Rental Housing Journal Metro February 2016

Circulated to over 6,000 apartment owners, on-site and maintenance

personnel monthly.

Call 503-221-1260 for more information

Advertise in Rental Housing Journal Metro

3. 5 Extraordinary Ways to Market and Lease Apartments

5. Lack of Housing and Rents

6. Advancing Momentum and New Ideas Into 2016

Published in association with: Multifamily NW; Rental Housing Association of Oregon; IREM & Clark County Association

www.rentalhousingjournal.com • Professional Publishing, Inc

Rental Housing Journal Metro February 2016

Portland/Vancouver

continued on page 7

8. 14 Points That Must Be In Your Apartment Building Leasing and Marketing Plan

10. How Are You Helping Your Prospective Residents Who Are Searching For Trustworthy, Honest Content About Your Property Management Business

12. Inherit A House? How To Rent It Out

14. CorporateHousingByOwner.com Reveals the Findings of Annual Survey

15. Ask the Secret Shopper – Curb Appeal

continued on page 4

continued on page 9

Your Community Network – Doorway to Delivering New Dollars from Digital Services

By Eric Markow

Your renters not only want to live on your properties, they also want to live on the Internet and the World

Wide Web!In a recent article, we talked about

the increased value and desirability that implementing wireless (Wi-Fi) internet access in each of your units would bring to your properties. Wi-Fi services would make your properties more effi cient, and more in tune with the needs of today’s renters – whatever their age.

Presto – You’ve Built a NetworkWhat we haven’t talked about is the fact

that implementing Wi-Fi in all of your units actually builds your own private community network -- a sort of mini-in-ternet all your own!

So now that you have this network, what can you do with it?

Incremental Revenue from Your Community Network

Th e fi rst thing you need to know about your community network is that it makes money for you. You become your rent-ers’ Internet Service Provider (ISP), and incorporate the added value of internet access and related services into their rent. Implemented with a full-service partner like Dual Path, your renters will discov-er move-in-ready, easily accessed Wi-Fi from day one, plus ongoing technical sup-

Are Th e CurrentProposed Legislative Bills Really

Helping Tenants?As you may know by now there are

a few bills being proposed during the current legislative session

that will put some very large restrictions on Landlords across the state of Oregon. Th ese bills are calling for a range of things like doing away with no-cause notices, asking landlords to pay tenant relocation expenses when they serve a no-cause no-tice, and repealing the “no rent control” law to allow cities to enact rent control guidelines, just to name the major ones.

Unfortunately these particular bills are very one sided and ignore the detrimental

eff ect they will have on the small landlords across our state. A large portion of land-lords are middle class citizens that are not making much of a profi t beyond just pay-

ing the mortgage on their rental property. Some are landlords only because renting their home was the only option other

Five Facts Every Parent Should Know About Th eir

Housing Rights

By Jo Becker, Education/Outreach Special-ist, Fair Housing Council of Oregon

As housing providers, you should know that federal, state, and local fair housing laws1 make it illegal

for housing developers, landlords, Real-tors®, homeowners associations, shelters, (etc.) to deny housing to families with children or to place unreasonable restric-tions on them. Of all the alleged acts of discrimination each year, those made on the basis of familial status is among the most common of all the protected class-es – this is true nationwide, as well as here in Oregon.

Following is a reprint of a media release from HUD that aims to inform parents of their right to buy, rent, and live in the home of their choice regardless of wheth-er or not there are children in the home. If children live in your home, obviously, you have these same rights as well. We en-courage you to review these familial status rights from the lens of both the housing consumer (which is the tone of this media release), as well as your responsibilities under the law as housing providers.

1. You Cannot Be Denied Housing Because You Have a Child

Although it has been illegal for 20 years, many housing developments and apart-ment buildings still have rules prohibiting

Professional Publishing Inc.,PO Box 6244Beaverton, OR 97007

PRSRT STDUS Postage

PAIDPortland, ORPermit #5460

2

Rental Housing Journal Metro

Rental Housing Journal Metro · February 2016

Order Your Free Recycling Resources Now!

Making sure resident garbage and recycling is properly disposed of can be a big challenge. When it’s not, you’re left with a mess that costs time and money to fix.

The good news: our free tools and resources help ensure your residents know how to handle recycling and garbage the right way. We can help you prevent mistakes before they happen at your multifamily property.

Look for these free resources in your mailbox or visit www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/multifamily

Need more information?Multifamily Resource Line: 503-823-7224 Email: [email protected]

3



continued on page 16

5 Extraordinary Ways to Market and Lease Apartments

When it comes to marketing and leasing apartments Craigslist might be your best source—

but it’s not the only game in town.Zillow.com, HotPads.com, Rent.com,

Apartments.com, your own website and social media can all generate good traffic. But have you explored new resources and strategies lately?

Try these ideas for great results:

1. Market Where Your Target Renter Hangs Out

Take a minute and think about where your target market likes to spend their leisure time. You can find some unusual places to advertise. Often these are places that your competitors haven’t thought of like:

• Movie theaters (place an ad during the “pre-show entertainment”).

• Concert venues.

• Ridesharing apps such as Uber and Lyft (enormous advertising potential).

• Local schools and universities.

• Coffee shops (put your property ad on cup sleeves).

• Bike sharing stations.For example, Denver B-cycle, which

was the first large-scale municipal bike sharing system in the United States,

is a hugely popular program especial-ly among young urban residents. This wouldn’t happen to be your target market would it?

2. It’s Time to Update Your Curb Appeal

There’s nothing worse than seeing pro-spective renters keep driving right on by at 30 miles an hour after a quick glance at your property. Five seconds is all it takes to make a negative, and lasting, first im-pression.

Curb appeal is one of the most import-ant things in property marketing and leasing. Presenting an exterior that meets your target markets’ standards must be one of your biggest priorities.

You can develop incredibly creative ads

by Theresa Bradley-Banta

that draw potential renters in droves yet lose them before they reach your front door if your apartment community has no curb appeal.

Here are some inexpensive ways to make your property more attractive and welcoming:

• Touch up the paint.

• Add outdoor planters that are stuffed full of colorful flowers.

• Add a canopy.

• Install inexpensive landscaping.

• Put up modern signage (yes, maybe it’s time to get rid of your old dated signage).

• Offer mobile friendly ways to contact your leasing agent.

And don’t forget the people who walk by your property every day. If they’re walking, chances are they live in the neighborhood.

It’s a great idea to hold open houses at your property—especially if you have fantastic curb appeal. Put out a sandwich board with balloons and grab the auto and foot traffic on busy weekends.

3. Develop Mutually Beneficial Rela-tionships With Local Merchants

When a local merchant learns that you will promote their business to your community they will embrace the idea of cross promotion. Local employers are especially happy when their employees live in close proximity to work. Proximity to work contributes to less tardiness and fewer missed days due to bad weather.

Offer to waive your application fees for employees of participating merchants.

Other ways to support your local merchant in exchange for free advertis-ing are to:

• Include coupons or flyers of the lo-cal business in new resident welcome packages.

• Put a “Welcome to the community! En-joy dinner (or a discount etc.) on us!” note in all new resident packages.

4



Community Network ...continued from page 1

port that is readily available at all times.Wi-Fi based security systems are rev-

olutionizing the personal security in-dustry. Far from the “burglar alarms” of yesteryear, these new state-of-the-art systems require no unsightly wires or separate network, and can protect every-thing from doors to windows to motion in and around the living unit. Your rent-ers will benefi t from the ability to check video from cameras deployed strategical-ly throughout their apartment or home via their smartphones. In an emergency, renters could even allow the police tem-porary access to these cameras.

Digital Telephone is growing in popu-larity because it’s far less expensive than traditional landlines, and far more fea-ture-rich with video-calling, voicemail that is transcribed and emailed to the recipient, detailed activity and billing re-ports and much more. Your premises Wi-Fi network by Dual Path eliminates any costs to adding 4G and LTE coverage to your property, thus providing your rent-ers with worry-free calling that is oft en totally free.

Alternative energy initiatives take full advantage of your community network infrastructure, providing you and your renters substantial savings on energy costs and enabling new technologies such as solar energy generation. Smart Home technologies automatically turns lights on when needed, off when they are not, and can even adjust thermostats to save energy when the premises is unoccupied. Additionally, leakage sensors, carbon monoxide, fi re, and other detection de-vices can be built into your network giv-ing your property and your renters multi-ple layers of safety.

Maintenance Services and Property Administration also benefi t from your community network. Property-wide coverage enables video chat tours of the property or a particular unit for potential residents who may not have the opportu-nity to visit in person. Work Orders can be opened and sent to devices used by your maintenance staff to improve oper-ational effi ciency.

Home Automation – Off er More Than a Home, Off er a Smart Home!

A visit to your local do-it-yourself su-perstore will show you that home auto-mation is becoming the “next new thing.” People, including your renters, want the ability to switch lights and appliances on and off , adjust their thermostat, lock and unlock doors, and do much more remote-ly by using their personal mobile phone or tablet.

