leasing agent

maintenance technician

lead maintenance

make ready technician

assistant property manager

S2 Residential

The senior management at this company gives the impression that none of them have ever worked in this industry before.

As far as the property I work at, the local management is friendly, focused, and makes an effort to be hospitable to the residents. They are one of just two reasons working with S2 can actually be exciting - the second being the fact that it's property management, and this line of work is great.

S2 has been around since 2014, but only recently has started to expand.
They started out buying D- and C-class properties, and turning them into B- and A-class before flipping them for a profit. But with their recent expansion, they've started buying massive quantities of A- and B-class properties within a year's time, and letting them fall apart, turning them into C- and in some cases D-class properties.

This is due to the massive cutbacks on funding, and bringing in vendors who are dirt-cheap, but also dirt-quality. Just at our property:
Paint buckets end up left in vacant apartments or stolen; the landscapers that are contracted to work S2's many properties spend all day with 12+ men and women at just one property, but STILL can't keep the grounds up to code; the flooring guys leave clean vacant apartments in terrible condition that forces us to push our move-ins back; there is trash left all over the grounds and hallways; and so much more. Corporate has been made aware of all of this, with pictures and detailed descriptions, but has refused to acknowledge the issues.

So they buy a property, spend virtually nothing on parts, vendors, and labor, and then flip the property for at least the amount they paid. That nets them a short profit, but a profit nonetheless, at the expense of an entire neighborhood of residents who deserve much better living conditions.

Working with S2, an employee has these things to look forward to:

- Rent discount when living on site; I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say how much exactly, but it is higher than industry standard.
- Opportunities to show off your ingenuity, as you must solve problems with what you have on hand
- Work-life balance is pretty easy. Since corporate doesn't care to be involved in their properties, you can rely on your team to put in the extra work if you have a doctor's appointment or need to take a day to help your buddy move, as long as you provide the same work ethic when they need it from you.

An employee can have these things to dread:

- Upper management exhibits very poor communication
- Expectations to get a job done without the proper tools or parts, e.g. replace a street light bulb without a ladder or a bulb, and without contracting a vendor
- Company-wide policies that are sent out from time to time that restrict you from certain aspects of your job description, including working with any form of electrical components, such as breakers, even though you're in maintenance
- Zero-tolerance policy for people who give two weeks notice; they are instead terminated on the spot
- You will often take the blame for something not being done, whether or not you have adequate parts or a budget to contract a vendor
- Directives from corporate don't often make any sense at all, and leaves a property's entire team wondering what's going on, what's supposed to happen, and what corporate actually wants from the team. This is exacerbated by a lack of communication from upper level management.

In summary, S2 is unprofessional at a corporate level, but can be fun at a local level. There's plenty of room for lateral moves, but not really any ability to move up, unless you're starting out in a corporate position.

Working at S2 Residential has taught me a lot about what I DO NOT want from a career.

The corporate staff are related - all family. They hire regional managers that are kin to the owner - these "regionals" do not know the first thing about what it takes to oversee a property.  Because of this, they micromanage and stress about the most insignificant things and therefore, never actually help the property.  Property managers are just as worse - they will put their team under an immense amount of stress to meet corporates unrealistic goals.  If you fail to meet your goals, you get written up, no matter the make it obvious that they pick favorites. You will constantly feel excluded from your team.

Managers are not much better - they play favorites and pit employees against each other.  More than once, my leasing commissions were given to another leasing agent.  This is the first company that does not go over leases to make sure they are under the correct name - I find this very bizarre.  You must be careful that they are not cheating you out of your commissions.  Good luck getting that extra $64K a year they brag about - you will need to get about 50 leases a month to achieve this.

They expect you to get x amount of leases per week - NO exceptions!!! That is generally hard when their "upgrades" are sloppy, cheap, and poorly executed - across their entire portfolio.  You will be embarrassed showing apartments that are considered "luxury", and things are falling apart and worn out. 

They allege that you get compensated for taking a vacation but I have never heard of any employee actually receive said compensation. 

Going to work everyday was depressing.  You never knew what you were going to face today - the heap of unhappy residents, or the refusal of management to correct any problems.  If you have any problems with your manager, going to corporate will not solve a problem as the will always side with the manager - no matter what!

So if you want to hate going to work everyday, showing sub-par product with a high price tag, fight back and forth with your coworkers over your money, receive no recognition for the work you put in, or have your managers treat you like dirt, then this is the PERFECT job for you!

At S2 Residential we value each team member regardless of their role or responsibilities.  Our S2 Family Core Values are an essential guide we utilize always.  We encourage our teams to share their ideas and speak their minds. We set goals that leverage each team members individual skills to achieve property specific goals.

To increase our teams work-home life balance, we've instituted closing on the 2nd and 4th Friday at 1pm and are paid for the rest of the day.  We have a vacation reimbursement program where team members can turn in vacation receipts for up to $1,000 annually.  We've worked together as a team to give back to our communities either in toy drives, delivering meals on holidays or packaging food, etc. at food banks.  Great benefits, salary and bonus/commission structures!  

We're looking for and want our team members to be happy, energetic & passionate.  To have fun!  Be humble and be willing to serve - our residents, guests and team members.  To have open and honest communication to discuss ideas, challenges and concerns.  To always be learning!  

