What NYC Residents Are Saying About Their Apartments
New York City-based property managers and landlords – listen up! We’ve surveyed NYC residents to get feedback about their living situations, and we’ve got the inside scoop on all the ups and downs they’ve experienced in their homes (after all, NYC living quarters are notoriously “interesting”). Use the feedback below to improve your offerings!
To start, we asked our respondents to
describe their apartment in three words…
Property managers, aim for responses like this:
“Cozy, glamorous, perfect”
“Clean, good storage”
Not Like this:
“Noisy, ugly cabinets”
“Never. Enough, Closets”
Obviously, you can’t easily reconstruct your apartments to include more closets, but you may want to consider providing complimentary wardrobes to apartments with particularly little storage. Also, make sure your buildings are clean and well-kept. Even apartments that are small can be “glamorous” if you keep up with them!
What advice would you give to your property manager or landlord?
The two most common responses were to be more welcoming, and to provide online support.
“Offer a welcome kit, a tour, or SOMETHING when people move in! I had to introduce myself to everyone, learn my way around on my own, figure out (on my own) how to pay my maintenance bills online, etc.” -Jenna W.
“Be welcoming! I guess I miss that southern hospitality, but I’ve never even spoken to or heard from my property manager since signing my lease. Just a quick handwritten welcome note would be nice!” – Landis F.
“Provide more online support.” – Gretchen A.
“Be friendlier and give us access to pay rent online!” – Sam B.
So, how can you be more welcoming? At very least, provide your residents with a welcome packet. Include names, numbers, and addresses of local grocery stores, take-out restaurants, laundromats, and the like. Better yet, include a coupon to the local pizza place – no one wants to cook after a move. To go above and beyond (and boost resident satisfaction and retention while you’re doing it) check out our Step by Step Guide to Amazing Resident Move-Ins eBook!
Remember that you shouldn’t only be friendly and welcoming at move-in. Be sure to check in on your residents and your property periodically. Ensure that everything is clean, neat and working properly, and ask your residents for feedback!
Whitney M. explained, “I have a wonderful landlord – he owns my building as an investment property and he takes care of it as such. There’s only me and one other tenant, and he knows both of us personally. I know if I need him he’s only a call away, which makes me feel so great in my home.”
Be like Whitney’s landlord!
If you could have one dream amenity/feature in your apartment or building what would it be?
Turns out our respondents are pretty practical – two thirds say that an in-unit washer/dryer would be their dream amenity. This was followed closely by a rooftop pool and a walk-in closet (there were some dreamers).
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