C A N A D A ’ S O N LY N A T I O N A L P U B L I C A T I O N F O R A P A R T M E N T O W N E R S A N D M A N A G E R S
MORE THAN JUST SMART – IT’S A BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Meeting the Needs of the Community Regional Group works to improve industry standards
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Multi-Unit Residential Mortgages
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VOLUME 5 / NUMBER 5 / november 2008
Reach 40,000 decision makers in the property & facility management industry with a listing package.
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Winter 2008/2009 | Vol. 2 No. 4
09 PM# 40063056
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Your listing will appear in Canadian Property Management Buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Guide 2010, Healthcare Facility Management Buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Guide 2010 and CondoBusiness Buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Guide 2010 and reach buyers in the following sectors: Commercial Industrial Residential Condominium
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Making a Difference Selling Apartment Buildings Across Canada Over 22,000 Units Sold in 10 Years in 27 markets!
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C A N A D A â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S O N LY N A T I O N A L P U B L I C A T I O N F O R A P A R T M E N T O W N E R S A N D M A N A G E R S
VOLUME 5 / NUMBER 5 / NOVEMBER 2008
26 Cover Story
Meeting the Needs of the Community
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Regional Group works to improve industry standards
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A Cheap Deal? No Such Thing
Meeting the Needs of the Community Regional Group works to improve industry standards For the past 50 years the Regional Group of Companies Inc. has worked to improve both the community and the property management industry. It was one of the first firms in Canada to be awarded the Accredited Management Organization professional designation by the Institute of Real Estate Management.
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10 A Cheap Deal? No such thing
A building insurance contract is often difficult to understand and judging it on price alone is a dangerous strategy. All insurance companies are licensed to sell commercial property insurance, but only a handful understand multiresidential buildings.
14 2009 Business Strategies Tips to help you prepare your business for uncertain times and help you
weather the storm in the financial markets.
18 Comparing Website Providers If you want to get the most out of your online advertising budget, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need to compare website providers and track your results.
24 Going Paperless Leading real estate management software producers are creating new software solutions that reduce paper flow and improve efficiency.
38 Single-Speed Elevators: Time to Retire Current codes require that elevators stop no more than one-half inch above
or below the floor level. It can be difficult for older single-speed elevators to meet that requirement.
42 Retrofit Beneficiaries Make the Case for Investment Landlords need to view upgrades that reduce energy costs as an investment,
rather than an expense.
44 Rental Housing Providers Embrace Practice Standards More than 65,000 rental units have been enrolled in the Certified Rental Building Program, launched earlier this year by the Federation of Rentalhousing Providers of Ontario.
46 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Plumber When hiring a plumber, identify the services that you need and then look for a company that can handle all of the work. In an emergency, you need someone you can trust to get the job done right.
48 Multi-facts 6 Canadian Apartment Magazine
50 Regulations
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Vancouver
Calgary
604.681.5300 800.567.8711
403.509.0900 888.923.9194
Toronto
416.593.1100 800.465.0039
Montreal 514.499.8900 888.499.1733
Halifax 902.452.0776
editor’snote
Working to Improve the Industry and the Community In this issue, we profile the Regional Group of Companies, an Ottawa-based real estate and property management company that takes the view that companies should work to improve both the industry and the community they live in. The company’s founder, Len Potechin has served on a seemingly endless list of industry organizations including, the Institute for Real Estate Management and the Real Estate Institute of Canada. Regional Group President Steve Gordon served as a National Director of the Real Estate Institute of Canada. The company’s community service commitment includes work with groups like the John Howard Society, the Royal Ottawa Hospital and the Ottawa Board of Trade. Regional’s involvement with industry organizations has meant that its employees have top level education and training. As a property developer, Regional has worked with the City of Ottawa to preserve historic buildings and create affordable housing. It is currently working on two adaptive reuse projects that will see historic buildings converted into multi-residential housing. In other articles, our insurance specialist, Andy Schwartze, explains why judging a building insurance policy on price alone can be a dangerous thing. He points out that while all insurance companies are licensed to sell multi-residential building insurance only about five companies in Canada actually understand the multi-residential business. If you are looking to hire a new plumber, Tom Sullivan of Roto-Rooter Services offers some timely advice. He identifies the questions you need to ask and the things you need to consider before hiring a plumbing contractor. First and foremost, he says, is hire someone you can trust. For your business to succeed, you need to establish a long-term working relationship with someone who can handle both major and minor jobs.
Q
PUBLISHER Kevin Brown
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Marc Cote
EDITOR Randy Threndyle
SENIOR DESIGNER Annette Carlucci
DESIGNER Ian Clarke
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dave Balmer Barbara Carss Carissa Drohan Joel R. Nelson Andy Schwartze Michael Stoyan Tom Sullivan For sales information call (416) 966-4874 Canadian Apartment Magazine is published six times a year by:
5255 Yonge St., Suite 1000, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6P4 E-mail: info@mediaedge.ca
Tel: (416) 512-8186 Fax: (416) 512-8344 President Kevin Brown Copyright 2008 Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40063056 ISSN 1712-140x Circulation ext. 232 Subscription Rates: (GST Included) Canada: 1 year, $46.30 2 years, $82.60 Single Copy Sales: Canada: $8.00 Reprints: Requests for permission to reprint any portion of this magazine should be sent to Marc Cote
Randy Threndyle Editor randy@hushmedia.ca
Quoteworthy
“The community is very, very important to us. We live in a wonderful city, Ottawa, the capital of the country. And we live in a fantastic country Canada. The opportunities are just limitless.”
8 Canadian Apartment Magazine
– page 28
Authors: Canadian Apartment Magazine accepts unsolicited query letters and article suggestions. Manufacturers: Those wishing to have their products reviewed should contact the publisher or send information to the attention of the editor. Sworn Statement of Circulation: Available from the publisher upon written request. Although Canadian Apartment Magazine makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information published, we cannot be held liable for any errors or omissions, however caused. Printed in Canada
We’ll Treat It Like It Was Ours! Your properties are important investments to be handled with care and respect. You can rest assured, MetCap Living knows this first hand. With over twenty years of proven success, the MetCap Living team will ensure your ‘little nest egg’ is safe, allowing you to breathe easy, as well as relaxed and free of concern. We know your world, because we live it on a daily basis. Marketing, leasing, accounting and site management — in fact, anything and everything you require to provide a better living experience — MetCap Living can deliver. We’ll tailor our expertise and well established infrastructure to meet the specific needs of multi-unit properties. Think of us as a breath of fresh air. Always ready. Always professional.
Trust MetCap Living–We’ll be there! To find out more about our property management services please contact Anne Meinschenk, Director of New Business Development, MetCap Living 416-993-4305 or anne.meinschenk@metcap.com
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insurance
A Cheap Deal? No such thing ...
A building insurance contract is often difficult to understand and judging it on price alone is a dangerous strategy. All insurance companies are licensed to sell commercial property insurance, but only a handful understand multi-residential buildings. By Andy Schwartze
Every service industry has its snake oil salesmen; the world of property/casualty insurance is no different. “Good deals” abound throughout and, when presented with one, the almost automatic reaction is that the present service provider has been helping himself to some extra dough. Consider landscaping, snow plowing and a variety of other services delivered regularly to building owners and their managers. Chop the price, lower the rate, get the business…..and hope all works out. If not, crank up the charges and pray the client doesn’t go elsewhere. It’s a constant back and forth. No industries are more susceptible to this never ending nonsense than those that are populated by respected professionals and the inevitable crowd of pretenders. A reputable property management firm, like the one featured in the last edition of Canadian Apartment Magazine, knows exactly what it takes to provide quality level property management services. Good people, well trained and knowledgeable in their field, deserve to be well paid. Lesser 10 Canadian Apartment Magazine
competitors, desperate to keep churning income coming through their doors, ignore the need to develop long-term credibility in exchange for the immediate cash flow needed to pay the rent. Inevitably the smart building owner learns the difference and these “pretenders” go under, or just quietly fade away. Unfortunately, there’s always someone ready to take their place. C’est la vie. The world of insurance is no different, although the need for buyers to beware is somewhat more important. Well understood insurance litigation, blended with the two main insurance statutes, in Ontario, make picking the wrong horse a sure shot to coming in last. The building insurance contract, that an owner buys, is a document that is in essence a “promise to pay”. In many cases the potential obligation is huge; the insurance amounts can be significant. The product is often difficult to understand and the tendency to judge it only on price is a dangerous strategy. Consider that 75% of all insurance companies, and
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insurance Andy’s Tip
How much should you pay?
