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Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015 - Vol. 9 Issue 04
WWW.RENTALHOUSINGJOURNAL.COM PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING, INC
PUBLISHED 21 YEARS
17,000 PaPers Mailed Monthly to Puget sound aPartMent owners,
ProPerty Managers & Maintenance PersonnelPublished in
association with: Washington Apartment Association, IREM &
Washington Multifamily Housing Association
3. Tenant Screening Between a Rock and a Hard Place
4. Taking A Pulse Check On Your Attitude5. Accelerating Housing
Costs Have Renters Feeling the Squeeze
8. Multifamily Apartment Marketing: Are You Missing Out On New
Leases?
Property Management of Section 8 and Housing Choice Voucher
Programs
9. Ask The Secret Shopper
11. Legislative Session Update from Olympia
12. Ed-Con WmFHA 2015 Education Conference and Exposition
16. Behind the Leasing Desk18. Rental Boom is Boon to Seattle
Economy, Contributing $15.5B Locally in 2013
22. Student Loan Debt Affects Real Estate Investments in a Big
Way
...continued on page 17
Market Regains Momentum after Winter Slowdown
By Derek P. Leuzzi
The Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (RRIO) was
estab-lished by the Seattle City Council in fall
2012. The ordinance requires Seattle landlords to register their
rental unitsin cases where the property has five or more units the
deadline was March 31, 2015. Every unit that
is rented in Seattle must be regis-tered according to the
published schedule, with some notable excep-tions including
com-mercial lodging and adult family homes. See the website for
details on exceptions.1
Safety and MaintenanceThe ordinance is an effort to
improve the housing conditions within the city and ensure basic
safe-ty and maintenance. Every unit available for rent will be
inspected
over the next 10 years to ensure habitabil-ity. Inspections will
be con-ducted by a professional and the results will be kept on
file at the Depart-ment of Planning and Development.
Next StepsLandlords must ensure all hous-
ing units are up to code and well-maintained. The checklist used
by the inspector is available online and
Seattle Landlords: Deadline to Register Your Rentals is Here
continued on page 7
Seattle
The latest Apartment Insights nonrandom survey shows rents
increasing $28 per unit and vacancy dropping to 4.46%, according to
Tom Cain of Apartment Insights. The data are from his Seattle firms
1st quarter statistics and trends on 50+ unit properties in the
King/Snohomish market.
VACANCY: 4.46% The vacancy rate for our nonran-
dom survey of conventional, stabi-lized 50+ unit properties in
the King/Snohomish market is 4.46%. This is down slightly from last
quarter's 4.55%. It was 4.3% a year ago.
The overall vacancy rate which continued on page 6
By Mike Scott
The market vacancy rate is 3.5% in the Puget Sound region, down
from 3.8% last fall and close to the 3.6% level it was at a year
ago. The market rate excludes vacancies in new proper-ties in
lease-up. Counting those, the gross vacancy rate is 4.7%, the same
as it was last fall. Thats not bad, especially considering
developers opened more than 5,000 new units in the past six
months.
Our current five-year forecast, published in December, expected
the market rate to be 3.8% now and the gross rate to be 4.7%. The
fore-cast also expected vacancies to stay low through the summer
and then start to climb due to pressure from all the new
construction scheduled to open this year and beyond. We will update
our forecast in April.
These are some of the findings of our spring survey of 20-unit
and larger apartments in the Puget Sound region, published in
the
Apartment Rental Market Trends
for the Puget Sound Region
King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap, and Thurston
counties
Professional Publishing, IncPO Box 30327Portland, OR
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2 Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
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3Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
...continued on page 9
By Paul Prudente, Moco Inc,MyScreeningReport.com
The RockA failure to adequately screen
prospective residents can have a devastating impact on the
bottom line NOI & equity.
Further, there is a well-established duty to exercise care in
screening prospective residents. A failure to do so has resulted in
disaster followed by substantial civil penalties.
The Hard PlaceThere has never been a more hos-
tile legal and regulatory environ-ment when it comes to tenant
screen-ing.
First, there is a large and evolving body of law regulating
consumer reporting (including tenant screen-ing). There is, of
course, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) as amended by
the FACT Act. States often have their own consumer reporting
statutes which may or may not align neatly with the FCRA. Bottom
line these laws impose spe-cific requirements on landlords
(End-users as defined in the FCRA) as well as consumer reporting
(tenant screening) agencies. A failure to comply can result in
lawsuits or reg-ulatory action!
Then there is Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act (as amended)
which pro-hibits discrimination in housing based on race, religion,
national ori-
gin, gender, disability and family status. State law often
expands on the list of protected groups. Landlords know better than
to inten-tionally violate fair housing law. It is the emergence of
the disparate impact form of discrimination that poses the greatest
risk these days.
The disparate impact legal theory holds that a so-called
facially neu-tral business practice that has a disproportionate
impact on protect-ed individuals may form the basis of a Title VIII
(fair housing) claim. A good example might be the practice of
denying tenancy based on records of arrest alone (versus
convictions). Another is to deny tenancy for any and all criminal
convictions regard-less of the nature of the offense or
when it occurred. It is well estab-lished that such practices
have a disparate impact based on race & national origin.
The Good NewsThe good news is that it is possi-
ble to thoroughly vet prospective residents and to mitigate the
risk of legal or regulatory action. Heres how:
1. Limit consideration of criminal records to convictions
(versus records of arrests). Develop a list of serious offenses
that are truly pertinent to the tenancy. Consider only those where
the date of final disposition antedates the report less than seven
years.
2. Develop and consistently follow formal (and objective) rental
cri-teria. A critical step in develop-ing criteria is deciding what
is acceptable in terms of credit, rent-al history, criminal and
eviction history, length of employment and income within the
context of what is reportable.
3. Use a well-designed (and legally compliant) application to
rent.
Tenant Screening Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Landlords are truly caught between a rock and a hard place when
it comes to tenant screening.
-
4 Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
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Hard times that sap your ener-gy and leave you frustrated are an
inevitable part of life.Maybe you lost a job. Maybe your
finances took a turn for the worse. Maybe your personal life is
in disar-ray or a health problem emerged forcing a lifestyle
change.
Such setbacks can leave people feeling afraid, uncertain, angry
or unsatisfied, says Darlene Hunter, a renowned speaker and author
of Win-Ability, Navigating through Lifes Challenges with a Winning
Attitude, (www.darlenehunter.com).
Overcoming those emotions, she says, comes down to a persons
mindset and perspective.
Your attitude is a critical factor that can either hold you back
or help you move forward, Hunter says. Everyone needs to take the
time to do a pulse check on where they are in their thinking. Is it
positive or negative?
A positive attitude comes easily when life is rosy. The real
trick is persevering when things go awry so you can continue to
strive toward your goals.
The important thing to remem-ber is that we cannot give up
just
because things do not work out the way we want, Hunter says. We
must be persistent and press our way through to the end.
Hunter offers five tips that can help change your thinking,
which in turn will change your behavior and, ultimately, change
your results.
Be a planner. To live your dream, you need to know what you want
and have a plan for getting there. Planning your day, week and
month are critical ingredients to living your dream and purpose,
Hunter says. The how and why elements are important factors in
planning, as they guide you in the direction you want to go.
Be goal oriented. Once you set goals, the next step is to work
on completing them. Thats why its important to set goals you can
accomplish. Each time you can check a goal off your list, you are
one step closer to what you ulti-mately want to achieve. The sense
of accomplishment that comes from reaching even the smallest goals
will help you keep moving and striving to get your desired end,
Hunter says.
Be driven for results. When you are driven, Hunter says, you
have a compulsive and urgent desire to accomplish what you are
seeking, whether its a bonus, a promo-tion, additional knowledge in
a particular area or some other goal. The important factor is to
always know what you are seek-ing. Results-driven people focus on
meeting objectives and deliv-ering on the goals they set.
Have a winning attitude. You must be determined, dedicated and
devoted to succeed. You should never give up on your goals and
dreams simply because something goes wrong or you are not getting
where you hoped to be fast enough, Hunter says.
