Idea #1 – Shared Office Space
With more and more people, and especially Millennials, working from home as freelancers, small business owners or remote employees, the shared office space market is booming. Many pay as much as $500 to over a $1,000 a month to share an office or an open space with others. An easy implementation would be to carve out some space in the club and set aside some tables with free Wi-Fi, and even a coffee machine (the last two are present in most clubs), and Boom! You have a shared office space in your apartment building. Apartment owners can offer this “service” for no extra cost. That will attract many tenants who would prefer to live in a building that provides them a free working space. This is one of the most interesting and easy ideas to implement and will set those apartment buildings apart from the competition.
Idea #2 – Yoga Room
In the United States and around the world, yoga’s popularity is surging. According to a study, around 36 million Americans are practicing some form of yoga. How convenient would it be to have a yoga room in your apartment building?! Simply allocate one room for tenants to be able to bring their mats and conduct their yoga practices.
Idea # 3 - Bike Storage
Millennials are not all about technology, they also love to get out in nature and explore on their bikes. Carrying a bike to the 2nd or 3rd floor is a hassle, and so is storing a bike in an apartment. By adding a room or storage area for tenants to house and secure their bikes will make life so much simpler for tenants.
Idea # 4 - Package Room
Amazon’s popularity continues to spike. According to a recent study, more than half of the households in America are subscribed to Amazon Prime. Here is the problem: Many tenants need to go to the Leasing Office to get their packages. The other problem: They can only go during business hours, which is often their own working hours. By adding a small room to your complex for packages that is available 24/7 for tenants you are abolishing that headache.
Many tenants are willing to pay for a small fenced-in yard on ground-floor units for man’s best friend (or any other pet) to roam around in. This is an easy task to complete because the unit does not need to be vacant to complete this and it only takes a day or two to complete. In the markets that I am active in, tenants pay $75 - $100 premium per month for an apartment with a pet yard. The cost of building the yard is less than a $1,000, which makes it an almost no-brainer value add addition.
To conclude, these five simple ideas will attract more attention and tenants to your property. Not only do these ideas make like simpler for your tenants, but also for the property owner. By partaking in these slight upgrades you are decreasing competition and increasing property value. Happy tenants (including four-legged ones!) makes for a happy owner.
About Ellie Perlman
Ellie Perlman is the founder and CEO of Blue Lake Capital, a woman owned multifamily real estate investment firm focused on partnering with family offices and accredited investors to build and preserve generational wealth. Since its founding in 2017, Blue Lake has successfully acquired and operated multifamily assets across high-growth U.S. markets, completing $1B+ in transactions.
At Blue Lake Capital, Ellie and her team work exclusively with family offices and accredited investors, offering carefully curated investment opportunities that emphasize long-term wealth creation, stability, and risk-adjusted returns. A defining aspect of Blue Lake’s investment strategy is its integration of advanced AI-driven analytics and data science into the entire lifecycle of acquisitions and asset management. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, the firm executes data-driven forecasting on market trends, asset performance, and tenant behavior, ensuring strategic decision-making and optimized returns.
In addition to leading Blue Lake Capital, Ellie is the original founder and host of "REady2Scale - Real Estate Investing" podcast, which provides insights into multifamily real estate, alternative investments, and finance.
Ellie began her career as a commercial real estate attorney, structuring and negotiating complex transactions for one of Israel’s leading development firms. She later transitioned into property management, overseeing over $100M in assets for Israel’s largest energy company.
Ellie holds a Master’s in Law from Bar-Ilan University in Israel and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
You can learn more about Blue Lake Capital and Ellie Perlman at www.bluelake-capital.com.
*The content provided on this website, including all downloadable resources, is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial advice. Furthermore, this material does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities