Issuu

CANADA’S NATIONAL PUBLICATION FOR APARTMENT OWNERS AND MANAGERS

VOLUME 10 / NUMBER 4 / NOVEMBER 2013

WWW.CANADIANAPARTMENTMAGAZINE.CA

PM#40063056

BLAZING

new Trails

Technology Issue: PA R T O F T H E

Electronic payment processing

Tankless water heaters Contemporary laundry equipment

P A R T

O F

T H E

Starlight Investments: A Team on a Mission

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SMART: Interactive online marketing

SMARTER: A single platform with mobility for end-to-end property marketing, leasing, and resident services

YARDI Marketing Suite™ » Social media referrals and reputation management attracts prospects and lowers marketing costs

» Online renewals, payments and maintenance requests for maximum resident retention and satisfaction

» Real-time lead identification, evaluation and tracking ensures that every lead is serviced

» Mobile end-to-end leasing and resident services from a tablet » Integration with Yardi Voyager™ delivers full mobility, real-time information access, and data accuracy

To learn more, call 888-569-2734 or visit www.yardi.com/MarketingSuite

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CIBC coming today

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Editor’s Note

Technology = Time Well Spent

SuiteReturns

Property Service Solutions

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on your success!

Tel: 905-597-1318 Fax: 1-888-877-8794

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Every business benefits from better technology. Whether it’s improved communications with tenants, the ease of implementing new systems into your office infrastructure, or being able to store massive amounts of information on a device the size of a key, it all adds up to faster, more efficient delivery of service—and, best of all, a general saving in time. Time, after all, is what we are most in pursuit of—time to accomplish all those items on our ‘to-do’ lists; time to consider budgets and take the right steps to build a better, more profitable business; time to read a paper or turn off the computer and have a little fun. Back in the 1970s and 80s when phone booths doubled as remote offices, I can imagine time was something property managers only dreamed about. Hence advancements in technology... Well, whether you prefer to invest your spare time into work or play, we have lots of interesting articles in this issue that will be, well, time well-spent. Our cover story features the inspiring new team at Starlight Investments. It’s hard to believe that Daniel Drimmer launched the company just two short years ago, given the growth he’s experienced. With his focus on asset management, it appears he has been making very productive use of his time. You can read about his successes and current challenges on page 22. Also in this issue: recent notable apartment transactions; the scoop on new and improved laundry facilities; and online payment options sure to save you time and money. Please enjoy our issue and reach out via our website at www.reminetwork.com. We’d love to hear from you! Sincerely, Erin Ruddy

Editor

Erin Ruddy

Publisher

Paul Murphy paulm@mediaedge.ca (416) 512-8186 ext. 264

Senior Designer

Annette Carlucci

Designer

Jennifer Carter

Production Manager

Rachel Selbie

Contributing Writers Peter Cook, Robert Fleet, Paula Gasparro, Derek Lobo, Chaim Rivlin, Andy Schwartze, and Daniel Viola

Circulation

Lina Trunina

For sales information call (416) 512-8186 ext. 262 Canadian Apartment Magazine is published six times a year by:

5255 Yonge St., Suite 1000 Toronto, Ontario M2N 6P4 E-mail: info@mediaedge.ca

Tel: (416) 512-8186 Fax: (416) 512-8344 President Kevin Brown Copyright 2013 Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40063056 ISSN 1712-140X Circulation ext. 232 Subscription Rates: Canada: 1 year, $50* 2 years, $90* US $75 International $100 Single Copy Sales: Canada: $12* * Plus applicable taxes Reprints: Requests for permission to reprint any portion of this magazine should be sent to Paul Murphy Authors: Canadian Apartment Magazine accepts unsolicited query letters and article suggestions. Manufacturers: Those wishing to have their products reviewed should contact the publisher or send information to the attention of the editor. The opinions expressed are those of the authors of articles and do not necessarily reflect the views of Canadian Apartment Magazine. This information is general and is not a substitute for legal advice. Sworn Statement of Circulation: Available from the publisher upon written request. Although Canadian Apartment Magazine makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information published, we cannot be held liable for any errors or omissions, however caused. Printed in Canada

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Bleed

Trim

Live

ContentS COVER STORY 22 Blazing New Trails

Starlight Investments is a team on a mission By Erin ruddy

FEATURES 12

Washing and Drying Just Got Easier By Steve Hietpus

Chequing Out By Chris Seepe

Photos by Drew Duck

COLUMNS 8

Transactions What’s Happening on the markets Now By richard Vilner

CmHC Going Tankless By Paula Gasparro

Portfolio The Student Housing Boom By Derek Lobo

Insurance The Personal Touch By Andy Schwartze

Amenities Shining On By Jolynn Kennedy

Sustainability Greening our Apartments By Ted Whitehead

regulations Water Eﬃciency’s ripple Eﬀect By Barbara Carss

renovations Smart Suites, Smart rentals By Katrina may

marketing retaining Your residents By Chaim rivlin

DEPARTMENTS 4

Editor’s Note

Smart Ideas

CoLumniStS

Peter Cook, Robert Fleet, Paula Gasparro, Derek Lobo, Andy Schwartze, Richard Vilner 6 www.canadianapartmentmagazine.ca

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Untitl

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Subject to additional terms and conditions found at saveonenergy.ca. Subject to change without notice. A mark of the Province of Ontario protected under Canadian trade-mark law. Used under licence. OM Official Marks of the Ontario Power Authority.

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Transactions

What’s Happening on the Markets By Richard Vilner

In the month of October, a total of $111 million was invested in multi-residential properties throughout the Greater Toronto Area. The average Capitalization Rate in the GTA during this period was 5.56 per cent while the average price per unit decreased from $175,000 in September to $164,000 in October.

Notable transaction: 3085 Queen Frederica Drive, Mississauga, ON This notable transaction was purchased by a private Canadian investor for a total consideration of $9,100,000. The apartment contains 71 building units, representing a price per unit of $128,169. Date of Sale: October 31, 2013 Sale Price: $9,100,000 Capitalization Rate: 4.8% Total # of Units: 71 Price per Unit: $128,169 Brokerage: Stonebank Apartment Experts

For more transactions, visit

Multi-residential investment transactions The above chart highlights the total dollar volume invested by the average price per unit for all multi-residential investment transactions throughout the Greater Toronto Area over the past ten years (deals > $1m). Through to the middle of November, the 2013 YTD total dollar volume invested ($1.5 billion) has reached 90 per cent of the total yearly value for 2012, which was a record high ($1.6 billion) for the GTA region. During this ten year period, the average price per unit has increased by 64 per cent from $103,456 in 2004, to a record high of $169,687 in 2013 YTD.

This article was written by Richard Vilner, Research Manager at RealNet Canada Inc. Contact Richard at: rvilner@realnet.ca. RealNet Canada Inc. is the leading real estate information services company in Canada, powering the decisions of firms involved in approximately 75% of the market activity. www.realnet.ca

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3833

MORE ATTRACTIVE FOR RESIDENTS. MORE RELIABLE FOR YOU. Upgrading your laundry equipment with all new Huebsch® washers and dryers transforms your apartment building’s community laundry room from a simple convenience into an a ractive amenity. Residents will enjoy user-friendly Quantum Controls, which offer many convenient cycles and payment options. They’ll love innovative features like WashAlert with Service Alert that allows them to access cycle status and machine availability online and receive email notifications when their wash or dry is complete. And while they’re enjoying the convenience of a Huebsch laundry room, you can bank on minimal operating costs, reduced downtime through features like automatic service notification, and the support network of knowledgeable Laundry Service Providers. To learn how Huebsch can create an amenity in your building, visit route.huebsch.com.

