In a tough economy or hyper competitive location, here’s what you can do to increase your building’s perceived value and give you the option of charging higher rent. This will also help make your building stand out from others in prospects’ minds.
Paint
You don’t need to be a professional painter or interior designer to get this done. Use this shortcut: warm colors like shades of red make the room “cozier” which gives the room a shrinking effect.
If you want to make a room feel bigger, go with shades of blue. This helps give the room the illusion of being more expansive because cooler colors have a receding effect.
Here’s some other great tricks to make a small room look bigger:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAx91vd8a4A&w=469&h=264]
Make it more secure
(hire a part time guard)
One of things that made my sister choose one apartment over another was one had a security guard downstairs and the other didn’t. Having a more secure place is always a good thing. Not only will it give tenants peace of mind, it’ll help differentiate your apartment buildings from others.
Get better furniture
(for staging)
Staging techniques used to sell homes can just as easily be applied to apartments. You are after all, trying to sell people on renting the place. So when you give prospects the tour, make sure to make it a memorable one by using simple staging tricks. In other words, paint the picture for them.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6qJ_MdXI2U&w=469&h=264]
Partner with local businesses
Here’s a simple tip and all it takes is reaching out to other businesses. It can be gyms, restaurants, or dry cleaning/laundry services. Ask them if they would be open to giving a special rate for your tenants. Some will say no, but some will gladly do it if they want extra business.
Clean
You won’t believe how many apartments I’ve seen where it’s just dirty. You never want that stigma attached to your prospect’s mind. My 3 best cleaning friends are:
Record Video Tour
There really are no excuses for not having a recorded video tour these days. You don’t need some fancy equipment or hire a video production company. You can simply use your Android phone or iPhone for this. It’s a lot easier if you have someone else hold the camera while another person does the talking.
But if you’re the only person managing the building, don’t use that as an excuse.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSoqxNiMe9A&w=469&h=264]
Keep it under 10 minutes, and you’ll be good to go.
Take Pictures
If someone searches on Google for information about your building, there better be lots of pictures for them to see. Hire a professional photographer if you can, it can make a huge difference in terms of quality and perceived value.
However, if budget is limited, a smartphone or iPhone is good enough. Just take lots of pictures and vary it by using interesting angles and perspectives.
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