With spring on the way, it is natural that rental apartment owners and managers begin to think about landscaping, curb appeal, and how to improve the appearance of their properties. But what does this mean in terms of money and work? What is the payoff?

We all understand instinctively that renters will be attracted to properties in good condition and will be repelled by properties in poor condition. But let’s make this clear: The first thing a prospective renter sees is the outside of the apartment community, while the last thing a prospective renter sees is the inside of the apartment suites.

What are the Implications?
To maximize the inflow of prospective renters, while minimizing costs, improvements should be concentrated from “street to suite”, i.e. from the outside to the inside, in the following order:
1. curb appeal (including landscaping)
2. signage
3. common areas
4. apartment suites/units
Why this order? Because, no matter how impressive your renovated apartment suites are, the prospective renters may never tour the units if they see a dilapidated exterior. They may not bother to come inside for a closer look, as a result, that means reduced traffic and fewer closed leases.

How To Get Started
The best way to get started on making improvements to a rental apartment community is to create action plans. By carefully plotting improvements long before the spade hits dirt, property owners and managers can plot timelines, allocate work loads, and fine-tune costs.

We recommend developing the following plans:
Landscaping Plan – A detailed outline of the landscaping design, including the types of materials, plants, and other features, plotted out on site plans. Item by item costs and man-hours should be worked out based on the design.

Signage Plan – A detailed outline of types of signage needed as well as their ideal locations. Signs should promote the rental apartment community and provide contact information for rental inquires by prospective renters. Signage should also be consistent with your marketing ‘brand’.

Marketing Plan – Develop a ‘brand’ for your property (or portfolio) and use it in all advertising and signage.

By developing detailed plans for landscaping, signage, and marketing, property owners and managers can make decisions about final costs and workloads.

Costs can be controlled in several ways, including the following:
1. Simplifying designs (reducing the complexity and cost of improvements)
2. Utilizing bang-for-buck design features (using preconstructed landscaping features)
3. Using in-house staff to undertake work (instead of using expensive landscaping firms and consultants)
4. Completing the construction work in stages (spreading costs over time).

If costs are too high, then change your plans. Use hardy plants domestic to Canada and capable of surviving our winters. Substitute cheaper, lower-maintenance features such as recycled plastic benches. Use plywood signs
instead of carved wood or shaped steel. Employ your superintendents instead of an expensive landscaping firm. Focus on repairing existing curb appeal before adding new improvements and upgrades.

What Makes a Good Design?
Above all, your apartment community must look good in the eyes of prospective renters; and significant improvements can be achieved for little cost. First on the list is to improve existing curb appeal. Many properties do not actually require new construction or major upgrades. Fix damages to curbs and paint them white or yellow. Trim hedges and shrubs to uniform sizes.
Pull down and replace damaged or vandalized signs. Clean up garbage and move dumpsters to unobtrusive locations.

Next, consider adding flowerbeds and shrubs to add ‘green appeal’ and soften the edge between the building and the ground plane. Keep grass trimmed and re-seed where necessary (fence off grass if residents keep walking over the lawns). Construct sidewalks where residents have walked on the grass and left a muddy trail. Create a small sitting area at the rear of the property with benches or a gazebo. Paint or re-surface balconies and make residents take their ‘stuff’ inside. Conceal dumpsters behind wooden fencing. Brand your property (or portfolio) by installing signs of consistent design, shape, color, and lettering. With these basic improvements in place, your rental apartment community will be much more attractive to renters. This means higher traffic levels of interested prospects, more tours and rental inquiries, and most importantly, more closed leases.

Article provided by:
Derek A. Lobo & Associates
Canadian Apartment Journal
www.dala-inc.com
Reprinted with permission from
Canadian Apartment Journal - Vol. 7, No. 2 May/June 2006