Monday, August 28, 2017

6 Ways to Attract College Students to Fill Your Apartment Vacancies

The millennial generation makes up a large portion of the growing number of college students in America. To successfully fill open vacancies in your apartment building, you must first know what millennials are searching for, and exceed their expectations. Although millennials often hold different standards and ideals compared to other apartment tenants, you can appeal to the younger generation by using an updated marketing and business approach.

1. Produce Flexibility and Quick Maintenance 

Most of the millennial generation is composed of long-term renters who are not prepared or qualified to purchase property anytime soon. These short-term renters expect instantaneous service and flexibility when renting property. Millennials desire flexibility in their living arrangements, in case they decide to transfer colleges, or move for a relationship or job. Consider alternatives to a 12 month lease agreement if you intend on attracting and satisfying the millennial generation.

2. Location, Location, Location!

If you are a property owner and want to attract the growing millennial and college student population, choosing the right location is the key to success. This generation desires flexibility, and saving time on commuting towards popular restaurants, colleges, bars, and shopping centers gives them more time to enjoy life. Millennials prefer to be near prominent restaurants, cafes, gyms, grocery stores, college campuses, and other places they can unwind, be social, and entertain themselves.

3. Incorporate Social Media

The average millennial spends 12 hours a day consuming media, often multiple forms at once. What this research means for property managers is important. Today, most businesses spend their marketing budgets, even those geared toward social media, primarily on sending out advertising messages. Integrating advertising and technology is becoming necessary to stay relevant and successful. Keep tenants updated on your apartment complex with social media posts. Furthermore, consider employing a social media manager to publish valuable real estate content on your social media platforms, to attract the attention of college students and millennials searching for a new apartment rental. Building an online community for your apartment complex will allow renters to quickly communicate any questions or concerns.

4. Modernize Your Apartment Technology 

Create an engaging, modern website to advertise your open units and give detailed descriptions of your apartment rentals. This will attract renters, while also showing them your modern approach to property management. Furthermore, allow renters to apply online and pay rent electronically, and let renters make maintenance requests online. Whenever possible, utilize the millennial preferred commutation methods of email and text message.

5. Bring Efficiency to Your Apartment Complex

Along with flexibility and fast service, the millennial generation appreciates efficiency when searching for the right living arrangements. To bring more efficiency to your apartment units, use compact fluorescent or LED lights in common areas, upgrade units with energy-efficient appliances, offer recycling services on site, and use programmable thermostats in common areas to maintain low expenses. Other creative ways to bring efficiency to your apartment complex include insulting your property to reduce cold drafts and low utility bills, and adopt solar panels, wind power, or another source of renewable energy.

6. Create Community-Oriented Activities 

Many college students come from different states and countries, and will appreciate feeling a sense of community in their condominium association. To make your rental properties more community-oriented, introduce community parties, move-nights, and social hours. Documents photos from the events to post online and engage with renters through social media channels. Also try introducing a virtual bulletin on your real estate property's website, where residents can engage and connect with each other. Show photos of community events, amenities, and local events on your website.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

5 Creative Ways to Decorate Your Boston Rental


Renting provides many advantages over homeownership, including the affordability factor. You are not responsible for paying the repairs, maintenance, or other issues that arise. You are also not responsible for property taxes, insurance, and other potential unforeseen expenses. One of the downsides of renting however, are the strict regulations regarding your freedom in altering the design aesthetic of your home. Many landlords prohibit tenants from altering their rental property, especially if it involves architectual details, paint, or other design experiments which cannot easily be detached when your lease expires. It's still possible to have a creative and fun experience decorating your rental, while appeasing your landlord's property regulations. Discover five creative and temporary ways to decorate your rental property, while staying on good terms with your landlord.

1. Personalize Light Fixtures

Unique and contemporary light fixtures add personality to any room. If you want your rental to appear more stylish, feel free to swap your builder grader light fixtures for a more appealing option. Try installing a luxurious chandelier, vintage fixture, or modern sky lights. Just remember to store the old light fixture in a safe place, and have the original light fixture installed again before moving out.

2. The Crowning Moment

The lack of crown molding next to the ceilings, baseboards, and around the windows of an apartment can make the property look incredibly drab and characterless. Design experts recommend purchasing beautiful molding which fits your style preferences, and install it using Velcro with adhesive backing. Installing crown molding around doorways and windows instantly gives the space a polished look.

3. Window Decor

Apartments with standard mini blinds often give the property a bland and routine appearance. The great news is, it's very easy to pop those standard blinds out of their brackets and replace them with elegant Roman shades or honeycomb blinds. Another alternative to drab blinds, is covering them with elegant curtains. Design experts recommend getting a tension rod to mount inside the window frame to prevent drilling a hole in the wall. There are endless amount of stylish curtain options, include long Parisian curtains which drape elegantly on the floorboards.

4. Garden Wall

Beautiful plant walls are an overlooked trend used universally. Although plant walls offer a dramatic change in the design aesthetic of your home, they do not require you to make any large-scale changes to your rental unit. Popular style plant walls include shelves full of leafy greens, hanging plants on ropes and pullies, or a wall of succulents planted in salvaged frames.

5. Renter-Friendly Wallpaper

If your rental walls are bland and unappealing, design experts recommend decorating with removable wallpaper. As removable wallpaper is becoming more popular, the designs are becoming even more refined and affordable. 





Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Sell Your Home Fast: 5 Expert Staging Tips


If you are planning to put your house on the market soon and selling your property quickly, you need to profoundly commit to marketing your home. To successfully market your home, you need to transform your home into a place that potential buyers can easily imagine as their own. Staging a home for sale is not a new concept, but it is a practice that has gained popularity with a more challenging market. Set the stage for success with these 5 expert tips for marketing and enhancing your home, and watch the results pour in.

1. Start With Your Floors

Before selling your home, ideally the floors should be freshly refinished throughout your home. At the bare minimum, all the floors should be thoroughly cleaned, and carpets should be steam cleaned. Beautiful homes are often overlooked by potential buyers who are distracted by shoddy hardwood floors and grimy tiles. If you cannot afford to invest in refinishing your hardwood floor, stylish area rugs strategically placed throughout your home can boost appeal.

2. Boost Curb Appeal

You never get a second chance at a first impression. If you want to sell your home quickly, ensuring your home looks attractive and well maintained before stepping inside is a necessity. Many potential buyers thinking of touring your home will often do a quick drive-by first, often deciding on the spot if the home is worth looking at. Ensure your home is enticing to potential buyers by following these tips:
  • Plant beautiful flowers and attractive greenery 
  • Power wash front windows
  • Repaint the porch and ensure the porch is in excellent condition
  • Hang easy-to-read house numbers
  • Refinish the walkway 
  • Mow the lawn, and reseed or add fresh mulch as necessary 
  • Power wash the siding and walkways

3. Get Your House Sparkling Clean

This is one of the easiest yet most overlooked staging tips which entices potential buyers. Every surface in your home should sparkle, from shining floors and gleaming windows, to meticulously cleaned counters and scrubbed grout. Hiring professional cleaners for a large home is often necessary.

Furthermore, all clutter needs to be cleared away. This step is not easy, and often requires utilizing offsite storage, but it is extremely important. Clean and luminous surfaces, floors, cupboards and closets create more space in the eyes of potential buyers. Clutter is unattractive and distracting; expert stagers recommend removing everything nonessential or unappealing.

4. Style Your Dining Room Table

The dining room is often overlooked when decorating a home. A large and empty dining room table often looks unappealing and dull. Oversize arrangements often appear excessively regal and proper, so try lining up a series of smaller arrangements down the center of the table instead. 

5. Choose Sophisticated Neutral Tones

Rich, mid-tone neutrals like Mocha and Beige are universally appealing and create a calm and inviting mood in any room. Expert stagers recommend ditching the bright and trendy colors for something more timeless and refined. Neutral tones make an elegant backdrop which beautifully pulls everything together.