CREJ - Journal

22 / 24

Page 22 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly — April 2015
THINKING ABOUT A
COMMERCIAL REAL
ESTATE INVESTMENT?
CREJ’s Loan and Investment Calculators just
made your decision making easier.
f Mortgage Comparison Calculator
Weigh your loan options based on loan amount, interest rates,
amortization period and loan term.
f Solve for the Unknown
Solve for your loan amount, mortgage payment, amortization
period or loan term, even if you only have 3 out of 4 pieces of
information.
f Mortgage Calculator with Amortization Schedule
Estimate your monthly, annual, and balloon payments.
f How Much Can I Pay for a Property?
Estimate how large of an investment
you can make.
costs skyrocket, not only
is our wallet impacted, but
also our perceived wasted
time behind the wheel.
Having easy access (ideally
within half of a mile) to
a bus or train stop allows
multifamily residents to
shed their vehicular costs
and use the commuting
time to either work or check
in with friends.
Maintenance. Commonly,
older apartments are in
need of upgrades, which
would price them out of
the market in their area,
and some may have issues,
such as black mold and
inefficient heating, ventila-
tion and air-conditioning
systems. Many older apart-
ments can be somewhat
drab, basic and unattractive.
New apartment buildings
are taking advantage of
years of trendy design, con-
struction experience and
codes. Industrial chic con-
struction is popping up in
urban areas, and along bus
and light-rail stops, where
older housing or industrial
buildings previously existed.
Cost. I probably deserve
a bop on the head (reality
check) at this point. Having
all the items listed above
would make the rental cost
out of reach for most folks.
The key is to expect it. Put
rental unit developers to
task and require upgrades
by using the competitive
market. One solution may
be to bolster funding of the
Community Development
Block Grant program or
other Housing and Urban
Development programs at
previous standards to assist
low-income areas. This
funding has all but disap-
peared in most communi-
ties.
Embrace the future
of apartment living by
addressing the needs and
wants of its occupants. No
longer is medium to high
density a bad science exper-
iment. Learning from the
past and keeping the “insti-
tution” out of multifamily
apartments will assist this
viable, accessible choice in
housing.s
within the constraints of
existing laws using the tools
available. Over the years,
lenders have learned to
weigh these inefficiencies
when analyzing the benefits
of pursuing one financing
tool over another. But rec-
ognize that there is plenty
of room for improvement.
Programs designed to help
fund affordable housing
development actually result
in a higher cost to develop
a new affordable unit than
a market rate unit as they
are currently structured.
If affordable housing is a
priority for our state and
federal legislators, then per-
haps it is time for some new
perspectives.s
to having no control over
the pricing of the station,
by turning over charging to
another party, the site owner
gives up control of:
• Access;
• Messaging on the station;
• How soon it is repaired if
damaged; and
• If the station stays in
place or gets ripped out.
Furthermore, these third-
party contracts typically
have multiyear exclusivity
clauses that prohibit the site
owner from taking action
on his own if demand grows
rapidly, becoming entirely
dependent on the third-
party provider to decide if or
when to expand.
If day-to-day station man-
agement is the concern for
considering third-party own-
ership, a better strategy is
to partner with a charging-
station reseller or manu-
facturer that offers station
management and mainte-
nance services for a reason-
able annual fee. This allows
the site owner to retain con-
trol of the hardware and the
benefits of having a station,
while outsourcing the daily
oversight and keeping costs
low for residents.
In summary, while
third-party ownership of
EV charging stations at a
property may seem like a
great deal at first, injecting
a for-profit entity into the
equation nullifies the attrac-
tiveness of this increasingly
important amenity. In other
words, what good is a free
lunch if isn’t really free at
all?s