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CMHC

Going Tankless Save Energy with a Tankless Water Heater Other than space heating, most Canadians use more energy to heat water than for almost any other household activity. Finding ways to reduce hot water energy use can therefore be an important part of an overall plan to reduce household energy costs. In many Canadian homes, water is heated in storage tanks. When there is no hot water being used, the tanks still consume energy just to maintain the water in the tank at a ready-touse temperature. Tankless water heaters (also known as “on-demand” or “instantaneous” water heaters) use high inputs of gas or electricity to instantaneously heat water,

rather than storing hot water for long periods in traditional hot water tanks. Because they don’t need to keep the water warm even when it’s not in use, high-efficiency tankless water heaters can reduce the amount of energy you use to heat your water by as much as 40 per cent or more, helping you cut down on your monthly utility bills. In addition to saving

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CMHC

energy, tankless water heaters can also lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources. If you’re thinking of going tankless, Canada mortgage and Housing Corporation (CmHC) offers the following information to help you make an informed decision. Tankless water heaters can be hung on a wall and are usually more compact than traditional hot water storage tanks. This allows them to take up considerably less floor space in your home. However, you still need to make sure you have enough space available to safely hang your tank and service and maintain it. If you’re buying a fuel-fired model, you’ll also need to make sure that you have the space available to safely run the venting system outdoors to an acceptable location. Proper sizing is another important consideration when it comes to choosing a tankless heater. To make sure your heater can supply all the hot water your family needs, purchase a unit that has a heating capacity enough for your entire household. If you purchase an undersized unit or if your hot water needs increase, try using timers or set the delay function on your appliances to avoid overlapping demands. If your home uses natural gas or propane, you may need larger gas pipes to accommodate the higher gas flows needed by the heater. In addition, when using a tankless water heater, you may need to let the water flow longer in your taps or shower before it becomes hot. To help cut down on your waiting time, make sure you purchase the right size heater for your home, and try to locate your new tankless heater as close as possible to the bathroom, kitchen or other areas where you expect to use the most hot water. Be sure to consult with a qualified professional contractor to assess your hot water needs and to provide guidance on what type of water heater would be most appropriate for your particular circumstances.

To take advantage of CMHC’s Mortgage Loan Insurance, contact Paula Gasparro, Manager, Business Development, Multi-Unit Mortgage Insurance at 416-250-2731 or via e-mail at pgasparr@cmhc.ca.

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Technology Feature

Washing and Drying Just Got Easier New Laundry Technology Offers Several Advantages to Apartment Building Owners, Tenants By Steve Hietpus

The technology-driven world of today has produced a new breed of apartment renters with a new list of demands for multi-housing developments. Today’s tenants want their living spaces to fall in line with current standards, offering services like Wi-Fi in common areas, the option to pay rent online, strong reception for mobile devices and the ability to use social media in order to communicate with apartment management. With the currently competitive multi-housing market, investing in the creation of a more tech-savvy apartment complex is an excellent way to draw new renters and add value to the property. And, some of these improvements can be just as beneficial to the owner as they can be for the tenant. Technology, after all, can help apartment complexes run more smoothly and be more energy-efficient. Just take a look at the laundry room… Contemporary Laundry Equipment Technology Meeting the needs of a changing world, laundry equipment manufacturers have made a variety of new advancements in recent years for washers and dryers that can make life easier for everyone. These improvements have helped create a better, more user-friendly laundry experience for tenants, while simplifying equipment maintenance and reducing utility bills for the owners. Here are some examples: New washers - higher spin speed Upgrading from older to contemporary, single-load washers is an effective strategy for increasing energy efficiency in laundry rooms—and making laundry more convenient for tenants. The main reason for this is the larger capacity and higher spin speed built into many of these washers. High spin speed (or G-force), extracts more water from clothing during the final spin than traditional washers, which helps tenants complete their laundry loads faster. It also reduces the workload of the dryer, which decreases the machine’s energy consumption. Dryers: larger capacity, higher airflow and better venting Many of today’s single-load dryers have a larger capacity than traditional single-load dryers, thereby reducing the number of loads needing to be dried. For the highest energy efficiency, property owners should look for dryers that have highNovember 2013 13

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Technology Feature performance airflow distribution systems to allow faster drying with less energy consumed, as well as adequate insulation and sealing to prevent the leakage of heated air. It’s also important to ensure there’s an effective dryer venting strategy in place, since poor venting leads to substandard drying performance and a significant waste of energy. However, not all buildings are designed with dryer venting needs in mind. To address this problem, some manufacturers have engineered new technology for dryers that provide maximum venting performance and shorter drying times for installations with inadequate venting, therefore helping increase energy efficiency. This technology incorporates a blower that spins significantly faster than the blowers of standard single-load dryers without affecting the speed of the tumbler. This extra speed makes it possible for the dryers to be used in longer, more flexible vent installations, without sacrificing performance. Therefore, dry time can be reduced

even if the vent system is poor. These innovations also help reduce wear and tear on internal dryer parts. Maximize space with stacked washer-dryers Selecting a washer-dryer pair with the features described above, but in a stacked configuration, allows the same energy-, water- and time-saving benefits, in addition to doubling the space available in a laundry facility. Stack washer-dryer combinations occupy the same amount of floor space typically reserved for a single washer. This is a perfect option for multi-housing laundry facilities where space is limited, but more equipment is needed to adequately serve tenants. Programmable cycles One way to simultaneously increase convenience for tenants and generate additional revenue for apartment complex owners is with the programmable cycles found on some of today’s multi-housing washers.

These allow apartment building owners and managers to program a set price for a specific amount of extended washeruse time. For example, a tenant could upgrade to a longer cycle option for an extra quarter and receive three additional minutes of tumbling action and an extra rinse. This allows them to get a deeper cleaning without the added cost of running the laundry through another entire cycle. And, for the building owner, the utility expenses for this cycle extension is often a fraction of the upgrade cost, increasing profit. Other attributes that can be easily customized with programmable cycles to increase efficiency include water levels, water temperatures and spin time. Multiple payment options Choosing washers and dryers that accept more than one type of payment can also improve the user’s laundry experience and increase revenue. For example, dual-drop coin slots are a popular feature on today’s multi-housing laundry equipment, as they allow the use of a larger variety of coins and are more programmable. With a dual-drop

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MetC

No flat lines. Just healthy bottom lines.

Congratulations Starlight Investments on your continued success!

MetCap Living knows the importance of your property investment. With over 25 years experience in professional property management, we have the expertise to boost your NOI. Ask us how we have done it for others in our $2 Billion property portfolio. From Marketing, Leasing, Accounting, Utilities and Site Management, we tailor our services to your needs, while providing your residents with great living experiences in friendly neighbourhoods. Ensure the health of your bottom line, contact: K(kazi) M Shahnewaz Director, Business Development 647.887.5676 • k.m.shahnewaz@metcap.com

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Technology Feature slot, apartment building owners and managers can also attract more tenants to the laundry facility by programming discounts and other incentives for tenants who opt to do laundry during off-peak energy-use hours, when energy comes at a lower premium. Some of today’s multi-housing laundry equipment is able to process both coin and credit card payments for even greater convenience to tenants. Another option is to implement a laundry card payment system, where tenants can add money to their individual cards as needed. This saves tenants from the hassle of carrying pocketfuls of coins, but also benefits building owners and managers in a variety of ways. For instance, without the need for quarters, owners and managers can avoid hours of collecting, sorting and transporting heavy coins. By simply unlocking the cash-to-card transfer machine’s cabinet, removing a stack of bills and printing a receipt, they can collect the money in minutes instead of hours. The card system also can improve revenues by permitting smaller, more frequent vend

increases, as well as tenant loyalty. In addition, these systems can reduce the theft incidents sometimes common with coin-operated machines. Connectivity technology In addition to developing helpful onboard laundry equipment technology, some commercial laundry equipment manufacturers are engineering even more convenient time- and money-saving innovations for apartment building owners with new web-based, wireless programs. These programs allow owners to manage their laundry facilities from a single wireless Internet portal, such as a computer or mobile device, whether they’re at home, traveling or in a remote location. For example, the owner can receive information on money collection and analyze laundry usage patterns, remotely set up and modify vending prices to maximize profits, review cycle data and predict maintenance needs, as well as receive service code alerts that can be forwarded immediately to a service technician. This programming allows apartment building owners more freedom and

flexibility in the management of their laundry operations. It helps reduce any service downtime and allows owners to avoid hiring full-time staff for laundry room management, saving them money and headaches. Conclusion Today’s multi-housing laundry equipment helps reduce the laundry room management and budget concerns of apartment complex owners. By choosing the right energy- and water-efficient equipment for their facility and tenants and taking advantage of new laundry equipment technologies, apartment complex owners can reduce utility and management costs. And, by creating a more up-to-date, user-friendly laundry room, they will draw today’s more green-thinking, tech-savvy tenants to their doors.

This article was written by Steve Hietpus, Business Development Manager at Maytag Commercial Laundry.

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ACE Painting waiting approval???

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Technology Feature

Chequing Out Electronic Payment Processing is Moving in

By Chris Seepe

Cheques are a type of “bill of exchange” with a long, enduring history dating back to the First Persian Empire in 6th Century BCE. The modern pre-printed version of the cheque came into service with the Bank of England in 1717. In recent years, public availability of the Internet has seen consumers and businesses move to online payments, generally called electronic payment processing (EPP). This is no surprise, of course—the 2013 Canadian Internet Registration Authority Fact Book reports that nearly eight in ten Canadians are online, and Canadians spend more time online than any other country at almost double the global average.

