A Man of Action - Art Swanson
Contributed by Jo Goecke, RHN member

Art Swanson gives new meaning to the business term “bottom-up management.” Over the past two decades, he has climbed from maintenance/painter to Chief of Operations at Lightner Property Group (LPG). While he modestly claims to be a problem solver, his standard for excellence is legendary among Lightner tenants. Experience counts. Swanson has been a hands-on participant in LPG’s explosive growth for 22 years. “We currently manage 15 residential buildings and 6 commercial properties including Russian Hill, Lower Pacific Heights, Pacific Heights Marina, Nob Hill, Richmond/Sea Cliff, Laurel Heights, USF/Pan Handle, SOMA, Hayes Valley, Market/Castro, and West Oakland,” he emphasizes. “Managers report directly to me on a daily basis.”

Fueled by recent complaints from Lightner’s tenants involving late-night disturbances in and around the Heritage Marina Motel, located on the corner of Van Ness Avenue and Filbert Street, Bill Lightner, president of LPG, collaborated with the upper management team to develop a plan of action. Following the meeting, Swanson contacted the new on-site manager at Heritage and made it clear that “Lightner would take a determined approach, including, but not limited, to contacting the police and filing a formal complaint. Both the property manager and on-site manager are fairly new at the property but appear to be taking the steps necessary to clean up the site. I keep in touch on a regular basis and continue to monitor any complaints from Lightner’s residents across the street. We will not tolerate any decadent or criminal behavior.” I am vehemently opposed to any illegal activity that violates other person’s rights and/or any disrespect for personal property, including people’s right to quiet enjoyment in their home.”

Swanson and LPG feel fortunate that Carolyn Doyle manages the 1472 Filbert property. Swanson identifies Doyle as an extremely competent and knowledgeable manager. “However,” he stresses,“tenants have to be alert and take personal responsibility for their safety. It stands to reason that closing doors when entering or leaving the building is paramount to building safety. Never letting someone you do not know gain access to the building is another important safety measure. Reporting malfunction of entries to management, calling police when necessary to report malicious or suspicious behavior when seen, and membership in your neighborhood association are essential tools.”

San Francisco’s Police Chief George Gascón has implemented a collective effort through neighborhood programs that build relationships with residents to increase personal safety. “Lightner supports Chief Gascón’s plan,” continues Swanson. “When you get involved, it is easier for the police to respond. For example, when a crime in progress is reported, the caller only needs to leave a first name and cell phone number. The police can contact you when they arrive on the scene and ask any follow-up questions that may help in identifying the criminal. They are not going to reveal that you called.”

Graffiti is a well-established phenomenon and its immediate removal contributes to the stabilization of neighborhoods. Swanson applies a seasoned perspective and recently moved decisively to have the graffiti removed on the side of an out building on the Heritage Marina Motel’s roof. “Studies show that immediate removal of graffiti discourages the vandals from returning; it takes a while and you need to be diligent. It pays off in the end. Of course, it is more difficult to control on a vacant building.”

In closing, Swanson believes that people work for more than a paycheck; he is both proud but modest regarding the distinguished recognition he has received from the community, “People like to lease from property managers who maintain a standard of excellence,“ he concludes.


So, how does one possibly keep up?

Calendaring is my method to limiting e-mail madness.

Every email that fits the above-criteria is copied into my Outlook calendar, placed strategically based upon importance. This greatly limits forgetting something is due and saves me time in not having to hunt for the email detailing the project. (Because you know when you put it on your to-do list you still then have to go back through your thousands of emails and find the right one.) Also, if it turns out there is a change in project timelines you simply change the date and time in your calendar, and voila.

This post was written by Cathleen Higgins, Lightner Property Group’s Communications Director. Cathleen joined Lightner Property Group in 2007 and has over a decade of experience in real estate marketing and sales in the Seattle area. She holds a degree in English from Chico State and a Certificate in Graphic Design from The Art Institute of Seattle, as well as being a California licensed real estate salesperson. E-mail Cathleen

My POV? The Fed got us into this mess by under-regulating Wall Street, then made it worse with their TARP antics and are not helping at all by imploring banks to lend with one side of their mouth and preventing them from doing so on the other. As frightening as it is to me, I now believe we are in a government-made mess that only the government can get us out of. Yikes!

“Housing Real-Estate Recovery Signaled as Fed Unwinds”

The U.S. housing market is poised to withstand the removal of government and Federal Reserve stimulus programs and rebound later in the year, contributing to annual economic growth for the first time since 2006.

Increases in jobs, credit and affordable homes will help offset the end of the Fed_s purchases of mortgage-backed securities this month and the expiration of a federal homebuyer tax credit in April. Sales will rise about 6 percent this year, and housing will account for 0.25 percentage point of the 3.6 percent growth, according to forecasts by Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist for Barclays Capital in New York.

_I would bet even odds that we_re at a bottom and that we_re going to see improvement in the coming months,_ said Karl Case, co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index and a professor of economics at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Sounds good, right? So, does that mean I should ignore the following:

“Strategic Default: In Come the Waves Again” (Credit Writedowns)

There is a growing divide between delinquencies and foreclosures, which suggests that foreclosure data understate the mortgage distress and delinquencies now building in the U.S. residential housing market.

When Option-ARM and Alt-A interest rates re-set higher, payments will increase dramatically for many borrowers who are hopelessly underwater on their mortgages. This will be a significant driver of defaults in 2010 and 2011.

Moreover, a recent article in the New York Times demonstrates that borrowers with high FICO scores are still at risk of default, opting to pay credit cards off instead of mortgages.

