Jessica Fiur

What’s in a Name?

It’s important to think through all the possibilities before you name your community. You don’t want to turn off potential renters. Bart: He lied about his name! Lisa: His name doesn’t matter, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Bart: Not if you called him Stench Blossom. Homer: Or Crap […]

06 / 07 / 16

Marketing

Snapchat Scoop

It’s possible you’re not using Snapchat yet for your apartment marketing. Or at all. And, I don’t blame you on that one. It’s hard enough monitoring your community Facebook page. And Twitter account. And maybe you even set up an Instagram account. What about Pinterest? Phew. That’s a lot of social media! Why incorporate another […]

06 / 01 / 16

Marketing

Dylan Pichulik

Not all costs are spelled out in a lease agreement, according to Dylan Pichulik, CEO of Yardi client XL Real Property Management. We recently interviewed Pichulik about hidden costs associated with rental units. Tell me about XL Real Property Management. Pichulik: I created XL Real Property Management as a way to better serve offsite owners […]

09 / 11 / 14

Bruce Keene

Residents are sometimes quick to post negative reviews on apartment rating sites, but don’t always take the time to write positive reviews. However, there is a solution to this. MHN talks to Bruce Keene, president of management services of Tampa, Fla.-based Franklin Street, a Yardi client, about some trends he is seeing in property management, […]

06 / 13 / 14

Not So Super

This year, the Super Bowl will be held in East Rutherford, N.J. I live in New Jersey, not too far from there. Because of this, my apartment community recently sent an email memo to all residents saying that all subleases need to be approved, and that they will not be approving any near or around the […]

01 / 27 / 14

Gone to the Dogs

Pet-friendly buildings are currently the cat’s meow (or the dog’s wagging tail, as it were)—and this trend doesn’t seem to be waning any time soon. And many property managers are going beyond being just pet friendly, and are offering amenities for the pets themselves. First came the dog runs. Then came the pet washing stations. […]

10 / 31 / 13

Google Invests

Franklin Street Family Apartments, a new affordable community in Mountain View, Calif., has a tech-savvy benefactor. The $23.4 million multifamily community, which was developed by ROEM Corp., received $6.5 million in equity from Google. The tech giant also provided a grant to provide computers and free Internet access to residents. “Our investment in Franklin Street […]

09 / 12 / 13

Affordable housing

LCOR

Though Philadelphia is a major city, on the whole, many apartment developers haven’t sought out to construct new buildings in the area. However, Yardi client LCOR, a real estate development, management and investment company, is looking to expand their pipeline in the area, which they consider to have unique attributes. “I think this is an […]

09 / 03 / 13

Designing Unique Apartments

Just because the community isn’t student housing doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun when you’re designing or staging the units. The Residences at W Hollywood, the residential branch of the W Hollywood Hotel, recently hired Christopher Grubb, president of Arch-Interiors Design Group, to design one of their penthouse units. Flat-screen televisions, a putting […]

08 / 29 / 13

Bike Sharing

Bikes are extremely attractive to apartment renters who live in urban areas. After all, bikes are green, they don’t take up a lot of space and riding is great exercise. Plus they allow riders to avoid being stuck in city traffic jams, which alone makes up for the cost of the bike. Many apartments […]

08 / 23 / 13

Going Smoke-Free

Banning smoking in apartments is often a controversial move that might be met with some resistance, especially if the building didn’t originally have this as a restriction. If residents are smokers, they might resent being told that they cannot smoke in their own homes. However, there are many benefits to banning smoking in a community. […]

08 / 08 / 13

Kolluri Joins Pennrose

Philadelphia-based development company Pennrose recently hired former HUD Deputy Chief of Staff Lopa Kolluri as their vice president of operations. In this position, Kolluri plans to bridge the relationships between government and private stakeholders, particularly in terms of affordable housing. According to Kolluri, budgets and resources are being tightened, and because of this there is […]

07 / 14 / 13

Still Recovering

Seven months after Hurricane Sandy barricaded into the East Coast, New York and surrounding areas are still reeling from the impact. The massive superstorm left an indelible mark on a number of buildings and infrastructure projects, and reverberations of the damages will also affect many future developments. At the New York State Association for Affordable […]

06 / 13 / 13

Apartments Get Arty

A man’s home is his castle. But a person’s apartment community could be her gym, business center and social lounge. And, in some cases, a gallery. That’s right; some property managers are setting up art installations so that residents can view beautiful works of art from famous and local artists right in their very own […]

06 / 11 / 13