Metro Rental Housing Journal August 2015

By Kayla Devon, Les Shaver

After prohibiting pets for so long, the apartment industry finally, begrudgingly, began

accepting them over a decade ago. In a way, apartment owners were mere-ly coming to terms with what had been a reality for a long time—furry creatures resided in their properties.

In fact, Bobby Lee, president and COO of Los Angeles–based JRK Property Holdings, estimates that as many as 40% of his residents had been keeping pets in their units, even when they weren't allowed.

But by eventually embracing ani-mals, apartment companies found a way to attract residents rather than tune them out. And, in some cases,

they've found a way to make money, as well.

But just saying you allow pets isn't enough. To be successful, apart-ment owners need to have a strate-gy—knowing the costs and benefits of allowing pets, what the popular amenities are, what types of pets to restrict, and the types of materials to use for a pet-resilient environment.

By Doug Miller

We just conducted a 2015 re-visit of our landmark 2011 “Today’s Online Renter”

study. The study addressed ques-tions about how today’s online pros-pects shop, what drives rental deci-sions, what impact reviews have, the importance of social media and more. Big picture, transparency and the basics are more important than ever.

• Shopping, Rental Decisions, Brand, Trust

• 60.1% of apartment shoppers used a smart phone or tablet in their search (26.3% in 2011) and 78.3% vis-ited a property’s website before con-tacting the office. Therefore websites must utilize Responsive Website De-signs (as of April 2015 Google boosts rankings for sites with RWD) and HTML5 coding (how Apple prod-

August 2015Rental Housing Journal Metro

WWW.RENTALHOUSINGJOURNAL.COM • PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHING, INC PORTLAND/VANCOUVERPublished in association with: METRO Multifamily Housing Association; Rental Housing Association of Oregon; IREM & Clark County Rental Association

3. U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls to the Lowest Level Since the 1960s4. Property Managers Face Housing Market Conundrum6. "The First Step and Then the Next"8. 5 Ways to Improve Resident Relations – A Crash Course9. Membership Has Its Privileges

12. What Landlords Need to Know About Bed Bugs14. Hoarding As a Fair Housing Issue: Beyond Reality TV15. Owning a Rental Property Requires Hard Work, Patience, and Planning16. Ask the Secret Shopper

17. Why Work-Life Balance is the Wrong Idea18. Dear Maintenace Men19. Changes to the Treatment of Depreciation Effective with Your 2014 Tax Return20. To Social Media Relevance

Advertise in Rental Housing Journal MetroCirculated to over 6,000 Apartment owners, On-site, and

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...continued on page 5

Price appreciation and inventory constraints continue to dictate in-vestor strategy

Auction.com, LLC, the nation's leading online real estate marketplace, today

announced the findings from its Second Quarter 2015 Real Estate Investor Activity Report™, a nation-wide survey of real estate investors. Survey data collected from investors bidding on properties online and at live events across the country reveals that flipping is still going strong, edging out the hold-to-rent strategy for the third consecutive quarter – a consistent trend since Auction.com began tracking investor intent. This research provides insight into real estate investment trends on both a national and regional level.

"Rounding out the first half of 2015, most of the country and most investor segments performed in a manner very consistent with what we've been seeing for about a year," said Auction.com Executive Vice President Rick Sharga. "We're seeing two major trends that are driving these numbers. First, we're seeing a return of the 'mom and pop' investor in the single family rental space – smaller investors with an intimate knowledge of their local markets, who are willing to buy properties that deliver long-term returns based on monthly cashflow. Second, inves-tors focusing more and more on flip-ping properties in regions where prices have rebounded from the 2008 crash and inventory of homes

continued on page 7

Today’s Online RenterNational Study Sheds Light on Changing Prospect

Behaviors and Preferences

Pet Smart: What You Need to Know About Being Pet-Friendly


Flipping Edges Out Renting

As The Preferred Investment Strategy For the Third Consecutive Quarter

According to Auction.com Real Estate Investor Activity

Report™

After years of prohibiting companion animals, many apartment properties now welcome pets—and the residents and ancillary income they bring with them.

2 Rental Housing Journal Metro • August 2015

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Rental Housing Journal Metro • August 2015 3


Kathleen M HowleyThe share of Americans who own

their homes fell to the lowest level in almost five decades, extending a multiyear decline as families strug-gle to regain ground lost during the financial crisis and rentals gain favor.

The U.S. homeownership rate was 63.4 percent in the second quarter, down from 63.7 percent in the previ-ous three months, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. It was lowest read-ing since 1967.

Would-be homebuyers have been held back by stringent mortgage standards and wage growth that hasn’t kept up with surging home prices. The average household income in June was 4 percent below a record high set in early 2008, even as unemployment dropped to its pre-recession rate, according to Sentier Research LLC.

“We’re still suffering the effects of the housing collapse and the finan-cial crisis,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities

in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We may have another percentage point to go before we see a bottom” in the homeownership rate, he said.

Home values have jumped 34 per-cent since reaching a bottom in early 2012, making purchases more expen-sive for entry-level buyers. Prices in 20 U.S. cities climbed 4.9 percent in May from a year earlier, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index showed Tuesday.

Demand for rentals is growing, fueling a surge in multifamily con-struction and sending leasing costs soaring. The number of renter-occu-pied units increased by about 2 mil-lion in the second quarter from a year earlier, the Census Bureau report showed.

The rental vacancy rate fell to 6.8 percent from 7.1 percent in the first quarter and 7.5 percent a year earlier. It was the lowest rate since the 1980s, according to the report. The median asking rent was a record $803 a month.

PropertyManager.com a Service of AppFolio

U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls to the Lowest Level Since the 1960s

Thank you to our generous sponsors at the Really Fun Golf Tournament making the it truly a Really Fun Tournament! Thank you to Mt. Hood Cleaners as our tournament sponsor and the famous Hot Dog hole. Addition-ally, the generous donation to our charity JOIN of $250. The tournament raised $650 though raffle prize money for JOIN.

This years sponsors: Alpha Impressions NoAppFee.com Lifetime Exteriors I & E Construction All Aspects Renovation Uptown Property Management BT Maintenance Pacific Screening Real Estate Mold Solutions Thank you to the Really Fun Golf Tournament Committee for all of their hard work! Special Thank you to AJ Sheppard & Liz Soucie of Uptown Property Management and Lynn Whitney of Real Estate Mold Solutions. Matt Kor-shoj Paul Davis Restoration of Greater Portland, Brennan Taylor BT Maintenance & Katie Poole Hussa Acorn Property Management & Trina Latshaw Squires Electric.

Thank you to all of the wonderful sponsors and participants in the

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Property Managers Face Housing Market Conundrum

Recent reports of a robust recov-ery in the construction and sales of single-family homes are eclipsed by stories of a boom in higher-density, multifamily complexes. Even pub-licly traded homebuilders are seeing their share prices soar to heights last seen well before the Crash of 2008.

D.R. Horton (DHI), the largest publicly-traded homebuilding com-pany recently reported excellent 2nd quarter earnings. The company stat-ed that it sold 22% more homes than in the same quarter a year ago. To put that in perspective, the company reported that total revenue grew by 37% from the same period last year.

That in part was due to a 7% average increase in the price of its houses sold.

The entire housing industry, including those companies that sup-ply materials, are reporting across-the-board gains in revenues and earnings-per-share. The share price of the nation’s largest wood cabinet manufacturer is another good exam-ple. American Woodmark (AMWD) and its shareholders have watched its stock soar 62% so far in 2015.

All these anecdotal accounts might give property managers the idea that the home-buying industry is in great health. But hat’s a notion

that’s contradicted by U.S. Government statistics.

Home Ownership Levels Haven’t Taken Off but Quietly Crash-Landed

If you guessed that the number of Americans who actually own or are buying a house is increasing, think again. You’d have to go back to 1967 to find a time when a lower percent-age of Americans own a house.

Yes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau the homeownership rate fell to 63.4% in the second quarter of 2015. The Census Bureau is measur-ing the percentage of occupied homes that are owned-occupied. That percentage peaked at 69.2% in

2004. Then it plunged in 2007 after the mortgage and housing fiasco. Since a picture paints a thousand words, look at the Bureau’s chart below to see what happened.

Thanks to my colleagues at Casey Research we see an illustration of the shocking truth about the percentage of owner-occupied homes in America today.




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Todays Online Renter ...continued from page 1

What sources do you trust? 2015 TotalFriends, family members or co-workers 74.4%Online ratings / reviews / comments 67.7%Company website 32.6%Ads 11.8%Social media 7.1%Apartment shopping sources 2015 Total

ILS 68.8%Apartment community or management company web-site

66.5%

Driving in desired neighborhoods 59.2%Search engine 50.5%Rating / review website 45.4%Referrals 42.4%Printed apartment guide 21.1%Apartment community or management company social media

11.6%

Newspaper advertising 6.1%

What impacts rental decisions – Top Five [Five point impact scale]

2015 Total

Viewing the actual apartment I can lease 4.58Perception of quality customer service 4.24Ability to pay rent online if no convenience fee 4.18Security, access control features 4.16Ratings/reviews of community 3.99

• Prospects focus on basics: photos, floor plans, rents, specials, availabil-ity, and features / amenities. Reviews are also very important (4.18 on a five point importance scale) because they offer the transparency today’s consum-er demands.

• The top rated factor impacting rental decisions was viewing an actual apartment home available to lease; this has implications on the market ready process and raises questions about how much to invest in models (ranked #12). Consistent with importance of transparency and the resident experi-ence, perceived quality customer service and unfiltered reviews were rated second and fifth, respectively.

• 24.4% report rental decisions are impacted by the management company brand name; this means 75.6% of decisions are not impacted by brand name. Therefore communities must focus on service delivery and the resident expe-rience as drive their online reputation.

• 74.4% trust friends and family. At 67.7%, reviews had the second highest “trust” score; sites offering reviews rank high in Google searches so proper-ties must focus on delivering a quality resident experience and leveraging this feedback online. Residents do not trust ads (second to last, 11.8%) or a property’s social media efforts (ranked last, 7.1%).

