Guest Blog
Guest Blog: With Temperatures Dropping, Interest in Energy Savings at Multifamily Properties Should be Heating Up
By Tal Eyal, FirstService Residential While winter made its official debut on December 21, the cold weather has been upon us for some time now and has gotten to extreme levels, including 20-year record lows across the country at the start of the year. For boards, managers and other key decision-makers at multifamily housing properties, the dropping temperatures bring a rising interest in energy saving strategies, and a renewed focus on negotiating better utility rates. Facing a host of pressing management challenges throughout the year tends to put the issue of energy efficiency on the back burner. But each year,…
Guest Blog: Peachy Outlook for Atlanta Multifamily Market
By Jake Reid, Senior Director, Franklin Street Much like the fruit for which Georgia is known, the multifamily market in Atlanta looks sweet for 2014. In 2013, we experienced a renewed investor interest in Atlanta’s multifamily market, fueled by an uptick in employment and an improving local economy. Between October 2012 and October 2013, 63,300 jobs were created, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. Highest rents ever Through new job creation and an increase in the quality of urban rentals, Atlanta experienced its highest rents ever in 2013. New urban product is being absorbed with higher rents and velocity…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Guest Post: How to Encourage Recycling at Multifamily Communities
By Shelley Davenport, Move For Free Incorporating economically and environmentally friendly practices into multifamily living is a great way to avoid unnecessary waste and improve the community. So when an apartment community actually provides a recycling option, why is it being ignored? Information and motivation are keys on the road to greener living. Here are a few great ways that management can encourage their residents to take advantage of these eco-friendly options. 1. Get the Word Out Some renters may not even realize recycling is an option at their apartment community. Management can reach out with information on recycling, pick-up…
Guest Blog: Property Management—No Longer the Stepchild, but Leadership Challenges Continue
There remain significant hurdles in finding forward thinking, impactful people to lead operations, particularly in our industry’s larger organizations. Why is this the case and what is the industry doing about it?