Eviction Risk and The $30K Door

Situation

Situation

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Our team was called to a local apartment property to manage a high-risk situation involving a resident who had made previous threats toward staff. The client was beginning the eviction process, and given the tenant’s history, management wanted additional protection for their team and residents.

 

This kind of short-term, high-stakes assignment is something we handle often — and fortunately, everything went smoothly. But it also revealed a few insights that I think all property and portfolio managers might find valuable.

 

What We Learned

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Within days of deployment, staff and residents expressed how much safer they felt with our professional security presence on site. That’s something we often hear — having visible, trained personnel makes an immediate difference.  When I spoke with the site manager, he agreed but mentioned that maintaining a full-time team seemed cost-prohibitive.

 

Then, a few details emerged that changed the picture:

• According to the Manager, the property was only 77% occupied, and most vacancies were due to residents leaving for “safer” communities.

• The manager shared that he had spent $30,000 on door repairs in the past month alone due to damage.

• Normally, the staff called the Sheriff two to three times a week (mostly for non-resident issues). During our deployment? Not once.

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The Takeaway

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• A consistent, professional security presence reduces incidents, discourages problematic behavior, and helps retain residents.

• The cost savings from reduced property damage alone could offset much of the expense of a full-time security team — not to mention the increased profitability when occupancy rises from 77% to 90% or higher.

 

Confidentiality Note: Details have been generalized to protect client and partner privacy.