Whether she’s hiking an icy trail in Yosemite, troubleshooting an accounting software issue for a Yardi client, or hanging out with rock stars, Pam Alexander is equally at home. Her unflappable and understanding nature shines through in any situation. An eight-year Yardi employee who currently serves in multiple roles as a client services manager, Pam is the kind of person who is great to have on your team, whether the day’s activity is zip lining in Mexico, correcting a general ledger imbalance, or riding an elephant in India. No matter where she happens to be in the world, Pam embraces life to the fullest. The California native has a long list of things she loves about her job, starting with the people she works with, from her team members around the globe to upper management. Pam’s work puts her in contact with Yardi staff in multiple countries and offices on a daily basis. In addition to her work managing the Santa Barbara PAYScan team, she manages the financial portion of the Voyager product, working with development and QA to ensure clients’ needs and wishes are incorporated into software changes.  Troubleshooting high-level accounting glitches and overseeing the Pune client services and residential case teams is another aspect of her work. With experience elsewhere in the software industry, Pam notes that one thing that sets Yardi Systems apart is the company’s willingness to listen and respond to its clients. “Customer service here is client based. We want them to be happy. We always try to accommodate them and be responsive to their needs, to make sure they have what they need to get their job done,” she said.  “To me it’s important to get the clients voice over to development, and I appreciate that I am...

Dawn Bolin isn’t someone to shy away from a challenge. After 20 years as an accounting manager for The Ezralow Company of Calabasas, Calif., she asked her employer to entrust her with a major new challenge – overseeing the transition of the multi-vertical property management firm from Yardi Enterprise to Yardi Voyager. As an accountant, Dawn suspected that her expertise on the financial side would be vital to a successful transition to the new software platform and way of working. And she was right. Along the way, she made a major leap into a new area of expertise – technology – and has never looked back. Six years later, she will start her 27th year with Ezralow this January.  Dawn’s responsibilities as the company’s Yardi Database Administrator have added many new facets to her job, and she tells us that she loves the challenge. “Things are constantly changing, and that keeps my mind busy. I like to learn new things,” said the Orange County native. When a technical glitch occurs, she’s excited about the opportunity to figure out how to fix it – and tries to avoid calling her Yardi account manager until she’s exhausted troubleshooting efforts. “All the Yardi people are great. They are extremely patient,” she told us. Dawn attends the Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference twice a year to get the latest updates on updates, new products, and more efficient work processes. And she’s focused the company’s current technology efforts on creating more efficient workflows and moving to mobile devices. “Our (property) sites have to log in to so many different websites to do their job. We’d rather them log into one and have it all be interfaced, so we’ve eliminated the pieces that are scattered and combined them all into one,”...

Whether he’s your friendly North Carolina neighbor or the Senior Technical Account Manager who made implementation of your RentCafe property marketing website a breeze, Aaron Wells is the kind of guy who everybody enjoys getting to know. His good-natured outlook is on display all year long, whether he’s cruising around his rural farm on the tractor, hanging out on the couch with his family and potbellied pig (one of many animals who call the Wells’ farm home) or dressed up as a RentCafe coffee cup for Halloween. Aaron showed extreme team spirit when he and wife Terra created his cardboard and cloth costume, which effectively branded his loyalty to the RentCafe product. A Yardi account manager since 2007, he has enjoyed implementing new clients on  RentCafe, which helps market multifamily properties to new renters and provide existing residents with better customer service. “The ultimate goal is to get the word out about their properties and being in new prospect traffic,” said Wells, who has worked with the  RentCafe implementation team since 2009. He enjoys the friendly and fun atmosphere of the Raleigh office and the ever-changing nature of the software business. “Everyone at Yardi is really cool, and always has been,” he told us. Wells fits neatly in the cool category as well. A Raleigh native, he and Terra bought their farm outside the city seven years ago to get away from the city life. She’s a veterinarian, so their home has become a refuge for animals – there are horses, chickens, dogs, cats, pigs and a duck in residence. All are rescues of some sort, except for one new puppy. Niblet, the house pig, was a potbellied pet pig who grew bigger than his owner expected. But even at his current 80 pounds,...

