Many states exempt sales tax on utilities for multifamily properties. Check with your Department of Revenue to confirm the exemption. If your property is exempt and your property is currently paying sales tax you may file for the exemption to be effective at the next billing cycle. This could save 5% of your water/sewer expense. …
Category: Regulations
How do I work through my utility company to determine programs that are available for my company?
How do I work through my utility company to determine programs that are available for my company? Check desireusa.org: provides listing of programs for each state and each utility company (these may be dated, but provide good guide) Check utility website: there are typically resident programs and business programs. Some utilities classify multifamily as resident…
How do I play this Sustainability game for my company?
ROI, NOI, increased property valuation, Leed Certification, Green Loans…..how do I find my way through this for the greatest impact for my company? Evaluate what type of company you are? Build and hold, entrepreneurial, flip? How long does your company plan to hold this property? Which properties pay the highest utility bills? Who pays the…
Smoke Free Housing – Is it worth the trouble?
As concerns over second hand smoke arise, many building owners have decided to put policies in place to make their communities smoke free. Many new developments are opening as smoke free communities, but it is possible to convert an existing smoking community to a smoke free community. In addition to eliminating concerns from residents over…
What is Liquefied Natural Gas?
You may not be aware, but the US has increased its natural gas exports substantially over the years. At this point, the US is a net exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) due in part to the shale gas revolution. But, happens when US allies wean themselves off of Russian natural gas and onto ours. …
Tariff Impact on Energy Pricing
The tariffs proposed by the current administration could have an impact on the apartment industry. How? In energy cost increases. The tariffs will increase the cost of steel and aluminum used in pipelines and solar projects. This could impact the cost of energy. Also, if we have more plans here in the US using power…
Whole Building Data is coming to California
I know that I sound like Chicken Little…screaming about the sky falling. However, Effective January 1, 2019, you are going to need to ensure that all your apartment properties in California are loaded into Portfolio Manager. There is a hyperlink to the bill below if you really like read legislature, but the gist is that…
Oil and the Multifamily Industry: Do they go together?
We have enjoyed fairly stable oil prices lately. But, is that something we can rely on in the future. Many say that will not be the case. Increased conflicts in the Middle East there could be destabilize the oil market. Also, there is some question whether US shale gas will continue to produce in the…
Walk Scores Explained
With some Internet Listing Services and property websites now including a community’s walk score, its important to understand just what this means and how it impacts the marketability of the community. There is even an app that potential renters can download that allows them to find apartments in their desired area based on walk score….
Marketing your “Green” Efforts
We began to market our “green” efforts as we implemented them at our properties. Not because potential residents were requesting the information, but because we wanted to stand out from our competition We wanted the current and potential residents to know that we had taken steps to save them money. So, we started educating the…