ABODE April 2022

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FAIR HOUSING MONTH • MAINTENANCE MANIA PHOTOS

Houston Apartment Association 4810 Westway Park Blvd.

Houston, Texas 77041

ABODE THE HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE

www.haaonline.org

April 2022

ABODE • APRIL 2022 • VOLUME 45, ISSUE 4

Built for

www.haaonline.org

Speed Maintenance professionals were back in action for the 2022 Maintenance Mania competition.

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CONTENTS April 2022

ON THE COVER

FEATURES & PHOTOS

38

26 On the Scene – Photos from the NEXT Professional Development Breakfast.

Built for Speed–

COLUMNS & MONTHLY UPDATES 7 President’s Corner – Developing future leaders with NEXT.

Maintenance professionals were back in action at the Bayou City Event Center for the 2022 Maintenance Mania competition. Check out all the excitement starting on Page 32 and see more photos at www.haaonline.org. And don’t forget that April is Fair Housing Month. We have expert advice from Howard Bookstaff and Anne Sadovsky plus many more topics and event photos in this month’s ABODE.

30 Meet a NEXTer – Learn more about HAA NEXT from a young professional.

8 Patron of the Month – Meet and support CSC ServiceWorks.

32 On the Scene – Photos from the 2022 Maintenance Mania.

9 Legislative Update – A recap of the 2022 primary election.

38 What You Need to Know About Fair Housing – Fair housing issues are constantly evolving.

11 It’s The Law – Fair housing and resident screening after COVID-19.

Cover photo by Mark Hiebert, Hiebert Photography Maintenance Mania’s People’s Choice Race Car Winner Cecilia Silva Diaz, Francis Property Management

46 Cybersecurity – A survey of needs and examples.

20 Calendar – HAA’s schedule of events for the coming months.

50 On the Scene – Photos from the State of the Industry Breakfast.

64 Go-Getters – Recruit and ignite your membership!

54 On the Scene – Photos from the HAAPAC Luncheon.

65 Welcome Mat – Find out about the newest HAA members.

55 On the Road with HAA – Photos from the State of the Submarket Montgomery County.

66 The Ambassador ONE Society – Come join and network with the teams.

42 Leadership Lessons from Lasso – Yes, Ted Lasso.

56 Support Our Industry – The HAA Product Service Council discusses how to get involved with the HAAPAC. 72 On Site with ABODE – Take a closer look at two of HAA’s Honor Award-winning communities.

14 Resident Relations – A resident dispute is settled by the committee.

70 Portfolio Changes and In The News – Property updates and industry news clips from our members.

74 Index of Advertisers – See the supplier members who support this publication.

75 MarketLine – The latest area market numbers.

76 Back Page – News from around the community.

We welcome your comments. Email us at comm@haaonline.org.

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OFFICERS AND ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP PRODUCT SERVICE COUNCIL OFFICERS STEPHANIE GRAVES President-Elect CHRISTY RODRIGUEZ President

LOYAL PROFFITT Vice President at Large – East

DEREK DEVRIES, CAS President Camp Construction Services

SHELLEY WATSON Vice President at Large – West

CANDIS MOHR, CAS Vice President, AAA Plumbers

QUINTINA WILLIS Vice President at Large – North

JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ, CAS Secretary, The Urban Foresters

TRACIE YODER Vice President at Large – South

DEBORAH DEROUEN, CAS Treasurer, OneApp Guarantee

JOHN BORIACK Immediate Past President

DAVID LINDLEY, CAS Immediate Past President, FSI Construction

GINA ERWIN Secretary/Treasurer

HOWARD BOOKSTAFF General Counsel

CASEY WATTS MORGAN CEO

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Christy Rodriguez, CAPS President John Boriack Immediate Past President Mack Armstrong Julie Batche Jeff Blevins, CAS Jill Bounds, CAM Michelle Bridges, CAS Kyle Brown Joseph Bryson, CAM, IROP Tina Cavaco Terri Clifton Michelle Croasmun Deborah DeRouen, CAS Derek DeVries, CAS Scott Douglas, CAM, CAPS Gina Erwin Tamara Foster Israel Garza, CAS Diane Gilbert Monica Gracia Stephanie Graves, CAM, CAPS Clark Gregg, CASe, CAPSe Manu Gupta Bryan Head, CAM Melissa Herrera Deborah Holcombe Crystal Jackson, CAM, CAPS Tyler Johnson Debbie Kelm Jacob Kunath, CAS Barby Lake Laura Lestus, CAS David Lindley, CAS Sonia Lopez, CAM, CAPS Betsy Marshall, CAM, CAPS Kristin McLaughlin, CASe Candis Mohr, CAS Carlos Neto Dean O’Kelley, CAS Jenifer Paneral Mark Park, CAS Angelee Kumar Parikh Velissa Parmer Michelle Pawelek Loyal Proffitt Kelly Scott Kurt Seidel Corri Smith Penny Sprang Kelley Suess Debbie Sulzer

Ryan Terrell Starla Turnbo Richard Wall, CAM, CAPS Shelley Watson Quintina Willis, CAM Tracie Yoder, CAPS DIRECTORS EMERITUS Josh Allen Ken Bohan Gary Blumberg Kathy Clem Jack Dinerstein Jenard Gross Darlene Guidry Alison Hall David Hargrove Larry Hill Stacy Hunt Hap Hunnicutt David Jones Mike Koch Dick LaMarche Cesar Lima Tim Myers P David Onanian Jackie Rhone John Ridgway Kim Small Eileen Subinsky Steve Sweet Kirk Tate Suan Tinsley H J Tollett, Jr. Pat Tollett Vic Vacek, Jr. Beth Van Winkle Jerry Winograd ADVISORY DIRECTORS Melissa Friend Billy Griffin, CAS Amanda Kelly, CAS Stacy Lastovica, CAM, CAPS Mary Lawler Katy Myrick Bruce McClenny Bill Nye Ruha Vohra, NALP, CAM Tony Whitaker GENERAL COUNSEL EMERITUS Joe Bax

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS Claude Arnold Kenn Brown Tina Cavaco Terri Clifton Kevin Fenn Diane Gilbert Anita Harrison Dwayne Henson Mike Koch Merry Mount Monette Reynolds Sherry Stevenson Kirk Tate Suan Tinsley Sonny Unverzagt Del Walmsley Nancé Wells H.P. Paul Young Jeanne Marie Zublin Dicks PATRON MEMBERS 1961 CSC ServiceWorks 1968 Century A/C Supply 1978 Houston Planned Energy Systems 1982 Cotton Commercial USA Inc. 1984 AAA Plumbers 1985 Gemstar Construction Development 1986 Craven Carpet 1987 Dixie Carpet Installations 1994 Camp Construction Services 1997 Apartments.com 1999 FSI Construction Inc. 2006 Lowe’s Pro Supply

PRODUCT SERVICE COUNCIL MEMBERS Giovanna Gone, CAS, VICE PRESIDENTS Century A/C Supply AT LARGE Jimmie Hotz, CASE, Karen Nelsen, CAS Chadwell Supply ALN Apartment Dan James, CAS, Data Redevelopment Blaise Spitaleri, CAS, Services Gemstar Amanda Kelly, CAS, Construction Brandt Electrical A/C Development & Heating Services Debra Knight, CAS, Susan Alvarado, CAS Comm-Fit Century A/C Supply Stephanie Krop, Chris Bell, CAS, CASe, Poolsure Cotton Commercial Liz Levins, CAS, Marivel Bownds, Rasa Floors CAS, Valet Living Jim Martensen, CAS Tammy Broadway, CAS Camp Construction American Fire Systems Services Shaun Callaway, CAS, Tracey Moore, CAS, Earthworks Flooring Warehouse Neal Conant, CAS, Matthew Nunn, CAS, Gemstar Capital Construction Construction Doug Oehl, CAS. Development Flooring Warehouse Sean Cunningham, Nikki Sekunda, CAS, CAS, Flooring The Liberty Group Warehouse Mat Tilley, CAS, Deborah DeRouen, WeDoTrash CAS, OneApp Amber Whitaker, CAS Guarantee FSI Construction Juana Estrada, CAS, First OnSite

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APRIL 2022 I VOLUME 45, ISSUE 4 Chief Executive Officer and Publisher CASEY WATTS MORGAN, MPP cmorgan@haaonline.org EDITORIAL AND DESIGN STAFF Director of Publications and Design DEBORAH NIX dnix@haaonline.org Communications Manager MORGAN TAYLOR mtaylor@haaonline.org ADVERTISING Vice President of Membership and Marketing AMANDA SHERBONDY, CAE asherbondy@haaonline.org CONTRIBUTING STAFF Chief Operating Officer SUSAN HINKLEY, CAE shinkley@haaonline.org Vice President of Professional Development EMILY HILTON, CPP, CAE ehilton@haaonline.org Vice President of Government Affairs BRADLEY PEPPER bpepper@haaonline.org Chief Financial Officer TREY WIMBERLY, CPA twimberly@haaonline.org Director of Resident Relations MATILDE LUNA mluna@haaonline.org Director of Events and Meetings LAUREN RAGIN, CMP lragin@haaonline.org Director of Rental Credit Reporting TINA DEFIORE tdefiore@haaonline.org Assistant Vice President – Outreach LAUREN TURNER, CAE, CMP lturner@haaonline.org Government Affairs Manager MADISON POLSTON mpolston@haaonline.org Membership and Marketing Manager KAYLON NEWCOMB knewcomb@haaonline.org Member Services Coordinator CINDY DE LA RIVA cdelariva@haaonline.org Director of IT WILL ALFARO walfaro@haaonline.org PRINTER TGI PRINTED www.tgiprinted.com

HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION COMMITTEES COMMITTEE CHAIR STAFF ADVISOR Executive Christy Rodriguez Casey Morgan Nominating John Boriack Casey Morgan Fair Housing Mack Armstrong Casey Morgan Ethics Michelle Pawelek Casey Morgan Finance Gary Blumberg Casey Morgan ByLaws Kyle Brown Casey Morgan Past Presidents Council Kathy Clem Casey Morgan Multifamily Fire Safety Alliance Elizabeth Castro-Gray Bradley Pepper Legislative Stephanie Graves Bradley Pepper Political Action Stacy Hunt Bradley Pepper Golf Starla Turnbo Madison Polston Century Club Deborah DeRouen Madison Polston Strategic Outreach Gina Erwin Lauren Turner Leadership Development Alison Hall Susan Hinkley Community Outreach Jackie Aguirre Susan Hinkley Product Service Council Derek DeVries Susan Hinkley Expo Exhibitor Candis Mohr Amanda Sherbondy Membership Richard Wall Amanda Sherbondy Ryan Weis Ambassador ONE Society Liz Levins Amanda Sherbondy Blaise Spitaleri Independent Owners Connection Ramon Nunez Amanda Sherbondy Education Advisory Council Betsy Marshall Emily Hilton Career & Community Development Penny Sprang Emily Hilton Resident Relations A Diane Totten Matti Luna Resident Relations B Jana Gragg Matti Luna Resident Relations Appeals Darlene Guidry Matti Luna HAF Fundraiser Brandon Coleman Lauren Ragin Stephanie Krop NEXT Ruha Vohra Lauren Ragin Amanda Kelly Property Awards Norma Alvear Tina DeFiore Diane Gilbert

HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION MISSION AND VISION: HAA is the leading advocate, resource and community partner for quality rental housing providers in the Houston and surrounding area. HAA develops leadership in the multifamily industry by engaging broadly diverse membership, embracing effective technology and advocating for a geographically inclusive association. ABODE IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION serving the multihousing industry in Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Waller and Wharton counties.

ABODE, APRIL 2022, VOLUME 45, ISSUE 4 ABODE (USPS 024-962) is published monthly by the Houston Multi Housing Corporation. Publishing, editorial and advertising offices are located at 4810 Westway Park Blvd., Houston, Texas 77041. Telephone 713-595-0300. The $50 annual ABODE subscription rate is included in all member dues and additional subscriptions are available. The annual subscription rate is $50 for members, $65 for non-members.

Advertising rates are available upon request. Contributed material does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Houston Apartment Association. Copyright © 2022 by HAA. Periodicals Postage Paid at Houston, Texas.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ABODE, 4810 Westway Park Blvd., Houston, Texas 77041.

www.haaonline.org

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SPONSOR MEMBERS These companies have generously supported the Houston Apartment Association with their sponsor membership.

Please give them careful consideration, whenever possible, in your business.

100% Tree & Lawn Care LLC 3BeeGuys Bee Removal A Affordable Services Co AAA Staffing Ltd AAdvantage Laundry Systems ACM Contractors of Texas ACT Security Group Action Window Coverings Inc ACTIV Answer by Audio Images Adobe Floors Inc Adventure Playground Systems Inc Affinity Hot Water Technoogy Inc Alexander-Rose Associates Inc All About Doody Pet Solutions LLC All American Mailboxes of Houston Inc Allegion The Allshouse Group LLC ALN Apartment Data Inc Ambassador Services LLC America Outdoor Furniture American Fire Systems Inc AmRent Andrews Myers PC Apartment Lines ApartmentData.com APEX Lighting Store AppFolio Arbor Contract Carpet Inc Archcon ASAP Personnel Inc ASAP Steamers Carpet Cleaning Atom4 Security Camera AZPartsmaster Belfor Property Restoration Bell’s Laundries Benefits 4 Rent Bentley, Bratcher & Associates - PC Bettencourt Tax Advisors LLC BGE Inc/aka Brown & Gay Engineers Inc Bio-One Houston South BioTechs Crime & Trauma Scene Cleaning Blue Marlin Maintenance & Services BluSky Restoration Contractors Brady Chapman Holland & Assoc Brannan Designs LLC Architecture & Interior Design BrightView Landscape LLC BSI Cano Electric Inc Cantrell McCulloch Inc Capital Disaster Solutions Carradine Valet CashFlow Pros LLC Centex Construction Century Fire Protection Houston CFI Group Chadwell Supply Cinch – Cabinet Refacing Kits Citi Fence & Concrete City Pups City Wide Building Services Classic Same Day Blinds Commercial Fire Protection ControlByNet Cloud and Managed Video Surveillance Solutions CORT Furniture The Crawfish Men Catering CRE Business Solutions LLC

Creative Blinds Crowned Eagle Construction CSI LED & Hardware Cypress Landscaping & Irrigation Inc D&G Quality Roofing Inc DeNyse Companies Designs by Holmes Diamond Services LLC DNM Contracting Inc DoodyCalls Door Clearance Center Ecolo Environmental Inc Embark Services Emersyn Electrical Services LLC EnviroSmart Multifamily Pest Solutions Epic Air Conditioning EPICHTX Construction Fantastic Floors Featherston Sign Partners Fedora Intertech Fiat Construction LLC Fidus Construction Services Finish Factory Inc Finishes Insurance Agency Fire and Life Safety America Flavor Finish Resurfacing Flexirocks Front Row Signs Frontier Waste Solutions fun abounds Furniture Refinishing Services Gambit Construction Garan Commercial Construction Inc Gateman Inc Gemaire Giordano Construction Inc Go-Staff Inc Grace Landscaping Graphic Stylus Promotional Products Great American Business Products Green City Security LLC Green Garbology Greenlogic Lighting & Electric GT Security Solutions LLC Guardian Gutters Halo Doors Inc Hamilton-Steele Outdoor Accents HARCO Insurance Services Hard Works Valet Trash & Recycling Hays Recruiting Higginbotham Hive Technology HK Morris Group LLC Hoover Slovacek LLP Hut Services LLC IGD Plumbing LLC Industrial Disposal Supply Infinity Power Partners Innovated Homes LLC J and B Carpet Services JAK Environmental LLC Johnstone Supply Jonah Digital Agency Kathy Andrews Interiors Keylo Painting & Construction KONE L.A. Public Adjusters LandscapesUSA Leah McVeigh Design and Consulting

