Rental Housing Journal On-Site January 2016 by Professional Publishing, Inc

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

January 2016

3. Delivering a Dynamic Digital Experience 6. Landlord-Tenant Law Q & A 8. Desire to Buy Strong Despite Affordability, Economic Concerns 9. Effective Strategic Planning

13. 4 Faces of Leadership and the Importance of the Vision Thing 14. Dear Maintenance Men – Pests & Preventative Care 17. How to Take Care of HVAC Systems and Prevent Disease

18. Change Your Behaviors to Become a More Inspiring Leader in 2016 20. Ask the Secret Shopper – Advertising Sources 23. 4 New Years Resolutions Every Property Manager Can Keep

www.rentalhousingjournal.com • Professional Publishing, Inc 17,000 Papers Mailed Monthly To Puget Sound Apartment Owners, Property Managers & Maintenance Personnel Published in association with Washington Association, IREM & Washington Multifamily Housing Association

Do-itYourself Landlords May be Working Below their Paygrade

More Renters Avoid Pricey Apartments

Apartment Insights Washington is celebrating its 10th Year Anniversary! We are pleased to bring you accurate, insightful data each quarter on the King, Snohomish, Pierce, Kitsap and Thurston County markets. We were the first company to spot the market turnaround after the Great Recession. Our research has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and many more publications. We deeply appreciate your continuing support!

he economic conditions of recent years have led many Americans to look to the real estate market for investment opportunities. Considering there are now nine million more renters than there were a decade ago and rental rates continue to increase, now may seem like the time all those property investors have been long awaiting, right? Unfortunately, what many property investors fail to realize is the high cost and demanding lifestyle that accompanies their investment if they choose to self-manage as a do-it-yourself (DIY) landlord. Approximately 80 percent of investors who lease single-family residences manage their property themselves, subsequently taking on the responsibilities of rent collection, regular property inspections, tenant issues, repairs, maintenance, and occasional legal action.

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Seattle – The latest Apartment Insights survey shows rents increasing 0.6%. The vacancy rate bumped up to 4.32% according to Tom Cain of Apart-

ment Insights. The data are from his Seattle firm’s 4th quarter statistics and trends on 50+ unit properties in the King/Snohomish market

Vacancy: 4.32% The vacancy rate for our nonrandom survey of conventional, stabilized 50+ unit properties in the King/Snohomish market is 4.32%. This is up from 4.07% last quarter. It was 4.55% a year ago. King has a vacancy rate of 4.39% and Snohomish County a 4.03% rate. The overall vacancy rate which includes properties in lease-up remains virtually unchanged at 6.78%. continued on page 5

Build Community in Three Steps By Jen Piccotti, SVP Education and Consulting, SatisFacts and ApartmentRatings.com

s an industry, we’re consistently focused on developing a sense of community. A critical budget line item is Resident Events. And yet, participation in our pizza parties, breakfast-on-the-run, Disney movie sing-alongs, or Super Bowl viewing parties are minimal, at best. To make matters worse, when asking residents about their satisfaction with “Sense of Community,” the national average is 3.40 on a 5-point scale. That translates to a “Warning” classification on our rating scale. Ouch! Lately, as we’ve been presenting workshops and seminars, we poll the audi-

ence by asking, “As you think about the upcoming weekend, how many of you are looking forward to hanging out with your neighbors?” The typical response from a room full of around 150 people is 3 or 4

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raised hands. After a year of conducting these non-scientific experiments, we feel convinced that what we’re seeing in the classrooms is not very different from what you’re seeing on-site. Yet continued on page 11

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

We Paint Hallways, Cabanas, and Offices

Rental Housing Journal On-Site 路 January 2016

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

Delivering a Dynamite Digital Experience: Best Practices for Satisfying the Needs of the Multifamily Wi-Fi Lifestyle By Eric Markow

remendous New Opportunities for Property Owners Many apartment buildings, housing sub-divisions, and other contained communities have driven incremental revenues by creating interesting services for their residents, including newsletters, events, parties, and interest groups. Today’s property owner can take this concept to an entirely new level. By bringing high-speed connectivity to the Internet into your property you can distribute it to every unit under complete control. Contracting with the right provider you deliver a complete service throughout the entire community. How do you identify the right provider? When you interview them, they’ll recommend the following best practices.

“Transparent Access” With the exception of some younger millennials who were raised with information technology as a major part of their lives, most users want to enjoy the benefits of wi-fi internet access without having to think about the technology that delivers it. Keeping the technology

invisible starts with making the initial connection to the service “push-button” easy. The right provider will offer step-by-step pictorially illustrated instructions for connecting various devices to the service, and may offer a premium “welcome” service in which someone does all the connecting for the renter. From that point forward the user should seldom if ever need to reconnect. You may also be able to look to your provider to include a “front-end” website that your renters encounter first whenever they log in to their device. This “portal” can be set up to make a host of excellent services available to your renter, including services you provide yourself. These services are not limited to the internet. You may want to make it easy for your renters to request various physical plant services or community activity services from you.

Comprehensive Security & Privacy The privacy of personal information including online banking, personal health information and more is becoming a “front-of-mind” issue with everyone. When you’re speaking to

the “right provider” you’ll hear plenty about how they protect users from viruses, spam, malware, hacking, and all the other internet threats out there. Parental controls over website access is another paramount issue you can expect to hear about. Be sure to ask about the interactivity of security services. Often, the renter’s specific bank or other internet resources may require some “custom-tuning”

to the firewall and other security services in order to perform properly. This should be as easy as calling in to the support team.

Easy-Access Technical Support Speaking of the support team, remember that you’re providing your renters with a comprehensive service that you can be proud of. If they run continued on page 10

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Renters Avoid Pricey Apartments ...continued from page 1 Two of the strongest submarkets were north of the city of Seattle: Edmonds and King County North at around 2.5%. The other submarket under 3% is Seattle’s University District. The vacancy rate here is 2.53%, and is the submarket with the greatest improvement from the third quarter. This is a direct result of a growing enrollment at the University of Washington. The submarkets with the highest vacancy rates are Bellevue East (6.84%), downtown Seattle (6.56%) and Ballard (6.10%). When properties in lease-up are taken into account, Ballard still has the highest vacancy rate of 16.4%. But this is a real improvement over last quarter’s 22.51%.

Incentives Rental incentives nearly doubled this quarter to $15 per month. In the two-county area 20% of the properties are offering incentives, up from 16% last quarter. Absorption: +1,614 Units Overall, there were +1,614 units absorbed this quarter, down from +2,137 units in the third quarter. The greatest absorption occurred in the Seattle submarkets. Fremont/Wallingford absorbed 174 units, followed closely by Ballard and First Hill with 161 units each. Rents: $1,460 Per Unit $1.75 Per Square Foot Rents climbed $9 to $1,460 per month and $1.75 a square foot, an increase of 0.6% over the last quarter. Over the past 12 months rents increased 11.2%.

