By Martha Logan Senior Vice President
RAM Partners, Atlanta
mlogan@rampartnersllc.com

As a third party management company overseeing a hundred apartment communities in thirteen states, 2009 will be remembered as the toughest year to operate since the establishment of our company in the late 1980’s.

No rent growth, growing concessions and expenses coupled with lackluster occupancy rates, high unemployment and a lack of new jobs have made 2009 the perfect storm. But, as the unfavorable year nears its end, we are beginning to see positive signs.

Residents either have learned to accept this new state of the economy and/or are optimistic that the upcoming year will be better. It is encouraging to see that in most of the markets where we operate, the “bleed” seems to have subsided. People are beginning to get on with their lives; selecting new housing and learning slowly to live within their budget. Luxury items such as gym memberships and activities for children are just a few amenities that are being reduced from their monthly expenses.

In light of this, we are taking a harder look at the way we handle our communities. We have adopted a back-to-basics approach by paying closer attention to the things that really matter to our residents. With more people becoming budget conscious, we provide values that will not only help their budgets but also our communities. We are seeing more people staying home for entertainment. Accordingly, we have responded by pushing events hosted by the community along with promoting our business centers and gyms. This has allowed residents who have been paying for gym memberships to save that expense by using the facility within their community. These residents tend to be more inclined to renew their leases and not ask for a concession. Attendance has spiked at resident functions as people look for ways to get out of their houses without straining their budgets. As property managers, we constantly strive to be creative in finding ways to host these events, without increasing expenses on the property budget. In addition, children’s activities such as organized sports help parents defray the cost of outside sports leagues while building a better sense of community.

Delinquencies in rent payments have also been a significant side effect of the economic downturn. Although we haven’t faced the significant delinquencies that is averaging nationwide, a noticeable percentage of delinquencies is coming from residents who never had payment problems before. In light of this, we are willing to work with residents on setting up payment plans, usually asking them to sign promises to pay notes at agreed upon dates. We have not relaxed our policy on filing dispossessory warrants but we have been more willing to accept only the rent payments and work with them on paying the additional fees. These efforts seem to have already gone a long way towards establishing more loyalty among our residents.

We have always prided ourselves in our ability to provide superior services to our residents. This year, it seems to be even more critical to go the extra mile for our residents. These efforts have not only been rewarding for our residents but also for our communities and our company.

As we take a hard look on 2009, described as “the year of the perfect storm”, we also feel that it has made us better operators and a better company. Lessons have been learned, and we are now looking forward to applying these to better times ahead.

About the Author
Martha Logan, CPM, is Senior Vice President at RAM Partners, LLC, a third party management company based in Atlanta, Georgia,. Ms Logan can be reached at mlogan@rampartnersllc.com and (770) 437 5208.