Highrise apartment claims rise over time at the rate of inflation. Insurance rates have been level for 30 years, assuming fully insured buildings with annually updated insurance values. On a typical 100-suite building expect to pay about $350 per $1,000,000 for property insurance and about $2,000 to $2,500 for liability. Any less is an insufficient contribution to the claims pot and any more indicates risk deficiencies.
their sales forces, spend almost 100% of their time on home and auto insurance. What could they possibly know about commercial property insurance? The answer is obvious. Yet, every insurance company is licensed in Canada and every direct salesperson, and insurance broker, is licensed provincially. No problem we say. Let’s see about that. There are only five insurance companies that understand residential apartment buildings (although I often wonder about three of them). Over the course of time one or two others might drift in and out of this class of insurance. Most avoid it because they do not have a claims staff that can effectively handle slip and fall claims. A sharp adjuster is needed to deal with a crafty lawyer. The astute insurance company manager finds and uses well-trained insurance adjusters. They are generally independent adjusters (self employed in their own businesses). An elite few of these have the skill and the intestinal fortitude to do battle with the many kinds of lawyers looking to dip into the insurance trough for a quick payout. Most slip and falls are bogus, but the inexperienced company adjuster, ever burdened by a stack of open claims files, often settles quickly knowing that next year’s renewal premium can always claw the payment back. The setting of insurance premiums is a subjective process, limited only by reinsurance limitations and the eagerness to “close the deal”. Insurance contracts have no “up front manufacturing” costs. A commissioned insurance salesman, happy to make a promise to anyone who will give him/her the business, is very motivated to present a lower premium. By reducing commission, distorting (or conveniently forgetting) claims experience, or even misstating construction type, he/she can easily influence the outcome. Underwriters are desk bound and assume they are getting the straight goods. The insurance buyer hasn’t a clue what is being presented to the prospective insurer on his/her behalf. After all the salesperson is “licensed” and “that’s good enough for me”. An insurance broker licensing course, in Ontario, takes 12 Canadian Apartment Magazine
10 days and concentrates on home and auto insurance; a miserably deficient qualification requirement. Every insurance contract is time limited. It can be cancelled by either side at any time, with 90 days being the maximum notice generally in use (In Europe, once the premium is paid the contract cannot be terminated and must be allowed to run to expiry). Most underwriters will arrange for an inspection after the deal is done. Then follows a typically costly list of “recommendations”, or even, as happens quite often, the wish to dump the account and “get off risk”. The previous insurer’s renewal offer suddenly doesn’t look so bad anymore, but it’s too late; they’ve already been fired. There is no central database that insurers can tap into to verify claims histories. There is a statutory obligation to provide an accurate claims history and the obligation is solely the insurance buyer’s. It is also his/her obligation to ensure that this information is not distorted, when presented to an insurer, by an eager salesman. The Insurance Act of Ontario (and every other provincial or state act) demands transparency and allows an insurer to “void” the contract (from inception) in the event of “non disclosure” or “misrepresentation”. It has happened that the claim is denied and the premium returned. Buyers beware! Keep your insurance advisors under control and know what they are saying about you. The downside of not doing so can be a voided contract and the unpleasant and costly need to insure with another carrier, yet again. In an insurance market as small as this one, the results can be ugly. CA M Andy Schwartze, BSc, MBA, CIP, is an insurance broker specializing in property management and real estate. He is a former President of the Insurance Institute, has taught in the community college system and provides continuing education to other brokers. He can be reached at andy@takecover.ca.
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accounting
2009
Business Strategies Five things that will prepare your business By Michael Stoyan
In today’s volatile markets,
real estate owners and property managers need to adapt to the new economic climate. The credit crisis that has crippled the American banking sector will undoubtedly have a ripple down effect on your business as lenders tighten access to credit. While the residential real estate meltdown in the United States has not had the same effect in Canada, real estate prices are declining and this will impact cash flow, the ability to refinance existing properties and access to capital for new developments. As building owners and managers, you need to invest the time to prepare your business for these uncertain
14 Canadian Apartment Magazine
times to help you weather the storm in 2009. Here are five points to consider while developing your 2009 business strategy.
Ensuring the Availability of Capital In a nutshell, it all comes down to a healthy cash flow - the lifeline to any business. When living with the volatility of unsettled markets, the old mantra that “cash is king” holds more truth than ever. When it comes to investing, businesses that have access to capital, either through equity or debt will be able to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to the marketplace.
There is still somewhat of a wait and see attitude among real estate investors, but be assured that deals are still getting done and when the market stabilizes we should expect to see some very attractive pricing. This would allow companies with access to capital the flexibility to grow their real estate portfolios. It will also set the stage to complete extensive or high cost capital improvements – which is ever so critical to tenant retention. Given the current economic climate, lenders are seeking more security and are demanding lower debt to equity ratios. Consequently, some owners may have to consider giving up ownership to obtain necessary funding to ensure access to
Get full value from your building investment by engineering building performance.
accounting capital. The message here is to develop backup plans for capital sources to allow you to ride out the tough times ahead.
Relationship with Lenders Over the past few months, ability to raise capital has been very difficult and this trend is expected to continue into 2009. Traditional lenders have allocated less money to multi-residential real estate and, for the most part, they will tend to allocate the capital they have to proven, well established borrowers. Some of the larger tier-one banks are indicating that businesses with existing relationships need not be overly concerned; although new clients may have a more difficult time. The message here is keep your lending relationships close. In some cases lenders may choose to “weed out” existing clients by increasing the interest rate or simply refusing to renew loans based on the level of risk. To stay on your lender’s “A-List”, maintain open lines of communication with your lending institution well in advance of your renewal date. It’s always a good policy to be upfront and honest about your situation with your bank and lenders. Keep them informed throughout the process, rather than waiting until your loan is about to mature. Keep your lender informed if you are having trouble with bad debts or higher than expected vacancy rates. Be proactive and do not wait until the eleventh hour to let them know you have a problem. It’s all too easy for lenders to say, you should have told me about that earlier and reconsider the risk.
Interest Rates and Market Risks As we all know, if consumer interest rates drop and house prices continue to fall, more renters might decide to enter the housing market. That, of course, will adversely impact vacancy rates and eventually trickle down to lower market rents. On the flip side, if interest rates increase, or people become uncertain about future job prospects, they will be forced out of the housing market 16 Canadian Apartment Magazine
and into rental units. It is difficult to predict which of these routes the market will take. With that in mind, it is important to keep a watchful eye on trends and ensure your company remains nimble enough to adapt to the direction it takes. It is a vicious cycle when a borrowing crisis leads to a collapsed equity market, which in turn leads to reduced consumer confidence, less spending and ultimately higher unemployment rates. Essentially, multi-residential property owners and managers will need to closely monitor interest rates, unemployment rates and mortgage default rates over the next 12 months.
Maintain Cash Flow As we mentioned earlier, “cash is king”, so maintaining a strong cash flow will be more important than ever in 2009. Below are some business practices that can help bring your cash flow to a desirable state: Accelerate cash flow forecasting to a monthly or a bi-weekly schedule and keep on top of changing input costs and profit margins. This will enable you to become more proactive in mitigating potential problems. Monitor working capital carefully, including the collectability of your receivables. Stay on top of your aging listings to identify specific tenant credit issues. Monitor all parts of your business to reduce expenses. If you do not have one already, build a robust plan to track bad debts, vacancy rates, and credit terms with suppliers. If you currently review your process every six months, consider doing it quarterly or even monthly. Document your processes. Financial institutions are requiring more stringent documentation to assess borrowing risk. Although you may talk about having processes in place, you may actually be required to verify how they are documented. By documenting sound processes you are essentially protecting the future of your business operations.
Property Management and Suppliers If you currently work with a thirdparty property manager, obtain a good understanding of the programs they have in place to retain existing tenants and to keep vacancy rates low. Ask your property manager about both their short and long-term business plan. Work closely with your third party management group to provide them with the knowledge and information they need so that you are better positioned to achieve your goals. If you self-manage the property, talk to your employees and suppliers to get them on board with your adopted strategies. Employees can often suggest low-cost ways to retain tenants and reduce costs. By reaching out to your internal team, employees are provided the opportunity to be recognized for contributing to the success of the company. Our firm receives more questions from clients in tough times than in good times. In good times it’s easy to become a bit lax. Now that we are facing more uncertain times, you need to ask tough questions of your property managers, suppliers and professional advisors. In these uncertain times, building owners and their management teams need to hunker down and adopt strategies that will help them weather the storm. Take great care with the decisions you make now as they will most certainly impact your business for years to come. Fuller Landau hosts a complimentary seminar series designed to share strategies on how businesses can thrive in today’s economic environment. For more information or to register, contact Brenda Hajdu at 416-645-6537 or email bhajdu@fullerlandau.com. CA M Michael Stoyan is a Partner with Fuller Landau LLP, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, an accounting and consulting firm. To contact Michael call 416-645-6545 or email mstoyan@fullerlandau.com.
marketing
Comparing Website Providers Maximizing your online presence If you want to get the most out of your online advertising budget, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need to compare website providers and track your results. By Carissa Drohan
We are in the age of the Internet and it is now considered detrimental for landlords not to be advertising online. So with the plethora of sites that offer landlords places to advertise how can you find the best buy? How can you ensure your advertising dollars are working and generating results? In the next few articles I will show you how to compare website providers, how you can measure and track your results and more importantly how you can maximize your advertising dollars and optimize your presence online. Online rental websites are a dime a dozen these days and if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re anything like myself you are bombarded with 18 Canadian Apartment Magazine
The knowledgeable lawyers you can count on. From acquisitions, dispositions and financing, re-development and intensification, to tax and regulatory matters - we have done it all. The Aird & Berlis LLP Multi-Residential Group has extensive expertise in the full spectrum of complex legal issues that affect you.
We are experienced lawyers commited to providing seamless, timely and cost-effective practical solutions to any issue faced by the multi-residential community.
For more information about the Aird & Berlis LLP Multi-Residential Group, please contact: Robert Doumani T 416.865.3060 E rdoumani@airdberlis.com
Partnership. Results. Success.
Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street, Suite 1800, Toronto, ON M5J 2T9 T 416.863.1500 F 416.863.1515 W www.airdberlis.com
marketing
What it comes down to is simple: Will they generate the traffic you need and will they make your phone ring? sales calls. Gottarent.com, ViewIt. ca and Rentersnews.ca, the list goes on and on. With all the websites that offer rental owners places to advertise how do you make sense of the data they throw at you and ultimately find the profitable spend? Does it matter that you are familiar with their brand? Does it matter that your competition is using them? Does it matter that you have seen their signage sprinkled in your neighbourhood? Not necessarily. Those are not good enough reasons alone to buy their advertising and you should never assume that these things will equate traffic. Let’s face it, advertisers focus on building their brand recognition with the intent of charging more for their services. That’s just good business. But what you, as a purchaser, need to be 20 Canadian Apartment Magazine
aware of is that a strong brand does not necessarily equate a good buy. Don’t get me wrong, these websites all have their strengths but let’s be clear, they also all have their weaknesses and that’s what you have to discover. What it comes down to is simple: Will they generate the traffic you need and will they make your phone ring? To make an informed decision you need to do your homework. Many websites suffer from the 80/20 rule, with 80% of their traffic coming from 1 or 2 markets and the remaining 20% coming from the rest of the country. Maybe they are strong in Toronto, maybe they are university oriented or maybe they are strong in a particular province. But are they strong in your market and do they meet your demographic needs? In this day and age statistics are accessible. Sales representatives do
have the ability to find you the numbers you need to answer your questions. Push them to find the data for the cities in which you operate. It may surprise you but many sites that can drive high traffic numbers overall will not necessarily have high traffic numbers in your markets. If I’m trying to rent a building in Cambridge, Ontario I do not care about traffic numbers in the Greater Toronto Area. I want to know what traffic is being generated for my city. The marketing department at Skyline is approached often by website rental providers and we have adopted a protocol to effectively determine if they service our cities. Many will offer a free trial to sell us, but is a free trial actually free? Time is valuable and it takes time to set up the ads, time to run the ads, time to analyze the data and then time
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marketing
Things to note in the report are: Date Range: It is important to look at the date range of the report. Make sure it is run for a full month to account for any fluctuations in rental trends. Consider seasonal trending. For example, if I was to request one for September I would take into account that the peak rental season is coming to a close and I will probably see less visitors in October. Pages per Visit: This number shows an average of how many pages the visitors looked at. Average Time on Site: As the title suggests this is an average of how much time is spent on the site. The higher the time, the more interested the renters are in the content. Percentage of New Visits Column: There is a danger in simply going by overall traffic numbers as it does not take into account returning visitors. The Percentage New Visits column shows real data on how many of the visitors are new vs. returning. To calculate real traffic numbers simply multiply the visits by the Percentage New Visits figure. The lower the percentage the more repeat visitors there are. Bounce Rate: Bounce rate refers to the retention of the visitors once they hit the webpage. A low bounce rate suggests that visitors are finding relevant content and staying on the site. A healthy bounce rate is around 15 to 25 per cent. Results above this range could indicate that visitors are not finding the information and content they were searching for.
to decide if it is worth it. It just makes sense for us to pre-qualify the offers. We ask for a Google Analytics report before considering taking a free trial. These reports will give us the statistics and information weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re seeking. For those of you who are not familiar with Google Analytics, it is a widely used service that provides website owners with the ability to analyze their website traffic. This software makes it easy to pinpoint how many unique visitors the site gets, how long they stay, how much they are looking at, what they do when theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re there and more importantly what cities they come from. Many online advertising representatives already see the benefit of provid22 Canadian Apartment Magazine
ing Google Analytics reports and include them in their sales package. For others you may have to insist on having them produced. However the benefits of being able to analyze them are well worth the trouble. A particularly informative report is the Google Map Overview Report. This report can identify all traffic coming to the site from within Canada and display the individual cities the visitors are coming from. You can now see how many visitors are coming from the city in which you operate helping you to make a wise choice. Also insist upon a PDF version of the report. This version will display
accurate information as it cannot be easily tampered with. So remember to do your homework. Pre-qualify offers. Ask for a Google Analytics report. Check into the traffic numbers of the cities in which you operate. Ask the tough questions and feel free to not be dazzled by brand equity and free trials. In the end itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your advertising dollar and your time and both should not be wasted. CAM Carissa Drohan is the Marketing Coordinator at Skyline Apartment REIT. You can contact Carissa at cdrohan@skylineonline.ca or call 519-826-0439..
technology
Going Paperless
By Joel R. Nelson
Leading real estate management software producers are creating new software solutions that reduce paper flow and improve efficiency. The real estate industry is moving into a “leverage and extend” mode. This refers to the growing trend among residential property owners and managers to get the best possible value from their investments while complementing them with solutions that enable business process efficiency. The procure-to-pay process, which traditionally required much manual and paper-intensive work, is ripe with opportunities for improvement, including green initiatives that reduce paper flow. In response, leading real estate management software producers are delivering sophisticated electronic and paperless processing capabilities. Here are a few areas in which residential real estate companies are “leveraging and extending” technology toward new solutions.
Vendor management The process of signing up a vendor typically begins with a paper-based application that the vendor completes and submits. Such an application can be many pages in length. Once submitted, it still needs to go through a manual approval process. One way to improve this paper-heavy scenario is a vendor portal, which streamlines interaction between vendors and property managers in both certification submissions and various day-to-day tasks. Once signed up, vendors can use the portal to submit invoices, check payment status and upload insurance certificates to a central location.
Request for proposals/request for quotes Customers are seeking streamlined delivery of RFPs and RFQs to certified vendors, one that does not involve the cumbersome process of compiling and mailing paper bundles. One approach to automating this process involves working with supplier sources to develop green purchasing strategies. This step calls for engaging the supplier to provide portfolio-level product usage and devising alternative suggestions for lighting, janitorial and other supplies that include potential energy, waste and cost reductions. Such supplier sources might also recommend eco-friendly MRO supplies, along with an online supply catalog. They also can leverage integrated, centralized spend management to refine spend analysis and intelligence, allowing tracking and monitoring for additional savings opportunities.
Purchase Orders Using advanced software, organizations can move a purchase order through the approval process electronically. Complex 24 Canadian Apartment Magazine
approval criteria can be established within such a system, automating the approval process within the purchasing workflow and delivering automated notifications to the appropriate individuals who enter their approvals directly to the system. Benefits of this approach include advance capture of budget details and significantly faster invoice processing. Real estate companies that implement a purchase order system avoid the back-end obstacles created by an unmanaged procurement process.
Invoice Processing The trend toward eliminating the paper invoice is growing. Vendors can upload invoices or fill out forms online. Leadingedge procure-to-pay systems that nearly eliminate paper invoices and reduce the time and money needed to store, sort and mail printed invoices are on the market. These solutions, some of which are developed specifically for the real estate industry, automate the manual steps involved in receiving, entering, coding and approving invoices. Many real estate companies have completely outsourced invoice handling and processing to service providers, relieving them of a non-value, added paper handling task.
Payments Processing cheques is time consuming, so the move to electronic payment in the form of electronic fund transfer is growing in popularity. In this scenario, vendors are paid either through automated clearinghouse (ACH) or cheque, eliminating the need to print checks internally. This lowers transaction costs, reduces payment processing errors, and makes cash flow more controlled and predictable. Forward-thinking real estate interests are quickly grasping electronic processing’s significance in streamlining their invoice processes. Offering competitive advantage, efficiency, customer service, environmental sustainability, return on investment, newly created technologies can be a significant factor in helping real estate owners and managers attain their business goals. CA M
Joel R. Nelson joined Yardi Systems in 2007 after many years with The Boeing Company and Hughes Electronics Corp., where he won multiple awards of excellence for designing and executing internal and external communications programs.
