When I started in ancillary services more than a decade ago, the discussion regarding utility management focused primarily on Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS). While RUBS is still a significant part of utility management (people do conserve and recycle when they have skin in the game), there has been a shift—managing utilities now encompass […]

One of the best parts of my job is hearing what’s on the minds of owners and operators. It’s simple. How can utilities move NOI? What are those things with the power to move caps rates?

Utility management. In one heartbeat, it can impact nearly every facet of an apartment business from asset value […]

They work well in commercial buildings, but not a lot of research has been done for multifamily.

What is a blower door test, you ask? Great question. I honestly didn’t understand what it was myself until recently. The first time I heard of blower door testing a few years ago, I (naively) thought it […]

Apartment properties stand as one of the nation’s largest consumers of energy. As owners and operators feel the growing impact on their operations, the ever-evolving world of utility management shows a lot of promise in controlling costs and increasing both asset value and savings.

Energy deregulation

In 1978, new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission […]

New owners of multifamily residential property are often surprised at the number of laws that affect their ability to do business. In addition to statewide landlord and tenant codes, an owner electing to pass through the cost of usage and ancillary services must consider the local utility tariffs, city or county ordinances, state utility […]

California

California Senate Bill 7 (SB 7) was signed into law in 2016 by Gov. Jerry Brown. By its terms it becomes effective as of Jan. 1, 2018. All properties that request a water connection from a water utility after that date must demonstrate that the units at the property will contain submeters to measure […]

Increasing property value through Fannie Mae’s green financing

Whereas the future was once plastics, in the world of multifamily it boils down to cap rate. It drives everything—and low-cost financing drives it.

Financing and its ensuing debt servicing not only sets the world stage (how much do we owe China and what do they […]

Affordability and benchmarking in affordable housing

As a recent addition to the affordable housing realm, I’ve had to adjust my approach to the areas of opportunity an ancillary revenue and utility management person would generally operate in. Utility management specifically has taken on a new focus. I’m used to categorizing properties by building type, […]

Apartment owners and operators love the business of real estate. Creating value. Improving process. Trading assets.

But accounting, producing financial reports and other repetitive functions? Not so much.

The core of utility management is found in the books. And while keeping the books is critical to the value of an operation, the process can […]