MAKING YOUR CURB APPEAL WORK AS A CLOSER
By Christopher Abernathy, RedPeak and Amy Gillaspie, Legacy Partners st
In this competitive Colorado rental market, your curb appeal could end up being your best closer! How is this possible? Remember that 90 % of the transmitted information to the human brain is visual. The appearance of your community could prove to be more effective at closing the deal than the most eloquent pitch from your best leasing agent.
Curb appeal and overall appearance throughout the community are crucial. Below are some ways that maintenance can be a difference-maker in a competitive market. We discovered that there are some differences between downtown / city communities and suburban communities, and have divided the discussion accordingly.
CURB APPEAL IN THE CITY
With virtually no landscaping to deal with in Downtown Denver, how do you spruce things up? You have to look at maintenance of the building itself. Remember that people downtown will often retreat inside instead of outside to“ get away from it all.” This makes the maintenance of the apartments and building interior paramount to future residents having a positive experience. Here are some keys to curb appeal success in the city:
»»
Add your own landscaping in the form of planters or flower beds. These will have to be maintained meticulously by your Maintenance Team to be attractive and free of debris. Be sure to budget for replacements— plants can sometimes find themselves as souvenirs in the hands of downtown partygoers.
»»
Create a regular power-washing schedule for the sidewalks and alleys and make sure that your team sticks to it. You don’ t want gum polka-dots making your sidewalks look like they have the measles!
»»
Make sure that your lobby and common areas look brand new at all times, because they are a brand new experience for the prospect. Consider adding a housekeeper to your maintenance team or utilizing a cleaning crew for upkeep of these areas. Relying on an office team can be problematic, in that the team can often be busy for long stretches of time and unable to attend to these details.
»»
Focus on detailed turns and cleans of vacant units. This, of course, applies to both downtown and suburban apartment communities. A little bit of dirtiness in a vacant apartment could be the differencemaker when competing with a spotless apartment at your competitor. The prospect could, at least subconsciously, take this as a representation of your team’ s lack of attention to detail and wonder if they would also be cared for poorly. www. aamdhq. org MARCH 2017 • TRENDS | 17