It’s a fact: Some neighborhoods are more safe than others. It’s also true that while a neighborhood may be quite safe at the time you purchase an investment property, things can go downhill at any time (happily, this phenomenon can work in the opposite direction as well). To make things even trickier, high crime rates aren’t necessarily limited to “bad” areas. Sometimes crime can trickle into nicer areas from surrounding neighborhoods, which is why it’s important to really do your homework before investing in a property—some hazards are simply not immediately obvious.

If, for any of these reasons (or completely different ones), you find yourself with a property in an area that is suffering from regular criminal activity, there are steps you can take to help make your property a safer place for tenants to reside.

Form a Neighborhood Watch Program
This is one of our favorite options, because it goes beyond just protecting your property and tackles the larger issue—making your entire neighborhood a safer, more enticing place to live. The results of accomplishing this are huge for you and include increasing property value and potentially lowering vacancy rates.

Affordable Housing: What is it? How can we, as vendor/ associates, better serve the needs of these managers?

Recently, during a conversation I was having with a new Atlanta Apartment Association member, I was asked what exactly it means when someone refers to a Community as Affordable or Tax-Credit. This individual was under the impression that these properties were essentially low income properties in undesirable neighborhoods with like deferred maintenance issues! I am familiar with many communities which fall into the Affordable Housing category that are newer, attractive A properties in very desirable locations. I hope to shed some light on this important component to our industry.

The difference between these Affordable/ Tax-Credit properties and their Conventional Market-rate competitors is that the developer/ owner of the property will receive a Low Income Tax Credit Benefit to provide housing to those earning below a certain wage. There are many variations of this; some properties may be 80% Affordable Units and 20% Market Units. Some properties may receive Government subsidies for the rent as assistance to its residents.  These communities are heavily regulated by HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) and by DCA (Department of Community Affairs) for their compliance within the legal guideline of the program.

Recently, I had the privilege of being asked to shop my sister’s property’s local comps.  I was extremely excited because I am always interested in borrowing new ideas and seeing how others do their job which in the end can improve mine.  Unfortunately, this was not the case; I was sourly disappointed with my findings and somewhat shocked.  I thought it would be a great idea to share my findings with all of you to see how many of you are guilty of these findings (hopefully none of you) and to show how important it is for owner’s or management companies to stay focused on getting their own apartments shopped every year.

The phone calls:  I called 10 different comps in the area to set up appointments, my findings:

·         Out of the 10 called only 3 answered my call.

June 24th I presented "Going Global Sell and Service Your Multicultural Residents and Watch Your Revenue Grow" for NAA in New Orleans.  In preparing with my colleague Leah Brewer, I rediscovered just how much passion I have for understanding different cultures.  In particular we spoke about the Hispanic or Latino community as this segment of the population is growing leaps and bounds: With numbers totaling 43.5 million, Hispanics are the largest minority group in the US, representing 15% of the total population and 700 billion in annual purchasing power.  Nearly half of all Hispanics in the US – nearly 22 million people – rent their homes.

So this begs the question: Are you embracing this group?  I think that most property management operators recognize the importance of the Latino renter; have you really embraced this group?  We can all do a better job of understanding the nuances within the variety of Hispanic cultures (i.e.: there are differences between Mexican and Puerto Rican cultures) and make their renting experience a bienvenida (welcome/warm welcome). 

Similarly, nor all Asian cultures are the same.  We cannot afford to pigeonhole our residents and prospects into even one culture.  More about this later.

Embarking on renting to Section 8 tenants is one of those decisions that property managers should undertake only after thoroughly researching all the implications of renting to this very specific demographic. Following are some of the primary pros and cons to consider when evaluating whether or not Section 8 rentals are for you.

Pros: Government subsidies mean that your rental income is more assured than in other cases.

Since Section 8 tenants are by nature low-income tenants, many landlords are rightfully concerned that renting to this sector will result in difficulties with rent collection or, even worse, default altogether. The truth of the matter, though, is that in many ways Section 8 rental income is among the most reliable. Under Section 8, tenants are responsible for approximately 30 percent of their rent, while the US government picks up the balance of the rental payment. This US government balance is paid directly to the property landlord.

Across the 64 markets that form the core of MPF Research's U.S. apartment sector analysis, revenues have come down an average of 7.7 percent since the period of national job loss kicked in at the beginning of 2008. This change is calculated looking at the shift in occupancy as well as the movement of effective rents for new leases. Typical revenues faltered by 4.4 percent during calendar 2009, with nearly all of that loss focused on rent cuts. The decline during calendar 2008 was at 3.3 percent, registering mainly in the form of dropping occupancy.

Examining change on the metro level, by far the biggest winner across the country over the past two years was El Paso, where revenues actually climbed meaningfully - rising 5.2 percent. Separating El Paso from the pack, Fort Bliss is in the midst of expansion that is directly bringing about 15,000 jobs to the metro and indirectly is creating spin-off support positions needed to serve the additional populace. (Keep in mind that job info from the Bureau of Labor Statistics excludes active-duty military personnel. Thus, while the BLS is showing that El Paso lost about 4,000 positions during the past two years, the total employment count in actuality experienced a sizable bump.

Pittsburgh was the one additional market across the country where the change in apartment revenues stayed in positive territory during the 2008-2009 time span. A mild rise of 0.8 percent registered there.

 As everybody scrambles to complete their to-do lists before heading out for the holidays, let's take a moment for some jolly news. Early results from MPF Research's December survey of U.S. apartment market fundamentals show 4th quarter's performance notably surpassing expectations.

U.S. apartment occupancy normally backtracks an average of about 0.6 points between September and December, reflecting the slowdown in leasing activity that is typical at the end of the year. But in 2009, it looks like occupancy will be up a little bit on a quarterly basis, probably somewhere around 0.2 points to 0.4 points for the country as a whole. More than two-thirds of the 64 metros that form the heart of MPF Research's national coverage are exhibiting quarterly upturns in occupancy at the end of the year.

Furthermore, after operators bought demand with big rent cuts for most of 2009, pricing now appears to be moving toward stabilization. Rents still came down between September and December. But instead of slicing rates at a quarterly pace that had been averaging about 1.5 percent across the nation, it seems that 4th quarter's loss will be near 0.5 percent. There are still some markets that get big lumps of coal for the quarter ... we're looking at you Houston, Denver and Salt Lake City, for example. But in most areas, December's rents look pretty similar to September's pricing, and a few spots actually have eked out minor price upturns.

Every seven seconds someone in America turns 50.* Where will they live? The 50-plus population is the fastest growing segment of the housing market.** Adjusting to retirement and "empty nests," many will move to communities that offer lifestyle choices that meet their new needs.

Housing for the senior market includes a variety of different options, including independent living, assisted living, nursing homes, and continuing care. Whichever definition your community fits into, providing the right amenities to the after 55 demographic is essential.

According to Encyclopedia.com, many seniors like to do one of the following in their spare time: travel, walking and other light exercise, reading, going to theater (cinema and live), volunteer work, and listening to music. Knowing some of these preferences can help ensure your community offers what after 55 residents want, making your community highly desirable. Things like: