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‘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: Multifamily Living, Multiple Choices
By Christopher Frye, Senior Manager, NEEA To get a sense of how residents in the Northwest use energy in their multifamily homes and how units are constructed across the region, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) recently studied residents’ habits based on a random and representative sample of 230 buildings and 552 units in the Northwest. The results of the study, “Residential Building Stock Assessment: Multifamily Characteristics and Energy Use,” will help guide the region’s utilities and energy efficiency organizations to identify opportunities for energy efficiency programs. The study will also help guide the development of efficiency resources to meet the…
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…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Is Your Apartment Marketing Just White Noise?
Every day, sitting in our office on the 21st floor, my coworkers and I listen to the cacophony of a lone protester, who is convinced he was treated unfairly. I’ve been at this job for a little more than two years, and I’ve heard this guy every morning. My coworkers who have been at the company longer say that they can’t even remember a time when the protesting guy wasn’t there. And it’s always this one guy. No one has joined his picket line. There’s never been any press coverage. People seem to still go into the store, which is obviously…
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: Stop Giving Cutesy Gifts to New Residents
Moving is super stressful. You have to officially change your address, and still worry that that birthday check from grandma is going to go to the old place. You have to pack up your entire life and start the painful process of getting rid of some of your things so that it’ll fit in the new place (and then after having a soul-searching conversation with yourself, decide that you do in fact still need that pair of jeans that you haven’t worn in 20 years because you are definitely getting back into shape, and what if ripped, faded Kurt Cobain-esque…