The average rent increase over the first three quarters of 2015 was $46 per month. By comparison, it looks like this quarter’s paltry $9 increase would indicate that the market is losing steam. But that’s not the case. In each fourth quarter of the past four years, rents actually declined. Historically, the fourth quarter is oftentimes the weakest quarter each year. l market is experiencing price resistance in the most expensive submarkets. There are five submarkets where rents range from $1,849 to $2,140 per month. These are downtown Seattle, downtown Bellevue, South Lake Union, Belltown and Sammamish/Issaquah. Rents in all of these submarkets increased in each of the first three quarters of 2015. All but South Lake Union saw rent declines this quarter. The average drop in rents for the other four submarkets is $59 per month.

New Construction Featured in the photo, the 260-unit Alley111 opened in downtown Bellevue. It was developed by Skanska and is managed by Blanton Turner. There are currently 21,592 units under construction, slightly less than last quarter. It’s 2,300 units more than a year ago. Fift y-two percent of these are in the city of Seattle, 24% on the Eastside, 16% in South King, and 8% in Snohomish County. There are 9,446 units that have either opened or, at the time of this writing, are expected to open in 2015. Based on our past projections it appeared that 2015 would break the record of 10,056 units completed in 1989. Our projec-

tions were off, but it now appears it should happen in 2016. With all the new construction, many of the people providing services, labor and materials in the construction pipeline are spread thin. Properties are taking longer to complete as a result. We have preliminary information for the next two years. We are tracking 13,854 units that are scheduled for a 2016 completion. For 2017 the number is 14,007 units. The grand total for all of the units in various stages of the pipeline is 61,993 units. This is down from 63,942 units last quarter, but up from 52,668 units a year ago.

Observations The market’s performance in 2015 has been most impressive. Rents increased 11.2% and the year ended with a 4.32% vacancy rate. Since new properties rent for more than the existing stock, we looked at how the market performed without the distortion of new properties. We analyzed the annual rent increase for properties built through 2011. It was 10.5%. The clouds that have been on the distant horizon appear to be drawing closer. We have had the good fortune of robust employment growth offsetting the high volume of new construction. But we should have even more units next year. This quarter’s alarming deterioration of the most expensive submarkets may be a prime indicator that the market is getting softer, and will continue to do so. A near doubling of rental incentives

and a quarter point increase in the vacancy rate also portend a slowdown. As covered previously, rents dropped an average of $59 per month in four of the five most expensive submarkets this quarter. What’s more, when all five of these submarkets are considered, the average vacancy rate increase was nearly a full percentage point. The weakness in the expensive units is further substantiated by looking at the overall market by property class. Class A properties with $2,081 average rents are 5.4% vacant; B properties are $1,474 per month and 4.52% vacant; and C properties are $1,028 per month and 3.16% vacant. More tenants are shying away from the expensive units. Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington is a member of the nonprofit Central Puget Sound Real Estate Research Committee in charge of providing apartment rent and vacancy data. Tom has been a member of the Committee for over 25 years, and has been researching apartment market trends in the Seattle area since 1978. His company surveys the five counties in Central and South Puget Sound. This article highlights survey results that subscribers can access from an online database of all 50u+ properties. Apartment Insights also provides customized rent reports and market reports. www.apartmentinsightswa.com 206-632-2220

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Landlord-Tenant Law Q & A by Evan L. Loeffler, Attorney, Loeffler Law Group PLLC

. My tenant died in a car accident. She was on a month-to-month lease. What are my responsibilities related to entering the apartment and clearing its contents?

There are a number of new rules concerning the landlord’s rights and responsibilities in the event of the death of a tenant. You should first notify the tenant representative and any other next of kin or interested persons that your tenant has died. The notice should advise the recipient the tenancy will terminate either in 15 days or when the rent runs out, whichever is later. The representative may make arrangements to pay rent for longer in order to allow sufficient time to remove the tenant’s personal property. If a deceased tenant was the sole occupant of the property, the landlord may enter the unit and dispose of perishable food, hazardous materials, garbage, and make arrangements for the removal and care of the tenant’s pets. The landlord must turn over possession of the deceased tenant’s personal property to the designated tenant representative if requested in writing. Any unearned rent and security deposit must either be refunded or accounted for in writing to a relative, emergency contact or the tenant representative. Any personal property removed by a tenant representative or other party

should be signed for. I recommend that before allowing a party to leave with any personal property that there be a written inventory of what was removed. Before any remaining personal property may be disposed of it will be necessary to give a second written notice to the parties that the property will be sold or disposed of when the rent runs out or in 45 days, whichever is later. The personal property may be stored and eventually sold, but first see the corresponding section of the Washington Landlord Tenant Act for additional rules governing the disposal of a deceased tenant’s personal property. The landlord may never end up owning personal property belonging to the deceased tenant. It must be given to the tenant representative, sold, thrown away or donated. If the property is sold the landlord may be reimbursed for the

costs of sale, but any excess is considered abandoned property and deposited with the Department of Revenue. It is a good idea to ask all of your sole occupant tenants to fill out a “designation of tenant representative” for your records. Your legal resource will be able to advise you or assist in the creation of other notices and forms to use in the event your tenant dies.

. My tenants are smoking medical marijuana and our building is non-smoking. They say I have to let them smoke because of their disability. Our lease says no smoking. What can I do? A doctor’s prescription to use marijuana for medical reasons is not a right to smoke marijuana in your property. There are numerous ways to take medical marijuana without smoking it that

are more efficient and will not cause damage to your property. A tenant who needs to take marijuana may use one of the other methods without violating the lease. A no-smoking clause in the lease clause means no smoking of marijuana, tobacco or anything else. If a tenant continues to smoke you may deliver a ten-day notice to comply or vacate. Remember, too, that marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law. As a property owner, you have an interest in keeping illegal, hazardous and controlled substances from endangering the property or your other renters.