Be focused. When you are focused, you have a clear percep-tion
and understanding of what you want to accomplish and where you need
to go to get there. Think about long-distance run-ners who will run
a 26-mile mara-thon, Hunter says. They find their pace and then
they stay with it. They may get weary and tired, but they find
their zone and stay focused and concentrate on what
is needed to get to the end.Plenty of stories can be told
about people who failed in the begin-ning, but made it to the
top of their profession because they did not give up after being
told they werent good enough, Hunter says.
The ability to keep trying and pushing no matter how many
fail-ures or obstacles you hit is the power of perseverance and is
what Win-Ability is all about.
Darlene Hunter, (www.darlenehu-nter.com), is president of
Darlene
Hunter & Associates, LLC, a motiva-tional / inspirational
speaker, author,
life and business coach, and award-win-ning radio talk show
host. Her new
book, Win-Ability, Navigating through Lifes Challenges with
a
Winning Attitude, is her fourth on the theme of perseverance.
She is the host of The Darlene Hunter Show, winner of
the Fishbowl Radio Network 2013 Distance Show Of The Year Award.
Hunter has been a top performer in
management for more than 30 years.
Taking A Pulse Check On Your AttitudeA Change In Thinking Can
Lead To A Change In Behavior And Results, Says Sought-After
Speaker
-
5Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
Accelerating Housing Costs Have Renters Feeling the Squeeze
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2015 /P R N e w s w i r e / -- The gap
between rental costs and household income is widening to
unsustainable levels in many parts of the country, and the
situation could worsen unless new home construc-tion meaningfully
rises, according to new research by the National Association of
Realtors.
NAR reviewed data on income growth, housing costs and changes in
the share of renter and owner-occupied households over the past
five years in metropolitan statistical areas1 across the U.S. The
findings reveal that renters are being squeezed in many metro areas
throughout the country due to the disproportionate growth in rental
costs to incomes. New York, Seattle and San Jose, Calif.are among
the cities where combined rent growth is far exceeding wages.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief econo-mist, says the disparity between
rent and income growth has widened to unhealthy levels and is
making it harder for renters to become home-
owners. "In the past five years, a typical rent rose 15 percent
while the income of renters grew by only 11 percent," he said. "The
gap has wors-ened in many areas as rents continue to climb2 and the
accelerated pace of hiring has yet to give workers a meaningful
bump in pay."
According to Yun, the share of renter households has been
increas-ing and homeownership is falling. Those financially able to
buy a home in recent years were insulated from rising housing costs
since most take out 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with established
monthly payments. Furthermore, a typical homeowners' net worth
climbs because of upticks in home values and declining mort-gage
balances. The result has been an unequal distribution of wealth as
renters continue to feel the pinch of increasing housing costs
every year.
"Meanwhile, current renters seek-ing relief and looking to buy
are fac-ing the same dilemma: home prices3 are rising much faster
than their incomes," adds Yun. "With rents tak-ing up a larger
chunk of household incomes, it's difficult for first-time buyers
especially in high-cost areas
to save for an adequate downpay-ment."
NAR's research analyzed changes in the share of renters and
home-owners, mortgage payments, medi-an home prices, median
household income for renters and the rental costs in 70 metro
areas.
The top markets where renters have seen the highest increase in
rents since 2009 are New York (50.7 percent), Seattle (32.38
percent), San Jose, Calif., (25.6 percent), Denver (24.14 percent)
and St. Louis (22.26 percent).
Looking ahead, Yun says a way to relieve housing costs is to
increase the supply of new home construc-tion particularly to
entry-level buy-ers. Builders have been hesitant since the
recession to add supply because of rising construction costs,
limited access to credit from local lenders and concerns about the
re-emergence of younger buyers. Yun estimates housing starts need
to rise to 1.5 mil-lion, which is the historical average. Housing
starts have averaged about 766,000 per year over the past seven
years4.
"Many of the metro areas that
have experienced the highest rent increases are popular to
millennials because of their employment oppor-tunities," adds Yun.
"With a stronger economy and labor market, it's criti-cal to
increase housing starts for entry-level buyers or else many will
face affordability issues if their incomes aren't compensating for
the gains in home prices."
The National Association of Realtors, "The Voice for Real
Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1
million members involved in all aspects of the residential and
commercial real estate industries.
Regional median home prices are from a separate sampling that
includes rural areas and portions of some smaller metros that are
not included in this report; the regional percentage changes do not
necessar-ily parallel changes in the larger metro areas. The only
valid compari-sons for median prices are with the same period a
year earlier due to seasonality in buying patterns.
Quarter-to-quarter comparisons do not compensate for seasonal
chang-
...continued on page 21
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6 Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
Momentum after Winter Slowdown ...continued from front page
Publisher Will Johnson [email protected]
Designer Steve Olsen [email protected]
Advertising Sales
Will Johnson [email protected] Terry Hokenson
[email protected]
includes properties in lease-up increased from 6.44% to 6.59%.
King has a vacancy rate of 4.29%, down from 4.47%, and Snohomish
County bumped up to 5.11% from 4.83%.
For the second straight quarter, the University District has the
lowest vacancy rate, 2.36%. Ballard still has the highest vacancy
rate at 7.73%, but it saw the greatest improvement of any
submarket. The vacancy rate here was in the 10% range the two
previous quarters. Areas above 6% are Seattle's First Hill, East
Bellevue and South Everett.
RENTAL INCENTIVES: $15 (1.1%)
Rental incentives eased this quar-ter from $17 to $15 per month.
In the two-county area 26.2% of the proper-ties are offering
incentives, up from 24.8% last quarter.
ABSORPTION: +1,290 Units Overall, there were +1,290 units
absorbed this quarter, down from +1,658 units in the fourth
quarter. The greatest absorption occurred in Kent with over 150
units.
RENTS: $1,341 per Unit $1.60 per Square Foot
Rents climbed $28 to $1,341 per unit, a significant increase of
2.1%. However, this came on the heels of a $5 drop last
quarter.
At the top of the chart are the
downtowns of Seattle and Bellevue, where rents are $2,084 ($2.53
sf) and $1,961 ($2.22 sf) per month, respec-tively. These
submarkets were among those experiencing the strongest increases.
The other is Ballard. Rents here increased to $1,682 ($2.43 sf).
However, rents in Ballard had declined over the past two
quarters.
Renters can still find average rents for under $1,000 in SeaTac
and Des Moines.
NEW CONSTRUCTION There are currently 19,560 units
under construction, just above the 19,280 last quarter and
14,884 units a year ago. Forty-six percent of these are in the city
of Seattle, 24% on the Eastside, 22% in South King, and 8% in
Snohomish County. Seattle's share of new construction has been in
decline for some time. Even though at 46% Seattle is about double
that of the Eastside and South King, it is way down from its 73%
share two years ago.
Featured in the photo, the 386-unit Premiere on Pine in downtown
Seattle opened in the first quarter. It was developed by Holland
Partner Group and is managed by Holland Residential.
There are 12,392 units that have either opened or are under
construc-tion with a 2015 completion date. If they are all up and
running this year, it will break the record set in 1989.
We have preliminary information for the next two years. We are
track-ing 12,192 units that are either under way or scheduled for a
2016 comple-tion. For 2017 the number is 5,911 units.
The grand total for all of the units in various stages of the
pipeline is 53,790 units. This is up from 52,668 units last quarter
and 46,755 units a year ago.
OBSERVATIONS After a weak fourth quarter, first
quarter results show the market's continuing strength. The
vacancy rate declined to 4.66% and rents surged $28 per unit.
We were surprised and impressed with the performance of the
Ballard area. There have been more units built in this submarket
relative to the existing stock than in any other sub-market. Yet,
the vacancy rate dropped 275 basis points to 7.73% and rents
increased nearly 5% after two quar-ters of no growth. The overall
vacan-cy rate which includes properties in lease-up is still very
high at 17.69%.
There is one statistic that we always mention but doesn't get
much attention. It is worth highlighting this quarter. The overall
vacancy rate that includes properties in lease-up is currently
6.59%. While it is up from just 6.44% last quarter, this vacancy
rate hasn't been this high in four years.
2015 is potentially a record-break-ing year for new
construction. Last year's job growth was a hefty 3%. Projections
for this year are in the 2.5% range, which will still create plenty
of demand for apartments. Another plus for the rental market is the
scarcity of homes on the market for first-time home buyers. Also,
since home values increased 6% over the past year, they are less
afford-able.
Our outlook for 2015 is still the same as it was last quarter.
Income streams will slow a little but the mar-ket will be
solid.
Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington is a member of the
non-profit Central Puget Sound Real Estate Research Committee in
charge of providing apartment rent and vacancy data. Tom has been a
mem-ber of the Committee for over 25 years, and has been
researching apartment market trends in the Seattle area since 1978.
His company surveys the five counties in Central and South Puget
Sound.
This article highlights survey results that subscribers can
access from an
online database of all 50u+ properties. Apartment Insights also
provides cus-
tomized rent reports and market reports. HYPERLINK
"http://www.
apartmentinsightswa.com/"www.apart-mentinsightswa.com
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7Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
is similar to a move-in checklist. Owners will be notified when
a proper-ty has been selected for inspection. Owners may hire
either a City inspector or qualified private inspec-tor to conduct
inspections for a fee. The approximate inspection fee is $130 for
the property including the first unit, and $25 for each additional
unit on the same property.
One of the effects of the new ordi-nance is that illegal units
including unauthorized mother-in-law or accessory dwelling units
will be found and shut down. Landlords are strongly advised to
confirm their rental units are legal and properly zoned. A landlord
may be required to pay relocation assistance if a prop-erty is
determined to be illegal or uninhabitable.
Non-ComplianceThere is a $20 late fee and the
potential for significant monetary penalties for not registering
rental units in compliance with the new
ordinance. Tenants will now be able to research and find out if
a unit is habitable, legal, and registeredand report to the City if
the rental is not in compliance. Further, land-lords may be
prohibited from evicting ten-ants if the rental is unregistered
with the Department of Plan-ning and Development, regardless of
whether just cause exists.
Registration Fees and Dead-lines
The cost to register the first rental unit for five years is
$175.00. Each additional unit costs only $2.00 to register, with a
modest per unit dis-count after 10 units. Rental registra-tions
must be renewed every five years. Every rental must be regis-tered,
so if you add a unit, you must also add a registration.
Properties with five or more units should already be registered
as of March 31, 2015. For properties with 1-4 units, there is a
registration dead-line schedule based on ZIP codes available
online.
For tips or help on how to comply with this ordinance, contact
the Seattle Department of Planning and Development or your legal
resource.
1www.seattle.gov/dpd/codes-rules/codes/rentalregistration/
Checklist: http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/cs/groups/
pan/@pan/documents/web_information-al/s048492.pdf
Registration table by zip code for units 1-4:
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/cs/groups/pan/@pan/documents/web_
informational/s047748.pdf
For more information visit:
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/codesrules/
codes/rentalregistration/
Derek Leuzzi is an associate at the Loeffler Law Group PLLC. Mr.
Leuzzis
practice emphasizes landlord-tenant relations and real estate
litigation. He received his law degree from Gonzaga University
School of Law in 2012. He has published articles on topics
related
to environmental, construction and real estate law.
Register Your Rentals...continued from front page
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You can count on us to be there for you to go the extra mile and
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For insight into the screening industry, rental market, and your
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NEW PRODUCT!
By John Wilhoit Jr
Many people believe that property management is an old-line
business that moves slowly. If you believe that then your team is
already half a mile behind in a one mile race. In other words; you
are toast because the competition is using all the best prac-tices
at their disposal to make sure they close every new prospect that
steps on their property.
If your on-site team is under-trained consider revising your
pro-cedures to get quality marketing in motion in real-time. In
other words,
implement best practices with the end goal in mind; closing more
(lease) sales. Following are three areas to implement
improvements.
Leasing and Sales staff training. All of your marketing falls
down if once the prospect come to your door there is no one there
to greet them and begin the process of becoming a new resident.
Your team must know how to implement the leasing sales process and
engage accordingly. The process must be seamless. Gaps in training
lead to fewer closed leases.
Market surveillance (knowing competitive assets). Full time
prop-erty management businesses under-
stand that market dynamics change at a velocity much faster than
the casual observer believes. Utilizing current market information
means keeping continually in the loop on pricing and incentives
offered by competitors. Knowing, really know-ing, the attributes
and pricing of directly competitive assets is para-mount to
understanding your place within the market.
Absorption (unit counts). Being up-to-date with changes to unit
counts in your marketplace (and submarket) is imperative. With new
construction, absorption is an abso-lute number but there is more
to unit
counts. Assure that your team is aware of current and pending
chang-es to the competitive marketplace.
Gaining a new lease is a process. Preparedness is the initial
stanza of the process; prepared leasing staff, sales material,
office reception, ready units, grounds. These are all part of your
property presentation towards making the sale and gaining a new
resident.
Published courtesy of Multifamilyinsight.net
Multifamily Apartment Marketing: Are You Missing Out On New
Leases?
By Marc Courtenay
If youre looking for residents who have incentives to pay their
rent on time each month look no further. Those who qualify for
fed-erally sponsored housing assistance programs backed by the only
organi-zation that can legally print moneythe federal
governmentawaits you!
The oldest program has been
around nearly 80 years! Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937,
authorizes the payment of rental housing assis-tance to private
landlords on behalf of approximately 3.1 million low-income
households. It operates through several programs, the larg-est of
which, the Housing Choice Voucher program, pays a large por-tion of
the rents and utilities of about 2.1 million households. The US
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) manages the
Section 8 programs.
One property manager I inter-viewed who participates in the
Housing Choice Voucher program said she feels secure knowing the
government funds will be deposited in her clients bank account
every month. She explained the HUD-managed program was meant to pay
for a portion of the rents and utili-
ties of those in its care. But often, as she explained, payments
are greater than competitive rental prices.
A Real-Life Example of How Section 8 Renters Pay Off for
Landlords
Instead of renting a recently vacated house on the open market,
the property manager encouraged her landlord-client to offer it to
the local Section 8 housing authorities.
Property Management of Section 8 and Housing Choice Voucher
Programs
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9Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
Rock and a Hard Place ...continued from page 3The application
does two things for you. It collects the informa-tion you need to
begin the screen-ing process and it provides (the applicant with)
the disclosure and authorization wording required by state and
federal consumer reporting law.
4. Provide a copy of your criteria with the application so the
applicant knows up front whether they qualify or not. It is not
only the right thing to do. It saves time and money for you and
your applicant!
5. Use a reputable and legally com-pliant tenant screening
company lean on them for help with (FCRA) compliance, process and
forms. Consumer reporting law is complex, at times ambiguous and
often conflicted. Tenant screening companies live and breathe this
stuff on a daily basis. No sense reinventing the wheel!
6. Issue Written Notices of Adverse Action immediately upon
deni-al or conditional approval of an applicant. Make sure that
your tenant screening company responds quickly and respectfully
to requests for copies or disputes regarding the content (of
tenant screening reports).
So while it may be true that we find ourselves between a rock
and a hard place these days. It is also true that by following a
few best practices we can thoroughly screen prospec-tive residents
without running aground!
Paul Prudente is vice president and general manager of Moco,
Incorporated, a specialized consumer reporting agen-cy focused on
delivery of quality tenant
and pre-employment screening services for the rental housing
industry. He has been at the helm of Moco for nearly 12
years. He is principal architect of its pioneering
direct-to-consumer tenant
screening facility marketed under the MyScreeningReport.com
brand
developed in collaboration with the low income housing community
and
designed to address the needs of a grow-ing independent rental
owner market-
place.
The importance of teamwork can not be overstated or emphasized
enough. Yet sometimes boundaries are so clearly drawn regarding the
role or job description of each staff member, that those who desire
to go the extra mile are forced to remain at the starting line and
watch prospects and residents fall through the cracks.
I was recently asked the following
question which brings up the issue of maintenance and leasing
staffs getting involved with each others job duties:
Q: Is it appropriate for mainte-nance staff members to get
involved in the leasing process and how far should they go?
A: This is a very important sub-ject, and it brings up another
ques-
tion: Is it appropriate for leasing/office employees to get
involved in some aspects of maintenance and how far should they
go?
As property management compa-nies have to make difficult budget
decisions. Some budget cuts have involved a reduction in leasing
and maintenance personnel. The result is less office coverage and
slower response time to resident requests, as one or two team
members are trying
to do the jobs of three or four people. Providing some basic
training
to your leasing and maintenance personnel to create an overlap
in their job responsibilities will take some of the pressure off
your team members and provide better service to prospective
residents and existing residents.
If a leasing person is away from the office and a maintenance
staff
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...continued on page 21
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RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
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11Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE Executive Director Jim Wiard
President Kris Buker Vice President Brett Stevens Secretary Heidi
Daniel
Treasurer Becky Sanders Vice President of Suppliers Council Rob
Pendleton Immediate Past President Gail Duke18300 Cascade Ave. S.,
Suite 130Tukwila, WA 98188425 656-9077 425 656 9087
(fax)[email protected]
THANK YOU TO OUR GOLD SPONSORS!
Toni Blake TotallyToni.com
Traci Brown Body Language Trainer
Jen Piccotti Satisfacts Research
In order to continue our strong commitment to the multifamily
industry and represent our mem-bers through legislative advocacy,
the Washington Multi-Family Hous-ing Association continues to work
hard for you.
The Government Affairs team at WMFHA has been tracking
legisla-tive issues in Olympia the past three months. Through the
efforts of our lobbyists and volunteer members, we have testified
at several public hearings, either for or against pro-posed
legislation, to ensure our members needs and the industrys
interests are considered carefully by lawmakers.
In February, our association mem-bers and staff joined a
coalition of other state housing associations and interested
parties in our annual Day
on the Hill Lobby Day in Olympia. Over 75 advocates from our
industry met with our local legisla-tors to educate them on the
critical work we do to create vibrant com-munities through
providing safe, affordable, quality housing.
Every year, poor legislation is introduced that would create
hard-ships on multifamily owners, man-agers and residents alike,
and our goal is to explain to our public offi-cials the importance
of our industry to the local and state economy, and our perspective
on bills introduced that session.
Here is a summary of legisla-tive issues effective April 7,
2015:
Only one bill relating directly to landlord issues remains in
play in Olympia.
SB 5538: Procedures for Dealing with Deceased Tenants Property.
This bill creates procedures for deal-ing with the personal
property of a deceased tenant who is the only occupant of a rental
unit. The Senate bill passed by a vote of 47 0. The House Judiciary
Committee passed an amended version of the bill. We continue to
work with tenant advo-
cates to come up with language that all parties can accept.
WMFHA posi-tion: Support.
The Following Landlord Bills Are Dead For This Session: HB 1257:
Portable Tenant
Screening. This bill defined a comprehensive screening report.
If a landlord is presented with the opportunity to access such a
report on-line, the landlord must either accept this report or pay
for any additional report the landlord wants to use. The House bill
was amended to change the effective date to May 1, 2017 and passed
the full House. The bill was not given a hearing in the Senate.
WMFHA opposed the bill because of the complexities of the screening
process and the mandate this would have enacted.
SB 5221: Allows for Disposition of Tenants Property after
Eviction. The bill allowed a landlord to dispose of any tenant
property that has been removed from the unit during a physical
eviction after a 5-day waiting period. The bill passed the
Senate
by a vote of 47 0 but did not get reported out of the House
Committee. WMFHA supported this bill.
HB 1460 / SB 5376: Prevents Screening Companies from Disclosing
Eviction Lawsuits in Limited Circumstances: The Senate bill was
amended. It provided that screening companies would be prevented
from disclosing the existence of a filed eviction lawsuit that has
been sealed by a court order. There is no direction provided in the
bill to govern rules or procedures for sealing such court files.
The House bill is dead. WMFHA opposed because of the lack of
guidelines for sealing.
HB 2051 / SB 5377: Requiring 90-days Notice for Rent Increases
of 10% or More. Seattle already has an ordinance that requires
60-days notice for a rent increase of 10% or more in any 12-month
period. These bills would have authorized but not require a city to
adopt a law that could require 90-days notice for such a rent
increase. They would
Legislative Session Update from Olympia
continued on page 15
-
12 Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
Registration, Breakfast, Networking And Trade
Show: 8:00am 8:30am
Special Keynote Address
8:35am - 9:20am
Your Determination = Your Destination
Toni Blake
Passion, drive and a standard of excellence determine how far an
individual goes in life. Your level of success is a direct result
of your per-sonal determination. What is your finish line? What is
your job? When are you finished? Join Toni for an inspirational
journey of excellence and establish foundations for your new finish
line.
Class Session
One: 9:30am - 10:30am
Mastering Magical
PersuasionTraci Brown
Room 405:
Discover the secrets of how to strategically use your body
language to persuade & influence. Increase your bottom line
& get lots more of what you want.
Do you know how to instantly read your clients? Can you tailor
your body language and arguments
to fill their unconscious needs? This Talk Will Teach You
How!
Your clients are always communi-cating with you. Do you know
what theyre saying? You are always com-municating with your
clients. Do you know what message youre sending?
Its true. You are unconsciously communicating all the time in
any situation: Networking Sales Meetings Negotiations With Your
Kids or Spouse
Its your responsibility to hear what others are telling you and
then give them your message in the way they need to hear it. The
end result is a person thats open to whats being said and easily
influenced because deep unconscious needs are being met and
objections are eliminated or bypassed.
This program is fun and includes lots of exercises. Participants
will leave more flexible in their commu-nication: seeing the world
with new eyes and listening with new ears. These skills will assist
you in the office and in your personal life.
Youll learn: How to get people to like you
using only body language How to read body language Three
questions you can ask
anyone to instantly connect with them
Four Magic Words and Phrases to persuade anyoneAnd MUCH more
Jumping Over Renewal Objections in a Single
Bound!Jen Piccotti
Senior V.P of Education & Consulting, SatisFacts
Research
Room 406:
Raising rents at renewal can be challenging, especially in
todays market of higher than average rent increases. In today's
market, most residents expect that another year at your community
will include a rent increase, so if you are encountering major
objections it may be time to examine the issue more closely. Learn
the latest metrics on what drives these objections and a 6 STEP
PLAN to successfully negotiate a renewal discussion!
Tradeshow and Networking:
10:30am 11:00am
Class Session
Two: 11:00am - 12:00pm
Body Language ConfidentialTraci Brown
Room 405:
Reinvent the way you look at people and learn to interpret their
body language. Develop the skills to quickly respond to hidden cues
in any critical situation. In this fun, interactive and informative
talk, youll learn how to read body lan-guage and use specific
verbal lan-guage so that you can instantly cre-ate deeply connected
relationships: Accelerate your networking Interview powerfully
Increase sales Make anyone really comfortable
around you Elegantly persuade others.
Youll be able to recognize and appropriately respond to the
hidden messages others are always sending and ensure that youre
sending the right message. Youll be able to respond to once hidden
clues so you can get the hidden messages and close the sale at the
price you want.
While diving into current events and celebrity body language
playing Tracis new game show segment, Body Language Blitz, youll
compete against other audience members as you learn:
The real meaning behind a handshake
How to interpret body language and respond appropriately
How to strategically use others body language so theyre open to
you and your ideas
Closing In a Flash!...On the First Visit!!
Toni BlakeRoom 406:
The days of closing a lease on the prospects first visit may
seem like Supermans Kryptonite, but in this class youll learn how
to POWER UP and sign more leases at the initial visit.
The rental housing market is as competitive as its ever been.
Although were working harder for leases, if you have the right
people, the right training, and the right atti-tude, Toni will help
you develop a winning strategy, gain more confi-dence and know your
prospects wants and needs. Its all about get-ting that application
and deposit!
Tradeshow, Lunch and Networking:
12:00pm 1:00pm
Class Session Three:
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Crack the Code of Lies
Traci BrownRoom 405:
Detecting lies is crucial in busi-ness and life. This program
uses video from current events to demon-strate techniques. And to
apply the learning, well play Two Truths and a Lie. Detecting lies
is crucial in business and life.