After 11 years in the utility billing industry, Stephen Hennessey is thrilled that he still has the same client base. After all, his clients have become people he cares about. “I enjoy working with them on a daily basis,” said Stephen, who was part of the ista Multifamily Services Group (MSG) acquired by Yardi in May 2012.  “The property managers and clients have become my really good friends.” Making good friends is something that comes easily to Stephen, who often hosts up to 70 guests for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve or July 4 at his Newport Beach home. And speaking of home, we found out a little known fact about Stephen that’s quite fascinating – he has lived on the same street for his entire life, though not in the same house. He bought the place across the street from his childhood home, a convenient location that allows him to look after his elderly mother. It’s also close to the beach, one of his favorite spots to hang out, and he has put much time and effort into the property, including creating a backyard oasis with a giant koi pond. His kitchen is a regular gathering spot for his friends, who get together to host foodie parties and potlucks created around unique culinary themes. You might think that living on the same street for so long would narrow your outlook on life, but that’s definitely not true in Stephen’s case. He’s branched out with international travel adventures (tropical beaches are a favorite), is constantly experimenting with new dishes in the kitchen, and recently succeeded in taking on a new passion – fundraising for a good cause. Yardi’s Orange County office is the new home base for Stephen and two of his MSG colleagues. Led by...

The evening of the photo shoot could not have been more perfect if it were Photoshopped: bright blue skies, golden sun, and a crisp breeze signaled the official arrival of autumn in southeast. The photography team easily made our way to The Lofts at Perimeter Center, a Worthing Company property conveniently located at the junction between I-285 and GA 400. The Lofts rest just moments from the buzzing shopping malls and fine dining of one of Atlanta’s hottest extensions. Tucked away in a green residential enclave, the community balances a hip, urban vibe with natural beauty. Lush, vibrant landscaping complements the community’s sleek contemporary architecture. It looked like it would be a fun place to call home, a little oasis in the bustle of the city. Inside, the clubhouse hopped with residents. A group jogged together on the treadmills in the upstairs gym. Two young ladies worked at the computer stations near the community lounge. Unlike many clubhouses that prove to be a selling point more than an actual place to congregate, The Lofts residents take advantage of the amenities and social atmosphere. It’s no surprise, really. The upscale décor of the clubhouse transforms the space into a lounge that’s perfect for gathering with friends. Upbeat music and friendly staff added to the relaxed, club-style atmosphere. Yardi Systems photographer Nicole Goodness-Landfried and I were soon greeted by Leigh Scofield and Judy Allen, Worthing Company property managers. Both ensured that we had everything we needed to get started. They also accommodated our models, residents of The Lofts, who were excited to get started—dolled up and glamorous with bright smiles to boot—but they were a bit camera shy. “Anyone up for some wine?” Judy asked. There were a few sheepish smiles before the unanimous “yes!” from...

Maritza Martinez, Chief Purchasing Officer and Maintenance Coordinator of Westland Real Estate Group, Inc. in Los Angeles, has a smart and simple outlook on property maintenance. It’s about fixing things, certainly, and fixing them fast. But maintenance first and foremost is about great customer service. “That’s my main concern – I always want to make sure the tenants are happy,” said Martinez, who started at Westland nine years ago in a purchasing position for the maintenance department. Two years later, she was promoted to her current role, in which she supervises and coordinates the maintenance crews working on Westland’s multifamily and commercial properties as well as 10 mobile home parks. With 46 apartment buildings in LA County that account for 2400 units, as well as 40 commercial shopping centers, the Westland crews stay very busy responding to 200 to 300 calls for service in the average week. They also work on remodels and upgrades to the apartment units during tenancy turnovers. To make sure that residents can always reach someone to address their maintenance request, no matter what time of night or day, Westland uses a hotline system that bounces to an on-call cell phone between 5:30 p.m. and 8 a.m. An on call customer service representative is assigned to monitor the overnight calls and dispatch maintenance technicians to deal with any emergencies. Maintenance requests are also accepted through the on-site property managers and the company’s website, but Martinez told us that the telephone hotline is still the primary way services requests are submitted. In the future, she sees things moving to a web-based environment so that tracking will be easier. (Yardi’s Maintenance Mobile App is one easy way for technicians to view and respond to assigned work orders while on the go, and...

