maintenance manager

maintenance technician

groundskeeper

low voltage technician

community manager

Blue Ridge Companies

When i worked for blue ridge, it was an excellent company and everything was great for me as a groundskeeper.  after a year or so, they started to give me more duties which i didnt mind, but these duties started taking away from my groundswork, and started getting me in trouble.  i was to go with all vendors whereever they went, and some of these vendors took a while, so it ate into my work time.  i had to assist with maintenance as well, and still clean buildings and fixtures and the grounds and other works.  maintenance required my help alot as there were alot of issues going on and alot of units needing turns in a very short time frame, so once again it ate into my job.  I kept getting in trouble all the time, they were saying i am not doing my job.  
one main part of the grounds job was picking up cigerette butts, and this apartment community, almost everyone smoked, all day long, and throws the cigerette butts on the ground.  I kept getting in trouble if there was even 1 cigerette butt on the gorund, but yet i had to be with vendors, and maintenance, and also doing other duties.  it got to be way too much to do, and I couldnt stop getting in trouble for not doing all of my job because i was spread so thin amung all these other positions, and I couldnt talk to anyone about it because when i tried it turned into an arguement about me not being fast enough.  The people are typically nice and my over all time there was excellent, but the work load was too much for me to deal with all at one time without help, and even though management says you can always come to them for help- its not true.  it backfires on you, every time.

I came in brand new to the industry and started with Blue Ridge as a Leasing Specialist and within the year was promoted to Assistant Manager at another property. Blue Ridge has by far been the best company I have worked for. They are very family oriented, lots of training provided, you get to find people their homes, and not to mention there is room for creativity promoting your property and events which is one of my favorite parts about my job. 

There is always going to be days where you find yourself solving some kind of issue that comes with the job, with any job for that matter. The key is to stay calm and LOVE what you do. 

I feel confident in my role and I know I’ll succeed anywhere with the knowledge I’ve acquired at this company. If I didn’t have to move out of state, I would have stayed with Blue Ridge for as long as they wanted me to :D 

The company culture at Blue Ridge really is incomparable to any other. A great company that really lives in their core values, with strong and positive leadership. Only after leaving the company (due to spouses relocation for work) did I realize just how lucky I had been for several years to be a part of such a great company. As an employee I always felt empowered, supported and truly invested in. You really are given the tools to succeed. Like most companies, it’s ever growing which does have its challenges; however, rewarding nonetheless and the resources available to help navigate through are abundant. Expectations are not only clear, but attainable with the dedicated support regarding all tiers of management. Pay/benefits are great and over time have evolved competitively with the industry. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
They offered good training and support

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Getting all my certs and running 250 units with me being the only maintenance tech and they refused to give me a raise after I got promoted from porter to tech, after all my certs(got them first year I was there)  really good at training ppl but horrible at keeping them once trained. I was only asking for 2 dollar raise to bring me up to the lowest average pay for that position.  I wanted to say but it was a huge spit in the face. Then they hired the guy that took my place at 4 more more dollars than I was asking for and he quite within the month. Wanted to come back and they only offered me 1 more dollar from my pay when left. Another huge slap in the face so I was too insulted to even come back. Smfh

Leasing apartments and maintaining occupancy. Superior customer service to prospects as well as current residents. I learned to much to list, the company has superior training programs as well as on going training. Corporate management did not micro manage, they hired you to do a job and let you do it. The hardest part of the job in multifamily housing is trying to please all residents and sometimes your best is not enough. The best part was meeting so many different people and helping them with their housing needs and continuing to take care of them when they leased from you.

On a typical work day, I engage with prospects via internet, phone and in person to  help them find an apartment. I go over availability, current market rates, and different floor plans. I also am responsible for running several reports on a monthly and weekly basis. The most difficult part of the job is trying to make sure all prospects are happy with current market rates and trying to match their preferences with their budget. Ive learned so much about using leasing desk and the yield star system. The work place culture is relaxed and management is good.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Some of the people are great. I'd never worked for a property management company that gave bonuses so that was a big plus. They could have paid more.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Petty people. Painting in maintenance when no one else was doing it. All other properties contracted it out. Hated the "putting out fires" type of work.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It was all about work. Not much balance to life.


What is a typical day like for you at the company?
go to work....run around crazy trying to get things done....eat ....run around crazy again ....go home

Community managers and regional managers are out to lie and only protect themselves, and each other. Community manager is a micromanager with no trust in any employees, including office. She always states that "they aren't doing their jobs".  The tenants themselves are appreciative most of the time, and I enjoyed working with them. Be prepared to take the blame for any mistake that goes wrong. HR will not back you up, even when multiple employees all state the same fact. Be prepared to explain yourself for every part of your day, while other employees get to "hang out" and not work as hard as others. There is a reason why they go through so many different techs and supervisors.

I was really excited to work with Blue Ridge when I was hired, but it didn’t take long to figure out that there is a huge disconnect between corporate office and the on-site properties. There are so many hoops to jump through to potentially get bonuses, and the audits/policies are constantly changing, so we are not given the opportunity to succeed. The company is very focused on the residents, which alone is a great feature, but it’s at the sake of the employees. Corporate will bend over backward to appease residents but will not stand up for their own employees.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Family oriented and insurance  is affordable, pto is great and all-around just a great place to work.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
None really been in the business over 30 years and seen and been through it all,

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Family, like I said b4 people in upper management are there when you need um and any questions you have Wil be answered 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Busy doing apt move outs iinspection done on apartments and grounds

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Maintenance manager 2 salaries reported	$28.00 per hour
Maintenance technician 4 salaries reported	$17.50 per hour
Groundskeeper 1 salary reported	$15.75 per hour
Low voltage technician 1 salary reported	$65,000 per year
Community manager 1 salary reported	$18.00 per hour

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