Shrewd apartment owners understand that the greater financial value in an apartment transaction can be had during the acquisition—not the exit. Industry veteran Ian Mattingly, President of LumaCorp in Dallas, speaks from experience. He is part of a management team that carries more than 90 years of investor experience when it comes to applying due diligence. LumaCorp owns 24 communities that include over 6,000 total units. It has made 45 acquisitions in the past 32 years. Mattingly is one of three panelists who will speak about how to avoid “nasty surprises” during the process at a session at MAXIMIZE: 2016 Multifamily Asset Management Conference at Loews Coronado in the San Diego area Oct. 17-19. “When we begin our talks with new investors, we like to tell them that we have a lot of experience in making mistakes,” Mattingly says. “We tell them not to expect everything that happens when buying and selling apartments to work out perfectly. We have made our fair amount of mistakes. But what we also tell them is that we won’t make the same mistake twice.” Mattingly, whose firm focuses on Class B and C properties in Texas, will share knowledge about the process that is applicable to any apartment market. Among his focus will be re-inspections, city and county governments, building codes, fire codes, lease addenda, repairs and resident audits. “We specialize in markets where the bulk of the apartment product was built in the 1980s.” Mattingly says. “So we’ve been buying ‘80s-vintage properties for over 20 years. Of course, those properties are a lot older now than they were 20 years ago.” Inspections. Mattingly says it’s easy to overlook issue with city codes and inspections during due diligence. “You’ll find that as some of these buildings get older,...

Once you submit your maintenance request via RentCafe client portal, you may have to wait a few hours before a technician completes service—unless Jorge Blanco is your maintenance tech. He’ll probably be finished before you can answer the front door. Jorge Blanco, service manager with Yardi client Kettler, is the reigning National Champion of the National Apartment Association’s (NAA) 2016 Maintenance Mania. He won with a record-breaking 1:11.618 completion time of eight tasks. Yes. Eight. Blanco competed in an elimination-style qualifying series against 4,000 maintenance professionals from across the nation.  In the end, 20 finalists remained. The group competed at Maintenance Mania during the NAA Education Conference and Exposition in San Francisco. Contestants raced to complete the following tasks: A.O. Smith water heater installation CFG faucet repair Fluidmaster toilet repair Frigidaire icemaker installation Kidde fire and carbon monoxide safety installation Kwikset key control deadbolt teas Seasons ceiling fan installation Racecar derby The last task is not something that most maintenance specialists face on the job. It requires the DIY construction of a model car that must integrate three maintenance products. The car must make its way around a track and to the finish line before its creator can reign as champion. Blanco is no stranger to Maintenance Mania. He has won the championship four times since the competition started 10 years ago.  He believes that he has held the title for so long because Kettler provides a supportive environment for employee training. “Kettler has provided us with a facility that we rent, me and the other technicians, giving us a place where we can actually practice for the event,” says Blanco. “That’s where we practice the ice maker, the Fluidmaster, the smoke detector, and things like that. I think that by them providing that...

I just got back from last week’s National Apartment Association Education Conference in San Francisco. It was really well attended with almost 10,000 people at the exposition, trade show and classes. I was amazed at all of the exhibits and t-shirt wearing professionals professing their love for Apple products. At least until a really big security guard (by San Francisco standards) politely tapped my shoulder and asked to see my badge. After explaining I was looking for the NAA meeting, he smiled and explained there are two sections of the Moscone convention center, and I was clearly in the wrong one. I must admit, I was offended. To be told I wasn’t nerdy enough to be at an Apple convention wasn’t how I wanted to start my day. I didn’t even get to buy a nerdy t-shirt, or try the apple-sickle dessert specialty. I left feeling that I had been thrown out of better places and after two light cycles (you really have to pay attention in San Francisco) I made it across the street into the correct part of Moscone Center. A building I renamed ‘the sequel.’ I had been to a number of NAA meetings before, but this one was special. It featured some events I had never seen, the first of which was the Alcatraz fun run. Immediately after checking in and seeing just one session, several thousand (could be a few hundred, hard to tell) got out of their seats, jammed the escalator and walked resolutely toward the Alcatraz pick up point. The proof was in the plethora of photo embossed t-shirts with their faces adorned as if escaping from Al Capone’s, both an Italian restaurant and night club but also a prison cell of some distinction. Having been to...

