Houston, Texas – August 31, 2010– In one of the nation’s most challenging and competitive student housing markets, College Station, Texas, Asset Campus Housing (ACH) continues to see growth with the recent addition of two new management assignments while successfully leasing their other College Station properties.

ACH’s presence in the market place is over 4,000 beds, making ACH the largest off campus student housing provider in College Station, Texas.  In a market where 2,900+ beds have been added to the housing supply over the past two years, ACH outperforms competitors by achieving occupancy levels above 97% on the facilities it operates.

The success in College Station, Texas is the result of ACH’s operating philosophy of a low supervisory ratio combined with a creative, resourceful internal marketing department.  Two of ACH’s most recent management assignments in this market greatly benefited from their boutique-style property management approach by allowing the operating team to primarily focus on the operations and the marketing team to be strictly geared to marketing and the re-positioning of the assets within the market place.

Upon takeovers, with less than 60 days remaining in the leasing season, the ACH team dramatically increased the 2010 fall preleasing percentage from 41% to 97% in the new 400+ bed assignment and 52% to 94% in the 800+ bed assignment.

With over 8 years of student housing management experience in College Station, ACH is especially familiar with the market place and has established a well known reputation for exceeding resident expectations as seen with this year’s leasing success. 

 Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ACH is an affiliate of Houston-based Asset Plus Companies, a third party property management firm specializing in real estate services for investors, developers, and owners.  ACH manages a student housing portfolio of 50+ properties, exceeding 30,000 beds located throughout the United States.

Asset Plus takes great pride in making every property we manage feel like home by inviting residents to monthly activities that focus on bringing the community together.

Villas of Castle Hills and The Estates at Canyon Ridge, two Asset Plus properties located in San Antonio, Texas, recently hosted a Back to School Bash featuring the teen pop star, Hannah Montana. For those of you who don’t know, Hannah Montana is a Disney character who lives a double life as an average teenage girl by day and a famous teen pop star by night, played by actress Miley Cyrus.

Property Manager, Sandra Ballew, coordinated the extravaganza by hiring a Hannah Montana impersonator to come sing all of Hannah/Miley’s greatest hits, as well as teach the children and adults the ever so popular "Ice Cream Freeze" dance.  Arriving in a hot pink stretch limousine, the 16 year old diva was accompanied by her very own body guard and pestering paparazzi. 

The Back to School Bash was an incredible success with over 100 residents coming out to partake in the music, snow cones, popcorn and cotton candy.  Click this video to see some of the fun!

Asset Plus is Pleased to Announce Our Newest Management Assignment

Windcrest on Sherwood, Houston, TX, 212 Units

Headquartered in Houston, Asset Plus Companies, is a third party property management firm specializing in real estate services for investors, developers, and owners.  Asset Plus Companies manages a student housing portfolio of 50+ properties, exceeding 30,000 beds located throughout the United States.

Contact us today and let's get started on your success story!

Sitting and waiting on interstates and highways the past couple of mornings may have seemed to be a little bit more frustrating than usual due to the majority of schools across the nation beginning class this week.

The introduction to a new semester effects people of all ages and occupations. Whether you are the student yourself going back to college for the final year, the parent dropping off your child at their first day of kindergarten, or simply the coworker who is late to work due to all the school zones in place- you have most likely experienced the rush of adrenaline that accompanies the beginning of a new semester.

Here at Asset Plus, we get to participate in this exciting time of year through a magnitude of experiences. The most obvious would be our role as an active management company in the student housing market. Managers and Resident Advisors are currently helping residents at different universities across the nation move in and get accommodated with their new apartments, while hosting multiple resident activities like meet-n-greet barbeques and luaus. After months of lease audits and roommate matching, the Asset Plus teams finally get to meet their new residents.

Yesterday morning, employees in the Houston corporate office shared with their coworkers the exciting details of their own special "first day of school ritual" that they carry out each year with their children as they expressed concern over the fact that they are all one year closer to having an empty nest. Tales of traditional photos being taken, picking out the perfect outfit, and getting a special breakfast before class were some of the most common stories told. While some employees are too young to share these experiences of having children in school, others are experiencing this rite of passage with their first grandchild, creating a diverse culture that makes Asset Plus such a unique and binding family itself.

Pictured below is Lamia Martin, a 4th grade pioneer, positioned in her traditional first day of school photo pose. Lamia’s first day of school ritual includes: receiving a manicure/pedicure, enjoying Snowflake Donuts, and having mom drop her off at school on the "big day."

Photo and ritual contributed by Heather Crimmins, proud mom and Asset Plus Executive Office Manager.

