What Renters Want with Jessica Fiur: 8 ‘Invisible’ Ideas that Will Transform Your Community

Consider the copy editor.

When I worked for a large magazine publication, I always felt bad for the copy editors. After all, that’s certainly not a sexy position in the editorial office, unlike “editor,” “features writer” or “water delivery guy” (I mean, those guys lift all the time). And when you think about it, it’s really a tough, thankless position. Catch all the typos and grammatical errors, and no one notices. But miss something, and everyone notices. (Seriously, check out any online article. If there happens to be a typo, read through the comments, and count the number of people chiming in to point out the error. But in a typo-free article, absolutely no one in the comment section says, “Great job proofreading!” or “I really appreciate that all the ‘buts’ only had one ‘t.'”) But, without copy editors, text would be riddled with grammatical errors and typos and gibberish, and it would be impossible to understand.

Their job is to literally be invisible.

And sometimes, as a property manager, you need to be a copy editor.

This image is a little on the nose. Or, it would be, if he had one.

Sure, there are the sexy aspects of the job—you can invest in all the newest and coolest amenities. Maybe you’re pushing for a new pilates room, or for food trucks to be stationed outside, or for George Clooney to personally unpack new residents’ boxes (um, if you get that last one, I’m moving in, by the way). But, when all is said and done, it’s the little things that really keep residents happy—the invisible things that keep the community running that no one notices until they go wrong.

Here is are 8 “invisible” items in your community that you should be on top of. Your residents might not notice, but that’s sort of the point.

1. Keep the hallways clean. This is a safety issue (you don’t want residents tripping). Plus, it makes your community look a lot nicer.
2. Keep the trash area clean. This way you don’t attract bugs or rodents. And let’s not talk about the smell…
3. Respond to maintenance requests right away. A minor inconvenience for you could cause a major headache for the resident if not dealt with immediately.
4. Fix gym machines right away when they break. There’s only so long you can keep an “Out of Order” sign on the only treadmill before residents start getting annoyed.
5. Replace burned out parking lot and hallway lights immediately. This is another safety issue that is easily fixed with some new light bulbs.
6. Make sure your package notification system is working. This way they can pick up grandma’s cookies right away before they go stale. This is crucial.
7. Keep up on lawn maintenance. A nice-looking property will attract more renters.
8. Have an easy way for residents to pay rent. Mo money, fewer problems, amiright? I’ll see myself out.

What are some other basic, not that sexy, but definitely necessary ideas for property managers?

-Jessica Fiur, Senior Editor

PS—Too any copy editors out their, sorry four any errors hear (both intentionally in this, and unintentionally in the blog—for example, are you allowed to end a sentence with a preposition? I thought about that one for a while, and ended up with a headache).