Cindy Frank is a Renaissance woman – who writes romance novels. A technologist, published author and artist, her diverse professional and personal interests keep her constantly busy at work and on the weekend. As a staff assistant in the Tucson Housing and Community Development Department, Cindy found the perfect role for her background. She earned her doctorate from the University of Arizona in higher education, but the focus of her advanced studies was technology in the workplace.  (She had previously earned a masters’ degree in information systems from UA.) “My interest is primarily at the intersection of technology and people. This place is ideal for me because we have a lot of social services people, and they’re not always comfortable with technology. That’s my forte – the intersection of people and technology,” she told us in a recent interview. She’s responsible for overseeing the use of Yardi Voyager by the City of Tucson to manage its public housing and Section 8 housing programs, assessing new technologies like mobile apps, and other IT-related job duties. Outside of work, Cindy has several unique hobbies. She makes stained glass, expressing her artistic side. And she is an electronically published author of seven romances under a pen name. We promised to keep the moniker confidential, but we can say that you can find her works through publisher Ellora’s Cave, one of the first e-publishers to focus on romance. They accepted her first book right away with only minor revisions. A lifelong reader, dedicating free time to writing books on the weekends has become Cindy’s second job. A typical novel takes three to four months to complete if she sticks to a regular writing schedule. Cindy tells us she enjoys science fiction as well as romance and has written...

Margaret Spalding’s clients know her as the Yardi application specialist who helps make life easier, and as someone who will always follow up with the answer to their question or problem. Her coworkers know her as a strong member of the Yardi team in Glen Head, NY, who not only inspires client loyalty but has been known to bring some fantastic home baked cakes and cookies into the office. At home, Margaret is content to simply be Mom to her three boys, Matthew, Devin and Lucas, aged 7, 6, and 4, who along with husband Michael are her first priority. A New York native, one of Margaret’s formative life experiences as a young adult was spending a year volunteering for So Others Might Eat, a non-profit that ranks as one of the top Washington D.C.-area charities helping the homeless and low-income populations. Her work for SOME involved activity planning at a Single Room Occupancy home, where low-income residents from all walks of life had their own bedrooms but shared communal space for cooking, dining, living and bathing. The work and the residents she met, ranging from addicts in recovery to seniors on fixed incomes, opened Margaret’s eyes to what she appreciated most about her own life. “I went in to it expecting to learn to appreciate the stuff that I had. It turned out that I already appreciated the stuff, and more than anything I learned to appreciate family and support that I have,” she said. Drawing from that lesson for her own kids, Margaret and Michael have created a supportive home life that involves family togetherness, including travel and camping adventures, as well as community activities like Cub Scouts and religion class. All three of the Spalding boys are very different, noted their...

Nice neighbors make for better apartment living experiences.  For CEO Doug Hignell, creating a welcoming and caring environment at The Hignell Companies’ apartment residences in Chico, Calif. was a longstanding desire. “Relationships are my passion: both with God and with people. My driving purpose centers on ‘creating caring communities that transform lives’, both personally and through The Hignell Companies,” Hignell said. The Hignell Companies is a Yardi client, using Yardi products to manage its condominium portfolio, multifamily properties, and more. Hignell’s desire to comfort and connect led to establishing a non-profit arm of the family-owned property management, development, maintenance and construction firm founded by his father, Fred Hignell Jr, and partner Floyd Strange in 1948. The effort takes some cues from Apartment Life’s CARES Team ministry, which was generous in assisting Hignell as he started Creating Caring Communities. The focus for Creating Caring Communities, just as its name states, is on creating community. Today, Creating Caring Communities has seven teams who live on site in Hignell apartment communities that range from 224 units to 88 units in size. In exchange for a rent-free unit, the teams (married couples, families, or single adults) are tasked with hosting an event for complex apartment residents each month, connecting with their neighbors on a daily basis, and bringing people together in a social and neighborly way. Teams spend a combined 15 to 20 hours each week working with their community, and are asked to commit to a two year service period. Their rent and event expenses are generated by each apartment community via a per-door fee. “We are a religious non-profit. Our heart is about building community, but it is also loving on people, making them know they are of value and worth. If we can an opportunity...

Jim Young has taken his industry-leading commercial real estate technology conference, Realcomm, all over the globe to learn from the latest innovators. Now, the company is sending a mission to the final frontier – space. In February 2013, a Russian Soyuz rocket will blast off for the International Space Station carrying a new round of science projects from around the globe, and a Realcomm and CALIT2–funded, high-school student designed experiment will be among them. “Big ideas really do come out of the space industry, and those technologies that are being used in the space station probably will make their way to buildings over the next 10 to 15 years, a good example of that is Solar/LED lighting systems” noted Young. “Given that the ISS is the ‘most intelligent building in the universe,’ this fits very well with the mission and vision of Realcomm. “ But the real impetus behind this educational venture in outer space was motivated by a concerned dad’s desire to improve the education of his two daughters – and that of other American kids, too. During his first Realcomm international intelligent buildings tour in 2004, a trip to a classroom in China pushed Young to take a hard look at the U.S. education system, where it was falling short, and seek out opportunities for innovation and elevation that Realcomm and its community could fund. Over the years, the Realcomm community has donated significant amount of dollars to math and science. The students who will devise and create the space experiment are part of Better Education for Women in Science and Engineering (BE Wise), part of the San Diego Science Alliance. Young’s oldest daughter Grace, 14, is a participant in the program, which pushes young women to see math and science as...