Home automation protects too! Sensors are now available to provide early alert of moisture, leakage, fi re, carbon monoxide, as well as possible intruders and unex-pected motion on the premises.

Home automation also saves money! By pre-setting times when lights, appliances, and other devices and services turn on and off , the cost of electric bills, gas bills, and other utility charges are dramatically decreased. Great for your renters if they’re paying for utilities. Great for you if they’re not!

By installing Wi-Fi compatible equip-ment, you can off er your prospective rent-ers more than a new home. You can off er them a new Smart Home! Convenience, control, and peace of mind will be avail-able on their own mobile device of choice.

Opportunities Continue to EmergeWe’ve all seen the meteoric rise of new

Internet services. Now you can put all of that innovation to work for you on all of your properties by building your own Wi-Fi community network and using it to of-fer and deliver an ever-widening array of services and products.

Finding Your PathDual Path specializes in implementing

premises networks right on your proper-ties. Our comprehensive services connect each of your properties to the Internet, allowing you to become the source of internet-based services for each of your renters, while ensuring them top quality Wi-Fi equipment installed by Dual Path’s experts in each of your units.

Our services are truly comprehensive because they include the ongoing main-tenance of your network and the all-im-portant highly responsive customer support your renters expect from their In-ternet Service Provider. Your renters will be thrilled with how easily and complete-ly they enjoy life on the internet from the fi rst moment they step into one of your properties enhanced by Dual Path.Eric Markow is Chief Technology Offi cer of Dual Path, a provider of high speed property-wide WiFi services. Dual Path’s customers include MDU and senior living communities who enjoy fast, re-liable connectivity, delivered with old-fashioned customer service. Dual Path’s unique revenue generating model allows property owners to leverage their “Internet real estate” to maximize profi ts, increase resident satisfaction and reten-tion, and increase property value. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Dual Path off ers proper-ty-wide WiFi, Gigabit Internet and WiFi calling solutions to properties and businesses coast to coast. For more information, visit www.dualpath.net or contact 1-800-468-6851.

5Rental Housing Journal Metro · January 2016

John Sage,RHA Oregon President

10520 NE Weidler, Portland, OR 97220(503) 254-4723 • Fax (503) 254-4821

[email protected] • www.rhaoregon.org

President: John Sage • President Elect: Ron Garcia | Past President: Elizabeth CarpenterSecretary: Lynne Whitney | Treasurer: Elaine Elsea | Offi ce Manager: Cari Pierce

Lack of Housing

Well, so here we are already in the month of February. In Or-egon that means that we are

only a few days away from the start of the Legislative short Session. In the past the short session was used for budget issues and tweaks to existing laws. However, this session looks to be quite diff erent. Laws aff ecting land use, minimum wage, rent control and inclusionary zoning are on the horizon. Our Legislature could make some decisions that, in my opinion, in the long run, would be some pretty big mis-takes. Th e best way to not make a mistake is to make sure everyone has all the facts. We, the small landlords of Portland, need to set the record straight on three very im-portant issues: evictions, lack of housing, and rents.

First, small landlords don’t want to evict anyone, but it sometimes happens for the good of the community. Th e Ore-gon law is 30 days, which to neighbors of a bad actor seems like an eternity. Port-land’s change to 90 days does not solve the housing problem, and will only draw out the inevitable with potentially damag-ing results for other renters. Understand that we do not evict because we want to – when we do so it is because we have to. Th is is not something that we want the Legislature to implement state wide.

Second, Portland is the “It” City in America right now. People are moving here in droves, but our City has zero plans for development of more housing. Th e state did in fact commit to investing in aff ordable housing this past session, but what has the city done? Sadly today, it is easier to appease the vocal minority by making landlords the enemy, which serves no one well.

81% of Rental Housing Alliance Oregon member landlords have less than 10 units to rent. If you think we are in a backroom

somewhere smoking cigars and counting money, you are wrong. We are the 1,800+ Mom-and-Pop landlords succeeding (though oft en unappreciated) in fulfi ll-ing much of the City’s housing demands. Profi t is hard to come by, we pay more than our fair share in local, state and fed-eral property taxes, business and income taxes, and license fees.

Th ird, economics really are at play here. Rents follow a market. Reduce the amount of available units to an aggressively grow-ing population and rents increase simply

based on supply and demand. New Band-Aid ordinances won’t stabilize rents - more supply will.

Small landlords are small business people. We fi x our own roofs, repair our buildings ourselves, and would like nothing more than to have the ability to grow. We just want to keep doing what we do best—put people into aff ordable long-term housing. We are a big part of the solution.

We need to keep asking questions and watching what is going on with what is going on with Oregon. RHA Oregon is watching what is happening in the rent-al industry es being made by our gov-ernment, local and state, that aff ect our industry. Watch the emails, alerts and newsletters for information and calls to action form RHA Oregon.

Sincerely John SagePresident RHA OregonStegmann Insurance Agency Inc.

and Rents

Helping apartment owners build their legacy since 1999.Investment Real EstateInvestment Real Estate

(503) 241.5541 • www.hfore.com

Commercial and ResidentialVisit us at www.corderopaintinginc.com

or call us at 503-848-7788

Cordero Painting is a full-service family owned painting contractor in business since 1995.

We proudly serve the Portland/Seattle area. We are commited to quality workmanship for

a fair price with a full guarantee.

Our Services:

Interior & Exterior PaintingAccent Walls

Pressure WashingGutter Cleaning

Countertop ResurfacingTub and Surround Resurfacing

Drywall repairs

Advertise in Rental Housing Journal MetroCirculated to over 6,000 apartment owners, on-site and

maintenance personnel monthly.


6 Rental Housing Journal Metro · February 2016

Multifamily NW is off to a fast and dynamic start to 2016. A very active 2016 legislative

“short” session is well underway in Salem. Multifamily NW is hard at work providing advocacy for successful outcomes to edu-cate and continue to create opportunities for owners and developers to add needed housing supply to our local industry. We

are experiencing a signifi cant lack of sup-ply across all income levels and as a result we know it is tough for residents in many Oregon counties to fi nd housing. Remov-ing barriers is key to assure more units come out of the ground, incentivizing de-velopers to serve demand across all resi-dent income levels. Th ere is much work still to do and I encourage membership and our industry to discuss, educate and advocate through this legislative session and leading up to the legislative “long” session in 2017.

Education this year has kicked off strong with multiple sold out events cov-ering landlord tenant law, legislative up-dates and fair housing education. We just concluded the second annual Fair Hous-ing Fair in Portland where 440 attendees attended and received valuable and criti-

cal information to help them protect the law, themselves and their organizations. Th is is the youngest large event for Multi-family NW and it is great to view its’ suc-cess. As an example and testament to how robust and consistent Multifamily NW education is, there are no less than 14 fair housing training classes off ered through-out the year. Th ank you to everyone on the Fair Housing Committee and all of the Multifamily NW staff who continue to put on great fair housing education and events for our membership. In past years, Multifamily NW created fair housing best practices and a fair housing pledge. It is great to see us continually capitalize on our previous eff orts and create continued positive impact. Th e momentum of suc-cessful education events continues mov-ing forward. In March comes the 2016 Maintenance Fair featuring the popular Maintenance Mania. In April we hold the Spring Apartment Report Breakfast and in May is the Ace Awards.

Multifamily NW completed our strate-gic planning session during the month of

and New Ideas Into 2016January. Association Leadership created exciting outcomes for how we work to-gether to reach and deliver services to the industry. Th ere is focus and momentum as a result to make the association more accessible to everyone. Th ese eff orts will not only serve membership in 2016 but also for many years to come. We cannot get far without leadership and I sincerely appreciate our strong Staff , Board and Ex-ecutive Council. Our membership benefi ts from this strength as well. I’m impressed by how consistently aware Association Leadership is of the intricate issues in our industry, especially our Executive Direc-tor Deborah Imse who works tirelessly for our members and the services we provide. I am confi dent knowing that we are well prepared for the work ahead. We have a great start in 2016 and it will continue to be a productive and impactful year.

Advancing Momentum


16083 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd, Suite 105, Tigard, OR 97224503-213-1281 | Fax 503-213-1288 | www.multifamilynw.org

Dave BachmanPresident of Cascade Management

The Professional Approach to Apartment Investing.

Ultimate Cleaning Solutions specializes in apartments move-in and move-out cleaning services.

We will make sure that your vacated apartment or rental property is ready for the next client. First impression is important and therefore, our goal is to help you show your prospective client a polished, clean and inviting apartment!

Ultimate Cleaning Solutions can make a vacant apartment, or office “move-in” ready by cleaning everything from top to bottom. You can feel confident that we are busy returning your rental to showcase condition. We are ready to help you!

Our services include move in/move out cleaning services to apartment community managers and individuals owning rental property. We are your one-call apartment turnover solution.

