Reasons why managing ApartmentRatings.com is no longer optional Posted by: Bill Szczytko

Reasons why managing ApartmentRatings.com is no longer optional Posted by: Bill Szczytko on Aug 29, 2011 08:59 Tagged in: Social Media , Multifamily , ApartmentRatings.Com , Apartment Marketing , Apartment Community Website , Apartment Community

User Rating: / 2
PoorBest 

6Share

3
inShare

Mention ApartmentRatings.com to a crowded room of multifamily people and you'll clear it faster than I can while presenting a Powerpoint. We despise this site, loathe it. The anonymous posts, the drunken rants, the vile tongue lashings, the terrible misspellings and sentence structure, and the truth. Hey wait, did I say truth? Yes.. but I'll get to that part later.

People are crazy. Embrace it.

When people mouth off online they do it for a reason. Some people have stopped taking their medications and others do it because your business has affected them in some way. It's the second part that's worth talking about. Let's take a fast quiz. What's your true/false answer to this statement?

Only unhappy people post reviews.

This is false. According to a survey commissioned by Forrester on behalf of TripAdvisor "The number one reason travelers cite for writing a hotel review is to “share a good experience with other travelers." People want to tell others about the fun they've had or the good experiences they've shared. It's like the east coast earthquake from this week. Did you notice how many Tweets or Facebook posts sounded like this: "Hey did you feel that?" "Yeah I felt that!" "So did I!" People feel validated when they've all shared the same experiences.

High percentage of reviews on Apartmentratings.com are bad.

We all know of course that not every review is good. In fact, just perusing around ApartmentRatings.com presents a ton of bad review examples. So what can we do about it? In the same survey I mentioned above, this compelling point was made: "...71% said that seeing a management response to reviews by an official hotel representative is important to them." How many of you respond to reviews as the management company? Here's the final point to drive home: "Sixty-eight percent of travelers said that if they were considering two comparable properties, the presence of management responses on one would sway them in its favor." That's the holy grail.

I found some more data that I want to share. In The Retail Consumer Report survey that was done over the holidays in 2010, they found that 68% of the people who posted a complaint on a social network or ratings site, got a response from the retailer about it. Because the business responded, they were able to get 18% of those people to buy from them again! Out of those people who received a response 33% turned around and posted a positive review and 34% deleted their original negative review. Folks that is compelling data. You can see that staying silent and pretending this conversation isn't taking place out there is not the right strategy today.

Let's focus in on the bigger picture here.

Are you a Company A or a Company B? Company A wants to hear what their residents have to say. Company B doesn't. Company A listens to social media channels and has a corporate culture which empowers employees to solve problems, respond appropriately to their residents, and listen for pain points. Company B is afraid. I blogged about this very phenomenon recently.

If you're having problems with your ApartmentRatings.com ratings, then there's something wrong with your product. Behind the vicious rants are some underlying themes that represent problems you can fix:
"People often speed through the property."
"People are always hanging around outside drinking."
"The office staff is mean."

These are the things companies find it hard to face. The truth. The truth isn't always pleasant but how do you know why people are unhappy if you don't ask or listen? If someone posts anything whether it's good or bad, you must thank them. Why? They cared enough to tell you; now do something with it. At the end of the day, people want to feel that the management company is concerned about their needs. They pay a large portion of their monthly salary to you. Fix your product, show empathy when things don't go right, give them great customer service and your bad reviews on ApartmentRatings will go down.

"People will post, Ray"

When people have positive experiences they will tell others. Of those people surveyed over the holiday season who had a positive experience: "21% recommended the retailer to friends. 13% posted a positive online review about the retailer." I don't want to hear "Bill, these surveys you found aren't for our industry." That's a Company B thought. Stop that.

I'm hoping this evidence is compelling enough to make you realize that you need to respond and engage your current customers. Turning them from a brand detractor to a brand advocate is your goal here. Next post, I'll give you some customer service and response tips to help you do just that. See you next time.

Happy renting everyone. Catch more posts over on BSitko.com.

