The misconception is that people rent because they have no other option. Either they’re terrible with money and can’t save due to debt and spending, or they don’t earn enough in the first place. This hasn’t been the case for a long time.

When a new year rolls around, most of us start thinking about change. More than just the change in our personal lives, real estate investors often find themselves thinking about the change happening on a grander scale: what’s going on in the real estate market? What can we expect this year? How will my strategy need to change and adapt?

As real estate investors, it’s easy to get wrapped up in our own world. Buying, renovating, networking. We get so zoomed in and focused on our stuff that we miss out on some of the key details that can get us ahead in this business.  

Before you go any further, take note of the words I used in the title.  So often, landlords, management companies and accidental long-term investors use words like renter and tenant to describe the persons living in their properties.  Certainly, there is nothing wrong with using either word. They accurately describe the process and have always been used by real estate investors.  For our part, Memphis Invest has changed the terminology to resident.

We refer to all of the occupants in our properties as residents.  Why?  It changes the mindset not only of the resident, but also our team.  It invokes respect.  We use it in our contracts, during our phone calls and in all of our interactions.  It has dramatically changed the culture and atmosphere at each of our offices.  It has greatly improved our relationships with our residents and all of it is due to one little change in the words we use.  

Every investor, no matter where you are, faces competition in some way or another. Even if you don’t know them face-to-face, there will always be other properties and even multi-family properties competing for your residents.

Knowing that there’s competition for us all means that the little details matter. If you knew you could get ahead by getting into the mind of a resident and deliver exactly what they were looking for, why wouldn’t you?