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‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: 4 (More) Amenities That Probably Aren’t Worth the Investment
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, amenities are like a box of chocolates. Some are awesome, and some, like cherry cordials, are nice in theory and are pretty to look at, but are ultimately left untouched, or sampled and then promptly discarded. Because they are gross. Are all your amenities chocolate caramels, or do you have some cherry cordials in your building? Several months ago I wrote a blog titled “5 Amenities That Probably Aren’t Worth the Investment.” Here are a few more amenities that might not be worth the money. 4 (More) Amenities That Probably Aren’t Worth the Investment Electric car charging…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Going Green (Literally) with Pantone’s 2013 Color of the Year
As the days are getting colder, people have already transitioned to their winter wardrobes. So that means shades of black, gray and occasionally some winter white (which I love for coats, and my dry cleaner loves for my coats as well). And, while black is tres chic for a Manhattan cocktail party or for slimming people after eating all that home-made fudge their coworkers bring to the office, when the outside world starts looking like the first 10 minutes of The Wizard of Oz, it can get a little dreary. Same with apartments. Apartments for rent don’t generally change color for…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: How Do You Let Your Residents Know When They Do Something Wrong?
In my apartment community, the garbage area is out the door on the right side of the building. If you go on the left side of the building, there are apartments. Recently, my husband and I had someone clean our apartment (if my mother-in-law is reading this, by “someone” I mean myself, obviously), and on her way out, she offered to take out the garbage. And, unbeknownst to us, she misunderstood where the garbage room was, and put our garbage bags in front of one of the apartments on the left side, thinking the garbage room was just locked. (I…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Should You Put Holiday Decorations in Your Community Lobby?
Like Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog’s Day, we’re all slowly emerging from our turkey comas and seeing if the holiday season is yet underway. (It is. Looks like we’re not actually getting four more weeks of fall.) Apartment communities sometimes get into the holiday spirit with their decorations. Trees, garlands, menorahs, all that fun stuff. It certainly is festive, and could get the residents in a cheerful frame of mind. But, should you decorate for the holidays? Here’s a list of pros and cons of decorating your community for the holidays. Pro: It puts people in the holiday spirit. It’s the time…
‘Business Development 101’ with Marilyn Mendell. Part 4: Building Lasting Relationships
A business development professional must have four qualities: a high standard for ethics, an amazing ability to forecast and carry out plans, impeccable manners and an understanding of the nuances of societal order, and finally plenty of empathy. Kindness to others along with appreciation for what people have done often develops long lasting friendships and loyalty. A person can be a tough negotiator and still be fair and say thank you. The two are not mutually exclusive. Probably no other part of business development is more important than building lasting relationships. As with all segments of doing business honesty and…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: 6 Ways to Make Thanksgiving Easier for Residents (And Boost Building Morale)
Wasn’t it just Halloween? How is Thanksgiving next week already? Thanksgiving is the most stressful holiday, like, ever. Well, actually New Years Eve is pretty stressful, because there’s all this pressure to find a good party and then all the bars have inflated covers and restaurants have inflated prixe fixe menus, and of course they’re out of the steak already, and you end up waiting in the snow to hail a cab at 12:05 for an hour because you just want to be home in your pajamas. Every year. And Valentine’s Day is stressful, because if you don’t have a…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Is it Still ‘Location, Location, Location’?
Snow. Why’d it have to be snow? (Picture I said that while wearing a fedora, because I’m feeling snazzy.) Currently, New York City is being hit with a nor’easter, just a week after Hurricane Sandy. As if the Northeast wasn’t suffering through enough already. It almost makes a girl want to pack up her belongs and go West, Fievel-style. In all seriousness though, whether you’re on the East Coast or not, does weather ever play a part in where you plan to build or manage a property? The New York Times asks if people will be leery about Giving my…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Do You Manage Your Properties Like a Rock Star? (Maybe You Shouldn’t)
I recently went to see a concert—Social Distortion, one of my all-time favorite bands. And while it was an awesome show, I was disappointed that they didn’t play my favorite song, “Story of My Life.” (Kids, it’s one of the songs in the Rock Band video game, if that helps. And now I feel old.) This is probably one of their most well-known songs, and I’m guessing most-played, so maybe they were sick of it or something. A similar thing happened when I went to see John Mayer a few years ago. Now, I’m not the biggest John Mayer fan. I like…
‘Business Development 101′ with Marilynn Mendell. Part 3: Look Great and Act Like a Leader
Along with an understanding of business ethics and a solid plan, a professional must have polished social behavior and practice the correct decorum in order for business development to shine.
Guest Blog: ‘Change Versus the Devil You Know’ with Matt Slepin
For job seekers and for our clients, how do we advise thinking about “change versus the devil you know?” The multifamily business is clearly in an upswing, so there’s a lot to consider.