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	<title>Multi-Family Guide</title>
	<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com</link>
	<description>Multi-family sustainability and operations plus real estate finance and LIHTC.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:23:18 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<item>
		<title>So where have I been?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
The short version is that between a webhosting expiration and a new job, I&#8217;ve been busy and delinquent from updating. The Twitter feed is still active, but I&#8217;m busy enough (and the reception is poor enough in the new office) that few things are Tweeted. 
I&#8217;m working REO for a special servicer and have a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2010/03/08/so-where-have-i-been/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>FIRE: Rebidding successes via AFT</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Apartment Finance Today has a blog item highlighting some successful rebidding stories in &#8220;Multifamily Firms Rebid Contracts to Cut Costs&#8221;.
In a prior post, I&#8217;ve discussed the benefit of real estate tax appeals, but I have not spent much time on consultants and contractors. AFT provides a useful corrective with these recommendations:

Analyze all of your contracts and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/08/05/fire-rebidding-successes-via-aft/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Operations: Sustainable sites lead to simpler life</title>
		<description><![CDATA[


San Marco, a Walking Oasis in Jacksonville, FL. Every neighborhood has some walkability or simple mobility element.
In the prior post on LEED v3 changes, I touched on the sustainable sites requirement. Essentially LEED is attempting to encourage a bit of smart growth by reducing the number of vehicle trips generated by development (and separately develop [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/07/14/operations-sustainable-sites-lead-to-simpler-life/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>News: WBJ summarizes LEED v3</title>
		<description><![CDATA[


The Washington Business Journal provides a quick summary of changes in the new LEED 3.0 standard.
The standard implements and expands upon a few items I&#8217;ve written about before, specifically &#8220;sustainable sites&#8221; as part of a post, &#8220;Where does your life take place?&#8221; and &#8220;Needs more data&#8221;.
From an operational perspective energy tracking and reporting requirement (LEED requires [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/07/14/news-wbj-summarizes-leed-v3/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Operations: MHN discovers (but does not identify) Economic Occupancy</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Multi-Housing News recently advised that owners need to be aware of &#8220;Trade-Off Between Cash Flow and Occupancies&#8220;. In other words, MHN just discovered economic occupancy.
“It is a tradeoff between cash flow and occupancies and owners need to address that,” Brad Dillman, quantitative analyst at PPR, tells MHN. “The decision depends on the specifics of the owners [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/07/10/operations-mhn-discovers-but-does-not-identify-economic-occupancy/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Operations: Live monitoring of electricity use works</title>
		<description><![CDATA[

Since Earth Day, I&#8217;ve been following Energy Circle&#8217;s energy monitoring experiment. With the combined resources of a household electricity monitor and Twitter (plus an assist from some Google-fied graphics) they are nearly 90 days into a fascinating experiment.
With a reasonable passage of time, it was appropriate to provide an update. In this case, Energy Circle [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/07/08/operations-live-monitoring-of-electricity-use-works/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Resources: Novo’s Tax Credit Tuesday</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
For anyone working with tax credits, the Novogradac podcast &#8220;Tax Credit Tuesday&#8221; are a useful way to learn about Federal and state initiatives in the tax credit sphere. I&#8217;ve always subscribed via iTunes, so I had no idea there was a PDF transcript available.
In this week&#8217;s podcast, Novo reports on Rep. Frank&#8217;s &#8220;TARP for Main [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/07/08/resources-novos-tax-credit-tuesday/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Atlanta Housing completing demolition and redevelopment</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Last week the NYT noted that the Atlanta Housing Authority was nearly done demolishing its 32 largest communities totaling nearly 15,000 units. 
The article presents a quick summary of pro and con positions and mentions a series of articles from Creative Loafing Atlanta, an alternative weekly that has provided more detail on Atlanta&#8217;s particular efforts.
Writes [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/07/03/atlanta-housing-completing-demolition-and-redevelopment/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Catching up on your conferences</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
I&#8217;ve written previously about using Twitter to attend conferences. In the past week, there have been a couple of conferences of interest to the multifamily industry:
NAA Educational Conference (Twitter hashtag #naaeduconf)
Solutions for Working Families (hashtag #swf2009)
 Association of College and University Housing Officers (hashtag #acuhoi). 
If the Tweet streams provoke additional questions, a couple of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/07/01/catching-up-on-your-conferences/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Why do we need to broaden affordable housing funding sources?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Because you get things like this 44-unit 1992 LIHTC property that loses $25,000 per year with no hard debt.
Housingpolicy.org, an initiative of the Center for Housing Policy is doing yeoman&#8217;s work in spurring ongoing conversations amongst professionals in affordable house. At their nascent forums, Ed Kaminski shares his frustration with the deal above, and its [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/07/01/why-do-we-need-to-broaden-affordable-housing-funding-sources/</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Energy Star Fades as Efficiency Rating &#8211; WSJ.com</title>
		<description><![CDATA[