. My tenants vacated and there is damage to the carpet. What is considered “normal wear and tear”? A landlord may deduct from the tenant’s security deposit the cost of fixing any damages to the property caused during the tenancy excluding “normal wear and tear resulting from ordinary use of the premises.” This is a fairly subjective standard. For a judge to decide what is “normal” the judge will likely consider the condition of the carpet when the tenant moved in and the age of the carpet. If a landlord takes a security deposit, it is required to have a written checklist continued on page 16

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Do-it-Yourself Landlords ...continued from page 1

Real Property Management, a national property management franchise, released findings that suggest many DIY landlords may be working below their pay grade, spending too much money and time managing their rental properties, and ultimately receiving minimal return-on-investment (ROI). The findings are from the company’s online Landlord Calculator, a resource that allows landlords to input how much time they’re spending on each aspect of property management, in comparison to overall income money spent. For example, Real Property Management research indicates that the typical DIY landlord earns an average annual income of $100,000. Assuming a 2,000 hour work year (50 weeks times 40 hours per week), the value of their time is $50 per hour. According to other research by the company, an average DIY landlord spends 49 hours per year for

leasing and managing. With this time commitment, the value of the landlord’s time per rental is $2,450*. The cost of professional property management is significantly less. Although property management fees vary across the country, a professional property manager typically charges 50 percent of one month’s rent for leasing a vacancy, and 10 percent per month for managing the property. For a $1,000 per month rental property, the cost would be $500 for leasing plus $1,200 per year for property management fee, totaling $1,700. This cost does not take into account the fact that property management fees are tax deductible, so the actual out-of-pocket expense is less. Do-it-yourself landlords can avoid the cost, hassle and liability associated with managing a property by outsourcing the responsibilities and pain points

associated with property management to a professional property manager. Property management professionals have the resources and knowledge to perform thorough background checks on prospective tenants, document move-in and move-out condition of a rental, and they understand the Fair Housing Act and other landlord-tenant laws – all jobs in which costs can significantly add up. The Real Property Management research found that less than one third of self-managing landlords spend adequate time on every step of the leasing process, and skimp on things like credit history, criminal background checks and move-in documents. Many do not conduct criminal background checks or contact previous landlords for references, which increases the risk of renting to an unqualified tenant. Some also fail to conduct a true competitive analysis of

competitive rental rates, creating risk of over-pricing a rental and losing income because of long vacancy periods, or underpricing the property which reduces long-term revenue from the property. Other shortcuts frequently taken by DIY landlords include responsible rent collection and in-property inspections. This hurts cash flow, increases the risk of lost rental income and eviction, and allows tenants to fly under the radar with lease violations like unauthorized tenants, pets, or damage to the property. Whether it’s a carefully considered investment or an ‘accidental landlord,’ not all DIY landlords realize the significant cost and demanding lifestyle required as a property owner. The monetary costs may be easy to calculate, but what about the value of the hours and days spent on other management tasks? A professional property manager typically saves money for the investor, and can sometimes be the very lifeblood for success and profit as a property owner. *The amount of time can be significantly higher for older homes with more maintenance needs, or properties that require updating before leasing. Authored by: Robert Pifke, Chief Marketing Officer for Property Management Business Solutions, LLC, the franchiser of Real Property Management. About Real Property Management Real Property Management is a franchise organization owned by Property Management Business Solutions, LLC, a privately held corporation based in Utah. With over 25 years of industry expertise, Real Property Management offices provide full-service residential property management for thousands of investors and rental home owners from more than 260 independently owned and operated locations throughout the United States and Canada.

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

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Desire to Buy Strong Despite Affordability, Economic Concerns later in life has more to do with the currently underperforming share of firsttime buyers than the idea that buying a home is not as desirable as it used to be,” adds Yun.

lthough only half of surveyed households believe the economy is currently improving, nearly all young renters eventually want to buy a home, and a convincing majority still view homeownership as part of their American Dream, according to a new quarterly consumer survey released today by the National Association of Realtors®. Additionally, a newly-introduced index tracking the financial outlook of households found that compared to earlier this year an increasing share believes their personal financial situation will improve in the months ahead. NAR’s inaugural quarterly household survey, Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME), tracks topical real estate trends, including current renters and homeowners’ views and aspirations regarding homeownership, whether or not it’s a good time

to buy or sell a home, and expectations and experiences in the mortgage market1. New questions may be added to the survey each quarter to reflect timely topics impacting real estate. The HOME survey data reveals that an overwhelming majority of current renters who are 34 years of age or younger want to own a home in the future (94 percent). Overall, 83 percent of polled renters have a desire to own, and 77 percent believe homeownership is part of their American Dream. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the survey’s findings debunk the notion that young adults aren’t interested in buying a home. “Despite entering the workforce during or immediately after the worst of the financial and housing crisis, the desire to become a homeowner appears to be a personal goal for a convincing majority of young

renters,” he said. “Furthermore, there appears to be sizeable, pent-up demand for buying that currently remains untapped because of a variety of economic and personal reasons impacting many households.” The top two reasons given by renters for not currently owning was the inability to afford to buy (53 percent) and needing the flexibility of renting rather than owning (19 percent). When asked what would likely be the main reason for buying in the future, renters cited lifestyle considerations such as getting married, starting a family or retiring (33 percent) and an improvement in their financial situation (26 percent). “A combination of factors such as rising rents and home prices, limited supply, repaying student debt, and getting married and having children

Households lukewarm about the U.S. economy Among all households (renters and homeowners) in the survey, the results highlight a split between those who agree the U.S. economy is on the right track and those who disagree. Only half of respondents believe the economy is currently improving, and 44 percent think the economy is actually in a recession. Renters were only slightly more optimistic about current economic conditions, with 57 percent believing the economy is improving. Regardless of their confidence in the U.S. economy today, over three-quarters (76 percent) of those who don’t think the economy is improving still want to eventually buy a home. “The promising stretch of job creation in several parts of the country in recent years has the housing market in 2015 on track for its best year of sales since the downturn,” says Yun. “However, that only half of surveyed households believe the economy is improving continued on page 19

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Effective Strategic Planning

nnually, the Washington Multi-Family Housing Association brings together current and past association leaders, decision-makers, member stakeholders, staff and others important to the organization, to conduct a Strategic Planning event intended to brainstorm, discuss and evaluate ways to improve the association’s ability to grow and serve our members and communities. Periodic Strategic Planning is essential for organizations and companies to meet with engaged participants to develop plans for the future direction of the organization and prioritize resources to be used to accomplish collective goals. Good Strategic Planning anticipates the inevitability of change, and focuses on the organization’s mission, while producing a plan that is realistic, comprehensive, and integrated across all organization functions. Strategic Planning, if done right, can provide a comprehensive planning methodology that: establishes specific, measurable, and achievable objectives; develops guidelines and processes that shape the culture of the organization; addresses the barriers and critical success factors affecting your success; develops measurable action plans to achieve each of your priority strategies; and, provides a monitoring plan to follow to measure your success.

