“What Renters Want” With Jessica Fiur

Everywhere you turn nowadays, there are articles on Millennials. Of course, in the apartment industry, this is no exception, especially in terms of what amenities Gen Y is looking for. (Spoiler alert: It’s WiFi.) But are Millennials so different from other generations? In all the articles about designing for Gen Y, it’s always mentioned that they are more tech savvy. That they have a group mentality. That they care more about sustainability. That they for some reason find handlebar mustaches the pinnacle of high fashion (with nary a woman to tie to the train tracks in sight). True. But the…

It’s all well and good to offer events for your residents. Ice cream socials, screening parties, bbqs, are all fun and allow residents to mingle and feel like they’re part of the community, which, in turn not only helps with retention, but also with positive word of mouth about the building. But, sometimes residents just don’t want to hang out with their neighbors. And that’s OK. Some people are shy. Some people work crazy hours and would rather come home to a nice quiet apartment and watch DVR-ed episodes of Dexter and enjoy a nice glass of wine (actually, take…

There is a park in Manhattan called Gramercy Park. You can only go in if you live in one of the surrounding buildings, which gets you the honor of a key to the park. But, so what, right? There are tons of other parks in the city. Like Central Park, which has a zoo and boat rentals and jogging paths and concerts, and is, of course, iconic. And there’s Madison Square Park, the home of the original Shake Shack, which has the most amazing burgers, fries and shakes. What’s in Gramercy Park? Just some trees and flowers and stuff. Who…

Have you ever quit your job? Well, if you haven’t, there’s often an official order of business that you have to attend to in between telling your boss that he can take this job and… fill it, and trying to get to your car without all the pilfered post it notes and highlighters falling out of your pants pockets. That’s right, the dreaded (?) exit interview, where former employees are asked to review the company, their position, their manager, all that, so that, I don’t know, it can go on the manager’s permanent record or something. For a company, I…

I feel a little bit like Norman Bates sometimes. Whoa, whoa, whoa. It’s not that I dress up in my mother’s clothes. I just get the voyeuristic urge to peer into other people’s apartments. Wait—that sounds way creepier than wearing my mother’s clothes. It’s not like I actually look into my neighbor’s apartments. (Curse you, inventor of blinds!) But I could (and have!) sit for hours on design sites such as Pinterest, Houzz and Apartment Therapy. It’s not just me, either. These sites are insanely popular right now (And why not? We all go a little mad sometimes.) Everyone seems to…

The other night, I was sitting in my apartment watching some TV with my husband. Then these two guy drove up in a van, parked in front of my building, and sat there. And blasted music. For two hours. I was totally creeped out. And not only was it creepy that these two guys were just sitting there in their van, but the music was really, really annoying. Now, maybe I’ve just been watching too much Breaking Bad. Maybe I would have been more at ease if they were playing Bon Jovi or Green Day, or other music I like,…

Last night I went to the U.S. Open and saw the Roger Federer vs. Tomas Berdych quarterfinals match. Now, I’m not a huge sports fan, but I still had a few expectations when I got to the tennis center: 1. The food would be expensive. 2. I would see celebrities. 3. Roger Federer would be handsome in real life. And 4. Federer would win. Well, I paid $7.50 for ice cream; saw Pippa Middleton, Anna Wintour, Arethra Franklin and Yup, Federer, the number one tennis player in the world, lost to Tomas Berdych, who is…actually, I’m not sure what number he is (thought it’s…

Back in the day, you could get a bucket of fried golden goodness at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Then people got super into health and fitness. Plus, in the ’90s, not only did the term “supermodel” come into existence, but belly-baring t-shirts were all the rage (thanks a lot, Gwen Stafani and Sporty Spice). And in 1991, Kentucky Fried Chicken faced a dilemma. “Fried” was in the name, after all, and admitting to eating fried food was no longer en vogue. So Kentucky Fried Chicken rebranded itself as KFC. Did they still sell fried chicken? Of course. Still do, in fact. But…

Lisa: What’s so special about this game anyway? It’s just another chapter in the pointless rivalry between Springfield and Shelbyville. They built a mini-mall, so we built a bigger mini-mall. They made the world’s largest pizza, so we burnt down their city hall. Homer: Heh, heh, heh. Yeah, they swore they’d get us back by spiking our water supply. But they didn’t have the guts. Marge: [drinks the tap water] Ooooh. The walls are melting again. -The Simpsons The multifamily industry is hot now, and that’s all good for all of us. Tons of people are renting. Which also means that…