Lee & Barrier Builders LLC The Liberty Group Lights Out Production Company Lincoln Jacob Construction Lithotech Printed Products/ Forms Center LJL DESIGN, LLC Local Roofing and Restoration Lopez Carpet Care & Painting LP Building Solutions: Louisiana-Pacific Corporation LSR Multifamily LVL Up Remodeling Macyas Remodeling LLC Maldonado Nursery & Landscaping Inc Masonry Solutions Inc Matrix Construction Services McMahan's Flooring Inc MGL Rehab Construction Milwaukee Tool Modern Pest Control MPS Direct Mueller Water Conditioning Inc MX2 Commercial Paving Nationwide Eviction NGC Renovation LLC Norman Roofing and Construction Northwest Construction Group O’Conor Mason & Bone PC Oasis Eco Services On Duty Tree and Landscape On Site Towing LLC Outdoor Elements P.A.I. Restoration Pace Mechanical Services LLC Parking Management Company/ PMC Towing Paul Davis Greater Houston PCS Creative Surface LLC Perma-Pier Foundation Repair of Texas The Phoenix Staffing Pool Knights Precision Hydro Pros Precision Safe Sidewalks LLC Priority Protection & Investigations Inc Pro Turf Landscaping Professional Resurface LLC Property Guardians Pura Flo Corporation PuroClean RAM Construction Ram Jack Foundation Solutions Redevelopment Services Redstone Payment Solutions Reliable Roofing of Texas Inc Reliant Remedy Roofing Inc RENCON RentPath RentSense LLC Residential Waste Service LLC Restoration 1 of Central Houston REVS (Refuel Electric Vehicle Solutions) RezClean Houston RG Miller Engineers RLB Construction Ltd dba RoofTec Roadrunner Restoration Company LLC Roosevelt General Contracting Roto-Rooter Services Co

SafeRent Solutions Saifee Signs & Graphics Saint Clair & Sons Inc Scoop Troop HTX SEAL Security Solutions LLC Secure Insurance Sherwin Williams Company Sign-Ups & Banners Signal 88 Security Skyline Highrise Services Snappt SOS-ASAP Softwashing South Central Electric LLC Southern Shingles Steward Trash Valet Service Storm Maintenance & Monitoring Stormwater Professionals Group Strata Roofing and Construction LLC Structural Concrete Systems LLC Sunny Pressure Washing LLC Swain & Baldwin Insurance & Risk Management Texas Apartment Pool Services Texas Concrete Professional Company Texas Engineered Roofing & General Contracting Texas GroundWorks Management Texas Landscape Group LLC Texas Management Group LLC Texas Southwest Floors Inc Texas Waste Management Solutions LLC Texas Window Cleaning Co Inc The J.P. Barnes Law Firm PLLC The Lane Law Firm The Law Office of Ernie Garcia, PLLC Three Amigos Texas LLC Threshold Agency LLC Tidal Renovations LLC Tile Center Top Brass Services Group Tpo Pros Roofing & Restoration Trash Roundup LLC Triangle DJ Contractors Two Brothers Foundation Repair United Protective Services Urban Value Corner Store USA Patrol Division Valet Living VBM Waste LLC VERO Leasing Vima Decor Warrior Patrol Services LLC WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems Watermark Restoration and Construction Wayfinder Tax Relief LLC Webb Pest Control Westco Grounds Maintenance LLC Whitmans Contracting and Roofing Willbanks & Associates Inc Wilson Fire Equipment Wilsonart LLC Winhill Advisors World Cinema Inc WRLD PRO Vending LLC

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Letter from the President

By CHRISTY RODRIGUEZ, 2022 HAA President

THE APARTMENT INDUSTRY IS A FORWARDTHINKING INDUSTRY WHERE INNOVATION AND INGENUITY THRIVES, which is why it’s critically important we continue to develop leaders because young leaders want to make a difference in the world and they’re passionate about what they believe in.

This year, I’m chairing the National Apartment Association’s Next Gen Committee. Like HAA’s NEXT, NAA’s Next Gen is a group of young professionals in their 20s to early 40s. I’m deeply passionate about our young professionals. The next generation of leaders are emerging right here, right now. I want to encourage our young leaders to leverage the opportunities, resources and tools HAA offers.

From experiencing a global pandemic to witnessing heightened social injustice over the last few years, our young professionals are passionate about changing things for the better. Many organizations are prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion to include more opportunities to groups who may have been marginalized in the past. In fact, we continue to see diversity at our HAA events and it’s important that we continue to embrace the inclusive and equitable networking and educational opportunities that HAA offers.

As new leaders emerge within HAA, it’s so important to me that everyone understands how to take advantage of all the resources and opportunities HAA offers. Now that we’re on track to continue to offer events through the year, attending an event is an easy way to leverage HAA for your success. There are opportunities for leadership, peer-to-peer networking and/or education at every HAA event.

This month, as an example, we are hosting two major events that are networking and teambuilding focused. Those events are the Spring HAA Political Action Committee Fundraiser at TopGolf (see Page 23 for more information) and Sports Challenge (see Page 72 for more information). Both events are so much fun and they’re perfect for teambuilding.

Burnout is still very present across our industry and while the labor shortage persists, the best way to address both issues is to show your teams you appreciate them. Sign your teams up for any one of the fun HAA events we have coming up this month to keep the excitement going.

You can register for these events at www.haaonline.org/events or use the QR code at the bottom left. You can also email events@haaonline.org if you have any questions.

Another way to show appreciation for your teams is to nominate them for the 2022 HAA Honors Awards. You can nominate your team members and peers up until April 29 at www.haaonline.org/nominate or use the QR code at the bottom right (and see Page 16 for more details). And, depending on when we went to press this month, you may have time to nominate your apartment property. Nominations for properties were due March 29. If there’s still time, you can nominate your property at the link above.

As leaders, taking the time out to nominate your teams is a tremendously impactful way to give back to the people who deserve it the most right now. It’s also, by the way, a really great exercise to fill out the nomination form.

www.haaonline.org/events

www.haaonline.org

www.haaonline.org/nominate

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These companies have generously supported the Houston Apartment Association with their patron membership. Please give them careful consideration, whenever possible, in your business.

Houston Planned Energy Systems

HAA Member since 1997

Cotton Commercial USA Inc.

Gemstar Construction Development Inc.

HAA Member since 1982

Lowe’s Pro Supply

HAA Member since 1985

CSC ServiceWorks

HAA Member since 1984

HAA Member since 2006

HAA Member since 1961

Craven Carpet

HAA Member since 1986

Camp Construction Services

HAA Member since 1994

April Patron of the Month

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Apartments.com

HAA Member since 1978

AAA Plumbers

FSI Construction Inc.

HAA Member since 1999

Dixie Carpet Installations

HAA Member since 1987

Century A/C Supply

HAA Member since 1968

www.haaonline.org

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Legislative Update

By STEPHANIE GRAVES, HAA Legislative Chair, with BRADLEY PEPPER, Vice President of Government Affairs

2022 PRIMARY ELECTION RECAP And what’s next!

ELECTIONS HAVE consequences and who we elect to offices up and down the ballot will have an impact on not only our industry, but our daily lives as well. Elections are important and this year is no different.

Outside of some smaller municipal and special elections, and the Constitutional Amendments in November, last year was relatively quiet at the ballot box. As you have seen already, this year will not go so quietly. And for those who voted in the primary, you saw how many seats are up for election in 2022.

Every 10 years, the federal government conducts the Census to ascertain how many people live in the country and where they live. This helps determine the flow of federal dollars to states, counties and communities for things like education, health care, infrastructure, etc. based on population. In addition to that, though, the Census numbers apportion political power in Congress and require that states redistrict electoral districts.

In Texas, redistricting requires redrawing the political maps for the State Senate, State House of Representatives, the State Board of Education and our federal Congressional Districts. This means dividing the state’s population by the number of districts in each body and drawing districts that have roughly the same number of residents, so that each district is equal.

Although they have four-year terms, due to redistricting, every district of the State Senate and State Board of Education is up for election this year. After they are elected, the members of each body will draw straws to see who will be on the ballot in 2024, as opposed to 2026, to stagger those four-year terms moving forward. In addition, the Census results determined that Texas received two new congressional seats for the next decade, one in Houston and one in Austin.

This year will see us elect nearly every state office from governor to state representative, as well as every member of our congressional delegation. In addition, and of particular interest to us, www.haaonline.org

we will vote on all county judges as well as some commissioners, judges and justices of the peace.

Last month’s Democratic and Republican primary elections were only the first in what will be a long political year. While the fields have been thinned, the next step is the primary runoffs in May followed by the general election in November.

Below is a summary of races of note.

Statewide Governor – Governor Greg Abbott (R) won with 66.4% of the vote. He will face Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso) in November who won with 91.3% of the vote.

Lieutenant Governor – Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) won the primary with 74.9% of the vote. Democratic candidates Mike Collier and State Rep. Michelle Beckley will face off in the May 24 primary runoff to see who will oppose Lt. Gov. Patrick in November.

Attorney General – Embattled Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton will face Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush in the May runoff election. In the race for the Democratic nomination for attorney general, Rochelle Garza will face Joe Jaworski.

Comptroller – Incumbent Republican Glenn Hegar, seeking his third term, received 81.6% of the vote and will face either Democrat Janet T. Dudding or Angel Luis Vega in the November general election.

U.S. Congress Congressional District 2 (North Harris County, Montgomery County) – Incumbent Republican Dan Crenshaw defeated three challengers and will face Democrat Robin Fulford in November in this solidly Republican district.

Congressional District 7 (Houston, North Fort Bend County) – In this safely Democratic district, incumbent Democrat Lizzie Fletcher was unopposed in the primary and will face the winner of the Republican primary runoff be-

tween Johnny Teague and Tim Stroud in the November general.

Congressional District 8 (Harris County, Montgomery County, San Jacinto County and Walker County) – Morgan Luttrell won the Republican primary with 52% of the vote and will face Democrat Laura Jones in the November general.

Congressional District 38 – New Seat (Memorial, West Houston, Spring Branch, Northwest Harris County) – Wesley Hunt defeated nine challengers to win the Republican primary for this seat. Hunt will face either Diana Alexander or Duncan Klussmann who face each other in the May Democratic runoff.

Texas Senate Senate District 11 (Galveston, League City, Brazoria) – State Representative Mayes Middleton defeated three challenges in the Republican primary and isunopposed in the November general election.

Senate District 15 (Houston) – Longtime incumbent Democrat and Dean of the Texas Senate, John Whitmire, faced a tougher than expected primary against first-time candidate Molly Cook, winning the Democratic primary with 57.8% of the vote.

Texas House of Representatives House District 76 – New Seat (Fort Bend County) – Democrats Suleman Lalani and Vanesia R. Johnson will face each other in the May runoff to determine who will face Republican Dan Mathews in the November general.

House District 127 – (Humble, Kingwood) – HAAPAC-endorsed Republican candidate Charles Cunningham won the Republican nomination. He isunopposed in the November general.

House District 133 – (Memorial Villages, Tanglewood, West Houston) – Republicans Shelley Torian Barineau and Mano DeAyala received / See Legislative, Page 62 April 2022

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It’s the Law

By HOWARD BOOKSTAFF, Hoover Slovacek LLP , HAA General Counsel

WELCOME TO FAIR HOUSING MONTH! Resident screening after COVID-19.

PICTURE THIS: You are reviewing your rental criteria. You realize things have gotten out of hand the past two years. Closed businesses, millions unemployed, mass layoffs, substantial rent delinquencies, evictions, eviction abatements. You begin to think it will be hard to determine whether prospects can meet your future rent obligations given the last two years.

You would like to get back to the good old days when you required six months of stable employment, no prior delinquencies, no evictions, a good credit score and verifiable income of at least three times the monthly rent. The problem is, you feel that you may lose some good residents by applying your pre-pandemic criteria. You may come across a number of potential good prospects who have had problems over the past two years.

You would like to make exceptions to the rental, employment and income requirements of old, however, you have always been taught that making exceptions to standard criteria may raise fair housing issues.

From a fair housing standpoint, we are taught to treat everyone the same under the same or similar circumstances. So, you might ask, can I make exceptions? How should the exceptions work? Is this a fair housing issue at all?

Potential Limitations On Using Pandemic Eviction History Before addressing how fair housing might apply, any screening criteria must be evaluated in light of some limitations you might encounter with access to information. Over the past two years, there have been efforts made to assist those that have been adversely impacted by the financial effects of COVID-19.

www.haaonline.org

• Supreme Court of Texas From a fair housing standpoint, we are Emergency Order taught to treat everyone the same under The 48th Emergency Order promulgated by the Supreme Court of the same or similar circumstances. So, you Texas (which expires May 1, 2022) might ask, can I make exceptions? follows a number of previous orders How should the exceptions work? Is this that have addressed a justice court’s a fair housing issue at all? role in rental assistance during the eviction process. In the 48th order, a person because of an eviction case brought the court reiterates previous orders, which against the person during the pandemic. This state that if an owner has a pending applicawould have substantially restricted an tion for rental assistance or the owner and owner’s ability to find out about an eviction resident both express an interest in particihistory during the pandemic. Although this pating in an available rental assistance prodid not pass, this gives us an idea of what gram: (i) the case must be immediately some of our state leaders were thinking. abated for 60 days; (ii) the court is required to immediately make all court records, files, Fair Housing Considerations and information relating to the eviction acThe Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination confidential to prohibit disclosure to the tion in housing and housing-related services public; and (iii) if the case is not reinstated because of race, color, religion, national oriwithin 60 days, the judge is required to disgin, sex, familial status and disability. Fair miss the case with prejudice. housing laws would prohibit a screening polThe court’s order will limit your ability to icy that treats applicants differently because know whether an eviction case was filed and of their protected class. whether it was disposed of because the Additionally, fair housing laws would prodelinquent resident received rental assishibit screening policies that, although neutance or if the case was dismissed with prejudice. Further, the availability of rental tral on their face, have the effect of assistance has assisted many residents in discriminating against someone in a proavoiding evictions all together despite signifitected class. The discriminatory effects (also cant delinquencies. referred to as disparate impact) doctrine is a tool for addressing policies that caused sys• 2021 Proposed Legislation tematic inequalities in housing. It can be The Texas legislature also proposed a bill used to challenge practices that unnecessarthat would affect eviction case information ily exclude people from housing opportunirelated to COVID-19. House Bill 4039, which ties, including zoning requirements, lending did not pass, proposed a new section in the and property insurance policies and criminal Texas Property Code that would have prohibrecords policies. ited an owner from refusing to rent, negotiatHUD’s discriminatory effects rule has ing for the rental of, or in any other manner, come under some recent scrutiny. In 2013, making unavailable or denying a dwelling to HUD adopted a rule which codified court April 2022

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decisions addressing disparate impact concepts. According to HUD, the 2013 rule was straightforward. A policy that had a discriminatory effect on a protected class was unlawful if it did not serve a substantial or legitimate nondiscriminatory interest or if a less discriminatory alternative could also serve that interest.