Strategic Planning can be short term in nature – developing and outlining goals for the next 12 months – or planning can be long range – outlining 3-5 year or even 10 year vision and goals. The result of this effort leads to objectives, timeframes, human and financial resources that will be required to achieve your strategies, the measurement of success that everyone can aim for, and who is responsible for the strategy you have outlined. In January, WMFHA conducted our annual Strategic Planning retreat. The meeting started by re-visiting our mission and guiding principles. We asked ourselves - Who are we? What do we do? Who do we represent? What are we seeking to become? and, What is our definition of success?

Strategic Planning involved assessment and an overview of the purpose of our association: Mission vs. Vision – while mission answers what we do, for whom, and the benefit, vision describes what the future will look like if we achieve our mission. Vision will inspire our organization to “reach higher” and provide aspirational direction. Mission is, in effect, what we do every day to work toward that organizational vision.

Goals vs. Objectives – while goals define the broad aims necessary to achieve our mission, each goal has a set of specific, measurable targets that define accomplishment of the goal for the time period. Organizations should have no more than 3-5 goals: each goal will have strategies that support its achievement. Core Values – what will our culture be when our mission, vision and goals are integrated? Values included service, responsiveness, professionalism, ethical practices, innovation and effective learning. We conducted a SWOT analysis, evaluating our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Effectively, what’s working, and what’s not working. From these lists, we developed six key issues: government affairs advocacy, career development opportunities, member business development, membership growth, improved communications and financial stewardship. Critical success factors and barriers to our success were reviewed. Prior to defining strategies, our leadership team first identified key conditions for success and the major barriers standing in the way to ensure strategies addressed these important elements. We then developed stated objectives, and prioritized these objectives according to need and feasibility.

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Action Plans to achieve each defined strategy were then developed. For each of the priority strategies, the team developed detailed action plans that defined what will be done, who will do it, by when, the resources needed to accomplish the goal, and other related costs. We developed methods to evaluate progress, success and ultimately accomplishment of the stated strategies and goals. Involvement of a broad range of key contributors with diverse backgrounds and experiences allowed us to think outside the box to possibilities and opportunities to advance our services. There was an excitement of renewed commitment to success and an appreciation of the growth and advancement our association has achieved in the past several years. WMFHA looks forward to continuing to serve our members and the housing industry in the coming year. To get involved in the future of the industry and improve your success, call us at 425-656-9077. We’re here to serve.

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Dynamic Digital Experience... continued from page 3 into a problem and have a hard time solving it, all the time they spent enjoying good service will suddenly be forgotten. The responsiveness and ease of access to the provider’s support team make all the difference. This may be a technical service, but it’s being used by people, so the people they interact with when something is wrong need to be top drawer, easy to reach, and easy to work with.

User Counseling & Advice Support should be as proactive as it is reactive. Beyond responding to requests for restoration of services, the support team should also be available to advise your renters about adding new devices, products, or services to their wi-fi network. Smart Home automation is becoming very popular, with more and more users being able to switch lights on and off, lock and unlock their doors, control their thermostats and much more from their smartphones wherever they may be. Home Theater systems are replacing long wires strung around the home with wi-fi-connected speakers. Refrigerators and other appliances are using wi-fi to serve customers better. Your provider’s support team should be able to help your renters get the most out of these emerging new digital lifestyle enhancements.

Future-Proofing It is a sure bet that technology will keep on improving, and you won’t ever want your renters complaining that your wi-fi service is antiquated and outof-date. Smart providers are assuring that it is easy and inexpensive to update your equipment and your wi-fi internet access services to keep step with the times. The availability of a comprehensive built-in wi-fi capability in your units will be a huge differentiator for your properties for a long time to come, especially if you make the right choices, implement the right technologies and services working the with right partners. Eric Markow is Chief Technology Officer of Dual Path, a provider of high speed property-wide WiFi services. Dual Path’s customers include MDU and senior living communities who enjoy fast, reliable connectivity, delivered with old-fashioned customer service. Dual Path’s unique revenue generating model allows property owners to leverage their “Internet real estate” to maximize profits, increase resident satisfaction and retention, and increase property value. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Dual Path offers property-wide WiFi, Gigabit Internet and WiFi calling solutions to properties and businesses coast to coast. For more information, visit www.dualpath.net or contact 1-800-468-6851.

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

Build Community...continued from page 1 why are we convinced our residents feel any differently? According to the 2015 SatisFacts Index, when asked why residents weren’t “Very Likely” to renew, “Neighbors” was in the top 5 reasons. And when asked what could be done to improve the community, “Better Residents” ranked in the top ten. Let’s face it, residents are not welcoming each other to the community with goodie baskets and borrowing cups of sugar – the “love” is just not there. For added confirmation, we look to our data and an in-depth analysis of surveys from over 1.6 million residents. What we see is that when residents are evaluating “Sense of Community,” they’re not expressing their desire to become best friends with their neighbors or even having more or better events. When residents are evaluating sense of community, they are actually evaluating their relationship with you, the property team. They’re thinking about how connected they feel to those who care for and maintain the community, not the population that makes up the community itself. So, how do we build that connection?

1. Be the Go-To Guy or Gal. Ideally, everyone on staff should have the ability to provide assistance to any resident, but it’s such a luxury to be able to get in contact with your “go-to” person, A “go-to” already knows your back story, they know what’s already been done or what your particular challenges are. As Lisa Giedd, of The Bluffs at Nine Mile Creek (Dominium) shared as a best practice, “If a resident asks for a specific team member or the manager,

do what you can to connect them with that team member. Even if someone else was able to answer the question or resolve the issue, the resident will mostly remember that the team member or manager was not available to them.”

2. Expect the Best One of the best pieces of advice I ever received from a supervisor was, “Go into the meeting expecting that it will go well. 9 times out of 10, it will.” It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you expect that a resident meeting or call is going to be a disaster, it probably will be. But if you anticipate your own ability to provide a good resolution and that the resident will walk away feeling good, then most likely that will be the outcome. Relationships with residents, like all other relationships, are built on communication and shared experiences, which can lead to trust. Give them reasons to love you, believe in your ability to work well with them, and enjoy the result. 3. Dress to Impress Residents want to be proud to show off their home to friends and family. Now, more than ever, the appearance and condition of common areas is being evaluated when a person chooses to rent or to renew. Be obsessive about neatness and tidiness. Ensure walkways are swept, trash cans are emptied, cobwebs are brushed away, and bare dirt is attended to. Your community doesn’t need to be brand new to look well kept. The same goes for you and your entire team. You’re part of the scenery, so take pride in how you present yourself.

