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Press Release Occupancy Solutions, LLC Successfully Brings Client Occupancy Rate from 54% to 100% in Just Two Months

With so many hotels, bed and breakfasts, and vacation properties marketing themselves online today, it’s more important than ever to know how to stand out. Foregoing online marketing simply isn’t an option anymore, and it’s provided independent hoteliers and renters with a new challenge in competing with the bigger brands. Getting creative is the key to marketing your hotel in a way that works, and we at OccupancySolutions.com have a few ideas that can really help to get you started.

Today’s guests want to be impressed, and they’re striving to have a more personal experience than ever before. For smaller hoteliers and bed and breakfast owners, this can seem like a challenge to compete with the big companies in your area, but this type of personal experience is often times what you do best. Using a little creativity is a great way to truly up your “wow” factor, and give guests just the stand-out experience they really want to keep booking again and again. At OccupancySolutions.com, we have a few creative ways you can impress your guests during their next stay:

Perhaps you haven’t put much thought into building your online reputation before, so you don’t have much of one yet. Perhaps you’ve inherited a community that has a less than great reputation from former management teams. Either way, it’s incredibly important today to not just build an online reputation, but to build a great one. A significant majority of prospective residents take to the internet first when looking for a new community to be a part of, and it’s your online reputation they’ll see first and they’ll compare to competitors within the area.

Online marketing is no longer considered an option for community management teams today, but a necessity. Each year, more and more potential residents take to the internet first as their primary search tool, and you want to make sure your community is one of their top contenders. How can you make this happen? The best way is the mastery of marketing your residence online. At Occupancy Solutions, we want to give you the tools you need to make yourself not just visible but attractive on the web.

Hiring and keeping a great management team for your community is a big part of creating that community feel. Your residents will get to know your team, work with your team, and consider your team a part of the neighborhood in which they live. For this reason, it’s important for any community manager to make sure they’re hiring only the best, and to do their best to keep who they’ve brought on board.

For bed and breakfasts or small hotels, direct online bookings can really make a difference. While huge companies may be able to afford to pay the commissions necessary to third party booking sites without feeling much of an impact, this isn’t the case for smaller hotel owners. Direct online bookings also solidify your relationships with your guests and allows you to control the personal approach they experience when choosing to stay with you. 5 tips for more online bookings include:

When you have a relationship with your residents, you have residents who feel a special connection to you and your community. At OccupancySolutions.com, we want to help you to build these meaningful relationships and reap the rewards they bring. 5 ways to build a great relationship with your residents are:

From the first seconds a potential guest spends on your website, they’re forming an opinion. Perhaps they haven’t made up their mind just yet on where they will be staying, or maybe they’re simply looking at other area options, but the impression you make can absolutely sway them in your direction. At OccupancySolutions.com, we want to help you to attract these guests from the very first moments they spend investigating you, and 4 ways to attract more of today’s guests to your bed and breakfast include:

In order to put forth your best customer service, it’s important to know just what today’s customer want. You can’t expect to please your customers if you’re not aware of what their expectations are, and what customers may have wanted 10 years ago is quite a bit different today.

Managing your online reputation is no longer an optional thing in today’s modern tech savvy world. According to ForRent.com, more than 90% of people make purchase or leasing decisions based on online reviews, 82% read online reviews regularly, and only 9% almost never search for businesses online before making a decision. What this shows is that your online reputation has become one of the most important aspects of your community, and it can make or break any person’s decision to become a part of your community themselves.

Generational labels are something that seems to be the norm in American culture, but they can also be quite limiting. For today’s leaders, a team may be made up of the “Baby Boomer” generation, “Generation X”, “Generation Y”, “Millennials”, and the oldest tier of “Xennials” all at once, with a leader tasked with inspiring and leading them all to their best potential.

One surprising figure to many property management teams is that 70% of leasers owned pets as of 2017. While not all communities are pet friendly, those that do welcome pets are becoming highly sought after by those looking to sign new leases everywhere. Pets have developed a certified family member status they didn’t have a couple of decades ago, and creating a family community environment is made much simpler when bringing pets into the equation.

While important, few employees look forward to team meetings. In many cases, even if important information is shared, many employees feel as though meetings kill their motivation, take them away from the tasks they feel are more crucial to their jobs, and overload them with information causing a great deal of stress. However, the way employees feel about meetings can change depending on the person leading that meeting.

For property management teams everywhere, a very delicate juggling act is taking place behind the scenes. While creating and fostering a true sense of community is important, so is protecting yourself from liability. Resident lawsuits, property damage, environmental claims, and other hazards can put your assets and your community at risk in seconds. The best way to avoid these potential disasters is to diffuse them, and there are some things community management teams can do to avoid liability in a variety of ways:

Attracting families to your multifamily community isn’t difficult, and likely you’ll simply need to modify the talking points you already use to direct them to a more family friendly mindset. At OccupancySolutions.com, we want to help you to attract families to your community, and create that special neighborhood to grow up in feel you’re looking for. For multifamily communities that want to create this family friendly atmosphere, the first thing you’ll need to do is make your marketing attractive to this family friendly demographic.

Any property manager needs to have a clear plan to keep their grounds in great shape and to make sure that residents are always ready to move in. Vacancies can cost you in a big way, and the longer it takes you to get a new resident the more money you are losing. That’s why it’s so important that you use the internet to market your apartments or living facility and keep your apartments full.

Apartment communities can be a lot of work, as any manager knows. From routine maintenance to taking care of repairs when something goes wrong to replacing appliances and more, there’s a lot to things. But one thing that is incredibly important to remember is that routine maintenance is an absolute must and can’t be ignored.

Apartments today need a lot of different things in order to really stay profitable. Just getting renters to agree to call your community home can be a challenge all on its own, and every step you can take to help get them into an apartment is important. One thing that is often overlooked is the importance of curb appeal.

It’s hard enough managing an apartment community when you consider things like routine maintenance, attracting new residents, and more. But when you add in issues with conflicts among those on site, it becomes clear that the job can be even more community than you first assume.

It’s no secret that today’s apartment managers need all the help that they can get when it comes to keeping residents happy and satisfied with their apartments. But did you know that if you take the time to boost morale and spirit in the apartment community that it can have a big impact on your resident retention and more?

For most who oversee apartment buildings, rentals, retirement communities, and other similar properties, just making sure that things are taken care of at the rentals can be difficult enough. Add in the fact that many other factors have to be dealt with to ensure that your profits stay high and it becomes clear that there are more things to consider than most realize.

Depending on what kind of property you own or oversee, you may end up having a lot of different residents on premises. But no matter what you’re managing, the fact is that you should have a plan that will cover all generations who may call your places home.

For most owners or managers, it becomes very clear very quickly that there is more to overseeing properties than some assume. However, one of the biggest things to pay attention to is the team that you have on your side.

Apartment and condo managers have a lot of different responsibilities that they have to handle throughout their daily routine. While just managing the building and parking areas will be one of the primary focuses, it’s also important to remember that attracting new potential occupants is important as well.

Managing any kind of property is a huge task, but when you are in charge of apartments it can be very difficult to keep up with all of the different things that need to be done. One of the biggest things you’ll need to focus your attention on is your marketing efforts, and before you go too far into developing marketing plan the first thing you need to focus on is making sure that your apartment property stands out.

It’s no secret that property managers and owners have to be able to effectively market their properties in order to keep occupancy levels high and profits up. But marketing can be a major expense, and not always as effective as you would like. One thing that is often overlooked is the fact that with effective property management strategies you can actually enlist the help of your residents.

It’s obvious that a lot of different things go into making a great apartment complex – and a successful one. But while property managers have to focus on everything from hiring employees to reviewing resident applications and beyond, there are overlooked areas that have to be considered as well. A perfect example of this is curb appeal.

Overseeing and managing a property can be complex and take up huge amounts of your time and energy. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that you’re doing all that you can to constantly improve things. From the engagement with your employees to your marketing for new residents to interactions with current residents, it’s vital to pay attention to every aspect of your property.

When residents renew their lease, you’re not left with an empty spot to fill in your community. Not only does this help your management team to preserve resources, it also helps to keep that desirable community feel as neighbors continue being neighbors for years to come.

Apartment complexes are an important part of communities around the country. But those who are in charge of overseeing them face some of the biggest challenges out there. From maintenance to safety issues to just attracting potential residents, there are a lot of different things that owners or managers must consider on a regular basis.

What is the initial point of contact for most potential residents looking for a home? In many cases today, it may be an online search. But eventually, a phone call will likely be made. When that happens, it’s up to the facility manager or someone in a similar position to take control and make sure that the phone call turns into a visit.

There is no question that property management can be a complex process, or that it offers numerous challenges to those who own or oversee a building. But one thing that you can’t afford to ignore is the importance of taking steps to avoid liability issues, and doing so is a must for any facility owner or manager.

No matter the location of the facility, apartment communities can seem like an automatic draw for residents. But as more and more facilities are built, standing out and getting noticed becomes more important. Your website can be as slick and well designed as possible, but if the property itself doesn’t really wow them, it will be harder than you might think to fill up all of your units.

While spring and summertime are usually the prime times for attracting new prospective residents, there are plenty that will be looking for communities around the holidays as well. Staging residences for tours around the holidays can be a fun and creative experience, and while you will enjoy getting into the spirit, it’s important not to go too far. A few things not to do when staging your residences for the holidays include:

Typically, at some point during the prospect leasing process, you’ll sit down with prospects and interview them. They’ve learned about your community, they’ve toured your residences, and they’ve gotten to know you – so now it’s your turn. This interview process can go very well, but it can also go very poorly, and you want to make sure you get all the information you need without turning off prospects and sending them off to another community.

When a prospective resident inquires about a tour, your effort doesn’t stop there. Leases have not been signed yet, the prospect may be looking at other communities along with yours, and this is your real opportunity to stick out. The way to hook their memory back is to nail the follow-up process, and we at OccupancySolutions.com are prepared to help you with just that.

Touring your residents presents to you a unique opportunity. You’re able to frame and provide the first impression, and the impression that is likely to last throughout the tour, the interviews, the application process, and the lease. Naturally, because this is such an important moment, it’s one that community management teams should prioritize getting right. Making prospective resident tours more memorable will ensure that you stick out in their minds, and in a positive way that puts you ahead of the competition in your general area.

With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s a great time to start planning an event for your residents. A holiday party can help you connect your community, help increase resident satisfaction, and increase retention. However, throwing a holiday party people actually want to attend can be tricky.

Photography and videography are two of your most important marketing and advertising tools for your residences. When done well, great photos and video will make visitors want to come to your complex, they’ll make them want to be part of your community. When not done well, it can lead those who would love your residences in person to turn away assuming a lack of quality or an ill-fit for their needs. A few tips can ensure you experience the former with interested residents, rather than the latter with potential residents being pushed away from what you could offer them. A few tips for showing the best side of your residences are:

Block parties improve resident morale, they bring people together, and they work wonders to form that important community loyalty and spirit. For this reason, we at OccupancySolutions.com fully support residents joining together to celebrate a great community party. For community management teams, however, the thought of throwing or organizing a block party can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. 5 tips for throwing the very best block party are:

Snapchat is one of the single highest growing social media platforms right now, with the millennial generation pushing in full force much of the 150 million daily active users. If this younger market is who you’d like to reach with your community marketing, Snapchat is a platform you can’t afford to avoid. This isn’t to say that it’s only those in their 20’s using Snapchat, as more and more active users in their 30’s, 40’s, and beyond have begun showing daily interest in the platform as well. At OccupancySolutions.com, we want to show you how to fully embrace this massive trend for your community brand as well.

One thing we see overlooked often at OccupancySolutions.com is mobile accessibility. Once considered a secondary aspect of marketing your community brand, mobile availability is more important today than ever and this importance is only expected to grow as time goes on. Nearly 60% of all website traffic comes through mobile devices, more than half of all organic visitors, and you want a website that will cater to those you want to experience it most.

