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Public Universities Turn To Private Sector To Develop Dormitories

Bryan Ives — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:52:00 +0000

Public universities around the country are handing over the process of building and financing on-campus dormitories to the private sector. The increase in demand for state college education, strict states budgets and the ability specialized student housing companies possess to build residence halls faster and cheaper are some of the reasons behind the change. In addition, these particular partnerships transfer some of the responsibilities of being a landlord and more importantly free capital that universities can apply to projects seen as more valuable.

Some of the universities that are already in such partnerships or are looking into the possibility include University of California, Irvine; Arizona State; Portland State; University of Kentucky; and Montclair State in New Jersey, which recently opened a two-tower complex called the Heights. Officials are calling the complex that includes 2,000 beds and a 24,000-square-foot court the largest student housing complex in New Jersey.

Private colleges and universities are not entirely sold on the idea due to the fact that most of their funding to finance student housing comes from student fees, endowments and philanthropy. Also, their housing needs tend be smaller leaving private developers less inclined to enter partnerships.

Supporters of private partnerships use potential savings as the driving force behind their argument, but savings from lower costs of construction and operation are not necessarily handed off to the students. For example, a room at the Heights at Montclair State in New Jersey is $1000 more a semester than a room in Montclair State’s other dorms. According to Edward P. St. John, an education professor at the University of Michigan and an editor of “Privatization and Public Universities,” private partnerships are often sold as a method to save but rarely result in savings.

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Landscaping Resources for Property Managers

Rob Maday — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:19:17 +0000

Out of the countless ways a conventional landscape can become more “green” and sustainable, we’ve compiled a list of 3 suggestions with the best ROI for property managers.

1. Install a Smart Irrigation Controller (Rebates available in most municipalities)

At a time when cutting edge technology is so prevalent in our daily lives, it makes no sense that your irrigation controller is from the Stone Age. At a minimum, your irrigation controller should be connected to a rain sensor that will shut down any programming if a set amount of precipitation collects in a small basin. Also, your controller should have a “seasonal adjust” feature that allows you to quickly reduce your set watering times by a percentage, making adjustments to your program quick and painless. If you have a larger property, upgrading to a smart controller that accesses weather data, ETo, soil moisture, and other conditions will no doubt save you water, money, and keep your plants healthier.

2. Conduct Quarterly Irrigation System Check-Ups

Odds are if sprinklers pop up or start dripping in the early morning hours, you and your landscape maintenance crew rarely see the system in action. If anything, you see evidence the system ran as you drive past and see the sidewalk and driveway wet. So take 20-30 minutes during daylight to turn on each sprinkler valve to check each head and emitter for proper functioning and alignment. There should be little to no overspray onto pavement, no geysers erupting from drip tubing, and absolutely no puddling. If you see puddling, you are applying too much water too quickly. To remedy, reduce watering times to cycle-soak intervals, replace sprinkler heads with rotary nozzles, and/or install a thick layer of tree trimmings to absorb and retain the moisture. Conduct these irrigation check-ups on quarterly intervals as a poorly maintained irrigation system will eliminate the savings of even the most state-of-the-art irrigation controller.

3. Minimize the Size and Impact of Lawn

As discussed in greater depth by others, the conventional lawn is a remnant of Landscaping 1.0. We are now well into Landscaping 2.0 and the notion that lawns should continue to be front-and-center of our properties is baseless. The percentage of time a maintenance team spends maintaining lawn is disproportionate to the value it provides. And needless to say, the time spent maintaining a lawn is not cheap. The water cost alone in warm climates is enough to make you reconsider its place in the landscape. For a quick illustration on the cost of water for a lawn compared to a drought-tolerant landscape, see the Water Usage Calculator at Landscape Resource.

However, if your lawn is to remain in its current form for practical reasons, consider implementing the following practices for increased health and reduced maintenance costs:

Grasscycling: Leave your grass clippings in place to reduce the amount of fertilizers needed to keep your lawn green.

