SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR | RSS | REPRINTS

EDITOR'S NOTE: Storm Surges
Published: September 30, 2008

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing Editor

The fallout from natural and man-made storms continues to swirl around us. Between the hurricanes and the continuing upheavals in the financial world, these truly are unsettled times. While I’d planned on writing about a different topic, yesterday’s historic plunge on Wall Street compelled me--and perhaps you, too?--to explore safe harbors and lifelines.

In the past few weeks, we saw Hurricane Ike tear through Galveston and neighboring coastal communities before paralyzing Houston, the country's fourth-largest city. The storm’s powerful remnants then swept north through the center of the U.S., causing floods and wind damage. Up to nine inches of rain fell on Cook County, Ill., prompting a disaster declaration for the Chicago area, a place not usually affected by hurricane-related forces. Parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania also suffered floods and power outages.

Riverstone Residential Group manages 68 apartment communities in Texas and Louisiana that were impacted by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. Damage ranged from downed trees to entire roofs being blown off, according to Riverstone CEO Christy Freeland, in a conversation now available on MHN TV on our Web site (www.multi-housingnews.com). MHN Editor-in-Chief Diana Mosher interviewed Freeland in Denver during our recent conference, Multi-Housing World. (Timely interviews can also be seen with other industry leaders as well on MHN TV, which is the latest addition to our dynamic Web site.)

Due to its large purchasing power, Riverstone Residential had identified vendors ahead of time, Freeland explained, and also had teams of its own onsite the next day after the storm to start assessing what needed to be done. Since electricity was out in many places, staffers set up command posts in recreational vehicles. The company has also encouraged employees to donate time to the recovery efforts through vacation or sick time.

Dirk Wakeham, president of LeasingDesk, told me in a phone interview today that just under 300 renters insurance claims have already been filed in Ike’s aftermath. The company has reached out to area property managers and policyholders to help them access payments for additional living expenses and damage from wind-driven rain, etc. Wakeham points out that when disaster hits, it’s helpful when property managers and owners can at least help defuse the situation for covered residents. LeasingDesk has about 675 pre-approved properties in Texas zip codes affected by the storm and well over 20,000 currently actively insured residents there.

And damage can caused from unlikely sources, too, Wakeham points out. At one 16-unit apartment cluster in a Houston-area community, a resident decided to grill all the meat he had in his refrigerator and freezer, since the power was out due to Hurricane Ike. However, flames from his patio grill reportedly set the building’s wood siding on fire. While details are still sketchy, it seems that the resulting heat caused the barbecue’s propane tank to explode, ultimately destroying 10 of the 16 apartments.

While not even meteorologists can accurately predict oncoming storms, sooner or later the odds are strong that disasters happen. Being prepared is the prudent course of action. Offering renter’s insurance--and making it mandatory—seems like a good way to safeguard home for everyone.

Please email me (thein@multi-housingnews.com) about what your company is doing to cope with these challenging times. What is working best for you? Is the shadow rental market affecting your communities? What advice would you share with other property management executives?

SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR | RSS | REPRINTS

90-Degree Turn: Stimulus Package Redirects Housing Efforts to Affordable rentals
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is now law and on task to kick-start the moribund U.S. economy, including a re-dedication by the federal government to developing and rehabilitating affordable housing.

Editor’s Note: A Change Could Do You Good
Small businesses are sometimes envied for their ability to be agile and to change the game plan to respond to market conditions. Whether you manage one apartment community or 20, an agile strategy can make all the difference in how you weather adversity and emerge stronger than before from the downturn. Now’s the time to take a careful look at what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and the processes your team has in place to achieve your common objectives.

Improving Building Energy Profiles: What It Will Take
Moving beyond automobiles, policymakers are now looking to the built environment for a solution to ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Their reasoning is that “buildings are responsible for 70 percent of electricity use” and, therefore, by extension, 40 percent of carbon emissions.

