Thinking Green Saves $

Even though Apartment Managers have plenty on their plates, adding environmental awareness is good business. Kim Duty, Vice President of Communications for Multifamily Housing Report has a green tip for us:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a multifamily version of its ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The online energy performance tracking tool allows building owners and operators to measure and manage their buildings’ energy consumption.

A comparable tool has existed for the office sector for more than a decade, and the National Multi Housing Council has been urging EPA to release a multifamily-specific version for years. The tool will allow apartment owners to assess their portfolios’ energy performance, identify under-performing buildings, set investment priorities to make targeted energy efficiency improvements and earn recognition for achievements.

Using Portfolio Manager, apartment firms can enter building square footage and whole-community energy and water data, as well as optional building attributes, to benchmark performance.

To learn more about the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, visit NMHC’s Green Practices web site at www.nmhc.org/goto/5147.   To learn more about National Multi Housing Council go to www.NMHC.org.  They have a number of free industry related resources.  And remember…green’s not just good for the environment…it’s good business.

If you’re ready to upgrade your investment  performance, contact Rick M. Bean at: 503.577.1034 or:  rick@rosecitycre.com.

The two times when profitablity managing a property is important are when you want to keep, it and when you want to sell it.  Property managers need training to perform at their best.  This opportunity for FREE training should not be missed.  Grace Hill Property Management Training does a great job…here’s a no cost way to give them a try:
Dealing with Difficult People
PRESENTED BY: Jackie Ramstedt, Deb Bronson & Terri Norvell
COST: Spherexx.com is sponsoring this event…there will be no cost to you. Thanks Spherexx.com!

DATE/TIME: Friday, May15, 2009 – 1pm PT

SESSION DESCRIPTION: Can you remember the last time you had to deal with difficult people or an event where someone was negative?  Never fear!  Our positive panelists will chat about what you can do in the future to get through these tough situations with harmony and grace.

RSVP: Visit Gracehill Taining at: www.gracehill.com and look for the details of this event on their home page. Click the RSVP link to sign up and receive Chat Event Instructions.  Then, log into Grace Hill about 10 minutes prior to the event and click on the Chat Room link, under the chat description, to be delivered to their Chat Room. 

* Please note that space is limited to 350 attendees in our chat room.  Be sure to log-in to the chat room 10 – 15 minutes prior to the event.  
 

What else is free?  Call contact me at 503.577.1034 or rick@rosecitycre.com for an equity redeployment assessment.

Beautiful, Affordable Portland

One of the metrics to look at when picking an area for a long term investment is the affordability index.  And by that I don’t mean looking soley at how much the median income is in an area…I mean:

Average Rent/Median Household Income = Affordability Index.  (What portion of your pay goes to rent?)

It’s great that some investment counselors track Median Household Income (MHI), but without the context of average rent for that area we really don’t have a way to evaluate areas that have long-term rent expansion capability.  An obvious example is New York City.  Clearly the MHI is higher there, but so are average rents.  New York has an affordabilty Index of 57.2%.  That means that between half and two thirds of the household income goes for rent.  I suggest that while NYC has posted impressive rent gains for all property types, that the pace of those increase is likely to wane…how much more than 57% of your income could you afford to pay for rent?   Years ago I had an employee that considered himself to be a real tout, a master horse race handicapper.  Mark would always tell me:  “Rick, there are horses that run fast, and horses that run long…but aint no horse that runs fast and long.”

Highly Ranked Portland

With Average Rents at $825 and Median Household Incomes at $57,757, Portland’s Affordability Index is 16.8%.  That’s fifth in the nation.  Portland-Beaverton-Vancouver “Asking Rents” jumped an average of of 3.1% in the fourth quarter of last year compared to a year earlier.   Full disclosure:  Oklahoma City had the nations best ratio at 12.3%…but the catch is that if you move there …every morning you wake up in Oklahoma.

With room for long term rents to expand and a great area to live in, isn’t this a great time to invest in Portland area multifamily properties?