In 2020, HUD adopted a revised rule that, according to HUD in 2021, complicated the 2013 analysis by adding certain pleading and proof requirements and new defenses, all of which made it harder to establish that a policy violates the Fair Housing Act. In August 2021, HUD proposed to return to the 2013 rule.

The 2013 rule codified a three-part burden-shifting framework. We can use this framework to evaluate whether a pandemicrelated screening policy would be subject to scrutiny under a disparate impact analysis: 1. Does your policy cause or would it predictably cause a discriminatory effect on a protected class (i.e., have the effect of treating persons in a protected class different than other persons)?

2. Even if the policy may have a discriminatory effect, is your policy necessary to achieve one or more substantial, legitimate, nondis-

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criminatory interests (i.e., is there a businessrelated interest you are trying to achieve with the policy, such as making sure residents will have the appropriate rental history, employment history, and income to be good, rent paying residents at your property)?

3. Could the interest you are trying to achieve with your policy be served with a policy that may have a less discriminatory effect?

(This last issue would only be considered if the policy may have a discriminatory effect).

Preparing Your Post-Pandemic Screening Policy Now that we know there may be legally imposed limitations on your ability to find out certain things about a rental history (as indicated above) and how fair housing issues might play a part in any screening policy, let’s discuss what you might consider in preparation of your post-pandemic screening policy: • Be sure your screening policy is in writing.

Section 92.3515 of the Texas Property Code provides that at the time an applicant is provided with a rental application, the landlord shall make available to the applicant a printed notice of the landlord’s tenant selec-

tion criteria and the grounds for which the rental application may be denied, including the applicant’s: (i) criminal history; (ii) previous rental history; (iii) current income; (iv) credit history; or (v) failure to provide accurate or complete information on the application form. Consequently, no matter what your screening policy will be, Texas law continues to require that your policy be in writing and made available to applicants and, at a minimum, advise applicants that an application may be denied due to issues that may have been affected by the pandemic, such as previous rental history, current income and credit history.

• Determine how you will deal with situations that may have affected an applicant’s rental and payment history during the pandemic, such as: o An applicant who was substantially delinquent under their previous lease, but then had the delinquency cured by rental assistance. o An applicant who may have had a previous delinquency waived in exchange for leaving their prior residency. / See Law, Page 73

www.haaonline.org

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Resident Relations from the RESIDENT RELATIONS COMMITTEE

APPLICANT REBUTTAL An applicant gets his money back.

AN APPLICANT FILED a complaint with the Houston Apartment Association to receive a refund on his application fee and application deposit.

In the complaint, the applicant requested to be fully refunded for his application fee and deposit because management leased the apartment to another renter.

Management responded to HAA stating this happened because of an error with their screening service. During the approval process, the unit was still available online. The applicant wasn’t denied, but the unit he applied for was no longer available. Because of this, management attempted to refund the resident $75 due to the inconvenience, management

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said. The applicant allegedly The HAA Resident Relations Committees provide refused to accept. And after an impartial review of resident complaints using several attempts to refund the resident, the management the documentation provided by both the resident company canceled the appliand management. cation with the applicant’s consent.

Management’s response was forwarded to the resident. Ultimately, mansomeone else due to their screening process. agement felt the applicant was charged Management is to refund the applicant $175. accordingly. Enclosed in management’s The HAA Resident Relations Committee response were copies of the application and provides an impartial review of resident comdeposit disposition. plaints using the documentation provided by The committee ruled in favor of the appliboth the resident and management. cant. The committee noted the applicant was When the committee finds in favor of the approved but the apartment was leased to property owner, the decision is final.

April 2022

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a good experience, though, feeling that way. I didn’t know that someone was watching!”

I wasn’t expecting it surprised that they no said, laughing. “ I’ve b business for 15 years. anything. For me, if I or get it right, I’m sati don’t need recognitio resident and my man owner are happy, I’m good experience, thou way. I didn’t know th watching!”

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a good experience, though, feeling that way. I didn’t know that someone was watching!”

www.haaonline.org

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The Honors are back June 16!

T

T

T

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Online nominations are open!

Take a few minutes and recognize your superstar people and properties!

Deadline for property nominations is Tuesday, March 29 Deadline for individuals is Friday, April 29 Visit www.haaonline.org/nominate

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may 19 nrg center • hall c www.haaexpo.org

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2022 HAA Education Conference & Expo Thursday, May 19 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. • NRG Center • Hall C Education Conference registration opens at 8 a.m.

Expo opens at 1 p.m

Education Conference with the Apartment All Stars!

Kate Good, Rommel Anacan and Lisa Trosien!

8 a.m. – Registration, Continental Breakfast and Networking 9 a.m. to noon – The Apartment All Stars Noon to 1 p.m – Networking Luncheon $175/person Early Bird pricing available by May 9: $135 Special pricing for NAA Credential holders (must be current): $105

Show hours – 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Over 250 Exhibitors!

$3,000 in Cash Prizes!

Expo only is FREE for all management personnel.

Suppliers members must be an exhibitor to attend.

NRG Parking: $20 CASH ONLY

Visit www.haaexpo.org

for more information and to register

Thanks to our Sponsors:

Expo Lanyards: Crestmark Construction Services Expo Beverage Stations: BluSky Restoration Contractors Guardian Construction Expo Showcase: AAA Plumbers Contractors Inc.

When You Can Become One

Today’s buyer is inspired by what they see the “cool kids’ doing when scrolling through social media posts and videos. Influencer marketing has become an integral part of the digital landscape.

As the influencer marketing industry continues to grow in popularity, utility and measurability, marketers are allocating more and more of their overall marketing spend to influencer campaigns.

Can’t afford that? No problem! You don’t need to hire an influencer when you can be your own influencer.

• Traits of the influencer mind • Using social media to generate your own traffic • 5 ways to “slide into” the buying decision • Engaging story the customer with digital storytelling • The new power of the elevator pitch • How to build a following with cross networking

Rommel Anacan: Accelerate

Your Success: The Powerful Keys That Will Boost Your Career

Expo

Expo Grand Entrance: Crestmark Construction Services

Kate Good: Why Hire an Influencer

Expo Aisle Signs: American Fire Systems Cotton Commercial USA Dixie Carpet Installations Guardian Construction Hire Priority Staffing & Executive Search Ideal Towing Milwaukee Tool Urban Value Corner Store Expo Charging Stations: Camp Construction Services Century A/C Supply Expo Hand Sanitizer Stations: Core Landscape Flooring Warehouse

Every day, people who are less skilled, less educated, less connected and seemingly less qualified than others often achieve more success than those who are more skilled, more educated, more connected and more qualified.

Why? It’s because they've discovered and applied the powerful (yet often overlooked) strategies to help them accelerate their career success.

In this session you'll discover: · The 3-step signature framework that you can use immediately to accelerate your success · The big mistakes that people make that keep them frustrated and stuck in their careers (and what to do instead) · The essential strategies you need to know that will help you perform at your best, every day (these are game changers!)

You’ll walk away from this session feeling excited, equipped and empowered to achieve the success that you desire

Lisa Trosien: Why Ya’ Gotta Be So

Mean? – Dealing with Angry Residents It seems like everyone’s angry these days, making life harder for all of us. Residents have short tempers, coworkers have shorter fuses, everyone is short-staffed and it seems to be a never-ending cycle of crankiness. So how do you deal with this on the daily? This high energy, fun, and interactive session teaches you: • Why people are so angry (hint: it's not usually something you or your property did) • How to deal with them and actually calm them down (and maybe even make them happy!)

• How you can survive in all this negativity You will discover effective tools and techniques to work more easily with all those cranky people in today’s crazy world along with some wonderful ‘self-care’ ideas to help you relieve stress in the workplace.

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APRIL S M T

Calendar HAA Education, Events and Meetings SCHEDULE

W T

3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 17 18 19 20 21 24 25 26 27 28

in one of the REDBOOK seminars.

See Page 23 for details.

Sponsored by Hire Priority Staffing & Executive Search and Ideal Towing

APRIL 5 Certified Apartment Manager Credential Course: Maintenance Tuesday, April 5 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

See Page 24 for details.

Sponsored by Earthworks

6 Certified Apartment Manager Credential Course: Legal Wednesday, April 6 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

See Page 24 for details.

Sponsored by First Onsite Restoration New Supplier Member Orientation Wednesday, April 6 10 a.m.

Via Zoom All new supplier members are welcome.

Contact members@haaonline.org for the link to join.

Ambassador ONE Society Happy Hour Wednesday, April 6 3:30 p.m.

Kirby Ice House Memorial City 1015 Gessner Road Ambassador members only.

Contact Amanda at asherbondy@haaonline.org for details.

Go-Getter Spring Meeting Wednesday, April 6 4 p.m.

Kirby Ice House Memorial City 1015 Gessner Road For membership recruiters and new members.

Contact Amanda at asherbondy@haaonline.org for details.

Sponsored by Cotton Commercial USA and Hire Priority Staffing & Executive Search

7 HAA Redbook Seminar - Pearland Thursday, April 7 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Learn about the New Lease 2.0 and the 2022 Redbook. Sharpen your knowledge of your legal rights and responsibilities as a rental housing owner or manager by participating

Avenues: Leadership 1 – The Love Languages of Employee Engagement with Charlotte, Pisciotta, Full House Marketing Thursday, April 7 8:30 a.m. to noon We invest so much into recruiting, hiring and onboarding. Now how do we keep that Rockstar or Unicorn happy, engaged and performing at discretionary levels? Team members have individual expectations and needs. How do you create or foster a company culture that satisfies so many different personalities and styles? Each of your teammates and employees may respond to different “Love Languages” and when you learn to speak their language, engagement happens. See Page 22 for details.

Sponsored by Best Plumbing HAA NEXT Social: Darting into 2022 Thursday, April 7 6 pm. to 9 p.m, This niche group within HAA is dedicated to the networking and professional development needs of HAA young professionals. Network with your peers at this fun event. See Page 18 for details.

Sponsored by ALN Apartment Data and Gemstar Construction Development

12 HAA Redbook Seminar The Woodlands Tuesday, April 12 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Learn about the New Lease 2.0 and the 2022 Redbook. Sharpen your knowledge of your legal rights and responsibilities as a rental housing owner or manager by participating in one of the REDBOOK seminars.

See Page 23 for details.

Sponsored by Fetch Package and Liberty Rent Avenues: Main Street 2 – Fair Housing = Happy Housing with Megan Orser, Smart Apartment Solutions Tuesday, April 12 8:30 a.m. to noon

Are you tired of lecture-style fair housing education? Do you believe that real learning happens in the participation and sharing of real-life experiences? Then this is the session for you! See Page 22 for details.

Sponsored by Best Plumbing

13 Resident Relations Committee B Meeting Wednesday, April 13 Via Zoom 2 p.m.

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April 2022

S 2 9 16 23 30

MAY S M 1 2 8 9 15 16 22 23 29 30

T W T F S 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 17 18 19 20 21 24 25 26 27 28 31

20 Certified Apartment Manager Credential Course: Human Resources Wednesday, April 20 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

See Page 24 for details.

Sponsored by Texscape Services

21 HAA Redbook Seminar Baytown Thursday, April 21 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Learn about the New Lease 2.0 and the 2022 Redbook. Sharpen your knowledge of your legal rights and responsibilities as a rental housing owner or manager by participating in one of the REDBOOK seminars.

See Page 23 for details.

Sponsored by The Liberty Group and EPICHTX Construction

Featured Event HAAPAC Spring Fundraiser – TopGolf Thursday, April 14 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

TopGolf – Katy 1030 Memorial Brook Blvd., 77084 It's not golf, it's TOPGOLF! Join us for a fun-filled afternoon with a fan favorite twist to a traditional game, all while supporting your HAAPAC. See Page 25 for sponsors and more information.

Top sponsors are Outdoor Elements and Roadrunner Restoration Company LLC

HAAPAC Luncheon Thursday, April 21 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Contact Madison at mpolston@haaonline.org. for details.

Sponsored by Urban Value Corner Store

15

22

HAA Offices Closed Friday, April 15 The HAA Offices and HAF Educartion Center will be closed in observance of Good Friday.

18 Product Service Council Meeting Monday, April 18 3 p.m.

19-20 Leasing 101 Tuesday, April 19 and Wednesday, April 20 Visit www.haaonline.org for more information.

19 Certified Apartment Manager Credential Course: Risk Management Tuesday, April 19 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

See Page 24 for details.

Sponsored by American Fire Systems

For the most up-to-date information, see the calendar on the HAA website: 20

F 1 8 15 22 29

All Stars Sports Challenge Friday, April 22 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

India House 8888 West Bellfort Ave. Proceeds from this event will raise money for Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers of Houston. This great outdoor event is perfect team building fun! Each team consists of three men and three women with an option of one male and one female alternate. Each team will compete in six field activities. In case of inclement weather, the challenge will not be rescheduled.

Please see Page 16 for more information and a list of sponsors.

27-29 TAA Education Conference & Lonestar Expo Wednesday, April 10 thru Friday, April 12 in Houston Visit www.taa.org/conference for more information.

www.haaonline.org www.haaonline.org

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Please note that dates and times are subject to change. Check the calendars at www.haaonline.org for the most up-to-date information.

MAY 4

New Supplier Member Orientation Wednesday, May 4 10 a.m.

Via Zoom All new supplier members are welcome.

Contact members@haaonline.org for the link to join.

Ambassador ONE Society Crawfish Boil Wednesday, May 4 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Location TBA Contact Amanda at asherbondy@haaonline.org for details.

5

Blue Star Program Thursday, May 5 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Blue Star Certification Program is a joint effort by the Houston Police Department and HAA. Created for rental properties of all sizes, the program's goal is to help law enforcement officials and the multifamily housing industry work together to effectively reduce criminal activity in rental properties.

Please direct questions to officer Leoroy Ferguson at Leoroy.Ferguson @houstonpolice.org.

Sponsored by American Fire Systems and EPICHTX Construction Legal Lowdown Thursday, May 5 3 p.m.

See Page 70 for more information.

Sponsored by Steward Trash Valet Service

11-12

Certified Pool Operator Course – in Spanish (Two days) Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dispel the myths in pool care and tremendously reduce chemical expenses while extending the life of your pool. Successful completion of this exam offers apartment industry personnel a five year certification from the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (formerly NSPF).

Sponsored by Texas Apartment Pool Services

11

Resident Relations Committee A Meeting Wednesday, May 11 Via Zoom 2 p.m.

Crime Prevention Round Table Wednesday, May 11 11:30 a.m.

Contact Lauren Turner at lturner@haaonline.org for details.

Sponsored by Gatewise

12

Lake Jackson Region Meeting Thursday, May 12 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Registration starts at 11 a.m. The program and lunch begin at 11:30 a.m.

This event is free, but we kindly ask you to RSVP yourself and/or team members. More information to come. Visit www.haaonline.org/ outreach meetings for up-to-date information. Contact outreach@haaonline.org to RSVP. Sponsored by Fidus Construction Services

12

Expo Committee Meeting Thursday, May 12 3:30 p.m.

13

IROC Breakfast Friday, May 13 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The Independent Rental Owners' Connection offers customized education and networking programs just for you!

Sponsored by EPICHTX Construction

17

The Woodlands Region Meeting Tuesday, May 17 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Registration starts at 11 a.m. The program and lunch begin at 11:30 a.m.