The Yardi team traveled from all corners to attend the annual National Apartment Association (NAA) Education Conference and Exposition in San Francisco last week. More than 9,200 apartment industry professionals joined us for one of the biggest shows of the year. We participated in educational sessions, scoped out new trends, and had a blast meeting with clients and colleagues in the multifamily space. 7 Things We Learned at the 2016 NAA Education Conference and Expo Googlers Have It Good On Wednesday, our friends at Google took us (and some lucky clients) on a tour of the Googleplex in Mountain View. Between the campus bikes, nap pods, and friendly sculptures, their corporate culture is every bit as fantastic as we expected. Michael Strahan Wants to Be the Male Oprah He said so himself! NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan was the keynote speaker on Thursday. He discussed motivation, overcoming obstacles, and maximizing your career. He also talked real estate. “I love real estate. It’s a passion of mine. I am a big fan of real estate fixer-uppers. I’m good at demo. If you can’t hit a quarterback, hit a wall,” he joked. Strahan shared that it’s particularly important to him to acknowledge and thank everyone he works with – whether it’s a producer, make-up artist, or the custodial staff – noting that “everyone makes the ship run.” We couldn’t agree more. 3. ENERGY STAR Ratings Aren’t Just for Appliances It turns out that buildings can have ENERGY STAR ratings, too. On a panel moderated by Yardi’s Gene Cattani, Michael Zatz, manager for ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), desc ribed how the EPA recently launched an aggressive multifamily energy scoring system. ENERGY STAR now has more than 30,000 multifamily properties using...

Do you have plans for NAA’s second annual National Apartment Housing Day (NAHD)? If not, you’re about to miss out on a fantastic opportunity to engage with residents, promote retention, and possibly generate new leads. NAA created the hashtag #aptday to unite owners, managers, agents, and residents for one day of social media sharing and caring. As exciting as this is for those of us who are in the industry, it doesn’t naturally generate buzz with residents. This is where your creativity comes in. #aptday can be used to promote resident retention. Research shows that there is a strong correlation between the median age of renters and low retention rates. Younger renters tend to be more transient. Using events like National Apartment Housing Day, in conjunction with social media, is a good way to catch the attention of young renters. You can engage with them, re-establish the value of your product, and let them know that their loyalty is appreciated all in one swoop. Young renters know that they have options. Make yours the most appealing option by building a one-on-one relationship with them. Here are a few ways that you can engage residents during National Apartment Housing Day. Create Friendly Competition Consider creating a competition between your community and a neighboring complex. You may also consider a competition between residents from one building to another. Competitions are a great way to promote resident engagement and trigger our natural desire to win. Of course, you must advertise something worth winning. Competitions between neighborhoods could entail a pool party with a renowned local DJ, or happy hour at a popular restaurant with one free round of drinks. If you’re creating a competition between residents, consider gender neutral prizes such as rent discounts, gifts cards to...

The National Apartment Association’s annual education conference and exposition brought hundreds of apartment industry professionals to sunny Las Vegas. The week-long event drew a record-breaking 9,000+ attendees to the conference, which was held at the Mandalay Bay Resort from Tuesday, June 23 to Saturday, June 27. The conference kicked off on Tuesday with a celebrity expert “Game Changer” series that focused on personal growth experiences and lessons learned in business. With over sixty industry-focused workshops, the conference offered attendees eight tracks of sessions. The tracks included specialized sessions in Human Resources, Leasing, Legal Issues, Maintenance, Marketing, Operations, Special Needs Populations, and Technology. Particularly helpful, the conference smartphone app allowed conference attendees and exhibitors to view speaker bios, access session descriptions, build customized daily schedules, and find exhibitor booth locations. #NAAEduConf always gives attendees new ideas to consider, and here are three big takeaways from 2015. Generational sub-markets are more complicated than we thought. The housing industry has had a keen focus on the maturation of the Millennial generation, which includes individuals born between 1981 to 1997. A renewed interest in other generations, such as Baby Boomers and Gen Z, was an emerging theme at this year’s NAA conference. The population of aging Baby Boomers in the United States is anticipated to reach 73 million by 2030. The apartment industry is seeing many now senior Boomers selling their homes and searching for tech-friendly senior living communities. Additionally, college-bound Gen Z will be a generation to follow, as they are predicted to become the most technologically advanced and largest college-bound generation to date. Each of these growing populations will have different needs and desires when it comes to housing, and the apartment industry is wise to take a deeper look into the complicated intricacies of each...

LAS VEGAS – Amid the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas strip, the National Apartment Association kicked off its annual education conference and exhibition at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on Tuesday. According to NAA President Douglas Culkin, this year the event brings together a record-breaking 9,000 multifamily professionals for a week of learning and networking. The conference showcased an expanded educational “Game Changer” series. The six star-studded sessions focused on topics from technology and leadership to business acumen and industry knowledge. Featured experts included Robin Chase, the founder and former CEO of Zipcar, Buzzcar, and GoLoco, and Richard Karlgaard, angel investor and bestselling author and publisher of Forbes Magazine. In addition, the conference boasted over sixty industry-focused workshops and breakout sessions. Attendees heard from experts on everything from sub-market trends and digital marketing best practices to revenue management and prospect conversion. This year, NAA’s conference app allowed attendees to create customized schedules, including the ability to select from a variety of industry tracks. Opening Highlights Thursday morning’s general session opened by revealing the new NAA logo and tagline. The new NAA tagline, “We Lead the Way Home,” was selected for its representation of the industry and mission of its professionals: To create a sense of community among residents and professionals alike. Opening remarks also focused on the continued support of the NAA Education Institute, which according to its website, the committee identified several key areas impacting the apartment industry. These included recruitment, training, leadership development, succession and retention of talent. During the opening session, NAA launched its NAAEI Now capital campaign, which will aim to raise $7.5 million over a multi-year plan to meet these needs. During the launch, conference attendees were invited to contribute to the campaign via text message donation....

If you’re looking for ways to make procurement for your real estate interests faster, easier and less expensive, read on to find out how Yardi and The Home Depot can help. At the National Apartment Association’s Education Conference (#NAAEduConf) this week, attendees to the Las Vegas event can learn how to take their procurement process to the next level. If you are looking for creative ways to better your business, this is one you don’t want to miss. Yardi Marketplace provides a powerful suite of services for owners and operators. We recently had the opportunity to chat with The Home Depot’s Scott Matthews, Director, Strategic Accounts for the home improvement retailer. Read on to get more insight from Scott into how The Home Depot partners with Yardi on a competitive procurement solution. Last year, The Home Depot and Yardi announced an exciting new partnership. How would you describe The Home Depot’s vital role within Yardi Marketplace? Matthews: One of the many great things about The Home Depot and Yardi Marketplace relationship is that customers have full access to all of the products that The Home Depot offers. All participating customers have the ability to access The Home Depot products by using Yardi Marketplace. Full-service Yardi clients have the ability to access The Home Depot catalog through Yardi Marketplace, while enjoying the full Procure-to-Pay experience. In both cases, customers can still purchase directly at the store if needed or order through Yardi Marketplace for free in-store pickup or free delivery.  The Yardi Marketplace is a free program for all participating customers. How do you find the average property manager or maintenance supervisor uses The Home Depot for procurement, and are they missing any chances to shop smarter? Matthews: Property managers using The Home Depot for...