Kate Good’s energy and enthusiasm are infectious. Whether she’s talking about apartment branding, leasing strategy, or cute shoes, the veteran multifamily motivator captures her audience with humor, charm and solid market-tested knowledge. As an independent consultant and a member of the Apartment All Stars, a team of multifamily experts that delivers industry insight and inspiration on a national tour and via webinars, Good is in demand for her 23 years of expertise. She gave us a few minutes of her valuable time recently to chat about multifamily trends. And stay tuned for a big announcement involving the All Stars’ next big thing in the coming weeks, she hinted during our interview. Good began her career as a leasing professional with Trammell Crow, and started her consultancy in 1997. Today, she speaks to over 18,000 apartment industry professionals annually at conferences, seminars, trainings, retreats, awards and other industry events, sharing the lessons that she’s learned while assisting her clients. Good works with all varieties of properties, from distressed assets with lagging vacancy rates to new construction (one of her favorite project types). She is passionate about working with apartment industry clients to help them stay motivated, be better at their jobs, lease up their properties, retain residents and raise rents. “She is without a doubt the most entertaining speaker I’ve ever seen in the industry and certainly one of the most informative,” said Will Johnson, publisher of Professional Publishing, Inc. Rave reviews from her speaking engagements are common, with audiences say they walk away energized, excited, and ready to work. Despite having months of travel on her calendar each year for speaking engagements and consultant gigs, Good’s outlook is perpetually upbeat and optimistic, and her audiences feed off that energy. “My audience is sophisticated. I’m...

Remon Amboy isn’t just committed to his work at Yardi as Director of ASP – he has shed blood for the company. Repeatedly. A 23-year-employee in Santa Barbara, Remon began his Yardi career as a part-time temp who answered phones for his first few months (he was also attending school at the University of California at Santa Barbara at the time). Fast forward two decades, and he’s now in charge of 10,000 devices, has helped Yardi open 12 data centers around the world and oversees 70 employees. Those data centers, though, can be a little dangerous. That’s where Remon has managed to cut himself while racking servers and completing other equipment set-up tasks, quickly dashing off to the first aid kit to keep his blood off any equipment. Who knew IT had a sharp side? A native of the Philippines who moved to the U.S. as a teen and attended high school in the Bay Area, Remon’s philosophy of work is simple but smart: Do the job at hand, and do it well, and other opportunities will likely follow. “The formula in this company for success was for me, and for others as well, do the job that you’re doing and do it well. If you prove yourself to this company, opportunity will be there. Do your job well, and do it efficiently and good things will happen,” he said. He jokes that he earned a master’s and PhD at Yardi University. At UCSB, he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science. Creating opportunity has worked well for Remon at Yardi Systems. His first official job here was in the now-phased out MLS department, where he helped create regular real estate listing digests for regional MLS’. Pre-photo scanners, the work was repetitive and involved...

When Alfonso R. Trujillo visits the affordable housing communities that he oversees as Director of Property Management for the César Chávez Foundation, he remembers his own childhood.  The son of immigrant farmworkers who came to the U.S. in 1972, Trujillo grew up in a Boyle Heights, Los Angeles Affordable Housing Complex. He recalls playing baseball with his friends in the street and the lack of laundry facilities – his mother would hang hand-washed clothes in the common area between apartments.  It was a safe place to call home, but there were none of the programs and services that are a priority for the Chávez Foundation, like the Si Se Puede Learning Centers (SSPLC) where kids can get help with homework and learn with their peers after school. “When I visit our SSPLC programs at our César Chávez Foundation affordable housing communities, I’m elated by it,” said Trujillo, who became the first member of his family to earn a post-secondary degree from Cal Poly Pomona. “I’m glad we’re able to give back.” He’s made supporting the families who live in Chávez Foundation’s communities a priority. Rather than outsourcing the running of laundry facilities to a third party vendor, it is now handled in house with profits going to the onsite SSPLC to supplement grant funding. The centers serve students from Kindergarten through sixth grade, and are a vital linchpin between school and home, especially for working parents. Founded by legendary farm worker activist César E. Chávez , the Chávez Foundation’s Housing and Economic Development Fund has developed or refurbished over 4,300 units of housing in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Portfolio size has grown from $16 million in 1992 to $328 million today. The Chávez Foundation is a Yardi client, using Yardi Voyager to manage its affordable portfolio. Sixty...