Aeration: Using an aerator (mechanical or manual), plug holes throughout your lawn 2”-4” on center. This will alleviate soil compaction and allow moisture and nutrients to be more successfully absorbed into the root zone.

Reduce watering times: Statistics show that over 50% of people overwater their lawns by a factor of 1.5-2 times the amount needed. Try cutting back watering times by 3-5 minute increments. If you notice your lawn browning after a few reductions, bump the time up a bit and you’ve found a more accurate schedule and saved some water.

Mow High: For most lawns, you can set your sharp mower blade higher. This encourages a stronger, healthier grass that is less dependent on outside inputs.

About the Author
Rob Maday, ASLA, is a California-based registered landscape architect with over 10 years of experience designing responsible and unique landscapes. His professional practice, RMLA, focuses on residential, commercial, and industrial projects along the Central Coast. In 2010, he launched LandscapeResource.com, a free, community-based resource that provides inspiration and information for sustainable landscaping.

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Federal Laws Property Managers Must Be Aware Of – Part I

Mary Girsch-Bock — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:29:56 +0000

Sometimes it seems as if all property managers spend a majority of their time memorizing various rules and regulations. New employees in particular are always trying to learn basic rules such as “when do we return security deposits, or what account does this deposit go into?” But one of the most important set of rules that property managers must be aware of, and have some working knowledge of are federal laws. While memorization is not needed, property managers MUST be aware of the general regulations that these Acts encompass, and must know when further research is necessary in order to clarify any issues that may come up. I’ve summarized a list of federal laws that property managers should be aware of as well as the possible repercussions if violated.

The Fair Housing Act – While the majority of property managers are well acquainted with the Fair Housing Act, here’s a brief recap. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, or handicap. Penalties for violating the Fair Housing Act are stiff, and include revocation of any license held, and possible federal prison. Make sure you and your staff treat all applicants equally and this should never become an issue.

The Sherman Antitrust Act – This act is designed to promote competition in the open marketplace. While property managers do need to know competitor’s pricing, managers must avoid the appearance of conspiring to fix prices in order to thwart the competition. Only the courts can determine if price fixing has occurred, and a conviction can result in both civil and criminal penalties including time in a federal penitentiary. That simple verbal agreement between property management companies agreeing to maintain similar rents will send a red flag. Remember, all that is necessary is that it looks like price fixing, and you may find yourself in federal court. Avoid even the appearance of price fixing at all costs.

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) – The rules of the ADA are complex and multi-tiered. Briefly, the ADA states that no person may be discriminated against on the basis of disability. The ADA mainly affects commercial property managers, but the Act also covers property management offices, which must be made available to all handicapped individuals. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the basics and be sure to keep your office in compliance.

More in Part II.

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Two California Companies Develop Their Own “REO-to-Rental” Platform

Bryan Ives — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:14:06 +0000

Following the announcement that the federal government will be implementing a pilot program in the first quarter to sell Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration REO homes in bulk to potential investors, two California companies are in the works to develop their own rental platform.

Private equity fund GI Partners will be investing $250 million in Waypoint Real Estate Group based out of Oakland, Calif. Waypoint developed a process of acquiring foreclosed homes, renovating them before leasing the properties to residents. Waypoint has been in business for three years and since opening has acquired 1000 homes in California. Over the next two years they plan on buying and leasing $1 billion in single-family rental homes.

“Our approach to buying and renovating distressed homes and leasing to residents who are committed to a path to future home ownership is a viable solution to our nation’s housing crisis,” said the managing director and co-founder of Waypoint Real Estate Group, Colin Wiel.

A propriety technology is used by Waypoint to successfully identify residential real estate markets that have a strong rental demand that could potentially benefit from their “REO-to-rental” model. “Waypoint has not only developed an effective strategy for investing in distressed single family homes, but has built a business that has a positive social and economic benefits in the communities in which they invest,” said Ric Magnusson, executive managing director of GI Partners.

Source: http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/msn_features_reo/private-equity-firm-reo-to-rental-1028329-1.html

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10 More Pinterest Tips for Property Managers!