• 49.7% do not trust websites where most or all reviews are posi-tive. Because negative reviews are as important as positive ones, resist the temptation to cherry pick reviews to post on those sites that permit this.

• Ratings and Reviews• 61% were willing to post posi-

tive reviews about their community, however only 16% have ever been asked by the property; and a major-ity reported being “very likely” to post comments or reviews online. This reveals an opportunity, however remember that offering incentives to post reviews violate Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

• Residents have strong feelings about properties responding to re-views. 51.7% felt that the staff re-sponding communicates they pro-vide great customer service, and 48.9% felt this shows the staff cares about residents. Only 11.1% said they did not care if the staff responded. Lastly, a majority reported that the staff not responding created a nega-tive impression of the community. Responding presents another mar-keting opportunity.

• Social Media• Only 11% reported using social

media a “source” when shopping, and social media earned a low 2.27 score on its impact on rental deci-sions (five point importance scale). Additionally, as noted earlier, resi-dents do not trust social media as a shopping source.

• Renters do not follow commu-nities or management companies on most social media. While 20% reported following a community on Facebook, less than 3% reported fol-

lowing on Twitter, Instagram or Pin-terest.

Key Takeaway #1 - Transparency• Prospects feel empowered and

want transparency so they can make informed decisions. They want to know what it’s really like to live at a community via unfiltered reviews, to tour actual vacant apartments they can lease, and they don’t trust mar-keting, ads or social media.

Key Takeaway #2 - The Basics• Success continues to have its

foundation in the basics. And the ba-sics are more critical than ever due to their impact on satisfaction with the resident experience and a property’s online reputation.

Doug Miller is founder and president of SatisFacts Research. Prior to creat-

ing his own businesses in 1996, starting in the late 1980's Miller was Director of Marketing for several national and regional property management firms.

Miller received his B.S.B.A from Wash-ington University (St. Louis) and his

M.B.A. from The American University. Doug can be contacted at DMiller@

SatisFacts.com.

ucts read websites and permits for ideal viewing on smartphones, tablets, laptops).

• The Top Five sources used changed since 2011 [chart], and review sites now a top source. Since 45.4% of shoppers now use review sites, it is critical to manage the resident experience and a property’s reputation.

The statements and representations made in advertising and news articles contained in this publication are those of the advertiser and authors and as such do not neces-sarily reflect the views or opinions of Professional Publishing, Inc. The inclusion of ad-vertising in this publications does not, in any way, comport an endorsement of or sup-port for the products or services offered. To request a reprint or reprint rights contact Professional Publishing Inc. PO Box 6244 Beaverton, OR 97007. (503) 221-1260 - (800) 398-6751 © 2015 All rights reserved.

Publisher – Will Johnson [email protected]

Designer/Editor – Steve Olsen [email protected]

Advertising Sales – Will Johnson [email protected]

Terry Hokenson [email protected]

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Rental Housing Journal Metro is a monthly publication published by Professional Publish-ing Inc., publishers of Rela Estate Opportunites in Investing & Real Estate Investor Quarterlywww.rentalhousingjournal.com



President: John Sage • President Elect: Ron Garcia • Past President: Elizabeth Carpenter Secretary: Lynne Whitney • Treasurer: Elaine Elsea • Office Manager: Cari Pierce

10520 NE Weidler Portland, OR 97220 (503) 254-4723 • fax (503) 254-4821 [email protected] • www.rhaoregon.org.

John Sage RHAOregon PresidentPresident’s Message:

I hope that everyone is having an enjoyable and productive sum-mer. Have you been spending

time with the family, making memo-ries? Here at RHA Oregon, we have been busy. It seems like there has been events going on weekly with opportunities to meet and talk with vendors and members of our organi-zation. It is amazing to me the wealth of knowledge that is available when you attend events and get to know the members of RHA. Back on June 30th, we held a Happy Hour event at Uptown Market in Lake Oswego. If you weren’t there or haven’t been to their location before, be sure to go check them out. The food and bever-

ages were excellent. Then on July 15th at the RHA Oregon Office annex, we held the second annual, Starry Night event for JOIN. This is a fundraising event for JOIN to get a family off of the streets and into housing. Last year we were able to sponsor one family. There is a silent auction, raffle and oral auction of donated items from members and vendors. It is heartwarming to see the generosity and giving spirit of all those involved. A big “Thank You”, goes out to the volunteers that worked to set up this event and those that worked to make the event the big success that it was. We have already started planning for next

year’s third annual Starry night. So start looking for updates and announcements coming in the next year.

In August is the annual RHA Oregon Picnic at Oaks Park on Wednesday August 12th starting at 2:00 pm. Since long before I was a member RHA Oregon has been hold-ing this event. This is another great opportunity to meet and talk with other members and vendors. There is of course the picnic dinner, and rides for the kids. There will be ven-dor tables, so that you can get to know some of the vendors and how they can help you. Then to round out the event, there is Bingo at the end of the night. So be sure to bring an age appropriate prize to donate for the person playing. Your board of direc-tor’s will be there serving the din-ner, running the registration tables, and of course calling the numbers for Bingo. I look forward to seeing all of you there and getting to know you better. Who knows I may be the one calling the Bingo numbers again this year!!

With the latest legislative session for the Oregon legislature having recently adjourned in late July. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention

our lobbyist Cindy Robert. She spends countless hours attending meetings, tracking bills, and talking with legislators on behalf of RHA Oregon. Without her efforts we would be like a voice in the wilder-ness. Remember, even if your units are full and you are not currently looking for rental forms or advice, RHA Oregon is working to protect your rights as a property owner. Your membership pays to have peo-ple like Cindy Robert working for RHA Oregon. By the way, your V.P. Phil Owen, also spends a lot of vol-unteer time in meetings as a member of the landlord tenant coalition and other duties with RHA Oregon. Thank you Cindy and Phil!!!

Keep checking our website and your email for upcoming events. Have a great and wonderful rest of your summer!

Sincerely, John Sage, President RHAOregon, Stegmann Insurance Agency Inc.

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for sale remains scarce – an almost perfect scenario for investors looking for a short-term profit."

Although Auction.com's findings for the second quarter reveal a pro-pensity toward flipping among investors overall, investor intent var-ies considerably by the type of auc-tion (live event versus online auc-tion) and investor profile. Survey

respondents who indicated that they were making a one-time purchase clearly preferred a hold-to-rent strat-egy, while respondents identifying themselves as full-time "real estate investors" and those indicating that they were working on behalf of another investor favored flipping.

Flipping ...continued from page 1

Q2 2015 National Findings: Investor IntentInvestor Profile Flip Rent UndecidedOne-time purchase 26.5% 72.2% 1.2%Real Estate Investor 55.6% 43.3% 1.1%Working on Behalf of Another Investor

63.7% 34.6% 1.6%

TOTAL 53% 45.8% 1.2%

Investors bidding at live events appear to be far more likely to flip the properties they purchase based on survey responses collected in the second quarter of 2015, with respon-dents indicating a preference toward

flipping over holding to rent in every state where Auction.com conducted live events. Of the states represented in the survey, the widest margins occurred in the Southwest and Midwest.

Q2 2015 Live Event Investor Data: Intent of All Investors SurveyedState Flip Rent UndecidedArizona 71.3% 28.7% 0%California 71.9% 28.1% 0%Georgia 56.6% 43.4% 0%Idaho 77.5% 22.5% 0%North Carolina 66.7% 33.3% 0%Nevada 70.4% 29.6% 0%Tennessee 54.8% 45.2% 0%Texas 54.4% 45.6% 0%Washington 65.5% 34.5% 0%Nationwide 61.3% 38.7% 0%

Conversely, responses given at

online auctions in the second quarter of 2015 show that investors bidding online generally intend to hold the properties they purchase. This was true in every region except the Northeast, where the pendulum has swung toward flipping. As was

noted regarding a similar (though temporary) shift in the West earlier in the quarter, this is likely due to the region's inventory constraints and higher purchase prices negatively impacting rental property returns.

Q2 2015 Online Investor Data: Intent of All Investors SurveyedRegion Flip Rent UndecidedWest 42.9% 55.3% 1.8%Midwest 43.9% 53.2% 2.9%South 43.8% 54.3% 1.9%Northeast 51% 47.2% 1.7%Nationwide 44.6% 53% 2.4%

Less active investors (those indi-cating that they purchase one or fewer properties per year) demon-strated a strong preference for rent-ing properties, while flipping was prevalent among investors who pur-chase multiple properties per year. This preference appears to be grow-

ing among investors purchasing more than 50 properties per year: nearly 62 percent of respondents in this group favored flipping in the second quarter – up from 56.3 per-cent in Q4 2014 and 53.6 percent in Q1 2015.

About Auction.com: Auction.com, LLC, is the nation's leading online real estate marketplace.

Founded in 2007, the company has sold over $30 billion in residential and commercial real estate assets. Auction.com has over 900 employees and headquarters in Irvine and Silicon Valley, California as well as of-

fices in Austin and Plano, Texas, Atlanta, Denver, New York and Miami. Visit www.auction.com for more information.

SOURCE Auction.com, LLC

Q2 2015 Investor Data: Intent By Purchase ProfilePurchase Profile Flip Rent Undecided0-1 Property/Year 38.2% 60.2% 1.6%2-49 Properties/Year 59.8% 39.2% 1%50+ Properties/Year 61.9% 38.1% 0%

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5 Ways to Improve Resident Relations – A Crash Course

By Aimee Miller

Are you set up for success in 2016? Join 2,500 real estate industry leaders Aug. 4-7,

2015, at Inman Connect in San Fran-cisco. Get Connected with the people and ideas that will inspire you and take your business to new heights. Register today and save $100 with code Readers.

Takeaways:• Maintaining resident relations

is a key factor to successful property management.

• Once you establish the reasons why individuals might leave, you can take a proactive approach to improving your resident relations and avoiding a potential issue.

