Should companies have a happiness index?
David Cameron probably isn't happy about the primary reason he's in the news these days. The British prime minister, who formerly employed News of the World ex-editor Andy Coulson, has had to explain his...
The fable of the bees
The fable of bees (or private vices, public benefits) was written in 1714 by Bernard Mandeville, who is today considered one of the first purveyors of economic theory. At the time of his writing...
I won’t hire people who use poor grammar. Here’s why.
Some might call my approach to grammar extreme, but I prefer Lynne Truss's more cuddly phraseology: I am a grammar "stickler." And, like Truss-author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves-I have a "zero tolerance approach"...
Paradigm shift
The partners, who come from family-owned multifamily businesses with a combined 150 years of experience, plan to redefine the future of urban rental living by developing and managing apartment communities based on five principles:...
New lawsuit in Seattle: Housing ordinance is unfair and unconstitutional
Seattle’s Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, passed by city council in 2017, forbids landlords from considering applicants’ criminal histories when selecting tenants. In other words, landlords cannot base a rental decision on concerns over their...
Trust the fabric
As my darling grandmother, a seamstress by trade would say, a good seamstress trusts the fabric. And I do.
Our best days are ahead, most assuredly, and I am excited by morning’s first light.
Multifamily continues...
The sinister side of big data
But there is also a growing awareness that important concerns have to be addressed if these hopes are to be realized. If the four V’s —volume, velocity, variety and verification —define what big data...
Choose courage
The growth that once propelled America and generated expansion, upward mobility and a pervasive prosperity is now the weakest in at least seven decades.
So we’re anxious.
Still, there are points of light like consumer spending,...
From housekeeper to the C-suite: A multifamily success story
The hotel that was managed by Consolidated Management, Inc., (CMI) asked Tony to move in to provide security on the weekends and the couple was happy to leave the apartment where they were behind...
LED lights the way to savings
The price for LED (light emitting diode) bulbs has plummeted more than 90 percent since 2008 and today’s bulbs use 70 to 90 percent less energy and last 15 times longer than the old...
Love, actually
Fresh off the clipboards, the National Multihousing Council (NMHC)/Kingsley Associates 2015 Apartment Resident Preferences Survey is out. Findings were calculated from 120,000 responses across the country and covered renter’s preferences on in-home features, community...
Pillars: building community
The Galaxy Apartments, which was completed at the end of March 2012, is a key player in the revitalization of a derelict city block in an overlooked area in South Silver Spring, Md.
The 241-unit...
Good-bye Archstone, hello mega-REITs
Underperformance of apartment REIT shares was a major impetus behind the defunct investment bank's decision to sell Archstone in a private sale to competitors Equity Residential (EQR) and AvalonBay (AVB) rather than in a...
Builder be nimble
Apartment REITs, despite their ability to finance development projects on their own balance sheet, were not the first out of the gate.
Instead, it was privately held real estate company Wood Partners, which has a...
The crystal ball of data
In the opening scenes of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy runs away from her Kansas home and promptly encounters Professor Marvel, a seedy, itinerant con artist whose tacky traveling wagon advertises him as “Acclaimed...
