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Professional Publishing, Inc www.RentalHousingJournal.com
Vol. 7 Issue 11
November
Get Social With The Landlord Times
EUGENE • SALEM • ALBANY • CORVALLIS
Monthly Circulation To More Than 5,000 Apartment Owners, Property Managers, On-Site & Maintenance Personnel Published in association with: METRO Multifamily Housing Association & Rental Owners Association
Property Management Field Coaching How To Do It and Why It Works? ©
By Ernest F. Oriente, The Coach {Article #211…since 1995}
Y
ou've hired a property management SuperStar and the classroom training for your new employee is finished. As their manager, is training really complete? Not a chance! Field coaching is the next step and the most important part of a well-rounded and worldclass property management training system. In this article you will learn the three steps for building a powerful field coaching program and once in place, this process will become a standard part of your training for every new hire at your property management company. Planning your coaching day: Begin by telling your new employee the exact day and time you will be working with them. Ask them to prepare a schedule of the activities planned for the day to include their appointments with future residents, resident customer care, and followup contacts with apartment shop-
pers from the previous day or week. Next, discuss how each new future resident will be serviced and have your employee take you through their "perfect" office presentation, a mock telephone call with a future resident and a property tour. Lastly,
have your new employee return to your leasing office and practice completing all the necessary paperwork required by your company for prospect follow-up. Tip From The Coach: Start your
coaching day by explaining to your new employee that you are there to assist them be more successful and your time together will be a positive and productive experience. Ask them to first watch your "perfect" office presentation, your telephone demonstration and a property tour. This will make them more comfortable working with you and they will aspire to model your world-class skills. Handling your coaching day: With practice now complete, you and your new employee are ready to serve the first future resident of the day. Ask your employee to introduce you so each future resident knows who you are, but this should be done with little fanfare and it is optional to share your job title. Allow your new employee to handle the entire meeting with each future resident, as the purpose of your coaching day is to observe them in action.
Keeping Your Tenants to Produce More Profits By Leonard Baron in Business from PropertyManager.com a Service of AppFolio
I
n the real estate game, when we are talking rental properties, one of the most important things that will help you earn more money is long term tenants. The longer the tenant stays, the lower the number of unit turnovers you will have. Turnovers cost money! So as owners, we should do everything possible to keep our tenants – and yes, occasionally there is a bad one we might unfortunately have to “fire” and let vacate! So, let’s talk about a few ways to help the cause! First, when a unit turns over, even if you have a new tenant whose lease starts the next day, it still costs lots of money. If you manage the rental Professional Publishing, Inc PO Box 6244 Beaverton, OR 97207
yourself, you have to advertise, take calls, show the property, write up a lease, get it signed, collect a security deposit, deposit it in the bank, etc. This all takes significant time and energy – and time is money! Alternatively, if you have an outside party do it, it’s usually one-half to one full month of rent you need to pay as a commission. In addition to the leasing process, you need to inspect the property before the prior tenant leaves, schedule the unit and carpets to be cleaned, have your handyman go in and paint, patch, repair, etc. and you must finalize the old tenant’s lease and security deposit. Then you’ve
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got to do a move in with the new tenant, document the condition, exchange repair requests from them, coordinate utilities changeovers, etc. What a pain! All in all, you’re probably going to spend several days of your time handling all these issues, probably a whole week of time or more once all is said and done. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just keep your existing tenant in place? Most apartment building surveys find that the main reason people leave their existing rentals is because of poor management. So that’s not being attentive to their issues, not fixing stuff that breaks, blaming the tenant for broken items, etc. So tenants get frustrated and find a better place to live. Therefore, to keep your tenants as long as possible, which also reduces your hassle factor on rentals, you need to treat your residents with respect. And, keep your properties Continued on page 4
The ABCs of Property Management: 26 Ideas for Running Your Business A landlord attorney on speed dial is a great idea. Be the landlord that you would want. Collect large security deposits, in guaranteed funds, PRIOR to handing over keys. Determine rents by researching comparable properties in the same area. Emotions should play a very small role in the management of your properties. Familiarize yourself with the terms of the rental agreement and addendums. Guaranteed funds are the most ideal funds. Hire only licensed and bonded contractors to do the repairs at your properties. Issue termination and warning notices timely and correctly. Join a landlord association. Keep up with the frequent law changes. Label your income and expense accounts to optimize potential returns at tax time. Maintain your rentals as if they are your primary residence. Continued on page 5 Page 2
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Important News for Landlords/Tennants