Moving season is here, is your property management company ready? According to MovingLabor, peak moving season kicks off in April and runs through September. Each year over 40 million Americans move, and 80% of these moves occur during peak season. Knowing there will likely be an influx of residents coming into and leaving your communities, here are four ways FRONTSTEPS can help make moving season easier for your property managers.
1). Get In-Touch Before the Move
Moving is stressful, so make it a little easier on future residents by reaching out before the big move occurs. Be the first to welcome them to their new community and provide your contact information in case they run into any hiccups on the day of the move. Invite them to FRONTSTEPS and encourage them to setup their account before they move. We recommend briefly telling them everything they’ll be able to do within the platform (more on this in the next tips). Don’t forget to direct them to the digital document library where they’ll be able to find answers to their questions, as well as other important information about the community.
2). Encourage Them to Use the Platform to Make Their Move Easier
Let them know that by setting up their account, they’ll be able to do several things ahead of time that will make move-in day a breeze. If you manage a guard-gated community, be sure to let them know that they can create visitors passes for any friends and vendors that will be assisting with the move. This will ensure everyone can easily get into the community without pestering the homeowner to meet them at the gate. If you manage a condo community, let them know that they’ll need to reserve the freight elevator ahead of time and can do so using the amenity reservation tool.
3). Post Community-Wide Reminders
Post reminders using the digital bulletin board to inform current and new residents about moving season and provide tips to help moves go smoothly. Reminders could include:
- Let current residents know that freight elevator usage will spike, so they should reserve it in advance.
- Inform residents about the community classified feature that makes it easy to sell items before or after a move without having to go through the hassle of using Craigslist.
- Post reminders about community rules, safety tips, and how to go about reserving various amenities or submitting work orders.
- Make it easy for residents to pay dues and fees by reminding them they can do so online or from their phone directly within the tool.
- Share information about upcoming community events to increase attendance.
4). Host Events
Speaking of events, we recommend hosting at least one event per month geared towards getting residents together to meet one another. It can be difficult to make friends in a new neighborhood, but organized social events make it easy to talk to people you wouldn’t normally get the chance to meet. Consider hosting Friday night movie screenings, BYOB BBQs, or pool parties with fun games for the kids.
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