This event is free, but we kindly ask you to RSVP yourself and/or team members. More information to come. Visit www.haaonline.org/ outreach meetings for up-to-date information. Contact outreach@haaonline.org to RSVP. Sponsored by Fidus Construction Services

18

Expert Exchange Wednesday, May 18 Noon to 12:30 p.m.

HAA’s Micro Webinar series made available to you via Zoom and YouTube (subscribe to HAATV).

Every third Wednesday of the month.

19

Featured Event 2022 Education Conference and Expo with the Apartment AllStars!

Thursday, May 22 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

NRG Center, Hall C 1 NRG Park, 77054 Registration and payment are required for the full conference.

There is no pre-registration or fees required to attend the expo.

Only exhibiting vendors/suppliers are permitted to attend.

See Pages 18 and 19 to view the list of sponsors and for more information.

HAA Board of Directors Meeting Thursday, May 19 12 p.m.

NRG Center Sponsored by SafeRent Solutions

25

HAAPAC Luncheon Wednesday, May 25 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Contact Madison at mpolston@haaonline.org. for details.

Sponsored by Texscape Services Supplier Education Program Wednesday, May 25 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

See Page 58 for details.

30

HAA Closed Monday, May 30 The HAA Offices and HAF Educartion Center will be closed in observance of Memorial Day.

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, all events meet at our Dinerstein Reed Prokop Education Center, 4810 Westway Park Blvd., second floor, in either the Direct Energy and Liberty Personnel & Executive Search or the Camden and Michael Stevens Interests Room.

Meetings located at the HAA Offices, 4810 Westway Park Blvd., first floor, will be held in the Redi Carpet and Winograd Families/Judwin Properties Conference Room. See www.haaonline.org for an interactive calendar.

www.haaexpo.org See Pages 18-19 for details.

www.haaonline.org

April 2022

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Sponsored by

All new content foaaron2lin0e.2org2fo!r details.

See www.h

Main

ST

Maintenance

Avenues: Main Street - 2 April 12 Fair Housing = Happy Housing with Megan Orser, Smart Apartment Solutions Avenues: Main Street - 3 June 9 Bringing Humanity to Your Insanity with Steve Wunch

Leadership

BLVD

Avenues: Maintenance Blvd - 2 October 6 Creeped Out by Bids and Scopes of Work?

Top Tips to Produce Successful Contracts with Chris King-Dye, Full House Marketing Avenues: Maintenance Blvd - 3 November 3 Dude, where’s my caulk?

Inventory Management and Shop Organization with Chris King-Dye, Full House Marketing

Follow a road that fits you career journey with Avenues. The Avenues series of seminars feature some of the best nationally-acclaimed speakers in the industry with learning sessions for every level of multifamily professional. Annual Property Subscriptions are available with unlimited attendance for all on-site property staff to all sessions at discounted prices: • Only $199 per year per property for properties with fewer than 200 units • Only $399 per year per property for properties with 200 to 350 units.

• Only $450 per year per property for properties with more than 350 units.

If you need a single workshop, individual sessions are priced at only $50 per person, a real steal for quality education.

Look for the class schedule and online at www.haaonline.org for details.

Contact the HAA Education Department at education@haaonline.org or register online at www.haaonline.org.

Marketing

LN

Avenues: Leadership Lane - 1 April 7 The Love Languages of Employee Engagement with Charlotte, Pisciotta, Full House Marketing Avenues: Leadership Lane - 2 July 26th The Middle Child of the Multifamily Industry: Specialized Training for Assistant Manager with Vicki Sharp

PL

Avenues: Marketing Place - 2 July 7 Connecting The Dot: Your Blueprint to TikTok & Instagram with Megan Orser, Smart Apartment Marketing Avenues: Marketing Place - 3 September 8 Getting “HITCHed!” How to Help Your Clients Fall in Love with Your Community! with Rommel Anacan

Avenues: Leadership Lane - 3 September 21 Feedback Is A Gift Successful Leaders Give with Steve Wunch

Need just o ne seminar Individual s e s s ? io ns are price per person, d at a real steal

o for quality e nly $50 ducation!

Look for the class schedule and online at www.haaonline.org for details. Contact the HAA Education Department at education@haaonline.org or register online at www.haaonline.org.

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It’s not golf – it’s TOPGOLF! Give it a shot “fore” a cause Top Sponsors Outdoor Elements Roadrunner Restoration Company LLC Hole-in-One Sponsor Camp Construction Services Best Team Spirit Sponsors Century A/C Supply Matrix Construction Services

It’s back for the PAC! Join us at Houston’s premiere golf entertainment complex for a fun-filled afternoon with the favorite twist to a traditional game, all while supporting the Houston Apartment Association Political Action Committee – your local PAC for the apartment industry.

Awards: Team Awards – 1st, 2nd, 3rd Best Male Best Female Last Place Best Team Spirit

Show us your team spirit for a chance to win!

Last Place Award Sponsor Gemstar Construction Development Inc. Welcome Sponsor Marathon Fitness Beverage Sponsors Contractors Inc. Dixie Carpet Installations Inc.

Lunch Sponsors American Fire Systems Crestmark Construction Services Team Awards Sponsors Camp Construction Services Chadwell Supply Earthworks

Best Male & Female Core Landscape Guardian Construction

Payment must be made by personal credit card or personal check payable to HAAPAC. Payment must accompany registration. HAA is prohibited from accepting corporate contributions for PAC events.

Name __________________________________________________ Company________________________________________________ Phone (_________)________________________________________ MC____ Visa____ AmEx____ Discv_______ Credit Card #______________________________________________ CC Security Code____________ Expiration Date_______________ Name on Card_____________________________________________

FEES (include three hours of TopGolf, heavy appetizers, first drink and dessert) Please select: o Teams of up to six – High Top: high top table and chairs; ut! ldperOteam/Includes So$550 located in center of each floor. o Teams of up to six – Lounge: $650 per team/Includes cushioned lounged seating; located on sides of each floor.

Name__________________________________________________ Company________________________________________________

Thursday, April 14 TopGolf Houston - Katy

Name__________________________________________________ Company________________________________________________ Name__________________________________________________

1030 Memorial Brook Blvd. Houston, TX 77084

Company________________________________________________

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Name__________________________________________________

*Please note this event is open to sponsors and players only, no spectators.

Company________________________________________________ Name__________________________________________________ Company________________________________________________ Name__________________________________________________ Company________________________________________________ Mail completed form and payment to: HAAPAC, 4810 Westway Park Blvd., Houston, Texas 77041. Credit card registrations may be emailed to golf@haaonline.org; payment must accompany registration.

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Learn about the New Lease 2.0 and the 2022 Redbook

REDBOOK SEMINAR

Choose your day.

Choose your location.

April 7 in Pearland Location – Hilton Garden Inn Pearland - 12101 Shadow Creek Pkwy, Pearland, TX 77584 Sponsored by Hire Priority Staffing & Executive Search and Ideal Towing

April 12 in The Woodlands Location – The Woodlands Country Club - 100 Grand Fairway, The Woodlands, TX 77381 Sponsored by Liberty Rent and Fetch Package

April 21 in Baytown, location to be announced Sponsored by The Liberty Group and EPICHTX Construction Registration – 8:30 a.m.

Program – 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Program Fee (includes lunch) – $145 prepay; $180 invoice This seminar is worth 6 hours of CECs for NAAEI Credential holders.

Sharpen your knowledge of your legal rights and responsibilities as a rental housing owner or manager by participating in one of the REDBOOK seminars being offered around the city.

Presented by Howard Bookstaff, HAA General Counsel

For more information and to register, see online at www.haaonline.org.

Seminars emphasize changes in management practices required by new laws passed during the last legislative session as well as updates on key regulatory issues that affect property management.

Each section will include an interactive exercise to help you learn how to apply the law to your job. Full of videos and interactive tools, the 2022 REDBOOK seminar will deliver the quality legal instruction you expect from HAA. Here’s your chance to hear from the experts and get answers to your questions. Learn the major changes to TAA’s Lease and other major forms. Understand major operational issues and get comfortable with the newly updated REDBOOK.

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Leasing 101 featuring an overview and tour of the new Lease 2.0

An Introduction to Leasing and the Apartment Industry From Fair Housing and the TAA lease paperwork to today’s terminology and techniques, the industry’s most seasoned and dynamic instructors are on hand to educate students on the boundless potential that awaits those who choose the apartment management industry as their career. This course is intended as an introduction to the apartment industry for new leasing professionals, as well as those individuals looking to learn more about the industry as a career.

Know the Lease Class includes TAA Lease paperwork curriculum, brought to you by HAA Legal Counsel, Howard Bookstaff!

Topics covered include: • Greeting and qualifying the customer • Executing the lease contract • Telephone techniques and e-leasing • Overcoming objections and closing techniques • An overview of Fair Housing and more.

• An overview and tour of the new TAA Lease 2.0 Students who complete the course will receive a certificate, as well as a listing of HAA member management companies.

Program Cost for both days: $75 for students paying in advance $85 for students who provide payment at the door Registration for Day 2 only featuring an overview and tour of the new Lease 2.0: $45 for students paying in advance $55 for students who provide payment at the door Class Schedule: Day One: 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. – Registration 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Program A complimentary lunch is provided.

Attend b ot Day 2 on h days or ly TAA Leas for a refresher e 2.0 course

For more i register, nformation and t www.ha visit us online a o a t educatio online.org or ema n@haaon i line.org l

Day Two: 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. – Registration 9 a.m. to Noon – Program Leasing 101 Course Dates: April 19-20 June 7-8 August 16-17 September 27-28 November 8-9

Houston Apartment Foundation • 4810 Westway Park Blvd., Houston, Texas 77041 • 713-595-0300 • www.haaonline.org

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On the Scene with the HAA NEXT

1

2

NEXT Professional Breakfast Friday, March 4 at the HAF Education Center Sponsored by 1 American Fire Systems and 2 Century A/C Supply The HAA young professionals group held a motivating breakfast session featuring popular industry speaker Bill Nye, the Apartment Guy.

MEET THE NEXT GENERATION OF HAA LEADERSHIP. This niche group within HAA is dedicated to the networking and professional development needs of HAA’s young professionals. Network with your peers and grow your career together among the next generation of HAA leadership! To Learn how to become involved with NEXT, see online at www.haaonline.org/next.

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www.haaonline.org

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NEXT Professional Breakfast

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www.haaonline.org

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Darting

2022

into

HAA Next: Darting into 2022 Thursday, April 7 Flight Club Darts 3515 W. Dallas 77019

6 p.m. to 9 p.m. $25 per person Registration includes heavy appetizers and your first drink.

Sponsored by

ALN Apartment Data and Gemstar Construction Development

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Meet a NEXTer Learn more about the Houston Apartment Association’s NEXT group through a young professional. This month, meet Martha Paz, Knightvest Management.

M

artha Paz is a property manager for Knightvest Management and has quickly moved her way up the ladder. Martha took a Houston Apartment Foundation Leasing 101 class back in 2017 and was placed onsite immediately after completing her training. Four years later Martha is now the community manager at the property where her multifamily career all started. Way to go Martha!

How long have you been in the industry and what is your title?

Four years ago, and an onsite community manager.

What is the most valuable characteristic that you look for in a leader?

Effective communication, time management skills and organization.

What or who got you into the industry?

My husband, who started as a leasing agent and is now in a management role. I heard his stories and the day to day of what the job entailed and thought it was something I would be interested in trying.

Who has been the most influential role model in your career?

Most definitely my husband. My husband advanced quickly in the multifamily industry and has had a positive influence on my success and of course it’s nice to be able and bounce work topics off your significant other who understand your work highs and lows.

Did you ever think that being a property manager could be a career?

Not initially, no. However, that changed as I saw that my dedication and passion allowed me to quickly excel and I realized I can be very successful in this industry.

What would you say contributed most to your success in the multifamily industry?

Customer service and problem solving. It is important to have a go-getter attitude and appreciate that no day is ever the same.

There are a lot of moving parts onsite and problem solving is extremely important if you want to be an effective leader.

What are you currently binge watching?

Archive on Netflix. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thriller mystery type of show.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Teleportation. Why, you ask? Houston traffic.

Enough said.

It’s Saturday morning. What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

Gymnastics and breakfast with my daughter and husband.

What advice would you give someone new to the industry or looking to join the multifamily industry?

Passion and a go-getter attitude! I’ve always had a passion for helping people and for making sure everyone I interact with sees and feels my ability to go above and beyond.

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On the Scene Photos by MARK HIEBERT, Hiebert Photography Maintenance Mania Wednesday, February 16 at Bayou City Event Center Maintenance technicians and supervisors from across the area were back in person competing in skill tests and race car building for both bragging rights and a chance to win a trip to the Maintenance Mania National Championships at the NAA Conference.

For more photos visit www.haaonline.org.

National Championship Qualifying Program sponsored by HD Supply 1st place overall – Bryce Ramirez, Fairfield Residential 2nd place overall – Carlos Mejia, Francis Property Management 3rd place overall – Jonathan Campos, Fairfield Residential AO Smith Water Heater Installation sponsored by AAA Plumbers 1st place – Jamie Hernandez, Francis Property Management 2nd place – Bryce Ramirez, Fairfield Residential 3rd place – Hector Agosto, Carroll Organization Frigidaire Icemaker Installation sponsored by Dixie Carpet Installations 1st place – Marco Ruiz, The Morgan Group 2nd place – Hector Agosto, Carroll Organization 3rd place – Marlon Salmeron, Veritas Equity Management Kidde Fire & Carbon Monoxide Safety Installation sponsored by Commercial Fire Protection 1st place – Jonathan Campos, Fairfield Residential 2nd place – Bryce Ramirez, Fairfield Residential 3rd place – Francisco Lopez Sandoval, Lurin Capital Kwikset Key Control Deadbolt Test sponsored by Perma-Pier Foundation Repair 1st place – Jose Jesus Jarquin, Better World Properties 2nd place – Javier Martinez, American Landmark 3rd place – Bryce Ramirez, Fairfield Residential Halstead Click Lock Plank Installation sponsored by Dixie Carpet Installations 1st place – Cecilia Silva Diaz, Francis Property Management 2nd place – Jamie Hernandez, Francis Property Management 3rd place – Yeferson Cabrera, Veritas Equity Management Pfister Faucet Installation sponsored by Carrier Enterprise 1st place – Angel De La Cruz, GWR Management 2nd place – Rafael Moises Melgar, Veritas Equity Management 3rd place – Hugo Flores, Lincoln Property Company HD Pro Xtra Race Car Competition sponsored by Brandt Electrical A/C & Heating Services LLC & Chadwell Supply 1st place – Rafael Beltran, American Landmark 2nd place – Miguel Orellana, Francis Property Management 3rd place – Rudy Xum, Francis Property Management People’s Choice Race Car Winner Cecilia Silva Diaz, Francis Property Management Post-Competition Lunch and Awards Ceremony sponsored by The Liberty Group, Lowe’s Pro Supply and Matrix Construction

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Fair housing issues are constantly evolving. Learn what you need to know now.

By

ANNE SADOVSKY, CAM, CAPS, NAAEI Advanced Facilitator, professional speaker and consultant

What You Need to Know About Fair Housing Please note, Anne Sadovsky is not an attorney. The information in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Readers of this article should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.

W

e might be busy with the repercussions of COVID-19 and rental assistance, but fair housing issues persist.

In fact, there are many headlines claiming the pandemic has exacerbated discrimination. Often, when a complaint is made against an apartment owner or manager, it’s because he or she wasn’t properly trained, educated or following up with his or her onsite teams.