It’s one of the industry’s most-anticipated conferences of the year. Yardi is proud to be a sponsor of the National Apartment Association’s annual Education Conference and Expo, taking place June 24-26 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center in Las Vegas. NAA offers attendees to experience the latest innovation in the apartment industry, from best practices for business, to marketing strategy, to new on-site ideas. The takeaways are extensive and the opportunity to learn is limited only by the number of hours in the day. As you’re planning your conference schedule, here are a few sessions that should definitely land on the “don’t miss this list.” “Let’s Get Engaged! 7 Tips to Build Resident Relationships that Last” Technology Booth #2505, Friday, 6/26 1:00-2:00pm Esther Bonardi, Yardi Apartment All Star Esther Bonardi is an industry expert on digital apartment marketing, and retaining residents is one of her specialties. You won’t want to miss her insight on advertising, lead tracking, social media, online search, and much more. “Putting Research to Work: Understand Customers & Outperform the Market” Thursday, 6/25 11:30am – 12:30pm Jack Kern, Multi-Housing News Want to be able to read the minds of your renters? In this session, Multi-Housing News and Commercial Property Executive publisher Jack Kern will outline useful practices to help understand how and why renters make the choices they do, and explain how customer-centric property research can benefit your business. “Pricing to Win: Using Revenue Management to Sign More Leases” Friday, 6/26 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Ian Mattingly, CPM, LumaCorp Inc. Tammy Atkins, CPM, Heritage Apartments Shannon Hayden, Epoch Management, Inc. Mark Haldi, Bridge Property Management This exceptional panel of apartment industry peers will focus on the magic of revenue management. If you have ever wondered about how this...

Yardi is proud to be a Diamond Sponsor of the National Apartment Association’s Education Conference & Expo, set for Denver, Colo. later this month. This dynamic event is one of the most anticipated multifamily shows of the year, promising exceptional opportunities for learning, engagement, inspiration and fun. Famous speakers are always part of the NAA experience, and this year’s opening address will be given by actor Michael J. Fox.  The day two general session will feature Barbara Corcoran and Kevin Harrington, hosts of the popular ABC business pitch show “Shark Tank.” Like on the show, entrepreneurs will make their case for why their business is worthy of funding support. The winner of the contest will walk away with a $5,000 prize – and the audience will help chose the winner. Even if won’t be pitching your best invention in Denver, there are still plenty of takeaways to look forward to, including the following. Don’t miss: -The opportunity to learn how to improve your multifamily pricing with the “Next Evolution of Revenue Management” session. Including insight from Ron Brock, Industry Principal/Pierce Eislen, you’ll discover how to better use industry and local benchmarks against your own property data sets. Key performance indicators will help your operations team  gain valuable business intelligence and maximize your revenue. (Friday, June 20, 2:15 p.m.) -Two excellent chances to ramp up your property marketing using mobile and converged media. Yardi’s Esther Bonardi, Industry Principal, Marketing Solutions, is always on the cutting edge of the latest trends. She’ll deliver two sessions – “Eight Mobile Marketing Trends You Can’t Afford to Miss” (Friday, June 20, 11 a.m.) and “Smart Marketing: Converged Media Management” (Thursday, June 18, 8:30 a.m.) See the official conference planner for locations and to schedule all of your sessions. -Last...

As a college student,  my family and I would always invite a few international students to our home during the holidays so that they wouldn’t be stranded on campus alone. It was one of the many times that I realized how tough it was to be a student abroad. The 2014 National Apartment Association (NAA) Student Housing Conference and Exposition addressed the unique needs of the international student population during a rare and exciting breakout session. Student housing providers got to bounce ideas around that could improve client relations, marketing, and workflow. Client Relations Many housing providers are hiring Millennials, especially when it comes to social media outreach. It’s also a good idea to keep a few international students or professionals on staff. They provide unparalleled insights into the needs of international students. They can also come in handy as translators. While it is important to treat students fairly, it’s also worth noting that international students are more likely to refer friends, pay their rent on time, and to renew their lease than American students, reports Lauren Boston, staff writer for NAA. Being mindful of international students when planning community events, marketing strategies, and resident retention endeavors will pay off in the long run. Marketing New developments attract students with everything from party-sized Jacuzzis to state-of-the-art media rooms. It can be tough for existing buildings to compete with the glitz but there are several features that international students value more: access to bus routes, proximity to an international farmers market, en-suite kitchens for preparing dishes from back home, housing during the holidays (some campuses oust students during breaks), and 12-month leases will earn more points with them than a fancy sundeck.  It’s also a good idea to mention any programs that help residents get...

