The Holidays are fast approaching and we are very excited for them. In preparation for the Holiday season we would like to let you know that our offices will be closed from December 24th to January 5th. If it is emergency, you can contact me at js@aptmags.com where I will be at your service to help you as I can.

We are also excited to let you know of our upcoming magazine release. FEBRUARY 2009 we will be publishing Commercial Property Management Magazines. We will be entering the Western Los Angeles region, and reaching thousands of commercial property owners/managers will relevant and timely information about the successful running of commercial property and industry benchmarks and future.

If you are interested in receiving this magazine, or advertising, make sure you email me at js@aptmags.com; or give us a call at (714) 893-3971 to talk to us about your inquiries.

We here at Apartment News Publications, Inc. wish you an amazing Thanksgiving!

Joel Kotkin

Taken from Forbes.com

LOS ANGELES – Just months ago, urban revivalists could see the rosy dawn of a new era for America’s cities. With rising gas prices and soaring foreclosures hitting the long-despised hinterland, urban boosters and their media claque were proclaiming suburbia home to, as the Atlantic put it, “the next slums.” Time magazine, the Financial Times, CNN and, of course, The New York Times all embraced the notion of a new urban epoch.

Yet in one of those ironies that markets play on hypesters, the mortgage crisis is now puncturing the urbanists’ bubble. The mortgage meltdown that first singed the suburbs and exurbs, after all, was
largely financed by Wall Street, the hedge funds, the investment banks, insurers and the rest of the highly city-centric top of the paper food chain.

So, now we can expect some of the biggest layoffs and drops in income next to be found in the once high-flying urban cores. In New York alone, Wall Street has shed over 25,000 jobs–and the region could shed a total of 165,000 over the next two years.

Not surprisingly, the property crisis once seen as the problem of the silly, aspiring working class and the McMansion nouveaus has now spread deep into the bailiwick of the urban sophisticates. For the first time in years, many Manhattan apartments are selling for well below purchase price, something unheard of during the boom. In Brooklyn, a 24% drop in sales over the last three months even has boosters talking of an imminent “Brownstone bust.”

Even San Francisco–arguably the most recession-resistant big city due to its large concentration of nonprofits and “trustifarians”–is seeing prices drop for the first time in years. Far more vulnerable are fledgling neo-urban markets like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Oakland, Calif., San Diego, Memphis, Tenn., Miami and Dallas. Sales are down in most of these markets, as are prices.

Signs of the times: desperate developers offering goodies to buyers. One downtown Los Angeles property owner has even offered to buy a Mini Cooper for anyone bold enough to buy a loft. Others, in Oakland, Boston and Atlanta, are resorting to auctions to offload their product. Foreclosures have taken place in several other markets, including Charlotte, N.C., and Philadelphia.

CLICK HERE to read the full article

Don’t Just Survive … Dominate in a Recession
©John L. Mariotti 2008

Here is the last 4 ways to beat your competitors in a recession:

4. EXPENSES: Quit spending! Cut all but truly essential expenses, but don’t cut spending on new products and marketing; those are your future. Get rid of ALL the nice-but-not-necessary things – temps, contract services, memberships, dues, subscriptions, high-priced travel, conventions, parties, FedEx, premium flights, expensive limos, hotels, and meals out – at the company’s expense.

We are happy to bring our readers a unique service that no other apartment management publication does, which is our year old classified section. Over 2008 it has matured and offers new multi-family and single family housing classifieds every month. Apartment Management hopes that you find it resourceful, and that each month we can showcase new deals on the market. Here is an example of one:

Long Beach: $3,450,000

32 2 Bedroom/2 Bath units. East Long Beach with 60 secure parking spaces. Built in 1987. 6.1 cap at current low rents, 8+ at market. No rent control! Call Karen at (562) 810-6824 or Ed at (562) 810-6825.

Don’t Just Survive … Dominate in a Recession
©John L. Mariotti 2008

Here are the first 3 ways to Dominate in a Recession

1. ‘ATTACK!”— By definition, a “recession” means negative growth, but that doesn’t mean there’s NO business. There’s just less, and it takes more, better effort to capture it. That’s when “dominate” comes into play. If you read further down this list, you will know to choose the right customers, and push the right products. Get out there and get a larger share of the remaining business. Attack; don’t defend! Be proactive, not reactive!

Source: MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE News Service
Publication date: October 9, 2008

By Les Shaver

For months now, land owners, developers, and single-family and multifamily builders have talked about the severe drop-off in land sales. New numbers from Real Capital Analytics back those assertions-the New York-based real estate research firm says that sales have fallen off drastically, nearly 75 percent to date this year.

From January through August of 2008, land sales totaled $7.1 billion. During the same period last year, $27.2 billion in land was sold. In the first three quarters of 2006, that number was $16.4 billion.