Case Study: LEED Gold Mixed-Use Community Planned for Houston Suburb
WaterLights District is a  $700 million, 155-acre master planned community in Pearland, Texas designed for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification. Groundbreaking is slated for April 2009, with first deliveries scheduled for April 2010. MHN Associate Editor Erika Schnitzer talks to David Goswick, executive director, Historic Real Estate Inc., a private real estate investment and development company, and Steve Biegel, CEO, Matrix Spencer Architects, the project’s master planner about the site’s sustainable features, green building trends in Texas, and how the economy is affecting development.

Case Study: Investing in Carbon-Neutral Luxury in the Philippines
The Cacao Pearl, located in Palawan, Philippines, is designed to become the world's first non-profit and luxury eco-resort community to commit 100 percent of operating profits to environmental protection and social improvements. It is a low-density boutique resort being built in accordance with sustainable development principles, with 60 condominiums achieving zero carbon cost. Units range from $210,000 to $250,000. Joel Cere, CEO, Barefoot Investments, talks to MHN Associate Editor Erika Schnitzer about the company’s initiatives and objectives, as well as the development’s green features.

EDITOR'S NOTE: CPSC Clarifies Pool Drain Enforcement Plans
Being based in New York City, where we're currently seeing a wet snowfall, my thoughts at this time of year typically do not revolve around swimming pools. Until today, when pool drains became front-page news that property managers need to take note of.

How Property Managers Can Cut Utility Costs
Perhaps the most significant operating cost for multifamily properties is the cost of utilities. Here are strategies that can help reduce those expenses.

Hudson Tea: Three Distinct Model Units Speak to Different Demographics at Toll Brothers' Hoboken Condo
Mary Cook and Associates designed three so-called character-inspired model homes for Toll Brothers

EDITOR'S NOTE: Real Estate Bubbles
When reporting on multifamily finance in the 2000s, I came across a common refrain from desperate mortgage bankers again and again: "There is a surplus of money chasing a limited amount of product." This intensely competitive environment--for lenders, that is--went on for years, seemingly never-ending. But the capital "surplus" environment did come to an end.

Market Report: India Residential Sector Gears Up for an Overhaul
The residential sector in India has undergone a far-reaching metamorphosis in the last decade. After years of unplanned and haphazard development, the sector is now marked by enhanced product offering, heightened investment including foreign capital, and augmentation of the national footprint of some prominent Indian developers. Modern apartments and villa and township projects have come up across the country and new city master plans have been drawn to include a number of suburban and peripheral locations within the city’s folds.

Reduce Cooling Costs in Multifamily Homes with Radiant Barrier Sheathing
Energy efficiency is a top priority for many multifamily builders and developers when planning projects. Features such as energy-efficient windows and appliances can be key selling points with renters and condo owners. Going another step, the choice of roofing materials can further boost energy savings. Radiant barrier sheathing (RBS), for example, provides a simple, cost-effective way to reduce energy use while helping ensure strong and long-lasting roof framing.

Coping with a Fire's Aftermath
Anaheim Hills, Calif.—While fires caused by dry Christmas trees are a concern during the holiday season, outdoor fire issues are a year-round worry. Southern California wildfires recently destroyed a number of apartments and rendered multiple buildings uninhabitable at a 292-unit garden-style apartment community, the Cascades, in Anaheim Hills, Calif.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Season of Sharing
With so many companies now cutting back on holiday celebrations, this could be the season when property managers can really make a difference in their residents' lives as well as in their communities. Simple opportunities for get-togethers may now be appreciated more than in previous years when budgets were more lavish. Perhaps the time is right for a return to basics, like a homemade cookie exchange or carol singing. This is the time of year that people especially value warm greetings and times together. They're a welcome antidote to the worrisome headlines of daily news reports.

Property Management: Can You Afford Not to Screen Residents?
Before a resident will be accepted at an apartment community, he or she needs to be background checked. But for what information? Indeed, resident screening can be a tricky process, as it is an area that is laden with potential pitfalls. What aspects of an applicant’s background are relevant? What are the ways to screen residents? What should you do or not do if you do not want to be sued? These are all questions to address.

