Chris: With all the technology and new resources, why is
it a harder today? Dennis: Mold, asbestos, lead paint, meth labs. All
those things are handled much differently today.
Don: Liability and exposure. Susan: Nobody wore masks back then either, now we
know better.
Julie: Resident reviews and social media, now
resident reviews are a part of every single thing you
do. If someone makes a mistake, it is a big deal and
everyone knows about it.
Susan: Plus lawsuits, they just didn’t happen at the
crazy frequency like they do now.
Dennis: Back then all we had to worry about were
cockroaches and maybe a seeing eye dog every once
in a while, because we didn’t allow pets.
Mike: The policies and restrictions changed because
the market. When things got tough and the market
was soft the industry said, “pets? No worries,
bring your pets!”.
Terry: It was a competitive advantage to
allow pets. Everyone figured it out and
started allowing pets.
Susan: It was the 80's when we
started accepting pets, and then
we started eliminating pets in
early 90s before the market
crashed. Now it seems like Pets
are more part of the apartment
culture.
Don: And another opportunity
for revenue.
Julie: Another big change is how
the industry deals with a death on
the property. I remember someone
passing away or jumping from the top
of a building… and there was blood
on someone’s BBQ grill and I just called
maintenance to take care of it. We have learned
so much since then.
Terry: Crime scene cleanup.
Dennis: I think around the time HIV started, in
the mid 80’s… we started handling blood much
differently.
Julie: You look back and it was really stupid back then. We
made maintenance do crazy stuff.
Mike: For liability reasons, you just can’t touch stuff
now.
Susan: You have to be licensed and certified for this
kind of task.
Julie: Even mold back then we handled differently.
We just cleaned it up with bleach. Now, it all has to
be documented and now you have to use a certified
professional.
www.aamdhq.org
Chris: What are some other things that exist today that
back then you would have never dreamed up:
Julie: Leasing with an iPad - a piece of technology
that you carried in your hand! People can lease now
without even seeing the unit.
Susan: Professionalism was different then. It was
much more casual, even though we had uniforms and
we acted professional, we had fun with the residents
-- spending time with the residents was a lot easier
then too.
Terry: It was less formal for sure.
Sharon: Much more cordial. You just
got so involved with your residents to
the point where they wanted to keep
living at your community.
Don: Much less of a personal
touch today.
Sharon: There was more of a
sense of community. Everyone
knew each other. The on-site
team really knew the residents.
The residents renewed their
leases because they just felt so
connected.
Susan: Employees stayed
longer. The dedication to your
management company was different,
to be honest, employees were much
more loyal.
Mike: Happy Hour Fridays! Every Friday,
we would have more than 100 people come.
Terry: Christmas parties were different too, a lot
more booze.
Sharon: Now our employees cannot drink alcohol at
resident functions.
Chris: Those don’t happen at all anymore?
Susan: Some communities have beer and wine
perhaps in their club room now but they limit them
to two a day/evening. My resident parties we had
kegs and the residents drank all they wanted and
walked home. We didn’t use to think about liability. It
was just about retaining residents.
Sharon: Now the fear of liability overshadows every
decision we make. Every decision.
Terry: Pool parties may happen occasionally, but
there is no booze.
JANUARY 2018 • TRENDS | 37