Interview with a Property Manager

 Yesterday I sat down with our property manager, Kory, to find out a little bit more about him and our property.

Michelle: How long have you been working at this apartment community?

Kory: Since May of 2009, specifically 2009 A.D.

M: Thanks for clarifying. Have you ever worked at any other apartment communities?

K: No, this is my time working within an apartment community.

M: Does management organize community events? And if so, what kinds?

K: Yes, yes we do. This year alone we’ve had a pool party, a ribbon cutting ceremony for our dog park, and a Thanksgiving dinner for the residents is on the horizon.

M: Do we have a community bulletin board? And if so, can the residents put stuff on it?

K: Yes, it’s located in the mail center. Above and beyond that, residents are always welcome to drop material off in the office to be included in new resident welcome packets.

M: What is the most common cleaning mistake residents miss when moving out of their apartment?

K: As we all know, moving can be a stressful time. The two most frequently missed and least desirable to clean areas are the kitchen and bathrooms. In particular the inside of the stove (this is really easy to do considering they are self-cleaning).

M: Can we paint the walls in the apartment? Or hang anything up?

K: Yes to both. We want you to make the apartment your home. We do ask that the apartment be painted in a professional manner and be covered with a primer before moving out to minimize charges. As far as hanging items go, we ask that holes larger than standard nail holes be patched and repaired.

M: What do we do to prepare the community for winter weather?

K: When we have severe weather approaching we treat walkways and stairways.  We will have our onsite maintenance and residents (that are willing to help) be on standby to remove snow and ice from these common areas.

M: So lets hear some stuff about you. What is your favorite thing about the community?

K: My favorite thing about the community is that we are a community.  We, the staff, have wonderful relationships with our neighbors and we are always trying to improve those relations.  We never want anyone to feel like they are not at home and a part of something. 

M: What do you hope that your residents say about you?

K: I would hope that they feel that I am accessible and responsive to their needs/concerns.  I try to better myself and the environment around us on a daily basis.  I try to learn a little about each of our neighbors to show them that we care about them and appreciate them being a part of our community.

M: Okay, one last question, what is the one thing you can’t live without on a day to day basis?

K: Actually there are two things that I am dependent on daily, my morning coffee, as I am an early riser, and believe it or not!, my cell phone.  I am able to be more responsive with staff and neighbors with access to my phone.  I make it a priority to check and respond to emails first and last thing on a daily bases.

Interview with a Maintenance Supervisor

Last week I sat down with our Maintenance Supervisor, Lora, to ask some questions:

Michelle: Since it's October, what is the best thing to do to get your apartment ready for the winter months?

Lora: The best thing to do is change your furnace filter. Also cover your windows with curtains as blinds are not a very good insulator - heavy drapes are always a good idea.

M: What is the most frequent problem you get a service request for, and what is the best way to solve it on your own?

L: The garbage disposal is stopped up – the way you can fix this is proper and frequent usage.

M: What are you certified in as far as maintenance goes?

L: I have an EPA HVAC Universal Certification, I’m also a certified pool operator (CPO) and I have a lead abatement certificate which means I can remove lead paint from walls if necessary (which does not apply to our community). In addition, I’m a certified fork lift operator and I have a mold remediation certificate. 

M: How large is our maintenance staff?

L: We have 3 staff – a supervisor, a service tech and a grounds keeper.

M: What modifications do you make to units after residents leave?

L: We have maintenance come in to repair anything that the resident did not, we also have a housekeeper come in and clean the apartments. After this we have painters come in, and then our carpet guys either steam clean, or replace the carpet.

M: Are we allowed to plant anything in the mulch area in front of our patios? I've seen a few people with different flowers out in front of their apartments? 

L: Yes – please feel free to put plants in if you would like.

M: How long have you been working at the apartment community?

L: I've been at this community for three years.

M: Have you worked at other communities? And if so, where and what was your role there?

L: Yes, I worked in Ohio starting out as grounds maintenance and worked my way up to supervisor.




Who would you want us to have an interview with on the property? And what would you ask them?

Resident Pool Party

I'm sorry I've been on hiatus for a little while! We've just been so busy planning our resident appreciation pool party! It was a great time, and we handed out a ton of prizes. Stuff from the Louisville Quest, the Derby Museum, Buck's Restaurant, and discounts off of rent!

That last lady won $100 off her rent, can't you tell?! We're going to have a neighborhood wide yard sale on September the 14th so feel free to come out and shop if you're not selling anything.