• Keeping long-term residents cuts your costs and increases your profitability — you don’t have to spend time and put resources into marketing open units.

Maintaining resident relations is a key factor to successful property management; but, it can be hard keeping clients happy when you are managing multiple properties and juggling various responsibilities.

How do you keep track of one individual’s needs in a sea of many? How do you improve tenant rela-tions so that your renewal rates can

continue to climb?Before your head starts spinning

with countless questions, take a moment to read through our five-step crash course to improving resi-dent relations.

1. Know why a resident might leave

There are several reasons why residents decide to vacate a building. Perhaps the rent was too high?

Maybe they had a bad experience with new neighbors — or worse, the property manager? Or maybe they simply decided that it was time to live in an upgraded building.

No matter the reason, step one of improving relations requires you to get to know your residents. Learn what makes them tick and why they might leave an apartment or home.

Once you establish the reasons why individuals might leave, you can take a proactive approach to improving your resident relations and avoiding a potential issue.

Tip: Include a survey upon lease signing, and then conduct an annual survey of your residents to gauge their happiness with the property.

2. Make customer service the crème de la crème

As a property manager, it is your job always to be responsive, courte-ous, attentive and professional when

handling any resident requests. The simplest and most reliable way to improve relations is to offer the best customer service.

To this end, you should always respond to an issue as efficiently and effectively as possible. It is easy for people to become too frustrated if their issues aren’t resolved in a time-ly fashion. Once a resident has become frustrated, it is much harder to build a positive experience back.

Tip: There are technology solu-tions you can use to streamline response time, as well as convenient online services that can give a huge boost to resident happiness, includ-ing features such as online rent pay-ments and maintenance request por-tals.

3. Flaunt those amenitiesAmenities, or lack thereof, are one

of the top reasons that a resident moves on to a new building. Make sure that your residents are aware and taking advantage of all of the benefits of living at your specific property.

From the free Wi-Fi to the neigh-borhood’s new plans for a live music venue, make sure that your tenants are up to date on all of the benefits that come with calling your building home.

Tip: Extend this helpfulness out-side the property proper — use a blog to share information about the immediate community, surrounding area and fun events nearby that your residents might enjoy. A community group on Facebook is also an excel-lent way to build awareness and communication.

Tip: Extend this helpfulness out-side the property proper — use a blog to share information about the immediate community, surrounding area and fun events nearby that your residents might enjoy. A community group on Facebook is also an excel-lent way to build awareness and communication.

5. Respect the privacy of your residents

On the off chance that you need

to access a unit to conduct repairs, make sure that you respect their pri-vacy. Find out what time is best to conduct the repair and give plenty of notice — it can go a long way toward making the resident feel comfortable having you in their space.

Remember it is their home, and they might have abnormal working or sleeping hours, as well as visiting family. Do your best to limit the amount of time that you have to spend in a rental unit while conduct-ing seasonal maintenance or cos-metic repairs.

In this vein, make sure that you conduct annual cosmetic improve-ments on the building to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the property. Make sure that you offer a fresh coat of paint or a carpet cleaning for long-term residents.

Tip: The modern resident expects instant notifications on their mobile devices. Gone are the days of posting paper notices; set up text messages and email alerts to get relevant infor-mation in front of your renters faster.

Keeping long-term residents cuts your costs and increases your profit-ability — you don’t have to spend time and put resources into market-ing open units. With these five steps in mind, you will be well on your way to improving your current and future resident relations and secur-ing some long-term residents.

Aimee Miller is the vice president of marketing at AppFolio, providers of Web-based property management software.


William MaxwellAssociate

National Multi Housing Group(503) 200-2063

[email protected]

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16083 SW Upper Boones Ferry Road, Suite 105, Tigard, OR 97224 503-213-1281, 503-213-1288 Fax www.multifamilynw.org Scott Arena

President, Multifamily Northwest

Membership Has Its PrivilegesAugust 2015

For a few days in June I had the privilege of attending the NAA (National Apartment

Association) Education Conference and Exposition. This is a four-day annual multifamily industry event held in different locations each year throughout the United States, draw-ing participants from around the world! Seven different countries represented in 2015! This year the conference was located in Las Vegas. And it was extremely hot. The “115 degrees” kind of hot! Fortunately, the resort hotels in that city have ex-

cellent air conditioning to keep you inside, comfortable, and, of course, “generating revenue” – also referred to as gambling.

The conference was a spectacular event and drew record attendance of more than 9,000 industry profession-als. Education sessions totaled 65 courses offering valuable learning opportunities for those seeking lead-ership skills, information technology, ROI enhancement, marketing, social media strategies, management com-munication, HR, and much more. As with past conferences, it was an amazing event providing excellent opportunity to network with fellow professionals, learn about industry advancements, and view new indus-

try products via the largest trade show (870 exhibitors) the multifami-ly world has to offer.

For this month’s article I am focusing upon one of the key bene-fits of membership with Multifamily NW: affiliation with the National Apartment Association (NAA).

As an entity or individual, joining the NAA is only possible through membership with the local rental housing affiliate. Along with the multitude of benefits offered by MFNW such as education, network-ing, board involvement, government affairs, charity events, tradeshows and more, it is important that mem-bers understand how the connection with NAA enhances this platform – offering even further opportunities of professional development and industry support.

So what is the NAA organization and how did it come into existence?

The entity was established over 75 years ago. In 1939, the mission of the association was defined as serv-ing the interests of multifamily prop-erty owners, managers, developers and industry suppliers to promote and maintain the highest levels of professionalism. Prior to this time, the property management industry

was struggling to gain a sense of pro-fessionalism, with many owners and landlords operating without unifor-mity and any established rules of conduct or legal navigation. A pri-mary goal of the association was, and still remains, maintaining the highest level of professionalism in the multifamily housing industry to best serve the rental housing needs of the public.

The NAA represents all sectors of the multifamily housing industry: Property managers, apartment own-ers, management executives, build-ers, developers, investors, leasing professionals, maintenance techs, suppliers and related industry pro-fessionals.

NAA seeks to support and further its mission through a variety of offer-ings to the industry professional. At the forefront is education. As any multifamily industry professional knows, learning, understanding and keeping current with our rapidly evolving world is critical to business survival and essential for success.

NAA offers a variety of educa-tion, training and recruitment pro-grams to attract, nurture and retain top-quality professionals.


Pest Control Addendum M060 OR

This form as become a popular addition to the typical move-in package of forms tenants sign at the beginning of a tenancy. It sets the expectations that tenants will promptly report any pest issues and agree to follow all instruc-tions and treatment proto-col. With this form signed, tenant noncompliance dur-ing pest treatments is a vio-lation of the rental agree-ment. It also discloses dan-gers of introducing unin-spected second hand furni-ture as well as acknowledg-ing that the rental was pest free at move-in.

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It is our goal to maintain the highest quality of living environment for our residents. Owner/Agent has inspected the unit prior tolease and knows of no pest infestation. Residents have an important role in preventing and controlling pests. Good housekeepingwill help control any problem, minimize any infestation, and limit its spread.

Resident acknowledges that all furnishings and other personal property that will be moved into the unit are free from pests.

Resident agrees to avoid and not bring in secondhand goods that have not been thoroughly inspected for the presence of pests.

Resident agrees to promptly report any problems, specifically any signs of pests; and any related maintenance needs. Residentacknowledges that failure to timely report pest problems can substantially increase the kinds, number and costs of treatments.

Owner/Agent may conduct extermination operations in the unit several times a year and as needed to prevent or treat for pestinfestation. Owner/Agent will notify Resident in advance of extermination operations in the unit, and give Resident instructionsfor the preparation of the unit and safe conduct during and after treatment. Resident will be responsible to prepare the unit forextermination treatments in accordance with Owner/Agent’s or the exterminator’s instructions. Resident must request, inwriting, extermination treatments in addition to those regularly provided by Owner/Agent.

Resident agrees to follow the preparation guidelines required by Owner/Agent or the exterminator on the day of interiorextermination treatments to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the extermination operation. If Resident is unprepared onthe scheduled treatment date, Owner/Agent may charge Resident for the service call. Owner/Agent also reserves the right tocharge Resident for necessary extermination services.

Preparation guidelines may include but are not limited to the following:

• Empty and clean all cabinets and drawers in kitchen and bathroom

• Remove all miscellaneous items from floor, clean all closet floors, and remove all items from under beds and/or furniture,allowing as much floor as possible to be accessible to treatment

• Remove pets from the areas to be treated and notify Owner/Agent of their placement

• In most cases, all residents and pets must vacate the unit for 3-4 hours after service

• Remove chain locks or other types of obstruction on day of service

• Cover fish tanks and turn off their air pumps

• Do not wipe cabinets after treatment

Prior to extermination, Resident is solely responsible to notify Owner/Agent, in writing, of any anticipated health or safetyconcerns related to extermination and the use of pesticides.

Resident agrees that violation of any of the terms of this addendum constitutes a material noncompliance with theRental Agreement and is grounds for eviction and/or other legal action by Owner/Agent. Pest control protocol maychange as new research developments occur.

Resident acknowledges that Owner/Agent will not be responsible for damage to, or decontamination of, Resident’spersonal property or for providing temporary accommodations due to Resident’s failure to follow the terms of thisAddendum.

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

PEST CONTROL ADDENDUM

SAMPLE SAMPLE

SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE



Multifamily NW

Upcoming Educational Opportunities 8/4/2015 Fair Housing for Maintenance

8/5/2015 Landlord Study Hall: Marijuana Regulations, from Medicinal to Recreational

8/6/2015 Forms and Notices 101 (Vancouver)

8/11/2015 Maintenance for New Hires

8/14/2015 It's the Law Lunchtime Series: Time to Part Ways: Terminating the Tenancy

8/18/2015 CAM: Marketing

8/18/2015 MWV Membership BBQ

8/19/2015 New Hire Training: Introduction to the Industry

8/20/2015 9th Annual SWV Charity Golf Tournament

8/25/2015 EPA Lead-Based Paint Renovation Certification 8-Hour

8/26/2015 Strengthening Frontline Skills for Maintenance

8/27/2015 PDX Membership BBQ

9/1/2015 NALP: Why Your Competition Matters

9/3/2015 CAM: Management of Residential Issues

9/8/2015 CAM: Property Maintenance for Managers

9/9/2015 CAM: Human Resource Management Part I



Pet Smart ...continued from page 10

*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]

Multifamily Executive spent time exploring each of these issues. You can read our findings by clicking through the tabs above.

