When it comes to being a Apartment hack..

[Mikey P]

you'll do best with customer retention IF you do everything, carpet, paint, repairs, plumbing every thing...turn key


Am I right?

 

[Brian R]

Yes, and if you don't provide a service just outsource it.

Be THAT guy.

 

[Ryan]

Seems like if you had enough business you could hire a handyman type that could take care of everything except carpet.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

My record is 12 apts in one day...in 100 degree weather and most on 2-3 floor. All for $12 an hour.... shiteatinggrin

 

[Goomer]

you'll do best with customer retention IF you do everything, carpet, paint, repairs, plumbing every thing..and prevac.turn key


Am I right?

Why only apartment hacks?
Wouldn't this apply to non-hacks and private homes as well.
I would consider them all upsells if you can make enough.

 

[Bee Busy]

apts and prop mgmt co's are good money if have you have the skills to salvage the carpets...some don't have salvaging skills..waiting for the money is another issue then there's the bottom feeder/ghetto stuff that the illegals do...they can have it

 

[Tony Neville]

I would say no. In Columbia it is a college town, apt complexes have a turn over rate of about 40-60%. Most all are 1 day flips they have to be out at noon new people are in at noon the following day. To be the go to guy for everything would be a real nightmare for scheduling. The thing to remember about apartments is to make sure you get paid at time of service when working for the renter, and keep an eye on A/R if the complex pay’s monthly, if they get in to deep they will just change venders and you are out.

Tony

Keep in mind the cheap stuff they put down can be replaced for .85 to 1 a sq ft. They buy carpet by the truck load and have there own installers/ maintenance guys, if they have red spots or urine they get replaced.

 

[cucu]

i would say no

 

[Dolly Llama]

you'll do best with customer retention IF you do everything, carpet, paint, repairs, plumbing every thing...turn key


Am I right?

Not sure that has much to do with "custy retention".
If you're taking great care of them and their carpets at fair prices, the painter with a porty probably isn't going to get your carpet cleaning

But, you're certainly leaving easy money on the table if you don't solicit for the "whole enchilada"

Easily turns a $100 CC'ing order into a $1000- $1500 order.
And ..it's a low investment/overhead operation as far as equipment
For a couple/few hundred bucks you'll have more than enough professional tools for a couple men (or wimmins) to paint with.
a few/several hundred more and you'll have enough basic carpentry tools for cabinets, doors, general repairs and caUlk tUbs.

And...none of those tool require much space, maintenance, repairs or need heated during winter months....

BUT.... the same holds true on the rehab end as the CC'ing end.
Every apt/house rental prop mngmnt account isn't worth having.

Verydamfew will pay "hi-roller" prices
about 1/4-1/3(?) will pay "fair" prices for quality.
and the rest want it done for cheap to nothing...
Those will either have their own staff or hire Sam the Alkie to paint and repair.
then Speedy Soak 'N Suck blows thru and cleans the 1-2-3 bd rm apts for $25-$35-$45 a pop.

There's exceptions to that too...one of our larger CCing "only" accounts pays us decent money to clean carpets after Sam the Alkie has painted and repaired.
I've talked to him about it....it takes MUCH longer to turn a unit, But Sam the Alkie(s) don't do too bad and he saves will over $600-$1000 pr turn paying them $10-$15 pr hour


..L.T.A.

 

[Newman]

This is an issue where I am currently undecided.

Upon the inception of my company, Service Source - DBA Norms Carpet Cleaning, the concept was to be that one Source for all Services, commercial and residential. Do everything we can in house and sub out the rest. I left a 20 yr career in Facilities Management, 7 of those years I did Apartment management and Maintenance. I bought Norms Carpet Cleaning and became a carpet cleaner. I am quite capable of training and doing building repairs of all nature.