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Technology Feature Yet landlords are among the last to embrace the many benefits of EPP. This is surprising for many reasons. First of all, cheque collection and mail have labour and material costs. Cheque processing has been a convenient (or desperate) excuse for centuries for delaying or not making payments, and collecting late payments incurs additional expense and lost productivity. Add in itemizing the deposit slip and running to the bank. Then all the handwritten information must be recaptured by the bank, adding costs that are passed on to you. Some are held temporarily, which makes managing your cash flow as much a multi-disciplinary art form as a science. EPP requires less time, eliminates material costs, and is much more secure and private than cheques. So, why are many landlords still using them? The simple truth is, often just getting tenants (or landlords) to switch to something new can be a challenge. Technology must be designed for the near-lowest common denominator to be adopted and consistently used properly.

The solution must be simple, easy-to-use, and convenient. Also, a growing concern for landlords is their legal obligation to protect personal information, especially under federal legislation to combat identity theft. Accidental (or intentional) disclosure of a tenant’s personal information could have serious consequences, so minimizing that risk exposure is a highly desirable benefit. reporting, accounting, accountability, and security are also key influencing factors. The 2013 AFP (Association for Financial Professionals) Payments Fraud and Control Survey reported that 61% of North American corporations experienced payment fraud, of which 87% was attributed to paper cheques, and 28% of companies suffered a financial loss. Paying by credit Not surprisingly, all EPP solutions are not the same. Credit card and e-commerce offerings are different in that they charge a percentage of each transaction. Even one per cent can be a notable annual expense. The credit card is a private

financial instrument of the bank offering the service. Not every financial institution will accept every credit card. Credit card processors require three to five business days to process a transaction, and most require tenants to reveal personal and credit information. Credit card services can claw back rent money paid to you by the tenant if the tenant submits a case to have the money refunded. A debit card benefit is that the tenants can only pay rent with funds that are actually in their accounts. This eliminates NSF charges and the holding of funds, instantly changing your A/r cycle from net ten-to-thirty to net one-to-two. EPP also provides instant notification of receipt of tenant payments. However, the downside is that consumers using online debit must reveal their PIN to a third party, which can be compromised. TenantPay TenantPay is a payment portal or clearing house that collects your rent money from various sources, aggregates it (saving individual deposit fees), and then delivers it to your chosen bank account within thirty

WE WALK THE TALK !

While many organizations are busy talking, we take action with care and passion. As the real estate management leader in Quebec, Cogir Management Corporation excels in its field by providing a performance that meets its promises.

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For over 15 years, almost 2,500 people who are passionate about real estate have been using their talents to make a true difference. By being attentive to its clients and remaining at the forefront of its market, Cogir provides dynamic, innovative and customized services for its clients’ benefit.

WE MANAGE ASSETS FOR VARIOUS INVESTOIR TYPES : • 8 million square feet of commercial, industrial properties and office spaces. • Over 15,000 apartments located in Quebec and Ontario, including a wide network of over 40 private retirement homes under the AZUR & JAZZ banners. • Hospitality properties.

Cogir is proud to work with Starlight November 2013 19

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Technology Feature hours. This service stands out because of its low per-transaction fee, no training costs, and no hidden setup or monthly fees. TenantPay is not a bank or financial institution. It is a banking instrument accepted by every financial institution across Canada. Some banks offer a low-cost EPP service designed for lowvolume transactions from the customer to the vendor. However, there is no data aggregation so landlords must be vigilant about checking their accounts for every payment, a burden that escalates with each additional unit. TenantPay automatically authenticates each payment and notifies you of each “block” of payments received. On the second of each month, you can check TenantPay for any missing payments, send emails or make phone calls to tenants who haven’t paid, and send an N1 to those who don’t reply by the third day. Because tenants have no obligation to pay landlords electronically, or even to provide postdated cheques, landlords should consider absorbing the per-transaction cost in order to have everyone convert. The upside is that your tenants will be making their own deposits, and they’ll be protected by law from paying a convenience fee. How to convert your tenants Write a letter to each tenant extolling the virtues of your chosen EPP service. Highlight the security and convenience; explain that paying rent would be the same process as if it were a utility bill. In the case of TenantPay, you can collect any kind of payment— deposits, rent, laundry, parking fees, etc. multiple tenants residing

in the same suite can use the same TenantPay number, making tracking payments easier. Parents can make payments from any province and setup recurring monthly payments for their children attending school. It takes only seconds for a tenant to add TenantPay to their billpaying list. Since the rent changes only once a year (if that), they can schedule automatic payments—meaning no more excuses about forgetting to pay the rent. A tenant can’t transfer funds they don’t have so you’ll never get another NSF notice or the associated costs. While not encouraged, it’s super-convenient for tenants to pay in parts too if they don’t have all the money at once. They can pay early, which some of my tenants do, and if a tenant is late, they can instantly include the late payment fee with their rent. If a tenant doesn’t have Internet access or an online account, they can go to their bank to make the payment; use their bank’s telephone payment service or ATm; or use a cheque-cashing retail service. It’s only a matter of time before EPP will replace cheques, and for you, the landlord, the benefits are endless. You’ll be eliminating the cost of materials and postage; reducing the risk of privacy exposure; boosting your organization’s productivity; and providing the simplest, most convenient, flexible and secure payment solution available for your tenants.

Chris Seepe is a commercial real estate broker and Broker of Record at Aztech Realty, based in Toronto, Canada. He can be reached at: (416) 525-1558 or, cseepe@aztechrealty.com

Sterling Karamar is a proud manager of Starlight owned communities!

Sterling Karamar Head Office 53 The Links, Toronto, ON, M2P 1T7

@sterlingkaramar

(416) 256-4434 www.sterlingkaramar.com

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CALL A ROGERS ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE TODAY AT 1 866 567-5778.

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Cover Story

Blazing New Trails Starlight Investments is a Team on a Mission By Erin Ruddy

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Cover Story

Daniel Drimmer was born to work in real estate. As the third generation Drimmer to excel in the field, today he successfully heads up Starlight Investments, his latest corporate venture founded just two years ago as the successor to the TransGlobe brand. Amazingly, the company is already one of Canada’s most active acquirers of apartment buildings this country has ever seen. But what many outsiders don’t realize is there’s more to the company than meets the eye.

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Cover Story

Hanging behind the gleaming reception desk of the westToronto headquarters is an array of corporate banners that reveal the diversity of the Starlight platform: True North Apartment rEIT, True North Commercial rEIT, Starlight U.S. multi-Family Core Fund and Starlight U.S. multi-Family (No. 2) Core Fund. The scope of the platform under the Starlight asset management umbrella is as wide as it is impressive. “What’s unique about Starlight is the depth of our asset management infrastructure,” explains Drimmer, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer. “People often are familiar with only one of our investment platforms—it is only when they arrive at our offices that they truly appreciate the magnitude of our company and the number of real estate professionals who are actively involved.” For those who are in the know, it’s difficult to fathom that Starlight is in its infancy, having officially opened on September 1, 2011. It all began with 5,500 multi-family units, 100,000 commercial square feet and 19 employees. Since then the company has grown into 27,000 multi-residential units, 1, 850, 000 commercial square feet and a team comprised of 85 real estate professionals. “We have placed a significant emphasis and focus on broadening our platform including on our two public vehicles, our two public funds, our institutional joint venture and the private holdings,” says Drimmer. “moving forward we continue to seek strategic, profitable growth without compromising our disciplined approach to real estate investment.” And judging from what he’s already accomplished, this isn’t an unmanageable goal.

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Globe hopping Hailing from Berlin, Germany, Drimmer moved to Ontario 18 years ago to manage his family’s real estate holdings. When he launched TransGlobe in 1994, he had three employees, a couple of office complexes, a few multi-family buildings and a retail plaza. By 2010, he’d acquired a fairly large private portfolio of 30,000 multi-family units and three million commercial square feet. In may of 2010, Drimmer embarked on first foray into the Canadian capital markets launching the initial public offering of TransGlobe Apartment rEIT. reflecting on its success, Drimmer says, “The public company was very profitable. At just under two years, the rEIT was privatized delivering a staggering 60 per cent all-in return to investors, and Starlight was born. It was a very exciting and transformational time.” Exciting is right—but in the excitement, lessons have been learned and Drimmer’s real estate investment model has adapted. Today, Starlight focuses exclusively on asset management and engages third-party property management companies, a model that differentiates it from TransGlobe. With dozens of third party property management companies

“

What’s unique about Starlight is the depth of our asset management infrastructure...” - Daniel Drimmer

13-11-26 4:19 PM

Cover Story The Starlight Investments team gathers in front of their West-Toronto headquarters. On the cover from left to right: Tracy Sherren, CFO of True North Commercial Reit Daniel Drimmer, President & CEO of Starlight Investments David Chalmers, VP of Asset Management for Starlight Investments Martin Liddel, CFO of True North Apartment Reit Tamara Lawson, CFO of Starlight Investments Evan Kirsh, President of Starlight US Leslie Veiner, CEO of True North Apartment Reit

performing local day-to-day duties, Drimmer’s team is able to remain focused on what it does best: asset management while maximizing value and returns. “We don’t spend our resources on day-today property management. Instead, we hire experienced regionally-focused property managers with valuable local market intelligence,” Drimmer explains. “This approach allows our team to focus on positioning and repositioning our assets using our operational background whenever appropriate.”