“It’s not just sales, but it’s pricing as well,” says Jack McCabe, CEO of McCabe Research and Consulting, a real estate research and consulting firm based in Deerfield Beach, Fla. “The parcels that are being sold are incredibly below what they were a few years ago. We’re talking 20 [cents] to 40 cents on the dollar.”

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL POST

Published: October 08, 2008
By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor (Multi-Housing News)

Sacramento, Calif.–Calif. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into legislation the nation’s first bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by curbing suburban sprawl.

“When it comes to reducing greenhouse gases, California is first in tackling car emissions, first to tackle low-carbon fuels, and now with this landmark legislation, we are the first in the nation to tackle land-use planning,” Schwarzenegger said of the legislation. “What this will mean is more environmentally friendly communities, more sustainable developments, less time people spend in their cars, more alternative transportation options and neighborhoods we can safely and proudly pass on to future generations.”

Click Here to read view full article

COMPLIANCE REQUIRED BY 12/20/08

Please be aware that the Graeme Baker Safety Act will be effective 12/20/08. This is a federal law that helps eliminate the possibility of pool, spa and wader main drain entrapment and or entanglement. This Federal law requires full compliance no later than December 20, 2008. Pool areas that do not comply with these regulations are required to be closed per the Federal Government. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is the primary enforcement agency for the Act.

Aqua Blue Co. has respected the request of the County to wait to release any information as far as repairs that will be needed according this mandate. Due to the number of inquiries we have received, we felt it necessary to inform the association of the most up-to-date information. Note: Orange County Environmental Health has yet to release final recommendations to the Virginia Graeme Baker Safety Act, but the surrounding counties have set guidelines that will most likely be adopted in Orange County.
Outlined below in two steps is the Federal information that mandates public swimming pools, spas and waders be retrofitted or modified to meet new anti-entrapment guidelines and meet specific ASME/ANSI A112.12.8-2007 performance standards.

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS
Graeme Baker Safety Act Sections 1404 (a), 1404 (b), 1404 (c)(1)(A)(i & ii):

1. ANTI-ENTRAPMENT/ ENTANGLEMENT MAIN DRAIN COVER INSTALLATION:
All pools, spas and waders must be equipped with anti-entrapment main drain covers that comply with ASME/ANSI A112.12.8-2007 performance standard. All existing suction/intake covers will be replaced prior to 12-20-08.

Flow rates must be checked and be in complete compliance with the ASME/ANSI and the Graeme/Baker Act. The new covers will have maximum flow rates printed on the cover. Flow rates will be determined upon inspection to be properly retro-fitted prior to installation of the new cover. It is necessary to assess the flow rates for proper calibration to eliminate the possibility of entanglement issues (such as hair, etc.). If flow rates are outside the recommended Gallon Per Minute (GPM), which is indicated on the cover, a solution will be proposed to the association in order to comply with regulations. (In Most cases flow rates will not be a concern).

Source: MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE News Service
Publication date: October 3, 2008

By Les Shaver

The country may still be split on the economic bailout plan, but some apartment executives—always wary of unemployment numbers—hope to see the House pass the Bush administration’s $700 billion rescue package. The Senate passed it yesterday.

Though M|PF YieldStar reports that industry-wide rental occupancy rates still remain relatively stable at approximately 94.5 percent, there is an underlying fear among many owners and managers that the levels can’t last. If the bailout doesn’t happen soon, that drop could be steeper and happen sooner than the market could bear.

“Maybe with the bailout, it’s just a mild recession,” says David Schwartz, principal of Waterton Advisors, an apartment owner and operator based in Chicago. “If it becomes worse and we see substantial loss of jobs and an economic slowdown, that benefits no one. Let’s hope the bailout goes through, and there’s only a mild recession.”

CLICK HERE to view the full article

Courtesy of Orkin

The arrival of cooler weather means pests may be targeting your house for a warm hideout. Pest-proofing your home now can prevent these unwanted guests from settling in for the winter.

Rodents and cockroaches, two pests that can pose serious health threats, are stealthy wintertime invaders seeking warmth, food and water inside your home. In fact, because cockroaches prefer secure, tight spaces, even the smallest crack or crevice in a wall can serve as a highway into your home. Additionally, Smoky brown cockroaches can sense a temperature decrease of only five degrees, and will use this change as a signal to head indoors. Once inside, cockroaches can contaminate food and make you sick, as well as trigger asthma attacks.

Rats, which can enter homes through quarter-sized openings, and mice, which can squeeze through dime-sized holes, are also known to contaminate food and transmit harmful diseases. In addition to seeking immediate shelter from cooler weather, several species of rodents may move indoors now and continue hiding and thriving in your home even after warmer spring weather arrives.