Profit PointSteve F. Hallsey, president and

CEO of AMLI Management Co., says his firm's initial intent behind allow-ing pets wasn't to create a profit cen-ter; it was to differentiate AMLI from its competitors.

"The right way to think of it is the competitive advantage you have in having it and the competitive disad-vantage you have by not having it," Hallsey says. "Do you pick up 100 or 200 basis points in occu pancy? You probably do."

Others see the same benefit—pet-friendly amenities offer differentia-tion. "The primary reason we added [the dog park] is that it would be a tiebreaker for people who had dogs," JRK's Lee says. "If you're a dog lover and see a place for your dog to play in, it's that last impression that may drive the decision."

But in some cases, apartment owners are finding that catering to pets can do more than just help attract residents: It can add to the bottom line, as well. Yes, dog spas, pet washes, and pet exercise equip-ment carry extra costs, but a simpler option, such as a grassy area with play equipment, costs less but still goes a long way.

At most of its properties, JRK

includes a dog park. "It's a really low-cost amenity that can distin-guish us from the competition," Lee says.

While dog parks cost money, many times they cost less to produce than what they're replacing.

"[Dog parks] took the place of other amenities that used to be more popular, like tennis courts," says Cristina Sullivan, executive vice president of operations at Gables Residential. "It wasn't an ‘add to.' It was an ‘instead of.' "

Pet areas also may offer more flexibility than traditional amenities. "[They] allow you to be more cre-ative," Sullivan says. "We put them in parking decks on roofs."

In fact, urban high-rise product may be the most profitable place to offer a pet-friendly environment. In its high-rises, AMLI charges a nonre-fundable pet deposit between $250 and $500, pet rent of $25 to $50, and a pet-floor premium of $25 to $35. That adds up, especially in a build-ing with hardwood floors that can withstand the daily rigors of pet paws, poop, and pee.

"The pet fees themselves are a nice source of income in ‘other income,' " Hallsey says. "You have an ability to charge very nice premiums in fees."

But for other owners, especially those that aren't renting new, urban high-rises, the profits aren't as easily

enjoyed. In fact, in many cases, Lee says, JRK doesn't consistently charge pet fees across the board.

"On a nonrefundable pet fee, we won't go above about a half month's rent," Lee says. "Some properties don't charge a fee. Some properties charge both [pet fees and pet depos-its]."

But even with a pet fee and pet deposits, covering the costs of replac-ing a carpet at each unit turn, much less the added maintenance required at a dog park, makes it tough to turn a profit, Lee says. Yet, JRK still adds dog parks, and Lee has found that they do offer an economic advan-tage.

"Our guys never had issues charg-ing the nonrefundable pet fee," Lee says. "But when someone would ask, ‘What am I paying pet rent for?' we'd have an answer."

There's another reason to be care-ful with pet fees: Sullivan says Gables will charge pet deposits and fees, when possible, but is careful (as many other apartment owners we spoke with agreed) in the wake of the class action lawsuits in Boston in 2012 in which their tenants sued Archstone and Equity Residential over pet fees that violated Massachusetts Security Deposit Law. (The law prohibits landlords from charging any up-front fees except for first month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit, and a lost-key fee.)

"We're very cautious," Sullivan says. "We don't have a blanket policy on fees and deposits. If it's gray, we lean on the side of ‘don't charge.' "

Pet AmenitiesPets are like family, and when it

comes to keeping them happy and healthy, most owners will do just about anything for them, regardless of cost.

In a 2014 survey on pet products and services, market research firm WSL found that 81% of respondents spent more or the same on their pets despite recent economic troubles. In a separate study, the American Pet Products Association, in its National Pet Owners Survey, found that pet owners spent $58 billion on their pets in 2014, up from $41 billion in 2007.

That's why, to win over animal-lover residents, more properties have invested in amenities in the past 10 years that cater to a higher standard of living for pets.

"We're always looking at every single building and what we can do to maximize people's enjoyment of their lifestyle," says Daria Salusbury, senior vice president of leasing at Related Cos. "We realized a long time ago that pets are people's extended family."

Though Related Cos. has always been pet-friendly, the team has recently found success in providing




Pet Smart ...continued from page 11

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more for their four-legged tenants. Related first built a dog grooming station in One Carnegie Hill in Manhattan. Salusbury says it was the most-used amenity in the entire building. With MiMA, also in Manhattan, Related went one step further by introducing Dog City, a dog spa that takes care of every need imaginable, from dog walking and doggie dates to geriatric care and nutrition plans.

If going all-in on a dog spa or grooming stations isn't feasible, pet events are also fun ways to attract tenants. AvalonBay, for example, offers Doggie Paddle pool parties, Yappy Hours, and pet CPR classes to foster a sense of community among pet owners.

We realized a long time ago that pets are people's extended family.

But not everybody loves dogs, cautions Gables Residential's Sullivan.

"We want to be careful where we put those amenities and how they're integrated into the community, because if you're not a dog lover, you don't want to be sitting at the pool [next to one]," she says.

Material GainBetween paws, accidents, and

strange smells, pets can do some real damage on traditional housing mate-rials. The flip cards below detail what finishes to equip your pet-friendly units with so they're more durable and cost less in rehab later

on.Poop PoliceWhile people love their dogs,

they don't exactly love picking up their dog's poop. One study esti-mates roughly 40% of dog owners don't pick up after their pets. But dog poop isn't just a nuisance; it's hazardous. The EPA ranks dog waste as an environmental problem equal to toxic chemicals and oil spills. But companies like PooPrints and P.E.T. CSI are turning dog-waste manage-ment into an ancillary-income opportunity for property managers by catching the culprits with DNA testing.

For an average cost of $39.95 at move-in to have a dog's cheek swabbed, property managers can keep the DNA on file and send out dog poop samples to catch residents who fail to clean up after their pets. When the results come back, proper-ties charge a fine anywhere from $50 to $500. According to PooPrints CEO Tom Boyd, participating properties see a 90% reduction in dog waste in one month and 98% in six months.

Property PoliciesIt's never really the pets you have

to worry about—it's the pet owners.Many properties have policies

regarding breed and size restrictions that aim to eliminate large, aggres-sive dogs from the community. Common breed restrictions include Pit Bulls and Dalmatians, while typi-cal size limits start at below 25

pounds and reach 75 pounds.Such restrictions, however, are

outdated and based on information that has been proven untrue, says The Humane Society of the United States, which claims there isn't suffi-cient evidence that specific breeds or large dogs cause more harm than others. Ultimately, a dog's behavior depends on the training it receives—or doesn't receive—from its owner. Consequently, the Humane Society urges property managers to judge four-legged tenants on a case-by-case basis, determining if the dog has been spayed or neutered, if the owner can provide pet references, and if the dog has any training certi-fications.

One of WC Smith's newest devel-opments, The Shawmut, in Washington, D.C., allows any size and breed and simply requires the dog and owner to do an interview with the building manager. According to Holli Beckman, vice president of marketing and leasing operations at WC Smith, 70% of the building's residents own dogs, in all sizes and breeds, and no issues involving the pets have come up.

"When you're trying to fill a 400-unit building in a hyper- competitive market like D.C., you have to elimi-nate as many leasing obstacles and objections as possible," says Beckman.

The leasing agreement language should also clarify how any inci-

dents involving barking, aggression, damage, and so on will be handled. Policies range from small fines to "three strikes, you're out."

Property managers shouldn't for-get about non–pet-loving renters either. AMLI has pet floors to sepa-rate pet people and non-pet people. Some buildings have even specified pet-friendly elevators so renters with allergies or an aversion to animals can choose a people-only car.



By: Chuck Nelson, Owner of Dog Inspectors

Being a landlord is no easy task. It is riddled with responsibili-ties, from screening all tenants

to taking care of maintenance repairs and keeping properties clean.

Perhaps one of the most dreaded calls a landlord can get is, “I think we have bed bugs.” According to a 2015 Bugs Without Borders Survey, conducted by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky, the No. 1 place where pest professionals report finding bed bugs is apartments/con-dominiums.

That’s why it’s important for landlords to be prepared and respond effectively.

Be preparedAs a landlord, you’re bound to

run into a bed bug issue at some point in time. First, you must deter-mine what laws apply to your state to ensure that you know what you are responsible for should you be faced with a tenant infestation.

Twenty-two states have laws addressing bed bugs in rental prop-erties, institutional facilities and schools. In many states, landlords have a duty to maintain their build-ings free of pests. Although laws in most of these states use very general terms for ‘pests,’ those in Florida and New York City specify that landlords must exterminate bed bugs. In some states, landlords only need to act if more than one unit is infected.

Once you know what laws per-tain to your state, develop a proac-tive plan to prevent bed bugs from entering your building. For example, schedule a pest control or K-9 inspec-tion after each tenant leaves. You can also provide guidelines for new ten-ants on prevention tactics, such as not bringing in used furniture and carefully inspecting luggage after a trip.

Respond EffectivelyWhen responding to a tenant’s

complaint of an infestation, follow these guidelines:

• Respond with empathy and un-derstanding for the person mak-

ing the complaint. Bed bugs can cause fear and hysteria, so a little kindness and compassion can go a long way when speaking with the person who reported seeing bed bugs.

• Promptly inspect the areas in question, especially beds and areas where luggage might be stored. Look for the bugs them-selves, their shed skins or dark spots on sheets, bedding, walls, electric outlets, etc., as this may be an indication of bed bug fecal remains.