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Cover Story

“

For us, eighty per cent of the value we deliver is created and achieved through the successful acquisition of the right property or portfolio of properties.” - Daniel Drimmer

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Starlight

ON ALL YOUR SUCCESS!

CREATING VALUE

Drimmer prides himself on Starlight’s ability to uncover profitable growth opportunities, “One of our biggest strengths is identifying opportunities and repositioning properties to create value. For us, eighty per cent of the value we deliver is created and achieved through the successful acquisition of the right property or portfolio of properties.” Drimmer’s statement rings very true when you consider that between Starlight and its predecessor companies, the team has acquired, operated and sold in excess of 75,000 multi-family units in an 18 year period. The stream of steady, profitable transactions has earned the Starlight team a reputation for ‘identifying accretive acquisitions and unlocking value.’ With a significant amount of his own money invested in every one of Starlight’s platforms, he feels that he is fully vested and aligned with investment partner expectations and goals. Building the culture David Hanick, Vice President, Corporate Development and General Counsel, is another vested individual. mr. Hanick joined Starlight in November of 2012, and prior to that was a corporate partner in the Toronto office of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, a globally recognized law firm. Hanick, who crosses all business functions and is actively involved in the large majority of Starlight’s transactions, including playing a significant role in deal structuring, has his finger on the pulse of the activities of each of the different investment pillars. His enthusiasm for the company starts with the fact that they are so young but have such a strong vision for the future. “Despite the obvious challenges that growth creates,” he says, “it’s great to strive toward our goals and to have evolved so quickly. While we still have so much ahead of us, I have great confidence that Starlight will succeed beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. This is a very strong team; very well put-together. Our biggest strengths are our intelligence, creativity, flexibility, execution and speed. We have a vision of where we want to go, the discipline to get there, and the ability to think outside of the box.” Tamara Lawson, Chief Financial Officer of Starlight Investments and the two U.S. multi-Family Funds, has been instrumental in building Starlight’s infrastructure and in ensuring that Starlight’s business

26 www.canadianapartmentmagazine.ca

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Cover Story

Starlight U.S. Funds The Starlight U.S. Multi-Family Core Fund and Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No. 2) Core Fund are newly created, listed entities, sponsored and asset-managed by Starlight Investments. Each was established to acquire a portfolio of recently constructed, stabilized, Class “A” multi-family real estate properties in Texas and the surrounding region. The Funds’ primary objective is to generate stable monthly cash distributions for unitholders and enhance the value of the assets through active management prior to disposition. “We’ve accomplished a lot in a short period,” says Evan Kirsh, President, Starlight U.S. “We listed our first fund on April 23rd, the second fund just went public on November 15th. Today we have 1,700 apartment units, but our goal is to build a significant portfolio of apartments in the United States.”

is efficiently and effectively operating. “Because we are so transactional, our finance team is continuously busy,” Lawson says. “We have exciting new ideas and concepts being implemented continuously. We have been expanding and hiring, which has required integrating new team members throughout my tenure. As we grow, our needs change and this extends to information technology: better software and reporting is required. Everything is under constant review to support our growth and to ensure our finger is on the pulse of our business.” Asset management Heading up the company’s largest department of over 40 people is David Chalmers, Vice President, Asset Management, who joined Starlight at its inception. With 15 years of experience under his belt, including the management of private, public and pension fund investments in all real asset classes, Chalmers says being a part of something brand new and helping to build a team from the ground up has been a fun and interesting challenge. “I was able to pull from my experiences and take the best methods from what I have learned,” he explains. “Of course, in the beginning we had our little hiccups, but now we believe that we are best in class.” A few of the things Chalmers is most proud of include his busy department’s reporting system and the methods and procedures that they have created to effectively execute business plans. “We can provide concise, accurate and timely reporting in a format that can be adapted to suit various investor classes and their requirements,”

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Cover Story

Behind the Walls: Technology and Energy Conservation at Starlight Investments John Lucic, Director of Energy Management and Technical Maintenance, is responsible for everything behind the company’s walls, so to speak—from HVAC, plumbing and electrical, to fire safety and gas procurement. “Starlight’s newly formed energy management division is made up of a team of highly skilled individuals,” says Lucic. “We have a combined 40 plus years of experience in the field of energy management. That, combined with the technical expertise of our 3rd party property management companies, I’m confident we can make a significant reduction in our energy consumption.” Lucic had the challenge of starting up the Starlight Energy Management department from scratch. “Under Daniel’s leadership we devised a multi-year energy and technical services plan,” he explains. “In 2013, we have implemented hundreds of energy conservation projects that include the installation of 100 mid-efficient boilers, 60 building automation systems, 12,000 toilets and numerous lighting retrofits. It’s an honour to work for a company with such a strong dedication towards energy management.”

he says. “And not just our management results but our overall results. In the end, it’s about making returns for our stakeholders. So being able to communicate that effectively is an important part of what we deliver.” True North Apartment REIT True North Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust currently owns 54 residential rental properties containing 5,996 units. The strategic focus of the REIT is on steady income-generating multi-residential properties. Leslie Veiner, Chief Executive Officer, has been heading up True North since September 2012. “We have significant strength in all facets of multi-residential real estate,” Veiner explains. “Whether it’s property management, asset management, capital markets or financing acquisitions, we really have a broad spectrum of skills with aspirations to grow. Over the last couple of months, the capital markets have been a little more challenging so right now we are very focused on our existing portfolio and on operations. Over time, we hope to see the REIT continue to accumulate and achieve significant growth.” Martin Liddell, Chief Financial Officer since January of 2012, is another key member

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Bloom

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Cover Story of the rEIT’s senior management team. “It’s a very energetic culture here,” he says. “We have a number of people with significant experience. We are ambitious and focused on growth. Working with third party property managers has worked very well for us. It’s allowed us to find local experts in different markets who have the skills and infrastructure in place to run our buildings at the highest level. We also have a very a unique opportunity within the multi-residential sector. Through Starlight, we have access to a pipeline of acquisition opportunities that delivers the types of buildings that fit within the rEIT’s investment plans.” True North Commercial REIT True North Commercial real Estate Investment Trust focuses on office and retail properties with plans to expand into industrial real estate. As a smaller, still newer rEIT, it prefers secondary markets with strong government or credit tenant profiles, seeking out promising opportunities that have fallen below the threshold of larger Canadian commercial rEITs. Tracey Sherren is the Chief Finance Officer of the group who takes care of all the assets, including corporate governance, investor relations, acquisitions and financing. “We’re still fairly small,” she says. “We currently own seven properties, but we only publicly listed in December of 2012. We completed a large acquisition in February of 2013 and are looking at a number of opportunities. We currently have about 150 million worth of assets all across Canada.” Sherren says she is excited to be part of such a new team but also appreciates the fact that she can draw on the expertise

of her peers. “Everything I need to know, I can get from right down the hall,” she says. “There is an enormous wealth of talent here. It’s a great place to work. While we are public, we are still very entrepreneurial. We act quickly, we can execute quickly. People know that we can close deals and we can close them fast.” right now Sherren says her biggest challenge is that the capital markets are making it difficult for her group to achieve its desired growth. It’s not that they aren’t able to find the product; it’s making the metrics work. “We’re in a bit of a holding pattern right now waiting for the markets to shift,” she says, “which they will. They always do.” markets aside, the Starlight Investments team is keen to blaze ahead into the future. “We have all the pieces in place to continue our forward trajectory across all of our platforms in a disciplined manner,” says Drimmer. “We have an unprecedented level of human capital and fire power here! For example, there are over 20 experts working on our capital expenditures alone. We deploy material amounts of money on our apartments for repositioning and upgrading. The relationships we have with our property managers and the consistency of our reporting, it’s all something to be proud of. It’s all something our team stands behind.” One thing is clear: Drimmer and the entire Starlight team won’t be standing still anytime soon. With so much achieved in its first two years, we’ll be anxious to see where they focus their efforts next.