One of the biggest challenges property managers face is how to take qualified leads and turn them into occupants. One of the most common qualified lead is when a potential occupant calls you to learn about your rental. This is a huge opportunity and you have to use some clever sales expertise to convert that call into a property tour then ultimately to fill a vacancy. Here are some tips on how to convert your calls into a tour.

Fall is the beginning of the slow season in real estate. However, there are still plenty of potential residents that are looking for a new home. So it’s a great time to review your marketing strategy and add some seasonal marketing. Seasonal marketing is a perfect way to showcase your community’s unique personality and attract your ideal renters. Here are five fall marketing ideas to get you started.

The key to any successful business is communication. Improving your team’s communication and developing a sense of teamwork can help you improve processes, tap expertise, and streamline your workload. Here are some ways to develop good communication among your staff.

Forming a lasting relationship with your new occupant means both parties will have a vested interest in each other’s success. What this means for the landlord is that an occupant is less likely to avoid making their monthly payment, maintain the property, and is more willing to come forward in as soon as possible to warn about developing issues. One of the best ways to establish a good relationship from the start is with a welcome package. Here are five simple things to include:

In today’s digital world, people are more likely to take to the internet to find their next residence than they are to pick up a brochure or search in a newspaper. What this means for community management teams is a need to go where the trends go, and a way to market your community in today’s world of all things digital. 5 ways to market your community in a digital world are:

For community management teams, Facebook is a tool you cannot afford to let go. While some may be wary of taking to social media, this tech savvy modern age we’re living in disallows ignoring social media if you don’t wish to fall behind the competition. Facebook is well known for its marketing power, but did you know that it’s just as powerful for building a sense of community as well?

At OccupancySolutions.com, we know that a newsletter is a pretty great simple way to connect with your community. However, only a newsletter they’ll want to read is going to have the effect you’re looking for. So, how do you go about creating a newsletter that does what you want it to do? One option is asking around the community and gauging the interest of residents, seeing what they’re interested in and what you can incorporate into a newsletter format. A few other content pieces you may wish to include for an interesting newsletter include:

A big part of community management is establishing your personality as a community and using that personality to help you in standing out from the competition. Community management is a highly competitive industry in most areas, and you want your prospective residents to lease with you rather than checking out the other guy. 4 ways to stand out from your competition are:

One of the most important parts of resident retention is the relationship you hold with your residents. If residents don’t get along with or feel good about management, they’re less likely to feel loyal or content with their current living situation. Building this type of rapport not only keeps residents renewing their leases, but it also makes them more likely to tell others about your community and market for you as a first hand experience resource. 4 steps to building better resident relationships are:

When it comes to community marketing and branding, Instagram is becoming something of a big deal. Instagram is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing social media platforms, and this means that if you want to place your community where the people are, you’ll want to consider placing it front and center on Instagram. Instagram is a photograph based social media platform, and where you’re going to be placing most of the meat, in terms of your content, will be in your pictures. So, how do you ensure the photos you’re taking are Instagram worthy?

Marketing outreach for your community doesn’t need to be particularly expensive or excessively time consuming. Getting the word out there really just takes a little creative and out-of-the-box thinking. 5 low-cost marketing ideas for your community are:

When you stage a touring residence, you’re providing a space that will allow touring prospects a way to see your residence as their new home. For this reason, staging is important in showing visitors the potential of a space, and staging a residence doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive. 5 low cost ideas for staging a touring residence are:

Residence staging presents a really unique opportunity. The prospects you’re touring around your community have most likely toured other communities within the area, carefully picking and choosing before they choose the option that is best for them. With residence staging, you can give your residence the benefit of bringing the big “wow”, and looking like a place that is easy to call home. Staging can be accomplished in all sorts of ways, with plenty of low-cost options available, and one way to make a big impression is to stage along with the season.

When prospective community members come for a visit or tour, your sample or show residence is what is really going to make the final call. When they see this residence, they’ll know right away whether they’re seriously interested in leasing with you, or whether your community may not be for them. For summer tours and visits, these residences should be staged for the season, and there are a few ways to stage specifically for the hot weather months.

Social media is a resource that should never go to waste when it comes to marketing your community. When deciding on what platforms to prioritize, look to where the people go, and one of the biggest platforms on the rise right now is Instagram. A photo says a thousand words, which gives you a lot to communicate with the photo-based platform. 5 tips for community marketing with Instagram are:

Community management teams are in a unique position. It’s not your usual 9 to 5 job, and many community managers live on the same properties they’re in charge of. Frequent phones buzzing, emails coming in, and employees with this question or that can begin to take its toll on even the most seasoned team leader. What you don’t want to experience is burnout, and 4 tips for managing a work life balance in community management are:

In just about any community, you’re bound to have those of many different lifestyles living within close proximity to one another in their residences. What this means is that conflicts are bound to come up from time to time, and those managing the community should know how to diffuse this tension and practice healthy conflict resolution. In an ideal scenario, you will walk away with a satisfying answer for both parties experiencing conflict, as well as for you and your management team. 3 simple tips for resolving community conflicts are:

During the busy season, it’s a good idea to review your lease agreements. One clause that has become more important in recent years is a clause about subletting. With the growing popularity of crowd sourced vacation rentals through websites like AirBnb, FlipKey, and VBRO, property managers need to make sure they are protected.

Electrical bills in the summertime can be extremely costly. Especially in particularly hot summers, where the air conditioning has to run more often. Helping your residents save money on air conditioning has multiple benefits. It helps maintain lease renewals and keeps them cool and happy. Here are six ways you can help reduce the costs of air conditioning this summer.

During the summertime, your rental needs a little more maintenance than usual. Between landscaping, pool cleaning, and painting, you’ll probably have to hire some contractors to get all the work done. However, before hiring anyone, you need to make sure that they are qualified, honest, and reasonably priced. If you need to hire contractors this summer, here is how to make sure that you hire the best possible candidates.

Making a strong first impression is critical to filling vacancies. During the summer months, that means upping your curb appeal with attractive landscaping. However, elaborate landscaping can be an inexpensive upfront investment that requires a lot of costly maintenance. Fortunately, if you plan your landscaping strategy right, you can achieve curb appeal without minimal work and long-term costs. Here are five ways to upgrade your landscaping that will add curb appeal while also saving you time and money:

It’s easy to spot high-performing team members, but what about those high-potential team members that tend to fly under the radar? Investing in development for high-potential team members is a great way to ensure the continued positive growth of your community management, and provides team members with the tools they’ll need to really thrive and flourish.

Objections can make or break a prospect, and its management’s job to work through these objections in creating happy community members. A simple method to overcoming objections includes:

It’s important for management to never underestimate the follow-up. After a great visit or tour, you want to keep that good impression going, and retain that space in the prospects’ consciousness. With follow-up, you’ll show a caring side and a side that is willing to do whatever it takes to incorporate prospects into your community. 5 tips for the most effective follow-up techniques are:

Trips and outings can do a great deal for building that community feeling. It gives community members a reason to get together in the perfect setting for fun and engagement, but where are the best places to go? Monthly or seasonally, hosting a trip sign-up in your community encourages residents to get up, get out, and build that community feeling and loyalty organically, and you’ll want to choose locations that offer a great deal for engagement in an inexpensive way that also promises a memorable time. 4 ideas for community building excursions or trips are:

When creating a listing for print or online, it is important that copy accurately describes the property. However, finding ways to come up with intriguing and accurate descriptions can be difficult. Often property managers will just use the same description over and over again with little to no results. Writing a listing takes a little practice, but with the right guidance you’ll easily be able to attract the potential renters you need. Here are some tips to get you inspired:

Late rental payments can be a burden for property managers. Beyond having to follow-up with your renters, without the income it can be difficult to pay your bills on time. Late rental payments are going to be something you will have to deal with from time to time. However, there are some processes you can implement to help reduce the amount of late payments you receive.

With the new tax reforms going into effect, you may be wondering what you can write-off this year. Mostly, the new reforms do not change much for property managers. To help you understand some of these new benefits, here are five write-offs not to miss this year:

Staging a residence is incredible important for attracting renters and filling vacancies. When you are ready to list your space and start giving tours, you should stage the space. If you’ve never staged a rental before, there’s a couple thing you’ll need to buy. Here is a basic shopping list to get your started.

Creating a community newsletter is a really great way to bring your community together while keeping everyone informed and in the know. Within this newsletter you can list any community events that may be going on, local stores and restaurants running promotions, your contact information, and anything else you want the community to know or feel they would benefit from absorbing. So, how do you go about choosing the best format and content for your newsletter?

The relationship management builds with residents makes a huge impact on resident retention. Of course a resident will not wish to stay within a community where they don’t feel heard, appreciated, or part of a larger whole, and the responsibility of building that feeling largely rests on how management approaches resident rapport. It’s important for management teams to remember that residents can always go elsewhere, and it will take something special to keep them a part of your community.

When you take a prospective resident on a tour, you’re giving them their first glimpse into life within your community. Because of this, staging your touring residences is incredibly important, and just as the right staging can turn a prospect into a leasing resident, the wrong staging can send them running in the opposite direction. 5 staging mistakes that you may not realize you’re making, and which could cost you a resident, are:

A community atmosphere can be your biggest tool in achieving resident retention, but it’s something that needs to be born organically and in a way that feels natural rather than forced. For management teams, this can be quite the challenge to build the community atmosphere you want, while eliminating the feeling that it is being intentionally built at all. Essentially, you want this atmosphere to appear as if it has grown on its own, while you’re actually watering and tending to it like a real growing organism. 5 ideas to inspire you to better build your community atmosphere are:

The market is constantly changing, so it’s always a good idea to revamp your marketing strategies to meet new trends. With the start of the New Year, it’s a great idea to try some different tactics to fill your vacancies. One of the best ways to do this is to think outside of the box and come up with some really creative and unique ways to target your audience. Here are some unusual ideas to inspire you:

When your business grows and it is time to hand over the day to day operations to a new employee, you may not know what to look for in a great apartment manager. When drafting your job listing and interviewing potential candidates, there are some key skills to find. Here are the seven most important skills that any apartment manager should have:

You’ve hooked a potential renter with your great marketing. You’ve given them a tour that went really well. You know they’d be an ideal renter and they’d fit right into your community. However, you haven’t heard back from them about the space. What do you do? Many property managers will just wait and hope to hear back, but we recommend following up with the potential renter to keep the relationship going and fill your vacancy. Here’s how to follow up with a potential renter.

Whether you are first starting out as a property manager or are just looking for a way to improve your business operations, a great investment to consider is property management software. Property management software offers a range of features and benefits and can really help you improve your business. Here is a basic overview of everything you need to know about property management software to get you started.

Your management team has a huge impact on the success of your community. Everything from resident retention to overall happiness with the community are all affected by your management, and how residents respond to management and their management style.

Renter turnover and new vacancies are very costly. Between finding new occupants, vacant rentals, and taking a risk on a new renter, the costs can quickly stack up. When a reliable renter informs you they are not going to renew their lease, you need to take some steps to see if you can keep them. Here is what to do to ensure you’ve done your best to reduce these costs.

During the winter months, the risk of slipping and falling outdoors is higher than in the warmer months. Between the snow and ice and the harsh winter winds blowing debris, there are increased dangers for anyone walking outside. If a renter or their guest falls on your property, you will be financially liable for any injuries. So it is really important to mitigate these risks and reduce the chance of falls. Here are some tips to help reduce the risk on your property.

With tax season quickly approaching, you are probably reviewing your finances for the past year. If you find that your profit margins are low because your operational costs are high, there are some ways you can scale back while still offering great service. Here are some simple ways to reduce your property management expenses.

