Leeah’s photo really captures the unique layout of the sundeck and the features of its surroundings. Casey Sachen (Manager of Photography, Eastern Region) agrees, explaining that it “shows just how close you are to the water, showing off the resort-style feel of the pool. The unique shade for the sundeck is also a central feature, which shows how modern the property is.” “The area is nice,” thinks Vern Steinman (Manager of Photography, Western Region), “and shows the sun deck right on the lake. This is great for potential renters who want that quintessential “on-the-lake” feel.”

Technically speaking, Mandana Namvar (Director of Photography) points out that “the image is an example of even exposure.” With so many variables to account for – sky, pool, shadows, and sunlight – it is difficult to make sure that each area is exposed properly. “This was a tough situation for the photographer,” explains Vern, “since the overcast sky will tend to fool the camera light meter. Since Leeah is an experienced photographer, she realized this and made sure the exposure was right so that our Ad Developers will have no problem brightening and touching up the sky.

Great job, Leeah! Now, what can we do for your property?

Our friends at The Allstate Blog have put together an infographic explaining the value of a safe room and some tips for creating one within your own home. As Allstate explains, simply put, a safe room is a secure, reinforced, well-stocked room where individuals can go to avoid the risks and potential dangers that may arise in other parts of a home. It is especially important for apartment dwellers to designate a safe room and make sure they are prepared, especially since they don’t have as much space to work with as a homeowner.

View the infographic below for more information about how to create a safe room, and consider sharing with your residents to help them prepare their apartments in case of future emergencies.

Infographic courtesy of The Allstate Blog.

• Fix small problems. It’s easy to ignore your property when there are no complaints from residents. But sometimes residents don’t want to call you for something simple, like a small drip from kitchen faucet or a hall light bulb that needs changing. Fixing these will show your residents you respect them and your property.
• Litter control. Invest in a heavy duty set of work gloves, broom, dustpan and garbage bags which you keep at your property. Spend an hour each week picking up any litter and sweeping the common places. Have pride in your building and your residents will, too.
• Return calls within a day. Even if you can’t tackle a resident’s issue that day, they’ll feel respected if you call back just to say you’ve received their call. Let them know when you will address it.
• Give them your email. Create a landlord email account and check it daily. Residents will be pleased to know you’re available by phone and by email.
• Gift cards. Don’t forget holiday gifts. Residents will feel appreciated with a gift certificate to a local cafe.
• Respect the contract. If your residents signed a “no pets” contract, abide by it. Even though one resident wants a dog, it might annoy the other residents with its barking. It’s easier to kindly remind residents about their agreement than deal with complaints from others.
• Help residents feel vested. If your residents have skills you can use, such as painting, repairing or cleaning, hire them for small jobs if necessary. They’ll feel proud of their work and the property.

By helping residents feel respected and by taking pride in your property, you should have a low turnover rate. After all, no one wants to move out of a clean, well maintained property.

Along with Apartments.com, wecosign.com and Jones & Jones Management company worked together to ensure Manessta and her family now have place to call home.

Click here to watch the segment.

Additional improvements to Online Reporting include:

• Separation of Live Chat from direct leads
• Reporting on Live Chat independently
• More granular metrics, including reporting on city averages rather than DMA averages
• Toll free lead details which include links to recorded calls (if call recording is available and  enabled) 
• New look and feel

Our goal is not just to help renters find their next apartment, but to help drive more qualified renters to your community. That’s why we’re working to deliver a simple – yet detailed – Online Reporting tool to help analyze the success of advertising on Apartments.com. Stay tuned – even more exciting updates are on the way!

Need help accessing Online Reporting?  Contact Apartments.com Customer Support for assistance.

Tune in now

As spring starts to creep in to many parts of the country, this warm and inviting pool shot is a treat for winter-weary eyes. Casey Sachen (Manager of Photography, Eastern Region) agrees, and thinks that “this photograph evokes a mood of a nice summer day relaxing by a pool with the warm sun on my face. People will see this and know that a nice, relaxing day by the pool is to be had if they rent here.”

Technically, Jeff also did a wonderful job with his exposure of the space. “It can be tricky shooting a pool surrounded by mature landscaping on a sunny day,” explains Mandana Namvar (Director of Photography), “because the exposure difference between the ground, water, and shaded areas can be extreme. Jeff does a great job of getting an overall exposure that doesn’t allow the shaded areas to go black.” “This is also a tough exposure,” adds Vern Steinman (Manager of Photography, Western Region), “due to the leopard lighting (or spotty shadows) caused by the sun and the trees surrounding the area.”