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Portolio

The Student Housing Boom

Gone are the ghettoes of previous generations. Today, students and their parents expect more—and are willing to pay for it By Derek Lobo

Student housing in Canada is a rapidly growing sector within the purpose-built rental apartment marketplace. We have seen explosive growth in a number of centres across Canada, but the truly exciting thing about this sector is how much more it has to grow.

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Portfolio

For the past five years, Canada has been playing catchup with the United States. American college and university towns have led the way in establishing the student housing market, with thousands of privately-built off-campus student housing built around institutions in the past twenty years. It’s only recently Canadian developers have realized that Canada’s university students are backed by parents who are willing to pay more per square foot for housing that caters to their unique needs. Today, nearly 19,000 student housing beds are available near university campuses in privately-built, off-campus student housing across Canada. The market has increased by more than a thousand beds per year over the past two years. During that time, we at ROCK Advisors Inc., helped to broker more than $300 million of student housing developments. However, student housing has not grown uniformly across Canada. More than half of all student housing tenants today finds themselves within commuting distance of two particular universities: Wilfrid Laurier and the University of Waterloo. In the city of Waterloo, Ontario, over 9,000 beds are now available to students, with more are being added next year. The University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier do have a combined student population of over 47,000 full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Students represent as

much as 39% of the city of Waterloo’s population, and as many as 78% of these students come from outside the local area. But in September 2013, over 950,000 full time students attended university at over 82 major campuses across Canada. The total number of beds at these institutions, both on campus and off, has barely made a dent in the demand for student housing. Already, in a number of cities, there is talk of a student housing shortage. The Ottawa Citizen recently posted an article that stated “the University of Ottawa barely has enough on-campus housing for 10 per cent of its more than 40,000 students”. In American cities, private student housing developers eagerly targeted institutions able to house just 20-25 per cent of their students. There are a number of questions to be asked. What did Waterloo do which allowed its boom of student housing to take place? Why hasn’t a similar boom taken place all across Canada? What factors are holding things back, and if these factors lift, how much of a boom can we expect in these other centres? Waterloo is an excellent case study of how private developers, educational institutions and municipal governments can work together to foster a nurturing environment for purpose-built student housing. The partners in Waterloo’s student housing boom all had considerable incentive to work together. The universities needed housing for their students. The Waterloo city council wanted student

Berkley 1/2 waiting approval

November 2013 35

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Portolio

housing to be safe and secure and it wanted to minimize the potential conflicts between student housing developments and the established community. Private developers had the capital to make these changes occur in a big way. As a result, the City of Waterloo implemented a series of bylaw changes Paragon_CAM_November_2013_FINAL.pdf that encouraged private developers to

build high-quality, mid- to high-rise student housing within an area that could support that development. Private developers, seeing the opportunity, eagerly stepped in to meet the pent-up demand. Today, the City of Waterloo has been transformed. The “student ghetto,” which had been stereotyped as rife 1 1:28 PM with13-11-22 poor-quality housing and conflicts

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with non-student neighbours, now features high-quality, high-rise buildings on prominent streets in the city. The converted single-family homes that had provided student housing in the past are now being converted back to singlefamily homes, and the community is a lot more harmonious. With Waterloo now providing beds for over 9,000 students, it’s worth asking what the hundreds of thousands of students attending Canada’s other eighty institutions have done in their sparse student housing markets. The answer is, they’ve largely made do with inadequate housing. In Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Vancouver and many other cities, students occupy converted single-family homes, or conventional apartments that were not designed with students in mind. They commute longer distances to classes. Conflicts between the “town and gown” have been noted in Kingston and elsewhere. The majority of York University’s students spend ninety minutes or more each day going to and from classes. This is a tremendous market demand just waiting for developers to move in to build up supply. However, building student housing isn’t as easy as putting up a building near a university and waiting for the students to come. Developers who assume that conventionallydesigned apartments are sufficient for students, or who don’t carefully study the market before entering, risk leaving money on the table when it comes to their investments. Possibly the only industry where location is more important for success than student housing, is airport parking. Developers who find the right piece of land will have an easier time renting out their units than those who are located even a kilometer away. Sometimes, however, such a property doesn’t exist. For example, Vancouver’s two universities, the University of British Columbia and Simon Frasier University, are both surrounded by many acres of greenspace. Student housing developments there will have to occur in partnership with the universities on university land. In Toronto, the opposite problem has

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CONGRATULATIONS TO STARLIGHT AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS Proudly Serving The Property Management Industry Since 1993

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Portolio

“

Developers who assume that conventionally-designed apartments are sufficient for students, or who don’t carefully study the market before entering, risk leaving money on the table.…” - Derek Lobo

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occurred: land around the universities there is so built up,developers have to compete with condominium and private apartment developers in a hot real-estate market. But sometimes, when the right opportunity presents itself, you can act quickly and reap rewards. Like Toronto, Montreal has a hot real estate market around its many downtown universities, but developers did manage to find an old office building near McGill University that they were able to renovate into student housing. Thus they were able to tap into the marketplace of one of the most prestigious universities in Canada, with one of the largest populations of students from outside Canada. The key to success is knowing the markets you are looking to enter. This is why it’s important to obtain an impartial feasibility study from consultants who are experts in the field. They can tell you where the largest markets are, and where the opportunities to develop are, and they can match up all the criteria to find the places that will gain you the best return on your investment. But other centres across Canada need only to look at Waterloo to see what is possible for student housing in Canada. When institutions, municipal governments and private developers work together, the result is fantastic to behold. When planners in Ottawa talk about a student housing shortage, when city councilors in Kingston worry about conflicts between local townsfolk and students, this cooperative approach can dramatically change things for the better, not only for Canada’s university students, but the communities surrounding Canada’s universities. Waterloo has shown what is possible for student housing in Canada. Going forward, we can expect its example to spread to centres all across the country— and then the student housing boom will truly be on.

Derek Lobo is the CEO of ROCK Advisors Inc. To learn more about investing in or developing student housing, consider attending the Third Annual ROCK Student Housing Symposium in the spring of 2014. Details can be found on our website, www.rockaptadvisors.ca 38 www.canadianapartmentmagazine.ca Untitled-4 1

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Insurance

The Personal Touch

Human Interaction is Still Key to Insurance Transactions

By Andy Schwartze

As a culture, we have become obsessed with the gadgets that power our daily activities. Just witness the buzz in any Apple Store and you’ll see the unending fascination that new products generate. The line-ups tell it all. A visitor from another planet might wonder what we humans do with our lives, other than bow our heads in supplication to ever-shrinking new toys with lit up screens. I remember my first desk top computer back in the 1980s. It came from IBM’s fancy new store in downtown Toronto and cost the enormous sum of $3,000 (financing was gratefully embraced). Staring at it still in its packaging, I knew something magical was

about to change my business life. Then I switched it on. It sounded like a small Pratt and Whitney turbo—then its black and white monitor (weighing in at barbell levels) began displaying barely recognizable symbols. Being your typical male, genetically programmed to

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Insurance

avoid user manuals, I started my six week struggle of trying to master the basics of this new business toy. Eventually, I gave in and dug out the user manual only to realize it was not written for someone like me. It was intended for the IBM engineers who put the machine together. Apparently “customer friendly” wasn’t invented until sometime later... But in the end, not only did my new computer yield to my stubborn curiosity; it also became a focal point of business. In 30 years, offices big and small have made every attempt to incorporate the latest technology into their processes. We’ve seen the computer game “Pong” evolve into the complex likes of “Grand Theft Auto 5.” We’ve seen military creations that boggle the mind. Without question, key elements of business life have been upgraded. Secretaries have been elevated to Executive Assistants (hopefully with more pay) and we’ve been given the massive ability to communicate in bulk.

No industry, however, remains attached to the human side of a business transaction like the world of insurance. This is a business that pits the cost sensitive insurance buyer against the big balance sheet of the insurance company. It is a business that has, as its fundamental common denominator, a requirement for honest and open disclosure between the buyer and the seller. If the buyer can hide material facts and save a few dollars, without voiding the insurance contract, then the insurer gets less premium for a loss that inevitably must be paid. On the other hand, if the insurer is shrewd enough to be able to identify the higher risk insurance buyer it is protected against needless losses and, of course, fraudulent attempts to tap into its bank account. There is no technology, in an era of significant privacy rights legislation, that can weed out the potentially costly insured that the carrier never wanted in the first place.

