Abandon Ownership! Join the Rentership Society!

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/st_essay_ownership/

In the American mind, renters are regarded as an unsavory lot, willful dissidents from the American dream. They do things like put cars up on cinder blocks in their front yard or, worse, live in your basement. The vision of an Ownership Society was about more than just houses, but the promotion of homeownership was, for a time at least, its most successful element. You know the story by now: The rate of homeownership climbed to almost 70 percent, sellers walked out of closings trundling wheelbarrows full of cash, and the phrase "granite countertops" seemed to hold as much promise as "plastics" did in The Graduate. Then it all fell apart. We woke up in a Rentership Society, and it's starting to look permanent. And you know what? Thank goodness. Ownership, it turns out, is for suckers.

For renters today, finding a new apartment on craigslist is almost as easy as streaming a movie. (OK, not quite, but you get the point.) Homeowners don't reside in this frictionless economy: They're stuck in one place, unable to quickly downgrade to a cheaper residence when times are lean (or upgrade when times are flush). And it costs thousands of dollars in renovations to beat the depreciation curve.

I speak from experience. My wife and I bought and sold two condos during the latter stages of the real-estate boom, escaping both as break-even propositions (after transaction costs). When we moved into a rental apartment a couple of years ago, we realized that ownership had been a burden, a time sink, and a money pit. Now we ask the landlord to fix things when they break, and we don't mind that the floor is not the one we would have chosen. We pay less each month than we would on a mortgage, and we bank money that once would have gone into installing central air.

We discovered that this emancipating, and remunerative, mindset applies to a lot of things that in the pre-Internet age you had to accumulate in order to enjoy. We sold our car and now use Zipcar or Avis when we need one — my somewhat technophobic wife refers to Zipcar as "Netflixing a car."

Granted, I live in Manhattan, where you don't need a car to get around every day. But no matter where you live, you've probably begun to embrace the Rentership Society without even realizing it. When was the last time you bought a DVD? Sales have plummeted because we all stream our video or get discs by mail. Amazon reportedly wants to get into the rental business, too, by creating a streaming service — their current (failed) model sells TV shows by the episode. I get my music from Microsoft's Zune Pass service these days — $15 a month buys me flexibility, mobility, and freedom from having to upgrade when a new standard replaces MP3s (which it inevitably will).

I'm no freegan, mind you. I don't dig through dumpsters for my dinner, and I believe in the virtues of property rights. The Rentership Society doesn't have to mean the Tragedy of the Commons — the stuff I rent isn't owned by the government or by everyone. It's owned by someone — someone else. I just pay for use. Those of you with a profit instinct (and storage space) can even become landlords: Websites like SnapGoods and Zilok let people rent out their stuff — lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners, tools — to the tenant class (as discussed by Clive Thompson in issue 18.09).

For the rest of us, we'll always own some things. There's stuff we use all the time, like furniture and clothing, and objects with sentimental value (take your stinking paws off my Yoda figure with plastic snake). But the Internet is creating markets that enable us to own much less. The winner of the ebook sweepstakes will be the bookseller who becomes a bookrenter. I don't want to own hundreds of books on a Kindle at $10 a pop. I want to Netflix them — pay for access to every book ever published. I'd rather be a renter in Borges' library than the owner of my own.

Everything, everywhere, all the time. That's the dream of the Rentership Society. And we're almost there. If you want to be able to possess some things, in some places, some of the time, well, keep on buying. But I vote for infinite abundance, on demand. Doesn't that sound like the new century's American dream?

--
Nairoby Otero
Administrative Assistant
Signature Community
www.ASignatureCommunity.com

212.202.1461
"Si³" Signature: Ideas, Innovation, Implementation!
Send ideas to: ideas@asignaturecommunity.com

Nick Jekogian's Monday Morning Message - Social networks (Community)

Social networks (Community)

I finally had a chance to see the hottest movie of the year (Social Network) and was amazed not just by the great acting, great screenplay but amazed at how valuable the Facebook company has become by doing the same thing we do everyday at Signature Community.  Give people at opportunity to be part of a community!

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about the movie Wall Street 2 and how it sort of missed its marked and was really about a time that is now behind us (see below) whereas the original Wall Street movie from the 90s started an era.  Well Social Network seems to be the new Wall Street.  Although it overly glamorizes the start up business and uses a 1 in a billion example of success what it does show is that in today's world if you can create a product that everyone feels a deep desire to be part of (Sense of community is one of the principle needs of people, in some cases more important than food or sex) you can have millions of followers.  In less then 10 years Facebook has more that 500 million members and is one of the biggest success stories of our generation.

