American Apartment Owners Association's (aaoa) Blog

 This year's Earth Day, organized by Earth Day Network, is an extravaganza with edge. Earth Day Network was founded by the organizers of the first official Earth Day in 1970, and its goal today is to increase environmental awareness around the world. This year's theme is A Call for Climate which ...

 Landlords Feel the Bite as Bedbugs Reach Epidemic Proportions in Some CitiesBedbugs, once a scourge of by-gone eras, are back and have some landlords up in arms as they figure out how to eradicate these night-crawling blood-suckers. Apartments, hotels and dorm rooms are nirvana for bedbugs, whic...

Submetering Electricity Saves Money, and The EnvironmentWhen it comes to energy usage, all tenants are not created equal.  There have been numerous studies by the National Multi-Housing Council and the National Apartment Association about Submetering.  These studies have clearly documented the co...

Building green is often easier and cheaper than incorporating green features into an existing building. But one improvement that can be made to an existing building is in the retrofitting of natural daylighting features. To keep costs down, do this when major building retrofits are in the plannin...

A false positive criminal report in your tenant background check can cost you a valuable prospect when his only crime is having the same name as someone who has a criminal record.  While credit information relies on social security numbers as a virtually fool-proof identifier to distinguish one p...

Every investor knows last minute complications over financing can cost you an investment deal.  Brookview Financial offer investors a different option to conventional financing. Their program provides you with a guarantee of funding that is valid for the year, or in some cases, two years.  This a...

  Will In-Unit Washers and Dryers Soon Be A Blast From The Past?California has passed some of the country's most stringent water conservation laws, including a requirement that all commercial washers and dryers meet threshold energy and water efficiency standards. A dozen or so states have follow...

Leased laundry equipment is one of the easiest ways for a landlord to make money, according to Adam Coffey, President and CEO of Web Service Company in California.  "All you have to do is sign a lease."  The landlords keep the best share of the revenue: the difference between what the tenants pay...

 Windows filled with argon gas are being advertised as the latest in energy efficiency, and in theory this technology should work. When manufacturers fill the space between two panes of window glass with argon, the thermal insulation is increased by reducing the conductivity of the air space betw...

Many house paints are labeled 'low-e' for low emissivity. Emissivity refers to how much heat is emitted from a surface. Some of these paints, the ceramic ones, contain small, hollow ceramic beads. The idea is that when the paint dries, the beads bond together and create a radiant barrier. This ra...