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There is nothing less flattering than pulling up to a community that looks tired or "run down". If you are a leasing agent at a property like this, you will literally hate your life. Prospects will come and go, and you'll wonder why you never hear back from them again...
If you are a property manager or building owner, and you are sitting with a handful of vacancies, there could be a reason why you are not leasing them.
Put yourself in a prospect's shoes for a moment, what would you visualize as your "dream" community? Would it look run down or would it look neat and clean?
I don't know about you, but I will take the clean and neat community over the run down one, any day!
Let's start with curb appeal. You MUST nail down the curb appeal if you want to have many leases!
So here are 3 easy ways that can help boost your curb appeal right away:
Make sure all property signage is in good shape and there is no trash outside
Have you ever been to a apartment community with trash everywhere and decided to rent there? People always prefer clean, so that means no trash lying around! I always recommend walking the property each morning to pick up any trash. Another one that I see a lot of communities miss is the signage on the property. Does your "Leasing Now" sign look like it has been through war? Then it's time to replace it with some fresh colors!
Tidy up your leasing office
The first impression is extremely important...so don't blow it by having a stuffy looking leasing office. A stuffy leasing office I define as one that looks cluttered, dark, and lacks the welcoming component of leasing. The first thing I would do is organize, clean, and maybe even throw some Hershey's Kisses on the front desk. If you have blinds, make sure they are open and allowing natural lighting to brighten up the room. Throw some fresh scents in the leasing office as well, trust me, it won't hurt.
Make sure your amenities are clean
Amenities are there to help you sell the community, and should not be hindering you from selling to the prospect! Are your amenities showing nicely? Is the gym a disaster each time you show it to a prospect? Or does the common area constantly have crumbs lying around on the tables or seating areas? This is a big no no, and believe me, prospects WILL notice this type of stuff right away. Remember, you are trying to sell a community that is clean and neat, not messy and stuffy!
So go ahead and give these tips a try and apply them to your property management office. You will be surprised with how helpful these small things can be. Before you know it, your residents will be much happier calling your community "home", AND you will even notice a spike in leasing as well. :)