“The [property] manager has to be involved in everything,” Lynd says. “That’s the captain of the ship. I also like to include the lead maintenance [person]. They are the two people with the most influence over how the property is running.”
Some CEOs like to see model units. Others don’t. The make-ready apartments, also called rent-ready, are a different story. Oden, like many of his colleagues, see these units as one of the essential stops on a property tour.
“With rent-readies, they may have eight or 10 [open], and I’ll pick three or four [to look at],” Oden says. “You’re telling me that this unit is made ready and [you’re] ready, willing, and able to show [it] to a customer. So, let’s go look at it. I pick those and make them part of the tour.”
The other essential stop? The maintenance shop—a telling place. “I always go into the maintenance shop,” Moore says. “You can tell how your maintenance is going by looking at the maintenance shop.”
Heimler maintains a mental checklist of things to evaluate in each shop. “You need to make sure it’s organized and chemicals are where they need to be,” he says. “You look at the grease boards showing the work order and make-ready status. I also go over a log of the last two weeks to see how many service requests each tech has done.”
THE FINALE Even if Moore finds trash on the grounds, tools thrown about in the shop, or disorganization in the office, she usually will ask her subordinates to handle the critique of the sites. “I might come back and talk to the head of training and management and say, ‘Here’s what the stupid things I learned on site were, and here are things I think we need to work on,’” she says. “But when I’m in the field, I’m their biggest cheerleader.”
Lynd, who as an executive from a smaller firm has more direct contact with property staff, is more likely to cover criticism and commendations during his visits. But he’s careful not to go too far. “If I walk up on something that is gross negligence, regardless of what the setting is, I will let the manager know it’s a no-no,” he says. “At the same time, if I walk into a make-ready and it’s excellent, I will let the maintenance staff and manager know that it’s excellent.”
If Heimler sees issues that need to be addressed, he returns to the office and makes a phone call. “I never do anything that’s in their face,” he says. “If the manager is nervous or scared after you leave, that doesn’t benefit the property.”
Instead, Heimler wants to end a visit on a high note, much like he started it. “I want to show up with a positive attitude, go over the difficult issues, and finish in a positive manner,” he says.
Les Shaver is a freelance writer in Arlington, Va.
Resident Files 15-Minute Warning Know when to give your on-site staff the heads-up that you’re coming for a visit.
Whenever A. David Lynd, COO of The Lynd Co., an apartment owner and manager in San Antonio, Texas, goes on an unannounced visit to a property, he gives his property a warning of at least 15 minutes. Why? Resident interaction.
“I never want to walk in and have a manager being yelled at by a resident and see me walk in the door,” Lynd says.
Lynd isn’t the only executive who takes measures to avoid stepping on a site manager’s toes when he tours a property. Connie Moore, president and CEO of BRE Properties, a REIT in San Francisco, avoids customers on site. “By interacting with residents, it undermines the authority of the community manager on site,” Moore says. “He or she is the person the residents should go to if they have compliments” or complaints.
Steve Heimler, founder and CEO of Stratus Real Estate, a third-party manager based in Woodland Hills, Calif., will only seek out residents under special conditions because he doesn’t want it to look like he’s undermining his managers.
“If I suspect that my staff is not strong in customer service and I have someone approach me, I will engage in dialogue and ask simply whether the resident typically receives good customer service,” he says.
Otherwise, he gets out of the way. “If I am confident in my staff, I will state [to residents] that I am not involved with management and let my staff interact,” he says.