In honor of Fair Housing Month, let’s talk about discrimination.

In September, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded almost $50 million to fair housing organizations across the country to conduct investigations, testing to identify discrimination in the rental and sales markets specifically and filing fair housing complaints. This money supports the effort to prevent and stop discrimination locally, statewide and nationally.

Many in our industry feel that testing is intrusive and unfair. In my opinion, testing is similar to hidden police officers issuing speeding tickets. Fair or not, it is legal, and

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most often justifiable when a driver is going 80 mph in a 50 mph zone.

Before you jump to conclusions about me, please know that I am a 53-year loyal industry veteran. I am also a realist. And there is a lot of discrimination going on.

Most fair housing complaints are filed against individual owners of smaller properties, many of whom are also the property managers. That doesn’t mean that mistakes aren’t made by large professional companies. Ongoing education is critical to avoid expensive mistakes.

According to HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research, 55% of complaints are regarding disabilities. Race and color make up 20%, national origin makes up 8%, familial status makes up 9%, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation) makes up 6%, and religion makes up 1%. The study shows the remaining 9% as “other.”

Starting with disabilities, make sure you are very clear about what that means. The biggest misunderstanding is that all disabilities are visible. That’s far from the truth.

According to HUD’s disability overview page on its website, a person with a disability is defined as the below.

“Who Is a Person with a Disability?”

Federal nondiscrimination laws define a person with a disability to include any (1) individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or

more major life activities; (2) individual with a record of such impairment; or (3) individual who is regarded as having such an impairment.

In general, a physical or mental impairment includes, but is not limited to, examples of conditions such as orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), developmental disabilities, mental illness, drug addiction and alcoholism.

Some impairments are readily observable, while others may be invisible.

Observable impairments may include, but are not limited to, blindness or low vision, deafness or being hard of hearing, mobility limitations, and other types of impairments with observable symptoms or effects, such as intellectual impairments (including some types of autism), neurological impairments (e.g., stroke, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or brain injury), mental illness, or other diseases or conditions that affect major life activities or bodily functions.

The term “major life activities” includes those activities that are important to daily life. Major life activities include, for example, walking, speaking, hearing, seeing, breathing, working, learning, performing manual tasks, and caring for oneself. Other major life activities are not on this list but include, according to HUD, the operation of major April 2022

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bodily activities, such as the functions of the immune system, special sense organs and skin, normal cell growth, and digestive, genitourinary, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, endocrine, hemic, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, and reproductive systems.

No wonder we are confused and make mistakes. Many industry professionals do not realize, for example, that drug addiction and alcoholism are considered disabilities.

Nor do they have the medical understanding of compulsive hoarders and how their behavior conflicts with local laws related to health and public safety.

Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), Familial Status, Race, Color and National Origin I expect the 6% of complaints that are sexrelated will grow. The LGBTQAI group has become more visible, vocal and eager to seek protection. For example, we face a challenge when a person’s physical appearance is different from the photo and name on their ID. Third-party screening services can guide you through this process.

Next, be very clear on what family status means. It is NOT an adult over the age of 18 living with a parent, sibling or another relative. It is NOT persons who are married. The definition according to the Texas Workforce Commission is a family in which one of more children under age 18 live with a parents, a person who has legal custody of the child or children or designees of the parent or legal custodian with parent or custodian’s written permission; anyone securing legal custody of a child under age 18; and/or pregnant women.

What is our biggest challenge here?

Occupancy standards! The old two-perbedroom-plus-one no longer works. What does work is establishing an occupancy number for each floor plan at each property.

Yes, a den, dining and/or loft could be considered a sleeping space.

Addressing race, color and national origin, we have come a long way. However, discrimination still takes place against persons of color, persons from other countries – even because of their accent. Once again, your screening service is important, as it never meets, sees nor speaks with applicants.

Some of the seven protected classes have a few newer rulings. For example, under sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), protection has been added for the LGBTQAI community and women who are

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domestic violence survivors. Sexual harassment of women by housing providers is frequent and creates very costly lawsuits. Fines are often in the millions, plus owners will lose their properties.

States, counties and cities can add protected classes. Be sure that you research and stay advised of additions. Sometimes the rulings regard source of income, criminal background checks and even marital status.

Here is my best advice: Be active in your local apartment association, attend classes, keep your team members updated and educated, use a third-party company for background and financial information. Have a knowledgeable attorney and know that the local housing authorities are not your enemy. They are doing their job and they’re often a good source of information. They are not your enemy!

Update your Community Policies (we used to call them “Rules and Regulations”) regularly and remember that they are legally enforceable. And remember, our words matter, both when spoken and written.

I have heard a few horror stories about old, outdated documents and policies causing big problems.

Fair housing is just one of many challenges we face in the wonderful world of property management. I hope you love the industry as much as I do.

Consider attending HAA’s upcoming fair housing program called “Fair Housing = Happy Housing” with Megan Orser on April 12. It’s part of HAA’s professional development series called Avenues. See Page 22 for more information. And stay tuned for another fair housing program by HAA at the end of the year with HAA General Counsel Howard Bookstaff.

Anne Sadovsky, CAM, CAPS, NAAEI Advanced Facilitator is a professional speaker and consultant specializing in fair housing, motivational speaking, keynote opportunities and webinars.

She’s a people skills specialist and a frequent speaker for the Houston Apartment Association. Anne can be reached at anne@annesadovsky.com. Please note, Anne is not an attorney. The information in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Readers of this article should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.

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Leadership

Lessons from Lasso Yes, Ted Lasso.

H It’s our job as leaders to build our team up.

When they hit a speed bump, we help them maneuver over it, rather than take a fall so hard they can’t get back up.

By

CHARLOTTE PISCIOTTA, CAM, Full House Marketing

ave you watched “Ted Lasso” on Apple TV? Around the holidays, my family and I decided to watch it and couldn’t stop. Yes, we binged it in a matter of days!

The plot is about an American football coach, Ted Lasso, who gets recruited to England to coach a soccer (or football as they call it everywhere else) club. In addition to enjoying the show, I also found myself learning key leadership principles. What have I learned from Ted Lasso? Let me tell you.

Be a Goldfish In episode two of the first season, Ted witnesses Sam, one of his players, being picked on

by Jamie. Sam is obviously frustrated and hurt.

Ted called Sam to the sideline and after some exchanges, Ted highlighted the fact that goldfish have a very short memory. In an innocent and caring way, Ted shared a moment of wisdom with Sam. “Be a goldfish,” he said. Ted gave Sam the advice to let it go, forget what Jamie said and did, and get back out there and try again.

It’s our job as leaders to build our team up.

When they hit a speed bump, we help them maneuver over it, rather than take a fall so hard they can’t get back up. Remind them to “be a goldfish.” Forget it and move on.

Do the Right Thing In season one, it becomes more and more evident that the character of Jamie is a jerk. He’s the star player and loves being the star, kicking the ball down the field, hearing the fans in the stadium cheer him on as he goes for the goal. Jamie

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loves it so much he often chooses to hog the ball instead of passing it to a teammate who is wide open and has a much clearer path to the goal.

Ted ultimately makes the decision to bench Jamie for his unsportsmanlike behavior, knowing it may cost the club the game. This decision infuriates the entire stadium of fans, but Ted knew his decision was the right thing for the sake of the club, though it wasn’t popular.

As a leader, you will find yourself in a position where you must make a difficult decision for the good of the team. Doing the right thing is not always easy. When presented with a problem, you will get to a point where you are weighing two options. One that is an easy way out, but could be detrimental to your team or business, and another that may be the harder one to choose as it could cause some pushback or a short-term setback, but ultimately it’s the right thing to do.

Good Ideas Can Come from Anyone In one episode, Nate, the club’s kit man (equipment manager), had an idea for a play to run. Ted could have discounted it due to Nate’s youth, inexperience and the fact that it wasn’t his job.

Ted instead encouraged Nate to share his play, which turned out to be a great one! Ted knew as a leader it would be foolish to ignore ideas due to someone’s age or status. Instead, he recognized the potential value of the contribution and gave Nate a sense of safety in sharing it.

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munity. Getting more and more frustrated with my lack of creativity that day, I shared my frustration with one of my maintenance technicians. Ten minutes later he came in with a fantastic Halloween themed ad (and rhyming). It successfully ran that week and through the month.

Quality Time Shortly after Ted arrives in Richmond, he makes it a priority to have biscuits with the boss. This is his opportunity to spend quality time with Rebecca, the owner of the Richmond Football Club. Ted asked personal questions about her first and her favorite concerts. This was Ted’s way of showing she is important to him and that he wanted to get to know her. Rebecca seemed put off by this, but loved the biscuits, so she continued to open up to Ted over time. Throughout the show, their relationship grows, and Rebecca felt safe to share with Ted that she was trying to sabotage him. Say what, you ask? Yes, she was trying to sabotage him, which leads me to my next leadership lesson: quality time.

A key component of employee engage-

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ment is investing in relationships. How do we do that as leaders? Make it a point to have quality time with your individual team members. It is so important.

professionally. This is our opportunity to choose how to respond. Given the choice, I hope that you choose to show grace and forgiveness whenever it’s possible.

Forgive and Show Grace Rebecca trying to sabotage Ted was awful.

As a character, it was easy to dislike her character in the beginning. As Ted and Rebecca’s relationship grew, a different side of her emerged. When Rebecca ultimately makes the decision to confess that she had hired Ted in hopes that he would run the club into the ground (all having to do with her recent divorce), Ted had a choice. He could have become hurt, angry or even vengeful.

Instead, he moved to forgiveness immediately. Ted says, “Hmmm. I forgive you.” Rebecca was shocked. Ted not only chose to forgive Rebecca, but he also showed her compassion. He recognized the best in her and knew that she is capable of being a better boss, human and friend.

We are human, we make mistakes. There will come a time when a team member says or does something that hurts personally or

Charlotte Pisciotta's 20plus year career in leadership has spanned from community manger to national director of marketing and now vice president of Full House Marketing. It's her expertise, knowledge and energy that she brings to every training that creates a unique experience for her audience. Charlotte presents programs for associations and management companies throughout the country, is faculty of NAAEl's Education Institute and holds a certification in Creative Training Techniques. Charlotte is presenting an HAA Avenues Leadership Lane session on “The Love Languages of Employee Engagement” on Thursday April 7. You won’t want to miss it. Learn more on Page 22.

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The smarter the building, the greater the chance of that system being hacked.

By

PAUL BERGERON

Cybersecurity: A Survey of Needs and Examples

T

he online hacking attempt in February 2021 to poison the water supply of Oldsmar, Fla., highlighted the risks to internet-connected operational technology. And December 2020’s penetration of cybersecurity defense firm FireEye by nation-state actors clearly puts more tools in the hands of hackers, and decreases the ability to defensively respond.

Lucian Niemeyer, Chairman and CEO of non-profit BuildingSecurity.org, spoke to the Multifamily Innovation Conference – Atlanta (MICA) and provided an overview of the threats of operational technology as well as what can be done to de-risk the convenience these connected technologies deliver. Fortunately, it’s not all risks - there are mitigations that a company can put in place.

Many operators are searching for answers when it comes to a response plan for a ransomware attack on smart elevators, connected HVAC or connected garage doors?

Session moderator Steve Lefkovits of Joshua Tree Media estimated that just 15% of multifamily operators have their arms around this topic. “That systems many of us aren’t paying attention to can be hacked is chilling,” Lefkovits said.

As Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment (2017-2019), Niemeyer may have had one of the biggest real estate asset management portfolios in the world – 28 million acres, 500 installations and 500,000 buildings. He graduated from that position to a role as a cybersecurity advisor to the Secretary of Defense focusing on real-world operational energy and cybersecurity resilience www.haaonline.org

policy development.

BuildingSecurity.org represents a collaboration of experts from 300 technology, insurance, bonding, investor and property management companies with a common goal to find solutions. Health care, transportation, automated robotics and utilities – along with 5G and machine learning – are among its areas of concentration. It’s looking to add more companies in these areas to help with the cause.

His group is part of the PropTech solution industry, wanting to be a part of the amazing prospects there are for the future – and does not exist to suppress those innovators. “This is opening markets for innovation within the smart-home technology to help with this,” Niemeyer said.

‘What Do I Do?’ The recent Solar Winds hack proved to what level the crisis currently sits. The more technology dependent and smarter the building, the greater the chance of that system being hacked, Niemeyer said.

“If your PC is hacked, it’s hard enough to deal with it on a personal basis. Imagine if the hack is building-wide? What do you do first when you receive a ransom note? Owners and managers have to ask: What is the impact to my residents? What does this do to the value of the asset? Do I go public with the information?

Who do I call? What do I do?”

“You can contact the police, but they don’t know what to do,” Niemeyer said. “It’s hard to get the FBI on the phone. You’d hope to have the silver bullet, but there is no silver bullet.”

He said the world no longer is just dealing with nation states doing the hacking, but

with cyber criminals. Hacks could be done on entrances to gated communities, lighting, thermostats, fire alarms, sprinkler systems and energy management systems. “This all opens things up to additional vectors for attack,” he said.

Gartner has examined insurance claims to measure the economic impact of cybersecurity.

It suggests that 75% of CEOs will be held liable for such intrusions by 2024.

Unfortunately, Niemeyer said there is no national framework that real estate operators or property renovators can use to prevent or responds to hacking. “There’s nothing the industry can rally around,” he said. “[Our group is] looking at the various standards that exist – whether created by the government or private industry – and translating them for the benefit of today’s operators,” he said.

“You should be using these standards now, not later. If you wait, it’s too late because the hack has already happened.”

Niemeyer said he would like to see a certification of national framework be developed, whereby an operator who has it would receive a favorable insurance policy if they adopt the safety standards ahead of time.

“Our goal is to see how quickly we can get theses owners rewarded for the steps that they take,” he said.

Caution: Disgruntled Residents or Employees In its efforts, BuildingSecurity.org brought in red teams and blue teams and had them try to “get in” and seize an elevator, a boiler or other apartment community systems. He said he’s April 2022

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going to see operational technology be hacked at the lowest levels – by disgruntled residents or employees.

“I’m worried about the guys who are bored with just hacking into one laptop one time to seize data,” Niemeyer said. “They are the ones who might want to do things that threaten lives, like breaking into water lines or utility grids or worse. What about the disgruntled resident who decides he wants to try to break into the apartment community’s system? There is a bigger payoff when you start threatening lives and people.

“We rely on common software applications, so there’s not a data anomaly to look at for your cameras or elevators,” he said. “With apartment buildings, we need to map into the building systems through the access that so many people have. There’s been stories [where nefarious characters] gained access to look at hallways, etc., it can get pretty dangerous pretty quickly.”

When things such as water, locks, cameras or other utilities are controlled remotely, there’s greater chance they could be hacked, Niemeyer said. It will take years of litigation to

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determine who’s responsible for that. For example, water sprinklers could be set off, which results in damage, which results in higher insurance premiums.

Today, cybersecurity policies “are the wild, wild west for insurance companies,” Niemeyer said.

Property & Casualty coverage is the most important aspect for owners here, he said. “We want something that protects occupants and owners without having premiums that go through the ceiling.”

On the other hand, “Ransomware attacks are exploding,” he said. “The underwriters are trying to get around the ‘act of war’ exemption.

In truth, they’d rather have the standard framework of cyberattack protection. This way, they can say: If you have this standard, you get this more favorable policy. Insurers like Aon and Chubb are with us and are helping us to drive these standards.”

