‘Property Turnaround’: What Does That Mean?
Starting small is the best way to achieve a successful reboot.
It takes more than some vacuuming to turnaround a property. Image courtesy of Alan Antony via pexels.com
I’ll admit, when I first heard the expression, ‘turning around a property’, I immediately envisioned Dorothy’s house spinning in the wild Kansas winds in The Wizard of Oz. I quickly learned that although not completely accurate, I wasn’t too far off! We hear this expression often in property management, usually from ownership and or upper management and typically on more challenging properties. But what does it really mean to turn a property around?
Turning around a property is often expressed when the desired revenue isn’t being achieved. Lower than projected occupancy rates, prolonged vacant apartments and delinquencies, poor reviews, etc. It would be great to have a magic lamp, rub it a few times and presto! Property is turned around. It’s never a one stop shop and will take time, money, effort and commitment from all involved for a successful turnaround.
But for those of us genies in the industry, we know it doesn’t happen like that. It involves a deeper discussion and evaluation of the items in decline. Exploring the performance items of where they currently are, how they got there and the individual, small steps and tasks that need to be explored, actions taken, procedures changed and that all of these are supported by upper management to meet the ultimate goals and expectations. Were the original expectations even realistic?
