Contributed by Kathy Landry

I would like to share a couple of events our property hosts annually to involve our residents during the Christmas season.

Right after Thanskgiving each year, we start promoting our “Door Decorating Contest.”  This contest has seven different categories to challenge the residents.  We give money prizes from $25 to $100, as some categories ahve 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place.  Judges vary from one year to the next, so it is possible to use the same decorations year after year.  We really encourage creative handmade decorating and it is amazing the beautiful, original, various ideas our residents have!  As a person that looks forward to Christmas all year, it is especially pleasing to have our apartment homes decorated on the exterior throughout the property.

Our most reecent annual Christmas function is our “Christmas Carnival Food Drive.”  We set up carnival type games for children of all ages, complete with Christmas type prizes and small gifts.  Admission to the games is canned food, which is collected for our Baton Rouge Food Bank.  They provide the barrels for us.  We also collect raffle prizes such as cash and local gift certificates, donated by our vendors.  At the end of the carnival, we announce the winners of 25 or more raffles.  Residents can purchase raffle tickets with canned food donations.  One food item for each ticket, no limit.  This year residents brought food by the wagon-full, just to enter the raffles.  Our Christmas Carnival also provides a buffet with a wide variety of food and snacks, and residents really enjoy getting to know each other.  This carnival has become very satisfying to our staff because we know it is for a good cause, and each year we have collected more and more food donations.

Please share your Multifamily Holiday Idea with us!

Green Holidays

Planning new landscaping for your apartment community? Here is an idea that you could copy!

For those who are not LA based we need to find away to offer this to our residents this year! Christmas trees are 1) awkward to transport and 2) terribly depressing when they’re discarded in January. Los Angeles landscape architect Scott Martin has his way; he founded The Living Christmas Company, which gives LA residents the chance to temporarily rent a living Christmas tree and have it delivered right to their door. Unlike regular Christmas trees, around 20 million of which are felled each year in the US, living trees are transplanted, roots and all, into pots to be enjoyed over the festive period. After the holidays, Scott and his team pick up the trees, replant them and nurture them until next year.

http://livingchristmas.com/

Deck the Halls!

• Start decorating for December on the day after Thanksgiving. This not only gives you plenty of time to decorate appropriately, but helps you and your staff get into the holiday mood. Break out the eggnog and put on some holiday music to really get the festivities flowing!

• We all know that nothing smells like a real Christmas tree, but few things are more practical than a realistic-looking artificial one (the key word here is realistic… unless you’re going for retro kitsch, silver foil isn’t an option). A little pine-scented potpourri in a pretty bowl can supply the scent, as can a few strategically placed real pine boughs. (Note: spraying pine disinfectant on your artificial tree will not do the trick. I only say this because I actually know someone who tried.)

• Tiered rows of poinsettias make an excellent “tree”! Have your service team assemble a stand made of progressively smaller boxes that stack on top of each other, with a wide enough margin around each to place rows of potted poinsettias. Place a dowel in the center of the top box to attach a star!

• Decorate your tree to complement your décor and atmosphere. You can choose a more sophisticated, coordinated set of decorations; or make it a little more “homey” with hand-made ornaments contributed by your staff and / or residents. Add plenty of brightly wrapped “presents” (empty boxes) under your tree. Use the nicest wrapping papers you can find (red, green, silver, and gold foils look great). Your local fabric or craft store should have an excellent supply of ribbons from which to choose, including wire edged varieties that can be shaped into big elaborate looking bows with little trouble.

• Remember that the holiday season doesn’t mean Christmas alone. Chanukah and Kwanzaa are also celebrations of the season. Decorate for and plancommunity events accordingly. Find out more about the holiday traditions ofall your residents, especially if yours is a multicultural community. I once attended a holiday party where the host’s decorations included a gorgeous Christmas tree decorated in an African theme for Kwanzaa and a lovely Menorah burning in honor of Chanukah. The guests were inspired by the decor to get to know more about each others holiday traditions. We all learned a great deal that evening, and felt as though we had truly experienced the joy of the season.

• Play holiday music in your Leasing Center, clubhouse, and even models! The staff may tire of them, but they’ll really brighten the mood for your visitors.

• Keep a running supply of holiday refreshments (cookies and punch or spiced cider) in the Leasing Center for visitors. A crock-pot full of warm spiced cider makes a great treat for future residents visiting on a cold day.

• Lights are a must. The tiny white outdoor ones are perfect for trimming windows and shrubbery .

