While reading through some online forums, I’ve seen people say that the apartment industry is like a “secret society” that’s hard to break into. And now that I really think about it, it is! I had to know somebody that was already in the business to get a job as a maintenance technician. Well, I was actually not hired as a tech at first. Only a porter at the time. I had zero experience and all I did was pick up garbage and paint front doors for a year.

So, how do you break into the apartment business with no experience when every company wants you to have experience? I have the answer. You’ve come to the right place.

Student housing. Do you live in or around a college town? If you do, and you’re serious about wanting to get into the apartment business, a student housing apartment complex is going to be your ticket in.Here’s the catch though. You want to get in there around June or July to fill out your application. Before the storm hits. And I don’t mean an actual storm.

There’s a season in student housing called “turn season.” What’s that, you ask? Turn season, a.k.a. “turn”, is where 80% of the tenant’s leases end and they all move out at the same time. Yes, at the same time. On July 31st, 60 to 100 apartments become vacant in one day. Depending on the size of the property ,of course.

I’ve worked 8 turns during the 8 years that I worked in student housing. And every year was, “my last turn damn it!”

That’s actually how I got hired. The person that I knew said that they were looking for turn season help. And that’s how I fell into maintenance. It was supposed to be temporary. But, I fell in love with the job! And here I am, 14 years later.

I hope this doesn’t sound callus or mean, but student housing properties are just looking for warm bodies during turn season. They pretty much will hire anyone that applies for the job. “Strong backs with weak minds”, an old supervisor that I worked with used to say. So, prepare yourself for doing only grunt work.

The first day of turn is nothing but going from apartment to apartment getting all the trash out. And college kids trash their freaking apartments. But, if you find something cool, you can keep it! Sometimes, they leave behind nice things like TVs or stereos. Then, for the next 2 to 3 weeks you’ll be working from 7:00 a.m. until midnight or later making trashed party pads look brand new again. You’ll be replacing light bulbs, toilet seats, hanging new blinds, replacing broken outlet covers, and more. You wont have to worry about major problems. The veterans will take care of the big stuff. All you’ll be doing is what I described. Over and over and over. All day long for 3 weeks.

I hope I didn’t scare you! It’s actually not that bad once you get in there and dig in. You’ll meet some new friends that you’ll form a comradery with. You will bond and keep each other going through the battle that is turn. The company that I did 8 turns with would feed us good and even break out some booze at night to lighten everyone’s mood. Turn parties were the best!

WHAT ABOUT THE CASH?

The money you’ll earn will be awesome! Working 14 to 16 hour days for 3 weeks straight with time and a half pay makes a banging paycheck. It’s like the king crab fishermen on that show “The Deadliest Catch” that make most of their money working 7 days a week for a month or two.

HOW TO GET IN THE INDUSTRY AND STAY.

Most of the time, the newly hired help that turned out to be good workers got hired on permanently when turn season ended. Both maintenance techs and leasing agents. Leasing agents do grunt work too! If you want to get in as a leasing agent, get ready to grab your sparkle bucket and get to cleaning once you’re done filing papers away.

The apartment industry is always looking for great people that can give great service to residents. Especially in the internet age where people that had a bad experience can tell 10,000+ people at the same time. Great people seem to be really hard to find. So, if you love working on things and helping people but can’t get your foot in the door, student housing is your best bet. Even if you don’t get hired on full-time when turn is over, you will now have the experience for your resume. And believe me, a student housing turn under your belt is a badge of honor. Somebody will hire you!

THE MAINTENANCE MAN MYTH.

I’m not sure when this happened, but there seems to be a stigma tied to the maintenance trade now days. The myth is that maintenance men are lazy, unqualified, and jerry-riggers that don’t know what they’re doing. Not true! Are there lazy hacks in the industry? Sure there is! But they are in every trade from plumbing to HVAC. If you watch my show The Dirty Maintenance Show , you’ll see plumbing and HVAC hackery at it’s finest! I’m working on new construction that’s only 3 years old! I didn’t install the stuff wrong. Plumbing and HVAC companies did! And I’m cleaning up their mess.

I’m a member of a lot of HVAC and plumbing groups on Facebook and I see what some of them say about us maintenance guys. It’s sad and so untrue. Most of us are certified and trained professionals. We don’t get the luxury of doing only one thing all day long like they do. The maintenance technician has to be the HVAC tech, the plumber, the electrician, the locksmith, the appliance repairman, the carpenter, the trash hauler, and much more! So don’t let some knucklehead bring you down about wanting to be a maintenance technician.

So, there you have it. That’s my advice to you if you’re trying to break into the apartment industry. Go apply at a student housing property and get some experience. A conventional property will be hard to get into if you’re inexperienced or don’t know someone that can get you in. And remember, you will start out at the bottom of the barrel. But, if you show up with a good attitude and ready to learn, you wont be there for long. It’s a great career and a culture that I love. Every day is different and so are the challenges.

I hope this has helped you find your way into our secret society. See you on the battlefield!

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How To Get Into Property Management

How To Get Into Property Management

WHAT ABOUT THE CASH?

THE MAINTENANCE MAN MYTH.

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