• Contact your pest management company. The sooner the problem is eradicated, the better. Make certain that whoever you use to treat the problem has a great deal of experience in bed bug eradi-cation and offers a warranty for their work.

• Schedule a follow-up pest con-trol or K-9 inspection after the treatment has been completed to confirm all bed bugs have been eliminated.

• Document all actions taken.

Bed bugs are not something to mess around with, especially as a landlord. Nothing will cause resi-dents to scatter and new tenants to avoid your property like the plague like a report of bed bugs. That’s why it is important to be proactive in pre-venting an infestation and in responding to a tenant’s report of bed bugs.

Chuck Nelson is the owner of Dog Inspectors, the first company in

Tennessee to utilize trained, certified detection dogs to find bed bugs in com-

mercial and residential buildings. For more information about the company's services, visit www.doginspectors.com.

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]

What Landlords Need to Know About Bed Bugs



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Membership ...continued from page 9

Understanding that the key to future success of our

industry is dependent upon drawing and developing young tal-ent today, NAA established the NAAEI (NAA Education Institute).

For anyone seeking proficiency in specific area of multifamily housing management, NAAEI offers desig-nation programs. Each course is annually reviewed and updated to ensure material is accurate and time-ly. Courses are delivered through the local affiliate such as MFNW mini-mizing travel challenges and saving time. Many are available as on-line courses.

Current NAAEI designation pro-grams include the following:

• Certified Apartment Manager (CAM)

• National Apartment Leasing Professional (NALP)

• Certificate for Apartment Main-tenance Technicians (CAMT)

• Certified Apartment Supplier (CAS)

• Certified Apartment Portfolio Supervisor (CAPS)

• Independent Rental Owner Pro-fessional (IROP)

In addition to these designations, NAA offers a course in advanced Fair Housing providing real-life situ-ations that encourage critical think-ing, careful decision making and method coaching to prevent expen-sive mistakes. In conjunction with

the National Affordable Housing Management Association, NAAEI offers the Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM) and the Credential for Green Property Management (CGPM).

Leadership training is offered through Leadership Lyceum, a year-long curriculum to develop highly motivated, engaged and well-informed volunteer leaders. This prepares candidates who are track-ing to serve and chair NAA commit-tees and task force committees and eventual NAA Board positions.

Legislative decisions have major impact upon how our industry oper-ates and how we protect our inter-ests and those of our clients, employ-ees and customers. Along with edu-cation programs, NAA also provides an excellent opportunity to become involved with local and national government affairs.

The NAA Capitol Hill Conference is held annually in Washington D.C. In March, I joined MFNW Executive Director Deborah Imse to attend this event. The conference affords a rare opportunity to meet our local mem-bers of congress and directly advo-cate on behalf of our industry, focus-ing on state and federal issues- including such issues as tax reform, housing finance and immigration laws. Education sessions are provid-ed in advance to help understand and gain knowledge for advocating prior to visiting congress and senate members. The NAA staff conducts

legislative tracking in all 50 states and provides members with expert insight into the industry’s most vital policy topics and trends. The associ-ation can also assist members on a local level by managing policy issue campaigns and developing advoca-cy strategies.

I have touched upon just a few of the benefits offered to the multifam-ily professional through NAA. Speaking from my experience with both NAA and Multifamily NW, I would encourage any and every multifamily industry professional - management, leasing, maintenance, supplier, owner or other affiliate –to seek out and fully explore ALL that

these associations can provide. The investment is well worth the effort and the potential dividends are immeasurable! To have such resourc-es available provides an amazing opportunity to nurture and enhance professional and personal develop-ment. As an old ad campaign used to say: membership has its privileges. Take advantage of all that yours has to offer!



Hoarding As a Fair Housing Issue: Beyond Reality TV

The Fair Housing Council Of Oregon • 1221 SW Yamhill St., #305, Portland 97205 • 503/453-4016 • www.fhco.org

By Elizabeth Gray, FHCO Intake Specialist, Fair Housing Council of Oregon

A fire or ambulance crew can’t safely respond to a medical emergency in a single family

home because the resident has belongings stacked up to the ceiling and blocking many windows or doors.

A tenant living in an apartment faces eviction when he or she fails to pass a follow-up inspection after sev-eral warnings about lease violations related to items that create a tripping hazard, fire danger, or limit access to maintenance staff. The tenant then contacts their case manager in a panic.

These are just two examples of

possible complications in housing settings that could impact housing providers. Hoarding is distinct from simply building a collection, which is usually displayed with pride, or letting a few days of dishes and laun-dry pile up when life gets busy. A person who has been diagnosed with hoarding has a disability under the Fair Housing Act1. Hoarding has been added to the DSM-5, the latest version of the American Psychiatric Association’s classification and diag-nostic tool, and is now recognized as diagnosable condition independent of other mental health conditions.

FHCO had received a few calls about potential hoarding situations by the time an invitation came in the spring of 2013 to participate in a col-

laborative Multnomah County con-versation about the issue. Two grad-uate social work students serving as interns in the Multnomah County Office of Aging and Disability Services convened various agencies to meet for a “community assess-ment.” Attendees have included rep-resentatives of several nonprofit and for-profit housing providers, Aging and Disability and Adult Protective Services, Legal Aid, Animal Control, and Assessments and Tax. This Hoarding Task Force has continued to meet regularly, researching resources and bringing in experts to assist in coordinating services and developing best practices. The group is now beginning the process of staff-ing cases and developing a more

formal protocol. The good news is that there are new cognitive behav-ioral therapy models that can be suc-cessful in treating hoarding.

Since hoarding disorder is a dis-ability under the Fair Housing Act, these individuals have the right to request a reasonable accommodation (RA) from a housing provider. This might include providing an agreed upon length of time to bring in a pro-fessional cleaner / organizer to help clear pathways, reduce pile heights, clear materials in front of heating vents, etc. More will probably be needed than a single deep clean. There may be several steps to the RA request, prioritizing the most imme-diate safety needs and then allowing a more gradual timeline for reducing


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If you’ve entertained thoughts about renting out your home, you may be asking yourself a

few questions: “Is it worth hanging on to this property?” “How will I feel about strangers moving into my home?” “Will my tenants be respon-sible?”

Owning a rental property can require hard work, patience, and planning. There’s the good to con-sider, like the potential to increase your income and build a steady cash flow. On the other hand, being a landlord may test your ability to deal with the unexpected, like emergency home repairs or unreliable renters.

Before you hand over the keys, here’s what you can do to make the rental process go smoother.

1. Research the marketResearch the market in the neigh-

borhood of your rental home to choose a rent amount that matches local rates while still helping you earn a profit. Consider the square footage and number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

You might also take into consider-ation any additions to the property and the age of the home. Don’t forget to factor in costs like pest control, lawn maintenance, and occasional

home repairs.2. Grace your home with curb appealThe first impression of your

home’s curb appeal can mean every-thing, and depending on where you live and the time of year, your home may have taken a beating from the sun, wind, rain, or snow.

To give your home a fresh look, rent a power washer, clean out the flower beds, and trim shrubs and low-hanging tree branches. Give your lawn a clean trim, your panels a new coat of paint, and your shut-ters a good cleaning.

3. Check to see if your prospective tenant is financially responsible

A credit check can offer insights into your applicant’s payment histo-ry and gives you a good idea if they’ll likely be a good or bad credit risk.

You may also want to consider hiring a reputable company that can perform a tenant screening on your potential occupants to find out if they’ve damaged previous rental properties or have a criminal record. You can also ask for referrals from past residences since this informa-tion won’t be included in a credit report.

4. Plan for financial emergencies

Renting comes with its own set of unexpected emergencies, from ten-ants suddenly vacating a property to their calling you on a Sunday about a broken water heater. These can be tough expenses to bear, and as a landlord, it will behoove you to set aside funds for such situations.

5. Get appropriate insurance cover-age

There’s always the possibility that your tenants or one of their guests

might have an accident or damage your property. You could also experi-ence a loss of rental income due to an unforeseeable disaster. The proper insurance may cover these things along with legal fees if you end up taking your tenant to court.

For some, becoming a landlord is all about on-the-job training. It can be a challenge, but in the end, rent-ing out your extra space can help you reap financial benefits.

Owning a Rental Property Requires Hard Work, Patience, and Planning



Closing the sale is of utmost importance in turning pro-spective renters into new res-

idents for your apartment commu-nity. It would be the equivalent of “setting the hook” for those who are trying to catch a fish. In each case, the prospect and the fish are trying to “get away” without committing to a home or a hook, while your job is trying to get both of them to BITE!

Building owners and management companies want to know:

What can we do to get our leasing staffs to close the sale? Even when we authorize incentives and rent specials to give them additional tools to work with, they still aren’t asking for the sale. What else can we do?

Even with incentives and promo-tions, the leasing people are still ultimately responsible for closing the sale. Very few clients will whip out their debit cards and say, “I’ll take it!” Most people who are not forced into making a buying decision will delay making one. They will contin-ue to weigh all their options, and there are LOTS to consider!

I believe that the number one rea-son that leasing people are not con-verting more prospective renters into residents is because they stop short of asking for the sale. They are not “setting the hook.” They do a sensa-tional job of presenting their product and explaining the application pro-

cess, which I would refer to as “put-ting the ‘bait’ out there.” However, when they get a buying signal (A BITE!!) they do not recognize it for what it is, and then let the prospect get away.