Charity Hisle — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:58:15 +0000

In our last post about Pinterest, we discussed why each property management group should have a Pinterest account. But how do you get creative with your account without being too salesy?

Here are ten more ideas for using Pinterest for your communities:

1. Create an account for your property management group then create a pinboard for every community.
2. Pin items of interest by category, here are a few ideas for categories:
a. Interior design ideas: create a board for each room of the home.
b. Fitness and Food: create a board that emphasizes healthy living and recipes.
c. Shopping lists: create a board as a handy move-in resource for new residents.
d. Create a board for each of your leasing agents with different themes.
e. Share an organization pinboard for unique storage ideas.
3. Have a Pinterest contest! Start a contest for prospects and residents to pin pictures of your community or have a scavenger hunt to find all of the items located on a contest board.
4. Create a board for good books or inspirational quotes.
5. Have a board for local restaurants.
6. Share local coupons and deals.
7. Comment on other pins.
8. Pin pictures of your communities and link to their websites in the description.
9. Add the pin button to your websites so that people can easily pin photos of your communities that they want to share with others.
10. Share photos of community events on Pinterest then share to your community Facebook wall.

Please share a link to your Pinterest page below so that we can all follow one another!

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How to Attract “Generation Y” Residents for Your Rental Properties

Marc Courtenay — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:05:33 +0000

Believe it or not, there are up to 80 million people between the ages of 16 and 29 who will be filling your vacancies in the year ahead. They are often called “Generation Y.” Also known as the “Echo Boomers”, they are the children of that other gigantic demographic, The Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964). Born between 1981 and 1995, they’re already having a huge impact on entire segments of the economy. And as the population ages, they will become the next dominant generation of Americans. So whether you call them “echo boomers,” “Generation Y” or “millennials,” they already comprise nearly a third of the U.S. population, and currently spend $180 billion a year of their own and their parents’ money. They are a force to be reckoned with and not to be ignored.

How to Attract Them to Fill Your Vacancies?

To begin with, you have to reach them on a technological level. They don’t read newspapers and aren’t likely to even read their mail. They are multi-taskers with smart phones, iPads, music downloads, and text-messaging on their Internet-connected devices. They are totally plugged-in citizens of a worldwide community. Communicate to them like their favorite smart phone and computer-tablet company does. Have you been to an Apple store lately? It’s absolutely packed with Echo Boomers! Think about it, do you know anyone between the ages of 16 and 29 that doesn’t have either an iPhone, an iPod,or an iPad?

Go to Apple’s website and see for yourself how they grab and hold the attention of this enormous generation. Watch the videos that they use to speak to the heart of their interests and how Apple motivates them. When it comes to having a place to live, this generation doesn’t mind living with their parents as long as tolerably possible. Yet at some point they want their privacy and independence. What they don’t seem to want is the responsibility or financial obligations involved in owning their own place. My own two (my daughter, a Generation Xer, and my son born in 1981) both have chosen to rent or lease their respective housing.

Forbes recently had a relevant article titled, “Housing the Echo Boomers—Next Big Real Estate Opportunity?” and it is a must-read for property managers who want to attract this age group. In the section titled, “What Will They Want?” the author emphasizes that “…most of Generation Y seem to want modest homes, the demand of which may be indicative of their young age. But it might also represent a demographic shift against large housing that is often overpriced and unnecessary.”

So if you’re using smart phone and online applications to advertise rental properties to this group, make sure you focus on affordability, easy upkeep, and the manageable size of your rentals. The Echo Boomers have been polled in recent years, and they value not only economy, but also ecology. They want to live in as green and environmentally-friendly a home as possible. If your units are energy efficient and have features that show respect for the planet, make that part of the theme for your advertisement. Appeal to their priorities and let them know that you understand what they’re looking for.

This massive generational group is rediscovering the joys of marriage, partnering and raising a family. Again, reach them through their technologies and stress that your rental housing is close to work, school and their kind of social areas. Accentuate the point that housing which is centrally located will save them money so that they can afford other things in the area and be closer to where they work or can find additional employment.