You can contact us at:503-521-7458 or

[email protected]

7



Five Facts Parents Should Know ...continued from page 1

families with children or families expect-ing a child. With the exception of senior housing and small properties where the owner resides <NOTE: Th e small prop-erty exemption, known as ‘the Mrs. Mur-phy’s Exemption,’ is not valid in Oregon. Oregon fair housing laws provide greater protection by eff ectively nullifying this exemption.>, such provisions are always illegal. HUD takes these matters seriously and will take action when it sees housing developments keep parents out.

For example, last year a parent reported that an apartment building in Highwood, Illinois, refused to rent to her because of her child. Th e parent wished to remain anonymous, so a local fair housing or-ganization sent testers to the property to see if they treated families with children diff erent from applicants without chil-dren. Th e tests showed that the property owner discouraged families with children from renting apartments and informed parents that the units were for single peo-ple. Th e fair housing organization fi led a complaint with HUD. Aft er a thorough investigation, HUD charged the owners with discrimination against families with children.

2. You Cannot Be Evicted From Hous-ing Because You Have Child

While the birth of a child is usually a time for celebration, some landlords feel it is also the time for new parents to fi nd another place to live. Th ough such actions are illegal, many facilities evict parents because they are expecting or have given birth to, adopted, or obtained custody of a child.

In one recent case, Shelia Brown was living in Summer Place Apartments in Las Vegas, Nevada when she obtained custo-

dy of her daughter. Less than a month lat-er, the apartment manager told her to fi nd a new place to live, because children were not allowed on the property. Ms. Brown fi led a complaint with HUD, whose inves-tigation uncovered that the management had forced other tenants to leave when they were pregnant or obtained custody of their children. In January 2008, Summer Place agreed to pay $75,000 to Ms. Brown and other families who were mistreated.

3. Families Cannot Be Restricted to One Area of a Building or Complex

Some housing complexes allow families but restrict them to lower fl oors or to cer-tain areas of the property. Both restric-tions are illegal.

Sherri McLathian wanted to fi nd an aff ordable home in a good school dis-trict for her two children. She thought she located an ideal townhouse in a new development called Victorian Village in Gurnee, Illinois. When she inquired about buying the homes, the sales person informed her that her children were not wanted in the neighborhood and would be the only ones there. Th e saleswoman then informed Ms. McLathian that no town homes were available. Ms. McLath-ian fi led a complaint with the State of Il-linois, which handled the case under an agreement with HUD and negotiated a $12,000 settlement for Ms. McLathian.

4. Rules Cannot Unfairly Target Children

Many parents are unaware that it is ille-gal for landlords to make rules specifi cally against children. For example, a landlord cannot forbid children from a common area that adults are allowed to use.

Recently, six families in St. Louis set-tled complaints against Ridgecrest Apart-ments for overly restrictive rules against children. Th e landlord had required any-one under the age of 18 to be supervised anytime they were outside of their apart-ments. Th e rule was so strict that teenagers were not allowed to talk to their friends in the hallway without a parent present. In December 2007, the owners and mangers of Ridgecrest agreed to a $170,000 settle-ment to compensate the families and cre-ate an aft er-school program for children on the property.

5. Advertisements Cannot State That Children Are Not Wanted

Finally, no property, other than se-niors-only housing, is allowed to adver-tise that it is restricted to adults or that it will not allow children.

Lolita Lindo was searching for an apartment for herself and her 10-year old son because her landlord had recently raised the rent by a few hundred dollars a month. She saw a “For Rent” sign on a grey fl agstone property in her neighbor-hood that she thought would be perfect. Th e sign read “For Rent for two persons, Apartment Two Bedroom, No kids...” Ms. Lindo fi led a complaint with HUD and in December 2007, a judge ordered the own-er to pay her $20,000.

For more information about famil-ial status protection, visit www.FHCO.org/discrimination-in-oregon/protect-ed-classes/familial. Our housing pro-vider page (www.FHCO.org/informa-tion-for-housing-providers) and the guidebooks page (www.FHCO.org/learn-ing-resources/guidebooks) will also be of interest.

Th is article brought to you by the Fair Housing Council; a civil rights organi-zation. All rights reserved © 2016. Write [email protected] to reprint articles or inquire about ongoing content for your own publication.

To learn more… Learn more about fair housing and / or sign up for our free, peri-odic newsletter at www.FHCO.org.

Qs about this article? ‘Interested in articles for your company or trade asso-ciation? Contact Jo Becker at [email protected] or 800/424-3247 Ext. 150

Want to schedule an in-offi ce fair housing training program or speaker for corporate or association functions? Vis-it www.FHCO.org/learning-resources/trainings to learn about the trainings we off er for companies and groups.

Federally protected classes under the Fair Housing Act include: race, color, na-tional origin, religion, sex, familial status (children), and disability. Oregon law also protects marital status, source of income, sexual orientation, and domestic violence survivors. Additional protected classes have been added in particular geographic areas; visit FHCO.org/mission.htm and read the section entitled “View Local Pro-tected Classes” for more information.

William MaxwellAssociate

National Multi Housing Group(503) 200-2063

[email protected]

Offices Throughout the U.S. and Canada www.MarcusMillichap.com

To access the largest exclusive inventory of propertiesor for confidential property evaluation, contact:

Marcus & Millichap was founded on the premise of making a market for each property we represent. Our proactive and targeted marketing campaigns, combined with unparalleled relationships with private and institutional investors, enable us to close more transactions than any other source. We provide:

n Unrivaled Transaction Expertise

n In-Depth Local Market Knowledge

n Industry’s Largest Sales Force

n Largest Pool of Investor Relationships

Creating and Preserving Wealthfor Our Clients, One Transaction at a Time

8



14 Points Th at Must Be In Your Apartment Building Leasing and Marketing Plan

by Th eresa Bradley-Banta

I recently received the following request from a multifamily investor:

“Can you please send me a marketing plan post purchase for an apartment building I am buying (my bank wants this)?”

Th is is a fantastic question! When you approach a bank to fi nance your apart-ment deal they most assuredly will want to see your apartment building leasing and marketing plan. Without a solid strategy you risk losing fi nancing and you’re more than likely ready to walk into apartment building ownership with blinders on.

Let’s make sure you’re ready with a great plan and strategy from day one of ownership.

As an apartment building owner you have to be proactive. In order to succeed you must:

• Know exactly how you will market and lease units.

• Have a solid understanding of your market and your competition.

• Put the best team in place.

• Prepare an accurate budget forecast.All before you buy the building. Th is

information will help you fi nance your deal and it will most likely help you ne-gotiate a better deal with the seller. Here are 14 points to include in your planning:

1. Your team: It’s time to show that you have best around

If you are light on experience or you are a seasoned professional real estate in-vestor this is your opportunity to let your lender know that you have the best mul-tifamily real estate team in the business ready to step in the day you close on the deal. Your list should include:

• Your third party apartment building property manager. Some lenders may make this a requirement of your fi rst year of ownership—they will insist you bring in professional management while you get your feet wet.

• Your leasing agents. If your property has vacant units you may decide to bring in a professional leasing team for the fi rst few months of ownership.

• Your renovation and trade contractors. Th ese professionals should have experi-ence at the apartment building level. Be sure to point it out.What experience does each team mem-

ber bring to the table? Don’t hold back. Tout their talents and experience to the skies. Be sure to include the compa-ny name, contact person and telephone number for each member of your team.

2. Responsive apartment building maintenance

A top-notch maintenance team goes a long way in keeping happy residents. Promptly addressing maintenance re-quests equals less resident turnover. De-scribe your team and their experience. Put a plan in place for maintenance re-quest response times and your method of communication with residents. Include the details in your marketing plan.

3. Apartment unit rent and conces-sion comparables

Describe what your competing market is doing and how you stack up today. You must know the rents that your submarket competitors are receiving for comparable apartment units and also if they are off er-ing concessions or discounts in order to rent units. Include your research in your report.

If your units are currently leasing below market rent address this in your report. Describe how you plan to make chang-es—in both rents and concessions—in or-der to attract new residents to your apart-ment building. Th is may involve:

• Bringing in a new professional and sea-soned management team.

• Updating apartment units.


FIND EVICTIONS STESSFUL?FIND EVICTIONS STESSFUL?

Our services include:Full FED Service

First AppearancesSmall Claims

Serving Oregon and Washington since 1997, LSI is a proud member of Rental Housing of Oregon Alliance and Multifamily NW

Landlord Solutions Inc. can help!

Let us lower your stress level. We make your management job easy!

Landlord Solutions Inc.

[email protected]

Phone 503-288-0221Fax 503-281-5644

Mon - Fri 8:00AM to 5:00PM

Servicing the Property Management Industry for over 30 Years

LOWEST PRICES GUARANTEED!

LARGEST SELECTION...

APPLIANCES • MATTRESSES • HDTVs

Pat Jennings35 years experience

Tony Kavanagh40 years experience

LARGEST SELECTION... • Knowledgeable, experienced staff• Personal account managers• 7 day delivery & set-up• Free haul away of old appliances • Coin-Op laundry/Commercial Grade • Special pricing on mattresses and HDTVs

NMLS #291740

[email protected]

vincekingston.eaglehm.com

Seating is limited. Register for the Lunch & Learn or the Evening Session today!