Clothing should be clean and pressed. Your hair and nails should be neatly groomed. Are your residents excited to walk their guests around the community? Are they excited to introduce them to you (or do they steer them away)? The point of this article is not to get you to scrap your event calendars or do away with contests and opportunities to celebrate what makes your community a great place to live. However, instead of planning events strictly to connect residents to each other, plan events with the goal of the team connecting with the residents. Require team participation, and set a goal of getting to know at least 5 residents you haven’t spoken with before. Residents don’t “just” leave apartments. They most often leave people. Because our business is built on relationships, our ability to build those relationships is going to determine the big winners and the colossal losers in our industry. “Sense of Community”

= “Sense of Connection with the Staff.” Build your relationships one resident at a time and you’ll suddenly find you’ve built a thriving community! About the author: Jen heads up client support for SatisFacts and ApartmentRatings.com, by developing dynamic, practical and effective educational programs and resources, conducting resident feedback analysis, directing customer experience re-design, and providing digital strategy coaching. Jen has over two decades of customer loyalty and process efficiency experience. A noted author, keynote speaker and highly followed blogger in the multifamily industry, Jen has spoken at such events as the NAA Education Conference, NAA Education Institute (NAAEI), AIM: Apartment Internet Marketing, and the Multifamily Social Media Summit. Contact Jen at jpiccotti@satisfacts.com

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

4 Faces of Leadership and the Importance of the Vision Thing

Behavioral Strategist Explains How Any Leader Can Responsibly Boost Their Visionary Side

hether it’s a presidential candidate, a corporate executive or an NFL coach, people admire a leader with vision. They like someone with a clear idea of where he or she is headed, and who knows how to motivate others to accomplish the goal. But as much as people might like to say someone is a “born visionary,” in truth, vision is something we develop, not something we arrive in the world with, says Rob-Jan de Jong, a behavioral strategist and author of “Anticipate: The Art of Leading By Looking Ahead” (www.robjandejong.com). “One thing that visionaries have in common is that they have an ability to notice things early,” de Jong says. “They recognize some sort of significant change is happening and they make use of the opportunities it presents.” Just identifying that a major change is afoot isn’t enough, though, he says. The visionary needs to connect the dots into a coherent picture that takes into account future developments.

The Trend Hopper. On the upside, a trend hopper has a well-developed ability to see things early and is willing to embrace changing realities. These are people who are quick to adopt new technology and among the first to fantasize about how things can be different – even radically different– real soon, de Jong says. On the downside, trend hoppers aren’t adept at turning their early insights into a coherent story that justifies an active strategic pursuit. After seeing them chase several flavor-of-the-month ideas, other people start to tune them out. “That’s easier said than done, but it’s an ability leaders can develop if they are willing to work on it,” de Jong says. Growing a leader’s visionary side therefore boils down to sharpening both the ability to notice things early and the ability to create coherence. In combination, the abilities suggest four archetypes of leaders.

The Follower. This is someone who is neither good at noticing things early, nor skilled at creating and communicating a coher-

ent story from insights about what the future might bring. The follower may be an excellent manager, but don’t expect this person to inspire others or drive innovation. “Being a follower isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” de Jong says. “These people are often careful about their decisions and good at critical thinking, and in the short term that can work well. But their preoccupation with today keeps them from anticipating what comes next.”

The Historian. These leaders are adept at connecting the dots and spinning a story that makes sense. They cite patterns, facts and figures and make everything that’s happened so far look coherent and intentional. “When you listen to them, it all makes sense,” de Jong says. “But they have their eyes trained on the factually true past, not the imaginative uncertain future.” continued on page 21

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

DEAR MAINTENANCE MEN Pest Control & Preventative Care

By Jerry L’Ecuyer & Frank Alvarez

Dear Maintenance Men:

or fasten the glue trap in place. Place a bit of peanut butter in the middle of the trap as an attractant. Happy hunting!

How do I get rid of mice or rats? I have found droppings in the house and I’m not happy and I need a solution. Annie

Dear Maintenance Men:

Dear Annie: Please come down off that chair! We have written about dealing with mice and rat issues in the past and below is what we recommend if you want to get rid of the rodents yourself. Keep in mind that rats and mice are smart & conservative. They are not risk takers. In the rat or mouse’s mind, a trap out in the middle of the floor is too risky to investigate. Rodents will run along walls, rafters and other low exposure areas. Put the traps along these routes about ten feet apart. A good bait to use is peanut butter. Patience is king when trying to trap a rat. Place all your baited traps, but DO NOT set them for a day or two. Let the rat nibble at the bait danger free. This last part is the hardest to do. However, patience will win out. If you rush ahead and set the traps and the rat triggers one and is not caught; he will remember! Also, avoid using traps designed for mice; it will only annoy the rat and he will be smarter for it. The same goes for using rat traps to catch mice. The trap is too big and when sprung may miss the mouse.

I doing some long term preventive maintenance with my building’s individual 30-40 gallon water heaters. Each unit has a water heater and I’m not sure of the age or condition of each unit. How long do most heaters last and what are some signs of imminent failure? Bryan

Dear Bryan:

Using poison is another option. Anticoagulant poison is very popular. This poison causes the rat’s blood to thin. It will make him thirsty and when he drinks water, he will bleed internally. When using this option, be sure to leave a saucer of water near the poison. The poison normally comes in bars that can be broken up into pieces. Remember rodents hoard, so just because the poison is gone, does not mean they ate it. Put more until they stop taking it. The local hardware store should carry this product, but it is best to go to a farm supply store. They will have the

best quality supply. Be careful with placement, so other animals do not eat this poison. The hardware store or farm supply store carry approved bait dispensers designed for rats or mice. Again, patience is rewarded. Before using poison bait, use crunchy peanut butter to let the rats get used to the bait station for a few days. Then add the poison bait with a little bit of peanut butter. Glue traps are also a viable option. It is important to use large rat sized traps. Put the glue trap along a known rat runway, or along a ledge or rafter used by the rodents. It is important to nail

The chances of a number of heaters failing all at once are very slim. The cost of replacement can be spread a over period of time. The average life span of a typical 30 or 40-gallon water-heater is about 10 to 12 years, some may last much longer depending on use. A sign the end may be near is: banging noises coming from the heater, short hot water supply and long heater cycle times producing lukewarm water. At this point you should start pricing a new heater. However, if you find water pooling at the base of the heater … replace it immediately, it has FAILED!!

continued on page 22

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

Landlord-Tenant Law Q&A ...continued from page 16

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signed and dated by the tenant showing the condition of the property when the tenant moved in. This is the tenant’s admission that the carpet is in good shape. The landlord may additionally take photographs or have a video walkthrough to document the condition. If the carpets were installed prior to the tenant moving in, keep the receipt. It will not only show the age of the carpet, but the cost of replacement in the event it is damaged during the tenancy. It is unreasonable to expect a carpet to be in perfect condition after 10 years. It may be appropriate to pro-rate the cost of a new carpet by the amount of use it received. In Washington a landlord has 14 days from the date the tenant vacates the property to provide a written accounting of the security deposit. The landlord must either provide an explanation why the full amount of the deposit, or a portion of the deposit, is not being returned,

or return the deposit within the 14 day period. Recent case law tightens up this requirement. Landlords are strongly encouraged to make arrangements as soon as possible after the tenant vacates to make repairs or provide estimates to avoid disputes over whether the accounting was timely provided. Do you have a landlord-tenant law question you’d like to see answered in this column? Send it to Landlord-Tenant Answers at: fax@loeﬄerlegal.com. Evan Loeffler is the principal at the Loeffler Law Group PLLC in Seattle. Mr. Loeffler’s practice emphasizes landlord-tenant relations and real estate litigation. He is the author of several chapters on landlord-tenant law in the Washington Lawyers Practice Manual and is on the faculty for several landlord-tenant CLE programs.