coverstory
Meeting the Needs Regional Group works to improve industry standards
26 Canadian Apartment Magazine
coverstory
of the Community For the past 50 years the Regional Group of Companies Inc. has worked to improve both the community and the property management industry. It was one of the first firms in Canada to be awarded the Accredited Management Organization professional designation by the Institute of Real Estate Management. By Randy Threndyle November 2008 27
coverstory
Founded 50 years ago, The Regional Group of Companies Inc. has always viewed itself as a company whose projects meet the needs of the community. Whether in acquisitions, property management, consulting, or in land development the company has always taken the view that what’s good for the community is good for the company. “The community is very, very important to us,” says Steve Gordon, Regional’s President and CEO. “We live in a wonderful city, Ottawa, the capital of the country. And we live in a fantastic country Canada. The opportunities are just limitless.” Headquartered in Ottawa, Regional has found many opportunities to both grow the company and improve the community over the past 50 years. When the company was founded in 1958 it was mainly a real estate brokerage company specializing in residential properties. Over the years the company expanded into commercial real estate and, as the portfolio of commercial real estate increased, so did the opportunities for property management. Gordon says the property management business prospered as clients who were investing in commercial and multiresidential real estate, needed someone to manage it. The development business grew because clients that wanted to invest needed a vehicle. To facilitate investments, Regional 28 Canadian Apartment Magazine
helped clients form syndicates into which Regional also invested. Today the company is one of the largest land developers in the Ottawa area. On the property management side, the company manages residential rental buildings and condominium projects in the Ottawa area. In addition to that Regional also manages commercial projects, about half of which are retail, with the balance office buildings and industrial plants. As a property manager, Regional Group has strived to be the best manager, rather than the largest or the least expensive. As such they have adopted two strategies, says Jeff Gould, Senior Vice-President of the Regional Group. The first is that the company provides excellence in management and the second is that they strive to ensure that both the company and its employees have the education and accreditation necessary in today’s market to meet owner’s objectives. Gould says, he’s a “believer” in the philosophy that “When Regional takes on management of a property, we take on the whole responsibility of ownership.” To that end, the company offers a “hands-off, full-service, full-confidence operation,” to its clients. Gould says, while it’s always the client that makes the final decision, “It’s our job to recommend and provide them
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coverstory with all the information necessary to make a proper decision.” In order to do that The Regional Group was one of the first firms in Canada to be awarded the Institute of Real Estate Management’s (IREM) prestigious Accredited Management Organization (AMO) professional designation. The designation is given to companies that strive for excellence in asset and property management. Gould says the AMO designation is similar to an ISO certification program in that an independent organization, in this case the Chicago-based IREM, administers the program. IREM provides education, resources, and information to real estate management professionals. The group promotes ethical real estate management practices through its credentialed membership programs, including the Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation, the Accredited Residential Manager (ARM) certification, and the
30 Canadian Apartment Magazine
Accredited Management Organization ( AMO) accreditation. Regional Group’s Chairman, Len Potechin, served on the National Executive of the IREM and is a Past President of the Real Estate Institute of Canada. Regional Group President Steve Gordon served as a National Director of the Real Estate Institute of Canada. Gould says the AMO accreditation is an ongoing process and companies with the designation are required to provide information to the IREM on a regular basis. That includes submitting licenses, insurance information, and staff certification. Documentation has to be supplied on a yearly basis, while other information is updated every three years. It proves to clients, says Gould that: “Someone is looking at things we do, and how we do them and they are saying ‘We are satisfied that they are financially stable, that they
are using proper business practices, promote ethical practices, that they have proper insurance coverage, and that their staff is properly trained.’” Regional is one of 520 firms in Canada and the United States that have the AMO accreditation. Gould says a lot of people take the view that accreditation is unnecessary, but he believes that property management is a profession and those who work in the property management field should work to ensure that everyone in the profession has professional accreditation. Gould, who started his career as a real estate broker, still maintains his broker’s license. In addition he holds an MBA, a B.Comm and is a Certified Property Manager (CPM). Gould says proper accreditation for employees helps not only with clients but also in maintaining the industry’s image. As an example he points to a recent move by many municipalities, including the City of Ottawa, to consider licensing landlords of multiresidential buildings. Gould, who describes himself as a believer in the free market, says landlords that run bad buildings are going to get bad tenants. Good tenants, on the other hand, will recognize a well-run building and chose it over another. He points to a new program recently announced by the Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario. The Certified Rental Building Program is intended to promote professionalism in the industry and provide tenants with quality assurance. The program, which was announced in June, will provide landlords with a consistent set of standards that will help tenants identify well-run rental buildings. Industry-led initiatives are often beneficial to tenants, says Gould. As an example, he points to work being done by the Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization (EOLO) which seeks to equalize assessment between singlefamily homes and mutli-residential buildings. In Eastern Ontario, as in many municipalities in the province,
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coverstory multi-residential buildings are taxed at a much higher rate than singlefamily homes. Gould, who is a founding member of the EOLO, says the group has been working on the problem for the past seven years, and, while they haven’t been able to achieve total equalization, they have at least changed the ratio in favour of multi-residential. As part of the deal, the tax savings are passed on to the tenants. “We’ve made a commitment to the city that, as our taxes go down through equalization, we give it all back to the tenants,” he says. Depending on the reduction, a tenant might get a cheque for $100 in the first year the plan takes
effect. In the following year the rent on the unit will be reduced by an amount equal to the tax rebate. “In a number of cases, landlords have worked together to get these reductions,” says Gould. The issue of tax assessment is one which affects not only the owners of multi-residential buildings, but also all classes of industrial, commercial and institutional property. Dealing with assessment issues is a growing area of work for the Regional Group. Gordon says tax assessment has become a major issue for many large property owners, especially those who own properties in different areas of the country. Regional’s clients include two federal agencies (note that the name
of the agencies has been removed) as well as a number of development companies. While crown corporations do not pay taxes, they make a payment in lieu of taxes, which is based on the assessed value of the property. Companies that are concerned about assessed values hire Regional to investigate their tax bills. If they do, all of the company’s property tax assessment notices are sent to Regional, where they are analyzed. If the assessment is deemed to be too high an appeal is launched. Gould says since many companies have offices in different parts of the country, it can be difficult for an accountant or a controller in one part
Giving Back to the Community The philosophy that you should give something back to the community is one that the Regional Group of Companies takes to heart. It’s also part of the legacy of the company’s founder, Len Potechin. Throughout his career Potechin worked with numerous charities as well as industry associations and he encouraged his employees to do the same. “I’ve always encouraged people from our firm to be involved in all types of volunteer work. And if they were involved, the firm supported them.” Potechin, now 82, still holds the title of Chairman of the Board at the Regional Group, but he says today the title is largely honorary. While he may have handed the reins of the business to the next generation, he still remains active in the community. One of Potechin’s current projects involves chairing a fund-raising committee to build a residential treatment centre for kids aged 13 to 18 who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. The goal of the fund-raising program is to build 20 rooms to house troubled young people. Plans call for five rooms in the east end of the city and 15 in the west end of the Ottawa. Potechin says the program aims to “turn kids around” and create a facility in Ottawa where they can receive treatment. Currently many are forced to travel to Thunder Bay or the United Sates to receive treatment.
32 Canadian Apartment Magazine
The veteran fund raiser is already well on his way to raising the $6 million needed for the treatment centre. So far the group has received a $1 million donation from the Ottawa Senators and $300,000 from the Variety Club. “We’re par tway there and we just star ted raising money three weeks ago,” says Potechin. Potechin is quick to point out that he’s not doing it all on his own. Vernon White, Ottawa’s Police Chief, is the Honourary Chairman. “He has been absolutely outstanding. He’s rolled up his sleeves and helped tremendously.” The Royal Ottawa Hospital and the United Way, two groups that Potechin has had a long association with are also involved. In spite of what would seem to be a full schedule, Potechin still finds time for his other hobby, golf, getting in about five rounds a week. And he’s found a way to combine it with his charity work. The Hunt Club, where he is a member, recently hosted the Canadian Ladies Open. The tournament raised $1 million for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. “Unless you’re giving back to the community, you’re a lesser company for it,” says Potechin. “If I did anything right, it was encouraging community service.”
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coverstory
“We’re the only developer in Ottawa that buys large parcels of land, gets a plan of subdivision, and then sells lots to builders.” of the country to know what is a fair assessment in another area or province or to launch appeals in other areas of the country. “It’s another area where we are pursuing opportunities,” says Gould. “There are more national firms with offices from coast to coast and they would like to have their tax bills vetted, renegotiated and reduced.” Another area where the company has found success in the property management field is in the area of condo conversion. Gordon says in a large number of projects Regional has been able to “walk into buildings suffering functional obsolescence, or physical obsolescence, convert them and bring them back to a new vitality.” David Kardish, Vice-President of the Regional Group of Companies says in the 1990s the company began to see opportunities to convert rental townhouses to condominiums. At the time vacancy rates in Ottawa had started to rise. That allowed the company to take advantage of City of Ottawa policies which allowed conversion to occur when vacancy 34 Canadian Apartment Magazine
rates hit a certain percentage point as documented by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The company became involved in several projects, many of which had originally been developed by Campeau Corporation. The units were located in desirable neigbourhoods but they were rundown and many had work orders against them. Kardish says that since the units were marketed as affordable housing, the city was able to support the conversion. The units were marketed at prices starting at $97,000. At that price point, says Kardish, people camped out all night in order to secure a place in line. He says while a few of the units may have been sold to investors who then rented them, about 95 per cent were sold to individuals who intended to live in the unit. That, he says, showed the company that there was a market for affordable housing in Ottawa. As a result, other clients approached Regional asking them for assistance with condominium conversion projects.
Eventually the company converted over 1,700 units. One of the reasons the early conversions were successful was that they were all low-rise townhouses and they could be converted at an affordable price point, says Kardish. Since they were low-rise, units could be sold in groups of four or five and several condominium corporations could be set up. That allowed the sales process to be spread over several years. Currently the company is looking at a couple of high-rise multi-residential buildings to assess the feasibility of a conversion. The difference with a high-rise building, says Kardish, is that you could have 200 units, all of which need to be sold in a relatively short period of time and you have only one condominium corporation. Kardish says since Regional only develops conversions in the Ottawa market, “The problem going forward is we’ve exhausted the supply. There are some properties where conversion is feasible, but with vacancy rates decreasing, the city is not in favour of condo conversion.”
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will seamlessly integrate a smart sub-metering solution into your plans. It’s risk-free; there’s no upfront capital cost, and cash flow is improved because Enbridge Electric pays the utility and bills the suites directly. From installation and maintenance, to meter reading, billing, customer service, education and emergency response, Enbridge Electric delivers the industry’s most comprehensive smart sub-meter offering. As part of North America’s leading energy distributor, Enbridge Electric is the smartest solution.
