The third quarter is a busy time for resident transition. Effective observation, resident interaction and good note-taking make all the difference.

Third quarter is the busiest season for many apartment operators, as people shop for new housing, give notice, move out, turn homes and others move in. It’s also an important time to make sure everything is on track for quarterly preventive maintenance.

Following are tips and tricks for making the most of fall.

1. Bring the Property Manager along. It’s a perfect time to complete annual interior unit inspections without having to blitz it in a few days, and without an extra entry into our residents’ homes, and without finishing it late in the budgeting process.

2. Bring the Maintenance Supervisor along. Having the Manager and Maintenance Supervisor see potential issues together leads to better agreement in the actual budget process. This also is a great time for them to observe so that they can plan projects.

3. Take a good form and ol’-fashioned pen and paper along. Even if you are using an inspection app, this can help. No matter how good the app is, sometimes pen and paper prevents staff from forgetting something, especially if it’s an item that, perhaps, the app doesn’t have a line for, or something at the community that needs attention at that moment.

4. Ask residents to leave a list of correction requests. And when they do, be sure to take those lists back to the office. Take a photo of the list, too, in case it gets lost. Typically, move-in, move-out and renewal traffic during the third quarter is heavier than during other parts of the year, so it’s a great time to get residents’ feedback. Listen, and then fix things a new resident moving in notices that is important to them, and that might have been overlooked during the turn. This is a good way to show the new or renewing resident that the onsite staff is there to meet their needs.

5. Take good notes. Again, based on the high volume in this season, taking detailed and valuable notes from the start will save time and energy later.

6. Take a picture of the front door. Taking a photo of the front-door number before entering any apartment, it will eliminate any confusion by the staff who are determining from which apartment home the image corresponds.

7. Review and collate images and notes after each day. Don’t wait to record the information--because even with pictures, the meaning of the notes can quickly be forgotten.

8. BONUS: This might be the most important on the list: Take time to thank residents for making property management easier, and thank staff for helping to get it completed. Leave a simple thank-you note and a treat behind for residents. For staff, hosting a thank-you luncheon still tops the list.

Mary Gwyn, CPM, of Apartment Dynamics