Connect, innovate, and inspire were the themes behind the 2013 National Apartment Association Education Conference, and these attributes were obvious throughout the event. Marquee moments included Sir Richard Branson’s discussion of his business philosophies and Bert Jacobs’ reminder that optimism is powerful in the face of challenges. There were hundreds more small “ah ha!” moments just like them happening throughout this exciting event in San Diego. It all started with connecting.  Whether those connections are made through conversation, training, or via the Internet, and whether you are connecting with residents, with staff, or with yourself, they all intersect. The point of intersection often results in great personal growth.  Branson shared that people are the overwhelming reason he and his global businesses (which now reach even beyond the earth with Virgin Galactic) are successful. “Always look for the best in people. Treat them well,” he told his keynote address audience, where a packed house listened with rapt attention. There was no denying that the Thursday night block party in San Diego’s famed Gaslamp Quarter was all about connecting!  With a mouthwatering buffet of food and drink choices, a band rocking everything from ABBA to Usher, and 6,000 people crammed into four square blocks, there was a whole lot of connecting going on. For a first time attendee like me, this took networking to a whole new level. The conversations flowed naturally from the food and wine to what you do, what you’ve learned, and how much you enjoyed all the sessions that day. Inspiration shined brightly on Friday morning as Erik Wahl reminded us that when we were children, we all ambitiously acknowledged our ability to draw, even if today only a handful of us are willing to say the same. As adults, fear often...

The 2013 NAA Education Conference & Exposition is just around the corner. Next week at this time I’ll be in sunny San Diego, listening to the wisdom of business virtuosos like Richard Branson, Erik Wahl, and Bert Jacobs. If Lauren Boston is right, I may see a few tears shed into lunch napkins. For me, NAA is a big deal because it will be my first chance to represent my company outside our self-hosted conferences, and I want to make the most of it. Perhaps the experience will be similar for you. Conferences can be invaluable learning experiences, but they do require an investment of resources to attend.  If you’re the only attendee for your company, you want to return to work with knowledge gained, providing value for your colleagues and clients.  But there’s so much to do and just two days to accomplish it, so where to start? Here are 4 steps I’m taking to make the most of my first NAA I hope you’ll consider sharing what steps you’ve taken too. Prepare goals and questions. What are you hoping to get out of the conference? If you’re representing an office, what would your colleagues hope to learn if they were going? What solutions, on-site or in-office are you hoping to identify this year?  Create a list and make that a focus while you’re there. It will help give you conversation topics during networking events, as well as help keep you focused as you move through the expo center and sessions. Created a schedule.  There are loads of resources for doing this throughout the NAA website and the App.  If one of the solutions you’re looking for deals with revenue management then make time at 9:00am Thursday for “Integrating a Revenue Management System...

The results of a study published Tuesday, jointly funded by the National Apartment Association and National Multi-Housing Council, offer one of the most comprehensive looks to date at the size and scope of the nation’s multifamily industry, and the economic impact of its 35 million residents. The survey was conducted by Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D., George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis. The numbers are impressive, illuminating how many residual benefits can be attributed to apartment renting. The findings in the study are validation of the construction and development patterns observed by walkable urbanism researcher Chris Leinberger. Renters want urban apartments with services and amenities within easy reach.  As he told us last week: “Any list of walkable metro areas that are doing well is also the list of best performing real estate markets.” The survey looks at major metros Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington, D.C.  in detail as to how apartments contribute to their economies. To see state-by-state breakdowns on the number of apartment residents, apartment homes, jobs supported and contribution to statewide economy, visit the Apartments: We Live Here interactive infographic. Though new construction gets a lot of attention, especially post-recession, don’t overlook the economic boost provided by ongoing maintenance of existing apartment homes. According to Fuller: “Often overlooked as an economic contributor, the industry spent $68 billion operating and maintaining the nation’s 19.3 million apartment homes in 2011 alone. That’s 4.5 times the amount spent on multifamily construction,” he wrote. And as more apartment communities are constructed to meet growing renter demands, those numbers are only going up. Here’s a quick look at some of the highlights from the study. Today: 34.6 million: number of apartment residents in the United States...