Over the last 3 years I have discovered that focusing on Carpet Cleaning has its advantages. I can clean a lawyers house and charge him the same as he would charge me. The technical skill level needed to be a great Carpet Cleaner is not extreme. It is much easier to train a Carpet Cleaning tech than a Handyman. I do not have to pay a Carpet Cleaning tech as much as a Handyman. You show up at a Carpet Cleaning job with everything you need to complete the job, collect payment and you are off to please the next customer. Handymen have to run out and pick up parts, let drywall mud dry, ect. The list goes on.

Anyone with a 1985 Ford Escort and $50 to spend at Lowes can become an Apartment Cleaning and / or Painting company. I do not want to compete on that level.

I do cherry pick Handyman jobs here and there to break up the monotony of Carpet Cleaning.

Is it leaving money on the table, not marketing these services to my customer base? Maybe. I recall a quote by the immortal Steve T., in regards to restoration:

Drying down the structure is 80% profit, and 20% pain.
Rebuilding the structure is 80% pain, and 20% profit.

For now I will focus on building my Carpet Cleaning company to be the best it can be.

 

[fresh1]

your gonna need a contractors license and be certified by the EPA aka the PIA

 

[Tony Neville]

The contractors license I can understand no biggie the city/county/state want their share, But why the EPA? Why would they care if you want to paint an apt and replace some trim?

Tony

 

[dgardner]

The contractors license I can understand no biggie the city/county/state want their share, But why the EPA? Why would they care if you want to paint an apt and replace some trim?

Because of the recent RRP rule: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm

 

[Hoody]

The contractors license I can understand no biggie the city/county/state want their share, But why the EPA? Why would they care if you want to paint an apt and replace some trim?

Because of the recent RRP rule: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm

Exactly.

Wait until you hear whats to come....but wait theres MORE!

 

[John Watson]

Helen and I don't do alot of apts or rental props. About 10-15 clients maybe 120 apts, duplex, 4 plex and single family units. some are month to month, 6 mo., 1yr and 2 year leases.

The ones we do do, already have someone to do all the other stuff. 99.9% of the time we get there all other work is done, even pre-vacing

They tell us we are less costly by doing a better job and being able to resolve their problems.

 

[randy]

TWENTY YEARS AGO (literally speaking) I had a few apartment contracts. They would guarantee me five apartments every time I came out there and we also did minor repairs etc. In those days I was getting $55 for one bed rooms, $65 for two bedrooms and $70 for three bedroom units. We got the occasion water loss, repair job and did make a few bucks, BUT the time spent on that account and another similar account should have been spent on new customer acquisition where there is a much higher GROSS MARGIN. I regret ever getting involved with apartment management work. Chasing low margin work is not something the small operator can afford. If you have ten trucks and need the "filler" go for it. Just don't spin your wheels in that market if you are the typical 1-3 truck operation. You will regret it if you do.

Personally I have never seen a carpet cleaning company stay in business that focuses primarily on the apartment management market. Last I heard one of the apartment contracts I had back then pays even less today.

 

[Dolly Llama]

the prop management game is no different than the restaurant game, or the hotel game or the com game or realtor game ..or even the res game for that matter

a portion will pay for what a "professional" service is worth.
those are the ones you want and are well worth having

offering the whole ball of wax isn't for everyone, I reckon .
But it's really no different than adding other services some of you offer
Like tile and grout, pressure washing, wood floor care, repairs/re-stretch, color correction/dying, leather, janitorial ... etc

We're in the service biz, we can all pick and choose the services we offer.
whether it's many or just one or two, it's up to you .
However, we've found being more diversified helps insulate a biz from seasonal and/or economic up and downs and puts more donuts in the bank.
Whether or not it's worth the hassle is up to the biz owner


and you're not competing with "anyone with a 1985 Ford Escort and $50 to spend at Lowes can become an Apartment Cleaning and / or Painting company" no more than you're currently competing with the $9.95 CC'ing coupon courier with a porty in a Pinto or the $79 "whole house" guys.
UNLESS..that's market you're targeting

You're looking for the places that will pay for a "professional" service ...not the ones that use Sam the Alkie or the $12 an hour, cash under the table student painters that staple signs to telephone poles in collage towns :roll:



..L.T.A.