Everyone wants to have a secure future.Everyone wants to have a secure future.Everyone wants to have a secure future.Everyone wants to have a secure future.�e Get Rich Slow Plan

Vince Kingston

• Fundamentals of residential real estate investing• What programs and strategies are available to help you buy your first home

or first rental property (or tenth) and how you maximize your rental income.• How patience can allow you to leverage little down payment for large return

along with current cast studies

This free class will teach you three main things:

LUNCH & LEARN – February 23RD, 12pm-1pm, NE Portland TheGetRichSlowPlanLunchAndLearn.eventbrite.com

EVENING SESSION – March 2ND,6:30pm-8pm NE PortlandTheGetRichSlowPlanEveningSession.eventbrite.com

9



Current Legislative Bills ...continued from page 1

than letting it go into foreclosure when the housing market crashed. When I see bills like this I feel that those presenting them are ignoring these landlords and are making a very incorrect assumption that all landlords are rich and making a large profi t. Covering the cost of relocating a tenant could easily force some of these small landlords to miss payments on their mortgage and ultimately cause addition-al foreclosures. Th e other major problem with this is that it ignores the real cause to our current housing crisis. Th e real problem right now is simply that demand heavily outweighs supply. Just like every other free market this drives rents up and gives landlords the incentive to be picki-er within their screening criteria, and to be stricter with those tenants that aren’t following the rules lined out in their lease agreement.

Th e solution to the current problem is not more regulation as this will cause landlords to get out of the business of being a landlord and it will cause people thinking of becoming landlords to look elsewhere to invest their money (decreas-ing supply). As a representative for multi-ple landlord support associations and be-ing a tenant myself, it is frustrating to see things like this. If the state really wanted to solve the current problems they would be focusing their energy on creating ways to encourage and speed up the building of more rental units. Th is could be done by fi nancial incentives or even simply speeding up the rezoning and permitting process whenever someone wants to build rental units. I feel like the current legisla-tion being proposed is ignoring basic free market economics and they don’t realize that they will actually be making things worse for tenants.

As a tenant that knows the current rental market I also feel that the tenant advocate groups pushing for these types

of legislation are ignoring what their constituents really need right now: more housing units (supply). Th is will level off the rent increases and will also make landlords be willing to work with ten-ants rather than just ask them to move. If a landlord can’t quickly replace a tenant due to higher vacancy rates then they will do whatever they can to keep a tenant that is paying their rent even if they aren’t a perfect tenant.

When it comes to no-cause notices they are also ignoring the detrimental eff ects it will have on tenants. Most no-cause no-tices are used when the landlord would prefer to avoid going through the time and expense of an eviction. Th is is actual-ly a good thing for that tenant. Th e tenant ends up not having an eviction on their record. Given the current low vacancy rates it would be extremely hard for any tenant with an eviction on their record to be approved for a unit. By doing away with no-cause notices there will be a spike in evictions and any tenant with a recent eviction will fi nd it harder to be approved than it already is right now.

Th e only conclusion I can come to when I review the actual facts is that the tenant advocates and the politicians pushing for these regulations on landlords are just trying to make a name for themselves by creating a villain (landlords) and con-vincing their constituents that they are their hero. When in reality all of these things will actually hurt those that they are supposed to be representing.

So please contact your state representa-tives right away to point out the real harm that these bills will have on tenants and the middle income landlords.

Christian BryantPresident of Coldwell Banker Proper-ty ManagementPresident of Portland Area Rental Owners Asso-ciation

“As a trade ally contractor of Energy Trust of Oregon, we can help with cash incentives and state energy tax credits to

improve the energy efficiency of your home or rental property.”

PRIVATE HOMES TO LARGE MULTI FAMILY

If your windows & doors are:• drafty/leaking• dual pane/fogged up• single pane/storm windows• maintenance headache• looks outdated

We will help you:• increase energy efficiency• add sound control & security• add curb appeal• increase property value• increase rent & profitability• Get cash incentives & tax credits

Mary Mann, Owner, Estimator & General Contractor

Windows, patio, French & entry doors, bay & garden windows & remodel openings.Green eco safe insulation. Experienced installers – excellent references. Name brand products.

www.goosehwc.com • 800-937-391627+ years of helping Oregon property owners!licensed, bonded & insured since 1987 • ccb#53631

Contact us for a free estimate

503-620-0898MADE IN USA

WE SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSService metro area to Willamette Valley

Supporting our Armed Forces & Veterans

10



How Are You Helping Your Prospective Residents Who Are Searching For

Trustworthy, Honest Content About Your Property Management Business?

How are prospective tenants fi nd-ing out about your rental prop-erties online, and what you off er

and how you diff er from the competition? What are you off ering to retain your cur-rent residents?

While many talk about Google and the importance of search engine optimiza-tion, there is something just as important that is frequently overlooked.

If your potential, or current apartment residents fi nd your website and stop by for a visit, are you providing helpful, useful rental information for them to help make an informed decision on where to live or what your community has to off er? Or, are you just pushing at them what you want to sell?

Th e world has changed and the key is the quality of the rental content you are proving on your website for your visitors. Th is is key for two reasons.

First, attention spans are short and you only have a few seconds to grab their at-tention. Th e message they see should be about them, and what they need or are looking for. It is about them and what problems they are facing. It is not about you and touting your business.

Second, many websites are still using the old broadcast-style message that fo-cuses on one message to all. However the web has fragmented audiences and you need to focus on how each individual is diff erent and has diff erent needs. Th e one size fi ts all message pushed in traditional sales language is no longer as eff ective.

People are tired of these broadcast type messages that interrupt them with a sales pitch. Th ey are tuning these messages out. Th ey want to learn and investigate the options for themselves , and they have,

at their fi ngertips, the ability to search and compare on their own. Your goal is to be a part of their search. You may not win every time, but you want to be on the playing fi eld when they are searching. And, more than ever, it is not what you are saying about yourself, it is what others are saying about you.

Research from CEB shows at customers are 57% through the buying decision be-fore they want to talk to a sales person.

Help Not Sell To Engage CustomersTh e goal of your website, and the con-

tent you have there, should be to attract, engage and delight customers online. Th e stronger the content for your target audi-ence, the more visitors you will attract. More visitors mean more sowings and more showings mean more rental appli-cations and lower vacancies.

Th is is the core of what you have prob-ably heard called content marketing. Th e key is having great content, at the right time for the right audience.

You should know your audience and what their “pain points” are around when it comes to fi nding an apartment or rental home. You are the expert and talk to rent-ers all the time. Listen to what they are telling you and asking you.

Th en, you can design a core of great content about your rental properties and begin engaging your customers.

How Will I Know If This Works?Once you have the key content in place,

you want some way to measure engage-ment with your online audience to see if this is working.

continue on page 16

IGABIT INPORTLAND

igabit Internet

We pioneered the idea that residential customers in multi-family properties can gain access to the same superior quality internet service as the biggest companies in the world and we’ve provided that service in Seattle since 2008.

Now available in Portland, Wave G offers symmetrical speeds and local customer service plus game-changing performance beyond traditional ISPs.

Partner With Wave G to BringGigabit to Your Building

1-844-77-WAVE-G gowave.com/G

Let us be your Connection for Next Generation FiberWhat’s in it for you?

• Free managed WiFi available in common areas

• Free internet service available for building management & staff

• Sponsored on-site events to educate residents & build community

• No service or marketing exclusivity required

• No cost to the building to offer our service

Learn how you can partner with Wave G.

Now Available in Portland

11



12



Inherit A House?How To Rent It Out.

By Cliff Hockley President, Bluestone & Hockley Real Estate Services

We manage properties for home-owners with many unique cir-cumstances but inheritance

is one of the most common reasons why people choose to rent out a home. Th is is the story of a typical case.

The InheritanceJayne was in her late 40’s when her

grandmother died. When Jayne met with the attorney to review the estate issues he gave Jayne the keys to the house her grandmother had lived in for forty years and a copy of the property deed. Th is was something she had never expected. She had decided early in her career not to in-vest in real estate. She wanted nothing to do with the property taxes and main-tenance headaches, and now she had this old house to contend with.

She asked the attorney what others have done with houses they inherited.

Th e attorney frankly told her that she could sell it, rent it or donate it to a char-ity, but he advised Jayne not to make any decisions until she walked through it fi rst. “It was not a bad investment,” he said, “It’s insured, owned free and clear, property taxes are current and it’s well maintained, you can’t ask for much more than that.”

The DecisionHer grandmother had lived in an older

one level brick house. It was 1800 square feet with three bedrooms and two bath-

rooms, a two car garage and a small yard. She had already begun feeling sentimen-tal about it during the estate sale when a young man approached her with a busi-ness card. He introduced himself as the neighborhood realtor and gave his con-dolences about her grandmother’s pass-ing before swift ly changing the subject to ask her if she had put the house on the market yet.

