Amenities Add ValueThis Is A Summary Page Owners and managers of large apartment communities are adding amenities to apartment living like never before. Their goal is to offer residents a quality of life package designed to be more appealing to a broad spectrum of Americans than even single-family homeownership. The trend isn't just restricted to the new luxury apartment market. Many older buildings are adding amenities like security alarms, gated access where possible, upgraded lighting and the popular space-saver microwave ovens. |
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Common area amenities now often include fitness centers, aerobics rooms, business centers and children's learning centers. A putting green and car wash have been tried as well. Owners of smaller apartment buildings are challenged to add comparable features without the large economies of scale that their larger competitors enjoy. The goal should be an entire package of connivance and services. An apartment that looks like a vanilla box may no longer be enough. Tenants are beginning to expect a rental environment that is as conducive to as comfortable a living experience as homeowners enjoy. It's difficult for owners of smaller apartment buildings to replicate expensive common-area amenities. A community of 5 00 apartments can afford to put in a much better amenity package than a building of 5 units ever can. Consequently, attention to service, detail and creativity become necessary. A winning strategy for smaller landlords is to add comfort and value to individual apartment units in ways that are within their budgets . Use Surveys to Determine Interest Regardless of the rental community's size, amenities should be well matched to the area's resident profile. Collecting data about residents' demographics, preferences and expectations helps guard against spending money to provide amenities no one wants. Clearly a small landlord cannot compete at that level. However, more tenant privacy and the owner's personal attention to small details and service are a strength the big guys can't offer. Surveys and focus groups may provide other important data as well. However, the most cost-effective research may be to just solicit feedback from your own residents, rather than hiring an independent consultant. Apartment association reports also provide good insight into the relative popularity of various amenities. Regardless of size, amenities should be well matched to the community's resident profile. Amenities usually pay for themselves through higher rents, often double the return on the basic apartment. Another strategy for owners of smaller operations is to focus on service, rather than concrete amenities that require a lot of space and special equipment. The above topics are discussed in much more depth |
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