• Don’t forget your models! A miniature decorated Christmas tree on the coffee table or counter, a few wrapped “gifts”, and some pine or cinnamon potpourri is all it takes to add a warm holiday touch to a decorated model, or turns a vacant apartment home into a holiday mini-model! Play a little seasonal music in the background, and you’re ready to welcome your new residents home for the holidays!

• Be careful not to overdo it. Simple elegance is best. Plastic figures on the roof or a puny tree can look tacky and convey a tired image. Remember that the holidays can be a stressful time of year for your residents; and are especially trying for future residents who are searching for a new home during the hectic holiday season. Your message of polished professionalism will be well received and appreciated.

Happy Holiday Activities

• Host a tree-trimming party in the clubhouse, and supply all of the materials for residents to make the ornaments!).

• Hold a Christmas tree drawing. Give away a tree, complete with decorations!

• Plant a live tree.

• Hold a door, patio, or balcony-decorating contest. Award the winners with a special wreath on their door, and / or a holiday gift certificate.

• If you community features include fireplaces, deliver firewood on December 23rd with a note offering “Warmest Holiday Wishes.” If you can’t afford to give firewood away, make it available for convenient purchase on-site.

• Promote January and February lease renewals by sending out a stocking cut out of construction paper that reads: “Spend another year with us and we’ll put something extra in your stocking! Renew your lease today!”

• Hang stocking or wreath shaped party reminders on your resident’s doors the day of your holiday party.

• Team up with a local charity to provide a gift-wrapping service to your residents.

• Clear out a storage area and offer it to parents in the community as a “Santa’s Hideaway” for gifts. You may want to have residents sign a release of liability, and allow access to only select staff members.

• Plan a “Twelve Days of Christmas” party count-down.
• Hold a Santa’s storytelling hour in the clubhouse (gives parents a little free time to assemble and wrap presents!).
• If your area allows referral incentives, create and distribute a referral flyer that reads “Let us Give You a Christmas Present!”
• Host a one-day, on-site Christmas tree sale with a local charity that sells trees.
• Print holiday safety tips in your newsletter.
• Plan to offer Christmas tree recycling on-site. It makes great mulch, and is a nice way to get some positive press as well!
• Hold a drawing for front-row tickets to a local performance of The Nutcracker or A Christmas Carol.

Holiday Party Themes

• Toyland – A magical world of giant lollipops, candy canes, ornaments, toys and huge packages wrapped up with colorful ribbons. This fantasy theme will bring out the child in every resident.

• Surfin’ Santa – Tell your residents to leave their heavy coats at thedoor and come out to the beach! Set up a volleyball net with beach balls.Add a “Christmas” palm tree. Hang a bright sun, beach towels, sand pailsand shovels with a sprinkling of Christmas decorations (pink flamingos withholiday wreaths around their necks, beach pails full of Christmas cookies,life preserver Christmas wreaths, etc.)

• Reindeer Round-up – Bring the spirit of the West alive with Country and Western holiday music. Decorate with a cactus done up as a Christmas tree. Use rope around the room like garland, and serve western-style treats.Last But Not Least – Remember to Stay in the Holiday Spirit

• A warm inviting smile from your staff is the perfect crowning glory to your holiday decorating efforts. Greet everyone with a warm welcome, and ensure your faces and attitudes reflect the same joyous message that is presented by your community decor. Nobody wants to lease an apartment from The Grinch!

• Don’t be distracted by the Holidays to the point that you forget your number one mission. It’s more important than ever that our residents andfuture residents receive the full benefit of our commitment to provide quality service.

Lori Konover contributed this idea to us.

Idea/Theme: We implemented complimentary gift wrapping at our primarily single Navy guy property, from Thanksgiving until 2 days before Christmas. They loved it, their families were impressed!!
Estimated Cost: 50.00
Results: Several residents stated that they renewed simply not to have to wrap gifts anymore!

Elsa  from Centra Asset Partners contributed this idea

Category: Management

Idea/Theme: "Candy Cane Treasure Hunt"

Materials needed: Candy Canes, Labels, Vases, Ribbon,

Print specials/concessions on labels and place them on the Candy Cane, insert Candy inside decorative vase. Offer prospects to participate in the treasure hunt for a special/concession.

Same idea can be used for renewals.

Key Visuals: Candy canes, vases, ribbon, decorative tissue.

Media Vehicles: Fliers, direct mail, My Space, Craig List, Facebook.

Estimated Cost: $85.00

Stay tuned to Multifamilypro for more great holiday ideas!

By Walt Zeglinski

“If your employees don’t know where you’re going, almost any road will get them there.”

