Dania Beach, Fla. (September 27, 2023) 

Executing Multifamily Renovations: One Strategy Does Not Fit All

Maintaining your apartments can boost resident satisfaction and NOI, making your property more competitive.

Keeping apartment communities in tip-top shape is an important part of resident retention and ensures steady NOI. Renovations can not only make a property more competitive in the marketplace but can also generate higher rents.

“Life safety and infrastructure stabilization are obviously paramount,” says Michael Wolfe, president of property management at FirstService Residential. “If my roof leaks and my hot water’s not being delivered to apartments, I’m going to focus there first before putting new carpet in the hallways.” Plus, aesthetics are subjective. Maybe you don’t need to put wallpaper in the hallways today, but paint’s not that expensive.

“With inflation and the economy, renters are certainly looking at ‘what’s this (apartment) going to cost me,’” says Wolfe. “Their No. 1 consideration is dollars out of pocket.” Upgraded unit interiors with central AC and in-unit laundry will certainly attract prospects to a property, but Wolfe notes that curb appeal is a powerful motivator, too. Prospects might never get out of the car for a walk-through if the parking lot is full of potholes or if they see weeds and the sidewalks are all broken up.

Click here to read the rest of the article.
Sep 27, 2023