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This makes the human interface one that continues to play an extremely important role in the insurance transaction. In service businesses like ours, we typically rely on intermediaries. Be they brokers or agents, these people play a significant role in sorting out the partnerships between insurance company “supplier” and client “insured.” It is a balancing act that requires personal skills that no technology can duplicate. Eyeball-to-eyeball dealings give humans the ability to take advantage of senses that help us decide who we want to do business with and who is best avoided. Intermediaries who do not develop the requisite skill set that brings buyer and seller together in a mutually beneficial manner, quickly hasten their demise. It is a question of who abandons the intermediary first. The world of insurance, still very heavily dependent on human interaction in its unique business model, has added a great deal of technology to its delivery systems. But, in the end, the most important activity, the one that ensures the honesty and integrity of the partnership between carrier and client, is performed with virtually no technology at all.

Andy Schwartze, BSc., MBA, CIP, is an insurance broker specializing in property management and real estate. He is a former President of the Insurance Institute, has taught in the community college system and provides continuing education to other brokers. He can be reached at andy@takecover.ca. For any comments, you can go to TakeCover_CAM_August_2013_FINAL.pdf 1 13-07-22 2:54 PM www.takecover.ca and post them on their new blog.

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Amenities

Shining On Preparing Lobby Floors for the Harsh Winter Weather By Jolynn Kennedy

Winter is just around the corner and soon temperatures will be plummeting. For property managers and cleaning professionals, now is the time to ensure lobby floors are prepared for the inclement weather by putting a winter floor care program in place. Such a program will make floors safer to walk on—and will save owners time and money by reducing seasonal floor maintenance, protecting the floor, and extending its life span. 44 www.canadianapartmentmagazine.ca

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Amenities A successful winter floor care program requires a little forethought during the lead-up months. Here are six questions building managers should ask themselves to ensure they are prepared: 1. Has a highly durable finish been applied to the floor? When it comes to floor care chemicals and finishes, cheaper products produce inferior results. Spending more for a high-quality product will eventually pay for itself in reduced cleaning and maintenance needs. 2. Are there enough layers of finish? Some floors have a “summertime shine.” This usually means three to four coats of finish have been applied to the floor, which is then buffed/ burnished on a regular basis. However, this is not sufficient for winter months. Instead, five or six coats should be applied to the floor to protect against the increased soiling that is likely to occur, as well as the more frequent cleaning and scrubbing that takes place during winter. 3. Has a winter lobby floor maintenance program been put in place? Floor care practices that make the grade during summer months will not suffice when it is cold, raining and stormy on a regular basis during winter. Typically, all traditional floor care tasks, including vacuuming/ sweeping, mopping, scrubbing and re-coating, should be performed more frequently during winter. 4. Is the floor being vacuumed? The newest generation of backpack vacuum cleaners – which are quiet, easy to wear, better able to protect indoor air quality and more effective

– have many cleaning professionals turning away from dust mopping, especially in smaller floor areas. Dust mopping has a tendency to push soils and dust from one area to another. This causes dust and debris to become airborne, which negatively impacts the health of the user as well as indoor air quality. Backpack vacuum cleaners more thoroughly remove soils and dust from the floor. 5. Are winter weather mats installed? High-performance matting systems, which typically refer to mats that are purchased rather than rented, can capture and trap as much as 80 per cent of all soils before they enter a building. Many of these systems are bi-level, meaning soils and moisture actually drift below the surface, helping to keep the mat more effective. Be sure to install at least 15 feet of matting, if space allows. 6. Was the floor stripped and refinished during winter months? Floor care experts generally agree that stripping and refinishing floors during winter months is a mistake. Instead, these tasks should be preformed when warmer weather arrives. Additionally, many finishes do not adhere properly during cold weather.

Jolynn Kennedy is the director of marketing at Tornado Industries Inc., a leading manufacturer of professional cleaning equipment.

We never lose sight of what tenants really want. More than shelter tenants are looking for a home. A refuge from a complex world. Our priority is to keep them happy, but we’ve learned you can’t unless you first have happy employees. That’s why we give our people the best training possible and empower them to make their own decisions. When we reward them well and treat them with respect, we know they’ll pass it on to your tenants. A study by J.D. Power and Associates suggests that satisfied tenants were almost twice as likely to renew their lease and over three times as likely to pay a higher rent. Over the years, we’ve created a whole culture around customer satisfaction. And it pays off in less turnover, more referrals and bigger smiles. We make them feel at home. More important than the address on the door are the people who stand behind it. www.oshanter.com 46 www.canadianapartmentmagazine.ca O'Shanter Nest ad .indd 1

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Sustainability

Greening Our Apartments FRPO’s New CRB Environmental-Operating Standards Promote Less Utility Consumption and “GREENER” Apartment Communities across Ontario. By Ted Whitehead

On October 28th, 2013, the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers announced, in Ottawa,itwaslaunching10newenvironmentaloperating standards as a mainstay to its Certified Rental Building (CRB) program. These industry-developed standards are a first of their kind to be implemented in the Ontario and the Canadian multi-residential marketplace. They represent a critical firststep in establishing an industry-specific environmental sustainability program.

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Sustainability In June 2008, FRPO launched its CRB Program as the only resident-focused, multi-residential “accreditation” program of its kind in North America. Since that time, member enrolment in the program has grown to over 100,000 suites housed in nearly a 1,000 apartment buildings & communities across Ontario. Rentalhousing consumers have also responded very favourably to the “quality-assurance” pledge that comes with finding a rental home in a CRB-approved building. Over 300,000 searches on the program’s website have been made by prospective renters looking for CRB-approved apartment buildings they can call home. Now, five years after its inaugural launch, the CRB program is expanding its core standards to include creating “greener” living communities across Ontario. FRPO’s new CRB Environmental-Operating standards will actively seek to reduce the environmental-operating footprint associated with the daily operations and the running of multi-residential apartment buildings. When fully embraced by participating CRB Property Managers and their staff, the standards will

serve to stimulate and grow a culture of environmental sustainability, one in which both frontline employees and residents will become active participants. Members of the CRB program will have a year to comply with the new standards. Over a 1,000 CRBapproved buildings will be fully compliant with the new Environmental-Operating Standards by end of 2014. The Business Proposition – Reduced Utility Consumption & Waste Costs At a time, when electricity and water costs are fast approaching near double digit increases each year (and for the foreseeable future) any reduction in utility consumption can only be a blessing to property managers/owners alike. At an average expense of $1,300 to $1,700 per suite each year, utility expenses can form a major part of the annual operating expenses of any apartment building. It is expected that property managers will benefit from reductions in utility consumption (electricity, water, gas, and waste) per suite by 5% to 15% annually, while at the same time creating greener apartment communities for their residents.

Employee Engagement & Education are Key Drivers of Reducing Environmental Operating Footprints FRPO’s CRB program’s new environmental-operating standards recognize that “buildings don’t use energy and water nor produce waste - People do!” As such, the support, co-operation and engagement of the thousands of frontline staff and over 225,000 residents who work and live in CRB-approved apartment buildings is viewed as essential. Employee education and training coupled with resident education and engagement are hallmarks of the new environmental standards. A corporate environmental policy combined with specific conservation and resource reduction strategies are important components in any organization’s move towards sustainable building operations. However, these strategies cannot in themselves guarantee an organization’s sound environmental performance. Buy in from employees is critical as they transform a corporate culture into daily operating reality. Ultimately, employee support and engagement must be key drivers of any industry environmental sustainability initiative. With

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Sustainability

this in mind, employee education and involvement have been designed as essential components of the new Environmental-operating standards. Three mandatory educational requirements have been built into the standards. Environmental Operations Committee: For those PM companies with 20 or more employees, Members must establish an Environmental Operations Committee. This group will be made up of a cross-section of people from within their company. It will focus on ways to promote environmentally responsible building operations and practices, and to engage residents in conservation and resource reduction efforts. Environmental Awareness and Leadership Training The CRB program will be introducing a ½ day Environmental Awareness & Leadership Training program for frontline building staff. This training will be used to review the new environmental-

operating standards and enhance each participant’s understanding of tactical events they can employ to conserve resources and engage residents. “Environmental Champions” Program During the standards-development meetings, CRB PMs clearly stated the benefits to building organizational capacity on environmental issues through knowledge and information. In response, the CRB program will be introducing an “Environmental Champions” educational initiative. It will be an ‘industryaccredited’ educational program designed to provide advanced knowledge and information on products and measures necessary to promote a “sustainability” culture while reducing the environmental operating footprint for multi-residential apartment buildings. The CRB program’s new environmental standards will require members to accredit at least one employee as their Environmental Champion. With content provided by Corporate/Associate members with expertise on different

environmental issues and products, each of the “Champions” training modules will provide detailed and topic specific information. Each module will identify current and emerging best practices, strategies, techniques, products and services, and business case analysis that can potentially be used or implemented to promote environmental leadership and further reduce resource consumption, improve human health, and/or positively impact the organization’s bottom line. FRPO’s new environmental-operating standards have been designed to harness “the power of individual action” while embodying the principle “Together we can make a difference,” ultimately with two goals in mind: to create “greener” living communities across Ontario and to prudently reduce the environmental-operating footprint that it takes to run a multiresidential apartment buildings. Participating property managers can benefit from reduced utility consumption, and being corporate leaders in sustainability... everyone wins!

