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NAA Exhibitors ScentAir and Beaulieu Demonstrate the Role of Scent Management in the Apartment Business We know that the smell of baking cookies can make a house more attractive to prospective buyers. So why not apply the same principle to rent apartments—or to keep residents from moving elsewhere when their leases are up? There is a growing body of research on the sense of smell to affect consumer responses. According to The Scent Marketing Institute, “scent can be highly effective in helping us distinguish one product from another. It can trigger a memory or desire that influences a purchase decision….

The House of Representatives recently passed energy and climate legislation that would include a number of provisions for green building incentives. The Waxman-Markey bill, otherwise known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454), would include such things as: -A building retrofit program, which would include standards for both residential and nonresidential buildings; -A building energy performance labeling program, which would encourage both owners and occupants to learn about building energy performance; -Established percentage targets for energy use reductions in new residential and commercial buildings; -The GREEN (Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods) Act, which includes…

 Greywater is Making a ‘Splash’ in Portland, Oregon  It’s hard to ignore the fact that the affordable multi-housing sector frequently leads the way in green initiatives. In Portland, Oregon, for example, the work of Central City Concern (CCC), a non-profit affordable housing provider, has helped direct statewide regulatory change.   Commercial and residential buildings in Oregon are now allowed to use rainwater. This change will result in significant savings for owners as well as low-income residents. It will also help conserve a precious resource.  As CCC points out, the greatest challenge of a truly sustainable building is…  water independence. Its groundbreaking work has helped…

So it’s come to the end of another gorgeous holiday weekend, right here in the middle of the summer of our discontent. I don’t know what happened—from everything I read and heard, I had come to believe the third quarter would usher in the recovery, albeit mild-mannered, from just whatever it is we’ve been going through. Hey! We’re almost a week into the Q3, 2009! Where’s the recovery? Well, perhaps as Jeff Immelt said, this is not so much a recovery as a “re-set.” To me that always conjures the picture of returning all the Monopoly money, markers and cards…

“Nothing is more damaging to a state than that cunning men pass for wise.” Francis Bacon (1561-1626)   There are an estimated 5 million homes in foreclosure, with the total potentially rising to 7 million. One of the facts coming to light is that as much as 40% of these are investor- or syndicate-owned and leased out to renters. As these houses are falling into default, many of the owners are pocketing the rent payments and letting the renters discover for themselves that they are being evicted, even though they’ve paid their rents on time and consistently. Recent legislation now…

Last week, President Obama put forward his proposals to make changes to the regulatory oversight of the financial system. Among the proposals, the “ Financial Regulatory Reform Plan” would give the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. additional controls over financial institutions. It would require hedge funds and private equity funds to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. And it would consolidate the agencies that oversee consumer debt banking into a regulator called the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Where our industry is concerned, the plan would more tightly control banks that issue mortgage-backed securities. And it…