Here is what it looks like on a shop-ping report:

After an outstanding presenta-tion, the leasing consultant asked if I thought the apartment would work for me. (bait) I responded with great enthusiasm, “I love it! It’s perfect!” (bite) She said, “That’s great. All you have to do if you want this apart-ment is fill out an application form and leave a $250 deposit. We can process your application within 24 hours. I’ll get you an application to take home with you. Then you can fill it out and bring it back if you decide you want the apartment.” (letting the fish off the hook) I agreed to take the application form and thanked her for her time. (fish swimming away) She thanked me for coming by and closed with, “I hope to hear from you soon.” (watches fish swim away and won-ders how that fish got off the hook . . . )

Relaying information about rental requirements is not the same thing as ASKING for the sale. I firmly believe that many leasing consultants hon-estly think that they are closing the sale by describing the application

process if someone is interested in renting, rather than coming right out and asking that person to rent. Remember: In order to get a commit-ment, you have to ask for one. Asking for the rental sounds something like this:

After an outstanding presenta-tion, the leasing consultant asked if I thought the apartment would work for me. (bait) I responded with great enthusiasm, “I love it! It’s perfect!” (bite) She said, “That’s great. Let’s go back to the office and I’ll get you started on the application.” (setting the hook) I told her I wasn’t ready to do that just yet because I had a cou-

ple more places to look first. She reminded me how much I loved the vaulted ceilings and the spacious kitchen, and I had to agree. When we got back to the office she handed me the application form and a pen. She said, “Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I’ll get you something cold to drink while you start filling out the application.” (reeling in the fish) She returned with my soft

drink and said, “I’ll need two separate checks: One for the deposit and the other for the application fee. Make the first one out to…” (having fish for dinner tonight)

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Why Work-Life Balance is the Wrong IdeaA Better ‘Balance’ Is Finding the Right Job for Your Purpose, Says Talent Expert

By Brian Mohr

The corporate world is suscep-tible to fads.

Work-life balance, a push to properly prioritize work in relation to lifestyle, features the kind of fad-ish thinking that can lead gifted people down the wrong path, says talent expert Brian Mohr.

“Think of those who love their job – for them, it’s not exactly ‘work’ as they exercise their ca-pabilities fully toward a goal that they believe in,” says Mohr, co-founder and managing part-ner for Y Scouts (yscouts.com), a purpose-based leadership search firm.

“Finding the right fit – wheth-er an organization is searching for leadership or an individual is seeking the right job – is more important than people realize. The problem of work-life bal-ance starts farther upstream. When the appropriate person is aligned with the appropriate goal, balance is natural.”

A concept like work-life bal-ance is a claim on how we should prioritize our lives, which, if be-lieved, can be confusing. Mohr discusses how an organization’s employees, from bottom to top, can benefit from a more helpful perspective.

• Don’t buy into the notion of the “work you” as being separate from the “real you.” We spend 8.8 hours of each day working, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics – the largest amount of time spent in any single activity (sleeping is second at 7.6 hours). Work-life balance enforces a strange notion that you are es-sentially different on the clock than off the clock, which hurts both employers and employees. Who wants this divided person-ality? Why not be yourself while doing what’s important – pro-viding for your well-being and that of your family?

“Costumes are for Hallow-een,” Mohr says. “In my line of work, I want to offer a leader who is authentic and not some impostor version of who they really are.”

• Not everyone is working for the weekend. Rather than work-life balance, it’s more helpful to think of your role in a company or nonprofit as work-life symbi-osis. Just do the math. Working nearly nine hours in a role that you do not like doesn’t stack up well with two days that quickly pass by – assuming you hate your job. How many years of your life do you want to waste not doing what would make you happier?

“Most importantly of all is aligning the right people with the right role,” Mohr says. “That means aligning the purpose and values of an organization to the purpose and values of the right people. Everyone owes it to themselves to find the right or-ganization.”

• Take a cue from your tech-

nology. In today’s world, we simply cannot compartmental-ize different areas of our lives like people used to. You can communicate with your spouse at any time and know people better through social media than through real-life interaction. And, for work, most of us carry our work around in our smart-phones. If not text messages, then we get emails sent to our phones.

“Whether through our tech-nology or the software running in our brains, we don’t simply turn off work when we leave the office,” he says. “We should drop the idea that ‘work’ and ‘life’ are somehow separate. They’re not.”

Brian Mohr is co-founder and managing partner for Y Scouts (yscouts.com), a purpose-based leadership search firm that con-nects organizations with excep-

tional leaders. Y Scouts operates under the belief that people are the

only real competitive advantage in business and the best employer/

employee connections start by connecting through a shared sense of purpose and values. Previously, Mohr worked as a talent strategist and in leadership management for

major corporations, including P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Job-

ing.com. He is a graduate of the Advanced Executive Program at

Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.


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Dear Maintenance Men:I have a bathroom sink that is slow

draining. I have already snaked the drain and found no stoppage. When I remove the pop-up assembly and have an open drain, water whooshes down with no problem. However, with the pop-up in place, water backs up into the sink and drains very slowly.

PaulDear Paul:Most bathroom sinks have an

overflow hole near the top edge of the sink. This hole serves two pur-poses; 1: Acts as a safety drain to keep the sink from overflowing should the water rise above a certain level in the sink. 2: The overflow hole also serves as an air vent for the sink when the water levels are above the pop-up plug. The overflow hole allows air to escape through the drain and the wa-ter to evacuate more efficiently.

What has happened is hair, tooth-paste, grime etc. have built-up and sealed off the overflow drain where it exits just below the pop-up assem-bly plug. Most snakes are too big to go through the overflow drain. Alternatively, a speedometer cable will work great or even a long zip tie will work. Push the cable or zip

tie down through the overflow hole at the top of the sink and push any gunk out into the drain. Use water to help push the debris out the over-flow drain, a funnel works great to direct a good flow of water. If you cannot access the overflow to drain, you will need to disassemble the main drain assembly to gain access to the overflow drain exit. Once the overflow drain has good airflow, the sink should drain a bit faster. If this does not solve the problem com-pletely, look at restricting the water flow coming out of the faucet. Use a restrictive aerator to cut down on the GPM of the faucet.

Dear Maintenance Men: I run into a vendor communications

problem every now and then. It is very frustrating and at times costly to my pocket book or the vendors’ depending on whose error it is. It can be as simple as the wrong shade of paint, to as serious as work completed in the wrong unit. I try to keep my directions as simple and direct as possible, but mistakes still hap-pen. What do you recommend?

SteveDear Steve:Sometimes familiarity and the as-

sumption the other party can read

our mind gets in the way of prop-er communication skills. We have found that even with vendors we have used for a long time and who should know better, fall victim to mind reading errors. We no longer rely on verbal confirmation when fi-nalizing a job. Everything is in writ-ing no matter how small. Now, errors can still happen, but it is much easier to find who is at fault. To minimize errors further, be sure to write in a concise direct manner in simple sen-tences. Do not use compound sen-tences or complicated, jargon filled sentences. Write for the lowest com-mon denominator. Often the work order will go from the contractor directly to his techs without any fur-ther explanations. The techs need to understand clearly what work is ex-pected and authorized. If you have more than one task being performed in an apartment unit, itemize and specify by room what the work is. If you are painting, specify the color, flat or semi-gloss and what rooms are to be painted. If you have rooms or objects that are not to be painted, use a separate sentence so the differ-ence can be clearly noted. This works with faucets, window coverings,

flooring etc. Have the other party ini-tial not only the original work order, but also any changes that take place before work proceeds. With the work order initialed, miscommunication is less likely. Don’t forget to add special notes and details when needed, in-clude a phone number for any ques-tion.

Dear Maintenance Men:I am getting complaints for my resi-

dents that they are not getting hot water or that they need to run the water a long time before getting hot water. I checked the water heater and it is operating prop-erly. What do you think the problem is?

David Dear David:The first thing we would check is

the circulation pump for proper op-eration. Calcium or hard water de-posits in the water heater and lines may also aggravate this problem. The circulation pump’s job is to bring hot water to all the units at the same time. When the pump is not working or is clogged; the hot water will take much longer to get to the units furthest away from the heater. The first step is to determine if the pump is work-

Dear Maintenance Men:

other clutter, in conjunction with a professional organizer or mental health provider.

As with any RA request, housing providers need to evaluate the request and the verification of dis-ability and respond in a timely man-ner. Housing providers are always well advised to review the legal rea-sons for denial, consult with a fair housing attorney, document the rationale for their decision, and feel comfortable defending it if a com-plaint / case follows when making a decision on a RA request. As always, regardless of the request that’s made or what the disability is, if a denial is made, HUD says a conversation should ensue about what would work for the individual with the dis-ability.

Want to learn more? Suggested reading list:

Hoarding basics: www.psychia-try.org/hoarding-disorder -- American Psychiatric Association:

“Hoarding Disorder”"The Hoarding Handbook: A

Guide for Human Services Professionals" – Bratiotis, Christina, et. al., New York: Oxford University Press, 2011

“Task Forces Offer Hoarders a Way to Dig Out” – The New York Times, Jan Hoffman, 5/26/13

“Obsessive compulsive and relat-ed disorders” – American Psychiatric Publishing

This article brought to you by the Fair Housing Council; a civil rights

organization. All rights reserved © 2015. Write [email protected] to

reprint articles or inquire about ongoing content for your own pub-

lication. 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 association? Contact Jo Becker

at [email protected] or 800/424-3247 Ext. 150

Want to schedule an in-office fair housing training program or speak-er for corporate or association func-tions? Visit www.FHCO.org/learn-

ing-resources/trainings to learn about the trainings we offer for

companies and groups. Federally protected classes under

the Fair Housing Act include: race, color, national origin, religion, sex,

familial status (children), and disabili-ty. Oregon law also protects marital

status, source of income, sexual orienta-tion, 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

Protected Classes” for more informa-tion.

Hoarders ...continued from page 18


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You’re probably wondering how this is possible. How can homeown-ership be at a 48-year low while home builders, suppliers, and cabi-net makers’ stocks are at multi-year highs?

Again the keen eyes of Casey

Research answered the questions, “How can this be? Who owns all the new homes that these companies are helping to build?” The answer: inves-tors of all sorts, shapes and configu-rations.

“Individuals and large investment

companies have been buying up homes,” claims a recent report by The Casey Daily Dispatch. “In fact, US private equity firm The Blackstone Group (BX) is now the single largest homeowner in America. Blackstone has purchased nearly 50,000 homes since 2012.”