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Regulations

Water Efficiency’s Ripple Effect Code Requirements Herald Flow-through Savings By Barbara Carss

Pending water efficiency requirements should be largely inconsequential for residential developers in Ontario. Standards for toilets and shower heads coming into force in the Ontario Building Code in January 2014 essentially trail what the marketplace already offers. The new Code dictates maximum water consumption of 4.8 litres per flush cycle in either new construction or when toilets are replaced in existing residential buildings. A 6-litre maximum limit will continue to apply in commercial and institutional buildings. The allowable flow rate for shower heads in residential occupancies will be reduced to 7.6 litres per minute – down from the previous 9.5 litres/minute maximum, which will still be the threshold in other types of occupancies. “I am very confident that there won’t be a problem complying with this,” says Wells Baker, Manager, Sustainable Development, with the Minto Group. “In 52 www.canadianapartmentmagazine.ca

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Regulations

many of our projects, we’re now looking at using 3-litre, high-efficiency toilets.” Concert Properties, a Vancouver-based developer/manager that moved into the Toronto market in the early 2000s, similarly exceeds the imminent Building Code in using 5.7 litres/minute shower heads as its construction standard. “There are some vacuum-assisted showerheads on the market now that are very well produced. When the air and water are mixed together you get a very good saturation rate,” adds Jonathan Meads, Concert’s Sustainability Manager. Both developers acknowledge that pursuit of LEED points has been a prime motivator for installing water-efficient fixtures. Over the past decade, for example, Minto has variously opted for dual-flush or high-efficiency, single-flush toilets in its condominium projects as the technology has evolved and new products have become available.

Yet, since both companies own and/ or manage rental housing, they’ve also garnered operational savings. Concert Properties recently completed a pilot project replacement of 500 1990s-era, 13-litre toilets in its Vancouver rental housing portfolio and now plans to replace another 1,000. “When we did our calculations, using the LEED water-efficiency template we estimated about 30% water savings. Based on the first quarter billings, it looks like we’re already at 20% even though the work was not fully complete in that billing period,” Meads reports. “There are also minor reductions in electricity costs because we aren’t pumping as much water up the building.”

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Improvements support wider adoption As early adopters, Meads and Baker commend the subsequent advancements they’ve seen. Although new Code requirements lag the

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Regulations

“

“Single-flush 4.8-litre units are simpler. They are cheaper to repair, they cost less money in the first place and they are going to save more water.” - Glen Pleasance

availability of the technology, they’re perhaps more prudently in sync with improved quality and price-competitiveness of products in the marketplace. “Some of the first toilets that came out just didn’t flush very well,” Meads says. “People were flushing them twice, which was undermining all the savings.” Purchasers are advised to look for models with WaterSense labels certifying they meet verified performance standards – a status that specialists in the field confirm can be readily found. “Most of the product out there has been developed using the testing protocol of the U.S. EPA’s WaterSense program,” says Glen Pleasance, Water Efficiency Coordinator in the Greater Toronto Area’s Durham Region, who serves as Vice-Chair (Water) of the Ontario Building Code Conservation Advisory Committee. “We are seeing product that’s much better than any previous iteration of toilet, whether it’s 6-litre, 13-litre or 30-litre, and there is plenty of product out there that’s coming in at the same price that builders are paying now for 6-litre models.” The Code will continue to permit dual-flush toilets that use six litres of water for a full-tank flush, provided that the low-

water option is no greater than 4.1 litres per flush. However, single-flush toilets are now generally gaining favour ahead of the dual-flush models that were initially seen as the innovators in water savings. “Single-flush 4.8-litre units are simpler. They are cheaper to repair, they cost less money in the first place and they are going to save more water,” Pleasance affirms. The Code also establishes new water-efficiency requirements for urinals and provides more flexibility for collection and reuse of rainwater and grey water. “It is a government objective to maintain Ontario’s leadership in water conservation,” notes Chris Thompson, a Manager in the Building & Development Branch of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “The 2012 [coming into force in 2014] Code moves us very much in line with the leading North American jurisdictions. The requirements for urinals, toilets and showers put us in line with the leaders, which are British Columbia, New York, California and Manitoba.” Notably, the B.C. Building Code has mandated 4.8-litre toilets in new residential construction and residential retrofits since

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Regulations

“

Economically, we are not there yet in enabling rainwater to compete with municipal water until we get systems that are a lot more cost-effective...” - Glen Pleasance

October 2011. The provision does not include commercial, institutional and industrial buildings due to concerns about the movement of waste through drain lines. Manitoba has less stringent maximums for flush cycles in toilets (six litres) and urinals (3.8 litres), but allowable flow rates for shower heads and faucets are lower than Ontario’s benchmarks. Since December 2010, Manitoba’s Plumbing Code has stipulated a maximum flow rate of 6.6 litres/minute for shower heads and 5.7 litres/minute for lavatory and hand faucets, compared to Ontario’s pending limit of 7.6 litres/minute for shower heads and 8.35 litres/ minute for lavatory faucets. Future directions & opportunities Ontario’s new Code will expand existing provisions for rainwater and grey water reuse, but stops well short of mandating rough-ins for the systems in new residential construction. Pleasance suggests Alberta or British Columbia is more likely to be a pioneer of such a requirement as a means to address rapid growth in areas where there is more pressure on the potable water supply.

“Economically, we are not there yet in enabling rainwater to compete with municipal water until we get systems that are a lot more cost-effective, and grey water is even less costeffective because of the quality of the water,” he observes. “I could see it making sense in Calgary or Kelowna before it makes sense in southern Ontario.” Prospective installers should also be aware of the risk of health repercussions from inadequately treated water. “Grey water and rainwater systems are often better suited to a large commercial building where they’ve got technical staff available to make sure the system is maintained properly,” Pleasance advises. In contrast, water efficiency advocates see other opportunities for innovation that would have little negative economic or health and safety fallout. “I think it makes more sense to use shower valves that have the ability to throttle back the water flow. Having the ability to maintain the same temperature, but adjust the volume, gives users full control of their shower experience and water consumption,” Baker says.

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Pleasance focuses on plumbing infrastructure that could also boost energy savings. In future, he expects to see designers pay more attention to reducing the length of piping routes that transport hot water to an outlet, along with greater reliance on recirculation systems to take unused hot water back to the holding tank rather than leaving it to cool in the pipes. “In most of southern Ontario, heating hot water is the number one use of natural gas. Lake Ontario is cold 12 months of the year and there is significant energy embedded in heating water,” he explains. “I think the next step is looking at making hot water delivery more efficient.” Ultimately, too, water and energy efficiency deliver long-term operational savings – an outcome that is perhaps even more compelling when coupled with Canada’s infrastructure deficit and ever-growing need for capital investment in water services. “Municipal water rates are jumping up by about 10% per year,” Baker notes. “Given the rate that water is going to increase in cost – and I think it’s important to bring the rate more in line with the true value of filtering, treating, pumping and distributing water –designers and builders of homes that will last at least 30 years should be doing everything possible to help their customers save on something that’s going to increase in cost over the long term.”

Water and energy efficiency requirements can be found in Part 12 of the Ontario Building Code. For more information, see Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing’s web site at www. mah.gov.on.ca/Page7393.aspx.The preceding article is reprinted from CondoBusiness, March 2013.

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Renovations

Smart Suites, Smart Rentals Renovation is the Foundation of Hollyburn’s Sustainability Model By Katrina May

Renovating is a time-consuming, costly process, yet one that Hollyburn Properties is not afraid to tackle. After all, the Canadian owned and operated property management company is a leader when it comes to making important building upgrades that maintain the longevity of the rental stock. From energy-efficient light fixtures, appliances, and amenities to infrastructural upgrades and roof-top solar energy panels, the cornerstone of Hollyburn’s success is reinvesting in its long-standing buildings to adhere to its reputation for luxury rentals and environmental stewardship.

