Industry News

CallSource Sponsors Multifamily Professionals At 2009 AIM Conference

At The Apartment Internet Marketing Conference recently held in Denver, Colorado, 30 fortunate individuals were provided with a chance to attend the event free of charge, courtesy of CallSource.  The individuals were randomly chosen after entering The AIM Career Transitions contest.  The contest was open to professionals recently laid off from an executive or management level position at a multifamily investment or management company.  The conference focused on how to help attendees stimulate traffic and sales and give them confidence and skills to continue to add value to their organizations in this tough economic climate. 

Lawmakers and Utilities Consider Removing Solar Restrictions on Apartments 

Increasing interest in solar power is encouraging some legislators and power companies to remove existing restrictions on solar installations for apartment communities. For example, a new rule from the California Public Utilities Commission allows utility companies to measure the electricity entering into the power grid from a community's solar power system. Apartment residents receive credits on their power bills based on the size of their residential unit via virtual net metering. This indicates that utilities use a space-based or other formula to estimate power usage for each unit. Owners pay for installation and recover these costs via a monthly flat fee charged to residents.   Read more

Meet HUD's New Appointee

President Barack Obama has appointed Carol Galante to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary For Multifamily Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Galante will be in charge of financing programs for the development and preservation of privately owned market rate and affordable rental housing.  In addition, she will be evaluating how to best utilize funds from the federal stimulus bill to retrofit existing housing buildings to make them more energy-efficient. Read More

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced that former Cincinnati landlord, James G. Mitchell, and his company, Land Baron Enterprises, agreed to pay $1 million in monetary damages and a civil penalty, after admitting that they violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA). This is the largest monetary settlement the Department has ever obtained in a case alleging sexual harassment violations under the FHA.Read More

Apartment-Related Provisions in the Draft House Energy/Climate Change Bill

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-MA) have released draft energy/climate change legislation that includes several provisions of interest to apartment firms. Read More 

Apartment industry to receive green stimulus funds

The U.S. apartment industry could benefit from energy-efficiency grants from the stimulus package, which includes $5 billion for weatherizing affordable housing units, and another $2.3 billion for retrofitting and renovating housing with energy-efficient technology. "This is an enormous amount of money for energy-efficiency incentives and, in many areas, more money than we have ever had appropriated before," said Eileen Lee, vice president of environment for the National Multi Housing Council Read More

EPA ENERGY STAR Releases Performance Tracking Tool for Multifamily

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has unveiled a multifamily version of its ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.  The online energy performance tracking tool allows building owners and operators to measure and manage their buildings' energy consumption.  

The tool will allow apartment owners to assess their portfolios' energy performance, identify under-performing buildings, set investment priorities to make targeted energy efficiency improvements and earn recognition for achievements. Read More