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‘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…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: What to Do About Residents Who Break Up
It’s a tale as old as time: Boy meets girl. They fall in love, or at least fall in like enough that they’re together all the time and finish each other’s sentences and have their own language and are really irritating their friends. So they decide to move in together, because rent is expensive, their roommates are annoying and they spend all their time together anyway, and really, how different could living together be. Then it’s all cool for awhile until boy discovers that he can’t stand girl’s laugh anymore and girl is sick and tired of picking up boy’s…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: The Oldest Real Estate Trick in the Book
My husband and I were recently looking at apartments in New Jersey. We looked at two apartments in a community, and they were nice. Really nice. But I still wasn’t ready to make a commitment to a whole year there, and wanted to look at a few other places first. (To quote Cher Horowitz from Clueless, “You see how picky I am about my shoes and they only go on my feet.”) So we left the community and went to a couple of our other apartment appointments in the area. After we were done, we went to the mall (because when in Jersey…)…
Guest Blog: Ways You Can Make Move-in Day a Pleasant Experience for Your Renters
By Madoline Hatter, Changeofaddressform.com For many landlords, the renter is the one who puts food on the table and keeps the lights on in the house. But without someone to rent your property, it sits there not making a single dime. Because of this, you want to keep your renters happy. People want to feel welcomed into their homes, and what better way is there to do this than to make move-in day a pleasant one? Starting out the landlord-resident relationship on positive footing can make for a great experience for everyone involved. 1. Offer to help—Offering to help your…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Past Performance is No Guarantee of Past Performance
“The straight line, a respectable optical illusion which ruins many a man.” ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables I was so pleased to attend the NMHC Apartment Strategies Update Conference and Board of Directors meeting in Boston on May 14th and 15th. Along with the usual suspects extolling the virtues of why it’s great to be in the apartment business, a number of very well thought out presentations were shared. I am, as many of you know, a forecaster who enjoys reviewing massive amounts of data in the hope that I can glean a pattern that will indicate an unlikely trend….
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: 4 Things Property Managers Can Learn from Arrested Development
This is a very important weekend. Sure, it’s Memorial Day and the unofficial kickoff of summer. There will be barbecues. And many of us get a day off from work. Whatever, though, right? The big news is that Arrested Development is coming back on Netflix! [Pause for an awesome music interlude.] This show, which first aired in 2003-2006 for three seasons, is back after popular demand for a fourth season. And as property managers, there’s a lot you can take from Arrested Development. No, seriously. Well, it’s worth a shot at least. What are you, chicken? Just because an idea…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Why You Might Want to Let Them Out of Their Lease Early
Leases are important—why else would we use them? They spell out the terms of the apartment so that the renter knows all the rules and requirements going in to the agreement, and leases protect the interests of both the property manager and the resident. And, while an important contract, leases are written in ink. Not carved in stone. (See also: “rules are meant to be broken,” and “the bell doesn’t dismiss you, I dismiss you.”) Sometimes, residents might need to leave an apartment before the end of the lease. Of course, this is why there are leases—to prevent this so the…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Why Real Estate Will Get More Costly
“Running on Empty, …but I’m running behind.” ©Jackson Brown/Swallow Turn Music One of the greatest things about attending an NMHC meeting, besides the hospitality and amazing resort locale, is the camaraderie and openness that permeates through most of the meeting. The interim meetings between the national events are smaller, and lots of conversations are shared in earnest about market conditions, competitive pressures and capital structures. You have no doubt heard about the rapid compression of cap rates, which in some instances in all property sectors, particularly multifamily, provide for returns so low that in previous years people scoffed at the…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: In Defense of Non-Pet-Friendly Communities
Have you ever had that moment where you look at someone you thought you had a lot in common with and wondered, “How could she not like _____? Everyone likes that! Is there something wrong with her? Did I ever really even know her?” Well, I’m often that person getting stared at. I don’t care for The Beatles. I can’t stand cheesecake. I hate the movie Top Gun (Goose died during a training exercise! What an idiot!). Oh, and here’s the kicker: I’m not really an animal person. Especially dogs. (I know, I know. Bring on the hate mail. But,…
Guest Blog: Networking in a Nutshell (Take the Long-Term View)
By Matt Slepin, Terra Search Partners At a recent industry networking event, I provided relationship-building tips to the diverse group of real estate professionals. For those who are interested in honing their networking skills, here’s a brief recap of the main points I discussed. A key theme runs through all of these concepts—take the long term view to creating habits, building relationships, and your career. Building a habit of networking Some may associate the word “networking” with shallowness, but it is actually a positive practice that is essential to any professional in business, especially in the real estate industry. Think…