The Wall Street Journal reports that the EPA is  upgrading the residential Energy Star ratings, which currently require a home to achieve 15% greater efficiencies than model building-efficiency guidelines.
Perhaps embarrassed by the thought that homes 57% larger than the national average still receive Energy Star designations, the EPA&#8217;s actual motivation seems to be driven [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/06/30/energy-star-fades-as-efficiency-rating-wsj-com/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Operations: Capturing rainwater, reusing graywater</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Way out West, water use issues are much more pertinent than they are in the East. Well, maybe.  [National view from Drought Impact Reporter.]

Regardless of location, water usage will be reduced through legislation, co-option, construction, or consumer choice. 
To help us along, Multifamily  Water Systems appears in the May issue of Builder News [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/05/22/operations-capturing-rainwater-reusing-graywater/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Grand Unifying Theory of Sustainability (pt. 1)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Over the next few weeks, scattered amongst posts on GAO and HUD, the latest upheaval with LIHTC, and hopefully some more tales from the trenches, I&#8217;ll be attempting to outline my thoughts on what it will take for building sustainability and sustainable operations to become part of the vernacular. I&#8217;m starting with the aspect I&#8217;m [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/05/21/grand-unifying-theory-of-sustainability-pt-1/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Economy: How do you measure stress?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
With that multi-layered question, the AP unveils its March 2009 Economic Stress Index, essentially stagflation with a new methodology.  The components are highlighted in the related video from University of Pennsylvania Professor Tony Smith, &#8220;How do you measure stress? You can talk about experiencing bankruptcy, home foreclosures, and unemployment.&#8221;
Operating like a wayback machine, the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/05/20/economy-how-do-you-measure-stress/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Insurers give you more to think about</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Hurricane season in the US starts June 1, 2009 the forecast predicts slightly above average activity. Multi-family owners and operators from New England, Mid-South, Gulf Coast, and Southeast must be aware of their risks. I know this from professional experience after Ike damaged my Arkansas and Tennessee portfolios.
Keying off the calendar, Multifamily Executive highlighted a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/05/20/insurers-give-you-more-to-think-about/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Needs More Data</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
One of the reasons this blog started 99 posts ago was to encourage more data and greater awareness for sustainable methods and materials in multifamily housing. Eighteen months makes a big difference as both data and awareness have increased as all participants recognize the necessity of accurate and actionable information. States like California require energy [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/05/19/needs-more-data/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>GAO and HUD: What does HUD get for $5B a year? (pt. 1 Summary)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
I&#8217;m finally beginning a series on GAO&#8217;s &#8220;Green Affordable Housing&#8221; evaluation of HUD&#8217;s sustainability efforts. 
[Among the many recommendations GAO makes is that HUD collect more and better data about operational costs. The GAO recommendation does not highlight specific data to be collected, but using the LEED v3 "Whole Building Energy and Water Use" requirement: [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/05/04/gao-and-hud-what-does-hud-get-for-5b-a-year-pt-1-summary/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Can&#8217;t Make It? Follow It</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
UPDATE Presentations from the 2009 Apartment Internet Marketing Conference are now posted.
The conference season is well underway and I, among many others, am not traveling frequently. Nevertheless, I am very interested in tracking the sessions at the ACI/American Comfort conference, the Apartment Internet Marketing Conference, and the American Planning Association&#8217;s National Conference. 