Bloomberg also reported recently that indeed it is investors who are driving the housing recovery: “Investors who purchased at least 10 homes a year have spent about $68 billion on 528,000 single-family hous-es since 2011, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Haendel St. Juste, making a corporate business out of a space dominated by mom-and-pops.”

Because of this, America is turn-ing into a nation of renters, which is good news for property managers.

Changes to the Treatment of Depreciation Effective with Your 2014 Tax Return

Ay Heather L. Jackson, CPA | Tax Manager | Kern & Thompson, LLC, Cliff Hockley, President & Heather Hill | Bluestone & Hockley Real Estate Services

Warning: The following ar-ticle attempts to clarify important changes to the

tax code. While pertinent to prop-erty owners, no amount of artistry could make this material more excit-ing. We recommend that readers use patience to digest this complex topic.

The federal government re-cently made major changes to tax regulations with a specific focus on the capitalization of tangible assets. Not only do these changes impact all tax-payers that acquire, produce or improve tangible property, they provides specific rules for build-ings versus other tangible prop-erty and provide guidance on the application of Sections 162 (a) – deduction, versus 263 (a) – capitalization.

To start, the IRS clarified the definitions of different types or property that are important in the decision to write off or capitalize on expenditure. To understand the new regula-tions, we must first refine what determines a unit of property. According to the IRS, a unit of property is real or personal property consisting of all of the components of property that, functionally interdependent,

comprise a single unit of proper-ty. For example, a truck is a unit of property because all the parts are interdependent; however, each building in an apartment complex with multiple build-ings is a single unit of property.

Materials & Supplies The new tangible property

regulations also define the treat-ment of materials and supplies.

Materials and supplies are NOT: a unit of property, ac-quired as part of a single unit of property, or inventory.

Materials and supplies ARE:Consumed in the taxpayer’s

operations• A component acquired to

maintain, repair or improve a unit of tangible property owned, leased or serviced by the taxpayer

• Items that are reasonably ex-pected to be consumed in 12 months or less

• Items with an economic use-ful life of 12 months or less

• Items with an acquisition cost or production cost of $200 or less

• Identified in the Federal Reg-ister or in the IRB as materials and supplies

Safe Harbor RulesThe new 2014 tax changes

provide an election to treat cer-tain materials and supplies un-der the de minims safe harbor rule. The de minims safe harbor rule allows taxpayers to deduct items up to $500 or those with a useful life of less than 12 months. The limit can be increased to $5,000 with an applicable finan-cial statement. (Examples of ap-plicable financial statements are: Financial statements required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), independent certified public ac-countant (VPA) audited finan-cial statement (not a compilation or review prepared by a CPA), and financial statements (other than a tax return) required to be provided to a state government or any federal or state agency (other than the SEC or the IRS)). Safe Harbor can be applied on a per-item, per-invoice basis but the taxpayer must have an ac-counting policy and it must be applied to all eligible materials and supplies.

For Example: Josh owns an apartment complex with a rent-al office onsite. The rental office

purchased a new printer for $199 and desk for $499 in 2014. Josh makes the de minims safe har-bor election on his 2014 tax re-turn. Because of the election he can deduct the full $698, instead of capitalizing and depreciating over the life of the property. This is an annual election.

Form 3115 – Annual Account-ing Policy Election

Josh must elect an accounting policy to do this correctly. As of 2014, all taxpayers that acquire, produce or improve tangible property will now be required to file form 3115 declaring the current accounting method for depreciation. The IRS did grant a reprieve to “small” businesses (which are defined as 10 million in assets and 10 million in rev-enue) from filing form 3115 for the 2014 tax year. Initially there was also a $3,500 per property penalty if form 3115 was not filed.

For Example: Jake inherited a residential

Housing Market Conundrum ...continued from page 4

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Not so many years ago, many people probably paid little attention to

that pound sign on the com-puter keyboard. You know, the one that looks like this: #. Then along came Twitter and what we have come to call the “hashtag,” and social media marketing was changed forever. Yet not every-one takes advantage of hashtags the way they should, and that’s unfortunate because if you are not using hashtags you are miss-ing out on exposure for you and your brand.

When you are on social me-dia sites such as Twitter or Ins-tagram, your goal should be to become part of the conversa-tion. The hashtag allows more people to find your contribu-tions to that conversation. With-out them, you miss out on lots of eyes that could be viewing your content. For example, let’s say 1,000 people follow you on Twit-ter. Not counting re-tweets, only 1,000 people will see your posts

if you don’t use a hashtag. Add the hashtag, though, and you start picking up momentum be-cause the post has the potential of being seen by, and re-tweeted by, any number of people.

A common hashtag, such as #love, can position your post to be seen by potentially mil-lions of people. But be warned. While there are great benefits to hashtags, there also are pit-falls. Hashtags don’t come with exclusivity. Anyone can use them, so a hashtag can become a weapon that works both for you and against you. Critics of your brand, or just the usual as-sortment of Internet trolls, may attempt to hijack your hashtag, putting you or your business in a bad light.

A prime example of a hijacked hashtag happened a few years ago when McDonald’s, appar-ently hoping for a flattering con-versation about the restaurant chain, introduced #McDStories on Twitter. #McDStories went viral, but not in a good way as

the Twitter world had a field day tweeting unflattering tales of their alleged bad experienc-es with the restaurant. Don’t let such cautionary tales deter you, though. March boldly into hashtagging, but as you do keep in mind these suggestions for getting the most out of your ef-forts.

• Use proprietary hashtags. One of the advantages to a proprietary hashtag, such as “Orange is the New Black’s” hashtag #OITNB, is that it is linked directly to your brand. These hashtags typically are not used as widely as a more generic hashtag, but the goal is to brand yourself through the hashtag with the hope it could go viral.

• Don’t overdo it. A post lit-tered with too many hashtags can be difficult to read, so your message might become ob-scured as your followers see what appears to be gibberish. Perhaps you saw the skit Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon once performed in which they

spoofed the device’s overuse by lacing their spoken conver-sation with seemingly endless hashtags. It was hilarious and annoying all at the same time.

Twitter itself suggests using no more than two hashtags per Tweet. Certainly, three should be the very maximum on Twit-ter. A different etiquette exists on Instagram, though, and most Instagram followers will toler-ate excess hashtags. Meanwhile, although hashtags can be used on Facebook, there’s little reason to include even one. That’s not the way people use that social media site.

• Think geographically. If you are a local company that de-pends mainly on local clientele, a hashtag that links to your loca-tion works well. Hashtags such as #Bizbee or #Bangor drop you into numerous conversations about your hometown.

Since social media has become such a vital element of any com-prehensive marketing strategy, understanding all of the nuanc-

To Social Media RelevanceThose Seemingly Inconsequential Hashtags are Crucial to Gaining More Exposure for Your Brand

Ask the Secret Shopper ...continued from page 16

discouraging stories shared among fishermen (and women!) are about the “ones that got away.” Do you want to tell leasing stories about the clients who “drove away” or about those who rented and decided to stay?

Remember: It's much easier to reel in a fish on a hook, than one that is swimming away…

If you are interested in leasing training or have a question or con-cern that you would like to see addressed, please reach out to me via e-mail. Otherwise, please contact 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 Shops

E-mail: [email protected] Joyce (Kirby) Bica

If you are interested in leasing train-ing or have a question or concern that you would like to see addressed, please reach out to me via e-mail. Otherwise,

please contact Jancyn for your employee evaluation needs: www.jancyn.com

Copyright Joyce (Kirby) Bica




rental in June of 2013. When preparing his tax return in 2013 he didn’t report the step-up as his basis in the rental house. In 2014, Jake realized this mistake and wanted to reclaim the ad-ditional depreciation that was missed on the 2013 tax return. Jake can now file IRS Form 3115, changing the accounting meth-od. This will give him the audit protection for 2013 and correct for the missed depreciation in 2014.

Capitalizing ImprovementsThe requirement to capitalize

amounts paid for improvements to a unit of property depend on the purpose of the improve-ment. Betterments ameliorate an existing material condition or defect and can include expan-sions. Restorations assume that the property being restored has fallen into disrepair and is no longer functional or has caused a major component to cease functioning. Improvements adapting the property to a new or different use can also be capi-talized.

For Example: If the landlord of a manufac-

turing space decided to convert

it to apartments, the cost to re-grade the land would need to be capitalized but the amount paid to clean up the site (which does not adapt the land) does not need to be capitalized. Likewise, if a tenant leased adjoining spac-es in a commercial office build-ing, the cost to combine the two spaces would be deductible be-cause it does not adapt the use of the space.

Deductible repairs and main-tenance are activities not re-quired to be capitalized as tax improvements. However, you can elect to capitalize for tax purposes if capitalizing for book. Routine maintenance and small taxpayers enjoy safe har-bor protection. An activity is routine maintenance under the safe harbor rules if the activity is performed more than once during the class life of the (non-building) property. In the case of buildings, the activity is per-formed more than once during a 10 year period. If unsure wheth-er something can be claimed as routine maintenance, consider the recurring nature of the ac-tivity, if it is industry practice, whether it coincides with the

manufacturer’s recommenda-tions and whether you have had experience with it at a similar or identical property.

Tax payers may elect not to apply the capitalization require-ments to an eligible building property if the total amount paid during the taxable year for repairs, maintenance, improve-ments and similar activities per-formed on the building prop-erty does not exceed the lesser of 2% of the unadjusted basis of the eligible property or $10,000.

For Example:John and Jane own a residen-

tial rental which originally cost $305,000. During 2014, they had a plumber fix a leaking pipe for $250, they replaced the home’s water heater for $1,900, and re-paired the siding from a wind storm for $1,400. John and Jane filed the small taxpayer safe harbor election with their 2014 return and then deducted the entire $3,550 since it’s less than 2% of the unadjusted basis (cost) of the home. This is an annual election.