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coverstory While condo conversions have helped the development side of the business, Regional’s “bread and butter” business is buying large tracts of land, subdividing the property and selling the lots to builders. “We’re the only developer in Ottawa that buys large parcels of land, gets a plan of subdivision, and then sells lots to builders,” says Kardish. Currently the company has about six developments underway. The largest is a planned town and country golf course community in Kemptville, just outside the city of Ottawa. Known as eQuinelle, the project will be one of Ottawa’s premier golf course communities. An 18-hole championship golf course will be the centre piece of the development. The course, which is expected to open in the summer of 2009, is being designed by Huxham Golf Design Inc. The company also designed, Le Fontainebleau, which hosted the 2004 Telus Canadian Skins Game and Le Maitre de Mont Tremblant, voted best new Canadian Golf Course in 2002 by Golf Digest. Primarily geared to empty nesters, houses will range from 1,500-squarefoot semi-detached homes to fully detached homes of 4,000-square feet. Lot sizes will vary from 32 feet to 60
36 Canadian Apartment Magazine
feet with most of the larger homes being on the golf course. Prices will range from $280,000 for the semidetached homes to as high as $500,000 for homes on the golf course. Currently there are about 50 homes under construction, with more starts expected next year. Kardish says the project, which totals about 400 acres, will eventually have 1,000 homes. He expects it will take 10 to 15 years to build out the entire project. While eQuinelle is a green field site, the company is also involved with infill developments inside the City of Ottawa. One development, known as Montmartre on the Market, is an intimate European-styled courtyard condominium in the heart of the Byward Market. The project is an adaptive reuse of a heritage building to create residential units; and commercial ground-level units. The project sits on a one-half acre lot. Another infill project, the School House Lofts, is located in Ottawa’s burgeoning Arts District. The company is building loft units in the former Ecole du Sacre Coeur, which was designed in 1912 by renowned Ottawa architect Francis C. Sullivan. The company is also building new units on the site. The new units will be tied architecturally to the existing units.
Kardish says while projects like the School House Lofts and Montmartre on the Market are more difficult they offer the reward of saving historic buildings. Unfortunately, he says, Ottawa does not have a large inventory of older industrial buildings which can be redeveloped. That’s meant that developers have to “bid right” on the projects that are available. Kardish, who began his career as a planner for the City of Ottawa says “The city’s goal is the same as ours. To develop a heritage area and adapt a historic building to a new use.” When compared to green field sites, says Kardish, infill projects are far more difficult as, each project is very different and you are dealing with existing communities. “You have to bring all the stakeholders together, in planning something that is going to be acceptable to the community and the politicians and meet all the guidelines and hurdles, to make it work.” That can be difficult as the stakeholders have varying interests and in many cases, competing interests. “It’s a case of trying to find the balance that the majority of people can buy into. You have to continue to be sensitive to everyone’s issues and try to develop something that works for everyone.” CA M
E EW V N N TI CE
IN
S
BBP - Multifamily Buildings Incentive The City of Toronto enables buildings owners and property managers to maximize their energy efficiency goals through their Multifamily Buildings Program operated by the Better Buildings Partnership. Originally part of the Existing Buildings program, the Multifamily Buildings component was further developed mid- 2008 to specifically address the needs of the sector through enhanced incentives. Current Incentives for Multifamily Buildings: The Multifamily Buildings Program offers multi-unit residential buildings and condominiums in the private and social housing sector attractive financial incentives for any projects taken on since July 2006: $400 per kW of peak demand $0.05 kWh * Incentive payments are limited to 40% of total eligible costs.
Enhanced Incentives for 2009: Financial Incentives Prescriptive Measures: calculated on a per measure basis. Custom Measures: $0.07 per kWh *
Incentive payments are limited to 50% of total Eligible Costs.
Resident Education Incentive $0.07 kWh based on 10 % of total electricity consumption reduction Subsidies for Energy Audit Incentives $35 per unit for Custom Projects
About the Better Buildings Partnership The Better Buildings Partnership is an innovative partnership that promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy in making buildings better through building renewal and construction in multi-residential and industrial, commercial, and institutional buildings.
For more information on multi-family incentives, please contact: Natalie D. Maniates, Program Manager, Phone: (416) 397-9217 Email: nmaniat@toronto.ca www.toronto.ca/bbp
propertymaintenance
Single-Speed Elevators Time to Retire By Dave Balmer
Current codes require that elevators stop no more than one-half inch above or below the floor level. It can be difficult for older single-speed elevators to meet that requirement. Up until the early eighties, arguably the most common elevator installed into the low-rise residential buildings of the time continued to be the traction or cable-drive single-speed passenger elevator. This elevator was, at that time and still is, a slow-speed, low-capacity passenger conveyance intended to service buildings in the two to eight floor range. At times these non-compulsory limits were exceeded by builders and developers who were more interested in saving money than in providing proper â&#x20AC;&#x153;elevatoringâ&#x20AC;? to a building and its tenants. As the eighties flowed into the nineties, population growth created the need for buildings to increase in height and numbers of floors. That called for increased elevator capacity and speed. It became impossible to continue to install the old technology that these slow-speed elevators represented; with their erratic and inconsistent levelling at floors. Concurrently with this growth, awareness of the needs of the disabled created changes to the building and elevator codes. One of the major changes to the codes consisted of rules referencing accurate elevator car and landing alignment and levelling. The current elevator code requires that elevators, when arriving at a floor, must stop accurately and consistently within a finite limit of only one-half inch 38 Canadian Apartment Magazine
(13mm) above or below the floor level! This is reflected in the following excerpt from the current edition of the North American Harmonized Elevator code the CSA B44/ASME A17.1 and the National Building Code of Canada. Elevators that stop out of level are a tripping hazard to everyone and are especially hazardous to the elderly. Wheelchair users and other mobility impaired persons may find it extremely difficult to negotiate the level difference caused by the misalignment. Thus your building is NOT accessible under the Building Code and Barrier Free Access requirements. Note that it is important for the reader to understand that the catalyst for this code change originated with the singlespeed elevator. And the reason? The sequence of operation to stop a single-speed elevator is as follows: While it is travelling at full speed toward a selected floor, it will receive a signal from the controller
E-3 Operation and Levelling Elevator operation shall be automatic. Each car shall be equipped with a self-levelling feature that will automatically bring and maintain the car at floor landing within a tolerance of 13mm (0.5 in.) under rated loading to zero loading conditions.
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propertymaintenance to stop when it approaches to within a set distance of the floor. The machine brake will be released and the two brake shoes will close onto the brake drum which is rotating at the full speed necessary to operate the car at its rated speed— typically about 100 feet per minute (fpm). The brake shoes will clamp onto the brake drum and quickly bring the car to a full stop. This all sounds quite easy and simple, however, there are problems! It is extremely difficult to consistently bring the car to a stop in the same spot where it is level with the floor! There are several reasons for this inconsistency. These are listed below in no particular order of precedence. Is the car empty, partially loaded or fully loaded? Varying load conditions affect the ability of the brake to stop consistently level. The brake tension springs have been set for a “typical” loading condition and then set to stop the car level with the floor. A heavier load will cause the car to slide a little further (travel past the floor) when it stops and a lighter load will cause the car to stop a little sooner (stop prior to floor level). The counterweight is always about 40% to 45% heavier than the empty car, thus an empty car will have a different stopping condition than a fully loaded car. What is the weather? Is it humid, cold, warm or rainy? All of these weather conditions can affect the ability of the brake to stop the car consistently level. The brake drum can easily become wet in a warm, moist atmosphere and this acts as a lubricant on the brake shoes and the linings. The brake can easily slide a little causing the car to stop out of level until the moisture is “burnt off”. (Have you ever driven your car through a deep puddle and then tried to stop quickly. If you have then you will understand!) What is the condition of the brake linings? They can also absorb moisture and swell or alternatively they can become brittle and dry. This can occur in a changing atmosphere where the machine room is not air conditioned and humidity levels controlled. Each condition affects the ability of the car to stop consistently level. What is the age of the elevator? What is the condition of the brake drum and the brake shoes? They all are factors in the ability of the elevator to stop consistently at or near the floor level. What level of elevator maintenance have you purchased from your maintenance company? A simple Inspect, Oil and Grease (IOG) contract will not permit the maintenance company to automatically keep your brakes in top condition and do their best to keep the elevator stopping reasonably level. NOTE: Some elevator maintenance companies will say that the best they can sometimes guarantee floor levels is within two inches (50mm) above or below the floor—and even that may be qualified! In order to get a better understanding of the problems faced by your elevator maintenance company I offer the following analogy. Consider that you are driving down a dry street on a bright sunny day in your car, which you have done many times, and approach a stop sign. From experience you know that if you press your brakes “just so” at a “certain” distance from the stop sign you will stop consistently and comfortably 40 Canadian Apartment Magazine
at the intersection. However, let’s suppose it is snowing. If you press your brakes “just so” as you are used to doing and at that “same certain” distance are you going to stop in the same spot as consistently as on the bright sunny day? I think not! It will be necessary to adjust your speed, press or pump your brakes slightly to bring the car down to a lower speed so your brakes can stop the car without sliding through the intersection. If you have comfortably and safely stopped your car on a snowy day it is because you have created some human interaction between you and your brakes. You have slowed down the car a further distance from the intersection than when it is dry and pumped or lightly pressed the brakes to bring you safely to a stop at the intersection. Very nice! Except that your single-speed elevator cannot do the same! Whether the weather is moist or dry, the load heavy or light, the brake conditions good or bad, the brakes will always be applied with the same force and speed! If you did the same in your car under varying load and weather condition you know you would slide right through the intersection, or stop ten feet short! Because of these problems, many innovations have been tried with control systems, braking and motor types. The modern elevator today does not even use the brakes to stop the car as we did in the past and yet the control systems will consistently stop the elevator, under almost any loading condition, absolutely level at the floor with hardly a variation. One-eight inch (3mm) is easily achievable and some consultants would not even accept that variation! Without getting too technical, let’s just say that modern elevator control designs take complete control of the movement and speed of the elevator. Under varying load conditions the “brains” of the elevator (micro-processor) will electronically monitor and control the motor rotation to ensure that as the elevator approaches the floor level it will initiate slow down and accurately and consistently level the car and align it to the landing. It will then momentarily stop the car exactly at the floor level while the brake is still open! At the moment that the car stops, it is the “brain’s” electrical control of the motor that is holding it at the floor, not the brake! The brake will only actuate once the car is stopped and level! Thus the brake is only used as a holding device to maintain the car level with the floor, it really does not stop it! The result is absolute accuracy of car and landing alignment 100% of the time, if properly adjusted initially! There is minimal wear on the linings and the original brake linings will last many years. To avoid costly lawsuits caused by the tripping of tenants and other users due to car and landing misalignment AND to add considerable value to your building, retire your old single-speed elevator machine and controls and upgrade to a modern variable-voltage variable-frequency (VVVF) drive system. Your tenants will thank you! CA M Dave Balmer is an employee of Quality Allied Elevator, an elevator maintenance, installation and modernization company, located in Markham Ontario. He can be reached at 905-305-0195, or www.qualityalliedelevator.ca.