Asset Plus is also a big advocate in educating their employees by holding an annual manager’s retreat. This year the manager’s retreat will be held in the beginning of October. All managers are invited to participate in three days of property management trivia and educational modules.

Today, most people are typically concerned with certain bacteria issues such as mold, but have you ever once entertained the thought of live bees being busy at work, making a nest of honey and pollen behind your bedroom walls?

Unfortunately, Houston apartment residents have seen firsthand the result of having a certain Queen Bee take residence in their apartment walls. When the property management company was informed about the inquiry to remove a small bee hive on the resident’s front porch, management followed procedure and immediately contacted pest control. Upon arrival, pest control noticed that the hive was not merely on the porch ceiling, but had continued to grow 12 inches deep above the ceiling walls.

Homeowners and apartment residents may encounter these new house guests for numerous reasons. Bees have a strong presence during the hot summer months, but more often, bees sneak into walls and ceilings through a hole in the wall that was never addressed or properly sealed. The odor of the wax comb attracts the bees back to that location. This leads to a colony of bees and an unbeelieveable mess.

An easy way to prevent this problem is to check your apartment for any holes that may be 5/16 inch or larger and seal them up as soon as possible. If a beehive is already existent on your front porch, do not plug any visible holes because they will look for other ways out through openings around ductwork, ceiling and/or wall fixtures in your home. 

Filling in these holes may be a more difficult task if you find that the beehive goes further back, so it’s best to consult a professional and take on the charges of a pest control service. The Southeastern Beekeepers Association suggests that a single treatment kills only the adult bees surrounding the nest, and after a few days the pupa (baby bee cocoons), protected by the wax of their cells, will emerge as adults. Therefore, we recommend that property management, residents, and/or homeowners request follow up treatments at least 2-3 times over a two week period, to avoid a re-emerging bee problem.

Content contributed by Joanne Herrmann, Asset Plus Regional Supervisor

Houston - August 17, 2010 – Asset Campus Housing (ACH), one of the nation’s premiere student housing management companies, began overseeing all leasing, marketing, and operational aspects of University View I and University View II, a two phase high-rise, mixed-use 1,573 bed student housing facility located in College Park, MD this past January.

University View I and II are both 100% leased for the academic 2010-2011 school year and 14% ahead of the market occupancy average. The success is a true testament to ACH’s multi-layered management operations and experienced direction to build and maintain vital relations with the University of Maryland. Those of which include, ACH’s commitment to reserve hundreds of beds for the University’s annual "Freshman Connections" program.

Identifying the size and expansion of University View with the addition of 517 beds in Phase II, ACH transferred an experienced Regional Supervisor to oversee the capital renovations of University View I and the operational start-up of University View II. ACH recognized that it was essential to have high caliber leadership, with multisite experience present on the property daily. This leadership strategy included having ACH’s Director of Resident Life and Training present to implement the company’s innovative and robust marketing strategies that led to the necessary traffic and successful lease up of University View.

ACH capitalized on the opportunity to further display the depth of its organization by contributing to the design and development of University View II, as well as redesigning the image and renovating the amenities in University View I. ACH’s unparalleled experience and expertise in achieving successful student housing developments was instrumental in determining the overall layout of University View. As a result, ACH increased value by adding an indoor spin room, a game room, including two pool tables and a foosball table, multiple study areas with technological upgrades, and the addition of stand-up tanning beds.

With an upcoming retail center to be developed and other innovative amenities added to the development, University View stays at the forefront of the industry. ACH continues to initiate transformative measures that will add tremendous value, convenience, and a much higher level of resident experience in years to come.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Asset Campus Housing, Inc. ("ACH") is an affiliate of Houston-based Asset Plus Companies, a third party property management firm specializing in real estate services for investors, developers, and owners. Asset Campus Housing manages a student housing portfolio of 50+ properties, exceeding 30,000 beds located throughout the United States.

Asset Plus believes its people are the company's greatest asset and has assembled a team that is quite unparrallelled in the industry. Asset Plus is pleased to welcome Peter Carton to the team.

 Vice President – Corporate Business Development, Asset Campus Housing

As Vice President – Corporate Business Development, Peter is responsible for establishing relationships, seeking new management opportunities and forming future business partnerships for Asset Campus Housing. Prior to joining ACH, Peter was a Partner in Alliance Residential Company’s North Texas Division, responsible for all development and acquisition activities. Peter’s expertise includes sourcing and negotiating the purchase of multifamily sites, managing the development and construction process, and acquiring existing communities for rehabilitation.

