By sharing information with same-market competitors, onsite staff can save time and money and improve overall performance.
There was a time not too long ago in apartment management when communities by and large did not strictly view "the competition" as a rival. Instead, they leaned on each other as resources to help improve market conditions or to problem-solve operational issues. Community Manager Joei Lemacks says she wonders where those days went.
"Back in the day I would be able to call my neighboring comp to get a market survey, advice on an issue I thought that maybe they might also be experiencing or discuss market trends and influences," Lemacks says.
She manages Paces Run Apartments, a 260-unit property in Columbia, S.C., under the Wilkinson Real Estate Advisors' portfolio.
"However, now I feel like they are either screening my calls through caller ID and not answering, saying that they are too busy to talk when I drop by in person, or don't reply to my emails at all," she says. "They flat-out refuse to communicate with us."
Lemacks laments: When did we become so mean to each other?
While not necessarily painting with a broad brush, she asks, "Are our communities operating on such a fragile basis that even breathing one kind word to our neighbor would crumble our business?"
Lemacks says property managers in any market, working at any type of property, would gain from acting friendly with other properties' staffs. She says such bonding
is a great way to improve the performance of all.
"These relationships can help communities save the time and effort on things such as mystery shopping or having to guess how the community is managing down the street," she says. "It can help with hiring and resident screening and perhaps any operational situations unique to the area."
Lemacks asks rhetorically, "Is telling me how much traffic you had last week or how many leases you got really going to shut your business down or bring my occupancy up? Are you withholding it just because you are really too busy to help someone other than yourself?"
One example, Lemacks says, involves evictions. She says that she and her neighboring comps share the same magistrate and eviction process. "If I have a positive or negative experience with that process, wouldn't that information and experience be helpful to another manager? As members of the apartment management business, why can't we share our experiences and certain strategies without fear?
"I want to be a neighbornot a nuisance. But if you make it impossible for me to reach out to you, how will we connect?" she says. "Wouldn't you like to know that same information about my community? I'll share if you share."
Lemacks says that what drives her crazy is when a peer tells her that their property is 98 percent occupied and then she sees a "One Month FREE RENT" banner outside their office.
The Ol' Fashioned Way
Mike Beirne, Executive Vice President, The Kamson Corporation, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., says, "What strikes me is the cultural change that has taken place in our industry. We have all adapted to technology-and so much today in operations is now about metrics. It has changed the way we think we need to obtain information. It has changed our communication patterns. Good ol' fashioned communication skills and coalitions have always worked, and they still do. I fear we are 'un-learning' those skills. Technology is good, but transparent communication still beats any metric."
Mary Gwyn, President, Apartment Dynamics, High Point, N.C., says there are three clear examples of when sharing information with competitors is worthy; in fact, not doing so could actually prove bad for business.
1. Share market information. Erroneous information, such as overstating occupancy and rates, or not disclosing discounts and concessions, or perhaps not giving any market information at all, can result in overdevelopment in a market.
2. Give honest rental references. Withholding information on a prospective resident's reference increases the risk our competitors will withhold residents' history of late payment or lease violations as well.
3. Provide employee references. Gwyn says it amazes her when a competitor who clearly knows her doesn't contact her company for a job reference on a previous employee. This has resulted in two instances over the years in which competitors hired people who were fired for embezzlement (and who actually had arrest records). Surely this would have been shared to avoid trouble.
"We need to work together to be a stronger industry," says Linda Page, CPM, ARM, Business Manager, Fogelman Properties, Nashville. "When we all do well, we all succeed."
Real, Real-Time Market Reports
In her Columbia, S.C., market, Lemacks proposes a symbiotic relationship: "Let's communicate our rates, share rental references, work together to fight crime in our area, refer great supplier partners who we can work with and inform each other about whom to steer clear from," she says. "We should celebrate our accomplishments together and send each other traffic we ourselves can't help."
For example, Paces Run does not have any three-bedroom apartment homes, so Lemacks refers those inquiries to her competitor nearby. "And for them, if their one-bedroom units are full, I know that they'll send them my way. If we work together, we both can stay fully occupied."
Several years ago while working in the Lexington, S.C., market, she devised a plan for weekly, reliable collaboration with peers. Lemacks had connected with six other nearby communities and each Monday they pulled together a shared market survey. She designed a spreadsheet that was faxed to all.
Each property filled in occupancy and availability numbers, current rates, specials (if any) and how much traffic versus how many leases were signed. This was then compiled into one spreadsheet and then faxed back to all of the comps by 3 p.m. that day.
"Easy peasy!" she says. "They give one survey out and get seven back in return. And these reports are weekly instead of monthly. Even better: How impressed would their boss be if each week they were able to secure such valuable information. It was a win-win for everyone."
Additionally, she says that when a new business opened down the street, she brought her band of peers and welcomed them.
Lemacks also suggests that a community host an open house for its comps, as she is planning to do. Invite them in and give them the same grand tour that a prospective resident would receive, she says.
"We recently added a business center and refurbished our gym," Lemacks says. "I want to share our changes with them.
I prefer to show them around, and answer their questions so they don't have to waste my time by trying to mystery shop me. Even more, it becomes counterproductive when for days later we work tirelessly to try to follow-up and close on those mystery shoppers. Let's be up-front and open.
"And who knows? You might be inspired to bring some of our fabulousness back to your community. If I can help you improve your community then your rates will go up and it will be easier for me to get higher rates when matching the rates you have that are just as high."
Paul R. Bergeron III is Director of Publications for NAA. He can be reached at 703-797-0606 or [email protected].