Great curb appeal, from the road all the way to the leasing office/clubhouse, is our chance to make a great first impression on residents or prospects. It is a continual effort for both the office and maintenance staff.
Much of the appeal is just being aware of the impression and "sprucing" up the little things.
If your property employs the use of colorful signs or “Now Leasing” banners, you should always ensure that these signs are clean and in good condition.
Balloons and flowers are great eye catchers and can be changed seasonally to give a fresh look. Pay close attention to your welcome mats, both inside and out. While they are inviting and decorative, they’re also great dirt and debris catchers! Make sure these are washed regularly or replaced when necessary.
Keep trash bags in maintenance and leasing golf carts so you can easily pick up trash when out on the property.
Encourage your residents to take pride in where they live.
Remembers to “look up” when walking the property. This will allow you to see what is present in residents' windows. Broken blinds can be replaced inexpensively and increase the outward appeal.
Make sure that the inside route to the model apartment is clean and in order, as well. Keep the area clean with daily vacuuming and hall touch up painting whenever necessary.
How do you all keep your curb appeal up?
TEAM STANFORD
Excellent points! Another reminder is that when you are on tour, if you walk by a small piece of trash with a prospect, either reach down and pick it up if it is something "safe", or if not, make mention to your prospect that you see it and will get it taken care of immediately ("oh, I will have to call our Grounds Keeper when we return to the office!"). This will make your prospect know that trash around the property is something you take seriously. I did this once on a tour and it ended up being a shopper who made mention in her report that she was impressed and knew that I took pride in my community. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! With the warm weather on its way we are definitely spending more time out in the community and noticing all of the little things that can be done to spruce up our "look". This week we took some time to inspect all of our patios and balconies and made note of those that are looking less than desirable. We sent out friendly reminders and it is already looking better out there!
ReplyDeleteAnother great way to increase curb appeal is to have fun with it by getting the residents invloved. Have a "pretty patio" contest to encourage residents to dress up their balconies with flowers, etc., or randomly reward residents that you see picking up after their pets, etc. We implemented a "Fun Police" program where the maintenance team issues "citations" to residents they catch doing something good. The resident can then bring the citation to the office and exchange it for a prize (it doesn't have to cost a lot either, maybe a $5 coffee gift card or a free carpet cleaning, etc.).
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