Do You Need a Web Site
I had the pleasure to interview Rick Hevier last week, an apartment operator in upstate New York. I stumbled across some of Rick’s comments during a debate over at Multifamily Insiders, and was quickly curious as to what he was up too. I shot Rick a note and we talked last week. Rick is an interesting character and shared some of his success and a couple of ideas he has implemented at his communities. Other than two leasing consultants, Rick is a one-man show.
Community Statistics, Numbers Please
What drew me to do some research on Rick’s community, Kings Gate West, a 40 year old property, is it has some of the highest rents in the Syracuse-area market, and they are nearly 100% occupied, and, this is the kicker, Their ten average year rate of turnover is about 28%, which is significantly below the national average of 60% to 70%. Most of Rick’s tricks are Back to Basics Property Management, including rejecting nearly 1/3 of applicants due to a very tight screening process. When asked about Collections, they don’t have any.
No Web Site
Here was the thing of most interest; Kings West does not have a Web Site. Nope, no web site. They do use an interesting auto email program called Response Mailer. While it may not be super high tech, it does provide some interesting results, and has a cost of less than $50
Here is a copy of what you get back from Kings West auto email;
“Thank you for your Rent.com inquiry. Kings Gate West is located in the Fairmount area, ranked #27 by Business Week in 2007 of Best Places in USA to raise kids. West Genesee High School, about 1.5 miles from Kings Gate West, has been ranked in the top 3% of high schools in the nation by Newsweek magazine. We will be contacting you soon to answer your questions.”
Although No Web Site, An Interesting Mix and Use of On Line Tools
While Kings gate West doesn’t have a web site, their auto email does include links to the following Kings gate West on line sites
• Kings West facebook page, which also includes video
• Kings West flickr photo stream
• Kings West photo bucket album
• Kings West LinkedIn
• Kings West Twitter
They also have a blog at Kings West Apartments
Not For Everyone
Is what Rick is doing for everyone, no it isn’t. However he has definitely leveraged a lot of on line low cost services, which undoubted helps him keep his community full.
Do you have an interesting story that has helped you lease apartments or increase retention, we would love to here from you.
Eric Brown
Eric’s background is rooted in the rental and real estate industries. He founded metro Detroit’s Urbane Apartments in 2003, after serving as senior vice president for a major Midwest apartment developer. He established a proven track record of effectively repositioning existing rental properties in a way that added value for investors while enhancing the resident experience. He also established Urbane Media, a social media marketing and PR laboratory, where innovative marketing ideas are tested. Eric has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and Business Week Magazine. You can connect with Urbane_Media on Twitter. Eric also writes regular articles for the following publications; Multi Housing News Social Media Examiner Search Engine Guide
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