J Turner Research Engages With Paradigm Properties
By Rachel Block, ReporterHouston–Paradigm Properties will use J Turner Research’s web surveys to measure resident perceptions at nine of its student housing properties.J Turner’s surveys will measure customer service levels amongst current and prospective residents. The results of the surveys will allow J Turner to develop a guide to assist Paradigm in amending which areas of their student living is in need of improvement. “Paradigm is going to be able to benchmark the best practices of the better properties and find out what those leasing agents are doing to make it of higher value,” says Joseph Batdorf (pictured), president of…
Multi-housing Executives on the Move
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorKeystone Hires New Community Assn. Manager, Promotes Steve KoernerIrvine, Calif.–Keystone Pacific Property Management Inc. has hired Abraham Oyler (pictured top right) as community association manager in the firm’s headquarters, and has promoted Steve Koerner from escrow specialist to accounts payable supervisor.As a community association manager, Oyler will manage a portfolio of existing associations throughout Orange County. Oyler is currently working toward the Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM) designation through the California Association of Community Managers (CACM).In his new position, Koerner will be responsible for supervising the accounts payable staff, managing client check distribution, managing and…
Thompson Thrift Development Launches Multifamily Co. to Capitalize on Growing Demand for Rentals
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorCarmel, Ind.–Thompson Thrift Development Inc. has launched a new company called Watermark Residential, which will be based in Carmel, Ind. and will focus on development, management and sales of multifamily developments throughout the Midwest and Southeast. John S. Sebree, who served as the senior investment associate and director of the National Multi Housing Group of Marcus & Millichap, will lead Watermark Residential as the company’s managing partner. Sebree worked at Marcus & Millichap for 17 years, beginning in their Chicago office and then opening the Indianapolis office in 1997. He left Marcus & Millichap to…
Related Preserves Affordable Seniors Housing in Syracuse, N.Y.
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSyracuse, New York–Related Affordable, a division of Related Cos., recently re-opened McCarthy Manor Apartments, a 176-unit affordable senior housing development in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll was present at the opening ceremony.“I am pleased Related has undertaken the rehabilitation of this complex so there will continue to be good, affordable housing for our senior citizens at this location for many years to come,” Driscoll said at the opening. “This housing is an important part of the city’s affordable housing inventory. Our senior citizens have made many contributions to our community, and it…
Housing Market Gets Vote of Confidence from Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager
Greenwich, Conn.–Billionaire hedge fund manager Edward S. Lampert is purchasing shares of homebuilders, mortgage lenders and Home Depot, implying he believes the U.S. housing market will soon recover, The Wall Street Journal said.Lampert’s ESL Investments Inc.–which has concentrated on retail and bank stocks–has 40 percent of car retailer AutoNation Inc. and half of department-store giant Sears Holdings Corp.Now the Greenwich, Conn.-based hedge fund has started buying housing industry stocks, investing in builders such as Centex Corp. and KB Home.ESL also bought roughly four million shares of subprime home and commercial lender CIT Group Inc. and 1.4 million shares of mortgage…
Housing Bill Could Hit the Floor This Week
Washington, D.C.–Proposed housing legislation may reach the Senate floor this week, according to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).Democratic leaders–who hope to wrap up the issue before the Fourth of July holiday–currently are trying to finalize Medicaid legislation, but if they can’t, “energy and housing legislation would be the two most likely” bills to come next this week, Schumer said.Designed to help prevent foreclosures, the housing bill would create a fund and institute new rules for federal regulators to monitor Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, CBS News reports.Proposed by Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), the bill passed in the committee…
Four Homebuilders Fined For Water Pollution
Alexandria, Va.–Four of the biggest U.S. homebuilders agreed to pay $4.3 million in fines in connection with allegations of stream and lake pollution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.The builders had been accused of polluting the waterways with construction site dirt mixed with stormwater runoff, which is one of the largest threats to Georgia’s water system.Filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., the consent decree concluded a six-year federal probe of hundreds of construction sites in 34 states. Georgia housed 71 of the sites.Georgia housing developments built by Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Pulte Homes, Los Angeles-based KB Home and Centex Homes, based…
High Food, Energy Prices Put Strain on Economy, Housing
Washington, D.C.–Because energy and food expenses forced some companies to raise prices the economy has stayed “generally weak,” according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent tally of business conditions.Released Wednesday, the Fed’s report highlighted two major issues facing the U.S.–reduced economic activity and costly food and energy. Increased energy and food prices threaten to raise inflation and slow total economic growth, the New York Times said. As a result, “consumer spending slowed … as incomes were pinched by rising energy and food prices,” the Fed said. In addition, manufacturing activity was “generally soft” and the housing market continued to be stagnant.
DEAL OF THE DAY: CPC Provides $2.3M Loan to 100-Unit LIHTC Project
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorBlackwood, N.J.–The Community Preservation Corp. (CPC) recently closed a $2.3 million loan through its Trenton office to fund the acquisition of the Scenic Falls Apartments, a 1000-unit garden-style apartment complex located in Blackwood, N.J. Scenic Falls was developed in 1996 as a Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project.CPC, a non-for-profit mortgage lender, provided the permanent loan for the acquisition of the property by a Brooklyn-based real estate developer and manager. The property also has a $845,000 second mortgage assumed by the developer through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA), which extends the…
Apartment Groups Ask Supreme Court to Decide Whether Participation in Section 8 Housing Should be Mandatory
By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor Washington, D.C.–An alliance of apartment organizations have joined forces to file a “friend of the court” brief asking the United States Supreme Court to decide whether states and localities can force property owners to participate in the federal Section 8 program by passing laws that make it illegal to deny voucher holders based on their source of income.“When Congress created the Section 8 program, it explicitly made the program voluntary because it recognized that there are costs and burdens imposed on property owners who choose to participate,” says Jim Arbury, NMHC/NAA senior vice president of…