Read more blogs by Bill Szczytko

LEAD BASED PAINT ALERT

LEAD BASED PAINT ALERT

Law Offices Of Heist, Weisse, Davis & Wolk P.A.

If you own or manage a property built prior to 1978, you need to be concerned. The EPA’s Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act is being vigorously enforced, and many Florida property management companies are being inspected, audited and now facing large fines. Minor mistakes or failures to give the resident the required disclosure and pamphlet can result in big problems. On top of that, the new Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rules that recently went into effect mean that many of your employees and outside vendors who are working on your pre-1978 property must have their certification. The EPA's RRP Rule requires almost anyone working in pre-1978 housing who might disturb painted surfaces to become an EPA Certified Renovator, by taking a "Lead Safe Work Practices" class from an EPA accredited training provider. Not sure if your vendors will “disturb painted surfaces”? Assume they will, and check first to see if they must be certified b efore allowing any vendor or employee to touch your pre-1978 property.  Ignorance will not be an excuse!

Surge of Federal REO Properties Hitting the Markets

The Upside: This Could Speed Up a Return to Normalcy

By Mark Heschmeyer

August 3, 2011

• 
• Email
• Print

As the federal government has doggedly worked through concerns about foreclosure documentation practices, federal financial agencies have aggressively resumed their sale of foreclosed properties. 

Through the first half of the year, the FDIC has sold $1.073 billion in foreclosed properties. This compares to $974.7 million in the first half of last year and $482.2 million in the first half of 2009. 

More importantly, the amount of commercial real estate being sold by the FDIC has jumped more than 12 times in that time frame. Just $39.8 million of FDIC property sales in 2009 consisted of commercial and multifamily properties. This year, more than half of the sales ($540.3 million) have been commercial real estate. 

In addition, land sales have increased from $86.1 million in 2009 to $310.6 million this year. Also, as commercial sales have been increasing, the number of single-family residential sales being handled by the FDIC is falling from $307.7 million in 2009 to $219 million this year. 

While there has been some anxiety in the marketplace over the potential impact that a surge of distressed CRE properties coming into the marketplace may do to sales values, CoStar Group senior real estate strategist Chris Macke says there is an upside to the trend. 

"The increased disposition activity is good for the industry," Macke said. "The sooner we clear troubled assets the sooner the market will return to normal." 

However, Macke warned, "with funds available to deal with troubled assets depleted and no appetite from Congress to provide additional funds, regulatory agencies do have limits on how quickly they can clear out all the troubled transactions there are to deal with." 

The nation's government-sponsored enterprises are also increasing their REO property sales. 

Through the first three months of the year, Fannie Mae sold 37 multifamily properties on which it had foreclosed compared to 13 in the same period last year. At the same time, the number of multifamily properties it has picked up has remained fairly consistent, 50 in the first quarter of this year and 47 a year ago. 

Overall, Fannie Mae sold 62,814 properties in the first three months of this year vs. 38,095 in the same period a year earlier. Those sales have produced proceeds of $11 billion in the first quarter of this year compared to $7.7 billion the year-ago period. 

Through the first three months of the year, Freddie Mac has sold 31,628 properties vs. 21,969 in the same period a year earlier. Freddie Mac did not break out its multifamily property dispositions separately but it was holding only 15 multifamily repossessed apartment properties on its books as of March 31. 

According to the Dept. of Housing & Urban Development, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) acquired 7,667 REO properties in June and sold a record 13,609 properties (breaking the record of 12,671 properties sold in May). The FHA REO inventory has declined from 69,958 at the end of the first quarter to 54,645 at the end of June. 

Largest FDIC CRE Sales This Year

• 19950 7th Ave NE, Poulsbo, WA, $9.52 million


• 2810 S Highland Ave., Lombard, IL, $9 million


• 106 Inlet Way, West Palm Beach, FL, $8 million


• 210 Automation Way, Birmingham, AL, $6.93 million


• 5100 Northwest Hwy, Crystal Lake, IL, $5.99 million