Thanks to the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/04/29/cant-make-it-follow-it/</link>
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		<title>Foreclosures: Enterprise analysis of Neighborhood Stabilization Program</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
The folks at Enterprise Community Partners have released a thorough interim analysis of the proposals for HUD&#8217;s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (56-page PDF Report).
Eligibility for the NSP program is limited to CDBG recipients and 1st round funding must be disbursed within 18 months of April 2009. It&#8217;s not clear when 2nd round money must be disbursed [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/04/14/foreclosures-enterprise-analysis-of-neighborhood-stabilization-program/</link>
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	<item>
		<title>Who am I? Why am I here? (Redux)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
As this blog slowly approaches 100 posts, please pardon this update on blog directions and professional background. 
Since the layoff from MMA, posting has included LIHTC, green renting, (sub)urban design, and operations. Future topics will include more of the same with additional commentary on public policy and the inclusion of sustainable certifications (LEED, Green Globes, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/04/13/who-am-i-why-am-i-here-redux/</link>
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		<title>Operations: Questioning assumptions (marketing, pricing, everything else)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
I started on Twitter in November 2008 and each day find a few new topics for thought and discussion. 
Sometimes the posts themselves are provocative, and sometimes they lead to a provocative post. [For those who don't click through, Mark Juleen of JC Hart announces that 1Q traffic was the same or higher year on [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/04/13/operations-questioning-assumptions-marketing-pricing-everything-else/</link>
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		<title>Better Homes: We can rebuild them. We have the technology.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
A couple of articles came on construction techniques came across the transom in the latest issues of Builder and EcoHome magazines. 
The first article summarizes the traditional with a twist methods used by FirstCoast Homes to achieve Energy Star-ratings for all of its starter and move-up homes. Their efforts combine design, construction technique, and appropriate [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/04/08/better-homes-we-can-rebuild-them-we-have-the-technology/</link>
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		<title>Rent Green: Useful links for further reading</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
We&#8217;ve mentioned previously that the Intertubes are full of information about living sustainably. A couple of articles on &#8220;Green Renting&#8221; might be helpful to fill out your knowledge:
1. Utne Reader&#8217;s &#8220;Green Renting Revolution&#8221; (January 2009) By the way, failing to include links in your article is just not acceptable in 2009.
2. Green Renter, provides a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/04/03/rent-green-useful-links-for-further-reading/</link>
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		<title>Rent Green: Coffee Grounds and Eric Corey Freed</title>
		<description><![CDATA[

Shamelessly appropriating the theory behind &#8220;Can&#8217;t Someone Else Do It?, EPA&#8217;s Greenversations posted a recent article about reusing coffee grounds. Among the uses were:
1. Composting or fertilizer
2. Dye paper
3. Flea (and odor) repellant (!)
4.  Grease absorption
In our townhouse, coffee grounds are sprinkled around exterior door and window sills to repel ants for an effective [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/04/03/rent-green-coffee-grounds-and-eric-corey-freed/</link>
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		<title>More land use changes, VA nixes cul-de-sacs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Last week, Virginia announced it would no longer accept cul-de-sacs in the state highway system. Most intriguingly for developers was VDOT&#8217;s connectivity standard, which compels localities to complete linkages between neighboring parcels even if land usage is different. Much, much more is detailed at Greater Greater Washington and via WAMU&#8217;s Kojo Nnamdi (iTunes). VDOT Sec. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.multifamilyguide.com/2009/03/27/more-land-use-changes-va-nixes-cul-de-sacs/</link>
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