Jayne was taken aback. Th is guy was rude and pushy and she wanted to get rid of him. Purely in reaction to his off en-sive demeanor Jayne told him with con-fi dence that she had already decided to keep it as a rental. Th at was how she made her decision.

But she knew nothing about being a landlord. She decided to start by consult-ing the attorney to fi rst understand the

laws involved. He sensed she might be in over her head

during the conversation, “You may want to hire a property manager to help you,” he suggested.

Jayne, a successful businesswoman, saw no reason why she couldn’t handle it herself.

Renting the HouseOnce Jane made up her mind, she toured

other house rentals in the area in person and on the internet to get a sense for mar-ket rents and conditions. Based on her re-search she decided to upgrade the house with more modern colors and appliances. Since the carpets were in good condition she just had those cleaned. She also re-ceived a referral from a friend for a good handyman to make some minor repairs.

Once the place was up to par Jayne placed an ad online and within fi ve min-utes started receiving calls about the house. A few roommates wanted to see the house that night. She didn’t even have any application forms!! She quickly print-ed out a form she found online but when they came she wished she didn’t have any to give them. Th ey were fi ve college stu-dents from the school down the street. One of them quickly asked her what ap-plication screening criteria she used. An-other wanted to see the lease ahead of time. She hadn’t printed anything oth-er than the forms out yet so she asked if she could e-mail it to them the next day. Th ey didn’t mind. Th ey liked the house so much they fi lled out the forms right


MARCH 31, 2016 - EVENT SCHEDULE

TIME LOCATION TITLE/TOPIC TIME LOCATION TITLE/TOPIC

8:30-9:30AM PORTLAND BALLROOM 251 & 258

Keynote Presentation: 1:05-1:35PM ROOM D133 ROOM D135 ROOM D136

Appliances: Dryer Do You Want Free Money? - Rebates Communication

9:45-10:15AM

ROOM D133 ROOM D135 ROOM D136

Appliances: Washer Do You Want Free Money? - Energy Rebates Containment (English/Spanish)

1-2PM ROOM D139-140

What You Say Matters (Fair Housing - Spanish)

10-10:30AM ROOM D137 ROOM D138

Water Heater (Spanish) Plumbing: Troubleshooting

1:20-1:50PM ROOM D137 ROOM D138

Preventative Maintenance: Tracking & Notations Emergency Preparedness

10-11AM ROOM D139-140

What You Say Matters (Fair Housing) 1:40-2:05PM ROOM D133 ROOM D135 ROOM D136

Appliances: Refrigerator General Landscaping Basic Electrical Troubleshooting

10:20-10:50AM


Appliances: Dryer Electrical Safety & Equipment Communication

1:55-2:20PM ROOM D137 ROOM D138

Tech for Maintenance: Apps Plumbing (Spanish)

10:35-11:05AM

ROOM D137 ROOM D138

General Landscaping Plumbing (Spanish)

2:10-2:40PM ROOM D133 ROOM D135 ROOM D136

Water Heater: Troubleshooting Mold: The Warning Signs TBA

10:50-11:20AM


Appliances: Refrigerator Preventative Maintenance: Tracking & Notations Emergency Preparedness

2:15-3:15PM ROOM D139-140

What You Say Matters (Fair Housing)

11AM-12:30PM

HALL D Lunch 2:25-2:50PM ROOM D137 ROOM D138

TBA TBA

11:45AM-12:45PM

HALL D Maintenance Mania Events 2:35-3:05PM ROOM D133 ROOM D135 ROOM D136

TBA Mold: The Warning Signs TBA

12:30-1PM ROOM D133 ROOM D135 ROOM D136

Appliances: Washer Containment (English/Spanish) Water Heater: Troubleshooting

2:55-3:20PM ROOM D137 ROOM D138

TBA TBA

12:45-1:15PM ROOM D137 ROOM D138

Electrical (Spanish) Plumbing: Troubleshooting

3:30PM HALL D Maintenance Mania Car Race Raffle Prize Giveaway

Ready to register? Fill out the form on the back or visit MultifamilyNW.org.

Featuring:Featuring: Featuring:Maintenance Mania®

Featuring:Featuring:Maintenance Mania®Maintenance Mania®Maintenance Mania®Maintenance Mania® Maintenance Mania®

In order to give you more educational options, the Maintenance Fair education schedule has been revamped! With the exception of Fair Housing classes, all sessions will be 30 minutes long an encompass a variety of important Maintenance Topics.

Attendees are encouraged to choose 3 to 5 classes from the list and spend some time visiting the vendor booths that will be open all day. Keep in mind that many of the classes are being offered more than once so that you can customize your schedule as you like.

How muchSHOULD

it pay?

www.RHJsalary.com

How much does the job pay?

Help us fi nd the answer!Take our 4 minute salary study survey

Circulated to over 6,000 apartment owners, on-site and maintenance personnel monthly.


Advertise inRental Housing Journal Metro

13Rental Housing Journal Metro · February 2016

Form

M05

9 OR

-WA

Copy

right

© 2

015

Mul

tifam

ily N

W® .

NOT

TO B

E RE

PROD

UCED

WIT

HOUT

WRI

TTEN

PER

MIS

SION

. Rev

ised

12/7

/201

5.

Resident(s) acknowledge that the Rental Agreement requires Resident(s) to obtain and maintain liability insurance: (i) with coveragelimits of at least $_____________________ ($100,000 if not filled in); (ii) that lists all Residents as named insureds (if there are multiplepolicies obtained by different Residents, use a separate form for each policy); and (iii) that lists Owner/Agent as an “interestedparty” authorizing the insurer to notify Owner/Agent of: (A) cancellation or nonrenewal of the policy; (B) reduction of policy coverage;or (C) removal of Owner/Agent as an interested party

Resident(s) have provided the fol ed to such insurance which Resident(s) warrant is complete and accurate: [Attach a copy of the polic ] Name of Insurance ny: ___ _ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Policy No: __________ ______ ______________________________________________________________________________________

List all Named Insu s separate policies cover each Resident): _____________________________________________

_________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Limits of Liability Coverage: $_____________________ Renewal Date: ________________________________

Insurance Agent: Name __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone Number _____________________________________

Owner/Agent listed as an Interested Party has been confirmed: Initials of person confirming: _________________

[Attach a copy of such designation from the insurance company]

Resident will update the information on this form when any change occurs to the insurance, or upon request of Owner/Agent.Resident acknowledges that: (i) failure to maintain such insurance in full force is a material non-compliance with the RentalAgreement; (ii) Resident is not a co-insured under, and has no rights to, Owner/Agent’s insurance policies; and (iii) except to theextent required by law, Owner/Agent is not responsible for, and its insurance does not cover damage or destruction to, Resident’sproperty. Owner/Agent recommends that Resident(s) obtain coverage under their insurance policy for damage to theirown property.

ON SITE RESIDENT MAIN OFFICE (IF REQUIRED)

DATE __________________________________________ PROPERTY NAME / NUMBER ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RESIDENT NAME(S) ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

UNIT NUMBER ___________________________________ STREET ADDRESS ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CITY ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ STATE ___________________________________ ZIP _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________RESIDENT DATE RESIDENT DATE



_____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________OWNER/AGENT DATE

X X

X X

X X

X

RENTER’S INSURANCE CONFIRMATION ADDENDUM

SAMPLESAMPLE

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

SAMPLESAMPLE

SAMPLE SAMPLE

SAMPLE

SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE



_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ _ _____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ _______

btain andesid

_____ ____

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ STATAT TATA _____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

t requires dent(s)filled in); ( i) that lis

te form for eaccancellatio

i

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

ne a sepa

r/A/A/ gent of: (Ated party

ed to suc]_____ ____ _______e

_____ ____

u

erage: $_____

e _____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

s _ SAMPLESAMPLE

SAMPLE

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

mits of Liabinsuran Agent: Na

Addre Phon

ed as an

SAMPLE_____ ____ ____ ____ ____

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

mpany]

rs to the insuraforce is a

/Agent’s innot cov

e

ange ocurance in fu

rights to, Owne for, an s insurance doe

ent(s) obtain coverage under

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____R

XSAMPLE

_____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____DATE

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____DATATA E

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____E

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

_____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ _____ ____ ____D

SAMPLE

Form of the MonthRenter’s Insurance Confi rma-

tion Addendum – M059 OR-WA

Th is is a brand new addition to the Multifamily NW Forms Col-lection. During the last few years it was sanctioned into Oregon Land-lord/Tenant Law that a landlord has the right to insist that tenants possess renter insurance policies – to protect their own assets and liabilities. With that popularity, we created this form to ease the steps confi rming tenants’ renter’s insur-ance policies are current, affi rm-ing that the landlord is listed as an interested Party on the policy, and that all residents are covered under the renter insurance policy. Th is form is a great addition to your standard move-in forms.

