Part one of a two part series on the marketing channels, amenities and services that sell to student housing residents (and their parents).

Assumptions regarding how to leverage social media run far and wide in the apartment industry, and nowhere is the fever pitched higher than in student housing, where owners and operators see student residents (and often their parents) glued to mobile devices, thumbs typing away and figure social media has to be the customer sales and service channel of the future.

According to Census figures, the number of renters has jumped 16 percent since 2004 to almost 106 million, and the number of permits for construction of multifamily housing units went up 61 percent between the first quarter of 2011, and the first quarter of 2012.

Imagine you drive up to a property that you found in an online listing. You see cracked blinds through dirty windows, peeling paint on the front of the building, weeds a foot high, unruly shrubbery and low-hanging trees. What is your impression? What kind of tenant will this property attract?

One of the most unpleasant events landlords must be prepared to deal with is the occasional death of a tenant. Preparing yourself by understanding the law, having a plan and being able to recognize potential risks can help avoid needless hassle, unnecessary expense and unexpected liability. The most likely scenario involving a tenant dying involves an event happening offsite, like in a hospital or in an accidental death. Landlords also may have tenants die on-site (including suicides) and must understand how to manage that as well.

Multiple Tenants

One of the most common questions we receive at the UAA deals with something a city is “requiring” a landlord to do. The question is always “can they really make me do that?"
Municipalities may create and enforce regulation concerning the use of property. This is called zoning. They may also regulate common housing concerns. Also, municipalities can set general maintenance standards for the exterior and interior of properties; they can limit the storage of solid waste (junk) or vehicles on property. They can also enforce noise ordinances.

What Municipalities May Not Regulate

There are the large new construction communities… and then there are the rest of us. The management companies that market these luxury communities seem to have huge advertising and marketing budgets. They can afford interactive CD-ROMs, huge color brochures, incredible ads, billboards, radio and direct mail, all obviously designed by professional advertising agencies – but what do you do if you don’t have a big company budget to establish a brand marketing strategy?

A 38.7 percent increase in university enrollment over the past decade is creating a shortage of on-campus housing nationwide, according to a new white paper from the National Multi Housing Council’s (NMHC) National Student Housing Council (NSHC). The analysis utilized U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Census Bureau data between 2000 and 2010 to identify on-campus housing needs across the country.

Over the last 10 to 15 years it became common for builders to use plastic piping (for example PEX pipe) instead of metal piping for supplying water to fixtures and appliances in newly constructed or renovated multi-family projects. When such plastic piping systems were installed, yellow brass fittings were commonly used to connect two pieces of pipe together and to connect piping coming from the wall to the water heater and other appliances. Brass that contains more than 30 percent zinc is referred to as yellow brass.

Do you really know what you are buying when you purchase insurance for you investment real estate? Let’s discuss what could be included in a normal business owner’s policy, also known as a BOP.

Discussion of coverage:

If you were a farmer, would the spring season be more important than fall? For your crops to grow strong, will the sunshine or the rain make them grow faster? Does it matter if some crops are ready to be harvested in one month and other crops are ready in six months?

Skill Builders, four categories of interactive tools and media for use by property managers, are now available from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®). Free to IREM® Members and non-members alike, with one non-member exception, Skill Builders include:
Interactive learning modules that provide succinct tutorials on topics such as loan analysis and calculation, net present value and internal rate of return, and the time value of money.

More people who rent their homes are feeling the financial squeeze following the recession, with younger renters and people in the West feeling the most “cost burdened,” according to new research from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.
The research was conducted by Jessica Bean, vulnerable families research associate at the Carsey Institute, and is presented in the brief “Renters More Often Burdened by Housing Costs After Recession.” Renters are considered “cost burdened” if they spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utility costs.

The location of an apartment building remains the most important feature for renters when choosing where they want to live, according to industry experts during a recent webinar hosted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The experts also discussed key market trends emerging in interior, exterior and outdoor living and how generational differences affect apartment design.

1. What’s your story?
I began leasing apartments when I was 17, and have held leasing, marketing, management, and business development positions up to and including Vice President of Property Management.

2. What is your background and how did you get into the property management
industry?

U.S. multifamily permits up 48.5 percent over April 2011

More than twenty years ago the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its original guidance concerning the use of arrest and conviction records in making employment decisions. Last month the EEOC re-issued and updated that guidance, reminding employers that the use of an individual’s criminal history in making employment decisions may, in some instances, violate the prohibition against employment discrimination under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. See http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/arrest_conviction.cfm.

While preparing tax returns for my clients this past tax season, our firm ran into an unusual problem that we have not encountered before; fraudulent tax returns being filed under a client’s social security number. The discovery came about when we attempted to e-file our client’s tax return and we received multiple rejections. The e-file reject indicated that a tax return had already been filed under that social security number.

By Guy Farmer

In an age where the property management industry values and embraces the concept of “customer care” so strongly, isn’t it time we put the same focus on “employee care”? When you think about it, how can we deliver quality customer service and maximize resident retention…if the people who our residents come in contact with on a regular basis are not satisfied, focused, motivated, well trained, properly supported and happy?

In 1994, three Utah municipalities outlawed the practices of Apartments and landlords charging an applicant a fee to cover the cost of conducting a comprehensive background check. In 2006, the Utah Apartment Association led an effort to overturn these laws. These laws led to higher crime because landlords were less likely to conduct background checks. Even local police chiefs realized this policy was hurting cities.