Here’s how I’m (constantly) learning what my student tenants want:

I look at big companies who provide student housing and copy (some of) what they do. I can’t provide tanning beds and a pool, but I can provide a secure, nicely furnished house with good wifi, just like the big guys do.

I do customer surveys every year. I ask my tenants to rank in importance things like: safety of the house/apartment, wifi speed, parking and 10 other amenities. I also ask “how are we doing” in the same areas. And I have a survey question: “If you had one extra room in the house, what would you like it to be: home theater, study, gym or mult-purpose room.?” I built a home theater as a result of this question, increased the rent, and paid the theater off in less than a year. When I’m planning property improvements, I go back and review the survey results, and get reminded of things like: the security of the house is way more important than a bbq in the back yard.

I ask open ended questions to potential and current tenants, like: “where did you used to live, and how did you like it?” I've learned both on and off campus housing in my area is not well maintained, and repairs are made without notifying the tenants, which really ticks the female tenants off.

When I’m at the properties, I look to see how my tenants live. If they have a sign in the kitchen saying: “either unload the dishwasher or wash your dirty dishes.”, I consider if I should get involved in setting some house rules (I don’t)

Well, that’s how I do it. Care to share how you learn the needs of your tenants?

Thanks -Bill

Late.

I learn them too late. I'm not in tune to the changes as I would want to be.

Your example of BBQ, I recently took all the BBBQs to scrap. These things seem to be a think of the past.

I've done very well with colors. Houses have lots and lots of color on the kitchen and living room walls. Bedrooms went back to one color.

WifI is very good so it was always taken for granted. Hardly ever a topic of conversation.

Signed, I. Fee Clueless

Too had to predict . I just ask prospective tenants during showings if there's anything in particular they're looking for , or something missing in the house that would seal the deal.

Come on Smokowna, it’s never too late!

Makes sense to have color. I get my 19-year-old daughter to pick the colors, and I think students really like having color, versus a neutral paint, at least in the common spaces like kitchens and living rooms. We’ve even started putting up some wall art.

David, I agree it’s hard to predict what people want. The surveys help in this area, as I average what 50 people want, and not just what a few people say they want. Though, I think in a lot of cases, people really don’t know what they want :-)

Now that’s how to manage!

Thanks Busy, for the encouragement.

Yes AllyM, keeping warm and fixing problems are high on their list of priorities. If you're interested, below are the results from my survey. The first part is how important is each characteristic. The lower the number, the higher the rating (Safety of the house...is most important) The second part is the percent of survey takers that were "very satisfied" on the Amenity/Feature listed.

– WEIGHTED AVERAGE–

–

Safety of the house/apartment(locks on doors, windows, general security of house/apartment)

1.68

–

Cost of Rent

1.73

–

Internet performance (internet speed and reliability)

1.84

–

Performance of Heating and Cooling systems

1.86

–

Safety of Neighborhood

1.95

–

Cost of Utilities (Gas, electric, cable)

2.14

–

Repairs and problems are responded to quickly

2.14

–

AMENITY/FEATURE VERY SATISFIED–

–

Performance of Heating and Cooling systems 43%

Cost of Utilities (Gas, electric, cable) 41%

Closet space in your bedroom 55%

Available parking 45%

Internet performance (internet speed and reliability) 36%

Safety of Neighborhood 32%

Condition of Bathrooms 52%

Condition of Kitchen 77%

Safety of the house/apartment (locks on doors, windows, general security of house) 45%

Size of bedrooms 70%

Quality of furniture supplied 57%

Cost of Rent 61%

Repairs and problems are responded to quickly 80%