Having commercial real estate risk managers contributing to the framework is ideal, he said, because there are unique situations in multifamily to solve, he said.

Private (not Public) Industry Solutions

BuildingSecurity.org is hoping any ultimate cybersecurity framework does not fall to federal or state legislation or building codes.

“Better would be to build a private standard that the public sector can adopt,” he said, “as opposed to watching codes emerge all over the country and creating chaos. It would become too bloated. We don’t want mandates and government over-regulation [as we’ve seen in the past]. In those cases, building codes become outdated and take too long to be updated and approved. We want aspirational efforts by our industry to create and adopt codes ahead of time.”

With privately developed standards, “as new threats emerge, we can immediately get those updates out to our members; the policy becomes a dynamic, living [and effective] policy document,” Niemeyer said.

Paul Bergeron is a freelance reporter who covers the apartment industry.

You can reach him at pbergeron333@gmail.com or 703-434-0280.

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State of the Industry Breakfast Sponsored by 1 Brannan Designs: Architecture & Interiors and 2 Texas Southwest Floors Thursday, February 3 at the Westin Memorial City At the State of the Industry breakfast, panelists Jesse Thompson, the senior business economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas – Houston Branch, and Bruce McClenny, the president of ApartmentData.com, reported on Houston’s economic and rent growth. The energy sector is anticipated to act as a stimulus to Houston’s economy, but it will not be a drilling frenzy, Thompson said. In addition, although rent prices are increasing in Houston, compared to the nation, Houston has experienced the slowest rent growth, both Thompson and McClenny said. Houston may be on track to recover jobs by the summer, Thompson closed.

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Ric Campo with Camden, Suan Tinsley with DayRise Residential, Quintina Willis with Venterra Realty, Manu Gupta with Indus Management and Ryan Terrell with Greystar all shared the creative ways they helped residents and employees through the COVID-19 crisis and how they addressed employee burnout. Nearly every panelist agrees, the best way to address the labor shortage is to take care of your current employees. It’s like Campo said, it’s not about keeping operating costs low, it’s about keeping your employees.

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On the Scene with the HAAPAC HAAPAC Luncheon Tuesday, February 8 at the HAF Dinerstein Reed Prokop Education Center Sponsored by 1 ICONSTRUX The February luncheon featured Harris County Judge Candidate Martina Lemond Dixon.

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WE’RE ALL ABOUT BETTER GOVERNMENT Threats from government are coming at the apartment industry at a rapid pace. The HAAPAC, the political action committee of the Houston Apartment Association, needs your help to fight bad legislation. HAA members can participate in the PAC on several levels. Committee application forms are available. To join, renew or learn how to become involved with the PAC, see online at www.haaonline.org/haapac or contact govaffairs@haaonline.org.

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On the Road with HAA

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State of the Submarket Montgomery County Tuesday, February 15 at The Woodlands Country Club Sponsored by 1 Fidus Construction Services, Matrix Construction Services and Steward Trash Valet.

Furniture Sponsors: Hoffer Furniture and Earthworks HAA returned to our in-person State of Montgomery County with a great lineup of speakers for the area. Topics included job growth, rental rates, occupancy trends, new construction developments, build-to-rent and much more.

Participants included Constable Ryan Gable, Judge Matt Beasley, Constable Philp Cash, Senator Brandon Creighton and Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, Jason J. Nelson and Dr. Ann K. Snyder with The Woodlands Township. Thanks to our presenters: Moderator Quin Willis, Venterra Realty; Judge Mark Keough; Danny Signorelli, The Signorelli Company; Gil Staley, CEO The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership; and Bruce McClenny, ApartmentData.com,

HAA IS REACHING OUT to better serve our members by bringing targeted networking and educational events to different parts of our 12-county service area. Contact Assistant Vice President – Outreach Lauren Turner at lturner@haaonline.org to sign up for these FREE, management-only events where you can learn about issues affecting your area and network with your fellow managers. Want to host an event? We are looking for member properties to host a Region Meeting. Contact lturner@haaonline.org. www.haaonline.org

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Support our Industry SUPPLIER PARTNERS SERVING TO FACILITATE GROWTH AND STRENGTHEN THE INDUSTRY. The Product Service Council is a group of active supplier members whose objectives are to promote the active involvement and participation of supplier members. For more information on the council and how you can make your membership work for you, see online at www.haaonline.org/psc or contact Susan Hinkley at shinkley@haaonline.org.

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The Houston Apartment Association’s Product Service Council is here to help supplier partners navigate the association. Learn how you can get the most out of your membership.

By

MORGAN TAYLOR, HAA Staff

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he Houston Apartment Association Product Service Council returns to ABODE magazine to help you navigate the association. Whether you are a new supplier member or you want to learn more about HAA, you will learn about the various opportunities to get involved with HAA. This month, we interview PSC treasurer and Century Club Chair Deb DeRouen, CAS with One App Guarantee and PSC members Juana Estrada, CAS with First Onsite Restoration and Jim Martensen, CAS with Camp Construction Services about why it is important for supplier partners to join the HAA Political Action Committee.

What is the HAA Political Action Committee?

Deb DeRouen: The HAAPAC represents our local apartment industry on legislative issues that affect our industry. Without political capital, our industry would not be as successful in representing you or your clients’ interests, and thus, your financial wellbeing.

Juana Estrada: The HAAPAC is a political action committee of HAA. The HAAPAC participates in local and state political campaigns, helping candidates who support the apartment industry and its supplier businesses.

Jim Martensen: The HAAPAC is a group of multifamily peers within HAA who strive to understand the political landscape and the critical issues pertaining to the multifamily industry. The HAAPAC strives to help support likeminded candidates that are critical to the success of the multifamily industry.

How much does it cost to be an HAAPAC member?

Deb: HAA has four levels of PAC membership. The first is the non-voting Century Club (priced at $100), which gets you access to regular HAAPAC luncheons as well as opportunities to contribute to HAAPAC fundraisers throughout the year. The second level is Century Club (priced at $125). This level allows you to vote through a Century Club representative on decisions such as endorsements. The third option is Trustee (priced at $500), which allows you to have an individual vote in HAAPAC decisions as well as the opportunity to attend key events with legislators and elected officials. Lastly, the Steering Committee membership (priced at $1,500) allows you to contribute to setting the HAAPAC agenda and provides opportunities to have a seat at steering committee meetings as a decision maker.

Juana: To be an HAAPAC member, the price starts at $100 for non-voting involvement.

www.haaonline.org

Jim: There are different levels of support you can enroll in, ranging from a non-voting member for $100 to a Steering Committee member for $1,500. Voting rights allow you to have direct involvement in decisions made by the HAAPAC, such as political endorsements.

Why is it beneficial for supplier partners to join the Houston Apartment Association Political Action Committee?

Deb: As the HAAPAC Century Club Chair for 2022, I’m tasked with promoting the PAC to all supplier partners and the general membership. I think it’s important for all our members to know what issues we are fighting against in our industry. The HAAPAC serves the better good for our industry when it comes to issues that affect both the apartment owner and management side of our industry as well as our supplier partners. There is truth to the saying “power in numbers” and our local association efforts demonstrate the true meaning of that.

Juana: It is beneficial to be part of the HAAPAC as issues that affect the multifamily industry also affect us as suppliers.

Jim: It is always beneficial to be well informed and to understand all the nuances of the multifamily industry.

Being a member of the HAAPAC will not only shed light on how and why issues are being addressed, but you will also be able to meet and exchange business ideas with your peers.

What is your favorite HAAPAC event? And why?

Deb: My favorite HAAPAC events are the luncheons. We are incredibly lucky to be a part of an association with a voice in politics to defend the industry from onerous regulations for both the owner and supplier. HAAPAC luncheons give you the opportunity to hear from elected officials who can directly impact how we do business.

Juana: The fundraising functions that NEXT (HAA’s young professional group) hosts for the HAAPAC. Jim: Seeing the leaders of the industry get together is always a pleasure. At the HAAPAC luncheons, specifically, not only do you get lunch, but you get to listen to state and local representatives on interesting topics.

DeRouen

Estrada

Martensen

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Suppliers: Join Tyrone Poole and HAA to learn how to overcome adversity in your life and career.

Speaker: Tyrone Poole, founder of OneAppGuarantee, didn’t develop his concept in a sleek Silicon Valley incubator.

He developed it in a Portland homeless shelter, as a resident. Nine years ago, while training to become a fireman, Tyrone suffered a serious leg injury that put him in a hospital bed for nine months and on crutches for nearly a year.

Upon his release he had lost everything.

He was evicted, his car had been repossessed, and he had incurred more than $20,000 in medical debt. After months of couch surfing, he checked himself into the YWCA homeless shelter. This is where the company was founded.

Wednesday, May 25 HAF Education Center 4810 Westway Park Blvd. (located off Clay Road and the Beltway)

3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Registration 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Reception/Meet and Greet Join the HAA Product Service Council for a “get to know the PSC” game. Prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

4 p.m. to 5 p.m. – Program with Tyrone Poole

Sponsored by the HAA Product Service Council

Free for all supplier members.

Register online at www.haaonline.org/supplierprogram

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Do you really know your applicant?

Comprehensive applicant screening tools available today can uncover financial and criminal background information. Proper screening can also reveal identity fraud issues, including stolen and fabricated identities, which may result in costly problems. Comprehensive screening using Rental Credit Reporting can also tell you who hasn’t paid rent, who has broken leases and who has received their deposit refund.

RCR provides Houston’s apartment industry with the most effective rental credit reporting tool available. RCR was established in 1977 to solve screening problems HAA founders felt plagued the local apartment industry. RCR has unsurpassed data on resident rental histories in the Houston region and gives your leasing staff immediate access to information about which prospects have fulfilled their leases and who have been residents in good standing.

The Houston Apartment Association’s Rental Credit Reporting and SafeRent Solutions have partnered to offer numerous searches in one bundled report with immediate and unlimited inquiry access.

a service of

in partnership with

To subscribe or to learn more, call RCR at 713-595-0300, email rcr@haaonline.org or visit www.haaonline.org.

On Site with ABODE

Photos provided by Arrive River Oaks

ARRIVE RIVER OAKS

The HAA Honors Awards recipient for a mid-rise apartment property built between 2000 and 2009.

Property: Arrive at River Oaks Owner/Management: Trinity Property Consultants Location: 2800 Kirby Drive Units: 397 Built: 2008 Web: www.arriveriveroaks.com Interesting features: Please note, the 2021 HAA Honors Awards property winners were recognized for their 2020 performance.

Arrive River Oaks is located right outside Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood on the corner of Kirby Drive and Westheimer Road. Arrive River Oaks is surrounded by 200,000 square feet of retail space, including Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, Milk & Honey Spa, Tootsies and more.

One of the many things that makes this property stand out is its maintenance program. Arrive River Oaks gives its residents the courtesy of submitting work orders on the phone, through email and online. Arrive River Oaks maintains a 48-hour completion rate for work orders. The maintenance team performs preventative maintenance throughout the community every quarter.

Arrive River Oaks builds a sense of community onsite by hosting a variety of resident events, including virtual cooking classes, happy hours, movie nights, food trucks and more.

Congratulations, Arrive River Oaks!

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I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a good experience, though, feeling that way. I didn’t know that someone was watching!”

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a good experience, though, feeling that way. I didn’t know that someone was watching!”

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a good experience, though, feeling that way. I didn’t know that someone was watching!”

www.haaonline.org

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a

On Site with ABODE

Photos provided by The Pointe at Valley Ranch Town Center

THE POINTE AT VALLEY RANCH TOWER CENTER The HAA Honors Awards recipient for a garden-style property built between 2010 and 2019.

Property: The Pointe at Valley Ranch Town Center Owner/Management: Signorelli Company Location: 20290 Park Lake View Drive, New Caney Units: 336 Built: 2019 Web: www.thepointevrtc.com Interesting features: Please note, 2021 HAA Honors Awards property winners were recognized for their 2020 performance.

The Pointe at Valley Ranch Town Center is a beautiful, luxury apartment community located in the Kingwood area. A tree-lined road leads you to a resort-style clubhouse, where you will be met by a welcoming leasing team. Outside, you will find its resort-style pool with lounge seating, grills and a firepit overlooking a stunning 10-acre nature preserve.

The Pointe at Valley Ranch Town Center follows the Signorelli Company’s core principles of integrity, growth, innovation, vision and excellence (I-GIVE).

The team actively gives back to the community its property is located in. As an example, in 2020, a team member secured over $50,000 in rental assistance for its residents. And in 2021, Signorelli partnered with Angel Reach, a faith-based non-profit organization that helps children and youth aging out of foster care achieve their full potential.

Congratulations, The Pointe at Valley Ranch Town Center! www.haaonline.org

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a good experience, though, feeling that way. I didn’t know that someone was watching!”

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a good experience, though, feeling that way. I didn’t know that someone was watching!”

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a good experience, though, feeling that way. I didn’t know that someone was watching!”

I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised that they nominated me!” he said, laughing. “ I’ve been with this business for 15 years. I never expect anything. For me, if I get my job done or get it right, I’m satisfied with that. I don’t need recognition. As long as my resident and my management and the owner are happy, I’m happy. It was a

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Legislative, continued from Page 9 28.4% and 27.1% of the vote respectively and will face each other in the May runoff. HAAPAC-endorsed candidate and former City of Houston Councilmember Greg Travis received 23.3%.

House District 138 – (Spring Branch, West Houston, Cypress) – HAAPAC-endorsed Republican incumbent Lacey Hull won the primary election and will face Democrat Stephanie Morales in the November general.

House District 147 – (Houston) – Jolanda Jones and Danielle Keys Bess will face each other in the Democrat primary runoff in May. Harris County County Judge– Incumbent Democratic County Judge Lina Hidalgo will not face a runoff.

Alexandra del Moral Mealer led with 29.66% of the vote, followed by Vidal Martinez with 25.58%.

Mealer and Martinez will faceeach other in the May runoff.

County Commissioner Precinct 2 – HAAPAC endorsed incumbent Commissioner Adrian Garcia defeated two challengers in the Democratic primary. In the Republican primary, Jack Morman and Jerry Mouton will face each other in the May runoff.

County Commissioner Precinct 4 – Republican incumbent Commissioner Jack Cagle was unopposed in the primary. For the chance to oppose him in November, Civil Court at Law No. 4

Judge Leslie Briones and Ben Chou will face each other in the May runoff.

Civil Court at Law No.4 – M. K. Monica Singh received 41% of the vote with Treasea Treviño following at 31%. HAAPAC-endorsed Judge David Patronella received 28% and he was unsuccessful in this race. Singh and Treviño will be in the May runoff, with the winner facing Republican nominee Brian Staley in the November general election.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Place 2 – Democrats Sonia Lopez and Steve Duble were the leading vote getters, topping HAAPAC-endorsed candidate Ron Campana. They face each other in the primary runoff and there is no Republican challenger in November.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, Place 2 – In the race to replace longtime Judge George Risner, Dolores Lozano defeated HAAPAC-endorsed candidate Blair McClure in the Democratic primary. There is no Republican challenger in November.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 3, Place 2 – HAAPAC-endorsed incumbent Judge Lucia Bates defeated two challengers. Republican candidate Denise Graves will face Bates in the November election.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 4, Place 2 – Incumbent Republican Judge Laryssa Korduba was unopposed in the primary and does not face a general election opponent.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 5, Place 2 – The HAAPAC was involved with both the Republican and Democratic primaries. In the Democratic primary, HAAPAC-endorsed candidate Roderick D. Rodgers won the primary. In the Republican primary, Bob Wolfe garnered more than 50% of the vote and defeated HAAPAC-endorsed candidate Bret Kisluk. Rodgers and Wolfe will face each other in the November general election.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 6, Place 2 – HAAPAC-endorsed incumbent Democratic Judge Angela Rodriguez defeated primary challenger Luis Garza. Judge Rodriguez is unopposed in the general election.

