Bi-Weekly vs Semi-Weekly

December 7, 2021

Being the changes at the property, although tremendous, are simply more of the same moving through the units and buildings, I decided I would write and publish them biweekly; as in every other week. It's really too bad I have to even explain biweekly. We should know precisely what it means. As usual, we Americans have done a wonderful job butchering English. Here is a crazy thing about English. You see, I hear people use "bimonthly" as in twice a month. (It means every other month.) Why is it so confusing? We already have another way to say twice a week, twice a month, twice a year. Know what that is? Semi-. Yep. Semiweekly. Semimonthly. Semiannual. Is that so hard? You may hear about a bimonthly paycheck and think you are being paid twice a month. However, this would be grammatically incorrect. Bi-(anything) means every-other-(anything). Imagine the surprise when you find out you actually get paid every other month. 

And just look at that, the dictionary is wrong. Heavens to Betsy, people! Why would we have a simple word mean two completely different things? And, then have an explanation with the correct word as the definition. Americans. Speaking of America, who here remembers 1976? Yep! It was our bicentennial - 200 years; as in every other 100 years. I wonder how many people thought it was a twice a one hundred years celebration. Nobody. Alas, we misuse a phrase often enough and the dictionary accepts that definition. I will not be swayed. So, when I say biweekly don't expect me to have to explain it again. Just look it up. 

New Window!

We have some exciting changes hitting our project this week. Yep! The windows are going in. And, they are going to look amazing. Well, they actually do look amazing. this will add character to it as well. We are only changing out the windows on the bedroom units and not all of the living areas as this is not required. The living rooms will have the large windows left alone in the 1-bed units. I will show this later when we have more windows in and we can take a picture of the whole side of the building. It will look great!

Window View from Bedroom

The sprinkler system in Phase I is about complete and ready to be pressure tested. After they confirm the system is leak free the fire marshal will come out and do their inspection. This will allow us to drywall and finish those walls. We can then install the plumbing, cabinets and move on to finishing fixtures and flooring. 

We have submitted our project to a company to give us our paint schemes. This will give us a good idea on how the exterior will look. Can't wait to share that with you! 

The electrical is still being run throughout the building to accommodate for the increased demand with the installation of stoves and microwaves. 

IMN Middle-Market Multifamily

We just returned from a conference on Middle-Market Multifamily. You may ask, "What is Middle-Market Multifamily"? The focus for this group is mostly small and mid-sized apartment owners. By this we don't mean the size of the human being in ownership. No, not that. To clarify it would be important to know what a large owner is. Here is some perspective: The top 50 owners own and control 10% of all rental units. These owners are typically institutional and own 22,000 units or more...each. The top owner has over 100,000 units. These would not be the target. On the other side of the spectrum is the one who owns a duplex or a triplex. Middle market would be in between them. Most in attendance had between dozens of units to a couple thousand. Granted, some owners had more and some had less. And, there were a few Wall Street owners there as well with sizable portfolios. 

Windows!

One thing we heard at this event which we have not heard as much in previous events is the focus on the resident experience. It's about time! At Bakerson this has always been our focus. We find it vitally important to take care of the residents. This is the right thing to do. On one panel a person made a comment that "low-flow showers with low pressure do not do well; at least in the nicer units. The tenants would never put up with this. Now, I could see putting these in the lower-income properties.". Wait...wut? Oh, lower income people don't need water pressure? They are happy with a light dribble of water? Wow! We treat our residents with the same respect that we would expect. What does income level have to do with it? By the way, most low-flow shower heads are poorly designed and we don't use them. 

Another comment we heard, "Are you spending too much on a lower income unit? I mean, do they really need granite countertops and stainless appliances?" What does "need" have to do with it? If the budget fits and we can take care of the residents with a little nicer product AND make a decent profit, why wouldn't we install better quality? Sure, profit is important. But, it's not always about the money as resident happiness and retention is vitally important when creating a community. 

The theme seemed to be to "take care of the residents to minimize negative press or public outcry" so that they can increase the profits to the shareholders. Why not just take care of the residents because that is the right thing to do? Profits will come with a well-run project. Don't do it for a perceived image or a façade. Do it because it's the right thing to do. Period. 

And that is our project from my corner of the globe ~Bruce