June 13th Dinner Meeting

Fun Photos from the National Apartment Housing Happy Hour

On April 6 the Charleston Apartment Association recognized National Apartment Housing Day with a membership event at the Harbor Breeze restaurant.  It was a great time to spread the word about the exciting opportunities in our industry. This year’s focus was highlighting the benefits of careers in residential property management (RPM).

Attendees were asked to list why they enjoyed working in the industry and post photos with their lists using the hashtag #AptDay.  Below is a fun sampling of the photos.

Furnishing Your Model Apartment

Furnishing Your Model Apartment

By:  Scott Blalock

Providing a properly furnished model at your community will afford prospective renters the occasion to visualize themselves living in that apartment home – facilitating your goal: Leasing Apartments!

Furnish the model just enough to give the impression of ‘home’ while still leaving ample room for individual interpretation.  Inspire, don’t distract!   Avoid personalized decorative themes, pictures of people, family items, and gender-specific décor so that the prospective renter wills envision the model as his/her home and not someone else’s.

Show Spaciousness

Keep entrance ways, halls, and thoroughfares open and easily accessible so that the future resident (and the leasing consultant) can easily move about.  A critical element of successful staging is to emphasize spaciousness.   Choose smaller scale furniture that will show livability without becoming a distraction and making the accommodations appear cramped.  For smaller living rooms, use a chair side table with a lamp on one side of the sofa and a slim-line floor lamp on the other.  Using counter-height stools or a small pub table set can be an effective option when dining room space is limited.  Placing mirrors on walls opposite windows will reflect more natural light and make rooms seem more expansive.  Sparsely furnish the bedroom (most can easily visualize their own beds) and keep closets completely empty.  

Keep it Fresh

When showing residential accommodations to potential tenants, first impressions are paramount.  Many prospects reach their leasing verdicts when they first enter the model apartment. Use lamps and lighting liberally.  Keep all the lights in the model turned on (prior to the tour) so that your prospects are entering a fresh and welcoming environment.  Choose a light colored (white, linen, light grey) sofa for the living room and use throw pillows and framed prints to add some subtle color and texture.  In the bedroom, use fluffy, stark-white linens on the bed.  If your apartment has dark hardwood or laminate floors, use a light jute rug to brighten up the living or dining room without detracting from the spaciousness. Maintain freshly painted walls in a neutral color (white, bone, or a light warm grey), and make sure that the odor is pleasant but not overpowering and “perfumey.” Always avoid dark colors, heavy rugs & curtains, floral patterns, and clutter. 

  Apartment Online Reputation Class

Conducted by Cathy Hontz, RentPath 

This is a course that explains the world of your online reputation.  With the onset of social media, review sites are popping up everywhere that renters can review your properties.  We will go over the good, the bad, and the ugly, and how to improve your reputation without being flagged by review sites.

Date:   Wednesday, April 27        

Time:   9:00am - 12pm  

Place:  BELFOR, 7629 Southrail Road, North Charleston, SC  29420
$40/member, $50/non-member

RSVP by April 22nd to info@charlestonapartmentassociation.com.  All RSVPs are invoiced.     

 

Attending the entire three (3) hour class will result in three (3) continuing education credits for attendees.  

 2016 Trade Show

May 17, 2016

Omar Shrine Temple 

176 Patriots Point Boulevard, Mt. Pleasant, SC  29464 

Doors open at 6 P.M.

Cost: $25 per attendee

Deadline to RSVP:  May 1st - All tickets $30/person after deadline

Music, Food and Cash Prizes

Cash Prizes awarded throughout the night with a $1,000 Grand Prize (Must be Present to Win)

  

Click here for booth sponsorship information.  Click here to RSVP.  

2016 South Carolina Apartment Association Legislative Day

 April 13, 2016

 

Mark your calendar for April 13th when SCAA will host the 9th Annual Legislative Day in Columbia.  A legislative program and overview of current legislation affecting the multi-family housing industry will be discussed followed by lunch with Legislators.  Please join us and Let Your Voice Be Heard. 

Registration Information

Cost: $40 per person which includes registration, materials, refreshments and lunch.

