IREM Chapter 60: Central Florida, Orlando

Lenders Foreclose on Thousands of Mortgages

Office vacancy rates in Chicago hit 30% with average square footage costs at $1.50-$3.00. The story was sad and lead the headlines as banks and owners everywhere discovered that their investments had been poorly managed. It was the 1930's and professional management was a misnomer.

I guess you could say “We’ve come a long way baby!” On June 12, 2003 IREM will celebrate its 70th Anniversary. With 16,000 individual members and 540 company members, all professionals, this organization has been the leading source of education and professional certification for real estate management practitioners. It is the ONLY organization committed to providing education and certification for managers of all property types and for managers at all levels.

As a valued member of IREM both locally and nationally you should take great pride in your accomplishments and know certain that it is our mission to provide you the membership services you need and desire. You’ve earned it!

As we celebrate IREM’s 70th Anniversary please take the time to celebrate your success as a CPM, ARM, AMO, and Associate Member as well. We will! As part of this Anniversary celebration Chapter 60 will be sending out press releases, has committed to features in the Journal of Property Management, and will plan special commemorative events. These events will be focused on educating the public, owners, and other professionals of the benefits of the IREM professional credentials and hiring those who hold these credentials.

Join us in the celebrations, speak up, take part, toot your own horn.....Make the headlines! Call to let us know what your successes are so we can spotlight you and your organization! And most of all Congratulations to you as a valued member and the driving force of IREM’s longevity.

Robin Stinson
RCStinsonFL@aol.com

FRIENDS to consider service from:

Commercial Air Conditioning, Inc.
& Commercial Electric, Inc.
Christian H. Engle
Phone: 407-339-8559

The Roofing Connection
Ed Wallick
Phone: 407-696-7663

Wallick Construction
Bruce Wallick
Phone: 407-302-9900

The Flying Mulchman
Kevin McDonough
Phone: 407-339-3311

Davey Tree Expert Co.
Chris Marshall
Phone: 407-331-8020

Florida Catastrophe Group
Jennifer Harris
Phone: 407-295-5540

Link to all our Friends' info at: http://www.irem60.org/friends.htm.

Our Chapter’s Friends of IREM program provides an excellent opportunity for members to develop relationships with reputable, quality service providers and other real estate related professionals. We are fortunate to have several outstanding companies among our Friends of IREM membership and if you have not had the chance to become acquainted with these Friends I encourage you to do so.

Partner, well-wisher, confidante and advocate are all synonyms for friend and all those words together describe the many roles our IREM Friends serve. How many times do we call other property managers and ask them if they know a good contractor or one type or another? When we are searching for that particular service provider, how often do we think of our Friends of IREM? In an effort to give our Friends a more effective role and to provide a greater benefit to all our members, we would like to know just how often you think of and consider our Friends members. Would you take a few moments and complete the short survey linked below? Your candid responses will be appreciated.

>> Click here to take survey.

"Building Codes Ain't Purdy"
Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 15th at noon at Lee's Lakeside, 431 E. Central Ave., Orlando - 407-841-1565 with a presentation from Heart Construction. You can start making your reservations now by calling or emailing Meridythe Kanaga, CPM, our Administrator.

There is free parking across the street from the restaurant or if you choose to park in their garage, the cost will be $1.00 per hour after the first hour that will not be included in the luncheon price.

The meeting charge is $25.00 for pre-registration or $30.00 without reservations or billed. If you plan to pay at the door; we accept, check, cash MC or Visa.

Announcing

It is with great pleasure that I share with you the recommendations of IREM’s Nominating Committee to the Governing Council.

Joseph Ferry, CPM
Lou Nimkoff, CPM
Scott Pollock, CPM

The election will take place during the Governing Council meeting on Saturday, November 22, 2003 in San Diego, California.

IREM's 2002 Income/Expense Awards

At the IREM Leadership & Legislative Summit in May, our Chapter was awarded the Most Improved Chapter in the Large Category that may not have met all their goals but did have the greatest increase from the previous year in total submittals per CPM. Mez Birdie, CPM, I/E Chairman was presented this award on behalf of our Chapter. Thanks, Mez, for all your efforts in achieving this success.

IREM's Chapter of the Year Award

The purpose of this award is to encourage the communication of ideas among chapters, improve the quality and public image of IREM on the local level, and to honor those chapters that have made significant strides during the year. Our chapter was given the Silver award for the year 2002 in the category 4 (between 80-109 CPM members). Accepting this award at the recent Leadership & Legislative Summit was Mike McConnell, CPM, our 2002 President. Thanks, Mike, for a great and productive year.

Building Kudos

The AmSouth Bank Center, 111 North Orange Avenue, was presented by the Downtown Orlando Partnership, Inc., the Golden Brick Award for interior lobby improvements. Accepting the award was Jane G. Bullock, CPM, USAA Realty Company, property manager, and Ann Quist, KZF Design LLC, designer.

In Washington D.C., that could be a controversial question however, from April 25-29, 2003 IREM and CCIM joined forces to storm D.C. On behalf of our members and other professionals in the industry representatives of both Associations from around the U.S. visited the offices of your Representatives and Senators. Scott Pollock, Steve Jankowski, Mez Birdie, Lou Nimkoff, Robin Stinson, and Mike McConnell are some names you may recognize.

