March 08 Ciaa Newsletter

“Our Profit is Your Success”

March 2008

An Affiliate Of

38th Annual Survey is HERE! The results of the 38th Annual Metro Des Moines Apartment Survey are new complete. The highlights of this year’s survey showed that the overall conventional market rent apartment vacancy in the entire Des Moines Metro area was 8.5 percent. Meanwhile most markets showed continued increase in rents with less concessions offered to new tenants. Bruce Gunderson with Carlson, McClure and Associates will be our speaker at the CIAA March Membership Luncheon on Wednesday, March 12th. Bruce will be presenting the survey in greater detail and be available for all our questions pertaining to our industry. If you would like to preview the survey and come prepared with questions, you can find the survey at www.cbrehc.com. Just click on the Market Survey tab on the CBRE Hubbell Commercial web page to download and print. Registration for the March Membership Luncheon can be found on Page 6.

40 Years of Fair Housing The Des Moines Human Rights Commission, Great Des Moines Friends of Human Rights and the Iowa Civil Rights Commission will be presenting Forty Years of Fair Housing: Moving Forward with Civil and Human Rights at the 22nd Annual Symposium on April 16th at the Hotel Ft. Des Moines. Complying with Fair Housing Laws is an extremely important part of our daily jobs to ensure that we are not in violation of any discrimination laws. Violation of the Fair Housing Laws and remedies under the Fair Housing Act may include the award of compensatory damages to victims of discrimination—sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The CIAA is proud to be a sponsor of this event which will include workshops on immigration laws, housing market decline and forestalling foreclosures, accessibility for people with disabilities, and workforce needs for the coming decade, to name just a few of the topics on the agenda. We will provide you with more information about this event as we receive it. If you are interested in learning more about Fair Housing Laws, the NAA website has several great articles and links to great sources of information. www.naahq.org

Inside Your Newsletter: • • • • •

Education Committee Update Legislative Committee Update Vendor Council Update President Letter 2008 CIAA Board Members

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Vendor Spotlight 2008 NAA Conference Mark Your Calendars

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March Membership Lunch Registration

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Susan Wells Seminar & April Membership Lunch Registration

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NAA Connect

Roll Out the Red Carpet Need a Vendor?

Upcoming Events Certified Apartment Manager (CAM) Classes March 11, 18, 20 , 25, and 27th; April 7th March General Membership Meeting March 12th - Noon Airport Holiday Inn March Vendor Council Meeting March 20th - 4:00 pm Chicken Coop - WDM April General Membership Meeting & Susan Wells Seminar April 17th - Airport Holiday Inn Lunch 12 - 1 pm Seminar 1 - 4 pm April Vendor Council Meeting April 24th - 4:00 pm Chicken Coop - WDM

COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Education Committee Update CAM Classes Scheduled for March 2008 CAM classes will be underway beginning March 11th. Leasing Seminar - April 17th Our commitment to bringing you top-quality education at rock-bottom prices continues with this fast paced and energizing seminar presented by Susan Wells. Managers and leasing staff will benefit from Susan’s dynamic presentation. NAA representatives will be present as well!! Because we are expecting a high turnout for this event, we are offering a discounted rate to pay in advance. Instructions are included on the registration form on page 7 of this newsletter.

Hope to see you all there for this great event - you won’t want to miss out!!

Legislative Committee Update CIAA scored a big victory in the legislative arena. SF445, which was introduced last year, was brought up again. The bill would have been extremely detrimental to property owners and managers, increasing the penalty for retaining a security deposit from $200 to 250% of the total security deposit, along with changing the definition of the law by which a judge could rule. Under the current law, it would have to be proven that the deposit was retained in “bad faith”. The introduced bill would have changed the language from “bad faith” to “wrongful” which would leave it open to very loose interpretation of what is “wrongful”. We insisted that the “bad faith” language stay in, and that they needed to define the amount of the deposit subjected to the penalty (as written it would have applied to the entire security deposit). On February 27, we learned that not only is “bad faith” staying in, but the amount subject to a penalty will be only the amount retained in bad faith instead of the entire deposit, but the penalty will now be 250%. We’re still waiting to see if it will make it to the floor for a vote this session. We feel that this is a great compromise as it will help stop the “bad players”, and owners/managers who follow the law will not be penalized unfairly.

Vendor Council Update The April Vendor Council Meeting has been changed to April 24th at the Chicken Coop, West Des Moines at 4:00 p.m.