Winter is the worst time to find new renters. Most people prefer moving during the summer months when the weather is nice. However, during this slow season, there are some things you can do to help fill your vacant apartments. Here are five tips for beating the winter rental slump:

Over the last decade, social media has become one of the most powerful tools in the world. From connecting with friends to playing games to promoting a business, social media has a huge range of uses. That's why it's surprising that so few apartment complex managers use it to help with their property.

Property management is a big job, and one of the biggest aspects of it is simply making sure that your rate of resident retention is as high as possible. Sure, you may be able to rent out a space that becomes vacant, but the reality is that doing so requires additional steps, energy, and resources that you wouldn't have to spend if the existing resident just stayed in their home.

While most property managers spend their time dealing with a wide range of issues - things like marketing, lease agreements, maintenance, and so on - sometimes things that we all try to avoid will happen

Property owners and managers have to focus their attention on a lot of different things. And with so many responsibilities and considerations, it's easy to forget or overlook something from time to time. One thing that those who are trying to sell a home pay attention to that can be carried over into the world of managing apartment complexes is that of curb appeal.

Managing apartment complexes is hard work and something that takes considerable effort from anyone involved. For many, the primary focus when it comes to convincing a potential resident to rent or lease an apartment is on the overall attractiveness of said apartment.

Owning a rental property can be a great way to build long-term wealth and short-term cash flow. While there are clear advantages that come with owning a rental property, there are downsides and risks as well. One negative situation that can arise is...

Owning and managing a building of any kind can be difficult and involve a lot of work. But what many don't fully appreciate is that a single issue could sometimes be enough to drag down an owner's finances in a huge way. A perfect example of this? A property liability lawsuit.

Apartments are one of the more complex types of property management challenges that exist today. The reasons are numerous, but one of the key difficulties is in attracting new residents. This is especially true today, where attracting a resident is a competitive process.

The modern world has changed the face of almost everything. And while owning an apartment complex is still somewhat of a straightforward endeavor, the reality is that managing that complex isn't always as easy as some think. From legal considerations to marketing to maintaining satisfaction of your residents, there's a lot to focus on.

If you are looking to increase occupancy and resident retention, appealing to millennials is a great business strategy. However, since they are typically long-term renters with no plans to buy in the future, millennials have very different needs and values than previous generations. Simply posting a for rent ad with a list of apartment features is not going to appeal to them. Instead, you have to specifically target them if you want to attract them.

Property ownership can be rewarding if you know what you're doing.Your hard work and investment are worthless without tenants filling your vacancies and making you money. How do you get and keep satisfied tenants at your property? By...

Property management isn't as easy as some people think it is. There's a lot that goes into it, from actually finding residents to drafting fair leasing agreements to marketing to resident retention. At the heart of most processes is good customer service, but it's also important that you have a strong relationship with your employees as well.

It's no big secret that spreading the word about your property is a major part of making sure that you attract the residents that you need and that you build a better reputation in the area. But while things like television and print ads have been instrumental in getting the word out about a property, what about the internet?

Property owners have a lot of responsibilities, and paying attention to the tiny details is sometimes just as important as handling the major ones. Outsourcing your property management needs to companies like Occupancy Solutions, LLC can help you reduce stress and hassles while still keeping your residents happy.

When you're in charge of an apartment or other property, you have a lot of responsibilities and numerous things to manage. The primary focus for most will be attracting residents, keeping them happy, and ensuring that the property is in top shape. And while marketing can make it easier to draw in new residents, one thing that you need to do is create a property that they won't want to leave.

88% of internet users trust online reviews just as much as they trust personal recommendations, and this number shows just how important it is to prioritize your online reputation. If your online reputation hasn’t always been stellar, worry not, as there are several ways to effectively improve your reputation without needing a whole lot of time or resources. At OccupancySolutions.com, we want to outline a few of these effective ways to manage your online reputation and get to a place where your online leads are leading to new residents joining your community.

One of the most powerful tools you can use in closing on a residence in your community is the connection. When a prospective resident feels connected to you, they’re more likely to feel good about the decision they’re making and closing on a lease, but learning how to connect with various prospective residents can be tough. 5 ways to connect with prospective residents on the close are:

Your tour is your first impression, it’s your way to connect prospective residents to your community and what it has to offer. On this tour, you’ll get questions from prospective residents, and you’ll need to have your answers ready to establish yourself as part of a confident and knowledgeable management team. 5 common tour questions you need to have your answers ready for include:

With a well-built website and a good social media reputation, community management teams can expect to receive more internet leads. Without closing techniques, however, management teams can’t expect to relate to these internet leads in a way that leads to coveted leases and closings. At OccupancySolutions.com, we want to give you the tools you need to convert your online marketing into the closings you want for your community. 3 tips for closing on those internet leads are:

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If you have a show residence that prospective community members can visit while on a tour, you want to make sure that residence is staged in just a way that maximizes its potential. This residence will provide the first impression to touring prospects, and give them a way to envision the residence of their own. Because you will want the best first impression, there are 5 big staging mistakes that community management should always avoid:

Managing your marketing budget can be a tricky thing. Naturally, you want your community to have maximum visibility, but you also don’t want to invest too much and cause your budget to barely even out. Luckily, today’s modern internet age has offered a shiny, new, and invaluable resource to community management teams looking to maximize their marketing for a minimal investment, and that tool is social media. Billions of people sign into their Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts each and every day, making these platforms the places where the public chooses to “hang out” while online. Using these platforms for marketing purposes is much like placing your ad front and center in the busiest square in town.

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High resident retention shows that your community management team is one that keeps residents happy and a priority, and some community management team traits can help to keep residents leasing over and over again. 5 traits that encourage resident retention are:

Long gone are the days of scouring in-person classified ads when someone is looking for a new place to call home. Potential residents aren’t picking up the local papers as often anymore, and instead, they’re taking to the internet as an all-knowing, all-seeing, and all reviewed resource to lead them into their new community. Online, they can find the new community of their dreams from the comfort of their own home and feel confident in their decision to visit by also researching reviews and first-hand experiences. What this means for today’s community management teams is this – it’s never been more important to be visible on the internet.

Community activities help to build that organic sense of true community that is so important to management and residents alike. Summertime is the perfect time to embrace the power of community activities, and 5 perfect activity ideas for this season include:

Even when visits and tours seem to go well, objections are like to come up between management and potential new residents. With the right tools in overcoming these objections, they can be viewed as speedbumps, rather than high hurdles, and they can be managed to leave both the community management team and the prospective resident happy in their resolution. We at OccupancySolutions.com want to outline a few of these common objections and how you can work them out to come to a pleasing solution for you both:

As summertime rolls around for your community, it’s time to start thinking about the activities you could plan to bring your community together. A strong sense of true community builds loyalty and spirit, and there is no better way to organically grow this feeling than with shared fun activities that all community members are invited to participate in. For the summer months, a community-wide cookout for residents and management alike is a great way to build this relationship, and 5 tips on hosting a summertime community cookout are:

For community management teams, social media is a marketing tool that one can no longer afford to live without. More and more, people are going to the internet first to search for new communities, and one of the first places they often go is on their social media platforms to scope out a new place that may be a good fit for them. For management teams, adapting to this new technology may seem daunting, but there are many pros they should consider before deciding that social media may not be for them. The pros of using social media to market for your community include:

Spring and summer are the two most popular times of year when folks are looking for a new community to join. In the fall, many are preparing for winter, and in the winter, many find that the weather makes a move more difficult, so they wait for spring and summer to have the easiest transition to a new space possible.

Imposters who claim to be disabled so they can have an "Assistance Animal"

600,000,000 users are currently active on Instagram worldwide, and this platform is becoming one of the fastest growing social media platforms out there today. For property management teams, this means that there is a resource out there that you can’t afford to pass up, but being overwhelmed by the idea of branching out into Instagram for your brand is understandable.

Your brand is your symbol, it’s what creates the entire feel and atmosphere that surrounds your community and what people think of when they think of you. For this reason, it’s undoubtedly important to put a lot of care into creating your community or property brand, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be an overwhelming task.

Resident retention helps management teams to save on their bottom line and create that genuine community feel, so it’s easy to see why it’s such a sizable goal for management teams of all types of communities.

Building a community spirit is incredibly important to resident retention, but how can a management team go about building that community spirit in a way that is organic, genuine, and unforced?

Making a good first impression with the space new community members are moving in to is important for resident retention, and if your residences have carpet, this should be your first focus point.

Whether you’re showing the actual residence a potential new community member will lease, or a show residence that’s already furnished and staged, preparing residences for new occupants is important.

In today’s modern social media age, no brand can afford to go without Facebook. When prospective residents, customers, patrons, or any interested party looks up a brand on the internet, they’ll often look for a website, reviews, an a Facebook page as their online base of what the brand is all about.

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Interviews with potential residents are really two-sided. You are making sure that they will be good renters, follow the rules of your community, and can afford the rent. They are making sure that your rental is a place they want to call home. The interview process is crucial and sometimes potential renters will ask some pretty tricky questions. Here is a guide for how to answer those tough ones that you are commonly asked.

Your listing photography is the first introduction to your potential renters. The very first thing anyone does before even reading the details of the space is look at the photos. If the photos aren’t good, they’ll quickly move on to the next listing without even giving your rental a chance. So it is essential that you offer up great listing photography to engage potential renters and entice them to learn more. There are some pretty common mistakes property managers make when creating listing photography, here are the five most classic mistakes to avoid:

First impressions can have a lasting impact, so it is essential that when you are ready to show your rentals, that you stage them properly. Staging can make or break the interest in a space, so you need to be smart about how you set things up. Also, you want to make sure that you stage things cost effectively and spend money where it has the most impact. Here are five essential tips for staging a rental property to attract new occupants.

Your primary role as a property manager is to fill your vacancies with new renters. This can become a costly prospect if you are not careful between running advertisements and marketing materials. So to keep cost down but still attract new residents, here are five really cost-effective ways to attract potential renters:

Technology is moving at an incredibly rapid pace, and for smart property managers looking to keep up with the times, we all need to upgrade our technology. However, a lot of people shy away from technology upgrades because of the default assumption that they will all be incredibly expensive. Fortunately, there are plenty of small technology upgrades that are very attractive to renters but are also incredibly affordable for property managers. Here are four cheap technologies to consider adding to your rentals:

When you are a property manager, whether for a small property or a large multi-location franchise, you are always juggling a ton of balls. Many times what seems like it should be a quick task can take up most of your day. Other times there is an emergency situation so you can get to your priority tasks in time. So it’s really important that learn some really great time saving and time management skills in order to ensure you never drop one of the balls you are juggling. Here are three super helpful tips to save you time:

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Summer is right around the corner and before it gets here, you should start prepping your rentals property to make sure that everything is for the change of seasons. There is a lot to keep track off for summer rental preparation, so we decided to make you a helpful checklist so you wouldn’t forget anything you need to do:

There are dozens of websites online where you can list vacancies for your rentals. Where you list your website is just as important as how you list your website. Not every site will have the same ROI or will be perused by the ideal renters. To help you fill your vacancies, here are the top four websites to advertise your rentals:

With Spring now upon us, the time for hosting events and breathing life into your residential building has never been better. An important part of life is the time you spend experiencing food and fun activities with those around you. It is without a doubt an important thing to consider for the residents in your apartment building, and can indeed be a deciding factor for resident retention. Community building events not only provide a social platform for your neighbors to interact, but also provide an opportunity for new residents to meet their new neighbors, or even introduce older neighbors that have never had a prior chance to meet.

Airbnb has come a long way since their 2008 humble beginnings. Many travelers are now preferring to stay in someone’s home as opposed to a hotel, and for a few good reasons. One of which is that it is typically less expensive. At an average cost of $65 per night, you just can’t beat that! While cost effectiveness is undoubtedly a big deciding factor, the level of comfort is often considered to be better in someone’s home over the generic hotel room.