Some folks go to the gym or take an extra walk around the block when they are trying to stay fit and healthy. David Hull and Alex Lewis, employees in Yardi’s Raleigh office, decided they’d rather try to outrun some zombies. On a quest for improved physical fitness, the friends – who started their Yardi careers together back in January 2012, David as an associate applications specialist and Alex as a commercial account manager – decided to try a unique fun run trend that’s been sweeping the nation. Why just run when you can run with a zombie trying to chase you? Other obstacle-style events include even more dangerous challenges – the Spartan Beast, for example, features a fire pit jump, barbed wire crawl and electric fence. Participants must sign a waiver releasing liability in case of death to be able to race. Motivated in part by the popularity of the TV series The Walking Dead, zombie-themed events have sprung up all over the south, especially in and around Atlanta, where the dynamic drama is set and filmed. Involving obstacle courses, mud, and live zombies/volunteers, flag belt-wearing participants attempt to make it through the course, typically a journey of several miles, without getting “killed.” Make it back with at least one of your flags (out of three) and you’ve survived. Alex and David decided to take on the Raleigh Zombie Escape at Panic Point without doing much running at all. They’d been training for several months on the Insanity workout, a rigorous high-intensity interval training plan that stresses the whole body. It involved intense cardio but not much distance running. Nevertheless, David and Alex decided to go for it and recruited a few other Yardi Atlanta employees to join them. They also agreed to...

For Ryan Mitchell, the attraction of small-sized living hit home after a layoff. Despite an advanced degree and strong performance reviews, the Charlotte, N.C. man lost his job as a corporate recruiting consultant in 2008 due to the economic downturn, learning abruptly that “a job isn’t always a guaranteed thing, even if you’re a hard worker,” he said. The aftermath of the layoff led Mitchell not just to change his career path, but to reconsider how he’d live his life in the future. Now 27, the New Hampshire native works in non-profits, runs a successful blog, The Tiny Life, that focuses on small space living, and is about to custom build his own tiny house, which will be mobile. Immersing himself in the growing discussion and dialogue around living smaller and smarter has been eye-opening for Mitchell, and has revealed that he’s not the only one who wants to downsize. With a new job in the non-profit sector, he’s been saving up to build a house with a utility trailer as its foundation, so that in the future he can move anywhere for work if needed. He’s found that many of the visitors joining the discussion on The Tiny Life are retirees or soon to be retirees who are trying to figure out how to stretch their savings and retirement funds further. “Even if they have weathered the economic storm, they may have not saved enough, and life expectancy is so much longer now that money has to last longer. Retirees are trying to wrap their head around the question: ‘How am I going to have a good retirement with the money I have available and still have good quality of life?’” said Mitchell, whose highly-trafficked blog gets attention from around the world. One...

Fay Chester hasn’t always been a competitive athlete. Heck, she hasn’t always been an athlete.  A member of Yardi’s Professional Services Group in London, Fay told us she “was very much the person to avoid sports at school…but this situation changed and I realized taking up a sport and an interest outside of work was most needed, and have absolutely loved every minute of it.” With the encouragement of close friends, Fay joined a running club, the David Lloyd Redway Runners Club in Milton Keynes, UK.  Just a few weeks after joining, she participated in a Duathlon/Triathlon training run lead by Great Britain Ironman specialist Campbell Noon.  While Fay never had the intention of becoming a marathon runner, the thought of combining these three unique sports was interesting, so she decided to go for it. The three standard components of a triathlon are swimming, running, and cycling. Races range from a Sprint event (400m lake swim, 20K cycle, 5K run) to an Ironman (3.86km swim, 180km cycle, 42.2K run). Success demands some of the same dedicated focus that has aided Fay in her 11-year asset management/software career. While she hasn’t worked up to the challenging Ironman distance, this former sports avoider has already competed in a duathlon, which was a total of 4 miles running and 11.5 miles cycling. Then she moved on to her very first triathlon, “which was hell,” with a 750m swim, 10K cycle, and a 5K run. What was so hard about this specific triathlon? The cycling was off-road on a mountain bike! There were a few tumbles and spills (we won’t name names) but in the end Fay said she loved it. And that’s not the finish line of this athletic journey for Fay.  She plans another triathlon Sept....

