Summer is rapidly approaching and that means temperatures are rising. Encouraging your residents to keep their homes cool can help shrink your carbon footprint and reduce utility bills. Below are a few eco-friendly ways to keep your residents cool this summer.

Black-out Curtains
One of the easiest ways to beat the heat is with black-out curtains. According to Consumer Reports, light to medium colored drapes with a plastic background can reduce heat gain by up to 33 percent. Encourage families to invest in black-out curtains; or, if you’re feeling generous, buy some for your residents. If no one can invest in curtains, suggest your residents at least close their blinds during the day.

Embrace the Crockpot

The saying goes, “If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen;” this also applies to summer heat. Cooking and baking during the summer can make a warm kitchen hotter than Hades. One way to combat this is by encouraging your residents to embrace crockpot cooking. Crockpots are small and don’t generate a lot of heat like a stovetop or oven.

Spin The Fans Counter-Clockwise

Believe it or not, your ceiling fans are seasonal. To keep an apartment cool, one of the best things to do is make sure your residents’ fans are spinning counter-clockwise. When ceiling fans spinning counter-clockwise they create a refreshing wind-chill effect.

Open All the Doors

Ever walk into a closed room and marvel at how cool it is? Sealed rooms can trap cool air and keep it from circulating. Even if it feels weird to keep the bathroom door open, do it. Open doors throughout an apartment encourage cool air to circulate.

Swap Your Sheets

Are your sheets summer ready? Flannel and cotton sheets are amazing for spring, fall, and winter; not so much for summer. Bamboo sheets are some of the best for summer, they keep you covered and cool. Unfortunately, they can be a little pricey. Microfiber sheets are another great option for keeping cool. They’re light, breathable and can be stain and wrinkle resistant.

Do you have any eco-friendly tips for beating the heat? Let us know in the comments!

Moving is a daunting experience. No matter how excited you are to live in a new place, settling into a different location is stressful. As a property manager, it would be in your best interest that your new residents to feel welcome. Something you can do to help ease new tenants’ stressors is to provide them with welcome packages. A new resident welcome gift can be as small, or large, as you want; just as long as it has a personal touch.

Start Small

A welcome package doesn’t have to be big. In fact, it can be quite small. Think about what a new resident would need most and put it together in a FAQ sheet. Advise them how best to dispose of trash and recyclables. Let them know where the laundry facilities are or what the park rules are. You could give them a list of restaurants in the area or a small map of the neighborhood. When it comes to recommendations, the only thing limiting you is your printer and paper supply.

Step It Up a Bit

If you want to go a little further, consider leaving some helpful items in your new resident’s home. Putting a new role of toilet paper in the bathroom is a small gesture that can go a long way. Also, after spending the day moving, whats one of the first things you would want to do? Take a shower! Hang a shower curtain liner in the bathroom so your new residents can freshen up without a second thought. If your laundry machines are coin-operated, leave a roll of quarters.

Go All Out

Want to truly roll out the red carpet? If you’re looking to up your gift basket game, here are a few ways to make yourself stand out. Provide a gift card! Whether it’s to a local restaurant or the nearest Target, your new residents will be grateful for this kind gesture. Do your new residents have a pet or child? Don’t forget your tiniest tenants! Include some toys, snacks, or anything that’ll help calm the kids or pets.

Do you give a new resident welcome gift? Why or why not? Drop a comment and let us know!

Living with another person has its highs and lows. On one hand, it’s awesome to have someone around for movie nights, chat sessions, or just to help pay the bills. On the other hand, space can get tight. Sometimes, roommates need a neutral voice to help them through an issue. Here are some steps you can take to help mediate roommate conflicts.

Don’t Talk Separately: Though it may seem like a great idea to sit with roommates individually, chances are, you’re not really helping them. If they can’t talk to each other any time there’s a conflict, they may turn to you. Instead, try to sit the sparring roommates down together in a neutral space, maybe an office, or meeting room. Once you have them together, facilitate a dialogue between them. You should help move the dialogue forward towards a solution that works for the roommates and the apartment community.

Set Mediation Ground Rules: Oftentimes, roommate conflicts can get personal. We want to keep everything at a surface level and not let mediations get personal. Some helpful rules to set with your residents before starting the mediation are 1. No interrupting each other; 2. No calling each other names; 3. Attempt to focus on the future, no living in the past; 4. Listen respectively; and, 5. Work together to create a solution, not more problems. For more tips on setting ground rules, check out this article from mediation.com.

Uphold Community Guidelines: Many conflicts can easily be resolved by referencing your community guidelines. Is someone making too much noise too late at night? Make sure they know the common quiet time. Does someone have an issue with parking? You probably have apartment rules in place to address this. Sometimes the simplest fix is the best fix.

Follow Up: Once the conflict is handled, don’t forget to follow up. Ask them if things are working well, or if there are any other problems you can help with. Sending an email or calling your residents shows you care about their conflicts. It also shows residents you are available for any problems they may have within your community. Building a level of trust is something many property managers won’t do; it’s something that will set you apart.

Hopefully, these tips are helpful to mediate roommate conflicts. If you have any other tips you would like to add, please leave them in a comment. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Remember when neighbors were friends? As technology makes it easier to maintain long-distance connections, many times we’re seeing the local community suffer. It doesn’t have to be this way though. Today, we’re outlining methods to bring your residents together and how to foster friendship in apartment communities.

Events At Home

One of the best ways to bring people together is with community events. Since the weather is starting to heat up, now would be a great time to plan a summer movie series. We’ve seen apartment communities show family-friendly films such as The Goonies, The Princess Bride, The Sound of Music, or The Sandlot; among others. If you don’t have a screening room, hosting the event on a lawn would be an easy option. Party rentals often have AV options that can accommodate an outdoor event. Send invites to your residents on social media, or print flyers and leave them in mailboxes. Encourage your residents to invite friends, lay down blankets, and bring food; make it a fun, social night for everyone.

Get Outside

If you live in a community with a local sports team, see if you can get bulk tickets! Inviting your residents to a sports game is also an easy way to bring them together and turn neighbors into friends. Or, try to organize a community meetup. You can create your own group at MeetUp.com, or create a Facebook community page for your residents to chat, meet each other, and plan events. If you have any local hiking trails, invite your residents on a group hike, maybe hire a nature expert to drop fun facts along the way!

It’s reported that making friends as adults is incredibly hard. If you have tips to foster friendship in apartment communities, let us know in the comments. Turning neighbors into friends can be greatly beneficial. It could help retain your residents, and bring in some new, trusted renters.