Multifamily Budget Season: Tips for Adapting in 2021
How to plan your budget during uncertain times.
Marketing
Right now, it may feel like your visibility on revenues and forecasts for 2021 are fuzzy at best. With the COVID-19 pandemic still very much affecting how the multifamily industry does business, planning a solid budget for next year may seem like a daunting task. In the past, it was easy to take last year’s budget and adjust it for the planned curveballs that may be ahead—but unfortunately, a pandemic was one curveball that most of us could have never seen coming.
So, how do you budget during these uncertain times? You learn to adapt.
Budgets should reflect your priorities and financial goals. Some of which, probably need to be reconsidered for the next year. Here are a few tips and suggestions for how you can adapt your budget for the rocky road ahead.
Compared to last year, your maintenance budget may need a boost to ensure the wellness of your on-site team and residents. Cleanliness plans that may have been introduced this year will most likely need to continue into 2021. That means budgeting for things such as disinfection and disposal services, cleaners and sanitizers, masks, and non-contact thermometers are all things you may want to provide for your properties.
As major companies, such as Twitter, have announced permanent work-from-home options as a result of the pandemic, many of your prospective renters may not see your lease-up or beautiful property during their commute. That means less walk-in and drive-by traffic. That could also mean a shift in what prospects value the most. Instead of focusing advertising campaigns on location vicinity and property amenities, showcase your properties’ private balconies and office space.
Redefining your marketing goals to target more online audiences rather than offline, such as outdoor signage and radio, can affect your budget. According to media resource, MAGNA, digital advertising sales are expected to increase up to 7% in 2021. Their research also suggests that brands who are able to maintain advertising activity through a crisis outperformed those that “went dark”.
Many properties are experiencing changes in hours, availability of amenities and even changes in staffing in response to COVID-19. A constant rotation of policies—one day you’re open and the next you’re closed—can cause a lot of confusion.
Virtual leasing assistants can offer properties some peace of mind with their consistent and reliable communication. ACE, LeaseHawk’s virtual leasing assistant, uses artificial intelligence to conversationally answer your property’s phone calls, chats and texts. It can even schedule virtual tours, collect guest cards and provide your property’s latest information regarding changes in hours and amenities. It saves your leasing team countless hours from having to answer repetitive questions, so instead, they can focus on bigger tasks at hand. At nearly half the price of a call center, having a virtual leasing assistant can be a huge asset to your 2021 budget.
Rent delinquency, forgiveness, and eviction are all heavy terms that have many multifamily businesses unsure of what is ahead. The long-term financial impacts of our current environment are still unknown, but through all of this, there’s one great tip to follow in 2021—prepare to improvise and have compassion.
Fill out this form to learn more.
Phone calls are the tried-and-true communication method for the multifamily industry, but do prospective renters actually prefer to text instead? See what the data says and how your leasing team can be prepared to answer on the channels that your prospects prefer most.
This 2023 budgeting season will be like no other. With growing costs—so much is simply out of our control. But one crucial thing that apartment companies can manage is labor costs. When budget planning, use these three life hacks to make planning easier and focused on growing your bottom line.
From cost to limited flexibility, call center challenges have been hard to overcome in the past. Now, with new virtual leasing tools, you can capture calls, texts, and chats from prospects 24-hours a day. Learn how you can overcome call center challenges by utilizing virtual leasing.
ACE™ Insights has hit a major milestone: analyzing over 1 million calls and providing key insights to help leasing teams perform their best. From AI-generated action items to performance scorecards, see how you can save time, improve training, and give your team the recognition they deserve in 2025.
Take a look back at 2024 with LeaseHawk. This past year ACE™ had groundbreaking performance, key renter insights, and impressive conversion rates. Plus, see what’s ahead for 2025, including our $100,000 Apartment Leasing Agent Giveaway!
Discover how Sterling Group revolutionized their leasing process with ACE™ AI Assistant. By automating lead responses and boosting appointments by 40%, Sterling improved occupancy and renter satisfaction. Learn from their playbook on using AI to drive success in a competitive market.
Get the latest multifamily news, how-to's, infographics and more delivered right to your inbox.