These are words that send chills through the hearts of leaders everywhere. And it’s why they work hard to develop business plans for their workforce to follow. Even the best-intentioned, savviest business plans can fail if the organization lacks consistent employee commitment. But you can’t just mandate commitment. Organizations that achieve the promise of their business plan are able to create “positive accountability” – a powerful, healthy culture that results from goal alignment and workforce engagement.

Goal alignment is a common challenge, yet its solution can be as simple as how goals are established. If developed through a process of top-down collaboration with employees, strategic imperatives will cascade to frontline behaviors, dramatically impacting an organization’s success. Effectively channeling employees’ talents boosts their productivity and job satisfaction. And satisfied employees often become high-performing, passionately engaged employees.

Workforce engagement allows organizations to tap into their employees’ discretionary efforts. However studies show that only 1 in 4 employees comes to work actively engaged, or “on purpose.” These are the individuals that find their work personally and professionally meaningful. Of course this means that 75% of employees consistently fail to execute to their full potential. More disturbing, the same studies show that almost one-third of these are actively disengaged and can undermine the engagement of others.

Clearly, addressing alignment and engagement challenges can result in significant bottom-line dividends. Consider high-performance cultures like Google and Southwest Airlines. Two unique companies in very different industries, they both sustain their competitive advantage by leveraging the commitment of their employees. They have created cultures that drive alignment and engagement to achieve their strategic goals.

The Positive Accountability Model (below) helps to illustrate four different profiles that organizations typically fall into. Specifically, it examines how varying degrees of Goal Alignment and Workforce Engagement can result in Casual, Compliant, Chaotic or Committed cultures.

The Casual Culture

Employees in the Casual Culture are unclear about how personal contributions support their organization’s success and, often, they don’t care. Most organizations struggle with disengaged employees, but Casual Cultures have more than their share. You’ll often spot the Casual Culture in the wake of a merger, acquisition or new CEO. It’s often embedded in entrepreneurial companies, fueled by passionate, egocentric leaders, rather than by calculated ones who, instead, implement collaboratively planned process discipline.

In a Casual Culture, people often do mediocre work, maybe just showing up and following bare-bones procedures. They lack passion for the organization’s mission, and often don’t understand why or how they need to achieve both personal and company goals. The Casual Culture often operates in “survival mode.”

What to do? Use consensus-building to develop and implement strategies that establish clear goals and expectations, a Vital Factors metrics-based system to inspire success, and the means to hold people accountable. Once developed, the consensus plan must cascade down through the organization, and be communicated in both word and deed.

Leadership must also leverage the strong ties created by alignment to improve engagement. When people feel that their goals and tasks have meaning, they’re more likely to provide the organization with an extra measure of accountability that leads to goal achievement.

The Compliant Culture

A Compliant Culture is clear about individual goals, but not about how these goals connect to strategic corporate outcomes. The workforce may understand the company’s direction yet remain generally disengaged, resulting in a deceptive behavior pattern of doing what’s asked but little more. This creates the “it’s not my job” syndrome, as leadership finds it hard to tap into the discretionary effort of their people. Every manager has one or two people who fall into this behavior because of their personal style but, when it’s pervasive in an organization, it’s difficult to get things done and nearly impossible to implement change.

Overcoming this major accountability barrier, most often requires effective, inspiring leaders who encourage open, honest communication. If a safe environment can be established it’s possible to reverse this dysfunctional behavior. They enable team members to understand the business rationale behind their goals and take risk in an effort to achieve them. It will empower these employees to discover the alignment between what they do daily and their company’s goals. When an employee develops positive attitudes and beliefs relative to goal achievement, their motivation to maximize their potential grows along with the passion in their commitment to company results.

The Chaotic Culture

Most employees in a Chaotic Culture are engaged but unclear about their goals. Put simply, these cultures diffuse energy and squander talent, so there’s ample activity with little to show for it. Employees have the talent and passion for greatness, but their strengths can sour if not channeled into predictable, focused behaviors. Without clear expectations, confusion reigns in the Chaotic Culture. What’s more, studies show that employees commonly fail and leave organizations simply because they don’t know or understand the expectations.

What’s needed is goal clarity, managed by a leader who sets expectations and deadlines for achieving them. To ensure employee engagement, leadership should encourage their participation in building a plan based around SMART goals — those that are Specific, Measurable, Aligned, Realistic and Time-bound. Once that’s accomplished, an effective leader must hold the team accountable through regular performance assessments and check-ins, determining what goals have been met and any corrective action that should be taken.