Do you know if your clients really like your proposal? Do they
like the job you did? Are they telling you the
Ed-ConEd-Con
2015 Education Conferenceand Exposition
Washington Multi-Family Housing Association
SUPER POWERS..UNITE!!
This event is BYOC.....Bring Your Own
Cape!! Unleashing MARVELous Results!
ay 19, 2015MMYou Don't
Wanna Miss This!
11100 NE 6th St, Bellevue, WA 98004
Tuesday, May 19, 2015Meydenbauer Conference Center
Unleashing MARVELous Results! 2015 Education Conference and
Exposition
You Don't Wanna Miss This!
SUPER POWERS..UNITE!! This event is BYOC.....Bring Your Own
Cape!!
... continued on page 13
-
13Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
truth about their budget? Are they telling you all of their
needs? Are the people youre interviewing inflating their resume?
And most importantly, did your kids eat those chocolate donuts that
were on the counter or did the dog?
You Will Learn: How to instantly tell if someone
is lying Which lies are important How to elegantly uncover
the
truth
CUSTOMER SERVICE: Building Meaningful
MomentsToni Blake
Room 406:
LIFE is about building more than just apartments and amenities
its about building meaningfulmoments.
This seminar moves beyond com-pany focus, it lets people know
that great customer service is a personal
choice. It is not just what you do it is WHO YOU ARE. Toni will
help you to discover your innate ability for diplomacy,
negotiating, and dem-onstrating extreme confidence through personal
excellence. This seminar speaks to the heart of cus-tomer service
compassion, under-standing, and integrity. Toni will share
innovations, techniques, pro-cedures, powerful social trends and
give your entire team deeper more powerful tools for successful
rela-tionships.
Toni will inspire your team to find the heart within each
situation and communicate a sense of pride and superior service. In
challenging times like these, it is not what hap-pens to us, it is
what we do about it. Knowledge is power and experience is the
greatest teacher. Dont miss
this life-changing educational experience designed to take your
staff to the next level and
surpass the expectations of todays resident.
Tradeshow, Snack Treats And Networking:
2:00pm - 2:30pm
Afternoon Bonus
Session: 2:30pm - 4:30pm
Center Hall A:
Brainstorming Event!!Toni BlakeCenter Hall A:
Sponsored by our friends atBuy Rite Carpets
Led by our national speakers Toni Blake, Traci Brown and Jen
Piccotti, our Think Tank Team will guide you through several rounds
of collabora-tive idea generation for todays busi-ness
challenges.
If you have a problem - you will leave with several solutions!
This is not your average sit back and lis-ten workshop; this is a
roll up your sleeves, we are in this together B R A I N S T O R M I
N G EXTRAVAGANZA!!!
Event Time Speaker Class Room
Registration 8:35-9:20am Registration, Breakfast, Networking and
Trade Show
Special Keynote Address
8:35-9:20am Toni Blake Your Determination = Your Destination
Hall A
Session One
9:-10:30am Traci Brown Mastering Magical Persuasion
405
Jen Piccotti Jumping Over Renewal Objections In A Single
Bound!
406
Networking 10:30-11:00am Tradeshow and NetworkingSession Two
11:00-12:00pm Traci Brown Body Language
Confidential405
Toni Blake Closing In A Flash!...On The First Visit!!
406
Networking 12:00-1:00pm Tradeshow, Lunch And NetworkingSession
Three
1:00-2:00pm Traci Brown Crack The Code Of Lies
405
Toni Blake Customer Service: Building Meaningful Moments
406
Networking 2:0-2:30pm Tradeshow, Snack Treats And
NetworkingBonus Session
2:30-4:30pm Toni Blake Think Tank Brainstorming Event!!
Center Hall A
SUPER POWERS..UNITE!! 2015 Think Tank!
You won't want to miss our 3rd annual Think Tank
WMFHA's very own brainstorming extravaganza!
Afternoon Bonus Session: 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Center Hall A: Think Tank Brainstorming Event!!
Led by our national speakers Toni Blake, Traci Brown and Jen
Piccotti, our Think Tank Team will guide you through several rounds
of collaborative idea generation for todays business challenges. If
you have a problem - you will leave with several solutions! This is
not your average sit back and listen workshop; this is a roll up
your sleeves, we are in this together BRAINSTORMING
EXTRAVAGANZA!!
The 2015 Think Tank is Sponsored by our friends at:
GOT TO OUR WEBSITE TO SUBMIT A TOPIC FOR THE 2015 THINK
TANK.
Toni Blake - TotallyToni.com Trade Show Exhibitors
SUPER POWERS..UNITE!! 2015 Think Tank!
You won't want to miss our 3rd annual Think Tank
WMFHA's very own brainstorming extravaganza!
Afternoon Bonus Session: 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Center Hall A: Think Tank Brainstorming Event!!
Led by our national speakers Toni Blake, Traci Brown and Jen
Piccotti, our Think Tank Team will guide you through several rounds
of collaborative idea generation for todays business challenges. If
you have a problem - you will leave with several solutions! This is
not your average sit back and listen workshop; this is a roll up
your sleeves, we are in this together BRAINSTORMING
EXTRAVAGANZA!!
The 2015 Think Tank is Sponsored by our friends at:
GOT TO OUR WEBSITE TO SUBMIT A TOPIC FOR THE 2015 THINK
TANK.
Toni Blake - TotallyToni.com
PRICINGRegular Registration April 4-May 1Member $79Non-Member
$99Late Registration After May 1Member $89Non-Member $109
AC Moate
Affordable Housing Risk Pool Program
American Floors and Blinds
Apartment Advantage
Apartment Magazine
Buy Rite Carpet Wholesaler
Columbia Recovery Group
Condo Internet
Conservice
CORT
Executive Coatings & Contracting
Genesis Credit Management
HD Supply
Interstate Restoration
Minol, USA
National Credit Systems
One Call Now
One Way of Washington Carpet Cleaning
Pacific Pavement Protection
Palmer Insurance
Precision Concrete Cutting
PRECOR Commercial Fitness
Property Staffing Associates
Public Health Seattle & King County
Rainier Asphalt
realtor.com rentals
Red Rock Resurfacing
SatisFacts Research and Apartment Ratings
Wilmar Industries
Zillow
Speaker ProfileToni Blake has
long been recog-nized as a leader in multifamily m a n a g e m e
n t training. Her cut-ting-edge con-cepts will keep you in front of
the
market instead of always struggling to keep up. This doesnt mean
you have to jump on board with every new trend that comes along,
but it does mean your marketing strategy must relate to todays
consumer to be effective. Toni takes the guess-work out of it by
giv-ing you key market tools infused with solid fundamentals.
Toni is a popular international speaker, consultant, author and
come-dienne inspiring thousands of multi-family apartment industry
profession-als every year. With over 30 years of training
experience, her laugh while you learn approach has made Toni one of
the most sought-after experts in
her field. As a published author, Tonis ideas have been
published in dozens of trade magazines and blogs across the
country. In November 2008, Toni was awarded the Multifamily PRO
Industry Legend Award. She was selected by the National Apartment
Association as one of the industriess Marketing Gurus and is
recognized for her research and innovative con-cepts in customer
service, sales, mar-keting and social media. Toni was honored at
the very first Multifamily PRO Peoples Choice Awards win-ning
awards for Educational Excellence and Imagination and Innovation.
She currently serves as President of TotallyToni.com. Toni lives in
Northern Colorado with her husband.
An industry favorite for meetings, conferences, award dinners
and pri-vate consultations, you will always enjoy Toni Blake!