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November 2008 41 11/27/08 11:05:39 AM
energymanagement
Retrofit Beneficiaries Make the Case for Investment Monitoring is a Building Block for Energy Management By Barbara Carss
The timing isn’t necessarily optimal to find financing for energy retrofits or to convince cautious rental housing landlords to take the plunge, but proponents of the City of Toronto’s ambitious campaign to upgrade aging apartment towers remain optimistic. Furthermore, they argue that it makes business sense regardless of what’s happening in the economy. “Energy retrofit is an investment and people have to stop thinking about it as an expense,” Andrew Pride, Vice President of Minto Green Team, told attendees at a recent seminar jointly sponsored by the Greater Toronto Apartment Association (GTAA) and Toronto Atmospheric Fund. Pride, Adam Krehme, a Principal with O’Shanter Development, and Philip Jeung, the energy manager with Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), offered insight on financing retrofits and, perhaps even more importantly, on ensuring that energy and water efficiency investments deliver the promised results. In particular, they stressed the importance of monitoring and measuring energy and water consumption – initially to understand what needs to be done and, later, to verify that savings are occurring. “Utility meter monitoring is a basic building block,” Krehme advised. “If one is monitoring the utility usage on an hourly basis, one can establish and identify operating problems very quickly and act upon them.” He outlined his company’s monitoring approach, in which data loggers are hardwired into meters and the information is sent to a Web server where it can be downloaded and reviewed by staff. This allows for centralized monitoring of O’Shanter’s portfolio of approximately 2,400 apartment units. DATA TELLS THE STORY “In our organization, there are three of us who watch this database on a regular basis,” Krehme reported. “A common pitfall is that the building operator fails to review the data. I have seen, on more than one occasion, good systems set 42 Canadian Apartment Magazine
up and then abandoned because people hadn’t bought into it and weren’t using it. The data allows analysts to compare energy use between buildings in the portfolio, and reveals energy performance within each building by separating out data for various building systems. Irregular or unaccountable spikes in consumption can be highlighted and investigated. For example, data quickly helped to identify an issue with electrical consumption for the heated parking ramp at one O’Shanter building. “Had the problem gone undetected it would have cost about $14,000 per year in additional costs,” Krehme said. Pride shared a similar anecdote about a toilet retrofit within Minto’s portfolio that initially did not deliver the promised water savings. Monitoring showed high levels of water use within the building during overnight hours when few tenants were likely to be using water. This helped to discover a flaw in the low-flush toilet mechanism and gave the company the ammunition it needed to push the contractor to correct the problem. “Measure your performance,” he stressed. “It’s really good to get that third-party verification”. Starting at an even more basic level, however, he urged property managers to take the time to understand where energy is consumed within their buildings and to begin, quite simply, with a thorough inspection of all areas. “I challenge each of you to walk through your boiler room and walk through your mechanical room and all the scary rooms that you don’t really want to look in,” he quipped. He also reminded property managers to bring building operators into the process – making sure that they are informed about retrofits and the benefits they should see from both a performance enhancement and labour saving perspective. “Once operators get on-line with energy efficiency goals they start coming up with great ideas,” Pride said.
energymanagement LEVERAGING PROJECTED SAVINGS Working within a publicly owned portfolio, Philip Jeung offered some differing insight on the decision making and implementation process for energy efficiency upgrades, but his challenges in dealing with aging, inefficient stock are very similar to those of any private sector manager – except perhaps on a larger scale than most since the TCHC manages 60,000 units and is the second largest social housing provider in North America. “We spend over $100 million a year for water, gas and electricity,” he told seminar attendees. TCHC provides a notable illustration of how anticipated energy savings can fit into an economic formula. Financing for a $100-million energy efficiency initiative, now in progress across the portfolio, was secured based on the projected energy savings. Similarly, the promise of dramatic operating savings is a key component of the business case for the Regent Park redevelopment – a multi-year phased project to demolish existing social housing with longstanding deferred maintenance issues and ultimately replace it with a new mixed-use neighbourhood including subsidized rental, market rental and ownership housing. Nevertheless, that can be a challenging case for property managers to argue. In a follow-up discussion among panelists and attendees, several third-party managers spoke of landlords’ reluctance to make major new investments when they perceive that existing building systems and infrastructure are working well. “You’re still looking at half-amillion dollars up front. You can do all the calculations about the paybacks – at the end of the day someone has to write a cheque,” one attendee observed. “We’re talking about older clientele. They have had a way of doing business for 30 to 40 years that has worked well and has made them a lot of money.”
Krehme suggested that utility meter monitoring could provide evidence to support the property managers’ argument, perhaps by showing owners how their unattended buildings compare to buildings of similar size and vintage where energy efficiency upgrades have been made. Other economic factors might also be convincing.
“I can’t believe that with the combination of rising energy costs and aging equipment that the cash flow has remained constant in these buildings,” Krehme said. “I would think the cash flow would be shrinking.” CAM The preceding article is reprinted from Canadian Property Management, November 2008.
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businessoperations
Rental Housing Providers Embrace Practice Standards Self-Regulation Augments Customer Service By Barbara Carss
In an industry where bad landlords consistently gain notoriety and good landlords seldom make headlines, the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) has launched an effort to distinguish and brand professionally managed buildings. Mandatory standards of practice, training requirements, and third party audits and verification are the basis of FRPO’s firstof-its-kind certification program, which was introduced in Toronto in late June. Since then, major and mid-sized to small companies that collectively own and/or manage more than 65,000 units have enrolled, and administrators expect that number to rise to 100,000 suites by June 2009 as the Certified Rental Building Program is officially rolled out in other cities around the province such as London, Ottawa and Hamilton. To achieve certification, participants must prove they comply with stipulated management practices in five categories: legislation requirements, resident management, human resources, building operations, and finance. This is confirmed through an audit conducted by the independent firm, J.D. Power and Associates, and must be re-audited and reconfirmed on a three-year cycle. Building managers and operators within each participating building are also required to complete an eight-hour training course focusing on the program’s standards of practice. “The program was designed with high-rise multi-residential buildings in mind, but it can also be scaled down and made to work for low-rise buildings. I think it’s highly beneficial for buildings of around 30 suites,” observes Ted Whitehead, FRPO’s Director of Certification. “The buildings 44 Canadian Apartment Magazine
in this program also have a range of rents from upscale to low-income.” CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT The standards of practice cover a wide range of responsibilities from landlords’ obligation to understand and comply with federal, provincial and municipal regulations that protect their residents’ and employees’ health, safety, privacy and human rights to customer service, proactive planning and preventive maintenance, record keeping and standardized accounting procedures. As part of the quality assurance and continuous improvement philosophy, program designers are committed to reviewing and re-evaluating the standards and adding new ones when necessary. Qualifying buildings are entitled to display the Certified Rental Building Program’s logo on-site and in marketing materials. “There has to be a certain critical mass of participation before it makes an impact, but within 18 months, I think we should have positive brand recognition with Ontario rental housing consumers,” Whitehead predicts. Early adopters see potential to tap into a new marketing cachet, but also commend the certification process for providing insight into their own operations. Some of the largest players in the multi-residential rental sector have been among the first to sign on, including GWL Realty Advisors, Minto Developments, Greenwin Property Management, Park Properties and Timbercreek Asset Management. The Region of Peel, is the first public sector housing provider to enroll.