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

How to Take Care of HVAC Systems and Prevent Disease By Cliﬀ Hockley, President , Bluestone & Hockley Real Estate Services

hy do HVAC systems need regular maintenance? Owners of commercial buildings sometimes overlook the maintenance of their HVAC (Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning) systems. I recently had a meeting with clients who own a 20,000 square foot building where they had installed a new HVAC system at the cost of $100,000. Because it was new they thought did not need a preventive maintenance plan. I explained how this perception would not only put their $100,000 investment at risk, it would also endanger the health of their tenants. HVAC units have many reasons for failing. The following charts published in a November 2000 ASHREA Journal article, Smart Maintenance for Rooftop Units, indicates the main reasons for unit failures. Most of these failures are preventable with proper maintenance. Causes for % Total Occurrences ‘No Air-Conditioning’ Service Call Controls Error 21% Electrical Problem 20% Refrigerant Leak 12% Condenser 7% Air Handling 7% Evaporator 6% Compressor 5% Cooling Water Loop 4% Plugged Filters 2% Personnel Error 2% Expansion Device 2% Can’t Classify 12% Table 1: Classification of ‘no-air conditioning’ cases.

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General Classification of Faults Compressor Controls Error Condenser Electrical Problem Evaporator New Installation Air Handling Refrigerant Leak Installation/Startup Cooling Water Loop Fan Belt Others Table 2: Classification of fault types by total cost.

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Ensuring proper function of your HVAC unit also prevents health complications related to mold and allergies. The most serious ailment associated with poorly maintained commercial HVAC units is the potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease. Legionnaire’s disease is a pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacteria. The bacteria lives in water, (especially standing warm water keyed off by rising temperatures in the summer months,) and is carried by steam and mist. The bacteria has been detected in drinking water systems and tubs, cooling towers and in standing water that is aerosolized and ends up circulating in building air conditioning systems. Legionnaires ‘disease bacteria rarely will cause problems unless water contaminated with the bacteria enters the HVAC system. Well-maintained HVAC systems and air conditioning units without humidifiers are unlikely to harbor the Legionnaire bacteria.

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How to maintain HVAC systems VALLEY, and METRO, ARIZONA The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating Air-Conditioning En- APT. gineers (ASHRAE) offers the definitive guide to HVAC maintenance, ASHRAE Standard180 – The standard practice for inspection and maintenance of commercial building HVAC systems. Key points include:

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Change Your Behaviors to Become a More Inspiring Leader In 2016

Behavioral Strategist Oﬀers 4 Tips For Broadening Your Mind and Your Leadership Skills

abits can be a trap for people in leadership positions – whether they are in business, politics or another field. As leaders, they should provide a compelling vision that inspires those around them. Instead, many of them lapse into automatic and mindless thinking. And that can affect every decision they make – and the actions of the people who report to them. “Too often, we don’t come up with imaginative solutions because we let ourselves be ruled by routine and by preconceived notions,” says Rob-Jan de Jong, a behavioral strategist and author of “Anticipate: The Art of Leading By Looking Ahead” (www.robjandejong.com). “We think we know ahead of time what will and won’t work, which makes us quick to dismiss ideas that sound too ‘out there.’ The people who answer to you learn the lesson that creative thinking is frowned upon, even if that’s not the lesson you wanted to teach.” Simply making a New Year’s resolution to have a more open mind in 2016 likely won’t be enough to turn things around. But de Jong says there are behaviors and practices that, through

repetition and perseverance, can help leaders and anyone else develop a mindset that’s open to imaginative and better ideas.

Formulate powerful questions. Generating ideas starts with asking the right questions and the best questions are thought-provoking. They challenge underlying assumptions and invite creativity. “They also give us energy, making us aware of the fact there is something to explore that we hadn’t fully grasped before,” de Jong says. Train yourself to catch poorly designed questions, asked by you or someone else, and reformulate them. Questions that begin with “why,” “what” and “how” are best because they require more thoughtful responses than those that begin with “who,” “when,” “where” and “which.” Especially avoid questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no.” Expand your sphere of influence. “We are strongly influenced, for better or worse, by the small group of people we have direct contact with,” de Jong says. “Since we tend to hang out with people who are fairly similar to ourselves, chances are we are limiting our

perspectives.” He recommends making a deliberate effort to encounter people and ideas that are “profoundly different from the usual suspects you hang out with.” Visit a conference of a different profession, hang out with skaters, join an arts club or buy a magazine randomly off the shelf.

Break your patterns. You can increase your chances of seeing things differently if you deliberately break your normal pattern of working, communicating, thinking, reacting and responding, de Jong says. Take a different route to work. Change where you sit in meetings. If you are normally the first to volunteer, hold back. Learn to listen. “We’ve all been taught the importance of being good listeners,” de Jong says. “The problem is most of us struggle to actually do it.” Often when people are “listening,” they really are waiting for the first opportunity to share their story, their opinion or their experience. De Jong suggests training yourself to engage in three pure listening conversations a week. They don’t need to be longer than 15 to 20 minutes, they can be formal or informal, and the other per-

son doesn’t need to know what you’re doing. Vow that you won’t try to take over the conversation no matter how much you want to. “Just keep asking questions and don’t dismiss anything the other person says,” de Jong says. After the conversation, reflect on what you learned. Don’t dismiss any ideas or views that don’t align with yours. “Dare to challenge your own assumptions and reframe your beliefs if need be,” he says. “Some of these practices may take people outside their comfort zones, and everyone might not be ready to try all of these at once,” de Jong says. “But if you start to put them into practice, you’ll be able to grow into a more mindful, visionary leader one step at a time.” About Rob-Jan de Jong Rob-Jan de Jong, author of “Anticipate: The Art of Leading By Looking Ahead” (www.robjandejong. com), is an international speaker, writer and consultant on strategy and leadership themes. He serves as an expert lecturer at various leading business schools such as the Wharton Business School (USA), Thunderbird School of Global Management (USA), Nyenrode Business University (The Netherlands), and Sabanci Business University (Turkey). As a behavioral strategist, he speaks, teaches and consults on executive subjects such as visionary leadership, influence, strategic decision-making, and innovation.