Do you have any other ideas for events around the community? We were thinking about a pumpkin carving contest in October. Would you want to participate? Or do you have an idea of another event we could do?

Grand Opening

Hello friends! It's been awhile and I apologize for that! But we were having a celebration that I hope you were able to come to. We just had the grand opening for our dog park ceremony which was well attended by our residents (especially considering how hot it was outside). It was a very sunny day and we had representatives from both Feeders Supply in Middletown and Metro Vet (an emergency service vet that is located right up the road). We are so thankful to them for coming out and talking to our pet owners in the community and hope that our residents will take advantage of their kindness.

We had about 12 dogs came out, and there were many treats given and prizes handed out. And the dogs got to run around without leashes on!




Did your dog get to come out? How did they like it?

You're Invited!

Blankenbaker Crossings is going to the dogs! We're having our ribbon cutting ceremony for our new puppy playground this Sunday the 14th at 5pm! We really hope you and your four legged family members will be able to make it!

We have several vets and other pet related businesses from around the area coming to the opening so we'd really love for our residents to come out and share their support! Please call the office if you have any questions for us!

Community Garden Update

Our garden is getting so much produce that we had to expand it! Don't worry residents, next year we'll probably be adding another plot to it so everyone can get their stuff in.

 We've got some baby tomatoes growing.

 Massive heads of lettuce

 Basil for days

 Our bell peppers are starting to peek through

 The far leaves are squash and zucchini, the middle is arugula and the closest is spinach

 ...like I said, we may need more land next year.

Restaurant Review

Jason's Deli

So for those of us that live around a Jason's Deli, this might seem like a silly blog post, but we have a lot of people that move into our apartments that move in from out of town or even out of the country. Jason's Deli is right down the road from our apartment complex, and let me tell you, it is GOOD!

They have an amazing salad bar that you can get pretty much anything on - hummus, organic fruit, cottage cheese, gingerbread or cornbread muffins, oh yeah, and salad with pretty much anything you'd want on it! You can either go up one time with half of your sandwich or soup, or you can get the unlimited experience and go up as many times as you'd like to.

They have MASSIVE sandwiches! Our Assistant Property Manager gets the Beefeater every time and it comes with au jus, a pickle and some chips.

Our head of Maintenance, Lora (you can read about her a few posts ago) gets the taco salad. Crunchy tortilla chips underneath an actual salad with your choice of regular or Southwest Chicken chili, guacamole and sour cream to top it off!

I got the California Club this time (but I've had their taco salad, salad bar, tuna sandwich, and everything has been delicious!) and it was very tasty :D It's creamy with avocado, you've got a lot of lettuce on there and the crunchy bacon is soooooo good. But I really love that it comes on a croissant, it's so buttery and flaky and goes perfectly with this sandwich.

 

But the best part (especially if you have kids, or are a kid at heart) is the free ice cream that you get if you eat in the store! They have chocolate or vanilla or you can swirl it. And you can get it in a cup or a cone, or a cup with a cone on the top.

Have you been to Jason's Deli? What was your favorite thing on the menu?

Welcome Home!

When you rent an apartment here at Blankenbaker Crossings you'll be welcomed with a friendly smile and a lovely bag of goodies for you to indulge in. It makes your move a little easier! Our office is always open if you need to talk to us (about anything, not just apartment life), and we've always got some sort of cookies or candy for you to snack on. You also get a move-in packet with menu's and coupons for different restaurants in the area.

But would you want anything else? Something a little different than what we provide? We want to know your thoughts on what you feel like your apartment should, or should not do when you move in.

Community Garden Update!

Well our garden has had so much stuff planted in it we've had to till some extra land! Here's what's growing in our garden:

       

What did you plant this year? And how's it growing?

Pool's Open!

Getting to know you

We have another installment of our "Getting to know your Staff"! This time it's our head of maintenance, Lora!

What are your hobbies? Running, camping, traveling, watching tv, collecting empty mayo jars

Who is your favorite sports team?

                Pro: Bengals

                College: Ohio State

What is your dream car? Any convertible

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Ice cream

What is the one dish that you will never, ever eat? Sushi

What’s your favorite recipe to cook? Wick’s delivery

If you could paint your office any color, what would it be? Clear

What’s the oddest place that you’ve ever traveled to? In 1969 I walked across Niagara Falls

What is the one thing you’re most proud of? I ran 5 miles once

What is your favorite and least favorite fruit and vegetable?