...continued on page 14
ed-con..continued from page 12
Trade Show Exhibitors :
AC Moate Affordable Housing Risk Pool Program American Floors
and Blinds Apartment Advantage Apartment Magazine Buy Rite Carpet
Wholesaler Columbia Recovery Group
Trade Show Exhibitors :
AC Moate Affordable Housing Risk Pool Program American Floors
and Blinds Apartment Advantage Apartment Magazine Buy Rite Carpet
Wholesaler Columbia Recovery Group
Trade Show Exhibitors :
AC Moate Affordable Housing Risk Pool Program American Floors
and Blinds Apartment Advantage Apartment Magazine Buy Rite Carpet
Wholesaler Columbia Recovery Group
Trade Show Exhibitors :
AC Moate Affordable Housing Risk Pool Program American Floors
and Blinds Apartment Advantage Apartment Magazine Buy Rite Carpet
Wholesaler Columbia Recovery Group
Trade Show Exhibitors :
AC Moate Affordable Housing Risk Pool Program American Floors
and Blinds Apartment Advantage Apartment Magazine Buy Rite Carpet
Wholesaler Columbia Recovery Group
Trade Show Exhibitors :
AC Moate Affordable Housing Risk Pool Program American Floors
and Blinds Apartment Advantage Apartment Magazine Buy Rite Carpet
Wholesaler Columbia Recovery Group
Toni Blake has long been recognized as a leader in multifamily
management training. Her cutting-edge concepts will keep you in
front of the market instead of always struggling to keep up. This
doesnt mean you have to jump on board with every new trend that
comes along, but it does mean your marketing strategy must relate
to todays consumer to be effective. Toni takes the guess-work out
of it by giving you key market tools infused with solid
fundamentals.
Toni is a popular international speaker, consultant, author and
comedienne inspiring thousands of multifamily apartment industry
professionals every year. With over 30 years of training
experience, her laugh while you learn approach has made Toni one of
the most sought-after experts in her field. As a published author,
Tonis ideas have been published in dozens of trade magazines and
blogs across the country. In November 2008, Toni was awarded the
Multifamily PRO Industry Legend Award. She was selected by the
National Apartment Association as one of the industriess Marketing
Gurus and is recognized for her research and innovative concepts in
customer service, sales, marketing and social media. Toni was
honored at the very first Multifamily PRO Peoples Choice Awards
winning awards for Educational Excellence and Imagination and
Innovation. She currently serves as President of TotallyToni.com.
Toni lives in Northern Colorado with her husband. An industry
favorite for meetings, conferences, award dinners and private
consultations, you will always enjoy Toni Blake!
Traci Brown - Body Language Trainer Persuasion and body language
expert, speaker and author, Traci Brown speaks globally and
energizes audiences world-wide with eye-opening, simple &
memorable techniques that can be applied immediately to your career
and your personal life. She is a frequent guest on TV interpreting
the body language in current events. Youll see the world with new
eyes and
Toni Blake
TIMELINE
-
14 Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
Speaker Profile ...continued from page 13Persuasion
and body lan-guage expert, speaker and author, Traci Brown
speaks globally and energizes audi-ences world-wide with eye-
opening, simple & memorable tech-niques that can be applied
immedi-ately to your career and your personal life. She is a
frequent guest on TV interpreting the body language in cur-rent
events. Youll see the world with new eyes and remember the tools
she shares. Traci enjoys using the body language and unconscious
persuasion skills she teaches in her presentations in all sorts of
business negotiations and has even adapted the skills to talk
herself out of an embarrassing number of traffic tickets.
Becoming a body language expert and a professional speaker on
the sub-ject is not something that Traci Brown would have ever
guessed shed be doing. Her first career was bike racing. She raced
for 12 years and had quite a successful career winning three US
Collegiate Cycling Championships and earning a spot on Team USA.
Through sports she became keenly aware that the mind was the
primary factor which determined her success. After disappointing
results with tradi-tional sports psychology, she discov-ered Neuro
Linguistics (NLP), Hypnosis and Hawaiian Huna. Her results changed
not only her perfor-
mance, but her life. Upon retirement from racing, she got
trained in these disciplines and still coaches clients one on one
to create great change in their lives.
The first thing taught in NLP was body language, persuasion and
how to create deep unconscious connection with others. After years
of using these skills working with clients and talking them out of
their problems and also teaching NLP Practitioner Certification
trainings, a client asked her to put together a program for lawyers
on how to pick a jury and persuade them based on body language. She
very reluctantly said yes. Much to her sur-prise, there was so much
interest in the program that she began presenting to all kinds
groups across the country including sales teams and associa-tions.
Participants liked walking out of the presentation with immediately
usable persuasion and body language skills and gave the program
rave reviews.
Traci holds a business degree from the University of Colorado
and is a certified master practitioner of Neuro Linguistics.
Jen Piccotti, Senior Vice President of Education and C o n s u l
t i n g , S a t i s F a c t s Research
Jen heads up client support for SatisFacts,
including developing dynamic, practi-cal and effective
educational programs and resources, conducting resident feedback
analysis, directing customer experience re-design, and providing
digital strategy coaching. Jen has over two decades of customer
loyalty and process efficiency experience.
A noted author, keynote speaker and highly followed blogger in
the multifamily industry, Jen has spoken at such events as the NAA
Education Conference, NAA Education Institute (NAAEI), AIM:
Apartment Internet Marketing, and the Multifamily Social Media
Summit. She has served as chair of the Service Quality Division for
the American Society for Quality (ASQ), and CallSource has named
her
"quality assurance guru of multifami-ly." Previously, Jen was
Quality Manager for Shea Properties where she oversaw loyalty
programs, pro-ductivity studies, process improve-ment initiatives,
QA training, custom-er surveys and organizational commu-nication
for both the multifamily and commercial divisions. Jen received her
undergraduate degree from Boise State University, and holds a
Master of Science - Quality Assurance from California State
University, Dominguez Hills.
Join us at Ed-Con!!!
Class Session Two: 11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m.
Room 405: Traci Brown
Title: Body Language Confidential
Reinvent the way you look at people and learn to interpret their
body language. Develop the skills to quickly respond to hidden cues
in any critical situation. In this fun, interactive and informative
talk, youll learn how to read body language and use specific verbal
language so that you can instantly create deeply connected
relationships:
Accelerate your networking Interview powerfully Increase sales
Make anyone really comfortable around you Elegantly persuade
others.
Youll be able to recognize and appropriately respond to the
hidden messages others are always sending and ensure that youre
sending the right message. Youll be able to respond to once hidden
clues so you can get the hidden messages and close the sale at the
price you want.
While diving into current events and celebrity body language
playing Tracis new game show segment, Body Language Blitz, youll
compete against other audience members as you learn:
The real meaning behind a handshake How to interpret body
language and respond appropriately How to strategically use others
body language so theyre open to you and your ideas
Room 406: Toni Blake Title: Closing In a Flash!...On the First
Visit!! The days of closing a lease on the prospects first visit
may seem like Supermans Kryptonite, but in this class youll learn
how to POWER UP and sign more leases at the initial visit. The
rental housing market is as competitive as its ever been. Although
were working harder for leases, if you have the right people, the
right training, and the right attitude, Toni will help you develop
a winning strategy, gain more confidence and know your prospects
wants and needs. Its all about getting that application and
deposit!
Traci Brown
remember the tools she shares. Traci enjoys using the body
language and unconscious persuasion skills she teaches in her
presentations in all sorts of business negotiations and has even
adapted the skills to talk herself out of an embarrassing number of
traffic tickets. Becoming a body language expert and a professional
speaker on the subject is not something that Traci Brown would have
ever guessed shed be doing. Her first career was bike racing. She
raced for 12 years and had quite a successful career winning three
US Collegiate Cycling Championships and earning a spot on Team USA.
Through sports she became keenly aware that the mind was the
primary factor which determined her success. After disappointing
results with traditional sports psychology, she discovered Neuro
Linguistics (NLP), Hypnosis and Hawaiian Huna. Her results changed
not only her performance, but her life. Upon retirement from
racing, she got trained in these disciplines and still coaches
clients one on one to create great change in their lives. The first
thing taught in NLP was body language, persuasion and how to create
deep unconscious connection with others. After years of using these
skills working with clients and talking them out of their problems
and also teaching NLP Practitioner Certification trainings, a
client asked her to put together a program for lawyers on how to
pick a jury and persuade them based on body language. She very
reluctantly said yes. Much to her surprise, there was so much
interest in the program that she began presenting to all kinds
groups across the country including sales teams and associations.