What’s ahead for 2015?On December 16, 2014, the tax

extenders were passed bring-

ing back the higher Section 179 limits and bonus depreciation at 50% effective January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. So as of right now, we are at the reduced Section 179 amount ($25,000) and lower limits ($200,000) and no bonus deprecation for 2015. This makes some taxpayers susceptible to the Alternative Minimum Tax which was per-manently fixed a few years ago. With bonus depreciation gone, the tax and AMT depreciation are no longer the same. This may cause someone to fall into AMT where in the past, bonus depreciation prevented this.

This article attempts to sum-marize recent tax changes using examples for clarification pur-poses only. Every investor has a different tax situation; please consult your tax advisor for your specific situation.


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48-HOUR NOTICE OF ENTRYTENANT(S): ____________________________________________________ DATE:________ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________ UNIT: _________CITY: _________________________________________ STATE: __________ ZIP: _________48-HOUR NOTICE OF ENTRYPursuant to RCW 59.18.150, this is your 48 hour notice that your landlord or their agents will be

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WA-RTG-40 Washington

©2009 NO PORTION of this form may be reproduced without written permission.

CHECK-IN/CHECK-OUT CONDITION REPORTTENANT(S): __________________________________________________________________ADDRESS: ________________________________________________UNIT: ______________CITY: ___________________________________ STATE: ________ ZIP: _________________Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor IN Out In Out In OutLIVING AREAS KITCHEN BEDROOM 3Walls Walls Walls

Windows Stove/Racks WindowsBlinds/Drapes Refrigerator Blinds/DrapesRods Ice Trays RodsFloor Shelves/Drawer FloorCarpet/Vinyl/Wood Disposal Light FixturesLight Fixtures Dishwasher Doors/WoodworkDoors/Woodwork Counter Tops LocksLocks Cabinets CeilingsCeilings Sink Electric OutletsElectrical Outlets FloorGarbage Cans WindowsTV Antenna/Cable Blinds/Drapes BATH ROOMFireplace

Towel BarsCleanlinessSink & Vanity

ToiletBEDROOM 1 BEDROOM 2 Tub/ShowerWalls Walls Fan (Exhaust)Windows Windows FloorBlinds/Drapes Blinds/Drapes Electric OutletsRods Rods Light FixturesFloor FloorLight Fixtures Light Fixtures Essential ServicesEssential ServicesDoors/Woodwork Doors/Woodwork PlumbingLocks Locks HeatingCeilings Ceilings ElectricityElectrical Outlets Electric Outlets Hot Water

Smoke Detectors

OR-RTG-20 Oregon

PET AGREEMENTTENANT INFORMATION

TENANT(S): ____________________________________________________ DATE:________ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________ UNIT: _________CITY: _________________________________________ STATE: __________ ZIP: _________

DESCRIPTION OF PET(S)

1) Type _______________ Breed _______________ Size ______ Age __ Weight ___ Color ____ Name ________ Vaccinations: Yes____ No____ License Number: ______________



Additional Security Deposit Required:$

AGREEMENTTenant(s) certify that the above pet(s) are the only pet(s) on the premises. Tenant(s) understands that the additional pet(s) are not permitted unless the landlord gives tenant(s) written permission. Tenant(s) agree to keep the above-listed pets in the premises subject to the following terms and conditions:

1) The pet(s) shall be on a leash or otherwise under tenant’s control when it is outside the tenant’s dwelling unit. 2) Tenant(s) shall promptly pick up all pet waste from the premises promptly. 3) Tenant(s) are responsible for the conduct of their pet(s) at all times. 4) Tenant(s) are liable for all damages caused by their pet(s). 5) Tenant(s) shall pay the additional security deposit listed above and/or their rental agreement as a condition to keeping the pet(s) listed above. 6) Tenant(s) shall not allow their pets to cause any sort of disturbance or injury to the other tenants, guests, landlord or any other persons lawfully on the premises. 7) Tenant(s) shall immediately report to landlord any type of damage or injury caused by their pet. 8) This agreement is incorporated into and shall become part of the rental agreement exe -cuted between the parties. Failure by tenant to comply with any part of this agreement shall constitute a material breach of the rental agreement.

_____________________________ ______________________________Landlord Tenant ______________________________ Tenant

nogerO 42-GTR-RO

©2011 NO PORTION of this form may be reproduced without written permission.

CHECK-IN/CHECK-OUT CONDITION REPORTTENANT(S): __________________________________________________________________ADDRESS: ________________________________________________UNIT: ______________CITY: ___________________________________ STATE: ________ ZIP: _________________Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor

Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor







Rating Scale = (E)Excellent (VG) Very Good (G)Good (F)Fair (P)Poor IN Out In Out In OutLIVING AREAS

KITCHENBEDROOM 3

WallsWalls

WallsWindowsStove/Racks

WindowsBlinds/Drapes

RefrigeratorBlinds/Drapes

RodsIce Trays

RodsFloorShelves/Drawer

FloorCarpet/Vinyl/WoodDisposal

Light FixturesLight Fixtures

DishwasherDoors/Woodwork

Doors/WoodworkCounter Tops

LocksLocksCabinets

CeilingsCeilings

SinkElectric Outlets

Electrical OutletsFloor

Smoke DetectorsGarbage Cans

WindowsTV Antenna/CableBlinds/Drapes

BATH ROOMFireplace

Towel BarsCleanliness

Sink & Vanity

ToiletBEDROOM 1BEDROOM 2

Tub/ShowerWalls

WallsWindows

WA-RTG-20 Washington

5 REASONS TO USE RENTEGRATIONColor Standards for National Tenant Network Logo

• Logos are provided on the CD in all three forms: all black, reversed to white, or in PMS 280 Blue/PMS 7543 Gray spot or 4/color applications. Please see below for speci�c use examples.

• No other colors are acceptable for use for the logo.

• No altering of the logo is allowed. If you have a special circumstance that requires something not provided on the CD, please call NTN NA TIO NAL HEADQUAR TERS 1.800.228.0989 for assistance.

• Logos should not be put over a busy background.

BLACK WHITE (with 40% gray circle)

PMS 280/PMS 7543 over colorBlue PMS 280/Gray PMS 7543

1. Access - Rentegration.com is a web based,

access to forms generation, archives, prop-erty management database, basic account-ing, vendor ordering and other services.

2. Rental and Lease Forms - Unlimited use

forms. All Rentegration.com forms are cre-ated by attorneys and/or local rental hous-ing associations.

- Owners and managers can track income and expense for each unit, property and company. Per-fect for mid and small size property manag-ers and independent rental owners, who neither have the need or budget for larger, more expensive software.

4. Management Database - Rentegration.com is an easy to use, database driven soft-

from the database. The modules are all in-tegrated and work together. For example, a customer can use the rent-roll function to identify all delinquencies, apply fees, and create eviction forms with a few simple clicks of the mouse.

5. Value - Large property management companies that use Rentegration.com for only forms generation will save time and money over other methods. Mid and small size property managers and independent rental owners can manage their entire busi-ness at a fraction of the cost of other soft-ware and forms.

www.Rentegration.com

Exclusive Industry Partner of:

ARIZONA, ALASKA, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, DELAWARE, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, KANSAS, KENTUCKY, MASSACHUSETTS, NEVADA, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, OHIO, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, TEXAS, UTAH, WASHINGTON, WASHINGTON D.C., WEST VIRGINIA & MORE.

[email protected] 7346-339-305



ing. The pump is normally found next to the water-heater. Check that the motor is plugged into an electri-cal outlet. Next, touch the water lines on either side of the pump and deter-mine the temperature. If it is work-ing properly, the lines should be warm or cool to the touch, not hot. If the pipes are hot or very hot to the touch, the pump is not working prop-erly. If the pump does not spin when plugged in, it may need to be replaced. If the pump motor is working, the pump may be clogged with debris. Remove the pump and clear out the lines. Pay special attention to the line between the pump and the water heater. The pump tends to impact this section of the water line due to calcium build-ups in the water heater tank. While you have things apart, this is a good time to clean out the tank deposits, which may be contributing to the slow hot water issue. Water heater clean outs should be done at least once a year. If you live in a hard wa-ter area, adding a water softener to the incoming cold water line will greatly improve calcium and hard water buildups in the water tank.

Plumbing Joke: So there was a neurosurgeon

who called a plumber for a house visit. The plumber arrived and after spending an hour bestowed the neu-rosurgeon a bill of $500. The surgeon

was stunned; he said, “Even I don’t charge this much after a surgery.” The plumber stood up, gave him a sly look and said, “Well, that is why I am a plumber now; I used to be a neurosurgeon.”

Please call: Buf-falo Maintenance,

Inc for maintenance work or consulta-tion.

JLE Property Management, Inc for management service or consultation

Frankie Alvarez at 714 956-8371 Jerry L’Ecuyer at 714 778-0480

CA contractor lic: #797645, EPA Real Estate lic. #: 01460075

Certified Renovation Company Websites:

www.BuffaloMaintenance.comwww.ContactJLE.com

www.Facebook.com/BuffaloMaintenance

Dear Maintenance Men: ...continued from page 18

Your Multi-Family andCommercial Specialists

PaintingWood Repairs & ReplacementWrought Iron Fabrication& Welding RepairsDecks & Waterproo�ingStucco Repairs & ApplicationFence Repairs & InstallationProperty Inspections& Scope of Work Creation

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es is critical. A hashtag may not look like much, but it’s really a powerful tool that is a double-edged sword. If used correctly it can greatly bolster your mar-keting reach. Used incorrectly, it can have adverse effects or unin-tended consequences.

With social media, your hashtag is your brand, so use it wisely.

Jay York, senior digital market-ing strategist for EMSI Public

Relations (www.emsincorporated.com), is an internet marketing

expert with extensive experience in social media marketing dating

back to the early days of MySpace and LiveJournal. Since graduat-

ing from the University of South Florida Business School, Jay has

worked as marketing coordinator for an international IT training company; business development

and branding manager for a start-up restaurant management group;

and CEO of his own social media management firm.




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Metro Rental Housing Journal August 2015

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Transcript of Metro Rental Housing Journal August 2015