Blog
'What Renters Want' with Jessica Fiur: How to [Not] Silence Negative Reviewers
In college, I could eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby in one sitting. (I took the Freshman 15 as a challenge, which I totally won.) It’s been years, but if I ran a few miles and skipped a few meals before, I bet I could still do it. But just because I could eat an entire pint of ice cream in one sitting, does that mean I should? Yes. Ice cream is delicious. Bad example. How about this: Just because I could sing all the words to Livin’ on a Prayer, does that mean I should? No,…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: The Super Bowl and Preventing Subleases
This year, the Super Bowl will be held in East Rutherford, N.J. I live in New Jersey, not too far from there. So this news has produced a wave of emotions in me: apathy, indifference, boredom, hunger and just a smidgen of all-consuming rage—all the local restaurants are going to be packed near game day, and that traffic that Jersey is famous for (along with Bon Jovi, The Boss and smelling like a garbage barge) will be even worse. And apparently I’m not the only one who has a problem with the Bruno Mars concert with a side of football….
Guest Blog: Strategic Buying in Today’s Market
By Matthew Heslin, Principal & CEO, Oak Coast Properties The apartment sector continues to perform. Despite high levels of activity and increased competition for acquisitions, opportunities still exist for savvy investors with appetite, insight and sound strategy. For players looking at both short- and long-term hold strategies, quality acquisitions may still be found in both suburban and urban markets across the country. Apartment buyers of existing product should focus on key variables when evaluating potential acquisitions, and these will apply across opportunities in both metropolitan and suburban locales. Properties located in sustainable growth-oriented markets will always offer investment benefits. A…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Quit Being a Baby: What to Do When Neighbors Complain About Crying
Do you know what’s adorable? A baby. You know what isn’t adorable? Channing Tatum. (Seriously, someone tell me what the appeal is. I mean, he’s certainly not ugly, but still, meh. Give me Collin Firth any day, amiright, ladies?) Oh, and listening to a baby crying. Crying babies are certainly not adorable—just try sitting next to one on an intercontinental flight. Or living next to one. Have you heard about the So, as a property manager, what should you do if your residents complain to you about their neighbors Ferberizing their baby (or if they just complain about a crying…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Security vs. Privacy: The Great Apartment Debate
It’s important to know who’s coming in and out of a building. That way, crimes can be prevented, and if they do occur, they can be solved more easily. No one wants to live somewhere that isn’t safe. But does everyone need to know everyone’s business all the time? According to an article in The New York Times, after some burglaries at fancy buildings in Manhattan, property managers are considering installing more security cameras throughout the buildings, on top of whatever security measures they already have (doormen, cameras just in common areas, laser mazes, etc.). The issue, then, of course…
‘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: 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…