Participants liked walking out of the presentation with immediately
usable persuasion and body language skills and gave the program
rave reviews. Traci holds a business degree from the University of
Colorado and is a certified master practitioner of Neuro
Linguistics.
Jen Piccotti, Senior Vice President of Education and Consulting,
SatisFacts Research
Jen heads up client support for SatisFacts, including developing
dynamic, practical and effective educational programs and
resources, conducting resident feedback analysis, directing
customer experience re-design, and providing digital strategy
coaching. Jen has over two decades of customer loyalty and process
efficiency experience.
A noted author, keynote speaker and highly followed blogger in
the multifamily industry, Jen has spoken at such events as the NAA
Education Conference, NAA Education Institute (NAAEI), AIM:
Apartment Internet Marketing, and the Multifamily Social Media
Summit. She has served as chair of the Service Quality Division for
the American Society for Quality (ASQ), and CallSource has named
her "quality assurance guru of multifamily." Previously, Jen was
Quality Manager for Shea Properties where she oversaw loyalty
programs, productivity studies, process improvement initiatives, QA
training, customer surveys and organizational communication for
both the multifamily and commercial divisions. Jen received her
undergraduate degree from Boise State University, and holds a
Master of Science - Quality Assurance from California State
University, Dominguez Hills.
Jen Piccotti
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15Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
Legislative Update ...continued from page 11also increase the
number of people who would qualify for relocation assistance if a
property is demolished or substantially remodeled. The House bill
was amended and is still alive. The Senate bill is dead. WMFHA
opposed this bill.
HB 1565 / SB 5378: Makes Source of Income a Protected Class: The
title of the bills has been changed from previous versions but the
effect is the same. They would make Section 8 voucher holders a
protected class across the state. Both bills are dead for this
session but may return next year. WMFHA opposed this bill.
HB 1278: Energy Benchmarking and Disclosure: This bill mandated
an energy benchmarking requirement similar to the one in existence
in Seattle. Property owners would be required to supply energy data
using the EPA website. WMFHA opposed this bill.
HB 1824: Long Life Smoke Detectors. This bill required retailers
to only sell long life smoke detectors beginning July 1, 2017.
These detectors have a lithium battery that the supporters of the
bill claim will last 10 years. The bill does not
impose any duties on owners or property managers although the
language might change. WMFHA was monitoring this bill.
HB 1609 / SB 5846: Creates Exemptions to Plumbing and Electrical
Codes. These bills would have eliminated the need for using a
licensed electrician or plumber for minor repairs or modifications.
The House bill is dead but the Senate version is still alive. WMFHA
supported this bill.
SB 5185: Creates a 6-Year Timeframe for Substantial Building
Code Amendments. The name of the bill says it all. WMFHA supported
this bill.
SB 5218: Allowing Use of Unlawful Detainer for At-Will
Tenancies. Added a new section to the unlawful detainer statutes
(RCW 59.12) and would require a 30-day notice to terminate an
at-will tenancy. The bill was amended to address concerns raised by
tenant advocates. WMFHA supported this bill.
SB 5219: Allowing a 3-day Notice to Pay Rent to Include All
Fees. This would allow a landlord to include late fees and other
fees such as utilities in a 3-day notice to pay rent. The bill was
amended to make clear that
a 3-day notice could only be used if rent and other charges were
owing. A 3-day could not be used only for other charges. WMFHA
supported this bill.
SB 5220: Allowing for Money Judgments Against Tenants After
Alternate Service. Modifies existing statute regarding service of
eviction lawsuits by posting and mailing. This would allow for a
money judgment to be entered if the tenant answers and defends
against the lawsuit. WMFHA supported this bill.
HB 1866 / SB 5259: Requires Landlords to Provide Voter
Registration Information to Tenants. Created a new duty for
landlords to provide voter registration information to new tenants
at time of move-in. The House version is alive but the Senate
version is dead. WMFHA opposed this bill.
HB 1929 / SB 5446: Requiring Electric Car Charging Stations:
These bills would require local governments to offer incentives to
developers and owners of new and existing multifamily properties
for installation of charging stations for electric cars. Both bills
are still alive. WMFHA was monitoring this bill.
To review any of these bills visit www.leg.wa.gov, select Bill
Search tab and enter the bill num-ber.
In March, WMFHA staff and board members attended the annual
National Apartment Association Capitol Conference, culminating in a
Lobby Day in our nations capitol. WMFHA members met with our states
members of Congress and their legislative aides to discuss fed-eral
issues of importance to our industry.
These included Immigration Reform, Tax Reform and improve-ments
to the Section 8 program. We also reminded our Congressmen and
Congresswomen that the apartment industry is a robust $1.3 billion
industry that helps todays 37 mil-lion renters live in a home thats
right for them.
Apartments are a vital housing resource, building communities by
offering housing choice, supporting local small businesses,
creating mil-lions of jobs, serving families and residents by
providing affordable housing options, and contributing to the
fabric of communities across the country.
There is historic growth in renter households in our state.
Thats good news for Washington state. Meeting
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RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
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Dear Heather,I've been in my current
job for about 6 years now and can't seem to move any fur-ther up
in my company than the role of a property man-
ager. I think I'm good at my work and my employees seem to like
me, but when the opportunity to move up happens, my regional always
seems to find someone "better qualified." I don't want to have to
leave my current company, but I feel like I've earned a promotion
and I'm get-ting a little burned out where I am now. What should I
do?
-Looking for a Ladder
Dear Looking for a Ladder, I think that it shows a lot of
dedi-
cation to your company that you have stayed with them for 6
years. In the world of property manage-ment, that's a couple of
lifetimes for some of us. It can be a very difficult experience for
many of us to be passed over for promotions we think we have
earned, so I want you to know what you're going through is
incredibly common. My first real question to you is, have you
talked
directly to your regional manager about this yet? So many times,
the real problem is that we don't know what other people are
thinking or wanting, and so we can't meet their needs. Everything
past this point in my reply is based on speculation and experience,
so take it for what it's worth.
As a former hiring manager, one of the things I can tell you is
that why you're being passed over could be due to a number of
reasons. Perhaps, as you've been with your company for a while,
paying you to do a higher end job would be more expensive to the
payroll right now, and for many companies, they just cannot afford
to pay the internal pro-motion 5 or 6 thousand more a year than
they would have to pay an external new hire.
Another reason you may not be getting moved up is that there's
no one who can fill your shoes. If you are very good at your job,
then it's hard for a regional manager to take the risk of someone
new behind your desk who might not be able to do the job as well as
you can. In the current
market, occupancy is EVERYTHING, and if you've got it, that's
not a gamble most regionals will take. The good news is that if
this is the reason, then you've got a clock on the obstacle, since
the economy is bound to improve AND you can mentor up your current
assistant manager so that he or she could step in to your shoes
more quickly.
Also, your regional manager might not yet see the skill set in
you to move you up in the company. One of the easiest ways to get
noticed and move up is to either volunteer for new projects that
you have a skill set well suited for or to set public goals and
meet them. Both are actions that regional managers respect and
respond well to. Step up to the plate and mentor the younger
managers in the company, or offer your marketing talents to sister
prop-erties that are maybe not having as good a run in the current
market as you are.
If you've found a company that you like, I encourage you to talk
with your upper management. After all, there is a reason you're
still work-
ing for them after 6 years, and from their point of view, they
have a lot of time and energy invested in you. Ask your manager for
a clear path of what it's going to take for you to move up with the
company and then formulate your goals around that path. It's hard
not to admire people who are willing to do what it takes to get the
job done.
Don't let your burnout get the bet-ter of you and your temper.
Open up your communication with your regional manager and find a
new way to love your job until you can ascend within the ranks of
your com-pany!
Good Luck!Heather
Frustrated with Fibbing
Dear Heather,At our property, we are asked to do
weekly shops of our competing proper-ties. I'm supposed to call
them and get how much they are renting all of their apartments for,
if they have any specials,
Behind the Leasing Desk with Heather Blume
...continued on page 19
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17Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
Apartment Vacancy Report. The survey ended on Friday, March
20th. We proofed the data on Saturday and published the report
online on Sunday. We survey the entire market and collected
reliable information for 232,071 units in 2,254 properties. Thats
88% of the market.
