Multifamily Industry News and Trends

  The majority of young professionals don’t want to live with their parents until they get married. However, they don’t want to live alone, either. While not entirely new, Co-Living, or shared housing is on the rise. It is most prominent in London and New York where housing prices are forcing residents to seek out new and innovative ways to rent in big cities without breaking the bank. Co-living isn’t really all that new. The Baby Boomers started the communes to escape an oppressive and rule-driven way of life. Millennials, on the other hand, like having rules and a sort of parental authority. They are searching for co-living housing of no more than 4-10 people. Co-living communities enable viable lifestyles through sharing and economical use of resources and space.  A diversity in their roommates, different backgrounds, ethnicities, and ages is desirable. Not anyone they work with, but people that they can be friends with. Developing relationships is more important than square footage. Places, like Ollie have houses in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. Residents unite around a common interest to collaboratively manage a communal space, share resources, and organize activities which contribute creatively and academically to the world around them. Ollie boasts amazing amenity spaces that invite their residents to shape the lines of life, work, and play with areas such as communal lounges, pools, gyms, spa areas, juice bars, roof decks, and flex spaces. As an Ollie member, residents have an all-access pass to the amenity spaces of an incre......

Benjamin Franklin once said that there are no guarantees in life other than death and taxes but I believe we can also add a downturn in the real estate cycle to that list. Having been in the real estate business for over three decades I’ve experienced first-hand multiple cycles in the market. During these phases I’ve noticed a trend, people who operate their properties with a strong management team typically forecast the market turning and prepare in advance.  The market you’re in will have a lot to do with how properties are effected, Los Angeles and a few other major metro areas typically only see a drop in value of a few percentage points while other areas can take a bigger hit. Know your market prior to making an investment and NEVER make an emotional investment that your numbers cannot support.  During a real estate market downturn, real estate investment businesses which are equipped financially have a better chance of surviving and avoiding bankruptcy. If you’re going to be a successful real estate investor, you need to learn to budget for downturns and difficult times. Here are some tips to help you succeed. 1.       Consider extending your loan term now-it’s easier to refinance with your peak cash flow. 2.       Conduct cost benefit analysis to keep your expenses in check. 3.       Have an emergency fund/reserves to cover unexpected expenses or clients that cannot meet their lease payments. 4.       If you own a commercial property with multiple leases coming up at the same time you ......

Having property is a good way of having an excellent income for the long-run, but sometimes that same leasing space won’t get you much unless you renovate from time to time. Properties that don’t receive a makeover regularly will be less attractive and will be more difficult to lease, and you’ll thus lose money. You can avoid this by doing some renovations or making changes that will cause the space to become more desirable. However, this can be quite costly, which is why we have prepared a list of tips for you to avoid unnecessary costs, and manage to make some effective makeovers for very little money. Clean Everything Cleaning is always the best way to make anything look good and appealing. Besides, it’s probably the cheapest option as well. You can easily do it yourself, or hire someone at a small expense. What you must remember though is that cleaning both the interior and exterior is essential – all of it together will have a significant effect on the desirability of your property. Give it a Paint Job A simple paint job is always a necessary makeover if you want your leasing space to be at the top of the list. It’s inexpensive and easy as the previous tip, and it’s sometimes enough to merely paint the areas that look bad and the areas where people will spend most of their time. Don’t forget the front door as that’s the first thing most people will see before entering the place. Improve the......

Property owners usually face a dilemma – to lease a fully furnished suite or an unfurnished one? Which one is better? There’s no easy answer here. We’ve found that it’s best to consider the merits of one of the two – the fully furnished one. It’s always best to decide whether something is good or not by making a list of its good and bad sides. We will give you all the pros and cons of leasing a fully furnished residence, so you can get a clearer picture and decide if that’s the way you should go. The Price Some might think that the price is a negative for fully furnished apartments – as it’s expensive to equip an entire rental for your tenants. However, they are not looking at the bigger picture: fully furnished rooms will yield a higher rent making it a better long-term investment. Naturally, the price will differ from city to city, but the overall picture is clear – fully furnished always bring higher rent. Changing Tenants More Often Furnished units are usually rented by people who are only looking to stay somewhere temporarily. It usually means that your tenant turnover will be high. However, this is not necessarily the case. Some people are looking for long-term furnished rentals. Although, changing your tenants often is good for some landlords, as they get the chance to make upgrades to modify the price before getting a new tenant. Higher Deposits It depends on the state, but based on whether or not an apartment......

Pulling the trigger on your first real estate investment is daunting and not everyone has the risk appetite to go it alone.  If you want to start investing but don’t want to take a leap of faith, you may want to consider a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). A REIT is an investment vehicle that can invest in any real estate class and they’re operated by experienced executives. The benefit of investing in a REIT is that you do receive some of the benefits of real estate ownership/investing, but you have seasoned professionals managing the properties.  Since you’re really buying stock in the company, your investment is spread out over a portfolio of properties along with other investors, which helps to mitigate risk. REITs are required to pay out substantially all (90%) of their taxable income and most pay above-average dividends, so consult your CPA to see if this may affect your tax position. Of the 172 publicly traded REITs listed on the major U.S. exchanges with market capitalizations greater than $500 million, 94% have higher dividend yields than the average S&P 500 company. REITs are excellent stocks to add to any long-term investment portfolio. Not only are REITs income generators, but as property values rise they have the potential to produce some impressive returns over time. Similar to when you look for your own properties, you need to look into the assets that the REIT has that have an interest in buying. Due to the strong dividend income REITs provide, they ......

