Multi Housing News May 2012 : Page 4
Ready to Rent But fi rst inspect your procedures for turning over units Summer’s just around the corner, which means the busiest leasing season is already here. Are your properties and associates ready? This is a good time to take stock of the policies and procedures your teams are following during the move in/move out process. In MHN ’s Property Management feature (“Turning Over,” page 21), Associate Editor Philip Shea provides tips for transitioning apartment units. Since multifamily is doing well, many apartment communities have waiting lists. In some cases the model unit is rented out, so showing a prospect what her new home would look like can be dicey. Our interviews with RPM Realty, Forest City Residential Management and Western National Property Management reveal different approaches to this scenario as well as ways to encourage outgoing residents to leave their apartments in tip-top shape. A transparent inspection process that includes the resident gives him the opportunity to fi x what needs to be fi xed, or at the very least to understand charges that will be incurred. Once the apartment is vacant, consider contracting with a janitorial services provider for fi nishing touches on the unit. This approach makes sense because you’ll always be able to handle the volume—whether it’s peak turnover time or when things are slow. In this issue, we also take a look at a related topic: resident screening. We wanted to fi nd out how the improving economy has affected the quality of renter applicants. According to the industry suppliers and operators we talked to (“Technology: Qualifying Applicants,” page 36), the current resident screening environment holds surprises, as well as some lessons for multifamily owners and operators. Diana Mosher Editorial Director dmosher@multi-housingnews.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Diana Mosher dmosher@multi-housingnews.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR Keat Foong kfoong@multi-housingnews.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS Michael Ratliff mratliff@multi-housingnews.com Philip Shea pshea@multi-housingnews.com ONLINE NEWS EDITOR Jessica Fiur jfi ur@multi-housingnews.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Laci King Joshua Pringle Jeffrey Steele ADVERTISING SALES Jason Lam 212-977-0041 x 1488 jlam@multi-housingnews.com ART DIRECTOR & PRODUCTION MANAGER Michelle Matteson mmatteson@multi-housingnews.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Catriona Yung RESEARCH EDITOR Jack Kern PUBLISHER/SALES Dan Waldman publisher@multi-housingnews.com CIRCULATION For circulation inquiries, please send email to circulation@multi-housingnews.com LIST RENTALS Brahm Schenkman, Info Refi nery 800-529-9020 x 29 bschenkman@inforefi nery.com REPRINTS Anastasia Minichino, The YGS Group 717-505-9701 x 168 anastasia.minichino@theygsgroup.com MHN EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Sharon Dworkin Bell Senior Staff Vice President, Multifamily National Association of Home Builders Tom Bozzuto, CEO The Bozzuto Group Doug Bibby, President National Multi Housing Council Dr. Sam Chandan President and Chief Economist Chandan Economics Terry Danner, CEO Riverstone Residential Leo S. Horey Executive Vice President Operations AvalonBay Communities, Inc. Mark Humphreys, AIA, CEO Humphreys & Partners Architects, L.P. Jack Kern, Managing Director Kern Investment Research, LLC Robert Koch, AIA Principal, Fugleberg Koch M. Leanne Lachman Principal Lachman Associates Clark D. Manus, FAIA, CEO Heller Manus Architects AIA VP/2011 President Katherine Perez, Executive Director ULI Los Angeles David Picerne, CEO, President Picerne Real Estate Group Alan H. Pollack, Chairman Providence Management Company LLC Lori Reeves Vice President, Chief Information Offi cer Forest City Residential Group Correction In the article “Working the Distressed Market” ( MHN , March 2012, p. 32), it was incorrectly stated that Auction. com Commercial generally features smaller properties of less than $1 million in its auctions. The historical average size of multifamily assets on Auction.com’s auction site is $2.2 million. The average multifamily asset size on a recent auction in March was $5.5 million. MHN Poll Results What do you think of the idea of allowing private equity and other investors to purchase REO single-family homes in bulk and convert them to rentals? Not Sure 16% Opposed/ Harmful 34% In Favor/ Beneficial 50% Follow us on Log on to multi-housingnews.com to vote in the next poll. TM 4 May 2012 | Multi-Housing News
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