Perspective: Nine Ways to Capture Leasing Prospects During the 'Sales Walk'
As prospective tenants become more savvy about “shopping the market,” and the competition for luxury market renters becomes increasingly fierce, property owners need to consider the prospective resident’s entire housing selection experience in order to successfully capture tenants.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Turning Point
The apartment sector had been holding out relatively well compared to other industries, but it too will succumb to the massive loss of jobs that is expected to accelerate as we go into 2009.

Perspective: Free Up Valuable Investment Capital by Reducing Insurance Collateral
Market uncertainty has led to tightening of global credit markets and increased the cost of raising capital. To make the situation even more painful, real estate developers and apartment owners are likely to face increased insurance premiums. But, all is not doom and gloom. By re-evaluating their deductible insurance programs, companies may be able to reduce collateral obligations and free up capital for other uses.

Dealing with the Crisis: Roundtable Participants
Participants at Transwestern Institutional Multifamily Group's multifamily executives roundtable. The roundtable took place recently in October during the company's annual market forecast and awards conference.

Q&A: Going Green in Senior Living
Steve Leone, AIA, LEED AP, is a principal and director of sustainable design at Cubellis. He recently spoke at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging’s (AAHSA) 2008 annual meeting & exposition, held in Philadelphia, at a session entitled Green Communities: A Growing Trend in Senior Living. MHN Associate Editor Erika Schnitzer talks to Leone about the trend of greening senior living and how it affects the development and operations of these communities, as well as how aging providers in Japan, Germany and Switzerland are incorporating green design and sustainable approaches.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Happy Accidents
Do you remember “The Accidental Tourist,” an Academy Award-nominated film based on the novel of the same name by Anne Tyler? It prompts me to propose a sequel, “The Accidental Property Manager.”

IREM’s New President Shares 2009 Goals, Reinforces Green Commitment
Pamela W. Monroe, CPM brings over 25 years of professional property management experience to her new role as president of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) . Currently, she is also senior vice president of Community Realty Management Inc., Pleasantville, N.J., which she joined in 2002. Monroe tells MHN Managing Editor Teresa O'Dea Hein that since beginning her career in Mobile, Ala., she has overseen all types of multifamily housing in areas as diverse as the Southeast, Texas, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and the Virgin Islands. This detail-oriented management executive sees the wide-ranging value of "green" initiatives and also cites a lifetime mentor's advice "that real estate management is all about dollars and cents. A nickel saved here and a dollar there can have a major impact on the bottom line."

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Apartment Sales Market Slows Down
The apartment investment sales market since the financial market crisis occurred in mid-September has “freezed up” as apartment buyers and sellers face deep uncertainty over the future of the nation’s—indeed, the global—economic condition.

PERSPECTIVE: Why Budget for Bad Debt?
As budget season approaches, apartment owners and managers are once again budgeting for bad debt - those monies unrecovered by collections after a resident has damaged a unit or skipped out on rent. According to just-released data from the National Apartment Association (“2008 Survey of Operating Income & Expenses in Rental Apartment Properties’), owners and property managers of market rate properties lost on average $70 per unit last year to bad debt.

INSIDE THE DEAL: Redevelopment of Expiring LIHTC Property Preserves 500+ Affordable Apartments
Brooklyn, N.Y.—The Domain Companies and Arker Companies have announced completion of the $52 million redevelopment of Spring Creek Gardens. The property was coming to the end of its 15-year Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) compliance period.

Q&A with David Gross: The Biggest Challenge to Green Development Is Fear of the Unknown
David E. Gross, AIA, is a founding partner of GF55 Partners, a New York-based architecture firm that is currently working on projects in Florida, New Jersey and New York. He talks to MHN Associate Editor Erika Schnitzer about the most difficult roadblocks in green design, what it takes to be green, and how the state of the economy has affected the markets in which he works.