It appears as though allegedly defective plumbing products have hit the market again. On October 26th, 2018, the NIBCO PEX Settlement Administrator and Plaintiffs’ law firms announced a class action settlement involving allegedly defective PEX tubing, fittings, and clamps. Per the settlement website: “You may be entitled to benefits from a class action settlement if: (a) you have owned or occupied at any time since January 1, 2005, a residential or commercial structure in the United States that contains or contained NIBCO’s Pex Tubing, Fittings or Clamps and have unreimbursed costs or damages resulting from water leaking from one of these products, or (b) you have repaired or paid to repair damage resulting from water leaking from one of these products in one of these structures.”

This is yet another setback for product manufacturers and represents a continuing set of challenges for the industry. Back in the late 90’s, certain PEX piping systems used yellow brass fittings which, under certain circumstances, dezincified and failed prematurely resulting in a series of class action lawsuits and settlements. Before that, in 1995, a one-billion-dollar class action settlement resulted in tens of thousands of homes being repiped but left tens of thousands more unprotected after they failed to replace their pipes during the qualifying settlement period.

For more information on the latest NIBCO settlement, please visit: http://www.pexsystemsettlement.com

Many landlords and other property owners try all sorts of methods to increase the value of their property. It’s always advisable to do so as you can receive some excellent returns for minimal effort. The same goes for the space in your property. There are many methods that you can use, many of which amount to fairly simple tricks that are always effective for renters. Let’s take a good look at the best of them to enable you to maximize the amount of space your property has and thus increase your earnings Hanging Things on the Wall One of the main ways renters and others use to maximize the space of their property is to hang anything they can on the walls to free up the floor space. The thing about this idea is that it’s quite easy to do and yet it’s so effective. Many things can be mounted – from smaller worktops to lights, nightstands, and much more. That way you won’t only effectively maximize space, but you’ll also make the property appear much bigger. Less Space for Beds Beds are an essential aspect of every rental, but they also might clog areas. The bigger beds are more attractive to your potential tenants, but there will be less space for other furniture. Keep the size in proper comparison to the room space, so it doesn’t hamper the flow of the area. You require a massive area for a king-sized bed. The solutions here are several: Murphy beds – many of which are ......

When the market softens and vacancies begin to rise, apartment operators traditionally turn to lease concessions. Whether they take the form of discounted rent or gifts such as a free iPad or a free television, the goal of concessions is the same: boost occupancy.But while concessions do have the benefit of decreasing vacancy rates, they can cause their fair share of trouble down the road including increased out of pocket expenses or even devaluing a property. Instead of offering concessions, operators should consider boosting occupancy by permanently doing away with security deposits.The Current ClimateMultifamily has been on a roll for the last decade. Rents soared while vacancies were sliced razor-thin. But the market has softened recently as new development has increased. And where there is a lot of new construction, there are bound to be lease concessions. This past spring, RealPage noted that rental concessions are particularly prevalent in the 15 markets with the most new supply.In September, Doug Ressler, director of business intelligence with research firm Yardi Matrix, told National Real Estate Investor that concessions are now present in all 133 apartment markets tracked by the company.Concessions could increase in the months ahead. In the National Multifamily Housing Council's most recent quarterly survey of CEOs and other senior executives of apartment-related firms, the survey's Market Tightness Index was 41. A reading below 50 indicates that market conditions are getting looser.The Problems with ConcessionsWhen you're in the midst of a softening market and you see more and more units sitting unoccupied,......

Introduction Automation is a term that has been thrown around a lot lately in multifamily (a lot of times by yours truly: See exhibit A).  Furthermore, I have pushed the idea of a 'Humans + Machines' workforce where humans and machines work together to create new workflows, but that is just the beginning. Adding a digital workforce to work alongside your team is the basis for a virtuous cycle of success. From increased NOI to attracting more owners to managing more properties, the digital workforce can change multifamily's economics.     What is a Virtuous Cycle? A ‘Virtuous Cycle’ is when one success leads to another, and then another, in a repeating loop. Before we jump into the Multifamily Virtuous Cycle, let’s take a look at Netflix’s Virtuous Cycle.     Netflix Virtuous Cycle Here is the Netflix Virtuous Cycle as explained by Netflix CFO David Wells:     Let’s break it down. Netflix invests in producing more shows. With more shows there is more variety, which means there are more watchers. More watchers means more talkers. This leads to more subscribers. More subscribers generate more revenue. With more revenue, Netflix can invest in more shows. And the cycle continues. As you can see, the cycle fuels itself for future success. By creating more shows, Netflix will set off a chain of events leading to more revenue. As long as Netflix keeps investing in new shows, the cycle will continue. So now that you have seen a Virtuous Cycle, let’s explore how a digital wor......

When you decide to put your property up for rent, you have to be super smart about who you are renting the unit to, and for how long. Even so, the market today is tough, and the competition pretty strong. So, what are you to do when you want to avoid problem renters, attract new, great tenants and encourage them to rent your property? There may be a few things you should consider: Neat as a New Pin Tenants will be attracted to a well-kept property that looks great and appears easy to maintain. Your property doesn’t have to be the best and most luxurious house on the block or in the street, but – as long as it’s well presented and has potential – you are good to go. How so? Because tenants don’t always look for never-before-lived-in apartments; usually, they’d go for units that merely “feel” right, look fresh and clean, and give them an impression of a home. So, before you put up your property for rent, organize an open house or bring in a professional photographer to snap photos of it, consider booking a cleaning agency to spruce up your place and make it sparkle! Don’t Force Your Tastes on Anyone There are plenty of positives and negatives of renting a property, and you want to be on top of your game. Renters don’t want anyone’s style imposed on them, so make sure your property features neutral colors, plain décor, and not too much furniture. You want the tenants to env......