Guest Blog

Step into a Trader Joe’s store in Manhattan and you’ll be greeted with a madhouse of customers maneuvering the tight aisles, and employees frantically restocking shelves and holding up “End of Line” signs, which keeps getting further and further away from the checkout. Yet the customers keep coming, loading their carts and waiting in line. This scene is not just at the holidays; it’s year-round. The store doesn’t have sales; instead, it offers low prices all year long. But it doesn’t sacrifice in quality, either. The produce is fresh, the baked goods look like something you’d find at a gourmet…

By: Jeffrey A. Kohn, Esq. There have been a number of proposals to reduce or eliminate 26 U.S.C. § 163(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, which currently allows home mortgage interest to be deducted for federal tax purposes (the “Mortgage Interest Deduction”) subject to certain limitations. Currently, most taxpayers that elect to itemize may deduct the interest on their mortgages on their federal income tax returns.  There are two important limitations on the Mortgage Interest Deduction: (1) the deduction is limited to interest on debts secured by a principal residence or a second home and (2) interest is deductible on only the first…

If you’re like most property managers, your work day is stuck in the 20th century. Rent checks are collected through a metal drop box. Brochures sit idly by outside of your office. Your web site consists of one page with a phone number, e-mail address and a few photos. Enough paperwork is collecting in your office to create a fire hazard. I want to point out six things that property managers can really master in the 21st century, thanks to the latest property management software systems. Managing Leads to New Tenants According to Apartment Internet Marketing, 46% of apartment prospects…

After essentially shutting down since the fall of 2008, the real estate transaction market is starting to show some signs of life. According to Real Capital Analytics (RCA), a leading real estate data provider, July marked the first consecutive gain in transaction volume in seven quarters. Yet sales volume is barely 10 percent of the market peak in the first half of 2007. Why so slow? Considering the events of the past year and the front page media headlines, one would think there would be many distressed apartment asset sales–but surprisingly, that’s not the case. Banks have been recapitalized and…

With space at a premium, imagine a kitchen without boundaries or barriers, an environment free from conventional thought and restrictions, a kitchen created to successfully achieving the delicate balance between form and function reflect the needs and lifestyle of the modern homeowner.  The new “kitchen matrix” allows for maximum usage of space with the focus on utilization and optimization of the interiors and exposed work areas, allowing the homeowner, apartment dweller or loft inhabitant to maximize the usage of the space at hand. Like the Roman God Janus, who could see the past and future at the same time, the…

At a recent design show in Los Angeles this past June, I had the opportunity to see firsthand, the highly touted sustainable all-glass kitchen from a very high profile Italian manufacturer. At first glance, it appeared to be the “holy grail” of environmental kitchen design. The doors, drawers, box, counter top and toe kick were all made of glass and it was this overuse of glass that got me thinking, “Just how green is glass?” When we think of glass, the first thought that comes to mind is its ability to be recycled and reused over and over again, but…

You may have heard about LED lighting in the news recently. There are several cities around the country converting their street lights to be LED street lights. No more metal halide or high power sodium bulbs. As you would imagine these types of streetlights need to be quite powerful to light up the blacktop 25 feet below the pole. Sure enough they are bright! So what about LED lights on your property in the common areas that you are paying the electricity on? Well such replacement bulbs exist and they make CFLs look bad. There are two types of LED…

Last week, In Part I, we took a look at the “SoCon” —these Socially Conscience Consumers understand that the purchases they make have a profound impact on the world around them, both economically as well as environmentally Darwin is often misquoted…it is not the survival of the fittest…but rather the survival through adaptation. How are we to adapt to the new economy? How must we change to survive the current market conditions?   1.    First we need to re-think our products and services in this new economy…our clients are looking for value, not just a deal, not cheaper materials, they…