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Letter from the President Well, it’s been a long winter. The official start of spring is just around the corner. At least that’s what they’re saying… CIAA has chosen a new venue for our membership meetings. Beginning with the March 12 meeting, the Holiday Inn South will host our luncheon meetings as well as training classes and Trade Show! We wanted to take some of the guesswork out of your scheduling meetings and luncheons. Speaking of which, we have some exciting meetings and training coming up. Our General Membership meeting on March 13 will feature two speakers. Bruce Gunderson of Carlson McClure will share the CB Richard Ellis 2008 Apartment Survey. Scott McBroom of First Advantage SafeRent will give a presentation on the impact of foreclosures on rental traffic. It was originally presented by Jay Harris, Vice President of Business Services for First Advantage SafeRent to the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) a few months ago. This is valuable information that you won’t want to miss! On April 17, please join us for what is sure to be a fun and exciting seminar presented by Susan Wells. Susan has been in the property management business for 5 years, starting her career leasing apartments for Trammell Crow Residential Services. Leasing has always been her passion…the harder the unit is to rent the more she loves to do it! Susan specializes in new construction implementation, lease ups, conquering vacancy issues, helping distressed properties and motivating leasing consultants! Susan is the past Executive Director of the Apartment Association of Greater Omaha & Lincoln. In addition, representatives from the National Apartment Association will speak to our group and answer any questions you may have about the NAA. This is a great opportunity for our non-member friends and associates to learn more about the benefits of becoming a member of the CIAA. The CIAA Board of Directors is working hard to ensure your membership dues are bringing you every possible benefit. Remember this is your organization, and your participation is appreciated and encouraged. What type of training do you need? Should we offer a legal seminar? We are always open to your suggestions and encourage all of you to be active in the association. Being involved offers great opportunities to network with your industry peers, and our Vendor members are always here to offer solutions to your latest aggravations! Let’s get leasing! Rick Koontz, CIAA President Signature Place Apartments

2008 Board Members and Committees President

Education Committee Chair

Rick Koontz, Signature Place

Mary Spain, Apartment Finder

Past President

Legislative Committee Chair

Melissa Johnson, Olde English Village

Vice President Deb Lanpher, R & R Realty Treasurer Lori Young, BH Management Secetary

Rick Koontz, Signature Place Membership Committee Chair Lesley Sweet, Knapp Properties

The CIAA needs your ideas to make the organization what you, our members, need and want.

Public Relations Committee Chair

Jennifer O’Brien Konior, TAB Properties

Deb Lanpher, R & R Realty

Vendor Council Co-Chairs

Trade Show Committee Chair

Tom Newton, Gorman Roofing Mary Spain, Apartment Finder

Get Involved, We Value Your Opinion…

Michelle Ogden, Timberland Partners

Please contact any of the Board Members and Committee Chairpersons if you are interested in participating on a committee.

Website: www.ciaahq.org

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CIAA Vendor Spotlight A+ Lawn and Landscape was founded in 1988 with a vision to build a reputable company that would provide a broad range of landscape services. Today A+ offers mowing, lawn maintenance, sprinkler systems, lawn treatment programs, shrub and flower planting and management, and offers the access to an entire garden center. They also provide snow removal with a variety of snow removal vehicles. They continue to hold reputation for superior customer service of superior customers satisfaction. Contact Mark Harpenau at 515-289-2020 to discuss your lawn care needs.

2008 NAA Education Conference Is your company sending any staff to the NAA Conference in June? We’d like to know!!! Please rely to [email protected] to let us know how many people from your company will be attending.

June 26-28, 2008 Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center Orlando, Florida Get more information regarding costs and registration at www.naahq.org

Mark Your Calendars Your Vendor Council has been very busy making plans for 2008. Be sure to save the following dates and look for more information on these great exciting events they have planned for us through out the upcoming year!!! Golf Outing and Tournament ~ July 11th ~ Toad Valley Vendor Trade Show ~ October 23rd ~ Airport Holiday Inn Maintenance Olympics and Vendor Social ~ December 10th ~ Airport Holiday Inn

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Email: [email protected]

Roll Out the Red Carpet Welcome to our new Property Members and Vendor Members. It is a honor to have you join our growing organization. New Vendor Members

New Property Members

Lawns Plus

High Pointe Property Management, Cedar Rapids

Marsden Building Maintenance

Market Place Lofts, BH Management

Jared Frank Agency - American Family Insurance

Court Avenue Lofts, BH Management

ICS Advanced Technologies

V & C Investments

Boulder Ridge, Capreit

Need a Vendor...Call a Vendor Member First! A+ Lawn & Landscape

ICS Advanced Technologies

Stew Hansen’s Dodge

American Family Insurance

Jetz Service Co.

Stitzell Electric Supply Co.

