My first editor’s note for Multifamily Executive ran in our June 2007 issue. I wrote about my cross-country move from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.; about switching industries from single-family construction to multifamily management; and about my experience trying to rent a new apartment in the city. In that piece, I described two very different leasing agents I met while apartment-hunting—a woman who won me over with her energy and knowledge, and a second who made me want to hightail it to the nearest property without an on-site office. The lesson? Good people make all the difference.
It only seems fitting, then, that in this column, my last for the magazine, I am simultaneously hunting for a new apartment in a new city, changing industries, and remembering once again how important good people are.
I’ve always been bad at saying goodbye. (Let’s just say it usually ends with the cliché combo of Kleenex and dark chocolate.) But here goes: I am leaving my role as editor-in-chief of Multifamily Executive to move back home to Los Angeles and enter the daunting and exciting world of TV production, developing premium video content for YouTube, the Oprah Winfrey Network, and other such networks.
I’m incredibly excited about this new opportunity and the skills it will afford me as a content and media professional. But this move is also a bittersweet one. Over the past four years, I have made some amazing friends in the apartment industry, meeting men and woman who continue to impress me with their knowledge, dedication, and charisma. I have helped our writers shape especially compelling content—an inside look at the growing housing affordability crisis; a series on the crime epidemic that riddled apartments a couple of years ago; and a three-part, award-winning piece that tackled the demographic myths that so many of today’s property managers are blindly buying into. And I have simultaneously managed a team of superbly talented writers, editors, and designers who work tirelessly to ensure that each issue of the magazine you receive is beyond reproach.
Rather than look to the past any longer, I’d like to instead focus on what lies ahead. Going forward, our editorial director, John McManus, whom many of you have met at various industry events, will take a more active role in the editorial direction of the magazine. In addition, this month’s issue represents a subtle update of the magazine’s design and layout, introducing a couple of new sections and revamping some old favorites. (Check out our new “Hot List” department, on page 25; the revamped “New Developments” project snapshot, on page 47; as well as the “One to Watch” profile, on the last page of the magazine.)
Lastly, in the months and years to come, you can continue to expect the high-quality, innovative content that you’ve always received from Multifamily Executive. This month is no exception: We take a deep dive into the rent versus own debate (see page 30) that has consumed housing-policy and consumer-sentiment conversations for the past year to understand which camp comes out ahead in today’s economy. (Spoiler alert: The rental sector will be having a very good year.)
I will miss the multifamily industry. I will miss many of you. And I will miss working with the good people I’ve come to know—professionals who raise the bar in everything they do.
I wish each and every one of you the absolute best going forward. And as for me, you can find me online on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the like.
Goodbye, and may rents, occupancies, and financing be ever in your favor.
