\n"; ?> Articles Summer 2001   « Previous | Next »   Summer Checklist Half of all renters move between June & September. May the force be with you. Leasing Offices Built-ins designed to showcase collateral just like retail Designed as a retail store with lots of light, graphics, sales displays, and soda-fountain like desks. Or... The Lodge Feel - Rustic, comfortable with huge fireplaces Desktop waterfalls and fountains Applying Feng Shui Principles to furniture placement Large plastic flower pinwheels Chalk board paint wall Urban Gardens: Astroturf bulletin boards (cityyard.com) Tropical plants Artwork by local artists to decorate models and lobbies Fresh flowers everywhere inside the leasing centers and models Lifestyle photos that are larger than life Music outside in front of building Mood Music (Wyndham Hill anything) Nintendo 64 or Playstation with games and TV set up for big and little prospects Leasing Collateral Designing the whole leasing package as .pdf files °X so they can easily be customized for current prospects as well as made into personalized CD Rom brochures (We mean EVERYTHING! Floor plans, brochures, price sheets, application forms, etc.). The .pdf brochure can also be emailed to double as an e-brochure. Urban Gardening: "Canned Land" (pots of grass) - one community uses these for welcome gifts Logo shopping bags to carry collateral and prospect gifts - post-it notes, logo bookmarks, logo mint tins Serving olives, bottled spring water, mineral water, prepackaged snacks Floor Plans, Brochures, etc. Floor plans with strengths listed of each design Call outs on floor plans Electronic Business card brochures made into different shapes such as a house, star, circle. Using sexy stock photography from www.photodisc.com Community "brag books" set up "scrapbook style" Price sheets with lease requirements that complement brochures Coffee table brochures Advertising - designing ads that invoke feeling rather than listing Pet marketing cards - Thank you notes, welcome cards Tech-Related Instant approval via the Internet Filling out rental applications on the computer Appointment books instead of traffic sheets Lunch Limo Tours for outreach Having a "Kick Off Party" instead of Open House/Grand Opening Model Update Fresh Viewpoint... ask a friend to critique. Make sure it smells good! Studies show that apple pie smells close sales more quickly, and vanilla and jasmine help people relax. One mail order company reports cinnamon and gingerbread candles top their scent sales. Try New Home Essence (www.newhomeessence.com). Mats/Area rugs should be clean and fresh. Are your models outdated? Pier One, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrell, This End Up, or IKEA, may donate supplies on a rotating basis. Clean: Comforters, curtains, towels, fresh ribbons... SOAP (I saw one model where the bathroom soap had been used by someone with dirty hands -- gross!). Hang kid's paintings or drawings on fridge or frame in acrylic and use as kitchen back splash. Real photos in acrylic frames add hominess -- try the ones with magnets on the back for the fridge. How's the light in the kitchen? Need a higher watt bulb? Dust! Crooked pictures? ("Not us!" you cry. Do us a favor and take one more look around.). Water spots in sinks are tacky. Clean fridge.. inside and out.. use baking soda! Do something memorable in the home... Good Humor Ice Cream in the freezer, Popcorn in Bathtub as bubbles, blow bubbles while showing the bath, place magazines prospects read on the tables, have a life-sized stand up of Batman in a kid's room. Decorate for the season... this ensures you update the model at least four times a year. Hit party stores for ideas. Curb Appeal Excellence Have a friend take a look around and give you his/her honest opinion. What areas does he/she think could use improvement? Fresh White Paint anywhere you can put it! Have a Patio/Balcony Contest. A community in Virginia Beach creates a sense of ownership with their residents by enlisting their help when competing for a local award. They hosted patio/balcony contests which spruced up the whole community. The theme: We all win! It works, too! This community has won the MHC Award of Excellence three out of the last four years. Ask a lawn company to donate flower flats. Give them away to residents for patio contests. Keep amenities in tip top shape. Signs should be updated and painted... AND CLEAN! Studies show people do read the signs... but that after awhile they just blend into the scenery. Keep the look fresh... go beyond balloons with attention grabbers. We all read the time & temperature sign at the bank, and in Arizona neighbors look forward to reading the weekly saying on a sign in front of a local church. What can you do? Attract attention with flags, balloons, awnings, pinwheels kites, colored umbrellas, birdhouses, etc. Voice mail = good message with your Web address (and fax number) if you have one. Fax Machine... first ring pick up. Save prospects and residents time by setting your fax machine to pick up on the first ring. (The instruction booklet will tell you how.) Flowers near front door increase favorable impressions by at least 30%. Lanterns, colored lights, and twinkle lights update amenities. Don't white lights on the trees at your community's entrance look great? Keep playgrounds clean and freshly painted. One community asked children to paint the playground and the neighborhood bus shelters, too. Burger King donated Kid's Meals for their after-party. Have residents paint planters in a crafts workshop. Use the pots throughout the community. Remove oil in parking lots with kitty litter. Fowl tip. We have ducks in our community -- which is cute until you look at the sidewalks covered with duck doo. Keep it clean! Graffiti on signs? A company in Arizona puts oil/grease on their signs so the graffiti doesn't stick. Always ask yourself, "Would I want to live here with .....?" There is so much more to take care of, we know! But with this list you're off to a good start. Good luck! Remember YOU make the difference! Back to Top | Current Issue | Back Issues Printer-friendly version E-mail this article to a friend