Paperwork can be difficult to put together for the new people leasing your apartment. In order to provide the best customer service and make sure you consistently receive good reviews, the initial paperwork can play a large role in how that plays out. Of course there are certain rules, regulations, and policies that need to be conveyed, but you also want them to feel comfortable while moving into their new home. Here are 5 solid tips to help you achieve the best results:

You have probably seen the growing concern for protecting the environment, ways to “go green”, and the increasing amount of clean energy options, but you may not have considered how some of these could benefit you and your business. Solar energy being the most applicable option for individuals and business owners to produce their own clean energy is on the rise, but many are still concerned about whether or not it would be a good investment. In most cases, they can be a good investment, but the return on investment might seem too far in the future for it to be considered.

The long-term reputation and profitability of your rental depends on the quality of your residents. However, even doing your due diligence, you can still end up with bad renters sometimes. It is crucial that you make sure that you have a good screening process in place, so that you get qualified rental candidates. Here are five ways to ensure that you are picking the best people to rent your vacancies:

With the increase of renters, the real estate market has become more competitive. To give your rental an edge, you should consider upgrading your features. A great way to give your rental an edge in the market is to offer unique amenities, rather than the standards that everyone offers. Here are some ideas for unusual amenities to consider that will attract new residents and increase retention.

Rent week is easily the busiest week for property managers. They have to manage multiple residents, do a lot of accounting, and make sure everything gets paid on time. Every month when rent week comes it can be incredibly hectic and make even the most organized property manager want to pull out their hair. However, there are ways to simplify rent week, so that both you and your residents have an easier time. Here are five tips that can help you make rent week simpler for everyone involved:

Spring has finally arrived and with the end of the harsh winter weather, it’s time to do some Spring cleaning. Spring cleaning can help improve your property, increase retention, and help attract new renters. So it’s a great idea to get your staff together and plan your Spring cleaning. Here are some things to consider add to your Spring cleaning list:

Choosing a property management firm to manage a property is a major decision. Not only will they be overseeing one of your largest assets, but they represent you when dealing with your tenants and issues that arise. There are critical things to look...

Navigating the wide world of social media can be pretty overwhelming even for the most tech-savvy property management team, but it’s true that there are some outlets you should be paying more mind to than others. For marketing a community and community brand, Instagram can be an invaluable resource, and we at OccupancySolutions.com are here to help you to master it.

Whether you’re trying to attract local in-person attention, or take your community online, one thing is for certain – curb appeal matters. Consider curb appeal your shot at making a great first impression, and we all know how important first impressions really are. No matter the season or the weather in your particular area, impressive curb appeal is possible in every season. Whether it’s a lazy hot summer day or an icy winter evening, you can always make your community shine. At OccupancySolutions.com, we want to take a look at curb appeal for all seasons of the year, and provide a few pointers on how you can make your community look its best all year round.

Rent increases happen, and it’s not something that is truly pleasing to anyone. As the costs of goods and services go up, leases need to be amended to reflect recouping the expenses, and it’s not something that makes residents happy to learn that it’s going to be more expensive to remain in your community. That being said, increasing rent doesn’t need to be a death sentence to your resident retention, and it all has to do with how you approach the rent increase and communicate it to those renting with you.

In today’s modern age, businesses can’t afford to ignore social media, and this includes property management teams. Using social media effectively can allow you to better retain your current residents while attracting fresh and new attention, but knowing just what effectively entails is a big part of the equation. At Occupancy Solutions, we want to clear some of the fog surrounding proper use of social media for resident retention and attracting new audiences, in order to make working social media into your marketing and management strategy a breeze.

A great way to bring your community together and retain residents is with community events. Whether these events are meetings to keep up to date with community goings-on, or filled with fun family activities, these gatherings bring together property management staff, maintenance, and community members all at once to connect and get to know each other. At Occupancy Solutions, we know that one of the toughest parts of throwing a community event is getting the word out and getting everyone to show up, so we have 5 tips you can use for a successful hosting experience:

If you have some vacant residences in your community, chances are you want to fill them up and do so quickly. Curb appeal can be your best weapon against resident vacancies, and attract all sort of valued attention to your community and your brand. At Occupancy Solutions, we want to break down a few curb appeal tips that can attract residents into wanting to know a whole lot more about the lifestyle you offer:

When it comes to resident retention, that first year and first lease is important. Initial impressions mean a great deal, and you can really make or break retaining a resident depending on yours. At Occupancy Solutions, we want to help property management teams make the best impact possible during this first lease period, and retain their residents for many more years to come. The 5 steps to retaining residents using their first year experience are:

Social media works wonders to advertise and market for your community, bringing new prospective residents in, but what about resident retention? Well, in terms of resident retention, social media used well can be one of your most valuable tools in keeping your residents happy and coming back lease after lease. How do you go about using social media for resident retention? It’s actually quite simple and it all starts with open and frequent communication.

It might seem old-fashioned, but you would be amazed at how much power a community newsletter can have! It’s a great way for your residents to know a little bit about where they live and a whole lot about their local community. Newsletters can bring them a sense of togetherness, which is important if you’re looking to foster loyalty.

We often hear the word “community” and wonder what it means. Is it a place to live? A city or village? Maybe it’s something less tangible; like a feeling. If you look it up, the word community has a few different definitions. The one that best describes what you as a landlord should be working to achieve is: a social group of people who live in the same area. To build a community, you’ll need to find a way to get your group of people to become social. There are a few things that you can do to make this happen, and when you do, you’ll become more than just a landlord. You’ll be a community builder!

If you’ve been a landlord for a long time, you probably know what insurances you should have to protect your investments. On the other hand, if you’ve been a landlord for a long time, you might have gotten into the business when insurance was not something that many people thought about. Landlord insurance is not required by law, but if you have rentals, you’d be wise to consider it.

We live in a very social age. It’s not that people are more friendly or outgoing, but when it comes to connecting with others, the answer lies at our fingertips. A few keystrokes and suddenly we can connect with hundreds of people at once! If your poodle gets a new haircut, simply post a pic and let the world like it! If you baked a cake that looks like a pineapple, the supportive response can number in the hundreds. If social media is this good for gaining support for haircuts and cakes, what else might it be able to do?

As a landlord, you know the importance of resident retention. What’s better than a resident who pays their rent on time, never causes trouble, and takes good care of where they live? If you can retain good residents, not only will you have less stress, you’ll save time and money. Keeping your residents happy goes a long way toward retention. Here are six things that can make a difference.

Many business owners believe that their business is only as successful as its least successful employee. If this holds any truth, it stands to reason that any business owner would seek to hire and retain the most successful employees.

When you think about your team of employees, you want to be sure that have best people for the job. Success comes when everyone works together toward a common goal and when it comes to your rental business, you need a team that works for you and the residents. Some bosses often think that their business would thrive if they could only have of team of people like themselves. Well, why can’t you?

Have you ever heard the saying “The customer is always right?” This may or may not be true; just ask anyone who has ever worked in customer service. There are times when the customer is wrong, but it comes down to how you treat them that can make the difference.

While investing in and leasing property has many advantages, being a landlord presents a variety of challenges. If you don't have the time, know-how or interest in being a 'hands-on' landlord, then hiring a property management company is...

There are many ways to market your rentals online. One of the best is to have a blog on your website. A blog is free advertisement that will help you get the word out about your rentals, attract potential residents, and communicate with your community. Blogs also help you rank higher on search engines query results because they communicate with search engines like Google and Yahoo what your business is all about.

Most of the time when we put together our occupancy strategies, we look at the long term. We want to find renters who will renew and keep our rental spaces full. However, even though it is short term, corporate housing offers a lot of benefits. With the increase in business travel and relocation, there is a lot of opportunity in providing short-term corporate housing. Corporate housing can be very profitable if you manage it correctly. Here are some things to consider if you are thinking about offering corporate housing options:

Evictions are never fun. They are probably the most difficult part about being a property manager. However, when someone stops paying rent, becomes a troublesome neighbor, or disrespects the rental space, you need to take action. Losing a resident is hard enough, but having to evict one can be especially difficult because evictions are usually not planned. Fortunately though, an eviction doesn’t have to be all bad. Instead, you can use an eviction as an opportunity for growth.

One of the hardest things you will have to do as a property manager is manage renter complaints. You want to keep your occupants happy but sometimes things come up that need to be addresses. The best thing you can do is put a system in place so that you can easily manage and address any complaints and keep your residents happy. Here are some simple tips to manage resident complaints.

You have great amenities, great prices, and a great staff, but lately you’ve been losing occupants. There are many things that could be reducing your occupancy rates, but sometimes they are things that you haven’t even considered. Here are some small things that may be driving your residents out and how to fix them:

According to the ASPCA, 37-47% of all Americans have a dog and 30-37% have a cat. That is hundreds of millions of people. All of these people could be potential residents if you allow for pets. However, letting your residents have pets comes with a myriad of problems. So you may be left wondering if you should allow pets as residents. Here is a basic guide for some of the issues you will face if you allow pets so you can be informed before you make this difficult decision.

You can have the most desirable rentals in the world, but if you do not have a solid property management team, your occupancy rates are going to be low. Like any workplace, people determine the success of the company. So you want to make sure that your employees are skilled, work well as a team, and are enthusiastic about their jobs. Here are some tips to help you build the perfect property management team:

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Nowadays most people look at rental spaces online before setting an appointment to see the available space in person. So it is more important than ever to utilize online marketing to increase your occupancy. However, with so many rental companies advertising on the Internet, it can be challenging to make your company stand out against all the competition. Here are three simple strategies you can use to engage potential renters and increase your occupancy rates.

Your resident rapport begins with that initial phone call, and we at OccupancySolutions.com know how much is riding on that first communication. You've done the marketing, calls are coming in, and you want to transform these callers into community members - so how do you go about getting it done? Well, there are some really simple techniques you can use to ensure you're making a positive and impactful impression on every caller.

Building community rapport is important for resident retention, and we at OccupancySolutions.com want to help you to improve these very important relationships. When community members feel appreciated, open, and secure in where they live, they're more like to stay, and more willing to open up about these positive experiences to others who may be looking for a new place to live. 5 simple ways you can improve your community rapport are:

Property managers often overlook the value of renter’s insurance for risk mitigation. It’s easy to discount renter’s insurance, because it is thought of as something that just protect your resident’s personal property. However, renter’s insurance not only protects your residents, but it also protects you and your property. Property managers make a lot of mistakes when it comes to renter’s insurance because they don’t understand the benefits. Here are some of the biggest renter’s insurance mistakes to avoid:

With so many people now looking online for their next home, you really need to make sure that you stand out from your competition. One of the best ways to garner interest and attract potential residents is with great listing photography. Here are five easy tips on how to make sure you take beautiful pictures that will grab the attention of potential residents.

When you run an older property, you may get stressed out when a new developer comes into your neighborhood and builds a brand new complex full of modern features. However, you can still stay competitive with newer properties by incorporating a few new tactics. Here are some great ways to ensure that your older property stands up to the new guys.

When a resident moves out, it can be pretty costly for a property manager. You have an empty space that costs you money every month, you have to invest in marketing and lead generation, and spend a lot of time trying to find a new resident. You are much better off if you can retain your residents. Here are four tips to increase lease renewals so you can avoid the costs and energy of finding new residents for your property.

Security deposits are a great system to ensure that your residents pay for any damage to your property. However, when you have to take out money from their security deposit to cover damage, it could lead to a dispute. These disputes can become such a headache that often times property managers would just rather take the financial hit of the damage rather than manage the security deposits. To avoid taking on extra costs and dealing with disputes, here is a guide on how to manage security deposits.

