bidding on apartment complexes

[nativemix1]

Hello - could someone help me with this question? I want to bid on apartment complexes but I do not know where to start. Could someone help me out?

[GLAN]

How do you bid a residential?

[nativemix1]

I haven't bid on a residential. Advertising and door to door service.

[Runner]

I don't waste my time with apartment complexes anymore.

[AllieLawn]

Hey Runner. Why is it you dont mess with apts. anymore? Most of my bids I bid on an hourly basis.

[Yard Boy]

I have bid on 4 condo complexes and 2 apt properties in the last 60 days. So far no takers. A few of the condos have yet to have their annual meeting to vote on contracts. I did find out that what the property manager of the 2 apartments wanted and what he was willing to pay was two different things. His tenants are college students and the places looked like a dump. He said he wasn't pleased with the quality and service of his current LCO. I bid $1200 per month higher than what he was paying (lots of shrubs to shape up). He said to me "I guess I'm getting my money's worth, huh?" I politely said "Yes sir, and then some." I didn't get his business.

I will say this. Most of my business is in Athens GA where the University of GA is located (yes, we got beat by LSU today). There are over 80,000 students in apts and condos around here. This business is a mainstay for a lot of LCO's around here.

The main thing property managers are looking for in these cases is trash pickup - the whole grounds and parking - be sure to include it in your bids. And make sure you measure everything as close as you can, count shrubs and hedges, measure hedgerows and beds etc. Don't guess or you might not be profitable. Include seperate bids for extras like dead plant removal / replacement, mulch installation etc. Be firm on your pricing but let them know you're flexible on frequency for some services like pruning, seasonal cleanups etc. - give them options.

Property managers are very busy so be professional and make an appointment to submit your bid. I've read the posts on "dress code" but I think I need to look professional. It's an image thing where they will regard you as a peer rather than a hired laborer. When they ask me if I'll be on site during the work then I spill the beans and tell them "yes" because I'll be doing most of it.

Follow up with a thank-you letter and move on to the next potential customer. While you want their business, you can't be sitting around waiting to hear from them. It's all about numbers. The more you play the game - contact, assessment, bid, contact - the better you'll get and the more you'll win.

Good Luck!

Billy

[Runner]

The reasom I don't bother with apartments anymore, is that unlike professional plazas, Medical facilities, and the like, apartments are just looking for cheap cheap cheap. They try to save as much money as possible, and with new managers stepping in every three years or so, they all come in and think they are going to cut costs. There have been other threads on here about this, and they all reach the same conclusion. There is no loyalty. You can work with a complex for 6, 8, or 10 years, and the he next year, they'll sell you out to save 20 bucks a month. I see it all the time, even now with other lco's I know. I talk, once in a while, to apt. managers of places I used to do, to find that they are paying now what they were paying ME 15 years ago. It's a joke. Atleast with the higher end jobs, you don't have this situation. While everyone is concerned with value (understanably so), there isn't this chinsiness to save a buck. As long as they are getting great workmanship and professionalism, they are willing to pay a little higher end. Not willing to give the account to the next T-shirt wearing, beer drinking "company" that comes along.