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Investors Favor City Apartments Over Suburban Communities

Bryan Ives — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:03:24 +0000

Apartment building sales continue to remain strong, but in some areas investors are opting to invest in properties in cities rather than the suburbs. Two deals in the Boston area serve as a prime example.

According to Simon Butler, an executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, a 1,020- unit apartment complex with over 90% occupancy in the suburb Framingham, Mass. sold for $128 million, just below what it sold for in 2007 at $130 million. Charleston, S.C.-based Greystar Real Estate Partners acquired the property from JPI of Irving, Texas.

On the other hand, a 232-unit Cambridge, Mass., apartment property recently sold for $64.9 million, above the $55.8 million price it traded for back in 2006, according to Real Capital Analytics.

“You get stronger pricing in the city because there’s a perception that there will be stronger rent growth,” says Butler. Butler represented sellers in both transactions and the sellers renovated both properties. According to Dan Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital, some of the higher prices are found in urban areas while property value recovery in suburbs continue to experience slower growth.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203436904577153191559355760.html

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Should Your Property Management Company Investigate Pinterest?

Charity Hisle — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:48:28 +0000

With over 4 million users, Pinterest is now in the top 10 list of social networks! It is a unique (and public) website that allows users to organize and share images and videos from across the web with one another. Think of Pinterest as an online bulletin board!

Pinterest provides the opportunity to visually demonstrate to others what is happening below the surface – all the while linking back to the original source of the image. People pin inspirational, educational, entertaining and fun photos and videos making each pinboard unique to the individual pinner.

The opportunities for local businesses, like apartment communities or real estate agencies, are endless!

10 Tips for Using Pinterest for Property Management

1. People are more likely to follow full pinboards than sparse ones.
2. Connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts to make sharing seamless.
3. Use the Pinterest ‘Pin It’ extension in your Google Chrome browser to pin on the fly!
4. Add contributors to your boards to bring personality and distribute the responsibility.
5. Don’t forget to “like” pins you may not want to repin.
6. Tag other Pinterest users in comments by typing the @ symbol before their name.
7. Add the $ symbol to the pin description to add a price to the banner of your photo.
8. Download the Pinterest app to your smartphone to pin on-the-go around the community.
9. Search for pins about your local community or sports teams to repin and follow.
10. Go to pinterest.com/source/__________.com to discover all of the pins that originated from a particular site.

Remember: use good keyword-rich descriptions of pins you upload for your communities for SEO purposes. Pinterest is invite-only – please comment on this post for an invitation of your own.

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Top Reasons To Be Optimistic About Real Estate Market In 2012

Aaron Bosshardt — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:11:41 +0000

As we close the books on 2011, we can say it was better year than 2010 for activity in real estate. Prices continued to drift lower for us, primarily brought down by distressed sales. Every agent I have has positive feelings about the year 2012. What’s even more shocking is that bank executives I have been talking to are positive for the first time since 2008. If you are a looking to perfectly time a long-term purchase of real estate, then this might well be the year to do it. Let’s get right to the nuts and bolts of why I believe 2012 is going to be remembered as a great year to buy real estate.

Top 10 reasons why you should be optimistic about the real estate market in 2012.

According to Case Shiller in 2012, 372 of the 384 real estate markets they track are projected to have housing prices appreciate, while only 12 markets are expected to see prices decline.

In markets that have had the largest price drops, those markets now have the most significant increases in affordability. For us in Florida, Miami is most notable where the ratio of mortgage payment to family income has dropped from its height of 59% in 2007 to 19% today. That means people are paying 1/3 of what they did just four years ago to own their homes.

Apartment move outs to buy homes are escalating. Currently, measured at a six-quarter high of 13.5% by Zelman and Associates. That means that 13 out of every 100 renters moving out of apartments are doing so to buy a new home.

Low prices combined with historically low interest rates make 2012 a once-in-a-generation opportunity to buy real estate and build wealth. Look for this trend to continue only through 2012.