The Committed Culture

Engaged with a clear understanding of its goals, a Committed Culture both maximizes the potential of its employees and consistently achieve goals. It’s the healthiest of work environments — what every organization should strive to achieve. Employees work with clarity and purpose and, although they might not always meet all goals, they stay committed to an action plan to fulfill them. Because they have an understanding of what success looks and feels like, they can develop the attitudes and beliefs that release achievement drive. This provides the energy and motivation to execute with accountability.

A Committed Culture isn’t foolproof. An aligned, engaged culture must be nurtured to sustain performance standards. Regular progress reviews can ensure employees are meeting their goals and whether corrective action is necessary to stay on track.

Why strive for a Committed Culture? When your workforce is fully engaged and clear about its goals, your employees will be loyal to the core. And a loyal workforce is one that naturally inspires loyal customers – emotionally satisfied customers who refer new customers to you and generate repeat sales. An organization that develops a Committed Culture has unlocked the secret to successful plan execution and profitable growth. It has created a culture of Positive Accountability.

About The Author

Walt Zeglinski is CEO & Chief Client Advocate for Management Action Programs (MAP), a performance-improvement firm that helps organizations achieve profitable growth. MAP’s performance and process solutions establish the disciplines that create a culture of accountability. Walt has 20+ years of successful experience in the corporate performance industry, with expertise in developing and implementing practical solutions for complex business challenges. He has worked with executive teams across most industries including financial services, healthcare, technology, hospitality and manufacturing. For more information, visit www.mapconsulting.com or call 888.834.3040.

Note from Tami: Still true today!

By Brad Marting, CPM, CAPS 2000

It is often said that establishing maximum rental rates can determine the success or failure of a multifamily housing investment.  But it is more often said than done.

Historically, rents have been increased based upon overall occupancy percentage.   This is reasonable because occupancy is an indication of supply and demand.  However, waiting for ideal occupancy has made decision makers hesitate in raising rents.  The time lost during the decision-making process creates missed opportunities.

While market forces, the economy, competition, vacancies, and concessions often have provided an excuse to hold back on raising rents, none of these factors has as much of a negative effect upon rental rates as does fear – the fear of raising rents.

The following situation is quite common: The financial reports for January are received February 15^th, and occupancy was 94 percent.  That’s a little low, and we don’t know if rents have truly stabilized so we wait another month.  The financial reports for February show occupancy was 94 percent again.  That’s very good, but we had probably better wait another month.  The financial reports for March reveal that occupancy fell to 92 percent.  Better not raise rent now, we’ll wait another month and see.

The financial reports for April are received May 15^th, and occupancy increased to 95 percent.  Now things are looking good, but we’ll wait another month just to e certain it was not a fluke.  The financial reports for May show occupancy was 98 percent.  It is felt rents have stabilized at a sufficiently high occupancy percentage, and rents are increased.  Unfortunately, five-and-a-half months have passed without an increase, and only 2 percent of the units are now available to receive the rental increase (98-percent occupied).

No wonder rental income is growing very slowly.  As seen by this scenario, when determining rental rates, reaction time is critical, and time is money.

The Marting Solution

During my more than 20 years in property management, I have sought an objective tool which would assist in determining the maximum rental rates.  The system needed to be simple and easily administered, so I developed one myself.

I have been using and improving the system for more than three years at different properties across the country.  Rental increases upon lease renewal of $50 to $125 per unit, per month have been common.  The system is very simple, easy to use, and is based upon the law of supply and demand.  It takes less than 30 minutes per week to do.  I call it the Marting Rent Matrix System (OK, I’m not the most creative person).

It is necessary to make a couple of simple assumptions in order to use the Marting Rent Matrix System.  First, it is assumed rents are market driven (supply and demand).  Second, it is assumed that for each percentage of occupancy, there is a corresponding level of acceptable rental rate.  Note that any property can achieve any occupancy level of rate adjustments are unrestricted.   If $1 were charged for monthly rent, the property would certainly be 100 percent occupied.  If $10,000 were charged for monthly rent, the property would likely be 100 percent vacant.  The question remains as to what rental rate will maximize the income to the property for what desired level of occupancy?  Experimenting with the Marting Rent Matrix System will help find that point of maximized rents.

Figure 1:  Marting Rent Matrix

* Percentages have been rounded up for illustration purposes and may not appear to add up.