Registration begins promptly at 9am and the meeting will begin at 9:30am.

 

Location

The Palmetto Club - Grand Ballroom

1231 Sumter Street

Columbia, SC 29201

Parking is available in the municipal garage at 1100 Lady Street. Street parking is also available.

Click here for more details and to register.

National Apartment Association's Capitol Conference Re-Cap

The Charleston Apartment Association made an impact during the 2016 Capitol Conference in Washington, DC earlier this month. 

NAA shared how to enhance advocacy skills and the critical issues facing the industry and we also heard from former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-FL), host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, on March 8.

 

On March 9 we headed to Capitol Hill and met with the following officials to discuss the 3 key Federal issues affecting the multi family housing industry (listed below).  Officials we met with were:  Trey Gowdy, Tim Scott, Jeff Duncan, Tom Rice and Mark Sanford.

Members of the CAA with Senator Tim Scott.

Federal Issues for 2016 Lobby day in Washington DC:

• ADA Right to Cure: asking to support legislation that provides a business owner with the opportunity to cure an alleged ADA deficiency prior to the initiation of a lawsuit.
• Section 8 Reform: asking support legislation reforming the Section 8 program, including the contract term, property inspections, tenant screening and funding stream.
• National Flood Insurance Program Reform and Reauthorization: asking support legislation reforming the NFIP and providing for long-term reauthorization of the program before it expires in September 2017.

 

The mission of the Charleston Apartment Association is to recognize the vastly increasing role of the apartment industry in providing quality housing. As members of the Charleston Apartment Association, we have united for the purpose of improving the services of the apartment industry, staying abreast of legislative issues, networking amongst our members, offering educational programs, participating in charitable endeavors, and featuring local and national speakers. We adhere to and practice the 'Golden Rule' in all our endeavors and conduct ourselves in a forthright and ethical manner to better the communities of which we are a part.

Section 608 EPA Certification Course

Date: March 17 and March 18

Time: 8am-5pm

Place: Belfor, 7629 Southrail Road, North Charleston, SC  29420

Cost: $150/member and $200/non-member

RSVP by March 11th to info@charlestonapartmentassociation.com
All RSVPs are invoiced.

 

This class is designed for all technicians or aspiring technicians that will be required to handle refrigerant and/or purchase refrigerant. This class is not required but would be beneficial for property managers or aspiring property managers and/or anyone in a leadership role that is responsible for protecting your owner's asset. This is a two day class with the test given on the second day. This is not an HVAC class and is not intended to teach anyone how to work on an HVAC system. However it is intended to prepare you for the information on the test and provide a basic understanding of refrigeration. EPA is mostly concerned with you understanding the laws and the penalties for not following the law as well as proper refrigerant handling procedures.

The instructor is Anthony Cummings: he has been EPA Universal certified since 1994. He's achieved many different brand specific certifications over the last 20 years including the NATE certification. He has been a proctor for the ESCO institute for 7 years having helped over 70 people achieve their EPA certification.

Click here for more details.

Maintenance Mania 

April 20th at Belfor

 

 

What is Maintenance Mania?

A competition in which apartment professionals from around the country face maintenance-focused challenges that test their skills  and knowledge to earn the title of Maintenance Mania® National Champion*. Check out the videos for more details here:  http://mm-naa.naahq.org/competitor-information

   

Event Schedule

·        Car check-in opens: 4:30 p.m.

·        Practice time: 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

·        Competition begins: 5:30 p.m.

 

Where?

            Belfor Property Restoration

            7629 Southrail Road

            North Charleston, SC 29420

         

Cost/Admission

Contestants:  $25, Register by April 14th via http://www.naamania.org/events/-CAA-04-2016   All RSVPs are invoiced. 

Once registered race car wheels maybe picked up from Belfor during normal business hours, 7629 Southrail Rd, N. Charleston, SC 29420. 

 

Spectators:  $35, RSVP by April 14th to info@charlestonapartmentassociation.com  All RSVPs are invoiced.  

Please reach out to Melissa Wagner if you'd like to be a sponsor or a judge, silvanaoaks.mgr@ram-mgt.com  or 628-0077.   

 Click here for the complete event flyer.