With experience in all facets of the multifamily industry, Peter has been involved in the development, acquisition, and management of 3,100 units at a market value of $260 million. Prior to joining Alliance, Peter was Director of Development & Acquisitions at Lincoln Property Company. His experience also includes developing and acquiring multifamily properties with Lane Company. Peter holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, a Masters of Science degree from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and earned his undergraduate degree at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

With one of the final weekends of summer approaching, most people are packing their belongings and getting ready for a big move back to school. With that in mind, you must also be aware of the extreme heat that is present throughout our entire nation.

Heat advisories have been issued from up north in Chicago to deep down in the heart of Texas, ranging from a high of 108 degrees in St. Louis, Missouri to 110 degrees in Temple, Texas. For those of you who hear the term "heat advisory" but don’t really know which temperatures that includes, it is issued whenever heat indexes, which are measured by combining temperature and humidity, top 105 degrees in the afternoon and stay around 78 degrees in the evening. A heat advisory is only one degree lower than an excessive heat warning, which is issued when the heat index tops 110 degrees. According to the National Weather Service, the hottest time of the year typically ranges from the third week in July through the middle of August.

With moving in mind, the best defense to beat the heat is simply hydration. Often times people wait until they are thirsty to hydrate, but if you are planning on being outside it is wise to drink multiple glasses/bottles of water hours before you battle the heat. Also, drinking cold water can actually cause stomach cramps- so don’t worry about chilling your water bottle the night before the big move.

Although you may want to look good for the neighbors down the hall whenever you move in, we strongly advise wearing lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitted clothing, with tennis shoes; otherwise you will be miserably uncomfortable. Some signs to be aware of when moving in this heat are: heavy sweating, paleness, weakness, dizziness, headaches, nausea, and/or fainting.

As always, feel free to contact your Asset Plus team if in need of any extra assistance with your move into the community!

Some say appearance isn’t everything and “it’s what’s on the inside that counts”- well in the apartment industry it is safe to say that BOTH the inside and the outside of your apartment are equally important.  When you bring friends, family, friends of family, neighbors, and whoever else home to visit your apartment, you want them to be WOW-ed and in awe of your picturesque place.  Being in the apartment and student housing industry, our team has seen and experienced some of the most unique ways to decorate a home- hopefully these tips will help someone out there find their inner decorating diva.

The Asset Plus advice begins with rule number 1: Do not be afraid.  Moving into bare walls and a living room that will essentially express your true personality and character can be rather intimidating, but do not fret- you can always re-paint, rearrange, or replace just about anything. 

Rule Number 2: Once you have tackled your “décor-phobia”, we recommend you start out with your bedroom.  The master bedroom is 100% up to you- if you have no idea where to start; think of what you are passionate about. What colors make you most happy? What kind of atmosphere will you find peaceful coming home to at the end of the day? It is always safe to go with matching pieces of furniture if you are not quite sure about what it is that you are wanting. Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and RoomsToGo are all suppliers of coordinating multi-piece furniture sets. 

Rule Number 3: From your bedroom, decorate outward to the living room.  Have some fun and go shop at your local vintage or antique shops for unique pieces of furniture that have a history and room for modifications.  Some of our team helped move a resident into an apartment that felt as if you were entering an eclectic art studio when you walked inside.  The resident had a retro purple dresser with crystal knobs, a rustic yellow nightstand with a blue lamp, a petite olive green desk, and several different vintage art pieces that hung along her walls. Each of this resident’s furniture pieces came from a different friend or family member who wanted to rid their old “has been” décor and gave it to her for little to no cost.

Rule Number 4: With the interior falling into place, whether a random assortment of pieces or an all-matching solitaire collection, move on outside and define the entrance to your new place with a charming welcoming mat.  This is the primary introduction to you and your new home; be sure to purchase one that is pleasant to people of all ages and one that will be presentable through multiple seasons (or budget to spend more each time the leaves change). 

If you need further assistance in decorating your new home, feel free to swing by your leasing office or clubhouse and grab one of the Asset Plus team members.  Who knows- he/she could be the next Nate Berkus.

College Suites is a 756 bed student housing property located in Oxford, Ohio serving students that attend the University of Miami at Ohio. College Suites offers individual leases for fully furnished three and four bedroom units that come with a full size bed, individual storage units, and free high speed internet. Along with the professional management that is offered at College Suites, other property amenities include an elaborate clubhouse with two pool tables, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and a business center that will match every residents need. College Suites is currently preleasing for Fall 2010.

For more information please visit,www.collegesuitesatoxford.com