At Signature Community we understand people need/desire for community.  We do everything we can at Signature to make our residents feel part of the community not like a tenant.  We have programs that promote resident involvement, newsletters to keep our residents informed and even a helping hand program to give some of our less fortunate a leg up in this brutal economy.  We continue everyday to try to make Singnature a bigger and bigger part of our residents lives and their sense of community.  We hope that if you have any ideas that will promote the community aspects of life at Signature Community please share them with us at ideas@asignaturcommunity.com. 

 

Thanks for helping to make Signature Community the greatest living social network.
Nick

Nick Jekogian's Monday Morning Message - Never Give Up

Never Give Up


Last Sunday morning at 6AM I was running in the dark.  I was 4 miles into a 52 mile run that came on the heels of a 5 mile swim and 225 bike ride. I had been swimming, biking and now running for more than 24 hrs and was feeling it.  During mile 4 of 52, I was moving at a very slow pace and I couldn't keep focused on the road. I was wobbling side to side and physically done.  At that time, I thought the race was over for me.  This wasn't just any race this was a double Ironman event that I had trained for the past year.  I had been working on getting in the race for the year before that, but most importantly this was a personal goal that I committed myself to doing.  In that hour before sunrise on Sunday morning I was ready to give up.

I came around the bend and down the hill into the crew area and that's where the race began to turn around for me. My brother Michael joined me on the next lap, against doctor's orders due to his recently broken arm that had kept him out of the race.  While running I started downing some bananas and Gatorade. But what it really took were my brother's words of encouragement to change the type of race I was running.  At that point I was able to make the mental shift from this is a "running race" to this is a "mental race."  At this point, the pain in my legs, feet, arms, neck and head all somehow dissipated and the only thing that mattered was the thoughts in my head.  I continued to find the mental strength to push the next 12 hours through all the pain and exhaustion. I had turned the corner in the race and knew that it did not matter what condition I was physically in, this race was going to be won in my head.  This experience helped me see that one can never underestimate the power of teamwork and positive leadership. I would not have made it over the finish line 12 hours later, if it were not for the powerful encouragement and wise words of my brother Mike and the support and positive energy of the rest of my crew. They made this race happen for me.

In the week following the race I kept going back to those dark moments early Sunday morning and thought about what made my race different than the others that didn't finish or others that didn't make it to the starting line (more than 2/3 of the racers dropped out before the start).  The one key thing keeps jumping out to me is that I believed and was told repeatedly that I could do it, that I was going to make it happen.  I never thought "will I do it?, Can I make it?", I thought "I will do it!, I can Make it Happen!". Amazingly the difference between finishing a Double Ironman or any Endeavour for that matter, is do you think, "Can I do it? or "I can do it!"

In the 34 hrs and 45 minutes that I was out on the course swimming, biking and running I only questioned my ability to finish once for about a 30 min time period, which was when I was the most susceptible to failure. When I was encouraged to start thinking positively again, I changed the statement around to, " I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN!"

At Signature Community over the past two years there have been many times that people have asked "Will we survive, Can we make it through these difficult economic times?".  Through all the problems that we have encountered I have continued to say, "We will Survive! We can make it happen!"

 

We may have had to shed some good assets, some good people, but in the end, we will come back stronger and thrive as a company.  The decisions will be painful, the cuts will be gut wrenching, the stories will be frightening, but just as I did for 52 miles (over 12 hours) last Sunday, we will continue to say "WE ARE MAKING IT HAPPEN" and we will "MAKE IT HAPPEN".

Thanks again for all your support on my crazy race (below is a short race report), but more importantly thanks for all your commitment and dedication to MAKING IT HAPPEN AT SIGNATURE COMMUNITY.

 

Nick

Double Ironman Race Update

Thanks for all your support and interest on my latest crazy race endeavor.  Here is an update:

The Double Ironman started at 7am Saturday with a 5 mile swim.  Swim went great for me and I was out of the water in a little over 3 hrs.

Bike was a tough slog taking almost 17 hrs to ride the 225 miles. I was on the bike from about 11am until just after 5 am sunday morning.  The course was pretty brutal because it was a 2.5 mile road with sharp turnarounds on either end (with one side being at the bottom of a hill).  45 times around each of the cones was not a pleasant experience.  I did take a 15 - 20 min. rest every 50 miles with a Red Bull shot before each break to motivate me to get back up.

I started the run about 5:30 am and continued to run non-stop until 5:45 pm on Sunday.  The early morning run was very difficult and at points I was close to giving up.  About 8am my brother (Mike) and Yael joined me on the run and somehow turned my mindset from giving up to making it happen.  My pace increased significantly over the next few hours and the first 26 miles of the the 52 mile run turned out pretty nicely.  The later part of the run was a mindless walk or shuffle for about 8 hrs.  Every 30 mins we did a calculation to make sure my pace would beat the finish time requirement of 36 hrs.

 I could have never done it without my family crew (mom, dad, mike, yael, my kids and mike's kids) and their boundless energy pushing me towards the finish line.  In  34 hrs and 45 mins. I finished the Double Ironman.