As property managers, we often overlook Baby Boomers because they’ve typically already settled into life and have their homes figured out. However, as baby boomers get older and their children move out of their houses, they often look to downside and make their lives a little easier by moving into a managed property. Baby Boomers are a great market because they are typically more financially reliable than younger generations and tend to have a higher resident retention. So when marketing your property, consider targeting part of your marketing plan to Baby Boomers. Here are five great ways to attract Baby Boomers to your property.

With the expansion of technology, there are so many new payment methods available to property managers and residents. When you are looking into giving your residents more payment flexibility, you may want to consider online payments in addition to your standard cash payments. Both payment systems offer pros and cons, so consider these before changing your payment system:

Once you’ve attracted residents with your great amenities, you need to keep those amenities up so that residents stay long after you’ve attracted them. With the new year approaching, now is a great time to go over your property and make sure everything is running great. Here is an easy checklist you can use to keep everything on your property in great condition:

As a real estate investor and landlord, doing your job can be cumbersome when the day-to-day details of managing your property are inundating. In fact, if you aren’t careful, managing these functions can inhibit the growth of your...

Having an online rental agreement can be a great thing for your business. There are a lot of ways that you can advertise your property to potential customers and clients, but the internet is becoming on of the biggest ways. A link to a rental agreement can be shared with almost anyone, making it that much easier to use. Let’s take a look at some of the ways that an online rental agreement can make the whole process a little bit safer and easier for everyone.

There have been lots of improvements in lighting recently. Technology is changing, and with it comes energy savings and green options. While it might seem like a large cost up front, investing in new lighting options for your property can actually be a money saver for your business. Here are a few things to consider.

When it comes to collecting rent, there are several different methods that you can offer your residents. Good old fashioned cash always works, but now there are a lot more payment methods that have become accessible. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons that go with each and help you determine which one is right for you and your business.

The best way to deal with a hurricane is by being prepared. There is no way to be 100% ready for what might be coming at you, but you can do your best. Help your residents to understand the best plan of action and work together to get things ready. Ultimately, the preparations are up to you to make sure that your property is ready to weather the storm.

When fall hits, it can seem like there is a lot of maintenance to be done around your properties. While the falling leaves are really pretty, they also make a mess and at the same time signal that colder times are on the way. There are some things that you should be sure to check up on now before it is too late.

Finding the right members for your property management team can be stressful. There are lots of things to consider and questions to be asked. Having a system to screen potential employees makes the process fair and unbiased. We’ve got a few tips for you to help lighten the load.

When a resident leaves one of your properties, it can be a stressful time. Repairs may need to be made to the apartment in order to bring it back to being ready for a new resident. If the previous residents left the place a mess, you may be stuck with a lot of clean up. Not to mention that when they leave, the income stops so you won’t have any new money coming in to help fix all of this. There are a couple of things that you can do to ensure that the process goes smoothly and that you have the apartment back up and on the market in no time.

Taking a security deposit is a great way to be sure that you will have funds to help fix any damages that a resident may leave behind. If the situation turns ugly and they destroy the apartment, you can be left with thousands of dollars worth of damage. Collecting a security deposit before they move in will help them to remember that they will be charged for damages and also will give you the peace of mind that you have money to fix anything that goes wrong.

The danger of fires in an apartment building is higher than in other buildings. A lot of people living in close quarters can significantly increase the danger of things catching on fire. There are a few things you can do to reduce this risk, and informing your residents will help. Take the time now to warn them about the dangers of fire in your building.

If you are renting out an apartment, there are a lot of things that you have to think about. Some of it is trial and error as you get going, but there are a few mistakes you can avoid right from the start. Check out this list of the top five mistakes that new landlords (and sometimes old ones too) tend to make frequently, and how you can avoid them.

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Do you have families living in your properties? You may be part of the back to school madness without even realizing it. The beginning of the school year can bring a lot of changes from the easy, laid back summer. One of these may be kids waiting at the bus stop in the morning. Let’s take a look at a few safety tips to keep everyone safe while waiting for the bus.

When you are focusing on trying to develop a stronger relationship with those involved in your rentals – whether employees on your staff or the residents who hold the lease – you want to ensure that you are going far enough to retain and develop a relationship with them.

Billions of people now use social media profiles and accounts to communicate, entertain themselves, learn about what’s happening, and more. In short, social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are here to stay and have become an integral part of the lives of millions in this country.

Managing your rentals is a lot of work, and today’s property manager needs to start from the ground up to build a strong foundation for success. Understanding some of the primary fundamentals can help ensure that you are able to avoid as much stress as possible and simplify the management of your rentals. There are 4 fundamentals worth mastering as soon as possible.

At some point, nearly every property manager out there will end up having to deal with certain things. Repairs are a good example of this, as is developing a solid marketing strategy. But another thing that will need to be dealt with is late rent. Eventually, you’re going to have someone who just can’t make their rent on time.

There is no doubt that numerous factors go into the overall bottom line that you end up posting at the end of each quarter. But one thing that can’t be overlooked is community. Instead of just viewing each resident as an individual number on a spreadsheet, taking the time to foster a sense of community can help you in a big way.

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As a property manager, one of the single most important things that you need to focus on – if not the most important – is resident retention. Whether you’re managing a residential complex or a commercial one, being able to keep your residents means a steadier stream of income, less hassle associated with finding new residents, and more.

When it comes to being the best possible property manager, there are a lot of different elements that may need to be considered. One that is often overlooked is the use of a community newsletter. While it may seem trivial, the reality is that utilizing a newsletter could directly impact your bottom line.

As a property manager, you rely on your team to create the best possible results for your properties and your company as a whole. From maintenance to marketing to sales, different team members handle different aspects of the property.

Scams are out there and around every corner these days. As a property manager, it is important to know how to protect yourself and your business from falling victim to one of these scams. Scams are not just for renters, but can also affect property managers as well. Check out these things to be aware of when trying to avoid a scam situation.

Being energy efficient is all the rage these days. Not only does it make your building more functional, but it also reduces your bills and saves you money. Sounds like a winning combination! Here are some ways that you can make your property more green and environmentally friendly.

You should have a system in place for when you receive a complaint. This is an important part of managing a property. You may not always know or realize that your property is in need of repairs, so being able to resort to your system is the best way to handle any incoming complaints.

When potential renters come to view your building, they want to see themselves living in the space. A lot of building managers think of that as making the space as plain as possible so a wide variety of people will be able to move in and decorate it.

If you ever drive by an apartment building where the patios are a cluttered mess, you can see why it is a bad reflection of your property and how your apartment should look. Clutter does not do anything for aesthetics, so help your residents understand that they need to keep their balconies clutter free. Here are some ways to do that.

If you have a bunch of apartments for rent, you might have a model apartment that you keep to show potential residents what the apartments look like. This model is an important part of your business because it draws in your customers, showing them what life could be like in your property. It is important to keep this apartment in tip-top shape with all the latest upgrades.

Summer days bring with them lots of fun, but they can also invite trouble to the neighborhood. Kids are sometimes looking for things to do, and might not always make the right decisions. It is important to keep your security tight during the relaxed summer months to avoid welcoming any bad decisions to your property or buildings.

One of the classic ways to enjoy the summer is in or near a pool. If you are lucky enough to have a swimming pool in your complex for your renters to enjoy, there are a few safety tips you should keep in mind for the summer. While pools can bring lots of fun memories, disaster can also strike in a heartbeat. As a property manager, you want to do everything in your power to keep this from happening.

If you have been thinking about hosting an event for your residents, now is the time. Summer is in full swing, and school are about to go back into session. There are tons of ideas you can use to throw your residents a summer event right in your property. Here’s a list of a few ideas to get you started.

Being a property manager can be hard. Your residents expect a lot out of you, and it can get rather demanding at times. There are a few things that we all wish we could tell our residents, but we haven’t quite found the right way. Here’s a list of a few:

Facebook is a great tool for your business. If you plan on using it to promote your business, there are a few tips and tricks that you should know about. Check out this list of ten tips to get you started.

What makes a good property manager? You may have wondered to yourself if you are a good property manager or customer service employee. We’ve come up with a list of a few characteristics that will help you determine what your residents think of you, and how you can improve on what you are already doing.

Managers are the leaders in your company; they have been brought up through the ranks, so it is essential that they are efficient in their role. Other employees look up to and rely on their managers for their own day to day efficiently, when you...

Depending on where your rental is located, you may be in an area where most of your traffic is walking by your building. Millennials are often choosing this type of housing over other types because of its eco-friendly components and the ease of being within walking distance from the night life.

If you are a new community or a new construction, you will face some different marketing challenges. Sometimes it is easier for you because people want to know about the newest building in the area and how they can live in a brand new apartment. Other times there is no word of mouth or past reviews to back up your new property, so people skip right over you. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can help to promote your new business in your area.

Building relationships is an important part of having residents in your building. They need to trust you, and you need to trust them. Talking with them on a regular basis will help build your relationship. The more positive interactions you can have, the better it will go if you ever have to get serious. Here are three tips for building positive relationships with your residents.

If you can’t figure out what your residents are looking for, it might be time for a satisfaction survey. Survey data can tell you a lot about what is happening in your building and how you can help your residents to feel more at home. Check out these tips for creating a customer survey to help improve your business.

Integrity is a very important piece for any business owner. Without integrity, you are just left looking like a fool. People can quickly see through a ruse, but they appreciate a business that maintains integrity and can make them feel important. Here are some ways that you can market to your clients without leaving your integrity behind.

Residents are an important part of the rental process. The way to keep them around is by keeping them happy and responding to their needs. We’ve compiled a list of 10 tricks to help you keep your residents satisfied.

Spending time on your employees’ development is an important way to grow your business. You don’t want your team to become stagnant, so encourage them to grow and develop with new skills. Here’s a list of some ways that you can help them out with that.

Liability that every business owner has to worry about. There are a couple different kinds of liability, and how they might apply to your business situation. Let’s take a look and explore some points about each type of liability.

Managing a multifamily unit is more complicated than just managing a single house. There are more residents and more units with a chance for more things to break and need maintenance. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you started on the best way to keep up with everything that needs to be done.

Your team is the essence of your business. Without your team, you have just you, and that is a ton of work for just one person to do by themselves. So how do you keep your team functioning as a well-oiled machine? By continuing to develop their skills. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why employee development is so important.

Are you an organization that is willing to conduct its operations with peak integrity? This is what compliance training does when conducted in an effective and appropriate manner. It ensures that the operations are carried out within the legal...

Depending on where you operate your business, you may have some different liability concerns. Some are more dangerous than others, and need different types of coverage. Let’s take a look at some of the main concerns and how you can address them.

It is important to make sure that your team never goes stagnant. You should be one step ahead of them, encouraging them to reach for a new goal or to learn a new skill. Help them on their way to becoming a valuable team member and they will appreciate the time you took by using their new skills to build your business.

More than one-third of rental housing consists of multifamily units. As a renter and investor, there are several things to consider when choosing a multifamily property over a single family house. Let’s take a look at what multifamily housing really is, and the pros and cons if you are thinking about getting involved with one.

Follow up is the key to closing a deal with a potential client. If you don't’ follow up with someone, you will never know what they are thinking or what direction they are heading. We’ve come up with a list of a few good follow up practices for you to start incorporating into your business practices.

A great way to encourage team building is by hosting a fun day. Have your team members get to know each other with some activities that encourage them to have fun together. This will help them get to know each other better, and in turn promote healthy work relationships. Here is a list of some games that you can play with your team members to get started.

Are you taking over a business? Has your business reputation been suffering lately? It’s important to have a positive image in your local community in order to encourage potential buyers to take a look at what you have to offer. Here are some tips and tricks to bring a positive image back to your company.

When trying to sell your property to a potential buyer, there are many things to take into account. One of them may be the potential buyer’s age. It is important not to be biased against different age groups. Here are a few tips to get you started.