As the owner and principal broker of a full service property management firm in Lafayette, Indiana, Jennie Kirby has insight into every sector of real estate in her Midwestern hometown. She and husband Aaron, associate broker, work with all types of real property at Kirby Property Management, from shopping centers to student apartments to single family homes to storage units and even fraternities. Their dedication to personalized service and client satisfaction has allowed them to grow their business quickly. And as a result of the hard work, last month the Kirby team was honored by the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce as the Small Business of the Month. Working with four employees, Jennie and Aaron Kirby manage 35 single family homes, three shopping centers, a self-storage facility and the Sigma Nu fraternity at Purdue University. They also handle leasing and sales for commercial and residential, and tenant advisement. What binds all these sectors together? A need for quality customer service, which is one of Kirby Property Management’s focal points. “Really helping people find a home or a location for their business, representing tenants in any way shape or form is my favorite thing. I love to see the reaction they get when they finally get the lease signed and there’s that sense of relief that it’s done and they can make that next step in their life and move forward, whether it be with a business or a residence. That’s really a refreshing thing for me,” Jennie Kirby said. Delving into so many different real estate sectors certainly has its challenges, especially when it comes to maintenance. “Nothing’s ever the same – every day it changes. We don’t know if we’re going to be hanging a picture for a residential tenant or fixing a...

Perhaps there’s something innately special about people named Clark that lends naturally toward a life of duality, not to mention innate problem-solving aptitude. Clark Kent, as we all know, was actually Superman. Yardi Systems Application Service Provider Specialist Clark LaForge also has an impressive out-of-work alter ego. While he does most of his crime fighting on the clock, keeping Yardi’s hosted clients up to current protocols, secure and perfectly load balanced, here are a few things that make Clark a particularly interesting member of the Yardi IT staff. -He was on the football field at Memorial Coliseum in Berkeley, Calif., during The Play, the famous Berkeley vs. Stanford band + gridiron mosh pit that was Cal’s five-leg lateral upset win over the Cardinal in 1982. What was a high school student from nearby El Cerrito doing on the field with the Cal band during the game? It was Clark’s job to make sure the marching band Bears stayed hydrated during the game. -Despite launching his own music career as a clarinet player, with talent that sent him to Europe with a teenage traveling wind symphony, he decided bass drum was his second favorite instrument, and ended up being named to the prestigious Cal State Honor Band as a drummer. That landed him back on the field at Memorial Coliseum, where the UC Berkeley band leader, charged with instructing the high school students, was perplexed as to why the bass drummer didn’t have exacting technical skill. -Even though he played classical music and show tunes in band, out of school Clark was listening to NWA, Ice-T and Too Short .. and DJ-ing with their beats, when he wasn’t on the floor busting out 80’s moves like the Smurf. Fast forward two decades and change, and...

One of the first things that Jessica Fiur learned when she became online editor at Multi-Housing News was that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren’t your landlord’s charming Midwestern aunt and uncle. For the New York native, talented writer and pop culture aficionado, learning all about the world of real estate has been an eye-opening – and often humorous –  experience. As an apartment renter in New York, Jessica draws many of the stories she uses for her Multi-Housing News blog from personal experience or tales she hears from other renters. The city’s internationally known apartment market, famous for its limited supply, high demand, tiny spaces and sky-high prices, continues to prosper. “As a multifamily reporter, I’m happy they’re able to raise rents, but as a renter, it’s a little scary,” said Jessica, who recently helped her younger brother find a place in the city and drew blog insight from his challenges. “You pretty much have to be ready to sign if you like something, because someone else is coming up right behind you.” She also uses hot news topics, inspiration from movies, and her own life to inspire creative content about renting, property management, marketing and a host of other topics. A recent post on U.S. Olympian Ryan Lochte challenged apartment communities to think smart about protecting their community brand.  Another asked “Is your apartment like (the summer blockbuster film) ‘The Avengers’?” Sound like a stretch? Both posts offer solid logic and effective management ideas. “I love pop culture, so if I see a movie, even if the subject is not about apartments, there are universal themes. Since I like pop culture so much I always try to integrate it,” Jessica said. She picked up the journalism bug while studying at New York...