Apartment Turnovers: 5 Common Nightmares That Haunt Sleepless Property Managers
When it comes to turning over apartment vacancies, time is money.
Just ask Laura Zdanavage, who is a property manager at Hightop, a real estate and development company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
She has endured her share of apartment turnovers, which is a too-frequent, stressful ritual that involves politely chasing a departing tenant, accessing the space and assigning a punch list for maintenance so a thorough cleaning can take place—within 48 hours.
“Halfway through the third day, you are immediately losing money on the turnover,” she says.
And that’s just for starters. If a property manager fails to make the two-day deadline, the incoming tenant quickly becomes very unhappy. As a result, the new potential tenant could kill the deal on the spot, or the property manager may feel obligated to book a room for the individual at another property until the issues are resolved. In some situations, the soon-to-be tenant in limbo could sue for damages.
Either way, it means more time that property managers don’t have and more expenses that they can’t afford.
Regarding apartment turnovers, property managers lose $1,061 per unit or $1.13 per square foot, which translates to 6.4% of their gross potential rent, according to the National Apartment Association’s 2021 report about rental apartments’ income and expenses. Total operating expenses increased 2.6% from the prior year report, driven by several factors including repair and maintenance. In the era of COVID-19, more personal protective equipment for the facility cleaning crews, as well as sanitation supplies, continue to drive costs beyond the expected wear and tear on apartments.
“Because of all the moving parts, each turnover has different needs,” Zdanavage says. “Due to the nature of it, you don’t know what you’re getting into with each unit.
Here are five reasons why property managers can’t sleep tonight:
Help Wanted
It’s no secret that the multifamily housing industry is facing a talent shortage.
For property managers, who are typically responsible for the in-house crews, the ongoing challenge during the Great Resignation can cause sleepless nights. Apartment turnovers, for example, require enough available labor along with proper coordination to achieve the tight turns that mitigate long-standing vacancies. Unfortunately, 74% of apartment management professionals rank “staffing and recruitment” as one of the top challenges with 50% scoring it as the No. 1 obstacle.
“There is either a staffing problem or an experience problem,” says Jeffrey Upmalis, who is vice president of operations and sales at CNS Cleaning Company. “It comes back to time and quality. Time to get it done, manpower to do it, and the quality once that timeframe is met.”
‘I Have a Stomachache’
Hypothetically, let’s say you’re a property manager. Everything has been planned in advance. You have a system that works efficiently for apartment turnovers. But suddenly, your cellphone lights up. “I have a stomachache,” says one of your team members on the crew. Or it’s a family emergency or flat tire. The reason is not as important as the impact. Your teams may handle maintenance or renovations or facility cleaning. Who will fill in tonight at the last minute? Where will you find the money in the budget for the unexpected expense? Property managers already spend 6%-7% annually on contracted services to backfill positions—even on a temp-basis.
Being shorthanded usually means falling short.
In 2020, total economic losses for property managers increased to 8.7% of gross potential rents, which was the greatest annual loss since 2013. Concessions and poor collections paled in comparison to losses to vacancies, which accounted for nearly 80% of all losses.
Divided We Fall
To make an apartment turnover hum, every team member must be on the same page. The list of activities, ranging from maintenance to fixes to facility cleaning, is a sequence like a dance routine where everyone must be on the same beat with the ability to improvise when needed.
CNS Cleaning Company, a family-owned, commercial cleaning company outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since 1983, has developed a special “Punch-Paint-Turn” service that helps property managers fill their apartment turnovers with incoming tenants.
CNS facility cleaning crews start at each property with an inspection, which quickly turns into a to-do, punch list for the property manager’s maintenance team. While they are knocking out the heavier tasks, CNS’ cleaning teams are transforming scrapes, scratches and grime into a sparkling, shiny space.
50 Shades of White
When property managers change out tenants, they typically want to put a fresh coat of paint on the walls. But what’s the color? You want a simple white, right? Well, do you mean eggshell white or ivory? How about vanilla or Navajo white? In polite company, there are 50 different takes on the staid color. (And by 50, we mean 500 plus.)
Most property managers don’t ask their internal teams to document and catalog the specific colors and shades on the walls of their apartment units. As a result, every apartment turnover ends up as a do-over, which wastes more time and adds more angst to the process. Paint color matching is one of the top problems that property managers face with apartment turnovers.
As part of CNS’s apartment turnover service, their facility cleaning crews have the ability to conduct color matching on the spot, making color changes to the entire unit—along with wall and line cuts—on the same day.
Cutting Corners
Property managers should not cut corners on apartment inspections. Conducting thorough apartment inspections will ensure problem areas don’t become repetitive, ruining a first impression with a new tenant again and again. For example, if no one checks every appliance, then the odds are it will be overlooked and left for the new tenant to report.
“We do an inspection before we do the work,” Jeffrey Upmalis says. “The new tenant moves in and the garbage disposal doesn't work, the dishwasher doesn't run, the fire alarm doesn’t work. The property manager’s teams are moving so fast they don’t do a quality inspection prior, so these problems remain, but they will surface later.”
(Bill Dunn is president of CNS Cleaning Company, which keeps businesses squeaky clean with the latest technology, special attention to detail and responsive communications. Since 1983, the family-owned company has earned a BBB A+ rating and more than 200 5-Star customer reviews. He can be reached at 215.985.1830.)
CNS Cleaning Company is a family owned and locally operated cleaning company. We provide industrial cleaning, corporate office cleaning, janitorial and porter services throughout Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area since 1983. Our professional cleaners are fully licensed, bonded and insured.
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