You can spend a lot of money on marketing your property each year, but why? Free marketing ideas are available now more than ever. Try out a few of these low cost or even free marketing solutions and save yourself some money in the budget this year.

Keeping a balance between your work life and your home life can be difficult. It’s not easy balancing so many different tasks, but there are a few ways you can help yourself to feel a little bit less stressed out. Check out these tips to help you feel better about your day to day projects.

Generation gaps are bound to happen in the workplace. Older employees sometimes have a hard time with younger staff members and their ways of approaching a project. There are few ways you can encourage healthy relationships between all of your team, no matter their age.

Have you heard of the Fair Housing Laws? As a property manager, you should be aware of them and how they affect your business. Here’s a little look at some of the points that you should be aware of when searching for a potential buyer.

Employee retention is defined as an organization’s ability to keep their staff employed for a period of time. High employee turnover reflects poorly on a company, making other potential employees less likely to grab a chance to work on your team. Here are a few ways to keep your employees around for longer periods of time.

If you own a small business, you may not have a dedicated human resources department. However, should you ever need help with anything related to human resources, you may decide to bring in a human resource consulting company to...

A monthly newsletter is a great tool to use with your residents. You can communicate lots of information in one easy format, and people will know where to look to find it. Many businesses make the mistake of posting in too many different spots, and customers end up chasing all the information around on different sites until they quit all together. Check out these reasons why a newsletter is such a great opportunity and a useful tool.

When looking to get a renter, there are several well-known techniques for closing a deal. A lot of you have probably been trained with the ABC or Always Be Closing idea. It is true for the most part, but you have to be sure that while you are closing, you are treating your client like a person and not just a business transaction. Patience and kindness go a long way when dealing with a new potential client.

When a client comes to you for information about a potential property, there is usually at least one other place they are considering. That is your competition. There are few ways to outsell your competition right from the beginning. Let’s take a look.

Closing a deal takes time. There is no magical phrase that you can say that will make someone seal the deal immediately. You need to have a strategy in place and be ready to use it. Our team at Occupancy Solutions can help you with that. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Preventative maintenance is the key to maintaining successful rental properties. No one wants to live in a place that is falling apart, and your renters may not report back to you that something is broken until the damage is already done. Here is a small list to get you started of things that should be checked regularly to keep your space in good shape.

Answering the phone is easy. But how do you take that phone call and turn it into a booked appointment so you can show your new customer what you are talking about? We’ve got some tips for you. Keep reading to find out some of the tricks from the top of the business.

Effective follow up is the key to making a sale. Customers appreciate the extra effort that goes into your follow ups and they are more likely to respond if they know you are truly interested in their business. Here are a few tips for making sure that your follow ups are well received and working the way you intended.

Building a new property but not sure which laundry amenity is right for you? We’ve put together a pros and cons list for having a community laundry room verses in unit laundry rooms to help you decide.

Occupancy Solutions, LLC, successfully oversaw the lease up of a 200-unit community in Indiana over a three-month period.

The Millennials are a substantial demographic of renters. With the current economic conditions, homeownership among millennials is extremely low and is continuing to decline. Therefore, they are a great target demographic for property managers. There are several ways to attract millennials if you understand their generational needs.

First impressions are lasting impressions. That is why maintaining the exterior of your property is crucial to your success. Luckily improving curb appeal is an inexpensive way to leave a lasting impression on potential renters. Here are some simple, inexpensive ideas for your property.

Knowing that your property is being properly cared for gives you peace of mind and allows you to focus on demands other than maintaining your property investment. One of the most important decisions you make when you invest in real estate is what...

Raising the rent on a property is never easy. All property managers worry about renter retention and the stress of having to attract new renters with a higher price point. However, raising the rent also allows you to improve your facilities, balance your operational costs, and make more profit. There are some pretty good signs that it is time to raise the rent. If you keep these in mind when pricing your rentals, you should be able to retain your current renters and attract new ones.

A couple years ago “Going Green” was the biggest trend in property management. Many companies saw the “Green Revolution” as a new way to save money and attract clients and for awhile it was a very innovative approach. However, now that the trend has died down, does it still make sense for your property to “Go Green”? Can you still attract new clients by offering a “Green Space”? Are there financial incentives to going green if the commodity value lessens? There definitely are. Regardless of the current trends, going green saves property managers and renters big money.

If you are renting a home or apartment to a resident, you want to make sure that you charge a fair rent, yet you also want to ensure you’re going to make some money. As you set the rental rates, here are a few tips to keep in mind....

Online reviews can be incredibly nerve-wracking for property managers. We’ve all heard the nightmare story of one bad online review destroying a company. This is because most companies do not have a strategy to combat negative online reviews. However, with a little effort you can manage your online reviews and ensure that visitors do not have a bad picture of your company.

Your online presence is an extension of your brand. You can communicate a lot about your business with the design and functionality of your web page. This is especially important for property management companies because people are emotionally invested in their homes and will base their decisions solely off first impressions. If your website is inviting, functional, and has a variety of easy to use features, visitors will be left with a good feeling about your company.

More property management companies are including provisions in their rental agreements that require renters to carry rental insurance. That is because rental insurance not only protects the renters, but it also protects the property management company. Rental insurance primarily covers the renter’s possessions, however their coverage can ultimately reduce your liability and save your company a lot of money.

If you plan to use community events to keep residents engaged, and draw new interest in new prospective residents, holidays are incredibly useful opportunities. No matter the season, there is a holiday coming up that you can celebrate with your residents and their families, and we want to provide you with a few ideas you can use for some of the holidays coming up within the next few months:

Within 7 seconds, we typically know if we like something or not, at least when it comes to first impressions. When it comes to your community, these first impressions mean a whole lot, and your curb appeal will have a lot to do with the sort of first impressions your residences give off. With spring coming right around the corner, we wanted to outline a few simple and inexpensive ideas you can use to really spruce up your community for the new season.

Managing a community effectively can be difficult, and because of this, it’s easy to get lost in your own time. Soon, you can find yourself really falling out of your healthy work/life balance, as you’re doing community related tasks here and there, without much time allotted for yourself.

Staging a residence before a prospect comes to see it can really help them to imagine it as their own. Think of it this way: which is more inviting, an empty room, or a room with a little character? During visits, you want to invite your prospects to feel at home while on the tour within the residence, and staging is the best way to do this.

When a prospect comes to tour your community or a particular residence, they are going to have a checklist of concerns already laid out before they even walk out the door. In doing their homework, they’ll have certain features or aspects they’ll want to check before ever seriously considering signing a lease, and it’s your job to alleviate those concerns from the start. At Occupancy Solutions, we want to outline these common prospect concerns, and show you how to clear them up right then and there.

Social media is an excellent community marketing tool, but are you using social media in the right way? There are several things you can do to maximize your social media marketing potential, and we at Occupancy Solutions want to outline the top 5.

While spring and summer may be the most popular marketing seasons for communities, that doesn’t mean that winter and fall are off seasons! We at Occupancy Solutions have ideas that you can use for every season, and we want to break them down for you so you can keep your marketing fun all year long.

When a prospect comes to visit your community for a tour, this is time that’s important to the both of you. For them, they’re taking time out of their busy schedule and busy life to seriously investigate what you have to offer, and for you, you’re spending time with an individual that could become a new resident and the filling for a vacancy.

Video is a marketing trend that is sweeping industries across the board, and it was one of the biggest marketing focuses for 2015, and projected to be one in 2016 as well. For those in community management, video may be that one little tidbit of effective marketing you’re missing, and there is so much you can say using only a short video! At Occupancy Solutions, we want you to make the most of your marketing efforts, and in today’s day and age, this means taking advantage of what video has to offer.

When visitors come to your community, you want them to really experience all you have to offer. In order to make the experience as impressive and as impactful as possible, we at Occupancy Solutions want to provide you with some tips to turn your next tour into a great one! Our 5 tips for a great visitor tour are:

Leads lead to prospects, prospects lead to visits, and visits lead to leases, so how do you start with a healthy foundation of leads? There are quite a few things you’ll want to pay attention to if you want to garner more leads for your community, and we at Occupancy Solutions are here to help. The 3 things you should pay attention to if you want more leads are:

A personal experience will leave a lasting impression, and this rings true whether you’re talking about touring a new community or purchasing a pair of shoes! For those in community management, learning how to provide a personalized experience to prospects is important, as this will set you apart from the competition and leave prospects thinking about your community over all others. There are various ways you can provide a more personalized experience for prospects, and a few of our favorites are:

It may be winter now, but it’s never too early to start considering your curb appeal for spring! Curb appeal can really set you apart from the competition in a special way, and attract prospects as they’re driving by your community. A community with great or out-standing curb appeal will fare better than one with little curb appeal, and making things seasonally appropriate is always a stellar way to ensure you stand out. 5 of our best community curb appeal tips for spring are:

In today’s modern age, the internet is where most people go when looking for a new place to call home. Whether they’re looking to buy or lease, the internet is an immense resource they can use to compare, contrast, and make sure they’re making the perfect choice in place to live. Because of this, building a quality website is the best way to attract prospective residents’ attention, and place yourselves on par with or above your competition.

Building relationships with your residents is incredibly important, and it’s something that’s always worth your time to do. We at Occupancy Solutions feel that this should be a priority for all community management teams, and we want to outline a few reasons why building positive resident relationships is worth your time. 3 reasons why resident relationships are important are:

Your follow-up is a big deal, and whether you’re following up with current residents or prospective ones, how and when you choose to follow up with them will make a lasting impression. At Occupancy Solutions, we want to help you to make your follow-up the best it can be, and no matter who you may be following up with, our tips can help to give you the most successful and positively impactful experience possible! 5 tips for good resident and prospect follow-ups are:

Resident relationships not only help immensely in resident retention, but they help to make your community a much happier place. Creating that organic and unforced community feel will take great resident relationships, and we at Occupancy Solutions have a few tips we can share with you on building those worthy relationships with your own residents. 5 tips on building great resident relationships that we want to share with you are:

A single bad resident can harm wreck the revenue stream for your entire property, and an unoccupied room can bleed money for months on end. You need a trained expert to keep a sharp eye on your property, but very few people know how to effectively do so, even among experienced property managers. If you’re wondering whether you need to look into overhauling your property management systems, here are some questions you should be asking yourself.

One of the primary responsibilities of a property management company is to ensure that your property remains safe. An experienced property manager will be familiar with both small and large methods of improving your rental property’s safety. Here are a few ways they will improve the safety of your property

Managing residences and communities is a competitive sort of business, and learning to outsell your competition is one way you can ensure you’ll remain relevant and successful. At Occupancy Solutions, we’re here to help you with outselling your competition, and we have ideas that you can use to make sure your community stands out above all others.

When visitors come in to tour your community, you’re going to want to turn these visitors into new leases, but how do you go about making this happen? Effective follow-up can place you ahead of your competition and leave just the right taste in the mouths of prospective community members to turn them into happy members of your community.

​Curb appeal is pretty simple to accomplish during the spring and summer months, and you can use clean landscaping and flowers to really draw the eye to your community from passersby on the road. In the winter, things get a bit more difficult, but we at Occupancy Solutions want to give you some ideas to improve your curb appeal during these cooler months of the year.

Whether you have one rental property or dozens, you have worked hard to acquire your properties. More than likely, you have invested a significant amount of money and time into your properties, and you need to have residents in them so that...

Social media marketing is an incredibly powerful tool, and it’s one that you can’t afford to skip if you plan to stay one step ahead of your competition. At Occupancy Solutions, we want to help you to market your community effectively on 3 major social media platforms, which should provide you with a great start to breaking into social media. When beginning in social media, it’s important not to juggle too much, and 3 platforms is a perfect place to start.