** More data on unit types can be found in Figure 1A below.

Figure 1A:  Marting Rent Matrix

How it Works

Basically, the system evaluates the rent and occupancy levels for each subgroup of units on a weekly basis (remember, reaction time is critical).  The initial setup of the system is very important:

• Break the unit mix into smaller, homogenous groups that share common characteristics, such as one-bedroom upstairs units, two-bedroom one-bath downstairs units, etc.
• Use 20 to 60 units per group.
• Use six to nine groups.
• Count all units – include models, employee units, guest suites, etc.
• Use base rents – you can add premiums later.
• Set a benchmark occupancy percentage – the overall occupancy percentage you desire.  (Note:  100 percent occupancy is not necessarily a good thing; it merely shows that you are not maximizing rents, and it’s time for an increase.)

Realize and accept there will be exceptions for longer-vacant, hard-to-rent units.  These units receive a special concession which does not affect the rest of that particular group (usually units more than 60 days vacant).

Once the Marting Rent Matrix System is set up as a Lotus or Excel spreadsheet, as in Figure 1, simple enter the number of vacant, occupied with notice, occupied, vacant but rented, etc.  The system does all the math and shows the occupancy percentages instantly.  Each group, “A” through “Z”, is evaluated based upon the potential vacancy percentage (number of vacant units plus the number of occupied nits with notice to vacate within 60 days).

If the ”A” group’s potential vacancy is 4 percent, and your benchmark is 95 percent occupancy, you would increase the rent for that group slightly, say by $2.  If the “A” group’s potential vacancy is 9 percent, and your benchmark is 95 percent occupancy, you would decrease the rent for that group slightly, say by $3.  Because the system includes the units occupied with notice to vacate within 60 days, you have this period of time to adjust the rents to the maximum level without incurring vacancy losses on those units.  (Residents are still paying rent until they vacate).

How much to raise or lower rents will vary by property and must be determined by experimentation.  The rents will seek their own levels of equilibrium, and rents will be maximized.  If you raise rents too much, occupancy will increase, and you will lower the rents the following week to the maximum level the market will bear.

One advantage experienced with adjusting rents weekly is that it makes a great closing technique.  The prospective resident is told that rents are adjusted weekly and due to the popularity of this particular style it is likely the rent will increase on Monday.  However, fi they would like to leave a deposit today, we can lock them in at the lower rental rate.  And it’s the truth!  If the unit is in a group with few vacancies, the rent is likely to go up.

Dealing with Skeptics

The system is proven to be effective, but be prepared for resistance form the on-site staff.  I discovered this after visiting one of my properties that had been using the new system for 60 days.  The manager told me she understood the system might work at other properties, but it just didn’t work at hers.

She explained that three sides of her property adjoined a beautiful golf course, and they had always charged a $20 view charge for the exterior units that overlooked the golf course.  She had used the system religiously for 60 days, and what she experienced upset her.  She said most of the turnovers had been in the interior units and, because they had rented so well, they had experienced some substantial rent increases.

“Now the interior units are $20 higher than the exterior units,” she said.  “Your system doesn’t work at this property!”  I said, “the interior units have increased $40 in 60 days, and the system doesn’t work?”  She replied that it did not because the most valuable units now cost less than the least valuable units.

I suggested she had just learned the most valuable units were actually the interior units.  She personally preferred an exterior unit because she had no children.  I suggested that some people prefer to be able to see their small children playing outside in front of the apartment and also perhaps preferred to be able to see their BMW and Mercedes-Benz automobiles in the parking lot and carports.  Her paradigm and prejudice had previously restricted rent increases.  It was difficult for her to accept the interior units were more valuable and should command higher rent.

Proof is in the Pricing

It takes patience to implement, but the system works because it is based upon simple supply and demand.  I use a different benchmark (target the occupancy percentage) for summer and winter for most properties.  The benchmark can be changed as often as necessary until you reach an optimum point of rate versus occupancy percentage.

You may be surprised at how quickly rents increase initially.  After the system has been used or a year or two, the increases usually become less, however your income stream during that time should increase substantially.  It has worked ver well at my properties.

I purchased a property in November  that did not stabilize occupancy until one year later in April .  One of the motivations for purchasing the property was the belief that rental rates were below market.  A market baseline for January  was established for comparative purposes by multiplying the average market rent of $590 by the number of units in our property.  The market rate was derived by applying percentage increases or decreases as reported in market studies conducted by third-party sources.  While market rates have remained relatively flat for the period, rents at the property have increased substantially.

The rent matrix has been used since the purchase of the property.  The result has been an increase in value of approximately $1.5 million thus far.  These results may not be attainable in all markets, as markets and properties will vary.

Brad Marting, CPM, CAPS,  has 27 years experience managing commercial retail, office, hotel, condominium, subsidized and conventional multifamily, and single-family rental investment real estate property.  Mr. Marting was the President of Northern Indiana IREM Chapter 100.