All Forum Posts by: Hayes Freeman

Hi,

Can someone give me some advice, or offer your professional services for finding and communicating with apartment owners?

I have used a list company in the past for SFR's, but would like the best way to find apartment owners in metro Atlanta.
thank you in advance.

@Jay Helms

I was thinking up to 10 units to test. Out of a total o 136 units.   From what I understand, we stay fairly full all year, although, I plan to maximize this place, so testing things like airbnb are definitely an option.

thank you @Jim Adrian

Colleen

We are HEAVY with foreign students at our building.  
It's hard for me to imagine them not wanting furnished units...

James Malone,

Your story is exactly what I am trying to address.  Those are the same furnishings that I would put in a unit.  It just doesn't make sense to me that all these students drag all this big stuff in and out of this place every year.  
And I believe the return on investing in these items would be good.  
My research says that people in my area are charging a little more, both for rent and for furnishings

Thank you Tyler Watts,

We have a dedicated laundry facility on our bottom floor, so no laundry in the units.

My idea for furnished would be the basic furniture.  Essentially all the big stuff so that people could move in with some boxes in  an SUV rather than a Haul

Jeff Greenberg,
I grew up in Newbury Park!  

agreed on all, I was planning to test (up to 10 units)  
I have done some research in my market, and some of the comp are offering furnished units.  But they don't seem to be pushing it.  I was gonna lean into it and create a special page on our website etc.  

The thing about testing this, is as you said, you haven't committed to anything until you see that it worked.  If I can presell units furnished for next year, at a price that I"m happy with, then we set them up in time for the new tenant.   It seems like a no-brainer to me.  

Hi,

We have an apartment building next door to a big university.  

My property manager was describing the crazy event that happens every summer, when she has to schedule one move in per day, because we don't have good parking/access for the Uhaul trucks that people move in with.  

Instinctively, I thought that offering at least some furnished units would lighten this yearly problem.  Also, I figured that we could get a good return on investment by charging a significant markup on furnished units.  We already provide all utilities in our rent payment, so going to a furnished unit shouldn't add any additional clerical issues...

I'm looking for feedback on offering furnished units near colleges.  
How much do you add per month for furnishing a unit?

Is "furnished" just furniture?  Or does furnished also mean all kitchen utensils, towels, TV?

how does the demand for furnished compare to unfurnished units in your building?

Am I correct in expecting an easier "move-in season" with furnished units?

We have a lot of foreign students at our building.  I would expect them to want furnished units.  True?

Where do you shop to furnish an apartment.  Do you go with expensive high quality furniture that will last
or cheaper stuff that will last a few years and replace?

Garrison,

I want to have a conversation about the furnished apartments. (I sent a message to you, but I'll also start a forum thread)

We are already paying all utilities, so testing furnished units will be easy for us.

Paying for a bulk internet for the units is near $20+- a month, cable is a little more than that.

Great input everyone.

I am unsure at this moment if we will be able to deal with each unit on a case-by-case basis for keeping the cable on.  

(spectrum has been hard to get information out of )

Here are some details:

We currently use time warner spectrum and pay a single bill for high speed internet and cable for all units.  We will be switching to a new company who will rewire our entire building and install wifi portals in each unit.  They will be bringing a fiber optic circuit to the building with speeds up to 500mb.  This new faster internet service will actually be cheaper than what we are currently paying for internet.  
The way we deal with the cable depends on what answer I get from Spectrum.  My plan was to push the benefits of our new fiber internet, and (in small letters) mention that you'll now get your tv through internet instead of cable.  And then if we get some push back from some tenants, offer them a solution.  1. maybe we can in fact offer to keep cable on in certain units. 2. offer free digital antennas, ( our market gets quite a few channels over the airwaves) 3. if push came to shove, offer to pay for a streaming plan for a tenant that is really unhappy with the cable cut.

Overall, moving to this new fiber internet, and cutting the cable will create