Montgomery County County Judge – HAAPAC-endorsed Republican incumbent Judge Mark Keough won with 66% of the vote. Judge Keough is unopposed in the general election.

County Commissioner Precinct 2 – HAAPACendorsed Republican incumbent Commissioner Charlie Riley won with 56% of the vote. Commissioner Riley is unopposed in the general election.

County Commissioner Precinct 4 – Matt Gray defeated HAAPAC-endorsed incumbent Commissioner James Metts with 53% of the vote in the Republican primary. He is unopposed in the November general election.

Get the lowdown, virtually!

First Thursday of every month at 3 p.m.

Join Howard Bookstaff virtually for an update on all things legal, from eviction procedures to local, state and federal law changes.

Program fee: $45 per person Annual Property Subscription available: $500 per property Free bonus registration to 2022 Redbook Seminar with your annual subscription

Register online today at www.haaonline.org or call 713-595-0300 for details.

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Fort Bend County County Judge – HAAPAC-endorsed incumbent Democratic Judge KP George received 70% of the vote. In the Republican primary, former Constable Trevor Nehls garnered 92% of the vote. They will face each other in November.

County Commissioner Precinct 2 – HAAPACendorsed Democratic incumbent Grady Prestage received 50.31% of the vote. In the Republican primary, Melissa Wilson received 57.39% of the vote. Wilson will face Commissioner Prestage in the November general.

County Commissioner Precinct 4 – Ray Aguilar ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Neeta Sane and Dexter McCoy will face off in the Democratic primary in May, with the winner facing Aguilar in the November general.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Place 1 – HAAPAC-endorsed incumbent Republican Judge Kelly Crow defeated challenger John Minchew, 65% to 35%. Judge Crow is unopposed in the general election.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Place 2 – Former City of Fulshear Councilmember and attorney Tricia Krenek was unopposed in the Republican primary and is unopposed in the general.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, Place 2 – In the Democratic primary, Roderick Garner defeated HAAPAC-endorsed incumbent Judge Mark Gibson with 54% of the vote. He will face Jaison Joseph in the general election.

Brazoria County County Judge – County Judge Matt Sebesta was unopposed in the primary. In November, Judge Sebesta will face Jim Mooney, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

County Commissioner Precinct 2 – Incumbent Republican Commissioner Ryan Cade defeated City of Manvel Councilmember Dan Davis, 64% to 36% in the primary. Commissioner Cade is unopposed in the general.

County Commissioner Precinct 4 – Incumbent Republican County Commissioner David Linder was unopposed in the Republican primary and is unopposed in the November election.

Justice of the Peace 4, Place 2 – HAAPACendorsed incumbent Sherry Kersh received 66% of the vote over challenger Chase Burgin. Judge Kersh is unopposed in November.

If you have a regulatory problem or question, call the HAA main line at 713-595-0300 and ask for Government Affairs. If a particular code requirement or issue concerns you, let us know by emailing Bradley at bpepper@haaonline.org.

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The Go-Getters HAA’s MEMBERSHIP RECRUITERS

IGNITE YOUR MEMBERSHIP! Join the Go-Getter club and get fired up about recruiting for HAA!

2022 Chairs:

Join our Quarterly Meetings!

Be the top recruiter for each quarter and win $500 cash!

Richard Wall Westdale Asset Management

Plus, for each new member you recruit, you’ll earn a chance to win gift cards ranging from $25 to $250!

Visit www.haaonline.org/gogetters to get all the information you need.

Ryan Weis Crestmark Construction Services

Check the Go-Getters Corner for more information on the upcoming quarterly meeting dates:

Honorary Life Members

Claude Arnold Kenn Brown Tina Cavaco Terri Clifton Kevin Fenn Diane Gilbert Anita Harrison Dwayne Henson Mike Koch Merry Mount

Monette Reynolds Sherry Stevenson Kirk Tate Suan Tinsley Sonny Unverzagt Del Walmsley Nancé Wells H.P. Paul Young Jeanne Marie Zublin Dicks

April 6 June 9 August 18 September 29 December 7 at Kirby Ice House Memorial City 1015 Gessner 4 p.m.

Visit www.haaonline.org/gogetters for more information.

THE GO-GETTERS ARE THE BACKBONE of the Houston Apartment Association. By recruiting new members, the Go-Getter Club helps both new management and supplier companies and the association grow for the future.

To join the club and get going on recruitment, see online at www.haaonline.org or contact Amanda and Kaylon in the Membership Department at members@haaonline.org.

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Welcome Mat

Introducing HAA’s NEW MEMBERS

at www.haabuyersguide.com, searchable by product/service category or company name.

SUPPLIERS

OWNERS 118EMurrill Scott JoLee Scott 25399 Ramrock Drive Porter, TX 77365 281-924-9819 118EMurrill Scott - Properties Better Than Your Mother's Basement Melissa Mae Green 1000 Scenic Drive Justin, TX 76247 817-941-7939 Better Than Your Mother's Basement - Properties Cardinal REI LLC Adam Murray 3702 Tartan Lane Houston, TX 77025 Col Consulting Chuck O’Leary 3935 Arnold St. Houston, TX 77005 Gibby’s Capital Investments Meaghan Davenport 18640 FM 1488 Road #A251 Magnolia, TX 77354 Oasis Heritage Group Amir Hirani 1122 Coleridge St. Sugar Land, TX 77479 732-890-8750 Referred by Stephanie Graves, CAM,CAPS, IROP JW Holley Holdings Wendy Holley 3105 Genoa Red Bluff Road Pasadena, TX 77505 281-948-2973 Karyn Jackson Stephens Karyn Jackson Stephens 594 Sawdust #407 The Woodlands, TX 77380 713-498-9341 Mill River Capital Mitra Miller 29022 Village Bend Magnolia, TX 77355 512-658-1582 Referred by Madeline Prejean, CAM, CAPS, IROP

www.haaonline.org

ALL SUPPLIER MEMBERS are listed online

Reveille Kyle LLC Alex Li P.O. Box 9024 College Station, TX 77842 Reveille Kyle LLC - Properties Referred by Stephanie Graves, CAM,CAPS, IROP

Blue Marlin Maintenance & Services Hailey Taibi 28725 Robinson Road Conroe, TX 77303 281-895-1523 Make Ready, A/C Contractors

Lee & Barrier Builders LLC Brett Barrier 22223 Kingsland Blvd.

Katy, TX 77450 361-701-9548 General Contractors, Roofing Contractors

Robin Brice Robin Brice 12119 Taylorcrest Road Houston, TX 77024 713-823-3094

Clozzits Amanda Fair 3200 Earhart Drive Carrollton, TX 75006 972-838-7888 Cabinets, Amenities

ManageMowed of Houston Cort Peavy P.O. Box 701441 Houston, TX 77270 Irrigation Systems & Equipment, Landscape Contractors, Lawn Maintenance, Mulch, Sand & Gravel

Sierra Hotel Investments LLC Patrick McGinnis 2010 Butler Drive Friendswood, TX 77546 281-989-5163 Vicinia Property Management Julie Boling 8520 Allison Pointe Blvd. #223 PMB28378 Indianapolis, IN 46250 317-960-3569 Country Club Apartments

CWS Corporate Housing Jill Polard 16000 Park Ten Place #201 Houston, TX 77084 713-443-4133 Apartments-Furnished, Furniture Renting & Leasing Drop Dead Pest Control Inc. Robert Schoppe 1127 Adams St. Missouri City, TX 77489 281-261-6934 Beekeepers, Pest Control Services, Animal Removal Services Referred by Richard Wall, CAM, CAPS ECO Roof and Solar Amy Kwak 4275 Kellway Circle #168 Addison, TX 75001 469-438-4150 Roofing Consultants, Roofing Contractors Element Architects LLC Michael Graham 1250 Wood Branch Park Drive #480 Houston, TX 77079 713-874-0775 Architects, Engineers Home Medic Restoration and Remodeling Betsy Doukane 6830 N Eldridge Pkwy. #211 Houston, TX 77041 713-897-9420 Mold Remediation, General Contractors Referred by Rachel M. Griego

MGroup Graphic Design Studio Connie Marmolejo 5233 Bellaire Blvd. #479 Bellaire, TX 77401 713-542-2515 Graphics Service, Marketing Products, Signs Referred by Ryan Weis Michelson Found Animals Ross Barker 3000 S Robertson Blvd. #105 Los Angeles, CA 90034 310-574-5780 Educational Consultants, Pet Services MyFitnessStore.com Jon Sewell 2330 Apollo Circle Carrollton, TX 75006 972-416-7200 Exercise Equipment Wholesale/Retail, Exercise Equipment-Service & Repair, Fitness Equipment Prkcar Irfan Hussain 1508 Flowers Drive Carrollton, TX 75007 469-223-2268 Parking Garages, ComputersSoftware Property Mgmt Property Guardians Aaron Chavez 5041 Spencer Hwy. Pasadena, TX 77505 832-468-0748 Remodeling & RepairBuilding Contractors, General Contractors

SERVPRO Olson Disaster Recovery Team Keith Thompson 33550 Decker Prairie Road Magnolia, TX 77355 281-371-6454 Disaster Recovery/Relief, Remodeling & RepairBuilding Contractors Referred by Amanda Kelly Snappt Jenn Swanson 226 W Ojai Ave. #101-419 Ojai, CA 93023 30-884-5307 Risk Management, Resident Screening Service Referred by Valerie Lacy, CAM, CAPS Texas GroundWorks Management Froy Nino 13910 Smokey Trail Dr. Houston, TX 77041-1628 281-345-1654 Concrete Contractors, Drainage Contractors, Fences, Landscape Contractors, Lawn Maintenance, Sprinklers Garden & Lawn, Tree Services, Playground Equipment, Arborists Texas Valet Services Matt Lambert 10800 Gosling Road Spring, TX 77393 866-558-2150 Trash Service - Valet, Pet Waste Removal Referred by Ruha Vohra, NALP, CAM Tree Solutions of Texas Brenda Garcia 10900 Telephone R0ad Houston, TX 77075 832-252-9444 Arborists, Tree Services Warrior Patrol Services LLC Kaiwan Muhammed 2500 WIlcrest Drive #300 Houston, TX 77042 Courtesy Patrol, Security Guard/Patrol Service

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The Ambassador ONE Society HAA’s WELCOMING COMMITTEE

“BEE” A PART OF ONE! Suppliers, come join the Ambassadors and reach out to HAA members!

Mark your calendars and join us!

Ambassador ONE Society meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month: April 6, May 4 Crawfish Boil Event, June 1, July 6, August 3, September 7, October 5, November 2 The first quarter location is Kirby Ice House, 1015 Gessner Road, Houston, Texas 77055.

Photo below: “ONE of the Month” Xochitl Flores, Zumper, with 215 points.

Ambassador ONE Society members with at least 10 points, ranked by points earned, year to date: 466 Century A/C Supply Giovanna Gone 380 Zumper Xochitl Flores 230 Century A/C Supply Susan Alvarado 181 Century A/C Supply Crystal Varela 105 Designs by Holmes Interior Design Marcy Holmes 60 Houston Waste Services Samantha Hernandez 55 Century A/C Supply Mallory Hess 30 Flooring Warehouse Tracey Leach-Moore 25 Done Deal Consign Brian Alvarado 17 American Fire Systems, Inc. Tammy Broadway 11 Earthworks, Inc Shaun Callaway 11 Metropolitan Staffing Solutions Angel Lopez 11 Behr Paint Company Gilbert Escobedo 10 Paul Davis Greater Houston Ted Morgan 10 Advanced Exercise Teresa Schroit 10 RentPath Brooke Evans 10 Camp Construction Services Kyle Turney 10 Earthworks, Inc William Plows Ambassadors earn points by sharing leads, making introductions and visiting communities to promote HAA events and news.

THE AMBASSADOR ONE SOCIETY is an organized network exchange that helps supplier partners build their business contacts within HAA. It’s the perfect way for new suppliers to get started with the association. Group members share leads, make introductions and support HAA and its members. For details on how to join and for meeting dates, visit www.haaonline.org/ambassadors or contact Amanda in the Membership Department at 713-595-0316, or email asherbondy@haaonline.org.

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Team photos at left, from top: First place – BeeHAAppy with 1,041 points Second place – You Already Know with 682 points Third place – Super Suppliers with 329 points

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Get Involved

Volunteer HAA The Houston Apartment Association’s committees and clubs are some of the most productive tools we have to ensure that we remain the nation’s largest and most effective apartment association. Members of the association dedicate their time to lead and serve on the various clubs and committees.

Some general responsibilities of committee and club members include a commitment to attend all meetings and help develop marketing strategies (i.e. telemarketing, developing handouts, fliers, articles).

To serve on any of these committees and clubs, please contact the HAA office at 713-595-0300, online at www.haaonline.org or email the departments listed below.

Education education@haaonline.org Education Advisory Council HAF Fundraiser Committee* Career and Community Development Committee Government Affairs govaffairs@haaonline.org HAA Political Action Committee* Century Club* Media Relations Committee Fair Housing Committee Strategic Outreach Committee Membership members@haaonline.org Ambassador ONE Society Go-Getter Membership Recruitment Club Expo Exhibitor Committee* Street Team* Community Outreach shinkley@haaonline.org Community Outreach Committee Product Service Council* Resident Relations resrel@haaonline.org Resident Relations Committee *Note: These committees have specific requirements. Contact HAA for details.

www.haaonline.org

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Portfolio Changes The following owner/management companies have added the listed properties to their portfolios: • Allied Orion Group: Avenue on 34th, 70 units at 2136 W 34th St. • Ascension Commercial Real Estate LP: Haven at 1600, 114 units at 1600 Avenue M South.

• Asset Living: Hollister Oaks, 60 units at 1920 Hollister S; Providence at Champions, 284 units at 5100 FM 1960 Road; Avaya Stafford, 176 units at 3719 Country Place Drive in Stafford; and Avery at Deer Park, 149 units at 401 McDermott St. in Deer Park.

• Atlantic Pacific Management: The Atlantic Memorial, 401 units at 875 N Eldridge Pkwy. and Arbor at Wayforest, 192 units at 17744 Wayforest Drive.

• Avenue5 Residential: Matthew Ridge, 240 units at 14551 Beechnut St. • Better World Properties LLC - Sumar: Terraces at 2602, 240 units at 2602 21st St North in Texas City.

• Blue Magma Residential: The Park at Malaga, 288 units at 4300 Sherwood Lane.

• Bo Management: Bella Vista Apartments, 180 units at 2700 S Dairy Ashford Road and Shadow Creek Apartments, 296 units at 7500 Pinemont Drive.

• CLMS Management Services LP: North Park, 192 units at 90 Northpoint Drive.

• Davis Development: Sire Kingwood, 318 units at 44770 Stowbridge Drive in Kingwood and Cendana District West, 349 units at 7303 S Peek Road in Richmond.

