…
• (Re: key posting times)RentSentinel: It often correlates to the work day and how people will surf the net, early a.m. and toward end of working hours.
• Erica Campbell: I notice the more people use it in a metro, the worse your results, because their listings are over-saturated with all the postings.
• Eva Pana: Spreading posting times throughout the day is a great way to test your ad’s effectiveness for various times.

What types of ads are most effective? Templates or text only?

• Tara Smiley: We try to keep the ads simple. It works for us.
• Eric Brown: We have the best CL traffic from organic looking ads. (Justin Dunckel and Mike Brewer agreed.)
• Eva Pana: No perfect answer, depends on the portfolio but we recommend you post using both methods and measure effectiveness of both.
• Trevor Henson: We find that we get more phone calls from the template listings and more emails from linear CL posts.
• Elysa Rice: The html ads generate a lot more traffic to websites because of the SEO benefits of being able to include more text.
• Eva Pana: With that said, we have a contest in RentSentinel & the last 3 winners in the lead generation category were all simple ads.
• Joe Foster: There’s no reason not to use both. I think organic caters to the core Craigslist userbase while templates are for the casual user.
• Mike Whaling: Regardless of template or plain text, always upload the photos. 3rd-party sites (like PadMapper) filter ads to feature those w/ pics.
• Erica Campbell: Craigslist only takes plain HTML and nothing dynamic so If you have video, be sure to include a URL to it in your listing.

What is a good way to engage your leasing professionals to post more/better ads?

• Paulette Barrette: I think education is the first step.
• Eva Pana: A great way to engage your leasing pros to post is to hold a competition. RentSentinel has received great results from our contest.
• Tara Smiley: I love the CL battles in our office – 5 minutes, as many as possible… ready, set, go!
• Tami Siewruk: If you give Leasing prewritten ads they will find time to post. They feel uncomfortable, training is the key.
• Trevor Henson: We combine both aspects: Encourage our onsites to post & also have office staff post up regularly.

What do I do if I get blocked by Craigslist?

• Jeff Sandell: Change IP Address.
• Erica Campbell: Start up a new email address and possibly switch IPs.
• Buildium: Easiest thing is to create a new email address, but you should try not to get blocked in the first place.
• RentSentinel: We believe and encourage being a good CL citizen. Don’t overpost, keep your ads concise, and most importantly, have an open and honest dialogue/relationship with Craigslist.

There were a LOT of great side conversations and comments throughout this week’s chat — including topics from Craigslist spam to posting tools like Vflyer & Postlets to postings by third-party apartment locators — so make sure you take the time to read through the full transcript. (For your reference, we think you should also know the Craiglist Terms of Service.) Thanks again to RentSentinel for their help with all the supporting data!

What do you think? How is Craigslist working for you? Have you discovered “best practices” that have made your efforts more effective? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Yesterday was our last #AptChat of the year, so we appropriately looked forward to 2010 and discussed our top resolutions for property managers. (Thanks to the Houston Apartment Association for the topic suggestion!) Here’s our recap of the questions and highlights from the conversation:

What’s your resolution, how can you put it into place, and how’s it going to work for you?

• Kim Cory: My resolution is to take my knowledge in SM (social media), set goals & use practical tools to build a bigger picture for my brand.
• Buildium: Our goal is to improve our communication. We are in the process of making this a S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) goal.
• Niman: My New Year’s Resolution – Get all tenants to pay rent online.
• Erica Campbell: My first resolution is to clean my Outlook which is currently a hot mess:)
• Jennifer Kennedy: My resolution is maximize all of the wonderful resources we have. Focus on utilizing all of our tools to their potential.
• Jonathan Saar: Goal is to get my peeps on board with Social Media & to use it regularly.
• Jonathan Saar: Social Media had definitely helped with our brand awareness and in 2010 that path will continue.
• Houston Apartment Association: Engagement is our key #resolution for 2010; planning to hire a SM/online brand person for HAA.
• Justin Dunckel: Goal is to expand the business a bit more & create some jobs….seriously!
• Tim Grace: Pretty much only one resolution re: Apts.com – delight more users in 2010. All other great things will come from that.
• Kristi Fickert: My goal = my site folks HAVE 2 understand SM, how it works, how to market w/ it (even if someone else does it for them).

Obviously, it appears that a lot of folks are looking to integrate social media tools further into their businesses in 2010 … I guess we shouldn’t expect anything less from this bunch! (Personally, I also appreciate that there was a strong focus on serving our customers better.) In fact, besides the Houston Apartment Association, a number of other companies are bringing on additional staff specifically to help with social media, including Worthing Southeast Management, For Rent Media Solutions and Village Green Apartments. (Here’s the job description for the position at For Rent if you want to get an idea of the skill set they’re looking for.)

How are everyone’s budget’s coming? Leaner than last year? What’s the word on those?

• Kim Cory: Budgets for 2010 are similar to 2009, but with a few minor cuts. We had strong cuts in 2009.
• Kim Cory: (My budget) was cut about 9% in 2009 and in 2010 I worked hard to not cut anymore, so same amount in 2010 for marketing.
• Erica Campbell: I completely reallocated my budget today for a whole new strategy than i had a few months ago.
• Jonathan Saar: It’s not the time to stop investing in what works – keep plowing forward.
• Elysa Rice: I think look at all marketing avenues & see which are producing & which aren’t. Don’t cut based on numbers, cut based on results.

Any major lessons learned from 2009 that changed your outlook for 2010?

• Lisa Trosien: Just don’t labor under the belief that Social Media is free. It’s clearly NOT.
• Buildium: One thing we would like to do in 2010 is give our interns a voice. One option we’re using is CoTweet.
• Erica Campbell: Big lesson- LOCAL CONTENT IS KING.
• Tami Siewruk: 2009 was about learning social media. 2010 will be about figuring out how to use it well.
• Erica Campbell: Lesson 2: Media fragmentation has produced a fundamental conundrum.

What are you doing to improve retention?

• Elysa Rice: Engagement, engagement & engagement!
• Erica Campbell: Bundling packages & adding value add services.
• Kim Cory: We would like to have our residents more involved, feel part of the process & decisions made at the community.
• Kim Obert: Treat people nicely (i.e. “service” in customer service).
• Claire Collins:Look for opportunities for engagement. Interest groups, etc.

Take the time to read the full transcript — there were a lot of great side conversations and insights shared throughout the discussion.

I leave you with this: As Lisa noted during the chat, “your goals are more easily achieved when a) you put them in writing, and b) you have an audible or visible means of tracking them.” You took the first step by putting your goals in writing. Now, what are you going to do to make sure you follow through on them in the coming year?

On behalf of Lisa, I’d like to thank everyone who has made the Apartment Chat what it is today. Thanks for a great year — we look forward to seeing you again in 2010!