As you take over an apartment building, there are plenty of things you need to set up ahead of time. We will cover those a bit later.
However, on the day you take over, here are 7 critical things you need to have in your possession:
- Current Rent Schedule
- Security Deposit Report
- Audit Pre-Paid Reports
- Confirm delinquencies/copies of backup for files
- Ledgers run on all units
- Apartment Status Report
- Receive copies of pending litigation
Informing the residents
Next, on the first day, you want to be sure you have delivered in person to each resident a letter from you explaining that you are now the new landlord and owner of the apartment building and explaining how the property management will work going forward.
Also, you want to contact a locksmith and coordinate rekeying of the office and safe combination and other areas where the previous owner may have had locks.
Establish communication lines
In terms of resident communication and potential future tenant acquisition, you want to be sure the following are in place the day you take over:
Set up the answering machine or voicemail with your new information so tenants will know what is going on if they decide to call.
Change or update hours on the front door or call someone to make the changes for you. You want to be sure anyone who comes by the office knows when you will be there.
Settle your staff
Whether you have existing leasing agents and property management already on the property, or you are bringing in your own new employees here are some things to have in place:
- Complete any new hire paperwork and provide it to whoever is handling your human resources.
- Schedule any new potential employees or existing employees for screening you would like them to go through.
- Hang rental occupancy and guidelines in the office
- Hang a Fair Housing Act poster in the office and discuss compliance training with employees and how that will be done.
- Rearrange employee hours if needed.
- Order maintenance uniforms for any maintenance staff.
For the building and residents themselves, you will need to do that following:
- Review all approved applications
- Check and walk new move-ins
- Take 24 pictures or more on the day you take over the building or buildings
- Set up with current residents your plans for rehab and when
Organize your files and databases
A few more things you want to be sure to get done that first day is to be sure you dispose of all the old management forms.
Also setting up the computers is an important step. So be sure you:
- Enter all the property information in your own system
- Prepare projected occupancy reports and weekly numbers reports
- Set up computer files for the manager, assistant manager, bookkeeper, and leasing agents
- Put up the grid for doing rehab on the units that are currently vacant.
That’s a lot for the first day! But very important.
I hope you can keep these tips in mind after you have closed your first apartment complex acquisition.