MONITORING & QUALITY CONTROL “One of the biggest benefits is J.D. Power, which has such credibility in the
marketplace with consumers, coming in and verifying that we do meet all these standards. It really gives us instant credibility,” says Jeff Hutchison, COO and Vice President, Asset Management, with Timbercreek Asset Management, which recently attained certification for eight buildings in London comprising about 1,000 units. The independent audit and verification component is also what initially caught the attention of administrators in Peel Region. All municipal governments in Ontario must report annual results relating to their key service delivery responsibilities to the Municipal Performance Measurement Program (MPMP) and several large municipalities, including Peel Region, voluntarily participate in the Ontario Municipal CAOs’ Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI), but non-profit housing operations are generally left out of the assessments. “None of the measurements in the municipal world – MPMP or OMBI – get at residential property management so we were quite interested in the possibility of third-party review,” says Keith Ward, Peel’s Commissioner of Human Services and the General Manager of Peel Living. Ward also foresees potential quality assurance and cost saving benefits from a consumer’s perspective since Peel Region administers about 2,300 rent supplements that assist tenants with low incomes to obtain private rental housing. “It is our staff who go out and negotiate with landlords for contracts,” he explains. “From a practical administrative perspective, one of the things we have to do when we are bringing on new landlords is go in and inspect the property. In future, we
businessoperations should be able to simplify that a lot if they’ve got the FRPO seal of approval.” Alternatively, he sees it as a useful self-regulatory mechanism for private landlords already cleared to participate in the rent supplement program. “We have 70 landlords in the rent supplement program now and sometimes there are problems with those landlords so it will be helpful to be able to point them to a program where they can get some direction,” Ward adds.
the London portfolio because it’s the portfolio we’ve held the longest and it’s the most established,” Hutchison says. Participants pay $2.35 per suite to enroll in the Certified Rental Building Program. Audits cost an additional $975 for an individual building or $500 per building when companies have more than one building audited – equating to $325 or $166 for each
year of the three-year audit cycle. The program also includes random audits at any time, but these will be conducted at FRPO’s expense. CA M For more information about the Certified Rental Building Program, go to www. CRBprogram.org. This article is reprinted from Canadian Property Management, October 2008.
COSTS & PAYBACKS Program designers have placed particular emphasis on reaching frontline staff. Eight centrally located training sessions were scheduled for October and November, and FRPO trainers will also conduct in-house sessions for individual companies if they have enough candidates to warrant it. The training program costs $145 per person – an investment that Hutchison suggests is recouped in improved employee productivity and commitment. “Our staff wants to participate in the industry. These are their homes and they take them very seriously. They all want to see improvements – both capital and operating improvements,” he says. “I think it demonstrates to our staff, as well, that there’s a whole set of standards for how we deal with people, and it’s going to help us when we are recruiting our staff.” Thus far, rental agents report interest and positive response from prospective renters at the buildings now qualified to display the Certified Rental Building Program trademark. “There is an indication that it has really helped them in their decision to rent at that particular site,” Whitehead says. “It certainly is going to be incorporated into our marketing,” Hutchison concurs. In total, Timbercreek has about 6,000 units in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, and the company plans to certify more of its Ontario-based holdings in the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa and Windsor. “We started with November 2008 45
propertymaintenance
Questions to ask before hiring a plumber Look for a full-service provider
By Tom Sullivan
On the surface, hiring a plumber doesn’t seem all that difficult. After all, there are dozens of them in the phone book. How hard could it be? But you may want to put some extra thought into the task at hand if your goal is to establish a long-term working relationship with a plumbing service provider for your business. Above all else, your plumber should be someone you can trust. There are several things you should consider before hiring a plumber. First, identify which services your property is likely to need then locate a service provider that can handle all of the work—both minor and major jobs. A full-service plumber is a plus, especially during an emergency. Just about any plumber can fix a toilet or unclog a sink drain but some offer so much more. Your property may require a wide range of plumbing services, which need additional know-how and heavy equipment beyond what some plumbers offer. Ask if the company can do back-flow certifications. Do they offer line location service? Locating underground pipes or a line encased in a concrete floor requires special equipment. When your day or week is disrupted because of a plumbing emergency, residents are complaining, your property’s reputation is tarnished and you’re the one taking the heat. The last thing you need is to be waiting on your plumber’s subcontractor who is nowhere to be found. If your plumber isn’t a full service plumber and relies on subcontractors to perform certain services, maybe you need to hire a new plumber. For instance, at one time or another, most properties require drain cleaning, water-jetting service, video line inspection service and all sorts of general plumbing services. Ideally, you’d like to hire a single company to provide all of these services at all of your locations. When choosing a plumbing provider, ask for references that are specific to your industry. Call the reference contacts and 46 Canadian Apartment Magazine
propertymaintenance ask about quality of work, response time, 24/7 availability and overall professionalism. Also ask if the plumber offers a guarantee. No company gets it right 100 per cent of the time but you can really judge a service provider by the way they respond when something goes wrong and they’re asked to stand behind their work. This brings to mind another area of consideration: The worst case scenario. What happens when a plumber makes a catastrophic mistake? Does his company carry enough liability insurance to cover the damage to your property? This is not a good lesson to learn the hard way. You’ll also want to avoid problems with local and provincial authorities by making sure your plumber holds all appropriate licenses and obtains all necessary permits. You may also want to check the company’s safety record. Many large companies are doing all they can to keep liability insurance costs down and that means they won’t allow service providers on their property without assurance that they comply with legislated workplace safety regulations. Asking for records concerning the number of accidents the company had per man-hour is an increasingly common request. Ease of use should be another factor in your decision. Is the plumbing company easily accessible? Do you have a reliable contact person who will oversee your account and help resolve any issues that may arise? Does that contact person have a back up in case he’s unavailable? Is there a phone number that is answered every day at all hours? Are they willing to respond to emergencies day or night? Can you schedule service and preventive maintenance when it’s convenient for you? Do they provide free, up-front estimates? Are you getting a fair price for the services offered? One way to control costs is to ask up front if the plumber will allow you to set up a “not to exceed” amount on your service request. This way, you can cap the amount that can be charged for a plumbing job without special authorization. You have a right not to be surprised by what was supposed
to be a simple repair but somehow turned into an invoice for thousands of dollars. A reputable plumbing company will show flexibility toward this kind of arrangement. Good plumbers can be found working in every city. Some are suited for basic residential plumbing, others are specialists and still others are staffed to do CanAptMag ad.cra 11/24/08 5:34 it all. Be sure to evaluate your company’s
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marketing multifacts BOMA Canada Unveils Green Certification Program The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada has unveiled its newly integrated green building certification program, BOMA BESt. At a presentation during BOMEX® 2008, in October, 12 buildings from across Canada were recognized for their commitment to operating in an ecologically responsible manner. The past top scoring Go Green Plus building in each province was recognized with the first BOMA BESt certificate. BOMA BESt combines BOMA’s Go Green and Go Green Plus initiatives. It includes four possible levels of certification, each of which requires full compliance with BOMA’s Best Practices. BOMA’s Best Practices address areas of significant environmental concern, including: energy and water management; emissions and effluents; waste reduction; the indoor environment; and environmental management systems. “BOMA Canada is proud to honour the inaugural BOMA BESt recipients for their commitment to green building and environmental standards,” said Diana Osler-Zortea, BOMA Canada President. “They deserve a round of applause for leading the way.” BOMA Canada hopes that the program’s enhanced accessibility and simplified application procedure will better serve the commercial building industry, facilitating performance improvement and helping building owners and managers to reduce their carbon footprint. “BOMA BESt is a quality certification program. It provides a cost-effective way to make buildings more environmentally
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To be eligible, a building must meet the minimum requirements as set out in BOMA’s Best Practices. Buildings that go beyond the minimum requirements are certified at a higher level. All buildings are verified by third-party assessor. The program currently focuses on commercial office buildings, but new assessment criteria are being developed for shopping centres, industrial and retail strip developments and multi-unit residential properties. The first recipients of their BOMA BESt certificates are: • The Manulife Building at 736 Sixth Avenue in Calgary, Alberta • Commerce Place at 10155 102 Street in Edmonton, Alberta • Bentall 5 at 550 Burrard Street in Vancouver, British Columbia • The Brandon Federal Building at 1039 Princess Street in Brandon, Manitoba • The Customs Building at 189 Prince William Street in Saint John, New Brunswick • The John Cabot Building at 10 Barters Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland • The Manulife Financial Business Centre at 2723 Joseph Howe Drive in Halifax, Nova Scotia • The Enterprise Building at 427 Laurier Avenue West in Ottawa, Ontario • Garden City Tower at 301 St. Paul Street in St. Catharines, Ontario • The Daniel J. MacDonald Building at 161 Grafton Street in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island • The Centre CDP Capital at 1000 Place Jean-Paul-Riopel in Montreal, Quebec • The Regina Alvin Hamilton Building at 1783 Hamilton Street in Regina, Saskatchewan Details on all 12 BOMA BESt buildings are available at: www. bomabest.com/news.html. Details of the BOMA BESt program are available at: www.bomabest.com. The Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada represents the Canadian commercial real estate industry. It has over 2,500 members in regional associations across Canada.
