HOT & RELEVANT TOPICS
The Natural Disaster Threat
Major weather events affect more than 14.5 million single and multifamily homes each year and leave behind more than $57 billion in damages — and there’s no end in sight. The number of major events has increased fivefold in the last 50 years, and climate change is predicted to continue to increase their occurrences. It’s critical for owner/operators to evaluate their portfolio for risks, make the necessary adjustments to properties at risk and train their onsite teams to deal with any threats.
Read Aly J. Yale’s article in Multifamily Executive
When Multifamily Gives Back to Local Communities
Elizabeth Polcano, general manager of The Gotham Organization, joins host Laura Calugar to discuss humility, charity work and ways multifamily can help the communities they operate. Polcano, a first-generation American whose family is from the Dominican Republic, credits her strong family upbringing for shaping her altruistic ways and shares her views on community stewardship in the April edition of Mission Success: Women in Multifamily series.
Listen to podcast discussion at Multi-Housing News’ The Lease-Up
The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Property Managers
Property managers can face a plethora of issues on a daily basis, but there are steps they can take to handle any chaos that comes their way. Strong communication, constant learning and teaching, creating a playbook and utilizing available technology are some of the habits they can develop to ensure to bolster their community and make each day more successful.
Read John Triplett’s article in Rental Housing Journal
IN THE NEWS
Rent Increases Threaten Sunbelt Affordability as Inflation Rises
The affordability that made Sun Belt markets so appealing is under threat as rents increase and inflation continues to rise. The strong labor market, lower taxes and lower cost of living have made the region a major draw over the last three years, but an average year-over-year rent increase of 16.8% is dimming the attractiveness of Sun Belt states. Wage increases of 5% to 6% have helped some people weather the rent hikes, but inflation of almost 10% in some areas is hampering the efforts of residents to make ends meet.
Read Lynn Pollack’s story on Globe St.
How Curiosity Closes the Sale
Leasing agents are great at asking prospective residents the “what” on their leasing goals but success can be found by also asking the “why” questions. Learning the reasons behind the desires and choices of prospects gives leasing teams the opportunity to offer options that might work better for them, especially if their first choice isn’t available in your community or within their budget. It also adds the “wow” factor by showing that you truly care about your residents’ needs.
Read Deanna Jackson’s article on Multifamily Insiders
Behind the Deal: How a Meeting at a Las Vegas Conference Led to a $135M Purchase of Orlando Firm SightPlan
After a meeting at OPTECH 2017 and a few years of working on projects together, SmartRent and SightPlan decided to join forces with the former’s $135 million purchase of the latter. The deal brought SightPlan’s multifamily management software to SmartRent’s automation software and hardware together to help reduce redundancies in their products and devote more engineering resources to developing new products..