The renovation of existing rental apartment buildings is the foundation of the company’s sustainability model. With a portfolio currently extending to 71 properties nationwide in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa, Hollyburn recognizes that corporate responsibility in terms of the environment is paramount. As such, the company has undertaken a variety of green initiatives intent on decreasing energy consumption and minimizing the environmental impact of its operations. Hollyburn’s Green Building Template, the stringent set of voluntary standards for all of its renovations, represents some of the highest development standards and greenest buildings in Canada. Hollyburn’s properties not only meet – but

also exceed – region-specific building codes. In fact, many buildings qualify for LEED designations. Hollyburn’s ‘Smart Suite’ technology replaces all existing machines and suite amenities on turnover with energy star appliances, LED or compact fluorescent light bulbs and low-flow faucets and toilets. Improvements such as these reduce energy consumption by approximately 20 per cent and save thousands of gallons of water each year. Infrastructural changes extend to replacing outdated, oversized boilers with state-of-the-art, high-efficiency modulating boilers and frequency drives for water pump circulation. New elevator equipment is optimized for efficiency, as are roof replacements and insulation. The installation of 10 kilowatt solar energy panels on the roof of 1286 Islington Ave. in Toronto was completed in 2012

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Renovations under the Ontario Power Authority’s FeedIn-Tariff (FIT) program. Sunlight from the Solar Panel Project is directly converted into electricity, sent to a power inverter and synchronized with the building’s grid. This method is extremely efficient, creating electricity on-site instead of at a power plant hundreds of kilometres away. In August, 2013, Hollyburn became the first company in Canada to successfully obtain the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s energy efficiency rebate. Over $37,000 has been reimbursed by the government for taking action to reduce the energy consumption of Hollyburn’s rental properties. In addition, Hollyburn has deferred an estimated total of 45 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere to date— that’s the equivalent of eliminating 4,252 cars off of the streets. Beyond the building True sustainability goes far beyond energy consumption and carbon emissions, however. It is established by creating an

environment that fosters low impact human habitation. Small rental units in and of themselves are the most efficient way for people to live in comparison to the impacts of single family homes and new construction housing. Fostering social interaction between residents in a compact urban environment further impacts the health, wellness and overall

sustainability of rental communities. In-house events such as, Christmas parties, summer BBQs, community gardens, contests and charity food drives enhance the experience of urban living. Providing a five-star living experience requires five-star service and professionalism. Hollyburn’s employees are extensively trained according to the P.R.I.D.E. hotel service standard. Passion, respect, integrity, dedication and experience create the foundation for their service. Resident managers undergo thorough certification in customer service, plumbing, painting, pool maintenance, health and safety procedures and general repairs. Hollyburn staff are level 1 First Aid certified and have access to ongoing professional training and support. Hollyburn Properties has created a unique living experience for Canadian renters. The company goes to great lengths to increase the efficiency of its existing buildings to the benefit of its residents and of the environment.

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Marketing

Retaining your Residents Tips for Achieving Long-term Tenancy By Chaim Rivlin

Residents across Canada have a lot of choice when it comes to what apartments they choose to live in. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the average rental apartment vacancy rate in Canada’s 35 major centres increased to 2.7 per cent in April 2013 from 2.3 per cent in April 2012. If this trend continues into 2014, it will be even more prudent to work hard to retain your residents.

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Marketing

Retaining residents long-term is generally a substantial goal of all property managers and landlords. Keeping your current roster of residents allows you to focus on issues like building maintenance and upgrades rather than having to incur costs on suite turnovers and pricey advertising campaigns. In fact, a 2011 SatisFacts study estimates that turnover costs a whopping $3,900 per unit. Among other things, this amount includes $1,200 in lost rental income, nearly $800 in concessions and more than $700 in maintenance. Happy residents are the key component to ensuring the turnover rate in your rental property is low. There are a variety of steps you can take to ensure that your renters love your apartment building and want to stay for the long haul. How can you accomplish long-term tenancy? Here are some tips to get you started.

Talk to your residents The first piece of advice is one of the most important: communicate with your residents as often as possible. Let them know that you are there to answer their phone calls or e-mails. Better yet, have rental office hours clearly posted so your residents know when they can stop by to speak with you in person. Create a relationship with them so they feel comfortable speaking with you about any issues that arise. Being available and open will go a long way to ensuring happiness in the building environment. (Remember: talk to your residents – not at them!) Stick to your word If you say you will fix something by a certain date, stick to it. If problems come up and you are unable to adhere to the deadline, let your residents know why and when they can expect the issue to

be resolved. A prompt maintenance response time is one of the biggest concerns for most residents. Go the extra mile to have maintenance issues dealt with as soon as possible. Offer renewal incentives When it’s getting close to renewal time, there are a number of perks you can use to encourage residents to sign a new lease. You can offer to lock in their rent at its current price (no unexpected increases!), provide a suite upgrade, or even offer gift cards to local restaurants or shops upon signing. A few months before their renewal is up, send your resident a reminder letter with a treat included (candy, pizza coupons, etc.). Plan resident events A great way to retain residents is by creating a sense of community in your building. Have monthly or bi-monthly

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Atlas

Marketing events and parties. Allow your residents to get to know each other through potluck dinners, charity drives, game nights and seasonal decorating parties. Having a fun and happy community in your building will encourage residents to stay long-term and make your building their permanent home. Provide good customer service Do you always respond promptly to resident requests? Are maintenance issues resolved quickly and professionally? Are complaints or other issues handled properly, or are they just put aside? These are all important issues and residents will remember how they were handled (or not handled) at renewal time.

Maintain the look and quality of the property Obviously, your properties should be maintained anyway, but many residents that do become dissatisfied with their apartment often cite “the property went downhill” as a major reason. This can mean anything from neglected landscaping to trash scattered throughout the property to repairs that go unfixed. Residents think of their apartment as their home, and coming home to suspicious characters hanging out in the parking lot, or trash blowing around in the wind will make a once-satisfied tenant think twice about renewing. Keep them informed and involved What’s going on in the community that you can share with your residents? A monthly newsletter, holiday wine & cheese parties, an annual property yard sale—all of these things help to create a feeling of community, and that can be potent. Social media is a great way to update residents about everything from parties to repairs.

Are you contemplating the sale of your apartment property? Consider the following: • Who will represent your best interests? • Who will give your property maximum exposure? • Who will deliver the highest value for your property? With over 20 years experience, tens of thousands of units sold, and hundreds of clients represented, we have consistently delivered superior results. Through our local and national coverage, we create maximum exposure, ensuring maximum value for your property. Please visit our website at www.cbre.ca/nag-toronto or contact us at 416.815.2332 to learn more about how we can help you.

Maintain consistency in staffing While a change of staff cannot always be prevented, it’s important to maintain some consistency in the rental office. Residents often become very attached to office personnel, and frequent staff turnover may not only affect property performance, but resident turnover as well. While there will always be resident turnover, building and maintaining a solid community will help you maintain more of your residents come renewal time.

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Smart Ideas

Timesaving Technology

Good ideas that help you... and the environment

Less waste with just the click of a button One of the advantages of renting versus owning is convenience—that is, having tools and resources within arm’s reach. Traditionally, building waste disposal was restricted to the removal of landﬁll waste alone. However, new technologies are making it easier than ever to go “green” with just the push of a button. Tenants can now take advantage of organized waste disposal, separating their landﬁll, green and recycling waste into categories using automated garbage chutes. This is particularly appealing to many millennial renters, known for their propensity towards sustainability and “green” living.

Charge it and go As renters become increasingly ecoconscious, building managers must shift their focus to accommodate the desires and wishes of potential tenants. With the advent of the hybrid car, vehicle owners can travel

thereby attracting new clientele. Since

Faster elevators mean more tenants and greater tenant satisfaction

many renters fall under the Generation Y

New elevator technologies could see

demographic, another group known for their

apartment buildings doubling in height,

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lightweight carbon ﬁbre rope, elevators will

short distances solely on electric power. Apartment buildings offering electric vehicle charging stations would position themselves as leaders in the sustainability movement,

move with greater ease and at faster rates. The newly-designed rope offers increased longevity, requiring less maintenance and, ultimately, reducing overall environmental impact due to material waste. Industry leaders willing to invest in the technology can plan for the construction of additional units as elevator wait times will no longer pose a problem for tenants. 66 www.canadianapartmentmagazine.ca

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