I am often asked, “What advice do you have for new supervisors?” Instead of “work hard” cliches and platitude sayings, I always recommend these books. I think most of us who work in property management can agree that the mental side of the business is where we struggle the…
“You don’t have a choice!” That’s what was said to me the first time I left the property management industry. I was a veteran maintenance tech and had been with the company for 8 years. Yet, I was still being talked to like a dog. What was the infraction you…
Hear ye, hear ye! All property owners gather around and let’s study the picture below. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s an attempted leak repair using painters tape and a cell phone charging cord. And, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this is most likely taking place at…
People often ask, “Lex, what’s the perfect property to work at?” And my answer is always, “There is no perfect property. When you go to another property nothing changes but the names and the faces.” So take it from me, someone who has worked at two dozen properties and has…
I’m not sure what it is, but hearing a property manager gloat that she or he is on call 24/7/365 always takes 2 millimeters off of my back molars. When I come in to work the next morning and explain that I’m a little tired because I got an emergency…
“Why can’t I find good help?” The complaint I see online and hear over and over. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but there are a lot of great technicians out there. I know this for a fact because I talk with them in person and online every week.…
I’ve been on both sides of this issue. I’ve dealt with shops that had the bare minimum to work with and shops that had more than enough to work with. Needless to say, working in a skeleton shop annoys the piss out of me. Early in my maintenance career I…
The hider. It may surprise some people how rampant and common this problem is. If you’ve worked in the apartment industry long enough then you know who I’m talking about. It’s the person that you only see when they’re clocking in and clocking out. Or, they’re standing over you blabbing…
August. Even though I haven’t worked in student housing for 6 years, just looking at that month on a calendar still spikes my anxiety. The 16 hour work days, Monday through Sunday, for 3 weeks. The 100 U-Hauls jockeying for position. Parents hollering at the office staff claiming that their…
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…