There were five major points to lobby on behalf of our industry. They were:
• Bankruptcy Reform-supporting four bankruptcy provisions
• Federal Reserve/Treasury Proposal-opposing changes or interpretations in present federal regulations that allow banks into real estate brokerage and property management
• Depreciation/Tenant Leasehold Improvements-supporting the reduction of the depreciable lives of tenant improvements to 10 years from 39 years
• Accessibility-support notification to owners prior to legal action to avoid unscrupolous and frivilous lawsuits by uninjured parties
• Expensing of Building Security Equipment-supporting the ability to deduct significant expenses on security upgrades and installations as owners attempt to improve security services

For more details on these and other IREM Statements of Policy visit the IREM web page at www.irem.org.

The visits went very well and our points were welcomed by the staff(s). I encourage each of you to join us next year. It is certainly an experience you will enjoy.


	June 5		Executive Council Meeting
	June 17-18		MNT201 - Introduction to Managing Operations @ FAR
	July 10		Executive Council Meeting
	July 15		Membership Meeting "Building Codes Ain't Purdy" -Heart Construction
	July 28		Deadline for News Articles
	August 7		Executive Council Meeting
	August 19-20		FIN201 - Basic Budgeting & Accounting @ FAR

Florida Catastrophe Corp. is excited to have the opportunity to build new relationships through our recent “friendship” with IREM. Hurricane season is right around the corner and we hope everyone has taken the time to make sure a plan is in place. It is very important to be prepared and to have a plan including the name and number of companies, like ours, on hand in the event an emergency occurs.

Fla-Cat has been serving Central Florida for over 22 years and is operated out of a 24,000 sq. ft. facility in downtown Orlando. Fla-Cat is one of the few restoration companies that does it all, from mitigation, to pack out, cleaning and storage of contents to total reconstruction. Specializing in fire, flood, and storm damage, Fla-Cat’s combined construction experience has completed over $75,000,000 in restoration and new construction work and you can rest assured that no job is too small or large for a valued client. All services are available 24 hrs. a day and most importantly are provided by our knowledgeable, courteous, and well-trained staff. We strive to be competitive in our market, professional in our service, and dependable in our performance.

Please let us know if we can be of any assistance when preparing for the season ahead.

Jennifer Harris
Florida Catastrophe Group
1401 Atlanta Avenue
Orlando, FL 32806
Tel: 407.295.5440 / Fax: 407.521.9441
www.FLA-CAT.com
jenn@FLA-CAT.com

CAC-CE is prepared to assist its clients with whatever emergency needs that might arise from a storm from this approaching hurricane season. Typical services would include:

Temporary power
Temporary air conditioning
"Making Safe" damaged mechanical and electrical equipment
Clearing "downed" electrical lines
Emergency temporary repairs
Reconstruction

Both our air conditioning & electrical division will be available and standing by to respond to your unexpected emergency needs. To aide in response CAC-CE suggests that a generic letter of authorization be available/provided so that we can respond if police have established curfews or blocked off the area. Hopefully none of this will be necessary but we feel it prudent to prepare and have a response plan in place.

I welcome any questions you may have.

Christian H. Engle, President
www.CAC-CE.com
Phone: 407-339-8559
Fax: 407-830-7049
Mobile: 407-383-1820

Stress no more. Chapter 60 is developing a full day of fun, competition, food and games for every IREM member in the area and their guests.

Where: Cypress Grove Park, Orlando

Date: Saturday September 27, 2003

Time: All day with details to follow

We guarantee that you will have the opportunity to team build with your employees and co-workers. We guarantee that your family will enjoy watching and cheering you on as you compete with others in stress relieving obstacle courses and pie eating contests.

Mark your calendars and begin thinking about the development of your teams. Watch for more details in newsletters, flyers and at membership meetings. If you don’t find us we will find you.

IREM Central Florida Chapter #60 Important Links:

Committee Chairs

Board of Directors

Friends of IREM

Calendar of Events

IREM National

ZOM Development, Inc. was honored by the National Association of Home Builders at the annual Pillars of the Industry awards gala on Monday, March 24 in Boca Raton, Florida, during NAHB's Multi-Housing World Exposition, where ZOM received "Best Luxury Multifamily Development" for The Waverly on Lake Eola.

Steve Patterson, CPM, ZOM's President and CEO notes, "The Waverly represents an exciting design solution to a very unique setting. It was important to us from the beginning that we deliver a landmark residential property to Orlando's downtown skyline. This award reinforces our team's ability to deliver luxury housing with a rare vision."

Congratulations, Steve!

Excerpt taken from original internet article: http://www.zomusa.com/custom/zom/
news_3_28b_03.html

Is it a puppy? Is it a gold fish? Maybe it’s free rent. No, it is a great opportunity to join IREM! Thanks to the great folks in Ocala, Chapter 60 is offering not just one but two ARM Application Fee Vouchers. These were awarded to the Ocala chapter, that has now merged with Chapter 60, in recognition of outstanding ARM recruitment efforts in 2002. If you are interested in becoming an ARM just contact Meridythe Kanaga or Robin Stinson (321) 229-8154 and you may very well receive a complimentary application fee. Don’t wait…there are only two available….call now…no waiting required…..no hidden costs…. Just call!

WELCOME NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA CHAPTER 86!
We welcome the members from the North Central Florida Chapter 86 who are officially members of Chapter 60 as a result of the merger approval by IREM HQ. We gained a total of 21 memberships from their Chapter.