Additionally, Jeff made a conscious choice to include the palm trees in their entirety, and Casey explains that this is “an excellent way to frame the shot and create more depth. “ If Jeff chose to crop the trees at their palms, the viewer wouldn’t get a sense of the true size of the space. And that space certainly makes us want to take a dip!

Now, what can we do for your property?

Held April 25, 2013 in Greensboro, NC, the President’s Choice award recognizes those who have exhibited superior support to PTAA’s work in the past year. The PTAA relies on the help of their volunteer committees to run over 50 successful events each year, and this year the leaders of each committee – Education Committee, Membership Development Committee and the Products and Services Council – were awarded the President’s Choice award to honor their leadership and commitment to making PTAA events a success.

Congratulations again to Angie Crenshaw and her fellow award winners Shana Golladay and Emily Sundseth!

The most successful amenities are unique to your local market. For example, a luxury rental building owner in New York, realized renters wanted a shuttle service to drop them off at train and subway stations. By providing this free service, the complex was able to meet a need – stand out from their competition – and add to their bottom line.

Some renters want a place that enhances their overall lifestyle. In the Sun Sentinel article Perk package: Renters enjoy upscale amenities reporter Paul Owers notes:

Many retirees find that they’d rather rent than be tied down to a house, while homeowners hammered by the housing collapse either don’t want or can’t get a mortgage. Both groups are willing to pay a little more for an upscale experience not commonly associated with renting.

Apartment owners who have embraced the needs of this market have been successful with luxury items like dog parks, vegetable gardening space, wine-tasting events and high-quality exercise centers.

But, the goal of these property owners was the same as the New York property owner; give the consumer what they want. Owners in the upscale market capitalized on the fact that people were willing to pay more if the unit offered enough extra benefits and social interaction.

For a St. Paul Minnesota landlord it was much simpler – improve the community laundry room. This innovative owner spent $3,700 for a renovation that created a more home-like environment with its large-screen TV and granite folding counters. But the real money-maker in the renovation was a pair of programmable extra-capacity washers and dryers. These programmable machines allowed the owner to curb gas usage – and to pass the cost of increase gas usage (for hot water) to the individual using it – not the community as a whole.

We’re making more money using these four machines than we did when we had 12 machines in our old community laundry room,” says Robin Hall, Manager of Plaza Apartments.

The list of amenities you can offer is endless, but the profitable ones are those that appeal to your specific local market.

Our presenters covered a variety of topics including resident retention, promoting reviews and building your SEO strategy. With so much to cover, it’s practically impossible to maintain brevity in a blog post to summarize the top tips! Instead, I grouped each topic into an overarching category. I invite you to scan the list of topics and presenters we’ve had the privilege to work with. Click each topic to read the blog post or, better yet, watch the full recording!

Media and Branding

• The Importance of Online Video with Patrick Grandinetti, Head of Real Estate at Google
• Increasing Exposure in Your Market Through Public Relations by Nancy Davies, VP of Salmon Borre Group
• Building an SEO Strategy at Your Community, by Amado Candelario, Search Engine Optimization Manager at Apartments.com
• Online Media in the Multifamily Housing Industry with author and social media expert, C.C. Chapman

Resident Retention and Awareness

• Raising Rent the Right Way with Sarah Greenough, SVP and CMO of Princeton Properties
• 275 Ways to Impact Resident Retention with Jen Piccotti, Senior VP of Education and Consulting, and Lia Smith, VP of Education and Consulting, of SatisFacts
• The Resident Experience Life Cycle with Karen Courtright, Research Director at Slack and Company and Susan Bryant, VP of Marketing at Apartments.com
• Preferences of Today’s Renters with Ed Erickson, President of Erickson Research and MaryAnn Maksinski, Director of Trade Marketing at Apartments.com

Community Reputation and Reviews

• Reputation Management with HootSuite VP of Marketing, Ben Watson
• Best Practices with Chris Brown, VP of Product at Apartments.com
• Promoting and Managing Reviews with Erin Jones, Leasing Manager at Lomax Properties

Phew – that’s a lot of learning, but we won’t stop there! Join us on June 13^th with guest presenter Virginia Love, VP of Training and Marketing at Waterton Residential, to discuss leveraging social media at your community.

If you have any questions or comments, tweet them to @Apartmentscom, using the hashtag #AptsTraining, or leave them in the comments section below.