Calgary Dennis Aitken or Doug Eveneshen Phone: 403-237-8975 Fax: 403-266-5002 Email: calgary@peoplestrust.com
Hamilton Considers Licensing Landlords
Toronto Michael Lombard Phone: 416-368-3266 Fax: 416-368-3328 Email: toronto@peoplestrust.com ™
www.peoplestrust.com 48 Canadian Apartment Magazine
friendly and cut operating costs,” said Osler-Zortea. The program is viewed as a learning tool, that allows participants to evaluate recommendations and best practices that can be implemented to improve performance.
The City of Hamilton is looking at licensing landlords as a way of ensuring minimum standards and protecting the health, safety and general welfare of tenants. City staff made the suggestion in October along with a warning that it could also raise rents and scare away landlords. Tenant advocate Tom Cooper of McQuesten Legal and Community Services welcomed the idea, saying a licensing bylaw would help address the power imbalance between tenants and owners of rental housing. “Licensing of buildings would
marketing multifacts allow the many good landlords in Hamilton to compete on a level playing field.” Arun Pathak of the Hamilton and District Apartment Association disagreed saying: “It is generally a bad idea. It is going to put up rents. There are mechanisms now for dealing with problems, and there’s no real reason to regulate properties where there are no complaints.” A report to city council calls for a public consultation process on regulating rental housing, including a licensing bylaw. Among other things, it recommends council direct municipal law enforcement staff to: • Investigate and report by February on initiatives in other cities, including Oshawa, which licenses rental housing around its university, and London, which allows no more than five bedrooms in a house. Both measures are aimed primarily at student housing. • Work with a community liaison committee and report by the end of June on a strategy for regulating residential rental housing. The focus would be on neighbourhoods around McMaster University and Mohawk College’s Fennell and Stoney Creek campuses. The report notes that the Municipal Act amendments give cities power to license rental accommodation by dwelling type, geographic area and/or owner occupation, but not by who lives there, such as students. It says landlords would benefit from licensing as it would document the condition of rental units, provide guidance from city staff on standards, and ensure a level playing field. It says tenants would be assured a certain standard of housing and be warned of unlicensed units that might not meet standards.
The report states that licensing would protect rental housing stock; help maintain stable neighbourhoods; provide a registry of rental units; provide a means to deal with absentee landlords; and might help city inspectors gain access to rental units as a condition of obtaining or renewing a license. On the other hand, the city would have to charge a fee, possibly contributing to rent increases; some landlords might take units off the market rather than repair them; and others might be unwilling to enter the rental market. Some landlords might operate illegally or even abandon rundown properties.
CFAA appoints Officers At its Annual General Meeting held in Saint John, the Board of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations appointed its officers for the upcoming year. Barry Remai from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is the new Secretary/Treasurer of the group. Continuing officers are: Chair: Avrom Charach, Winnipeg, Manitoba Chair of the Membership and Finance Committee: Clarence Rusnell, Edmonton, Alberta Chair of the Government Relations Committee: Vince Brescia, Toronto, Ontario President: John Dickie, Ottawa, Ontario.
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regulations
Toronto Announces Plan to Increase Apartment Building Inspections Toronto’s Municipal Licensing and Standards Committee, which recently turned down a proposal to license landlords in the city, voted in November to create a team of city inspectors that will target multi-residential buildings in need of repair. Starting on December 1, a special team of city inspectors will audit 176 buildings or 3 per cent of all apartments in Toronto. The inspections will take place over the next year. In the past, inspectors did only 14 audits a year. “We want to make sure buildings are more liveable for tenants,” Jim Hart, executive director of the city’s municipal licensing and standards division, told the committee. With a mobile unit and a team of 15 officials, the city would examine four buildings per ward to see whether the buildings are up to snuff. The inspectors will concentrate on common areas in buildings; parking garages; balconies; electrical, water and heating systems; and exteriors. Its targets could include substandard community housing owned by the city. Separate teams will address tenant concerns about specific units. Under the plan there will be two inspections of a building where work orders can be issued. If fixes aren’t made and a third visit is required, a $60-per-hour fee will apply until the building gets up to standard. If landlords refuse to do the work, the city will complete it and charge for the repairs through the tax bill. The new unit isn’t expected to increase costs because its members have been redeployed from other areas in the licensing division. The inspections won’t include registered condos, but will include the city’s troubled Toronto Community Housing
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buildings. The city will have to cover any fees charged to those buildings, said Councillor Howard Moscoe, chair of the licensing and standards committee. Meanwhile, city staff will explore long-term options to deal with problem landlords. They’ll make their recommendations in 2010, but licensing landlords won’t be one of them, Hart said. “If you have a landlord with 10 buildings, and one is problematic, the other nine in good shape, do you then take away the license from the landlord to operate all of the buildings? One building? And what is the consequence of taking away a license? Does that mean (tenants) are de-housed?” Hart said. Moscoe, who predicted last year that Toronto was destined to get landlord licensing, says after having an “opportunity to explore the issue,” he concluded licensing isn’t necessary to get fees from landlords. Another option being explored is an across-the-board feebased scheme where all landlords could be charged per unit or per building to keep Toronto’s stock up to par. Hart says that isn’t his preference, either. “My preference is to do it with the resources we have today.” But Moscoe cautioned that if the fee isn’t enough to move bad landlords to action, the city could “up the ante.” Toronto has 6,385 buildings of six or more units, 80 per cent of them more than 40 years old. About 600 are in bad shape, Hart said. The move to vastly boost inspections was welcomed by Brad Butt, of the Greater Toronto Apartment Association. “Zero in on selected buildings with a history of problems and allocate resources to that. We’ve been advocating for that for years,” said Butt, whose group opposes licensing. CAM
Aird and Berlis . . . . . . . . . . 19 . . . . . . 416.863.1500
Enbridge Gas . . . . . . . . . . . 39 . . . . . . 866.763.5427
Parksmart (Coinamatic) . . 13 . . . . . . . 800.561.1946
Bassi Construction . . . . . . 41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
First National . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . 416.593.1100
Peoples Trust . . . . . . . . . . 48 . . . . . . 416.304.2078
Cap Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 . . . . . . 705.250.0286
H &S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 . . . . . . 905.738.6003
Prime Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . 888.720.2020
CBRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC . . . . . . 416.362.2244
IMS Insurance . . . . . . . . . . 41 . . . . . . 905.271.2070
Quality Allied Elevators . . . 17 . . . . . . 905.305.0195
City of Toronto . . . . . . . . . . 37 . . . . . . 416.397.9217
IRC Building Science . . . . . 15 . . . . . . 905.607.7244
Rogers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 . . . . . . . 866.567.5778
CMHC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 . . . . . . . 902.426.4962
JL Richards . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 . . . . . . 613.728.3571
Roto Rooter . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 . . . . . . 800.438.7686
Coinamatic . . . . . . . . . . . . OBC . . . . . 800.561.1946
Maytag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . 800.662.3587
Stratacon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 . . . . . . . 905.856.4001
Cosmos Electrical . . . . . . . 45 . . . . . . 416.690.6206
MetCap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . 416.340.1593
TD Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC . . . . . . 877.299.9058
DST Consulting Eng . . . . . . 29 . . . . . . 613.748.1415
Merovitz & Potechin . . . . . . 33 . . . . . . . 613.563.7544
Viessman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 . . . . . . . 519.888.3388
Enbridge Electric . . . . . . . . 35 . . . . . . 866.763.5427
O’Reilly Broothers Ltd . . . . 31 . . . . . . 613.224.1677
Yardi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 . . . . . . 905.671.0315
50 Canadian Apartment Apartment Magazine Magazine 50 Canadian
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C A N A D A ’ S O N LY N A T I O N A L P U B L I C A T I O N F O R A P A R T M E N T O W N E R S A N D M A N A G E R S
MORE THAN JUST SMART – IT’S A BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Meeting the Needs of the Community Regional Group works to improve industry standards
Focused on developing, capturing, and controlling small cash payments, Coinamatic works hard to provide a superior resident experience that helps consumers spend more. We help our clients attract new residents. Best of all, the SmartCity architecture and our commitment to 600,000 cardholders ensure this card program will continue to grow, this year, and well into the future.
Comparing Website Providers - Maximizing your online presence
A Cheap Deal? No Such Thing
SIZE AS: 10.875” X .125
PM#40063056
Residents no longer have to buy or hoard the correct mix of change for their laundry, or hunt down the superintendent for parking passes. They can conveniently load their smart cards, self-issue visitor parking permits “24/7”, and reclaim their visitor parking lots from trespassers. They feel safer knowing there is no cash in the laundry room for burglars and feel safer knowing that access to the underground garage is better controlled.
We back those investments with world class commercial equipment and North America’s only award-winning, ISO 9001-certified, On Time, Every Time® service and payment reliability. Coinamatic reduces the cost and risk of building ownership while improving cash flow and property values.
BANNER-STYLE AD
Purpose-built by Coinamatic for the multi-housing industry, SmartCity ® provides a convenient, easy to use, one card solution for many of your residents’ most annoying problems.
At Coinamatic, we invest in innovative, purpose-built technologies for property owners and their residents.
Going Paperless - Online processing creates multiple advantages
IT’S CLOSER THAN YOU THINK...
Residents may not thank you for Technology, but they will reward you for Innovation that makes their lives safer, simpler and more convenient.
Multi-Unit Residential Mortgages
TD CANADA TRUST – MULTI-RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGES DIVISION
VOLUME 5 / NUMBER 5 / november 2008