Seller Beware
If you are considering selling your multi-unit property, how you start your relationship with your real estate agent has a tremendous impact on the final results. As a multifamily property owner in the East Bay, I receive postcards and letters in the mail touting the expertise of real estate agents. As a real estate agent myself, specializing in multifamily properties, I also send out postcards with information to owners when I sell a property in their area. In the past year, I have noticed a trend with regards to the information on the...
read moreEliminating the “Yuck Factor” in Composting
Do your residents complain that food scraps recycling is messy or stinky? It doesn’t have to be. Oakland residents have been setting aside food scraps for weekly composting collection since 2005. Here are a few tips from the field to help you and your residents create a successful compost collection program at your building. Paper is the first line of defense against odors. It is a compostable and absorbent material that can help to reduce odor in the kitchen pail or green cart. Many paper products are readily available in the home for reuse...
read moreCleaner & Greener
An exciting new package of Zero Waste services is launching in Oakland on July 1, 2015, including a new food scraps collection program for apartments and condos. This program will provide a green compost cart at all multifamily properties with five units or more to collect residents’ food scraps, food-soiled paper and plant debris. It is one of many initiatives under the City’s new Zero Waste program, which tailors trash, recycle and compost collection services to reduce material sent to our landfills. Thousands of Oakland residents at 480...
read moreA Tailored Approach to Solar
A major component of greening your rental property is including on-site renewable energy production. Photovoltaic (PV) systems and solar water heaters follow your energy efficiency projects to reduce your electric and natural gas bills. Like most construction projects, solarizing a building is not a one-size-fits all activity. It requires a tailored approach guided by expected net financial returns for each technology, as well as an understanding of the variety of sophisticated financial tools available in the marketplace. Solar Electricity...
read moreServing the Urban Commuter
Oakland, like many major metropolitan areas, is a commuter town and is becoming more of a bike commuter city every day. With improvements in our local economy, we are seeing more street repaving, the addition of designated bike lanes and major bike infrastructure installations with the city’s Complete Streets Program. BART no longer has a ban on bikes during commute hours and many AC Transit buses are equipped with bike racks. The passage of Measure BB ensures an additional $1 billion over the next 30 years to fund more bike and pedestrian...
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