16083 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd, Suite 105, Tigard, OR 97224503-213-1281 | Fax 503-213-1288 | www.multifamilynw.org

Upcoming Events with Multifamily NW

2/9/2016 Maintenance Tips, Tricks & Pitfalls (Vancouver)2/12/2016 It’s the Law – Fluid Events: Dealing With Water Intrusion Is-

sues (Portland)2/16/2016 CAS: Supplier Success (Portland)2/17/2016 Portland Monthly Luncheon - Mayoral Forum2/18/2016 SOLD OUT - General Fair Housing (Portland)2/22/2016 EPA Lead-Based Paint Renovation Certifi cation 8-Hour

(Portland)2/22/2016 Oregon Landlord Tenant Law Part II (Portland)2/25/2016 2016 Legislative Update & Short Session Preview (Eugene)2/25/2016 Basic Electrical for Spanish Speakers - Basic Electrical para his-

panohablantes (Portland)3/2/2016 New Hire (Portland)3/2/2016 March Landlord Study Hall (Portland)3/7/2016 Law and Rule Required Course (LARRC) (Portland)3/8/2016 CAMT: Heating (Portland)

3/11/2016 It’s the Law - Smokin’ Hot: Marijuana and Your Rights (Portland)3/15/2016 Curb Appeal (Portland)3/15/2016 NSPF® CPO® 2 day Certifi cation Class (Portland)3/16/2016 CAM: Human Resources Part I & II (Portland)3/17/2016 Fair Housing 150 (Portland)3/21/2016 Unit Inspections and Turnover Techniques (Corvallis)3/22/2016 CAMT: Air Conditioning (Portland)3/23/2016 CAM: Fair Housing (Portland)3/24/2016 Unit Inspections and Turnover Techniques (Portland)

Transforming the Multifamily Laundry Room Experience with Technology

800.421.6897 ext 1600

Learn more about how technology can

transform your laundry room.

www.washlaundry.com/technology

You may not think of laundry as a high-tech industry, but at

WASH we’ve invested millions in technology to transform

the laundry room experience for our customers. The result

is intelligent systems that enable:

• Real-Time Connectivity• Remote Laundry Monitoring• Quick Service• Easy Payment

WS16-121 WASH Tech Ad 10x7_5 4c.indd 1 7/23/15 1:28 PM

GOLF CAR SALES & SERVICE503-647-5001 - 800-331-9910

----------PACIFIC NW YAMAHA GOLF &

UTILITY VEHICLES

Selling New & Used Utility & Leasing VehiclesProviding Service & Repair on ALL Major Brands

14



CorporateHousingByOwner.com

CHBO reports the 7th annual CHBO Corporate Housing Real Estate survey and finds corporate

housing furnished landlords say 2016 is the year of division. Monthly corporate housing rentals, a $2.7 billion industry, is not the same as vacation rentals and should not inadvertently be lumped into that lodging segment.

To see the difference between corporate housing and vacation rentals, just look at the renter’s length of stay. The finding of this report states that 6 out of 10 respon-dents say their last tenant stayed for three months or longer. Fifteen percent (15%) say their last tenant stayed for one year or longer. At an all-time high in 2015, 78% of respondents say they would only rent their property for 30 days or more.

According to The Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA), “Corpo-rate housing is fundamentally different from other types of short-term rentals. This well-organized industry provides a valuable service to businesses, employees and others in need of temporary housing while having a sizable economic impact on the communities where it operates. It is important that policymakers and officials understand the industry’s importance and are cognizant of its particular char-acteristics and value when creating and implementing short-term rental policies.”

Reveals The Findings Of Annual Survey

Kimberly Smith, CEO of CHBO says, “there continues to be a strong need for professional corporate housing real es-tate rentals from independent property owners and managers. And personally, I believe the clients who need this type of lodging are very different from those who want a shared rental or an extended stay hotel. Think about the difference between buying a new car from a dealership ver-sus buying a used car from an individu-al. These are transactions for two types of customers with very different needs. Likewise, a relocating professional who has a high paying, high pressured job and needs to relocate his or her family of five to a new city is looking for corporate housing from a professional.”

Rental Success Starts With Under-standing Data and Trends

2016 is the year of recognition for cor-porate housing real estate as a lucrative investment niche answering the needs of a mobile workforce and others seeking quality monthly residential rentals. The outlook for the coming year held strong with 21% predicting 2016 will financially be “much better than last year.” Of those investors, 90% say their investment real estate is profitable and 45% are so posi-tive they plan on buying more investment real estate.

Mrs. Smith says, “Corporate housing is coming into its own, gaining recognition and also gaining investors who see the revenue potential.” She believes Airbnb brought to the forefront the value to rent-ers, the fun and even the “sex appeal” of what is means to immerse yourself in a community and now renters are discov-ering the corporate housing industry has been providing quality rentals for decades and takes the guessing game out of a com-munity rental.

In this year’s findings, CHBO learned that Airbnb continued to beat HomeAway as one of respondents’ “most used” mar-keting sources and for the first time also beat them as the source for the “most renters.” Surprisingly Craigslist regained

some traction, just as Facebook lost ground in all 3 marketing categories.

Our biggest surprise this year was that everyone spent less on marketing their corporate housing rental. In fact 63% (up from 55% in 2014) spent less than $500 on marketing their rental, however they were also less satisfied with their results. In 2015, respondents saying my property is “always rented” went down to 41% from 48% in 2014.

Whether you’ve owned or managed a corporate housing rental for 10+ years or you’re new to the industry, CHBO re-ports that success starts with understand-ing trends. Just because something has

Exodus from Vacation Rentals; Airbnb beats Homeaway; Craigslist beats Facebook and the Value of Corporate Housing Rentals


15



SK THE SECRET SHOPPERCurb Appeal

It’s that time of year when drive by traf-fi c can slow down, as one gray, rainy day blends into another. Occasional

sun breaks do little to brighten up your community, but rather expose areas with built up dirt and left over dead leaves. In some neighborhoods dense with apart-ment buildings, there is nothing to sep-arate one group of gray or brown build-ings from the next; they just blend into the dreariness of the day. Several smaller apartment communities on a block could actually be mistaken for one larger com-munity to people who are driving by. Th e question is:

QWhat can I do to make my community

stand out from all the others in the area?

ATh e fi rst thing to take a close look at is

the signage you are using. Th is may seem very basic, but are the signs you are using clearly visible? Can they be seen from a distance, in ALL directions, and are your signs CLEAN? Are your signs placed in such a way that it’s clear they are identi-fying YOUR building, and not the one next door? Is your signage creative and colorful? If advertising a promotion, are you using clever, eye-catching signs, banners, and/or balloons? Once a visitor drives into your community will they be able to fi nd the rental offi ce? What about managers and assistants who work out of

their apartment homes? If this is you, are there well placed directional arrows and appropriate signs so prospective renters can easily fi nd your apartment?

Th e second thing to carefully assess is the cleanliness of your community. Th is time of year is especially challenging be-cause of the unpredictable weather. One day it’s pouring down rain giving you water and mud issues to contend with, followed by a sunbreak so you have just enough time to clean up the mess before the next downpour! Th is is also the time of year when weeds begin making their appearance in the shrubs and fl owerbeds. Th ey are looking for the sun too, even though it’s not exactly gardening season

yet! However, with “all hands on deck,” this seemingly impossible goal of a clean property is completely realistic. It can be accomplished if all staff members are will-ing to take on responsibility for the out-ward appearance of the community. For maintenance staff , that would be washing down gutters, downspouts and siding, and power washing to keep sidewalks and other areas from taking on the dreaded “green hue” that is so unattractive this time of year. For offi ce staff and visiting property managers, that would mean picking up litter when you see it, as well as pulling an occasional weed, and keeping fl owers cleaned up.

Speaking of fl owers . . . Do you have any? If you don’t have colorful plants or fl owers, how are you brightening up your community to enhance its curb appeal? Is there a freshly painted fence or curbing that diff ers from your neighbors? What about the use of fl ags or balloons to high-light the entrance to your community? If you use balloons, do you keep them prop-erly infl ated? Nothing communicates ap-athy and a lack of attention to detail like defl ated (dead) balloons!

No matter what you have going for you on the “inside” of your communi-ty, no one will ever fi nd out if you can’t draw them in from the “outside.” If the basics aren’t handled at the curb, your prospective renters won’t make it to the front door.

Clear, clever signage + clean, col-orful curb appeal = countless cars carrying customers!