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

Desire to Buy Strong ...continued from page 8 can be attributed to the fact that some areas have been slow to recover and wages have yet to grow in a meaningful way for far too many families.” Adds Yun, “With roughly 26 million more people in the U.S.2 compared to the peak year of home sales in 2005 (7.08 million), the pace of existing sales would likely be more robust if not for the economy’s subpar growth since the downturn and wage gains that have failed to keep pace with rents and home prices.”

Homeownership remains good financial decision, part of American Dream Despite uncertainty about the economy’s current performance, at least 84 percent of all households within all surveyed age groups and education levels believe owning a home is a good financial decision. When asked if they believe this strongly or moderately, 76 percent who believe it’s a good decision feel strongly about it. Additionally, at least 85 percent of surveyed households in each age category as well as across all education levels believe homeownership is part of their personal American Dream. The most appealing aspects of homeownership cited by those with this feeling include a place to raise a family (36 percent), owning their own place (26 percent) and a nest egg for retirement (14 percent). Good time to buy, but skeptical about ability to obtain a mortgage

NAR’s survey found that more homeowners (82 percent) than renters (68 percent) during the polling period believe that it’s a good time to buy a home. Furthermore, of those who thought it was a good time to buy, 64 percent felt strongly about buying. Among current owners, 61 percent believe it is a good time to sell a home, of which 53 percent felt strongly that it was a good time to sell. According to the survey, roughly two-thirds (65 percent) think it would be very or somewhat difficult to obtain a mortgage. Furthermore, there are differences among income brackets. Renter households making between $30,000 and $40,000 were the most likely to be declined a mortgage (10 percent), while 51 percent of those who make more than $50,000 a year have not tried but feel confident they would succeed in getting a mortgage. Overall, five percent of renters have recently tried and failed to obtain financing for a home. By nearly double the amount of other responses, the most common reason homeowners purchased a home was for lifestyle changes such as getting married, starting a family or retiring (35 percent). Eighteen percent said the desire to settle down in one location influenced their decision to buy, and 15 percent cited an improvement in their financial situation.

home prices in their communities have either risen or stayed the same in the past year. Looking ahead toward the next six months, 91 percent of respondents believe home prices in their community will increase or stay the same. The HOME survey also calculates a monthly Personal Financial Outlook Index3 measured by household type, age, income and type of location. Since tracking began in March, the index representing all households has slowly trended upward to its highest current reading in December – reflecting stronger confidence that respondents’ financial situation will be better in six months. Currently, renters, younger households and those living in urban

areas are more optimistic about their future financial situation. “Young adults, who make up the majority of all renter households, are typically more optimistic about their future,” adds Yun. “As more of them settle down and begin plans to start a family, the allure of owning their own home as well as the long-term financial stability homeownership provides will drive their emergence into the housing market. However, the extent to how fast this occurs will greatly depend on more entry-level housing supply coming onto the market and needed improvements in affordability conditions.”

Direction of home prices, financial outlook on the rise Reflecting the ongoing recovery of home values throughout most of the country, 89 percent of respondents said

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

SK THE SECRET SHOPPER Advertising Sources

ll apartment communities use various means to attract new renters. Many forms of advertising have minimal costs in dollars, (i.e. online ads, signs, banners, word of mouth referrals, etc.). Yet the time and money it takes to create and design some of these ads AND make sure they are well placed to capture attention, is worth tracking the results! Having a reliable method of documenting all online, phone, and walk in traffic is critical to determining the effectiveness of each form of advertising. Here is a valid owner concern:

Our communities used to get a ton of drive by traffic and resident referrals. However, over the past few years, I’ve noticed more and more traffic is being logged as “internet” or “online ad,” with no further explanation. When I question the on site staffs, they tell me they are just noting the ad source from the e-mails or calls they get when prospective residents say they found them “on the internet” or “online.” They aren’t directly asking people how they found out about their building any more. This makes me wonder if prospective renters really learned about the community “on the internet,” or if they just used an online resource to obtain more informa-

tion after they saw the building driving by or heard about it from a friend.

You have some very valid concerns about what has happened to your other forms of advertising. Did these other sources just stop producing traffic or are these sources not being “uncovered” by your leasing staffs? It will take more effort and some careful qualifying to determine the “primary” advertising source, which is the way each prospect initially learns about your community. (i.e. resident/merchant referral, signs/

banners, flyer, etc.) The only way to find out how is DIRECTLY ask them! For example: “I noticed you referred to our website in your email. Is that how you first heard about us?” OR “I see you checked the box “drive by” as the way you found us, but I couldn’t help but notice you pulled up our monthly special on your phone from our craigslist ad. Did you learn about us first from driving by and then look for us online?” Using multiple sources of advertising in today’s competitive market isn’t just a good idea, it’s a necessity. Prospective renters must be given the opportunity

to see your community advertised in print, on the internet and through the use of signs/banners, etc. However, it’s important to note which marketing source initially sparked their interest and motivated them to make contact. – You will need ALL the facts in order to make informed decisions about your future advertising needs. Of course some of the money you save from budgeting advertising dollars wisely could be spent on an incentive to reward those employees who are committed to carefully qualifying ALL their prospective renters… If you are interested in leasing training or have a question or concern you would like to see addressed, please reach out to me via e-mail. Otherwise, please contact Jancyn for your employee evaluation needs: www.jancyn.com ASK THE SECRET SHOPPER Provided by: Joyce (Kirby) Bica Former owner of Shoptalk Service Evaluations Consultant to Jancyn Evaluation Shops E-mail: shptalk2@gmail.com Copyright © Joyce (Kirby) Bica

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

Rental Housing Journal On-Site

HVAC Systems and Preventing Disease ...continued from page 17 • Cleaning the air ducts every two years to prevent the buildup of dirt, micro-organisms and mold.