Rent Growth SlowingThe rate of rent growth has slowed a
little.
Rents rose 2.6% in the region since September and are 7.4%
higher than they were a year ago. But properties didnt really raise
their rents that much. One thing to be careful of now is the impact
of new construction on rents. New units rent for more, distorting
rent trends. We call this the skew of the new. New construction
costs more and typically gets a rent premium of more than 40%.
This rent premium has not mattered much in most of the past
dozen years because there has not been a lot of new construction.
But right now, with all the new construction opening up this year
and next year, the higher rents in new units will create an
inflated rent trend.
For example, although the overall average rent rose 7.4% in the
region over the past 12 months and 2.6% in the past six months,
when you exclude the new units that opened this year and last year,
rents rose 5.7% and 1.9% respectively. And were just beginning to
see the distortion that new construction will create.
Another thing to consider is the relationship between rents and
expenses. Our latest Apartment Expense Report found that total
expenses rose 6.3% last year. Thats a little faster than the
rent
growth were seeing right now.Demand continues to keep up with
supply,
almost. Developers opened 8,919 units in the past 12 months and
the market added 8,632 new renter households in the same period. Is
that perfect tim-ing or what?
You can thank a strong local economy for that. Conway Pedersen
Economics just reported our region added 56,000 jobs last year and
they expect another 51,000 new jobs this year.
Another positive trend has been in-migration to the region.
While not exactly a measure of in-migration, driver license data is
close to a real time substitute. The number of people in this
region who turned in out-of-state licenses is up 21% in the past 12
months compared to the previ-ous 12 months.
Expect Softening Due To New Construction
But investors should expect the market to soft-en soon.
Developers will open 12,000 units this year. And theyre not done.
We are counting another 11,000 units developers plan to open in
2016 followed by even more in 2017. We are track-ing a total of
just over 48,000 units developers plan to open between 2015 and
2019. They proba-bly wont all happen, at least not as scheduled.
There will be delays and some projects may get shelved. Even so,
were looking at a lot of new units.
Can demand keep up with all this new supply? The honest answer
is, who knows. In the past five years new demand averaged just over
6,000 units
a year. That wont work. But keep in mind that developers didnt
build a lot in the past five years, averaging only 5,400 units a
year. Its kind of hard to create demand for something
that isnt there. Looking back a little farther, demand averaged
just over 11,000 units a year between 1986 and 1990.
It doesnt look like developers will set a new all-time record
for annual production in the region. But thats not the case in
Seattle. Development hit a record level in 2013 and then topped it
last year. We expect that record to be broken again this year and
this years record to be broken next year.
Last fall 72% of the survey respondents told us they planned to
increase rents. Those increases would have resulted in rents
increasing 2.8% in the region by this March. Excluding the rent
increase distortion created by new construction, they actually
increased rents 1.9%. Now they are telling us they plan to raise
rents 3.1% by September.
Only one out of every seven properties we sur-veyed offer
concessions, averaging $744. Thats not a lot of properties offering
concessions. But the size of concessions is growing. They averaged
$580 a year ago and $480 the year before that. We expect the use
and size of concessions will grow significantly over the next six
to twelve months.
Almost 80% of the properties surveyed pass through water and
sewer charges to residents. Most of those also pass through garbage
costs.
More than half the properties include at least one parking space
in the rent. Paid parking rates have not changed much since last
fall. For exam-ple, garage parking averages $109 a month, up from
$107 in September. Parking is likely to become a more valuable
commodity though, since new construction is putting in an average
of less than one parking space per unit.
Mike Scott(206) 935-3458
[email protected]
Market Trends Puget Sound ...continued from front page
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that demand will create thousands of jobs. To get there, we need
new pub-lic policies that support the multi-family housing industry
and that dont make it harder for renters and their families to find
the housing that makes sense for them and their com-munity.
In the state of Washington, there are 870,000 apartment
residents in 490,000 apartment homes, creating an economic
contribution of $20 bil-lion and supporting 198,000 jobs.
Job growth in this state has rebounded from the recession years,
unleashing pent up demand for housing. In-migration from outside
the state has dramatically increased in the last 12 months. This
adds to demand for apartments. When demand exceeds supply, prices
increase. When supply exceeds demand, prices decrease. Rents are
going up due to forces of supply and demand. Poor public policy
would be to impose artificial, government
imposed constraints on those market forces, which would result
in erod-ing housing affordability, not enhanc-ing housing
affordability.
We want to thank all of our mem-bers whose grassroots efforts to
advocate for our industry are crucial to our success and our
ability to serve others.
For non-members considering joining WMFHA, take advantage of our
current Membership Drive Campaign, with discounts on mem-bership
dues for new members. Call us today at 425-656-9077 to learn more
about how to get involved and take advantage of the value of
mem-bership in our association, or visit our website at
www.wmfha.org today.
Thank you to all who make our association strong, vibrant and
caring.
EQ - Apartments, Small Business18927 - 33rd Ave., West, Suite C,
Lynnwood, WA 98036
1-800-803-7000Fax 425-712-1058Cell:
[email protected]
TONY CONTI, CICLegislative Update ...continued from page 15
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18 Rental Housing Journal On-Site April 2015
RENTAL HOUSING JOURNAL ON-SITE
Washington, D.C.
The apartment industry emerged as one of the stron-gest sectors
coming out of the Great Recession, and a new study shows just how
much the Seattle economy benefited from the rental boom. In 2013
the latest numbers available apartment construction, operations and
resident spending contributed $15.5 billion locally and supported
more than 146,700 jobs in the metro area.
The economic data are part of new research commissioned by the
National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and the National
Apartment Association (NAA), which looks at dollars and jobs from
apartment construction, operations and resident spending,
nationally, by state and in 40 specific metro areas, including
Seattle. The data, based on research by economist Stephen S.
Fuller, Ph.D., of George Mason Universitys Center for Regional
Analysis, are available on the web-
site www.WeAreApartments.org. Nationally, the apartment
indus-
try and its 36 million residents con-tributed an impressive $1.3
trillion to the U.S. economy, supporting 12.3 million jobs across
the U.S. in 2013.
The study showed that in the Seattle metro area: The local
economic contribution
from the apartment industry totaled $15.5 billion, supporting
146,800 jobs.
The economic contribution of local apartment construction
totaled $2.3 billion.
The economic contribution of local apartment operations totaled
$2.2 billion.
Apartment construction and operations supported $1.5 billion in
personal earnings for local workers.
Renter spending in the Seattle metro area contributed $11.0
billion to the local economy.
The total economic contribution of the apartment industry and
its residents in Washington State totaled $20.7 billion and
supported 198,000 jobs.
"Seattle has a favorable economic environment and a high quality
of life, which continues to attract highly educated Millennial
apartment rent-ers to the citys dense urban down-town. Apartment
construction remains heaviest within Seattles Capitol Hill,
University, Ballard and Belltown neighborhoods, which are popular
for their walkability and high concentration of area employ-ers,"
said Jim Wiard, Executive Director of the Washington Multi-Family
Housing Association. "The rental boon both locally and nation-ally
has been fueled by demo-graphic changes like the growing Millennial
population and a redis-covery of metropolitan urban cores."
"Here in Seattle, we're feeling the positive economic impact of
the booming apartment industry, which
is helping our city thrive," Wiard explained. "The great news
about the apartment industry is that the dol-lars and jobs dont end
with con-struction. The ongoing operations and resident spending
make each apartment community an economic engine, supporting local
jobs and making a positive economic impact in our area and in towns
across the country."
"Our study showed major increas-es around apartment
construction, with construction spending, eco-nomic contributions
and personal earnings all rising substantially, said Fuller. The
construction for multifamily apartment buildings is a significant
and growing source of economic activity, jobs and personal earnings
in communities nation-wide."
"According to our study findings, apartment construction has
been on the rise over the past five years. In 2009, during the
economic recession, there were only 97,000 construction starts,
which was the lowest level
Rental Boom is Boon to Seattle Econo