Teamwork and Investor Trust Key to Success

In Part 1 of our Case Study, we shared the process in which Borror Properties Management was contracted to assume management of three Columbus apartment communities with over 1000 units. After we assessed the properties and identified four areas in immediate need of remediation and support, we got right to work under the direction of our Director of Apartment Operations, Julie Mickley.

The four areas identified as needing immediate attention were:

1. 70% of all rental leases were scheduled to expire in Q3.
2. The maintenance list for outstanding tasks and needed repairs was quite large.
3. The staff needed to be integrated and trained in the Borror Properties’ way.
4. There were a number of overdue capital improvements needed.

How we remedied each area of concern to turn the communities around and change resident opinions as quickly as possible.

1. Heavy lease renewals/expirations in Q3.
   Since we took over the management of the communities on July 1, 2014, we knew this issue would not be easily fixed in the short term. However, we had strategies to prolong and even out the renewals for the coming year. We quickly began offering shorter extensions to existing renters as a “give us a chance to exceed your expectations” kind of offer. Essentially, we would offer to extend the lease on shorter terms to entice a renter to stay and experience our new way of apartment management.Additionally, this practice enabled us to begin implementing our arc lease renewal method. The arc method spreads lease renewals over the calendar year to meet demand. The goal is to have the highest part of the arc in summer months, with fewer renewals in spring and fall. Once fully integrated, this approach provides a strategic advantage as the leasing agency for the property and ultimately, more consistent occupancy and income for the investor.
2. Lengthy maintenance and repair needs and overdue capital improvements. At Borror Properties Management, we pride ourselves in understanding the needs of the owners and the desires of the residents. In the beginning, we surveyed the residents to get a snapshot of their needs and desires. We also assessed the eminent property maintenance needs, and reviewed the routine maintenance resident request logs. The “to do” lists, prior to us taking over management responsibilities, were long and the residents had become quite frustrated.Our philosophy is simple: we believe in timely and stringent rent collection efforts, and prompt and consistent responsiveness to maintenance requests.We began to triage and organize the work that needed to be completed quickly. We prioritized the capital needs, and presented those to the investor for consideration. They appreciated the detail, understood the necessary upkeep items, and supported the improvements needed to make the communities more desirable to both prospective renters and existing residents. This process resulted in much happier residents, and very satisfied owners.

3. Bringing the apartment managers and staff up to speed on our processes. We hired all of the staff members from the previous management company – asking only for hard work and complete transparency in sharing information and ideas. We then brought in other experienced maintenance teams and managers from our other properties to help with the transition and lead the way.Julie and her team held weekly meetings to cover topics such as renewals, customer service, and best leasing practices with a strong focus on core values and doing the right thing. We asked all staff and employees to dedicate their time to fixing the issues and retaining the existing residents. With our teams focused on doing what is right, they became energized when they started seeing measurable results in occupancy rates, collections and a diminished number of maintenance requests.

As the project continues today, we are extremely pleased and proud of our team, and their dedication to work hard and do what they know best.In establishing regular communication with the investor, we have developed a strong relationship built on mutual trust, which is critical to the success of projects like these. To gain that trust quickly, we simply operate with the highest integrity, delivering both the good and bad news, and deploy our tried and true processes and standards developed from years of experience.