Wall Street wants in! That’s right. Hedge fund managers are trying to figure out how to capitalize on the opportunities in the single family home market. There is some irony here. Wall Street is trying to occupy us. You should know that they are going to do it, charge some fees, and then ask your fund manager to buy in with your money. Why not cut out at least two middlemen?

This month’s headline from Credit Suisse monthly survey of real estate agents is a telling sign of things to come. “Affordability Slowly Pulls Wary Buyers back!”

2012 is when CNBC’s Jim Kramer originally forecasted the housing crisis to end. I know he has revised this but the two things you need to remember are that Wall Street generally worries more about new home starts and builder stocks then the existing housing market. Then just remember what your old SAT test prep instructor preached, “Always stick with your first answer!”

According to local mortgage guru Mike Jones at Alarion Mortgage, “Rates look to continue to decline as the fed works to reduce rate in the commercial backed securities(CMBS) market as part of QE3.” Can rates drop below 4%? It’s possible. While I’m not qualified to say there is a bubble that is going to burst, it sure looks like irrational behavior is driving long-term rates that low. That’s behavior that real estate buyers should capitalize on with long-term fixed rates.

Job Growth looks strong as retailers and small business entrepreneurs now lean from the recession look to take on new locations and bring new jobs into our communities.

Of course ultimately you have heard it over and over that real estate markets are local. So for us in Gainesville, FL, 2012 forecasts look good!

Home prices: Your local forecast 384 markets tracked

Median home prices are expected to fall another 3.6% by the end of June, 2012. See how your market is expected to fare.

Gainesville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Forecast Change: 2nd Quarter, 2011 – 2nd Quarter, 2012 = -5.6%
Forecast Change: 2nd Quarter, 2012 – 2nd Quarter, 2013 = +1.9%

Market Fundamentals
Median Family Income (2010) = $53,100
Median Home Price (2nd Quarter 2011) = $155,000
Change in Home Prices: 2nd Quarter, 2010 – 2nd Quarter, 2011 = -10.5%
Worst 1-Year Home Price Change (From 1980-2011) = 1st Quarter, 2007 (-12.3%)

Forecasts as of October, 2011, courtesy of Fiserv

Quick Bio:
Aaron Bosshardt, CPM is the President of Bosshardt Property Management, LLC and Bosshardt Realty Services, LLC. He has been a NARPM member since 2001 and currently serves on the National Governmental Affairs Committee as well as the Florida State Chapter’s governance committee. Bosshardt Property Management manages single family residential homes, apartment communities, condo and homeowner associations, office space and retail centers.

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NeighborWorks America Invests $1.3 Billion into Rental Homes

Bryan Ives — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:58:51 +0000

NeighborWorks America invested over $1.3 billion in rental housing over the course of its fiscal year ending Sept. 30th. The organization consists of 235 independent nonprofit organizations and owns or manages 90,000 rental homes. CEO Eileen Fitzgerald plans to build out the portfolio to exceed 100,000 rental homes through 2013.

“Government housing budgets at all levels are under stress and the competition for capital priced at rates that make housing accessible for working families, while improved from a year ago, is still a factor in creating quality affordable rental homes for families with modest incomes,” Fitzgerald said. NeighborWorks source of money came from multiple sources, some of which include Community Housing Capital, Calvert Foundation, and S.H Cowell Foundation.

Buying and managing rental properties is something the White House and Federal Housing Finance Agency recently began working on. They plan to sell large amounts of government-owned, repossessed homes in bulk to potential investors who would possibly rent them out and manage them. This recent development has sparked a few firms to build out property management divisions. In August, TenantAccess launched PropertyAccess in order to sell investors management, billing and reporting systems. In September, Green River Capital, an asset management firm that deals with REO for Freddie Mac, also started a rental program.

Challenges remain for potential investors in their ability to gather enough money to meet the supply. According to NeighborWorks, they will continue reaching out to “social investors” to add to its portfolio even as underwriting standards remain strict and borrowing costs rise.

Source: http://www.housingwire.com/2012/01/12/neighborworks-invests-1-3-billion-into-rental-homes

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