If you are interested in leasing training or have a question or concern you would like to see addressed, please reach out to me via e-mail. Otherwise, please con-tact Jancyn for your employee evaluation needs: www.jancyn.com

ASK THE SECRET SHOPPER Provided by: Joyce (Kirby) Bica Former owner of Shoptalk Service Evaluations Consultant to Jancyn Evaluation ShopsE-mail: [email protected] Joyce (Kirby) Bica

Robinson Financial Group Colonial Life

21780 Willamette Dr. Ste. B, West Linn, OR 97068Office: 503.557.4997 Fax: 503.557.1244

“Making Benefits Count”“Making Benefits Count”

1/8 Page4 7/8” x 3 5/8” bwOn-Site4

ON-SITE-NW SEATTLEVALLEY, METRO, ARIZONA APT. NEWSSalsbury IndustriesFeb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec

1010 East 62nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90001-1598Phone: 1-800-624-5269 • Fax: 1-800-624-5299

1/8 Page4 7/8” x 3 5/8” bwOn-Site3a

ON-SITEVALLEY, METRO, ARIZONA APT. NEWSSalsbury Industries

Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov,

The Industry Leader in Quality

Order Factory Direct!Contact Us Today for a Free Catalog!

1010 East 62nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90001-1598Phone: 1-800-624-5269 • Fax: 1-800-624-5299

Octoberp September

p

Advertise inRental Housing Journal Metro

Circulated to over 6,000 apartment owners, on-site and maintenance personnel monthly.


16



• Off er local merchant discounts or gift cards to new and renewing residents.

• Off er a referral fee to merchants.

In exchange your local merchant can:• Post your apartment building ad on no-

tice boards or shopping carts.

• Include your ad in company fl yers and mailings.

• Provide word of mouth advertising.Th e extra eff ort spent in meeting your

local merchants can be rewarding on both a personal and fi nancial level.

4. Send a “Feel Good” Letter to Your Current Residents

Your current residents can be the most infl uential marketing group you have around. Sending occasional thank you letters to your residents will help establish a sense of community.

But it goes beyond creating happy feel-ings. When your resident loves where they live they will tell their friends and family. Establish a referral incentive program at your property where each referring resi-dent gets a gift , bonus, or rent discount.

Some eff ective ways to get the word out are by:

• Hosting a resident referral party.

• Sponsoring a community yard sale.

• Holding open houses with tours of the property.When you receive a compliment from

one of your residents be sure to ask them if they would be willing to share it online.

5. Pick the “Right” Property Man-agement Company

Some property management compa-nies have amazing branding. Find out who they are and hire them—or watch them closely so that you can model their branding. Th ese are the management companies that off er the “cool” factor to their residents.

Sometimes the branding is as simple as off ering a “green” element to living at their communities. For example, recy-cling programs are a very inexpensive and desirable service to off er at your property.

You can create your own buzz and cool factor by off ering something as simple as pre-leasing. Include text such as “Now Pre-Leasing for Large Two-Bedrooms” in your online advertising and on your property signage.

It may not seem like a big deal but pre-leasing can tell prospective residents that they are with a proactive manage-ment company. It also implies that your property is a desirable building to live in because people want to sign leases months before they are able move-in.

Th eresa Bradley-BantaFounder + CEOTheresa Bradley-Banta writes, speaks and men-tors on investing in real estate while avoiding the pitfalls that plague many investors.Over the past ten years she has owned or had primary ownership roles in single-family rentals, multifamily properties and international sin-gle-family development projects from $50K to greater than $9M. Theresa has performed due diligence on hundreds of multifamily properties and is a consultant to clients with an aggregate portfolio value in excess of $150M.

5 Extraordinary Ways to Market ...continued from page 3Help Your Prospective Residents ...continued from page 10

One of the best ways to measure this is by adding an inbound marketing pro-gram to your content.

Sometimes people confuse content marketing and inbound marketing. Th e important thing is to do both. Inbound marketing is a great way to measure the ROI of your content marketing.

For instance, if you create a great piece of content that helps your potential or current residents solve their problem with content you create, they will be more than willing to give you their email address in exchange for that great piece of content.

You create a form for them to fi ll out which they will gladly do if the content you are providing is so valuable they might even pay for it as author Jay Baer says at convinceandconvert.com.

Th en, using this core piece of content, you can create additional marketing spokes around this hub which include email newsletters, social media and more for your apartment communities.

Understanding ExpectationsIf you decide that inbound marketing

and content marketing are right for your property management business – or may-

be you are already using some form of it – understanding expectations is a critical factor.

How are you going to measure success? What metrics are you going to track and how are you going to optimize for those metrics? Th e wonderful thing about digi-tal marketing is that you can track many, many things and easily get lost in the trees and not see the forest.

What are the metrics that matter to your rental business? Defi ne the key ones and then track and watch and see what is working. Frequently it does not work right in the beginning and you will have to tweak the message to get the right fi t with your audience.

Th ese are just a few key points to consid-er in your inbound marketing program.

By John TriplettSpecial Editorial ContributorRental Housing Journal off ers inbound and con-tent marketing services to property management companies and industry service providers. For more information, email [email protected]

FAST &

FRIENDLY

NEAT &

CLEAN

SERVICE

★ ★ ★

ENSURE

YOUR

CHIMNEY

IS SAFE

AND

PROPERLY

MAINTAINED

★ ★ ★

LICENSED

BONDED

INSURED

OR #49750

WA LICENSE #

PORTCI005PZ

All Work Guaranteed and Done By Experienced Professionals

SPECIAL DISCOUNTS ON

VOLUME UNITS SERVICED

FOR CHIMNEY & DRYER VENT

CLEANINGS AND INSPECTIONS!

Call today for a

FREE ESTIMATEon all chimney repairs and cleanings:

Guaranteed Professionals

SPECIAL D ISCOUNT

ON ANY MANUFACTURED FIREPLACE PANEL SUPPLIED AND INSTALLED.

PORTLAND CHIMNEY ® (503) 256-9140

APARTMENT SERVICES:Manufactured Fireplace PanelsChimney cleaning and inspectionsChimney CapsChimney Chase coversDryer Vent cleaning and inspections

Mention this ad

10% off

17



Inherit A House? ...continued from page 12

there to be the fi rst ones in line. Reviewing the applications aft er they

left Jayne noticed that only two of the students had any real employment histo-ry and two never had any jobs at all. She doubted that these optimistic students could aff ord the rent for long. However, she remembered the attorney’s warning about the rules preventing tenant dis-crimination and called her local landlord association for help.

She had found the application form through the landlord association website and was curious what other resources they could off er. She found the regional not-for-profi t organization had plenty of good information. In addition to spon-soring monthly educational dinner meet-ings they had a newsletter providing tips for improving property management, sponsored annual training seminars, and had an extensive mentor and vendor re-ferral program.

From them she got linked to a credit checking company and discovered that the roommates were not qualifi ed to rent the house. She learned what screening criteria she could legally use and was able to get the correct rental agreements just in time for the next applicant to pass all her screening criteria.

Problems and SolutionsShe thought she found the perfect ten-

ants, young, up and coming, and eager to start their family. Within a year they had their fi rst baby. Th ey sent Jayne the birth announcement and she was so proud she had off ered them their fi rst home. But af-ter 24 months she noticed the rent com-ing later and later and then not at all. Th e

husband said they had struggled since his wife quit work aft er having their son. Jayne sympathized for a while but eventu-ally was forced to hire an attorney to evict them. Th ey left a fi lthy home, with some damages, which her handyman charged her $4,000 to fi x. Only later did she real-ize his limitations included plumbing and he had overcharged her in attempt to fi x something he had little experience with. Just preparing the house for her second tenant turn was so painful that Jayne con-sidered selling it aft er all.

Th en Jayne realized that she had some-thing in common with her handyman. She had her strengths and limitations. She was at the height of her career. Her employer had just off ered her a national account that would come with a boost in

pay and lots of travel. She loved to travel. She loved hotels. She loved her little high rise apartment where she didn’t need to worry about plumbing and landscaping. Wasn’t that the reason why she didn’t want real estate to begin with?

She also loved the gift her grandmother had given her and decided to rethink her approach. She interviewed a series of property managers and decided that their expertise was worth the cost to take care of her home. Aft er fi ve years of renting out her grandmother’s home hassle free she decided to refi nance it and bought a four-plex with the equity. Her property manager also took over management of that property.

Over a period of 20 years she man-

aged to increase her portfolio to 20 units (her goal), and her cash fl ow to $7,000 a month which combined with her savings, healthy 401K and social security benefi ts was enough for her to retire on and travel for pleasure this time.

503-281-6390Cell (503) 349-7208 • Lic - Bond - Ins

Diversif iedCleaning Services

Specializing In Apartments, Estate & One-Time Move-Outs

• Janitorial Service• Complete Estate &

House Cleaning• Floor Maintenance• Capets/Windows

• Move-In/Move Out• Gutter Cleaning• Power Washing• Common Areas

*Complete selection of user friendly property management forms, available pre-printed or online

*Effective legislative advocacy and monitoring

*Networking opportunities with other local landlords, managers and other industry leaders

*Educational programs and seminars on property management, landlord/tenant laws, on property management, landlord/tenant laws,

fair housing, evictions and more

Membership Inquiries – [email protected]

18



CorporateHousingByOwner.com Reveals ...continued from page 14

worked in the past doesn’t mean it will work in the future. If you pay attention to the trends and avoid getting stuck doing the same thing over and over, you great-ly increase your opportunities for rental (and fi nancial) success.

