Managing Your Multifamily Property
One of our first goals will be a thorough inspection of the properties, including the roofs and the condition of the landscaping, pool, laundry facilities, and the interior of the apartments. We will determine if any short-term action will be needed to prevent failure.
Another immediate goal in managing your building is developing a relationship with the tenants. This relationship begins with the notice that Bluestone & Hockley is your managing agent. We have found that early contact with your tenants helps develop a strong relationship for you. At that time, we will find out what their needs are and determine how we can help them.
Part of our long-term goals will be to develop a plan to either attract or keep tenants who will stay longer. By developing a strategy to improve the building condition, and upgrade the individual units, we will then be able to attract tenants who can sign long term leases and improve the value of the property.
We will review leases on a regular basis so that tenants are informed of rent increases, and lease expirations. We will contract for annual services such as landscaping, cleaning the roof and downspouts, cleaning the carpet, weatherizing the building, and inspections of the fire extinguishers.
Maintenance
Bluestone & Hockley has a staff of experienced maintenance technicians that take care of many property repair needs. All of the members of this department are knowledgeable (at least 5 years experience), conscientious, and are supervised by a manager that has been with Bluestone & Hockley for over 10 years. This maintenance team picks up where the on-site manager leaves off.
The key strengths of this department include:
- Using the in-house maintenance records to be able to solve repetitive problems
- Familiarity with the unit, which saves time diagnosing problems
This group is licensed and bonded by the Oregon Contractors Licensing Board, #63068. See our Maintenance Department page for further information.
Cost Controls
We have cost controls in place that help keep the operating expenses in line and force review of major expenses.
Our property managers sign off on all bills before they are presented to the bookkeeping staff. All work required over $300 is authorized by clients prior to the start of a job, depending on the size of the property and the limitations set forth in the property management agreement.
Day to day expenditure decisions are governed by the management agreement. Our Maintenance supervisor has a list of properties we service as well as the expense limitations for each property. In addition he has a list of what has been spent year-to-date as well as in the current month. This gives us the opportunity to ask questions and keep track of expenditures.
If a property is damaged in a major way, say for example by a fire or earthquake, we contact the insurance carrier immediately to review the loss. We take pictures, complete the repairs, assemble a file, and then work with the insurance company to recover the owner’s costs.
Training of On-Site Managers
The on-site manager is not only the eyes and ears of the complex but also the person who makes a first impression on prospective renters. It is important that on-site managers be trained in basic landlord-tenant law with regards to day-to-day community duties. It is equally critical that managers are given specific training in creating a positive perception of the property to those who visit.
We begin training with an award-winning Manager Handbook, compiled by our experienced professional staff. The handbook outlines our company procedures, policies, emergency situations, as well as state and federal laws. Each on-site manager is required to attend monthly training classes in which the handbook is reviewed, changes in landlord-tenant law are discussed, and open discussion allows for sharing of knowledge among our office staff and on-site personnel. Additionally, they attend at least one outside training class per year. We feel regular education is a benefit to everyone involved in the rental community: tenants, on-site managers, property managers, and owners.
From an owner’s perspective, the most important job duty an on-site manager has is renting units. Once the units are rented then the on-site manager must use his or her knowledge and personality to maintain a healthy tenant relationship and thereby create a higher percentage of tenant retention. Unfortunately, sometimes the most difficult step is getting the tenant in the door. This is where our marketing training comes into play. The Manager Handbook contains an extensive Marketing section, which includes ideas on phone selling, property answering machine messages, the importance of being prepared, active selling while at the property and closing suggestions. We are open to new and functional ideas to help attract tenants to the communities we manage and we encourage our on-site managers to discover new ways to rent units. Contests among on-site managers are often held through monthly newsletters. This same newsletter contains at least one marketing-related topic each month.
Once the on-site manager is situated, familiar with our procedures and has brushed up on leasing skills we don’t simply decide to wait and see what happens as far as renting units. On-site managers are responsible for keeping a log of phone calls and visitors and reporting the same logs to our office on a weekly basis, using our Weekly Activity/Status Report. These logs allow us to review how our marketing strategy works in the current market. On-site managers are also responsible for completing surveys of other apartment communities in their vicinity. By surveying, we are able to look at our communities through the eyes of a prospective tenant and allow the on-site manager to understand what their general competition is or is not providing in comparison to their own community. In addition, to the regular training provided on-site managers we will hire secret shoppers to evaluate a manager’s work.
Finally, the on-site manager and our office often communicate property-specific goals to help increase interest in the property, both by prospective renters and current tenants.
Special Capabilities
We have the ability to organize hazardous waste removals, complete turn around projects, successfully appeal property taxes, and supervise major construction and tenant improvement projects.
Vacancies
We strive to turn, i.e. clean, paint, carpet and drape clean within a week of move out. We have contract cleaning crews that are given the standard of cleaning we expect and we have both the on-site property manager as well as the off-site manager inspect the vacant units after the tenant moves out as well during and after cleaning. Our experience has proven to us that if the unit is spotless, it will rent faster and will be in better condition when the tenant moves out.
Our goal is to have the unit turned and rented as fast as possible. We advertise the property as soon as we have confirmation that the tenant has moved out, and we encourage the on-site managers to take reservations so that the units can be rented quickly.
We have long term relationships with our vendors which gives us the opportunity to move fast to turn units. If there are maintenance problems that discovered upon move out, we coordinate with our maintenance department or with your vendors to have the repairs completed as soon as possible
Opportunity for Client Input and Review
We send out financial reports on a monthly basis. We review them twice and enclose copies of all bills before they are mailed out and find that we rarely make an error. We encourage the owners to review those reports.
We encourage the owners of property to come visit with us and the property at least once a year. For those that are unable to visit, we send photos if requested.