                Favorite: watermelon

                Least favorite: okra

Have you ever had to serve on jury duty? No

If you could go back to any time period, what would it be? Why? I’d rather go to the future

What is the one movie you wish had a sequel? Toys starring Robin Williams

What is the longest book you’ve ever read? Moby Dick

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Comedienne

Do you have any phobia’s? That’s too confidential, if I tell you, I gotta kill you!

If you have any maintenance questions please feel free to leave them in the comments and Lora will be more than happy to answer them for yoUu!

It's been a busy week here at the apartment complex! There are so many people who like to move in when it's warm, which also means their lease typically ends in the warmer months as well. Our apartment complex doesn't have any open apartments until June 14th (good news for us, bad news for people that waited until the last minute and need an apartment yesterday).

So when should you start looking for an apartment? Here at Blankenbaker Crossings, we require a 60 day notice from our residents. This means that we typically know about two months in advance what we're going to have available for you. I, however, would start looking at least three months in advance. If you come across a good (smart) leasing professional, they'll know what you want (because they've written it down), and will give you a call first thing when that apartment opens up that fits your needs.

What else do you need to do to prepare for your move? You need to figure out what the heck is in the area that you're going to be living in! Are you moving from out of the area? You'll probably need to look into doctors offices, insurance agencies, school districts, maybe even banks.

Moving is a stressful time in someones life (second only to the death of a family member) so you need to be prepared. We try to make sure that you're as prepared as we can make you by giving you an application packet which contains different insurance agents, movers and storage facilities, our Insight agent, and banking information for around the area.

What do you think would be helpful for you apartment complex to do to help you move?

Social Media cont'd

So I just discovered Vine! I'm having some trouble getting adjusted to only having six seconds of video that I can take, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite fun.

Check out what we've got so far:

https://vine.co/v/bEIH6nMY9QH

https://vine.co/v/bE67AjgBWiw

Sorry about the not so pretty links, but I'm off to take more video! Have a great Friday, and if you get a free minute, feel free to stop by the apartment complex and see the rest of the complex :D

Social Media

Our apartment complex has been updated to the 21st century! We're now on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Pintrest, and of course we have this wonderful blog. However, I'm seeing that not very many of our residents are "following" or "liking" us. Have these social media outlets already become "uncool"?

 

So here's the question that I pose to you. If you're a resident (of any apartment, it doesn't have to be ours) do you follow your apartment complex on any of these sites? How well do they interact with you, or better yet, how do they draw you in?

 

Now, if you're an apartment complex, how do you draw in your residents? And how many of them actually follow you on these sites? Do you have a blog as well, and if you do, what topics do you share with your followers?

We would love to be able to keep in touch at the click of a button with our residents, but how can we do that if they don't follow us?!

Community Garden Update

Hey folks! I hope you all had a great weekend! It rained a lot here in Louisville, which was perfect for our community garden. More and more people are planting things in it. We've got onions, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, and tons of herbs.

      

What are you planting in your garden this year? And do you have any tips for us?

Pops of Color

Does your apartment look dull and boring? I mean, it's only temporary living, so why bother to make it feel like home? How you feel at home can effect how you feel in the rest of your life. If you're not happy at home, why would you feel happy anywhere else?

"Well what can I do that won't make me lose half of my deposit?"

There are TONS of things you can do! Have you heard of Command? They've pretty much eliminated the need for nails to hang anything decorative around your home. You want to hang up a poster? They have velcro strips that you can put on the picture and the wall. You want to hang a picture? They have hooks that can hold those. Wreath on your front door? Put a hook upside down on the inside of the door, then run a ribbon with the wreath to the other side. Then you've got a clean look with some extra flair from your ribbon.

"Well that's all well and good, but what if I don't have anything to hang? Pictures are expensive."

  

All of these wall stickers are under $20 on Etsy. They're all very easy to take off, and won't leave any residue on your walls, so you won't have to worry about an extra charge for cleaning.

"I've got pictures on the walls, but everything else still looks...blah."

Well a good can of spray paint will run you about $6, and yard sale season is upon us folks. Go out and buy some knickknacks for like a quarter.

 

The second picture has old perfume bottles that are spray painted white.

 Or you could get super crafty and put lace on whatever you're going to spray paint for a nice pattern like Jessica from the Lovely Side blog did.

What DIY stuff have you done to brighten up your apartment?