Mrs. Smith says corporate housing landlording is nothing new, but obvious-ly an increasingly popular option these days for the savvy real estate investor. “My hope is that this report will contin-ue to help real estate corporate housing landlords become more educated, knowl-edgeable and profi table as it allows them to deep-dive into emerging rental trends and how such trends will impact them personally.”

What You Should Know About This Report

Th is report is diff erent from other prop-erty management reports because it re-fl ects input from independent owners and property managers, rather than full-ser-vice corporate housing companies.

Our survey was open to anyone who owned or managed a furnished, month-ly residential rental in 2015 – not just to CHBO users. Our goal is to get the best snapshot of the independent corporate housing segment, so you can learn from relevant trends and be more successful.

Other key fi ndings from the survey include

Rental rates rising. 39% of respondents — an all-time high — report charging higher or much higher rental rates in 2015. Th is number has been rising since 2013. We also saw a 3% decrease in the number of respondents who say their rental rates were identical to the previous year.

Actual Rental Rates. Compared to our 2014 survey results, actual rental rates were higher in 2015. Th e one exception was for studio units, which showed a slight decrease in month-to-month rental rates. Four bedroom rentals saw the larg-est increase in rental rates.

Investment Real Estate Trends. Con-sistent with previous years, more respon-dents say, “Yes, I plan on buying more real estate” (45%), than “No, I’m done with real estate” (18%). Unlike previous years, however, the number of respondents who say they’re done with real estate investing rose 5%.

Corporate housing has gone to the ‘burbs. Consistent with previous years’ results, 49% of respondents say their cor-porate rental properties are located in urban, business districts. 44% say their properties are located in suburban areas.

You’ve Got Pets. We saw a slight in-crease in the number of property owners who accept pets compared to 2014. Now, 38% of survey respondents say they ac-cept pets (down from the all-time high of 50% in 2011).

Reasons for Being a Corporate Housing Landlord. Th e majority of respondents — 58% — tell us they’re landlords for “investment purposes.” With a 15% re-sponse, the second most common reason for being a landlord is renting a “primary residence.”

Renter Types. “Relocation” renters rose to 45% — up 3% over 2014. We also saw all-time highs in renters due to: “home re-models” (30%), “movies/entertainment” (15%) and “divorce” (20%). We’ve seen annual increases in renters due to divorce since 2010.

Security Deposits, Travel Insurance and ARDI. 88% of respondents collect a refundable security deposit — most oft en, $500 to $1000 or one month’s rent. Th e number of respondents who collect “no kind of deposit” hit an all-time low of 4%. 26% of respondents say they off er travel insurance and/or Accidental Rental Dam-age Insurance (ARDI) to their renters.

Credit Cards. Approximately 57% of respondents say they accept some form of credit card payment from their rent-ers, down slightly from last year. In 2015, MasterCard and Visa tied with PayPal as the most popular credit solutions.

Internet Reservations. Once again, we asked property owners about real-time booking reservations (in which a prop-erty is leased through a computer web-site without any interaction between the property owner and tenant). Similar to 2014, 44% of respondents say they’ve used one of these programs.

To download a free copy of all seven Corporate Housing Real Estate Reports, please visit www.CorporateHousingby-Owner.com.

About Corporate Housing by Owner (CHBO)

CHBO is a Team of Corporate Hous-ing Professionals. CHBO works daily to support quality corporate housing rent-als and qualifi ed renters fi nd solutions. We are focused on Corporate Housing rentals around the world and our on-line portal works to connect properties and renters as quickly as possible. CHBO was founded in 2006 out of a need to connect private homeowners and real estate inves-tors off ering furnished, monthly rentals with corporate housing seekers such as traveling executives, relocated profession-als, traveling nurses, actors, athletes and more. Th e company provides individu-al homeowners and investors resources and guidance to help them strategically manage their corporate housing rental properties as well as exposes their prop-erties to thousands of potential tenants worldwide who are seeking monthly housing options.

19



Apartment Leasing and Marketing Program ...continued from page 8

• Offering creative concessions and in-centives to new and existing residents.

• Creating greater curb appeal to improve marketing.

• Establishing a new leasing and market-ing plan and,

• Hiring a temporary leasing agent in ad-dition to the leasing services your man-agement company provides.

4. Creative concessionsIf your market is giving away free or

discounted rent in order to lease units, you and your management team can come up with alternatives that don’t cost you in property income. For example, if you charge for parking and your spaces are not full, give your resident free park-ing for three months instead of lowering the rental amount.

5. Current and prospective resident incentives

Entice your current residents to get the word out about your apartment building and apartment units to their friends, fam-ily and coworkers. Create an incentive for prospective residents to help lease apart-ment units in lieu of offering them other concessions such as discounted rent. For each new lease signed give the referring resident a $25 gift certificate or other at-tractive bonuses and incentives.

6. Current vacancyProviding a current rent roll and his-

torical financials will be a requirement of getting financing. Your lender will ask for these documents and they will be fully apprised of any vacancies at your proper-ty. Don’t shy away from describing where you are today and where you plan to be in

6 months, 12 months, etc. Let your lender know you have a solid plan for leasing and lease renewals.

7. Upside to current rentsA lender does not want to hear that you

will be blazing new trails with the rents you plan to get. Do not be tempted to claim you can rent units for amounts that are far above what the apartment market receives—unless it’s true. And if you pur-chased a property that cannot command current market rents you’ll need to ad-dress how you plan to make appropriate changes in order to catch up to your local apartment market.

On the other hand your lender will love to hear that your rents are below market and that you can easily catch up to the competition. By having solid market re-search on the comparable rents in your submarket you will be able to address your plan knowledgeably.

8. Annual income and expense bud-get forecast

Provide a 12-month spreadsheet budget for income and expenses. This spread-sheet will include all income and all ex-penses for the property from day one through the next 12 months. You should also include all planned capital expenses that exceed normal property operation requirements such as major building sys-tem repairs or replacement.

Your commercial property manage-ment company can prepare an annual budget. Use it not only to project future cash needs if any, but also to monitor your property operations. If your income falls short of projections or your expens-es exceed projections you have a baseline to work from when you address the issue

with your property management compa-ny.

Read Creating an Annual Operating Budget for Your Multifamily Property to understand the benefits of preparing an annual income and expense forecast.

9. Additional sources of incomeIf you have untapped sources of income

describe them. For example you might be able to rent out unused storage space, lease unused parking spaces, increase laundry coin operation amounts or im-plement a utility reimbursement plan (commonly called RUBS) where your ten-ants will pay for their utility usage. It is not unlikely that the current owner has overlooked additional sources of income. Let your lender know you have the exper-tise to increase revenue.

10. Advertising strategyHow and where will you advertise units

for rent? Make a list that includes:

• Online rental sites.

• Newspapers.

• Local merchants.Clearly define your marketing budget,

frequency of posts/ads/notices, system for ad response follow-up and professional appearance. Will you have a designated leasing agent? If so, include that individ-ual in your list of team members with ap-propriate contact information.

11. Property curb appealAn apartment building with great curb

appeal is easier to rent. By investing a small amount of your time and renova-tion budget you can change the entire look of your property. New shrubbery, signage, blinds and landscaping can have

a major impact on your ability to attract new residents.

12. Local apartment market “sizzle”Market sizzle comes in all shapes and

sizes. Your submarket renters might want free WiFi, wood floors or in unit washers and dyers. Study your local apartment market and let your lender know that you can give prospective renters what they’re looking for. Plan for these expenses in your renovation budget.

13. Current leases and lease expira-tion dates

Review all current leases and demon-strate a solid understanding of your cur-rent resident status and lease renewal dates. Have a plan for staggering lease re-newals for all new leases.

14. Local police department prem-ise history

Most police departments keep a log of all visits to a property. This is typically called a premise history. If it’s clean use it in your marketing. For example you might advertise a “Safe, secure, quiet building.” A good report speaks volumes about the neighborhood in which your property is located.

Theresa Bradley-BantaFounder + CEOTheresa Bradley-Banta writes, speaks and men-tors on investing in real estate while avoiding the pitfalls that plague many investors.Over the past ten years she has owned or had primary ownership roles in single-family rentals, multifamily properties and international sin-gle-family development projects from $50K to greater than $9M. Theresa has performed due diligence on hundreds of multifamily properties and is a consultant to clients with an aggregate portfolio value in excess of $150M.

Don’t take chances with staffing! Our temps are tested, trained, experienced, and fully insured!

Serving The Pacific Northwest

Since

Daily • Weekly • Monthly • PermanentTemporary On-Site Staff

Managers • Leasing Agents • Maintenance • Grounds Keepers

Greater Seattle-Tacoma Area

(425) 456-3663

www.apartmentadvantage.com

Greater Portland-Vancouver Area

(503) 644-8233

Need Staffing?

20



Rental Housing Journal Metro February 2016

Documents