When talking about follow-up, the most common thought is follow-up is great for keeping touch with those who come to visit your community. Great follow-up strategies can help to turn prospective residents into leases, but follow-up can also help to lead to happier current community members as well. After a resident of your community has maintenance performed or a problem fixed within their home, following up with them can help to show them how much you care and the lifestyle you’re trying to provide.

Whether you have one rental property or dozens, you have worked hard to acquire your properties. More than likely, you have invested a significant amount of money and time into your properties, and you need to have tenants in them so that they...

A community newsletter can do many things including helping to foster a greater feel of a true community and keeping your residents up to date with what’s going on where they live. At OccupancySolutions.com, we highly recommend starting a community newsletter, and we have some tips on how you can make sure yours is one that’s successful!

A true sense of community can set your community apart from all others, and it can draw people to want to be a part of the family you’ve created. When it comes to fostering this true sense of community, it needs to be something that comes about naturally rather than forced, and there are ways you can build the foundation for a strong community as the community manager. At Occupancy Solutions, our top 3 ways to foster a sense of community are:

It goes without saying that a well-trained property management team should have the most up-to-date knowledge of landlord-resident laws and best practices. But they should also be able to act independently without needing to check with the...

When visitors take time out of their day to stop by and check out your community, you’ll want to make their trip worthwhile. At Occupancy Solutions, we can help to make these visits ones that turn out successfully for both you and your visitors, and one tip we can extend to you is learning to stage your residences. Residency staging is used to help visitors to picture a space as their home, and you can help to do this with smart staging that communicates to as many prospective residents as possible.

Curb appeal has a way of attracting real organic attention, so it makes sense that it’s such an important part of your community. Your curb appeal can be described as how your community is viewed from the outside, and an attractive curb appeal is one that will turn heads and garner interest in the lifestyle you provide. As people are driving by, they’re likely to notice a community that stands out in a positive way, and this notice can quickly turn to real interest.

Your employees are an important part of your community. Not only do they help with certain management and task activities, but they also keep residents feeling safe, secure, and taken care of, and employee retention can make your life easier and your residents’ lives better!

Objections can be frustrating, and we at OccupancySolutions.com completely understand. You want prospective residents to be as enamored with a residence as you are, but this isn’t always the case. When objections do arise, however, there are things you can do to alleviate these concerns and help visitors to overcome them.

Just because cold weather has set in doesn’t mean your visits and tours needs to get more difficult or cease altogether. While it’s true that more people tend to seek new residences during the warmer months, this is certainly not universally the case, and you should know just how to go about maximizing your time when touring visitors during the winter.

For all types of brands and businesses, social media marketing is a must in today’s age. The vast majority of internet users of all ages spend most of their online time using these platforms, and it’s become the new way to really connect and investigate with all types of brands. When marketing a community, this fact remains the same, and marketing with these outlets can help you to put yourself right where your main audience is.

If you’re trying to market your community to be hip, with the times, or modern, Pinterest is a social media platform you can’t really afford to skip. Especially when paired with Instagram, Pinterest takes a really cool visual approach to marketing your community, and it places you right where those you’re looking to reach are spending their time online. Pinterest is a massive trend in the social media world right now with young people, and if this is who you’re looking to bring into your community, this is where they’re going to find you.

Great closing techniques are what are going to turn your visits into leases, and it can really pay to adopt a few quality techniques that have a high tendency of positive conversions. When closing the deal, you’ll want to create an experience of confidence, trust, and personal attention, and using phrases that convey these emotions are always recommended.

Most of us know that property management companies exist, but you may not be familiar with all of the responsibilities their job entails. By definition, a property management consultant or company is a neutral third party that is specifically...

In today’s modern age, a good online reputation is more important than ever. Prospective residents will be researching your community via the internet in many instances, so you want to make sure that the impression they gain from this type of investigative work is a good one.

All community managers should know the strength and the power they hold in their team. Successfully managing a community of people isn’t a job that can be done well by one single person alone, and it will take well trained and trustworthy group to ensure everything continues to run smoothly.

One of the biggest concerns that many have before investing in a community or becoming a community manager is liability. What if someone gets hurt or something happens on the property? How will that affect me and the community?

Social media is excellent for giving communities and community managers a voice, and it can also provide a way to retain residents as well. With social media, current residents have a place to gather, prospective ones a place to see more about your community, and you a place to communicate all you wish to communicate to both parties!

A feeling of community is important to resident retention, and you can use social media to help build this sense of community in a really simple way. Not only is social media handy for marketing and getting your community out there to the local public, it’s also handy for keeping your current residents happy as well, and it’s not difficult to go about using your Facebook account for just this purpose.

Most landlords have two things in common. They want to maximize profits while protecting their investment. This is done by ensuring that the property is properly maintained and occupied by tenants of high quality. Given the time constraints that...

Just because cooler weather is coming in, that doesn’t mean you’re going to stop giving tours! If you’re attracting new prospective residents to your community, some of them are going to want to stop by to check it out for themselves, and this will require a little home staging.

While providing a tour or a demonstration in your community to prospective residents, you want to make your residence seem like the perfect fit. Unfortunately, objections may come up, but there is a way to stay prepared for them using only simple steps. When you know the most effective way to overcome an objection, the objection becomes no big deal, and you can make prospective residents turn into current residents even if they have little qualms here and there!

Having a great maintenance team on hand is invaluable to a community manager, and it can not only help with attracting new residents, but keeping current ones pleased as well. As a community manager, choosing your maintenance team, and keeping up with them, is one of your most important tasks when it comes to the everyday running of your community, and there are ways to go about making sure your team is a perfect fit for you.

For nearly 30 years, Occupancy Solutions has provided first-class property management services to hundreds of clients. Since that time, we have expanded our services to provide comprehensive property management training services to benefit...

Your brand is a big part of your community. What it communicates is the lifestyle you’re offering, the atmosphere you’re looking to create, the audience you’re attracting, and your own community personality, so how do you go about establishing and creating this? Creating your brand is all about combining your own community vision with the vision that you place into the minds of your audiences, and the perfect combination will be the perfect brand.

When you’re attracting prospective residents, you want to make them feel like you’re looking at them personally. If you want to bring young college aged students into your community, you’re not going to get their attention if you’re using the same strategy you use with seniors or young families, and you’ll want to speak to them using messages and attention grabbers they’ll be able to gravitate towards.

Property management companies can be a tremendous asset to a rental property, and at times, perhaps a liability. For this reason, owners of rental properties need to do their homework when selecting a company to manage their investment. Property...

Using Pinterest is a great way to get on social media trends with your community, but if you’re new to Pinterest, you may be wondering what you can create pin boards about that will interest your current or prospective residents. We at Occupancy Solutions have a few ideas that can make your foray into Pinterest successful, and the 5 pin board worthy ideas we have for you today are.

When a prospective resident comes for a visit, you want your community to make a maximum positive impact. At Occupancy Solutions, we want to provide you with some pointers as to how to make sure your tour is one that catches your visitor’s eye, and provides them with something to remember when they go back home and consider what living in your community will bring to their lifestyle.

Standing above your community competition is a big part of enticing residents to choose your community over another within the area. At Occupancy Solutions, we know that standing above the competition involves standing apart from the competition, and we have some ideas that you can use to make your own mark in the minds of those you’re looking to attract as part of your community.

In managing a community, a healthy work/life balance is something that is sorely needed but not often achieved. At Occupancy Solutions, we want to present a few ideas that will allow you to improve the work/life balance for you and your team, as we believe that through this balance you’ll be able to find yourself to be an even a better manager as well as team leader.

Residence staging is something that is often looked over by community managers, but it’s something that can have a surprisingly huge impact on visitors coming to your community for a tour.

For community managers, resident retention is something that is always on your mind. However, what is equally important but not always equally thought of is employee retention, and this is something that should be made a priority for a number of reasons.

Your features are a big part of what can set you above your competition, which makes it all the more important that you know just how to sell them to prospective residents.

Community marketing is something that can really help to build leads and attract prospective community members to your space, but one common misconception is that effective marketing needs to be expensive.

We have all had bad experiences with people holding a management position. Whether it is slow service at a restaurant, difficulty exchanging something in a department store, or talking with a cable or internet provider, we have all shook our...

Your community management team not only makes things easier for you, it also makes living within your community more pleasant for your residents, but the latter fact only rings true if your team is able to work as a team.

Your online reputation and presence are two things that no management group can ever skip over in today’s modern day and age. Those looking for a new residence or to become a part of a new community use the internet as one of their largest and most convenient trusted resources, so putting yourself online is extremely important to gaining leads and the right sort of attention.

Some tenants might feel that landlords are in the business to give grief to those renting the property. Contrary to this belief, landlords are in the rental business to make money. Remember Mr. Roper from Three’s Company? Although he gave...

::BLOCK:: ::CONTENT::GALLERY ::BLOCK:: Staying on top of preventative maintenance is important to both cutting maintenance costs and keeping current residents happy, but knowing just how to stay on top of things can be somewhat difficult. There...

A community newsletter is a small thing that can have a really big lasting impact on your residents, but one of the hardest parts about sending out community newsletters is just what to put into them. You may have the frequency down, the delivery method, the length, and the look of the letter all planned out, but it’s still not rare to struggle with what type of content your letter will consist of. A community newsletter can be distributed online, in person, through the mail, or any way you see fit, but all of the impact of the piece will lie within what’s inside!

The reputation of your community means a lot, but if you’ve allowed this reputation to slip in the past, this doesn’t mean there is no coming back. Improving your community reputation can be viewed synonymously with improving your resident retention and making more out of leads, which is why it’s so important to pay close attention to your community reputation and make any improvements that may be necessary.

::BLOCK:: ::CONTENT::GALLERY ::BLOCK:: We all know that it’s important to not ignore your prospective residents’ objections, but coming up with solutions can be pretty difficult, particularly on the fly. While you’re touring a...

While giving a tour to prospective residents, some objections may come up. This is one part of the touring process that surprises and challenges many in the field, and ignoring these concerns or not bringing to the table a solution to the problem can hinder you more greatly than you may know. Learning to overcome your objections is a great way to turn more visits into leases, and it all starts with knowing just what an objection may be.

Buying, selling, or renting out property can become hectic, especially when you are dealing with many tenants or managers at once. The best way to avoid countless headaches is by hiring property managers. However, you want to be sure...

At Occupancy Solutions, we know how important it is to practice effective follow-up for prospective residents, but this idea is also important to carry out with current residents as well. When it comes to resident retention, follow up can show those currently residing within your community that you care about their input, their feelings, and their happiness in residing with you, so this is a tool that should never be overlooked. Effective follow up helps to keep your current residents happy, and this can lead to longer leases and a overall more content community.

Maintaining your community is something that can have one of the largest impacts on resident retention and attracting new residents. No resident will want to stay within a community that is breaking down, just like no prospective resident will want to move in to a residence in disrepair, and this is why it’s important to stay on top of maintenance issues and fix them before they become real problems.

For property managers, the internet is an excellent resource when it comes to marketing your community and generating leads. Interested parties can now find your community more quickly and easily than ever, but this does place some added responsibility on you in terms of getting back to leads and turning them into leasing residents.

The level of competition in the property management realm is no secret to any property manager, and one of the most difficult tasks you need to take on as part of your job is keeping yourself one step ahead. In property management, you want to lay out why your community is just a bit better, a bit happier, and a bit of a better fit than the other guys’, and this will take some strategic marketing and communication.

During a walk through, you might think that a certain tenant will be perfect and won’t ever cause you any problems. However, you might realize later on that the tenant was probably the worst person you could have picked. You must...

With preventative maintenance, the problems that so often turn residents off from a particular community can be taken care of before they even begin, and it will leave your residents impressed with just how your management can provide them with an ideal living situation.

Social media has been a total game changer in all industries, and this includes community management. Social media platforms are where millions upon millions of people around the globe are spending their time online, and this means that placing yourself on these platforms as well allows you to reach your audiences in a truly organic and natural engaging way.

