Upgrading Your Community, Part VI: Improve the Infrastructure, cont'd.

by Chrissy Jackson

Water lines are commonly another major source of attention during an overall upgrade of a community. As they age, they begin to deteriorate and the shifting of the ground only helps cause more problems. Because the availability of water is something residents take for granted and have come to rely on you to provide on a constant basis, interruption of their water supply is more than just a little inconvenience. It requires more than just a notice saying you are shutting off the water for a certain length of time. It requires something like the following letter.

(feel free to copy this letter on your letterhead to reproduce)

To All Residents:

In a mature community such as ours, it is indeed a pleasure to see the rewards: fully developed shade trees and landscaping, friendships that have stood the test of time, and pride in home ownership that shows in beautifully kept homes and homesites. Unfortunately, our infrastructure is also mature. And that sometimes can mean problems and inconveniences for all of us. "Infrastructure" is the term which commonly refers to the utility lines (water and sewer) as well as other parts of the community that need maintenance and monitoring as they age.

We are currently in the process of upgrading our water lines; however, due to budgetary constraints, this will be a lengthy process. The final improvements, however, will be worth the time involved. In the meantime, as with most repairs, there may be times when you as a Resident are inconvenienced. We sincerely apologize for those times and ask your cooperation in helping us work through this situation.

We also ask that you take time now to check inside your home for possible water leaks. Flush the toilet and make sure it stops running as soon as the tank refills. Check faucets to see that they don't drip when turned off in a normal fashion.

There is also some specific information listed on the following page that will help minimize any inconveniences to you.

So that this upgrade process is not any more intrusive to your lifestyle than necessary, we recommend the following tips:

1. Always keep a few gallons of drinking water on hand. Using empty, clean gallon milk jugs is one way to store it. Keep it in the refrigerator and change it often to keep it fresh.
2. Schedule your showering, laundry, and other high water-usage activities before 9 am or after 3 pm on Monday to Friday, or on weekends.
3. Be observant of your homesite and any vacant homesites near you. If you see any signs of a water leak (such as trickling out of the ground, puddles when there has been no rain, or outside water faucets dripping, etc.) please bring it to our attention immediately.

Unless there is an unforeseen emergency, we will schedule repairs so that the water is not shut off before 9 am, nor after 3 pm. Further, we plan to perform the upgrades that require the water to be shut off only between Monday and Friday, not on weekends.

Questions? Call the office and we'll try to help you adapt to this situation.

When a notice such as the above is sent to the residents, please remember that you expect this to be a one-time, long-lasting notice. Your residents, on the other hand, may very well view it as a short-term notice that is applicable for a couple of days or a week. Post long-term notices like this on a bulletin board only and put them in the scrapbook of progress you are making. Then, regularly refer to the above hints in your monthly newsletter so residents are reminded that this is an ongoing situation.

Take the Upgrade Process Inside

The upgrade process doesn't stop with aesthetic improvements, homesite clean-ups, or even major infrastructure enhancements. An upgrade has to also come inside the office. Take a close look at not only the appearance of the office, but also the paperwork you use.

Start by looking at the name of your community. Do you think "community" in your head while the actual name is still "Shane's Trailer Park," keeping you firmly rooted with one foot in the undesirable past? If that is you, now is the time to change. Modern tendencies are to eliminate the outdated terminology (such as trailer, park, court, mobile home, etc.) and to become more like the rest of the housing industry when naming our communities. If a new name is in your future, this is another way you can involve your residents in the upgrade process. Hold a contest and let them submit names for consideration. When you select the new name, give the resident who suggested it a cap or tee shirt with your new name (and logo) proudly displayed! This can also be a wee bit of a money-maker for you. Offer the shirts and/or caps for sale and mark them up by a couple of dollars. This can help build resident pride and give them a way to display it outside the community.

Whether you change the property name or not, a community that is old enough to need an upgrade usually also needs new business cards. Have you added a fax machine or a website since the last printing? Do you have a pager or an email address? Do you just want to modernize the overall appearance of the cards? When you print new business cards, this is yet one more chance to involve your residents in the upgrade and turn-around of the community. Have a significant quantity printed with an additional message on the back that will aid your residents in promoting the community to prospective new residents. Something like this will work:

This card, when presented at the time of the first visit, will entitle the bearer to a free set of patio furniture or an equivalent dollar amount of credit toward an entry landscaping package on their homesite.

» Referred by ________________________________________

(Current Resident & Site Number)

By requiring the card to be presented at the first visit, you know right up front how these prospective new residents found you. By requiring current residents to sign the form, you know who has referred the prospect, and to whom you owe a reward. Since both people stand to gain by using the card, it becomes more valuable to both of them. And, since you don't put any specific reward information on the card about what you are giving the residents, your program can be changed if necessary.

This type of resident referral program works very well, but once again, it requires communication. Be sure your residents have something in writing explaining the program, and detailing what they will get when someone they refer moves into a newly renovated homesite, or buys a home from you.

At the same time you review these things from the business card perspective, think about the appearance of your letterhead. If you have changed the name of the community or adopted a new logo, now is the time to incorporate it on your formal community letterhead. It is also a smart move to move into color. With computers and color printers as inexpensive as they are today, there is almost no reason not to have color in your letterhead. Simply save the logo and format on your system, then print each letter as you need it. This also saves you the expense of buying a large quantity of letterhead printed in the colors of your choice.

Many communities also have a multitude of forms that are used on a routine basis for contacting residents or preparing reports. If you no longer have the original of that form, now is the time to create a fresh, new look for these forms of communication. Incorporate your new style and colors, bringing professionalism to all your printed documents. As you browse through existing forms and formats, pay attention to the entire form, not just the change of the community name and/or logo or the addition of color to the layout.

Take time to really read each of the documents. Update the terminology as well. Using current industry terminology is another way of showing that your professionalism is being upgraded along with the appearance and desirability of the community. Some of the more common terms that should be eliminated, along with their accepted replacements are listed below. While it may take some time for your residents to fully accept these changes, it will be well worth your efforts. The total upgrade of your community, after all, is an inside job. And that means inside the office as well.

By using the currently accepted terminology, you are sending a strong message that even as you retain the values that are important in terms of resident retention and property appreciation, you are moving forward in terms of your approach to property management. You will also be incorporating a more professional attitude toward your community as a business.

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