 

[Dolly Llama]

oh yea..lemmie ask

which is better
and there really isn't a right or wrong answer..cause they're BOTH good to "me"

would you rather have a crew slipping and siding down the hi-way in a $50K investment, slogging hoses in and out of the snow to do 3 to 5 of these a day...

or would you rather put a crew in there for a couple days and bill at $32 - $46 (depending on skill level) pr man hour?
While you sit at home in a warm office/den clipping your toenails and cleaning the new guns you just bought....

See, it's all catching crawdads to me
I don't care what rock I turn over to catch them .
as long as they're nice crawdads worth the effort to catch them (meaning profitable) they're "good" crawdads to "me"

speaking of guns....

check it out
I negotiated a couple SMOKING deals this weekend at the gun show


A like new Remington 1187 in factory hard case.
I traded one of the Tac shotguns I built for it even up
(I had a TOTAL of $255 in the tac shotgun I built) 8)


The other is a LNIB stainless Springfield GI (less than a box of ammo thru it)
Total cost to me was $410 (it's a $600 pistol)
Not as good a deal as the shotgun trade, but 1911's are a "lust" thing with me, so I'm inclined to come off with a few more duckies for a good one

..L.T.A.

 

[bob vawter]

you FORGOT my birfday again...ya know!

 

[Dolly Llama]

you FORGOT my birfday again...ya know!

damn...sorry

I might has one that will fit YOUR style though

q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCLPzPJTIyMq]

q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqksX8SB2swq]


..L.T.A.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

TWENTY YEARS AGO (literally speaking) I had a few apartment contracts. They would guarantee me five apartments every time I came out there and we also did minor repairs etc. In those days I was getting $55 for one bed rooms, $65 for two bedrooms and $70 for three bedroom units. We got the occasion water loss, repair job and did make a few bucks, BUT the time spent on that account and another similar account should have been spent on new customer acquisition where there is a much higher GROSS MARGIN. I regret ever getting involved with apartment management work. Chasing low margin work is not something the small operator can afford. If you have ten trucks and need the "filler" go for it. Just don't spin your wheels in that market if you are the typical 1-3 truck operation. You will regret it if you do.

Personally I have never seen a carpet cleaning company stay in business that focuses primarily on the apartment management market. Last I heard one of the apartment contracts I had back then pays even less today.

The sad part is most cleaners now would kill to get what you were getting 20 years ago.

If you can find apartments that will pay an average of 100 per unit for cleaning only, have them vacuumed and cleaned, and pay fast, you can make money. I haven't found one so I don't do them.

I do know a guy that makes a killing. He has five apartment complexes under contract. His two trucks only go out for jobs needing more than cleaning. He told me he averages 300 per unit. He has a deal with another local cleaner. They do all the 50 and 60 dollar shampoo cleanings. His trucks don't go out unless repairs are needed or water damage etc. He had a legend xl with 8k hours that was only a year and a half old. He makes good money.

I think he has the best business model for apartments. He gets paid good money for skilled labor, has them on contract, and is net 30 days. The key here is charging enough to make a profit.

 

[Out of Character - 0]

We've got an apt cc here who has a great business. 20-30 tm's leave the shop everyday for almost the whole day to service mostly apts. They also do the wdr, carpet repairs, and carpet replacement for the apartments. They run mostly cds units most trucks carry a full roll of padding. It's not unusual for them to have 3 guys in a van. They also pay commission so they always profit and most of their techs are happy and claim to make near $20hr.

They have just recently appeared to be trying harder to get the residential market. Their size and efficiency coupled with their techs skills from doing full service apt cleaning gives them a big advantage as they try to absorb the residential and commercial markets.

You can make it doing apartments you just have to be good at cleaning and managing a business. This company's apartment customers speak very highly of them.