Does your property have a ‘hurricane shelf’?

As I write this article, our nation is still trying to recover from back-to-back-to-back disasters – two natural and one man-made. In the span of six weeks, we experienced two devastating hurricanes and the deadliest mass shooting in US history. While we grieve for...

Hey, Law! Now you’re a HUD regulation!

If you grew up with me in the 1970s, you spent many Saturday mornings singing along to the Schoolhouse Rock videos on TV. These short cartoon videos always had a catchy song that taught kids something educational in an entertaining way. One of my favorites was...

Tragic fire a grim reminder of our duty

The fire that engulfed a 24-story public housing community in London on June 14, 2017, killing 80 people at last count, should be a reminder to all in the housing management business of the importance of making life safety a top priority. Early news reports concerning...

How to avoid an uncertified disaster

If you’ve ever wondered what NCHM certification is worth, I’ve got a story for you. Recently a very small non-profit affordable housing agency lost its property manager. The organization housed 100 formerly homeless individuals and each unit had either a...

Dealing with manager burnout

Several years ago, when I was the COO of a property management company, I had occasion to be walking one of the more “challenged” properties in the company’s portfolio with the site manager and her boss, our vice president of property management. I had only been with...