The most essential steps one could take to prevent disease include changing filters frequently, preventing pooling water and cleaning the evaporator and condenser coils. Change filters frequently. Pleated filters are the first line of defense against airborne irritants. They are the item in the HVAC units that keep the air clean. Their efficiency is measured by a MERV rating. The higher the MERV rating, the better their ability to remove dust, dirt and micro-organisms from the air. Changing filters frequently it makes it easier for the unit to pull air into the system. If the filter is clogged, the system has to work harder to feed air into the unit. The frequency is decided by the environment and how dirty the air is. Most commercial buildings require a quarterly filter change and inspections on a contract basis. Prevent water from pooling around the air handlers. Mold and water sources near the air conditioner intake create opportunities for spores to be sucked into the air intake. Roofs need to be cleaned regularly and trees cut back from the roof lines to prevent the accumulation of dirt and debris near the unit. Also ensure that drain lines from condensate units drain off of the roof and do not pond under HVAC air intakes.

Clean the evaporator and condenser coils once or twice a year. Evaporator coils tend to stay damp, and allow the growth of mold. In addition to the dampness, the coils are typically in contact with air coming in from the outside (warm and humid air in the summer.) Dirt also gets past the filters and provides the material that mold needs to grow. Treat coils after every cleaning using an antimicrobial treatment. You can consider installing UV (Ultra Violet) lights help keep the coils from being attacked by mold. (This is typically a retrofit item and not all HVAC units have room or a power source for a UV light). In any case it can keep the coils cleaner and reduce the labor to keep them clean. As Ben Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Proper HVAC maintenance will more often than not keep that unexpected emergency from happening. Resources: www.bbjenviro.com/resource-article/ hvac-maintenance/ https://www.ashrae.org/standards-research--technology/standards-interpretations/interpretations-for-standard-180-2008 https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/ legionnaires/hvac.html

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4 Faces of ...continued from page 13 Certainly, it’s valuable to have some historical perspective, he says, but you can’t let history cripple your ability to engage the future. Historians also often are cynics, ready to explain why things are they way they are and why your unconventional idea won’t work.

The Visionary. This is the one to strive to be. A visionary isn’t quick to hop on every fad, but also isn’t a naysayer about how things might be done differently. Instead, says de Jong, the visionary takes a mindful, future-oriented perspective, balancing the need for a compelling future with the awareness of the dangers of becoming dogmatic and overly optimistic. Visionaries are able to explain an imagined future in a way that fills people with energy and engages their imagination. “A powerful vision isn’t just nice to have,” de Jong says. “It’s the most important tool in the transformational leader’s toolbox. A leader’s personal imagination, inspiration and dedication are what will ignite the excitement in the people they lead.” About Rob-Jan de Jong Rob-Jan de Jong, author of “Anticipate: The Art of Leading By Looking Ahead” (www.robjandejong. com), is an international speaker, writer and consultant on strategy and leadership themes. He serves as an expert lecturer at various leading business schools such as the Wharton Business School (USA), Thunderbird School of Global Management (USA), Nyenrode Business University (The Netherlands), and Sabanci Business University (Turkey). As a behavioral strategist, he speaks, teaches and consults on executive subjects such as visionary leadership, influence, strategic decision-making, and innovation.

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Dear Maintenance Men ...continued from page 14 Dear Maintenance Men: One of my maintenance chores I do is caulking and sealing shower/ tub fi xture flanges and shower walls. My problem is getting the caulking to dry before a resident uses the shower. Any Suggestions? David

Dear David: A lot of people will say: “Just tell the resident not to use the shower till the caulking is dry”. Well it doesn’t work and by the time you are driving away from the building, your resident is already taking a shower and your fresh caulking is washing down the drain. Your caulk should cure at least 24 hours before use. Water based latex caulking is easy to use, but very susceptible to water until it is cured. Try using a silicone or polyurethane based caulking for doing tubs, showers, toilets, sinks or other wet locations. It tends to set quickly and will repel water during its cure time. Another solution we have found works well with very busy showers is to remove all the fi xtures, including the showerhead & arm, valve handles

and tub spout, before caulking. (A bit extreme, but effective) We then plug the showerhead and tub spout with a capped pipe. Then caulk the tub/shower. We come back 24 hours later and reinstall all the fi xtures. One more thought; if you have sliding shower doors for your tub, check the bottom track. If it is loose, do not caulk until the track is removed, cleaned and dried. Reinstall the track with new adhesive caulk to hold it down and caulk the edges to keep the water out. Please call: Buffalo Maintenance, Inc for maintenance work or consultation. JLE Property Management, Inc for management service or consultation Frankie Alvarez at 714 956-8371 Jerry L’Ecuyer at 714 778-0480 CA contractor lic: #797645, EPA Real Estate lic. #: 01460075 Certified Renovation Company www.BuffaloMaintenance.com www.ContactJLE.com www.Facebook.com/BuffaloMaintenance

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4 New Years Resolutions Every Property Manager Can Keep by Mary Girsch-Bock, courtesy of www.propertymanager.com rules. These tenants in particular will continue to drive quality residents away with their behavior. Putting them on notice immediately will likely cause them to pack up and leave. While no one wants to lose a tenant, their leaving will likely prevent a tenant exodus in the long term.

ith the New Year just around the corner, you’ve probably begun to think about your resolutions for the coming year. Why not resolve to tackle the issues that have proven to be your nemesis? While the list will vary widely from manager to manager, there’s likely a few things that all will agree would be of help in the coming year. Here are just a few ideas to get your list going: • Spend money to make money. While we all know how important it is to spend financial reserves wisely, if you want to function efficiently and avoid costly mistakes down the road, invest some of those dol-

lars in items such as better tenant screening procedures, more office efficiency, and better staff training. Investing in these items now will pay dividends later, with the ultimate result being better quality residents, a higher retention rate, and a well-trained staff that will help your property run more smoothly. • Become more proactive with problem renters. Problem tenants are the bane of every property manager’s existence. For 2016, make a commitment to handle problem tenants proactively, particularly those that violate property

Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016

• Commit to being more organized. Property management requires a lot of paperwork. From the initial application, to the move-in walkthrough, to the lease, to the moveout processing, and walk-through inspection; property managers are inundated with paperwork. This doesn’t even take other tasks such as bank reconciliations and personnel paperwork into the equation. Investigate the latest technology, such as electronic rent payment and online bank reconciliation processing, and find ways to reduce

your paperwork load and free up staff from busy work to do what they were hired to do which is lease apartments and homes. • Make a plan to increase your curb appeal. Let’s be honest – you can have the most attractive apartments to lease, but if the first thing that an applicant sees is overgrown landscaping, a ton of weeds, or scattered tree limbs, the odds of their renting an apartment or home is miniscule. While your apartment units or homes may be pristine inside, most applicants will not look past the landscaping and the rental office when looking to find a new home to rent. Don’t let 2016 be a year of “should haves.” By focusing on the issues that are of the most importance to your properties, it won’t be hard to keep those resolutions.

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Rental Housing Journal On-Site · January 2016