‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: What Should You Include in Your Apartment Marketing Photos?
Think back to your Internet dating days. (Don’t give me that look. You can admit it—we all did it. And if not, you totally know someone who is currently using an online dating service.) Profiles that had spelling and grammar problems were bad. Ones that mentioned a love of country music were worse. But the absolute deal breaker? A profile with no picture. That profile could be for a multi-millionaire rock star with chef-quality kitchen skills who can quote The Simpsons, run marathons and reach things on the highest shelf, all the while volunteering with orphans on the weekends, but we’d…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: The Sequestration Follies
“I am”… I said To no one there And no one heard at all Not even the chair —Neil Diamond, 1971 There is ultimate comfort in politics in the fact that current polls don’t matter when it comes to judging one’s actions. History gets to decide who was right and wrong. Within the realm of the federal sector, one that has the most influence on coastal multifamily markets, there is a lot of finger pointing going on right now. It seems the idea of shutting down the government, despite the additional cost, has been both reviled and cheered by certain…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Sequestration, The Gift That Keeps on Giving…
The rental apartment business runs on two things: job growth (or net effective disintermediation of primary jobs into secondary services categories) and consumer confidence. I suspect you’re reading about or hearing about sequestration (dictionary definition: stupid tricks Congress plays to get re-elected) and, like a lot of my colleagues and friends are asking what it will mean. Well to start with, estimates have been made that the planning and destructive nature of this will cost at least $1 billion overall, just in government related costs. In the apartment business, the effects will be spread out more evenly between government dependent…
Guest Blog: The Importance of Flexible, Early Funding for Affordable Housing Development
By Eileen Fitzgerald, CEO, NeighborWorks America Developing affordable rental housing these days is a lot like putting together a puzzle—when the financing pieces are all in place, a thing of beauty results, but when there’s a piece missing for the puzzle—or in this case a piece missing from the finance package for rental housing—the project just doesn’t work. The result is fewer new affordable rental homes developed and more existing rental homes transitioning into market rate housing or being demolished. The bottom line: families who need affordable rental housing may have a lot harder time securing the homes that they…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Apartments and Superstitions
It’s Friday the 13th. Does this conjure up fears and bad omens and Jason (or Mrs. Voorhees, depending on your predilection. Uh, spoiler alert. Sorry) chopping up pretty teenagers with a machete? Of course not, right? We’re all mature adults with busy lives who don’t have time for all that superstitious nonsense. Or not. We apartment people are apparently a very superstitious bunch. Seriously, look at our high-rises. Are any built with a 13th floor? According to a blog post on MSN, Superstitions actually do shape a lot of our development projects. And not just in multifamily—remember when they were…
Guest Blog: Liability Rolls Downhill: How Flow Down Clauses Can Harm You
By Morgan A. Stewart, partner, Manly, Stewart and Finaldi Since the construction of multifamily projects typically involves several parties, it is crucial to craft your contracts with the utmost care. Failure to do so could greatly increase your risk of contractual liability to third parties, particularly when those provisions known as flow down clauses are involved. It is common presumption that a multifamily developer who has signed an agreement with a general contractor is bound solely to the terms of the prime contract, unless expressly stated. And conversely, that subcontractors are only liable for the obligations set forth in the…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Are Apartment Communities Trying to be Like Dorms?
This weekend, my brother came to visit me and my husband at our apartment. In the elevator, he noticed an ad for a Labor Day party for residents, touting free snacks and goodies in the lounge. I had seen the ad all week, and while I wasn’t planning to attend myself because I usually find these things a little awkward and there were some sales I wanted to hit instead, I thought it was a nice gesture, and beyond that, hadn’t really given it much thought. “Are they trying to make this place like a dorm?” he asked. “Haha—shut up!”…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: What Property Managers Could Learn From the Decision to Cast Ben Affleck as Batman
There are important things going on in the world today—war, a still-struggling economy and oh my god Ben Affleck is going to be the new Batman! In case you haven’t heard the news, the Oscar-winning actor, who’s played important roles in Good Will Hunting, Argo and Gigli, has been cast as Batman in the upcoming sequel to Man of Steel. (Don’t get me started on why a Superman sequel wouldn’t benefit from Batman. One is an alien with amazing super powers and the other is some bored rich guy who has a gift certificate to Brookstone. Clearly a perfect match.)…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Why Your Staff is Your Greatest Amenity
At my apartment community, there is a morning and afternoon shuttle that takes residents from the apartment to the bus stop and vice versa. The usual shuttle driver is friendly (but not overly chatty), remembers which building to drop people off on the way home and, most importantly, is prompt. He’s on vacation this week though. The sub is fine…but he wants everyone’s life story, and isn’t there right away when the bus comes. So we all wait outside. In 90-degree heat. I know, I know. Cry me a river, right? Why don’t I also complain about something of equal…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Sunbelt Denizens Creating Rental Units
A gambler with a System must be, to a greater or lesser extent, insane. – George Augustus Sala (1828-1895), English Writer and Journalist Sun and fun, how can you possibly get that wrong? Of all the places you can go to get away from it all, two are now bringing it with them. Both perennial favorites of the rental cognoscenti, Florida and Nevada, made the news again for having big gains in foreclosure activity. Foreclosures are becoming synonymous with accidentally creating rental units. It works something like this: House originally bought for $350,000, great neighborhood, nice area… except the over-extended buyer can’t…