We've got a phenomenal team who's dedicated and work hard.  Our goal is to ensure they always know how very much we appreciate them and all they do.  All day, every day ~ it's the S2 Way!

Who we are, what we've done and do ~ all of it - has been built on the foundation of our Principal/Founder/CEO. There is no better.   

At S2 Residential, it's not a job.  I've not worked a single day since I joined our S2 Family.  It's a journey.  An adventure.  One I hope never ends.

The company is about 3 years old, so they are still learning.  Great place to work, if it's your first time working in the apartment industry.  Seasoned employees will find themselves annoyed by the companies Regional manager, who likes to micromanaged you to death. She has no confidence in her manager's, and does not believe in mentoring managers or staff, but rather enjoys writing employees up for little infractions.  

Do not believe the bonus compensation hype, as you do not receive bonuses pertaining to meeting your NOI.  The half day Friday's were an amazing bonus, however that only lasted about a month, and then they were rescinded with a lot of excuses as to why you were not entitled to them.

There is a lot of favoritism in this company, with a lot of relatives working there.  If you are not one of their favorites, you will the company culture not to your liking.

As I said, if you have never worked in the apartment industry this company is for you.  If you have years of experience then I recommend you pass on this company, as you will learn nothing new.

If I could give 0 stars to this joke of a company, I would. Despite having expressed concerns in the lack of management on site, nothing changed. Corporate and the management they bring in give 0 cares to anyone working or renting from them. They have zero remorse and lack empathy to workers and tenants. They come in a make everything look nice and pretty but don’t resolve the underlying issues on property. They say communication is KEY, it sure was the key to set us up for failure. I can’t express the unprofessionalism of this company, management is just their puppet and will do every malicious thing they ask them to do. If you work on the corporate side, CONGRATS, I can assure you the job will be a breeze, but if you’re starting as a leasing agent at a OLD bought out property, good luck b/c as soon as the remodelled looks are done get ready for unrealistic expectations of selling several inhabitable units. I’ve never felt so bad to bring in tenants as I did working for this company, trash properties and trash corporation. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Employee discount and that’s about it. I was terminated due to me being on work leave. I returned and then they told me there weren’t any other open positions that I qualified for but there was a open maintenance supervisor position that was open in Plano and i qualified for it because I have years of supervisor experience. They only did that so they can let me go. It’s messed up seriously!!!!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Micro managing and they hire people that they know that does not fit the job at all.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It was bad because they let the property manager do and say whatever she wanted to the whole crew. 7 people quit under one manager and they still let her stick around.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It was a meh day everyday. They didn’t even have events for maintenance or did maintenance appreciation

This is a terrible company to work for. They fire people for unreasonable requirements. I was let go out of the blue for not leasing enough units however the units looked terrible. It was a cheap renovation done with high rent prices and tiny apartments and they expect you to work a miracle. If you need job security then this is not the company to work for. I was also blamed for things I did not do. They gave me a workload for 2 people and expected me to get everything done on top of dealing with unhappy residents day after day. I have never been at a property with so many angry people. Work order were left undone for weeks at a time which is why most people were upset. I had to hear complaints every day from angry residents which made my job super hard. As stated earlier renovations were super cheap the inside color of the apartments were ugly and there was always something wrong with the model apartments.

The work day is stress from the moment you walk in. Atypical day at work is trying to figure out what your  upper management is going to blame you for next.  Upper management is rampant with cronyism. Renovations are subpar and prices are not in line with the product that is given. Corporate is just a bunch of kids that dont know what they are doing. The disorganization of this company is mind boggling. I have never seen the level of Micromanagement that this company implements. There is zero accountability from the regionals. Dont believe  any of the 5 star reviews. We were told to get family members to make up review to raise the companies over all score.

S2 Residential is the best in all aspects. The starting hourly wage is fair but they offer huge upside through commissions for exceptional performance. They care for their employees and show it with their "employee appreciation events" at places like TopGolf and Cowboys stadium. They offer half day Friday's but understandably require that the property you work at has to be meeting their expectations. The corporate team is very involved, and a lot of people on here have described it is a micromanaging, but I think it shows just how much they care about the property. While they can set tough goals some times, they do everything possible to help you attain them. I do not know how anyone could give S2 Residential a bad review unless they are just upset that they were not able to succeed in an industry that demands performance and are taking it out on the company. There is no place I would rather work for!

The short of it…. Severe cash flow problems.   This is mostly a value add company meaning they buy worn out distressed assets and instead of fixing what’s truly wrong with these communities they slap a paint job on it and Throw in some cheap quartz countertops and call it a day.  They do not pay their bills on time.   You will be cut off with most of your supply vendors and turn vendors at any given point.   If you have a good DO, it will make it tolerable.   If you have a bad DO….well keep that resume updated.  The culture itself is good.   There are some great company virtues - such as Zero Ego that are fantastic.   If you interview - ask the hard questions.   Read the community reviews.  

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Leasing agent 4 salaries reported	$60,000 per year
Maintenance technician 2 salaries reported	$26.00 per hour
Lead maintenance 5 salaries reported	$30.60 per hour
Make ready technician 22 salaries reported	$19.36 per hour
Assistant property manager 1 salary reported	$31.00 per hour

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