If you’re looking to keep your current residents happy, and work a bit on resident retention, reaching out is always a great idea. With a community newsletter, you’re provided with a simple way to reach out and communicate with all of your residents at once, and to clue them in on all of the happenings or goings on around your community.

A great sense of community spirit is not only important to retaining current residents, but attracting new ones as well. What all people seek when they look for a new place to call home is a neighborhood environment that leaves them feeling comfortable, content, and happy in their space, and there is no reason why this can’t be cultivated in any sort of resident community.

If you own or operate a property management company, then you’re well aware of how important it is to consistently deliver on every aspect of management for your clients. The sole purpose of your operation is to ensure that the property...

Marketing your community locally is a great way to generate leads and reach local audiences, but this will only work if you’re taking the right approach to your local marketing. There are quite a few ways that you can entice and engage your local audiences into becoming residents of your community, and we at Occupancy Solutions want to outline a few of these.

The ability to go online is a great resource for property managers, but maintaining this online reputation is one extremely important aspect that many property mangers forget. Your online reputation will mean a great deal to generating new leads and instilling confidence in prospective tenants, not to mention setting you apart from the rest in terms of beating the competition.

With many people turning to the internet to find their next residence or community, managing your online reputation is more important now than ever. Not only can going online be a great marketing tool for your community, but it can be an important informational one for prospective community members as well, making it all the more important that your community’s online reputation is kept positive.

Every rental property owner has upkeep costs and overhead, as well as rental property compliance responsibilities because of the many property management regulations they must comply with. While one of your largest operating...

Have you considered how valuable human resources training for your employees can be? These days, human resources encompasses so many tasks, procedures, and responsibilities. Having a highly trained human resources team in place can help you...

At Occupancy Solutions, we know the power that a phone call can yield. When it comes to the follow up, there are many community manages who take this process lightly or may even consider skipping it altogether, but this is something that we’d never recommend.

When showing prospective residents through your community via a tour, your goal is to make them feel right at home. You want them to be able to picture themselves in your residences, living in your community, and enjoying your lifestyle, and this can be pretty tough with an empty residence and a “ghost town” feel.

If you’re looking for resident retention, you should be looking towards a positive owner to community relationship, and this is something that we prioritize here at Occupancy Solutions. A positive relationship between the community manager and those who make up their community allows residents to have a reason to stay living with you, as it also gives you a leg up on the competition in the area.

When managing your community, sales are important. You want to turn calls into visits, visits into leases, and leases into happy and satisfied long-term residents within your space, but this isn’t always the case when you’re making mistakes that could be avoided.

Properly insuring your rental property can mean the difference between a year of profits, or taking on massive losses for a quarter or even the entire year. Insurance can protect your property from a multitude of threats, but only if you select...

In the highly competitive world of community management, edging out your competition is everything. With a poor reputation, prospective leasers will often go with someone else’s community over yours, but it’s important to realize that it’s never too late to improve.

The features you offer within your community are a big selling point, and learning just how to sell these features can mean the difference between a lease signed or a prospect moving on to seemingly greener pastures. In the world of community management, your features can be a very helpful tool, and we at Occupancy Solutions want to help you to sell these to your best ability in order to keep the residents coming in!

In any industry, customer service is a big deal. Whether you’re shopping for apparel, in a restaurant, or looking to sign a lease for a new residence, having a great customer service experience will cause a patron to be left with a positive taste of what you have in store.

The tour you provide to those who come to visit your community can be the real make or break point in the process. This tour will serve as the prospective leasers opportunity to see if they can envision themselves living your lifestyle within your community, and going about the tour in the right way can make a huge positive impact.

One such trend in social media, particularly where it relates to communities, residences, and real estate, that we’re seeing is picture and video sharing sites, and this is where people are spending a great deal of time online.

When it comes to building a sense of community, this isn’t something that requires residents to be there in the physical sense. In today’s busy world, it’s not uncommon to have conflicting schedules come into play when trying to host community events in order to foster a true sense of community, and bringing your community online is a way that you can bring your residents together no matter what their personal schedule may entail.

Research studies are showing that the public is going online before making all types of purchasing decisions, including looking for a new place to call home, and in order to keep up with the competition, you’ll require a website that stays competitive by being ahead of the curve.

If you are an owner of affordable housing properties, you might have trouble keeping up with all the various government regulations. Compliance issues with rental properties are common for owners who have developed rental properties aimed...

Creating a great curb appeal is creating a community look and feel that can be seen from the road, and the right curb appeal can make those traveling through the area stop in their tracks as they see an attractive lifestyle they wish to be a part of.

The first thing you’ll need to do if you want to stay ahead of the competition with your community is know just who you want to reach. Figuring out just who your targeted demographic is and just how to reach them can help you to make an impact on prospective residents faster and more effectively when compared to any competitors you may have in the area.

Creating an actual sense of community within your community is important, and the psychological reasons why people flock to genuine communities are actually quite simple.

Creating the branding for your community is something that we know is important at Occupancy Solutions, and the right branding, or the wrong branding, can make all the difference in the impact your branding is able to have.

When marketing your community, you want to attract the right people, but you don’t want to only attract them once. When you get a call from a prospective resident interested in life within your community, you’ll want to entice them to come in for a physical meeting and tour, and then show them just why your community and your lifestyle is the best fit for them.

At Occupancy Solutions, we know how competitive the community leasing market can be, which makes it even more important that your marketing is able to make your community stand out from all the others. So, just how can you make your marketing effective at helping you to stand apart from the competition? It will take some technical savvy and a little bit of creativity on your part!

Once you have received a phone call, and you’ve turned that phone call into a visit from a prospective leaser, what can you do next to take the last steps in closing the lease? One resource that you can use to really sway prospective residents in the direction of closing a lease with you is using your own amenities, and showing them just how happy they can be when they decide to live your community lifestyle with you.

There is something special about being a part of a neighborhood, and coming home each day to that distinct community feel which leaves you warm and fuzzy inside.

While having interested prospective residents call you or other management team members to inquire about a residence is great, the optimal situation is showing them around your community.

When marketing your community, you’ll want to be able to reach your target audience, and this is a battle comprised of two different very important factors.

At Occupancy Solutions, we know just how important it is to market your community in you region, and we find that in this digital age, going online may be your best bet.

When prospective residents come to visit your community, you’ll want to give them a showing that creates maximum impact.

For those managing a community, maintaining a healthy work/life balance can be difficult.

If there is one thing that holidays are great for, it’s creating a reason for celebration, and you can use this important fact as a strategy when it comes to your community marketing.

For managers of any type of community, problems will arise from time to time, and how these problems are cared for will mean a lot to the success of your resident retention.

Resident retention not only makes your community look better to those who may be interested in moving in, but it helps to provide an organic word of mouth form of marketing as well, so making sure your residents are kept happy should always be at the top of your “to-do” list.

After you’ve marketed your community in local ads, on social media, or through any other area outlet, receiving phone calls from prospective new residents is the desired next step.

If you’re looking for resident retention, keeping your residents happy is a necessity, and there are quite a few ways you can go about making sure your residents are satisfied with living in your community.

The same social media platform that you may use to keep in contact with old college friends or family members who have moved far away can also be used as one of the most effective ways to get the word out about your community in any given region.

In an ideal world, once things are built, they’ll stay just the way they are, but this is unfortunately not the reality. Structures of all types will begin to weather and fade over time, and when it comes to managing a community, these are problems which should be fixed promptly in order to provide just the quality living experience you want to offer to your residents.

Little incentives are an excellent way to really get your community engaged, and help you to sell a lifestyle that people of your area will really want to be a part of.

Community parties and celebrations are an excellent way to engage all residents within your neighborhood, and encourage them to come together for a great time.

Creating this community feel doesn’t have to be difficult, and we have several tips that can help any community manager to foster and grow the feeling of a close-knit family type community while having fun and engaging with their residents.

There are several ways that a manager can encourage employee retention within their community, and many of these strategies are as simple for you as they are beneficial to your employees.

How much time do you spend going back and forth? As a community manager or property manager, one of the most important things you can do for yourself is to establish a few time management techniques. These will help to minimize the impact the dozens...

The act of converting telephone calls into visits begins on that initial telephone call, and when done correctly, you can entice these future members of your community to see what any residence has in store.

One tip that can work well in both marketing your community and getting residents to join in on the fun is using little contests with incentives or prizes offered to winners.

One excellent way to really accomplish this and make the entire experience personal is to get your residents involved, and to encourage engagement on your social media outlets.

We know how important it is to truly show those you’re touring around your community what the residence has to offer, and there are ways that you can do just that even in the small time frame of the average tour.

If you want to keep a healthy community atmosphere, it’s important to touch base with your residents and see just what they’re loving, what can use improvement, and what makes them stay with you in their residence.

One of the best ways to market any community is by getting your residents involved, as who would know better about the lifestyle your community provides than them? We know that the most difficult part of this is really engaging the residents to feel as passionate about the marketing aspect as you do, but there are ways to make it fun and interesting so everyone involved will have a great time!

When it is time to bring in new people to work with or for you, it is up to you to hire people that fit well into your team. Often times, it is easy to hire people who "fit in" and "mesh well" with the current staff. After...

Your big focus for the year is to get your occupancy rates up. This is something many communities focus on throughout the year. After all, a single apartment that is not filled is one that you are losing money on. It does not matter if it is...

It's easy to set aside that list of previous and current landlords that you should call about a potential new tenant. After all, you may feel that it does not provide any valuable information to you because the current or previous landlord...

Each year, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) collects fair housing data from various sources, including federal and local agencies, private organizations, and more. The NFHA combines this data into useful, intriguing at times, information...

Often times, it is easy for a community manager to simple say, "I'm sorry. I'm just following our company policy or the procedure manual." This may be why you are doing what you are doing (whether it is approving or denying...

New course educates operators of Affordable Housing Communities on latest techniques and tools to achieve marketing success AUGUSTA, GA, July 21, 2014 -- Grace Hill, Inc., the leading provider of online education and learning management solutions...

The follow up is perhaps one of the most important steps in securing a new resident. And, yet, many people simply fail to take that step. They simply don't want to seem pushy to the prospective resident. Others get so busy with the process of...

As you welcome in your prospective residents to your community, you may be braced for all of the questions they will likely ask. In many instances, apartment managers and leasing staff prepare themselves for the onslaught of complaints and...

We as property managers become so focused on dealing with our daily tasks and challenges that sometimes we forget to appreciate our residents, especially those who always pay on time, that keep their homes clean and tidy and that are considerate of...

A Goal Without A Plan Is Just A Wish Hello! My name is Elaine Simpson, founder and president of Occupancy Solutions LLC, a full-service property management training and consulting firm. I am excited to announce the launch of Multi-Family Minute....

Many times a prospect's first impression occurs long before they visit your community!  You know the cliché: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” – well this also rings true for your...

Marketing goals provide the direction of your marketing campaign for your community. Without goals, it is impossible to know what needs to be done. Goals need to be not only long-term but short term, specific, realistic and provide aspirations for...

One of the biggest challenges with providing “affordable housing” is that the provider is only providing housing which does not necessarily mean success, independence or sustainability for the occupants residing in the...

Gen Y, also known as the Millenials or Echo Boomers were born between 1982 and 1995.  This generation is considered the largest and most powerful group of consumers, leaders, advocates, renters, entrepreneurs and students the U.S. has ever...

In order to establish a connection and a level of trust, it is important to have at least a basic understanding of how the client’s cultural experiences have influenced his or her communication style and life choices. Generational culture is...

I remember the horror and the nausea I felt when my supervisor told me I had to cold call businesses to seek out new residents for our affordable multifamily property.  Let me set the scene: It was 1986, our affordable property had...