• Devonshire Real Estate & Asset Management: Providence at Heights, 196 units at 2400 Hackett Drive and Legacy at Westchase Apartments, 324 units at 10070 Westpark Drive.

• Dominium Management Services: The Portofino, 248 units at 2122 E Sam Houston Pkwy. in Pasadena.

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• Elmington Property Management: The Reveal at Rye 220, 136 units at 220 Bammel Westfield Road.

• Fogelman Multifamily Investments and Management: Arcadian Sugar Land Apartments, 240 units at 12100 Highway 6 S in Sugar Land.

• Greystar: The Waterview, 298 units at 19525 W Bellfort St. in Richmond.

• GVA Property Management: The Retreat at Stafford Apartments, 264 units at 12700 Stafford Road in Stafford.

• Headway Property Management: The Edge at Independence Heights, 112 units at 7020 Stuebner Airline Road and Four Eighty West Parker, 137 units at 480 W Parker Road.

• Houston Aria Realty Partners LLC: Aria Steepleway, 154 units at 11119 Steepleway Blvd.

• Implicity Management Company: Winsome Court, 105 units at 6111 Winsome Lane.

• Implicity Management Company: Tiffany Square Apartments, 84 units at 3030 Greenridge Drive.

• Internacional Realty Inc.: Durham Heights, 281 units at 720 W 26th St. • Jupiter Property Management: Pine Forest, 161 units at 17103 Clay Road.

• Life EC LLC: 511 Dahlia, five units at 511 Dahlia St. in Prairie View.

• Lincoln Property Company: Tara Oaks Apartments, 126 units at 3800 Sherwood Lane; Oaks of Westchase, 182 units at 2851 Wallingford Road; Cambridge Village Apartments, 303 units at 12945 S Post Oak Road; The Aubrey, 436 units at 2310 Crescent Park Drive; and Whispering Oaks, 140 units at 1200 N Loop 336 W in Conroe.

• Make Time LLC: Westwood Two Apartments, 66 units at 9560 Deering Drive.

• MLDC Management LLC: The Steeples Apartments, 408 units at 2151 S Kirkwood Road.

• Neighborly Property Solutions: The Grove Apartments at Cleveland, 10 units at 808 Denison Ave. in Cleveland.

www.haaonline.org

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• Oak Leaf Management Company: Villa Sierra Apartments, 336 units at 550 Normandy and Central Park Apartments, 93 units at 2210 Westview Blvd. in Conroe.

• Original Management: Alice Street Apartments, 65 units at 3645 Alice St. • Partin Properties LLC: Eaglebrook, 152 units at 10855 Eagle Drive in Mont Belvieu.

• Price Realty Corp.: Arlo Memorial, 414 units at 935 N Wilcrest Drive.

• Q10 Property Advisors: Hollyview Apartments, 324 units at 5555 Holly View Drive.

• RangeWater Real Estate: Willow at Sierra Vista, 97 units at 110211 Alpine Lake Lane in Rosharon.

• Sugar Branch Condominium Association: Cachet Condominiums, 176 units at 10110 Forum Park Drive.

• SWA Property Management: The Onyx, 438 units at 10300 S Wilcrest Drive.

• Tarantino Properties Inc.: Vue on MacGregor, 117 units at 4460 S Macgregor Way. • Vicinia Property Management: Country Club Apartments, 134 units at 17610 Cali Drive.

• Wilhoit Properties Inc.: Oak Creek Apartments, 176 units at 2213 N Frazier St. in Conroe.

• Willowick Residential: Aris Market Square, 274 units at 409 Travis St.

In the News Impact Floors is proud to announce a transition to Impact Property Solutions, a name that reflects their deep commitment to providing multiple solutions to customers nationwide.

2021 Westchase District Impact Awards recognized Avani Narang. executive director of the Indus Cares Foundation. Congratulations Avani!

HAA’s Produce Service Council Vice President Candis Mohr, AAA Plumbers, welcomed a son, Matthew Kullen Mohr, born on February 10.

Congratulations!

Got news?

Email us at comm@haaonline.org. www.haaonline.org

April 2022

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Join the Houston Apartment Association to raise funds for Crime Stoppers at a new location: India House, 8888 West Bellfort Avenue.

Crime Stoppers of Houston is a non profit dedicated to public safety and since 1980 has remained committed to its mission to solve and prevent serious crime in the greater Houston area in partnership with citizens, media and the criminal justice system.

This great outdoor event is perfect team building fun!

Each team consists of three men and three women with an option of one male and one female alternate. Each team will compete in six field activities. In case of inclement weather, the challenge will not be rescheduled.

Friday, April 22

NEW LOCATION: India House 8888 West Bellfort Avenue 9 a.m. – Registration 10 a.m. – Tug of War/Kickoff 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Competition 1 p.m. – Lunch 1:30 p.m. – Medal Presentations Top three teams will be presented medals based on the field events performance.

Team of Six: $400 (includes lunch) $20 Spectator fee (includes lunch) Advance registration and payment are required. The deadline is Tuesday, April 19.

Register online at www.haaonline.org/sportschallenge. For more information, contact Susan at shinkley@haaonline.org.

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Thanks to our 2022 Sports Challenge Sponsors: Apartments.com Corn Hole Games – all six team members will have six chances to throw the bag in the hole.

HD Supply Football Toss – all six team members will throw five footballs through a hole in a stationary target.

Arbor Carpet Care Buddy Walk – all six team members will walk in unison 10 yards forwards and 10 yards backwards on a pair of wooden tracks with strap handles.

The Liberty Group Soccer Ball Blitz – all six team members will kick five soccer balls into a goal.

Hire Priority Putting Green – all six team members will putt five golf balls into a hole.

AAA Plumbers Tug of War – a competition between suppliers and property management players.

Hacienda Landscaping Giant Pong – all six team members will throw five large plastic balls into large trash can size containers.

Apple Termite and Pest Control Lunch Sponsor Rasa Floors Wristband Sponsor Camp Construction Services Medals Sponsor Chadwell Supply Beverage Sponsor CORT Furniture Rental Equipment Sponsor Texas Crime LLC Parkng Lot Patrol Sponsor

www.haaonline.org

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Law, continued from Page 12 o An applicant who was being evicted due to a delinquency, but the court case is confidential or the eviction was eventually dismissed (because rental assistance was received, the resident moved out or the owner failed to reinstate in time).

• Be prepared to deal with different situations regarding employment history and income, such as: o An applicant who lost their job during the pandemic and had to take an alternative job with a lesser income. o An applicant who lost their job and has a new job, but has not had the job for very long and cannot show a stable history of receiving a paycheck.

• Be prepared to deal with what you might see regarding credit history, such as: o An applicant who owes a number of debts due to having to pay living expenses without having the income they were used to.

www.haaonline.org

• Be sure to develop a practice where you can be consistent in evaluating applicant histories. o You want to avoid a policy that results in similarly situated applicants being treated differently. o You want to avoid having a policy that would result in persons of a protected class being treated less favorably. o If you are inclined to make exceptions due to pandemic-related situations, you want those exceptions to be made as consistently as possible, with good reason, and based on a legitimate business justification. o To ensure consistency, you may want to have any special situations reviewed centrally (by one or only a few persons) to avoid making decisions with different results.

We are in the “new normal.” A screening policy that worked in 2019 may not necessarily work in 2022. Limitations on the availability of important screening information, fair housing issues and pandemic-related situations are among the items that should be considered when adopting a post-pandemic

screening policy. Hopefully this discussion helps you prepare your screening policies as we embark on this new era.

The new lease is here! Knowing the provisions and where they are placed in the new lease will help you and the resident understand your rights and responsibilities.

Want more Howard?

He’s online!

Want to see current and previous issues of ABODE online? Go to http://issuu.com/haa_abode.

April 2022

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Index of Advertisers By CATEGORY

A/C Supplies

Glass – Plate, Window, Etc.

HAA Products & Services

Century A/C Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 281-530-2859 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.centuryac.com

Ameristar Screen and Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 713-683-6767 . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ameristarglass.com

Rental Credit Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 713-595-0300 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.haaonline.org/rcr

Amenities

Insurance

Urban Value Corner Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 info@urbanvaluestore.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Harco Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 713-681-2500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.harco-ins.com

Carpet Installation

Insurance Adjusters

Dixie Carpet Installations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 281-261-6334 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.dixiecarpet.com

L.A. Public Insurance Adjusters . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 713-592-2482 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.la-pia.com

Texas Southwest Floors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 800-719-4321 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.texasswfloors.com

Landscape Contractors

Collection Agencies

Outdoor Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 713-955-0990 . . . . . .www.outdoorelementstx.com

Alexander-Rose Associates Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 713-644-4441 . . . . . . . . . . .www.alexanderrose-inc.com

Texscape Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 281-846-3779 . . . . . . . . . .www.texscapeservices.com

Electric Contractors

Laundry Equipment & Supplies

Affordable Quality Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 713-695-5992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.acuityelectric.com

Scott Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 713-686-7268 . . . . . . . . .www.scott-equipment.com

Brandt Electrical A/C & Heating Services . . . . .31 281-693-3383 . . . . . . . . . . .www.brandtelectrical.com

Locks & Locksmiths

Fire Alarm Systems

CKI Wholesale Lock Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 713-462-0704 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ckilock.com

American Fire Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 713-466-9898 . . . . . . . . . . .www.americanfiresys.com

Maintenance Supplies

Foundation Repair

Lowe’s Pro Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.lowesprosupply.com

Church Foundation Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 713-468-8400 . . .www.churchfoundationrepair.com

Personnel Agency

General Contractors

ASAP Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 972-432-6667 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.asapdo.com

Camp Construction Services . . . . . . . .Back Cover 713-413-2267 . . . . . . . .www.campconstruction.com

Plumbing Contractors

Contractors Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 832-900-2366 . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.contractorsinc.com

AAA Plumbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 713-462-4753 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.aaaplumbers.com

Cotton Commercial USA Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 877-511-2962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.cottongds.com Crestmark Construction Services . . . . . . . . . . . .37 713-426-6161 . . . . . . . . . . .www.crestmarkservices.com

HAA reserves the right to reject any advertising if its content is inappropriate or inconsistent with HAA’s standards for publication or HAA’s business interests, in HAA’s sole opinion.

Resident Screening Service

TARGET QUALIFIED LEADS With HAA’s job board, you’ll discover a professional community that’s committed to helping you find the right candidate or your next job opportunity in the greater Houston and surrounding areas.

www.haaonline.org jobs@haaonline.org 713-595-0300

SafeRent Solutions . . . . . . . . . .Inside Front Cover 888-297-8821 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.corelogic.com

FSI Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 832-767-1115 . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.fsiconstruction.com Gemstar Construction & Development . . . . . .27 281-821-1195 . . . . . .www.gemstarconstruction.com Guardian Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 832-672-4196 . . . . . . . . . . . .www.guardianconst.com MultiFamily Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 713-266-9100 RENCON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Inside Back Cover 713-666-3636 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.rencon.com

Screens Ameristar Screen and Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 713-683-6767 . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ameristarglass.com

Swimming Pool Service Poolsure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 800-858-POOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.poolsure.com

Want to see current and previous issues of ABODE online? Go to http://issuu.com/haa_abode.

Or view this issue on your computer, iPad or smartphone at http://issuu.com/haa_abode/docs/abode_apr2022.

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MarketLine By BRUCE MCCLENNY, President, ApartmentData.com

• •

HOUSTON Snapshot 91.5% $1,201/mo. $1.35/sq.ft./mo.

889 sq.ft.

Recently Opened (12 months): 81 communities 21,777 units

• – 91.0

1025 –

– 90.0

1000 – – 89.0 975 – – 88.0

Under Construction: 48 communities 12,618 units

Occupancy (%)

Operating Supply: 2,994 communities 708,551 units

Rental Rate (¢/sq.ft./mo.)

Past 12 Months: 14.7% rental rate growth 36,023 units absorbed

1050 –

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

•

Occupancy: Price: Rental Rate: Size:

•

• • • • • •

Feb 22

Jan 22

Nov 21

Dec 21

Oct 21

Sep 21

Aug 21

Jul 21

Jun 21

May 21

Apr 21

Feb 21

Mar 21

Jan 21

Dec 20

Nov 20

Oct 20

Sep 20

Aug 20

Jul 20

May 20

Jun 20

Proposed Construction: 108 communities 32,285 units

Apr 20

Mar 20

– 87.0

History of Effective Rental Rate & Occupancy for All Units

Hottest Submarkets Over the Past Three Months

Concessions

Annualized % of Market Rank Submarket Absorbed 1 Alvin/Angleton/Lake Jackson 21.3% 2 Brookhollow/Northwest Crossing 9.3% 3 Memorial/Spring Branch 10.9% 4 Montrose/Museum/Midtown 8.1% 5 Highland Village/Upper Kirby/West U 8.9%

Rental Rate Growth % 0.6% 1.0% 0.8% 1.2% 1.0%

Total Units Class w/Concessions All 167,454 A 64,371 B 44,564 C 48,981 D 9,538

% of Total Units 24% 34% 19% 24% 12%

Average Special -1.5% -2.4% -0.8% -1.2% -0.7%

Citywide Effect -5.6% -6.3% -4.4% -5.0% -5.5%

One Month Free = -8.33%

THE FIRST TABLE ABOVE GIVES A SNAPSHOT of the current market conditions. The graph displays the overall occupancy and effective rental rates over the past 24 months. These statistics are derived from a continuous survey of all apartment communities in the Houston region. The effective rental rates are the calculated net of concessions and utility adjustments. The second table lists the five hottest submarkets in the Greater Houston area. There are a total of 42 submarkets, and the ranking is based on the best combination of rental rate growth and absorption over the past three months. The third table distributes and analyzes concessions (specials) by classification.

Concessions generally are represented by three types of specials: move-in, months free or floor plans. The effect of these specials is captured and prorated over a lease term to arrive at a percentage reduction in market or street rents.

TEXAS

Dallas/Ft. Worth

San Antonio

Austin

Occupancy: Price: Rental Rate: Size:

Occupancy: Price: Rental Rate: Size:

Occupancy: Price: Rental Rate: Size:

93.2% $1,413/mo. $1.61/sq.ft./mo.

879 sq.ft.

93.0% $1,155/mo. $1.35/sq.ft./mo.

857 sq.ft.

92.2% $1,585/mo. $1.81¢/sq.ft./mo.

875 sq.ft.

Past 12 Months: 20.1% rental rate growth 43,740 units absorbed

Past 12 Months: 17.1% rental rate growth 10,524 units absorbed

Past 12 Months: 25.1% rental rate growth 21,179 units absorbed

Operating Supply: 3,355 communities 806,168 units

Operating Supply: 975 communities 210,677 units

Operating Supply: 1,127 communities 268,250 units

www.haaonline.org

ApartmentData.com has been providing apartment data and marketing products since 1986.

ApartmentData.com provides real-time access for property specific information, market surveys and historic submarket data for more than 3.5 million apartment units in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina and Tennessee.

For more information, contact Bruce McClenny at 800-595-8730. © 2022 ApartmentData.com April 2022

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Back Page

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with News from around the COMMUNITY

April 2022

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FAIR HOUSING MONTH • MAINTENANCE MANIA PHOTOS

Houston Apartment Association 4810 Westway Park Blvd.

Houston, Texas 77041

ABODE THE HOUSTON APARTMENT ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE

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April 2022

ABODE • APRIL 2022 • VOLUME 45, ISSUE 4

Built for

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Speed Maintenance professionals were back in action for the 2022 Maintenance Mania competition.