Even though to you, your apartment building might simply be a means of income. You rent the apartments and collect the rent every month, which sounds simple enough, but that’s just what makes an apartment building owner. There’s a lot more that goes into making a good apartment building owner.
A good apartment building owner has one goal: Making sure that the resident experience at your building is positive, so they love living in your building. The better they feel being there, the smoother things will be throughout the lease, both for you and them!
If you can’t figure out how to improve the resident experience at your apartment building, don’t worry! We’ve put together a list of the top 5 things you can do to elevate their experience, in a way that will make a lasting impact on them!
#1: Make it a smooth transition into the building
The resident experience begins before they even move into the apartment; it begins at the lease signing! Instead of sending over a “one size fits all” leasing document, sit with them, and create a special one just for them. Figure out what their needs are and if you can meet them, or try negotiating to a middle ground that works for both you and them! Seeing that the apartment building owner cares about each resident, sets a great first impression from the get-go! The better their signing experience is, the better they’ll feel about living at your building!
#2: Try going online
If there’s one thing that the entire world agrees on today, it’s that more and more services need to go online. No one likes to take time out of their day to physically make the effort to go to places and get stuff done. The more services you offer online, like paying the rent and bills etc, the easier it’ll be for them to keep up with everything! Making the resident experience a lot better compared to living at a building that doesn’t offer online services!
#3: Make it easier for the residents to get help
One of the worst things about living in an apartment building is usually the fact that the owners are simply unreachable. That can make it feel like the owner isn’t present at all and doesn’t care about any issues that the resident may have! Create a communication system that lets the residents know that the owner actually cares about them. The easier it is for them to “be heard” the better they’ll feel about living in the building long-term!
#4: Make timely upgrades
No one likes to live in a space that resembles a relic. A lot of people move out of their apartment buildings because of non-functional elevators, bad plumbing, and old hardware. Make sure as the rent of the area goes up with time, so does the value of your building! Start with small upgrades like getting electronic locks to make it easier for the residents to come into the building. Locksmith in Rochester NY or any recommended locksmith in your area should be able to do this for you! Then, move on to bigger upgrades like making sure all the utilities are fully operational and up-to-date, and so on! The more upgrades you’re making, the longer your residents will want to stay there!
#5: Stay on top of the maintenance requests
Finally, we have maintenance. A lot of times, residents need emergency maintenance work done and because of poor management, they can’t get the work done fast enough! Making sure your maintenance department is responsive and good at their job, will mean that even if your residents need any work done, they get it done immediately before things start affecting their lives too much. Making the overall living experience, a lot better!