Privilege to Provide Housing Brings Responsibility
About 1/3 of America goes to bed each night in a rented dwelling.
That’s 100 million people for whom the rental housing industry provides shelter. To get the job done, apartment firms employ about 686,000 individuals in on site positions according to a study conducted by Stephen Fuller, PhD, of George Mason University.
Multifamily owners and managers can feel good about impacting the lives of all these Americans in such a fundamental, 24/7 manner.
Yes, housing the nation’s population is a virtuous enterprise. Many future important contributors to our society are kids residing in apartment communities right now…some, perhaps, in properties owned or managed by you.
It is a privilege to serve these residents, and providing quality living environments for them is something we should insist upon and take pride in.
But as hard working industry professionals know, this doesn’t come easy. The rental housing environment is constantly undergoing change, laws are always being enacted or revised and technologies are ever evolving – keeping up requires a commitment to education. It’s the key to profitable ownership.
So where does one go to acquire the specialized information and perspective required to be successful?
The answer is a four letter word: AAOC.
The Apartment Association of Orange County has developed an education program that hits on all the essentials to keep your buildings safe, compliant and profitable. The fall 2013 Certified Housing Provider program, a series of eleven half day classes, begins September 11. Here is a summary of the sessions:
- Residential Property Management, 9-11-13
- Property Marketing Analysis, 9-18-13
- Property Maintenance, 9-25-13
- Leasing Techniques & Renting to Qualified Residents, 10-2-13
- Legal Issues Affecting Landlords and Tenants, 10-9-13
- Human Resources, 10-16-13
- Fair Housing & Government Standards, 10-23-13
- Employee Development, 10-30-13
- Financial Management & Budgeting, 11-6-13
- Liability, Emergency & Crime Management, 11-13-13
- Insuring & Protecting Your Community, 11-20-13
Classes, which run from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM, are offered in our comfortable classroom set up at the AAOC offices in Santa Ana and are taught by seasoned pros. Members get the entire eleven course series as a package for $395, or, if only selected classes are needed, $49.50 per module.
You may register online at www.AAOC.com or call (714) 245-9500.
Demographics anyone?
Turning to more macro issues, the aforementioned Dr. Fuller points out that the almost 80-million strong Generation Y (the oldest in this group are now 36), is just now hitting its peak renting years. Following them is Generation Z, otherwise known as the Millenials, now poised to enter the housing market. By 2015 there will be 67 million in this crowd, aged 20-34, the prime years for renting.
Fuller goes on to state, “…young adults in their 20s and empty nesters in their 50s and older – those most likely to seek housing options other than single-family houses – will be the fastest growing population segments in the next decade.
One further interesting note pointed out by Greg Brown, government affairs director at the National Apartment Association, today’s youth exhibits a pronounced proclivity to rent things – from cars to music to housing.
Such demographics have helped create very positive moves in apartment prices the past two years.
Concluding thoughts
For now it seems the stars have aligned in favor of apartment owners so long as government doesn’t sweep in too heavy handedly with taxes and/or costly regs.
Please help maintain all this good karma by (1) attending AAOC education classes or sending your employees to do so, and (2) contributing to the candidates and issues PACs that AAOC has established to wage the ongoing battle for private property rights and the rental housing industry.
Many thanks to our association’s wonderful owners, managers and valued Product and Service Council members that help make Orange County, in my option, the nation’s most attractive location for rental housing.