Attached is a photo of me going over the finish -- American flag in hand, National anthem playing in the background and family cheering me on.  No better way to end a long weekend!

Thanks for your support and if you would like to make a contribution to the charity I was raising money for the link is here:  http://www.crowdrise.com/Neverstopmakingithappen/fundraiser/NeverStop


--
Nickolas Jekogian
CEO
Signature Community
917-763-3500
www.ASignatureCommunity.com
Blog -http://www.nwjceommm.blogspot.com/



There is only one boss at Signature Community. The Resident.
If we don't take care of them......Someone else will.

Nick Jekogian's Monday Morning Message - Wins and losses

Wins and losses

"You can learn a line from a win and a book from a defeat." - Paul Brown, Cincinnati Bengals coach

I am a dyed in the wool optimist and couldn't imagine being an entrepreneur in the real estate business or any business without optimism. I am also a realist who has learned (the hard way in many cases) that you must learn from your mistakes. Ironically, we often learn a lot more from the losses than the wins.

As for the wins, we did a great job this leasing renewal season at Signature Community. We renewed more than 75% of our existing residents, we leased up to 100% occupancy in just about all our markets and we cut our cost to turn and renovated apartments to fractions of what was paid in the past. I am very proud of our entire team for reaching the incredibly difficult stretch goals that I set for them and making it happen! We are celebrating these wins this week.

We also had a few losses this year.  We failed to meet certain lending requirements for buildings that will jeopardize our long term ownership of those assets. We failed at cutting expense quickly enough to offset some of the revenue decline we have seen in markets.

In the fourth quarter of this year our primary focus is learning from our mistakes and amplifying our winning traits. If something worked in one market or building we are going to make sure it is implemented in all buildings. If something failed we are going to research why and make sure that we learn not to make the same mistake again.  We are not wasting this recession.  We are learning from it and getting better because of it.

I am looking forward to working with all of you to make Signature Community better in 2011 and beyond. Thanks for the wins and let's learn from the losses.

 

Nick

Nick Jekogian's Monday Morning Message - Brown Paper Bag

Brown Paper Bag

Craig Hodges, Managing Director of Australia-based King Content, suggested the best business question I've heard in 2010 , "What's The Brown Paper Bag in Your Business?" As the story goes, Craig was in NYC and managed to garner a dinner reservation at the famous Gramercy Tavern. One thing led to another and he ended up closing the place down, enjoying beers with the staff (what Aussie's do best!). As he was leaving, the staff handed him a brown paper bag and said it was a little something for breakfast the next morning. He started to look inside, but was instructed to keep it closed until the sun came up.   When Hodges was ready for breakfast the next morning, he found inside the properly sealed bag a freshly baked muffin, muesli, and an orange juice - a welcomed delight. It was then that he wondered "what was the brown paper bag-equivalent in his business?" He wondered how his business could generate the same word-of-mouth promotion he's given Gramercy Tavern as a result of something so simple, yet memorable?

The above story made me pose the question, "What is Signature Community's Brown Paper Bag?  Because this can mean a lot of different things for everyone on our team; on Wednesday I am going to ask each and every market for their Brown Paper bag so please be ready to participate.

I am looking forward to hearing all the different ideas for our Brown Paper Bags.

Nick

Nick Jekogian's Monday Morning Message - Teamwork

"We are all part of a chain. You must carry your load." - Bill Walsh, 4 times Super bowl winning coach

I am amazed at how easy it is for children to instantly join together as a team to accomplish some wildly imaginative goal.  No egos, no jockeying for positions, no politics. They put 100% of their efforts into accomplishing the common team goal without any concern for their individual interests.  In this case a few of the kids fell off the top of the mountain but they got right back up and helped the team again.

Interestingly, even at young ages the kids fall in line as leaders and followers. They realize that the team needs direction and control which can only be put into place by a leader. 

At Signature Community we have a huge initiative over the next quarter to focus on ideas, innovation and implementation, Si3. We know from experience that if we come up with a lot of ideas at the corporate level and try to implement them in the field they will fail miserably.  So what Si3 does is involve the entire company in the process, teamwork.  Teams are being formed to work on key areas of improvement: resident services, accounting and financial, employee experience, Signature Training (star center), technology, and strategic initiatives.  Over the next few months these teams will work together on the goal of making Signature Community the best place to live, work and invest!

In past years the research and implementation we have done during these months has not only produced great results for our company, but has also shined a spotlight on many of the star players in our organization.  Just like on the playground where the kids work together to fill the roles needed for success, we have experienced the same type of effort in our teambuilding and watched employees excel in the organization through this initiative.

I look forward to hearing any of your ideas and thoughts as we proceed with Si3 over the next few months.  Please send any ideas or comments to ideas@asignaturecommunity.com.

Thanks again for making great things happen at Signature Community.  

Nick