Lawns Plus

Sudzy’s Carpet Cleaning

Marsden Building Maintenance

Tenant Data

Nationwide Office Care

Tub Wrx

Cort Furniture Rental

On the Spot Carpet & Tile

Waste Connections

The Des Moines Register

Performance Leasing

Waste Management

DeWitt Painting

Qwest

West Des Moines Police Dept.

Diamond Vogel Paints

Reliable Construction

First Advantage SafeRent

Sherwin Williams

All Vendor Member contact

Furniture Options

Snider Lawn Care

Gallon, Inc.

State Farm Insurance

information can be found on the CIAA website:

Jared Frank Agency Apartment Finder Carpet Pro by Baker Interiors

Goalsetter Systems, Inc.

Glen Waterhouse III

Transworld Systems, Inc.

www.ciaahq.org

To Become A Vendor Member Contact: Tom Newton 515-883-0838

[email protected]

If you would like featured in our Vendor Spotlight contact: Deb Lanpher 515-270-0940 [email protected] Page 5

General Membership Meeting Registration Form Wednesday, March12, 2008 Noon Seated and Start

Airport Holiday Inn 6111 Fleur Drive ~ Des Moines Speakers: Bruce Gunderson of Carlson McClure Bruce will share the 2008 CB Richard Ellis Apartment Survey. AND

Scott McBroom of First Advantage SafeRent Scott will speak on the Impact of Foreclosures on rental traffic. This is the same presentation that was given to the NMHC by Jay Harris, Vice President of Business Services for First Advantage SafeRent.

Both presentations contain valuable information that you don’t want to miss! Name

Company

Phone

Name

Company

Phone

Name

Company

Phone

Must RSVP no later than 10 am, Monday, March 10, 2008 Please fax registration form to Mary Spain (515) 327-9104 No cancellations after 9 am on March 10th. Any no shows will be billed! Lunch includes Soup, Green Salads, Ramen and Rotinni Salads, Fruit and Drink

Cost: $17.35 per person PLEASE BRING A CHECK MADE OUT TO CIAA OR EXCACT CHANGE.

CENTRAL IOWA APARTMENT ALLIANCE presents

Susan Wells

The Central Iowa Apartment Alliance is pleased to bring you this exceptional seminar, designed specifically to your expectations of top quality education! Whether salesmanship comes naturally for you or not, come join us for a fast paced, high energy leasing seminar that will teach you the ropes on becoming a better sales person. In today’s soft market filling out a guest card and showing an apartment just isn’t enough. You’ve got to understand the sales process, have a leasing plan and ask for the sale - if you don’t someone else will. Competition is fierce. Here you will learn how to open yourself up to being a good closer, how your attitude can make or break you, keeping your team motivated, and what is expected of you. Her exuberance for the industry and your success will have you fired up and ready to sell! About Susan: Susan’s first job after an honorable discharge from the US Navy in 1992 was as a Leasing Consultant with Trammel Crow Residential Services in Virginia Beach, VA where she ranked in the top three for “Highest Closing Ratio” nearly every month. Since then leasing has been her passion. She has held the position of Leasing Consultant, Assistant Manager, Site Manager, Property Manager and Marketing Manager. Susan has worked with multi-family housing developers and has supervised several property rehabilitations.

“The harder a unit is to rent, the more I like to do it!” - Susan Wells

Date: April 17, 2008 Time: Lunch and Membership meeting from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Seminar from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Lunch includes Grilled chicken, sides, salad and drink) At: Airport Holiday Inn, 6111 Fleur Drive, Des Moines Cost: MEMBERS: $30 for lunch and seminar paid in advance, $35 at the door. NON-MEMBERS: Seminar Only - $40.00

National Apartment Association representatives will be here to answer any questions you may have about the Association and the benefits of membership in a national organization! Mail registration and payment before April 7, 2008 to: CIAA, 3775 E.P. True Pkwy, Suite 263, West Des Moines, IA 50265 If paying at the door, please fax your reservations to Mary Spain at (515) 327-9104 or email the information below to [email protected] Registration Form: Name:

Name:

Name:

Name:

Company Name: Address: Phone:

City: Fax:

Zip Email:

Connect With NAA In an Election Year, More Than Ever, Your Vote Counts B y M i c h a e l To m p k i n s , C A P S , C P M , C C I M 2008 National Apartment Association Chairman of the Board Julian LeCraw & Co.

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ith record turnouts at the polls during primary season and many elections showing uncanny, tight results during this presidential election year, exercising the right to vote is critical. To help promote voting, the National Apartment Association (NAA) has created a Web site, ApartmentVotesCount.org, which informs citizens about elections and the election process. This site was created in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

What is ApartmentVotesCount.org? ApartmentVotesCount.Org is an election resource with information about candidates, where they stand on the issues important to the apartment industry and a locator to help identify polling places. Through ApartmentVotesCount.org, members can register to vote, look up key votes in Congress to determine who sponsors legislation that is important to NAA and learn about candidates for state and federal races. The site also offers access to absentee ballot requests for any city.

