How to Promote Sustainability as a Property Manager

Why Should I Invest in Sustainability?

Sustainability is an increasingly important factor in attracting renters to your property. People commit themselves to their responsibility to protect the planet and often start inside their own four walls. But even without the psychological aspect of slowing down environmental pollution, promoting sustainability in your apartments can be a real gamechanger. Green housing creates a friendly atmosphere at your property and is a great opportunity for you and your renters to save money and use your properties more efficiently.

Ways to Make Your Properties More Sustainable

Setting up your property to become more sustainable sounds harder than it is. Follow these tips to make your investments more eco-friendly, make an impact on environmental protection, and save money in the long run.

Providing Space and Infrastructure for Eco-Friendly Vehicles

While it is important to offer conventional parking spaces for cars, don’t underestimate the influence you can have on your renters by giving them options to consider using alternatives. Accessible and safe storage for bicycles is way more space-efficient than a parking garage and encourages your renters to use more healthy and eco-friendly transportation. Further assets to get them on the bike could be a bike repair station or sharable community bicycles for your renters to use.

You shouldn’t forget about electricity! Power outlets in the car and bike parking spaces are important for people to charge their electric vehicles at home.

Installing better Insulation

This is especially important in regions that experience extreme temperatures. Air conditioning, as well as heating, are major components of energy consumption. Sufficient insulation protecting your property units from hot and cold outside conditions can appreciate great savings over time, and increase your properties sustainability.

Besides insulating the walls of your building, also invest in well-insulated doors and windows and consider window shells. This doesn’t only make you save on energy costs, but also substantially decreases noise and, especially important at night, light pollution.

Using Durable Energy-Saving Appliances

Providing kitchen appliances including fridge, oven, stovetop and heating units and air conditioning are standard in most apartments. Potentially, your property might also include washers and dryers in each unit or a community space.

Running appliances on gas rather than electricity usually saves you money and is overall more sustainable.

Modern and durable appliances consume less energy and require lower maintenance and less frequent replacements. Unreliable low-quality appliances can be frustrating for you and your renters.

Excluding Utilities from your Fixed Rent

Having renters be self-responsible for their utility usage payments most certainly is going to reduce their energy consumption. Take this into consideration when thinking about including or excluding utilities from your property’s fixed rent.

Furnishing Apartments

Furniture is an often overlooked factor that can really boost the sustainability of your apartments. Moving into your property, new renters more often than not acquire new furniture items. If you have a high turnover rate in your units, this can result in excessive consumption. To prevent this, consider offering furnished apartments and providing durable items that still will be in good condition after a couple of years of usage.

Furnished apartments are attractive for renters. Especially, if people quickly try to find a home in their new city.

Installing a Recycling System

Inform yourself about your local authorities’ recycling services and install a comprehensive recycling system. The larger your apartment complex, the more trash is being produced. Without recycling, a significant amount of resources is being wasted, over time.

Besides dividing trash, plastic, and paper, you can also decide to collect electric waste and batteries, metals, and many other materials, separately.

Delivering Safe Drinking Water

Not having to purchase bottled water can be a huge relief for your renters and the planet. Plastic bottles accumulate a lot of plastic that can be avoided by providing drinkable tap water. If your property has been built more than 30 years ago, check if your pipes include lead. Lead-infused water can pose health risks, especially for children, if consumed over a long period.

Saving on Lighting

You can save on your electricity bill by installing more efficient lighting on your property.

LEDs are more efficient than conventional light bulbs.

Using motion detectors instead of constantly having lights turned on in community spaces can make a big difference in energy spending.

Installing Solar Panels

This is a rather expensive investment into your property. Indeed, if you have real estate in a region that receives plenty of sun hours, it will be worth it, in the long run. Infusing clean electricity into the power supply will make a great improvement to its ecological footprint.

Natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy are the main components of electricity production in the United States.

Increasing the portion of renewable energy in your property reduces the carbon emissions your renters produce through using electricity.

Quick Tips for Sustainability you Can Execute Today

There are many small things you can do that require very little effort but can make a big difference. Place some plants inside and outside your property. This makes the whole place more inviting and friendly. If you have the space, you can also let your renters plant their plants. As a property manager, you want to give the people the opportunity to feel at home and embrace their creativity, developing a greater appreciation for your whole property and the community around them.

You can easily set up racks and linens in a washing room or outside areas. Air drying is more gentle to clothes than drying machines are. Additionally, they require zero energy. Giving your renters the option to use them might decrease your energy consumption.

Don’t forget to actively promote your property as a place for sustainability housing, attracting more people to your units. If you have any questions or would like to have more suggestions about managing your real estate investments, contact us a Beach Front Property Management, Inc.

Check out our blog posts below for related content!

3 Ways to Make Your Property Energy Efficient

10 Energy Saving Tips for Summer