How do you recover or re-brand a multifamily property after a fatal shooting has taken place? Specifically, I am looking at a large multifamily property for sale (in excess of 100 units) that has had a fatal shooting on the premise with a strong correlation to a 15%+ drop in occupancy shortly after. Is it possible to rebrand the property and attract new tenants, or is this a problem worth staying away from? Curious to hear your thoughts especially if you had experience acquiring a property that has experienced a similar situation.
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Yes. Organize fatal shootings in competing buildings.
That's one way to make a comp set.
Give it a few years people will forget, unless another happens.
I think that depends on the property and if it was an isolated incident. If your property is located in gangland and this kind of stuff happens, besides dealing with a craptastic tenant demographic good luck getting decent financing. If the area isn't terrible and this is an isolated incident, then I would say rebranding is certainly possible and I would hire a private security company to patrol the property. It might increase your budget, but it will also increase retention and tenant quality besides keeping the riff raff off the property.
In the particular case I'm looking at, the property is being poorly managed (marked by the PM's fee of around 1% for total revenue on the T12, and that the only staff is one maintenance technician). The property is being offered at an attractive basis, but would require a serious lift in terms of exterior and interior upgrades in addition to higher recurring expenses for additional staff. . . my concern is that my firm spends heavily on the interiors and exteriors, but the occupancy levels never recover, in which case the deal would be crushed.
If it's not a shitty area and your firm spends heavily on interiors and exteriors then the occupancy level should recover unless its an area with a shrinking population or a major employer just left town. If it's a decent area and your occupancy hasn't improved after your heavy lift, then the culprit is your onsite staff and operations.
Change the name and spend some money on improvements.
Yes, they are dead.
You change the Property name. A lot easier than scrubbing the internet
Isolated incidents - e.g. domestic violence - can be explained. If the property is in a nasty neighborhood that's a different story. Changing the property name helps as does some basic cosmetic clean-up. You'll be surprised how some fresh paint will be appreciated by the tenants. BTW, scrutinize the RR for delinquent tenants and others you'd rather not have at the property. When their leases expire don't renew them. Turning over the rent roll is key to upgrading a property's profile.
Section 8 housing?
it's all about communication. sounds like it might be too late for this instance, but you should generally have a good PR firm available for just this reason. don't pay them a retainer, just have a relationship with someone you can call for help. on top of that make sure your GM is a master communicator, and don't try to hide anything from your residents. people know that sh!t happens, and they will forgive. if they feel like they are being lied to, especially regarding something that affects their personal safety, then they will leave and tell their friends.
my shop has seen it all, and it's luxury product. cars left on blocks, people scaling outside walls to break into garages and apartments, shootings, and stabbings. people get over it.
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