This is all pointing to a coming wave of strategic defaults. Borrowers whose homes are significantly underwater could be looking at losses at sale for up to 6 years. Therefore, many are opting to default strategically. When a borrower defaults and walks away, the loss becomes unrecoverable and the value of the asset must be written down. So while holding MBS paper to maturity has  cushioned banks to date, a large wave of strategic defaults would pressure lenders who are under-provisioning for future losses.

Expect this to play out over 2010 and 2011.

“Housing Recovery is Spelled R-E-O” (HousingWire)

Using [Lender Processing Service] data, for all loans more than 90 days in arrears, the average days delinquent is now at 272 days_up from 204 days in early 2008. For loans in foreclosure, the aging numbers are even more staggering: loans in this bucket average 410 days delinquent, up from 260 days delinquent in early 2008.

Ponder those numbers for just a second. On average, severely delinquent borrowers have gone more than 9 months without making a mortgage payment_and yet foreclosure has not yet started for them. For those borrowers who are in the foreclosure process, it_s been an average of 13.6 months_more than one full year_since they last made any payment on their mortgage.

So, can short sales ride in to save the day for these 7.4m troubled borrowers? What about for the many millions more who are current on their loans, but are underwater on property value and unable to sell? For some, short sales will be an important solution_but don_t kid yourself: the hype currently surrounding short sales and the HAFA program will prove to be short-lived, and REO expertise will be prove to be the key to recovery, as it has been in prior cycles.

“Housing Market Sure to Double-Dip: Whitney” (CNBC.com)

The US housing market will face another retreat while mortgage-backed securities and Treasurys are likely to go through a “material” correction, Meredith Whitney, CEO of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, told CNBC Tuesday.

“The housing market surely will double dip,” Whitney told “Worldwide Exchange.”

Government programs to support housing have been “murky” and when the modifications caused by them come to an end, a lot of supply may come to the market and that’s when the real-estate market is likely to go down, she explained.

Hopes that an improvement in liquidity and continuing investment from China in US assets will prop up mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and Treasurys are exaggerated, Whitney also said.

“The asset classes of MBS and Treasurys are priced for a material correction in my opinion,” she said. “The only buyers of agency MBS are the Fed and banks so you see how precarious that market is.”

“If the Fed pulls back, that’s a really big deal… because there’s no substitute buyer.”

Banks Model Is Broken

The Federal Reserve can’t make banks start lending again because the business model financial institutions used before the crisis is broken, Whitney also said.

“I don’t think there’s much the Fed can do to get banks to start lending again. That’s a structural problem, the model is broken,” Whitney told “Worldwide Exchange.”

“Home Builder Confidence Falls. Foul Weather and Distressed Sales Cited as Reason” (Mortgage News Daily)

[National Association of Home Builders] Chairman Bob Jones says:

_Unusually poor weather conditions certainly had a negative effect on builders_ business in February…..At the same time, the continual flow of distressed properties priced below the cost of production is having an adverse effect on new-home appraisals and also making it tough for builders_ customers to sell their existing homes._

NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe says:

_The lack of available credit for new projects, the large number of distressed properties for sale and the continuing hesitancy of potential buyers due to the weak job market are definitely weighing on builder confidence at this time….

“Buyer Traffic Forecasting Decline” (Paper Economy)

Comparing today_s new residential construction data to the recently released NAHB housing market indicators appears to suggest that we may soon see a notable declines to housing starts and permits.

The _buyer traffic_ index has been declining steadily since September 2009 indicating that home builders are seeing declining foot traffic with an overall level only slightly higher buyer activity than seen in the panic stricken days of late 2008.

This is a notable finding as in recent years the _buyer traffic_ series has indicated the trend generally well in advance of the housing starts and permits data.

Further, as Bob Toll has noted many times in the past, the start of the year is typically the strongest period for the new home market so given the latest trends it appears that new housing is off to a particularly weak start.

“Lending Changes Hit Struggling Condo Market” (Daily Journal of Commerce)

Unit No. 100, a completely suitable space at the Trillium Hollow condominiums in Northwest Portland, is up for grabs. Unfortunately, it seems to be completely unsellable, according to Stacy Cooper, principal broker with Portland Condos.

_I have had five buyers interested in writing on this property, and have run the loan package through 10 lenders. Only one is willing to loan, and they will require 40 percent down,_ she said. _This was not the case three years ago when my sellers bought the property. It has appraised above the list price, but even fire-sale pricing won_t get this property sold._

Cooper_s experience is shared by many Portland condo brokers in the wake of the Federal Housing Administration_s new lending requirements for such properties. The new guidelines are dealing a stiff blow to a sector that already is struggling because of the housing market collapse.

As of Oct. 1, 2009, condo developments must meet a stringent new set of guidelines in order to obtain financing through the FHA. The new approval process, part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, is intended to better insure mortgages and slow the rate of defaults.



1. Encourage employees NOT to have more than two caffeinated beverages a day.
   
   Coffee may be an upper, but it is also a downer and a mood-altering device. Make it a competition to see who can drink the least caffeine each week. My advice, do not make the prize a Starbucks gift card.
2. Put a bucket of mixed nuts at your desk.
   
   This encourages high-energy snacking and also gets people to actually come say hello to you, which if you are in Human Resources, can sometimes be an uphill battle.
3. Tell your boss to go home early or if you are the boss; go home early!        
   
   Though there is always more work to be done, an unbalanced boss usually ends up treating their employees in an inconsistent manner. When employees do not know where they stand or are not sure which boss is coming through the door that day, employees tend to become less productive and have more sick-days. 
4. Post funny videos to you company YouTube site.
   
   Laughter reduces frustration, so when a colleague is having a bad day send them a laugh-link.