Why is ApartmentVotesCount.org Important? With the November elections only months away, NAA members have the opportunity to vote for candidates who are responsive to their needs. At the federal level, the entire U.S. House of Representatives stands for re-election and one-third of the U.S. Senate seats will be on ballots. Many races are being held at the state level, including several that will determine gubernatorial spots. During this election year, voters will have the opportunity to cast ballots at the Presidential, Congressional and state and local levels. NAA encourages its members to participate in this year’s elections and spread the word about ApartmentVotesCount.org to colleagues and employees. NAA urges you to exercise your right as a citizen of this country to vote.

NAA Invited to National Conventions NAA will partner with the non-profit organization The Creative Coalition to host VIP luncheons at the Democrat and Republican Conventions. The luncheons’ focuses are national issues that relate to the apartment industry, such as affordable housing. The luncheons will include the celebrity delegation from The Creative Coalition, membership of NAA, Congressional members who are key to apartment issues and the media. NAA membership may bring up to 25 people per convention. This event is related to NAAPAC and has fundraising guidelines. Contact NAA’s Irica Solomon at [email protected] for information. The Democrat National Convention is Aug. 25-28 in Denver. The NAA Luncheon will be held Aug. 26. The Republican National Convention is Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul, Minn. The NAA Luncheon is Sept. 2.

Fundraising Tip: Business Exchange It is not easy to put together new fundraising techniques in your area. One idea, known as the Business Exchange, courtesy of the Apartment Association of Tarrant County and the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, has proven successful. The Business Exchange is a reverse trade show in which owners and management are seated at tables and service partners circulate the room to engage in five-to 10-minute meetings. The event has been used to raise money for NAAPAC. Last year, using this format, the Apartment Association of Tarrant County and the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas raised $45,000. For owner/management members, the only investment asked for is time. The Business Exchange is a way to take care of multiple meetings in one location and at one time. It is an excellent opportunity to gather the latest price and product information. Affiliates should respectfully request that owner and management attendees be senior executives who have the authority to make purchasing decisions. For supplier partners, a registration fee is charged. This guaranteed format ensures that high-quality, one-on-one time is gained with your clients. For details, interested parties should contact NAA’s Irica Solomon at [email protected] or 703/797-0633.

Top Ten Reasons to Attend NAA’s Education Conference & Expo 1. Value: For such a low price, where else can you experience the largest show in the multifamily housing industry?

2008 NAA Education Conference & Exposition June 26-28,2008 Orlando,Florida NAA Hotels: Caribe Royale All-Suites Resort Disney World Hilton Resort Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center

Amazing Discounts on Group Registrations

Save up to 25% For more information, please call 703/518-6141 ext. 130 Register Today and Reserve Your Hotel Room at www.naahq.org/educonf

2. Outstanding Education: Nine Education Tracks (Executive, Development & Rehab, Human Resources, Specialty Housing, Independent/Small Owner, Personal Development, Marketing/Leasing,Wild Card! and Shared Interest Roundtables) with more than 50 education sessions to choose from. 3. Trade Show: Visit the more than 700 booths that will be filled with companies showcasing their latest products and services to help multifamily housing professionals stay ahead of the pack in today’s competitive market. 4. Return On Investment: What you learn at NAA, you take back and use on the job! 5. Local Attractions: From theme parks and water parks to museums and art galleries, Orlando has it all! 6. Networking: Spend time with more than 5,000 of your industry peers – the largest show in the apartment industry! 7. Hotels: Three different NAA Conference Hotels to choose from – an all-suites property (Caribe Royale), a Disney property (Disney Hilton) and the Gaylord Palms. 8. Grand Prize Giveaway: Visit the 17 Platinum Sponsor booths on the Trade Show Floor on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for your chance to win $30,000 in CASH on Saturday afternoon! 9. Work,Relax and Play: Before and/or after learning and networking at the conference, take advantage of the many attractions that the Orlando area has to offer. 10. Easy to Get To: Orlando International Airport (MCO) has more than 32 scheduled airlines and 11 charters provide nonstop service from 72 U.S.destinations and 13 international cities as well as direct service to more than 100 cities worldwide. THANK YOU TO OUR 2008 PLATINUM SPONSORS

4300 Wilson Boulevard Suite 400 Arlington, VA 22203 703/518-6141 www.naahq.org/educonf