For Asset Plus employees, March Madness has a double meaning.

Yes, we all set up our individual brackets and root for our favorite college basketball teams, but we also anticipate the annual Houston Apartment Association Sand Volleyball Tournament which is hosted in mid-March. At this event, over 60 different property management companies and vendors alike compete in a full day of sand volleyball.

Asset employees from the student housing, multifamily and accounting departments came together to represent two Asset Plus teams. After 7 long rallies in the Texas sun, our team made it to the semi-final rounds with the support of multiple Asset Plus enthusiasts!

Although we did not win this year, you can expect to see us out on the practice courts preparing for next year's HAA Volleyball tournament!

This Friday we are featuring one of our student housing teams, Legends at Canyon, and how they are calling all of their residents, friends, and family members to make a difference for many others.

The team located in Canyon, Texas, came together in making a 6 minute video to promote our company's efforts to raise money for Charity Water.  Every staff member takes part in the video by stating facts and raising awareness to their community on why it is so important to help others receive clean drinking water.

The Legends at Canyon team has a goal to raise $5,000 by April 8th, 2012 - we believe this video will help them communicate the importance of their fundraising and wish them the best of luck!

The Houston Apartment Association held its first annual 5K Fun Run & Walk benefiting the Post-Traumatic Stress Foundation of America. Property managers, vendors, and their families showed up in the 30 degree weather on Saturday morning to support the cause.

Some of our own Asset Plus employees volunteered, walked, and competed in the 5K fun run race including Mark Lindley, Senior Vice President of Construction, Julie Clay, Financial Analyst for Asset Plus, and Tyler Johnson, Project Manager for Asset Campus Housing. Completing his 5K in 18 minutes and 47 seconds, Tyler Johnson brought home first place at the first annual HAA Fun Run! Congrats Tyler and thank you to everyone who came out to support the great cause!

According to Internet World Stats, over 78% of the United States population has access to the internet.  This means that over 78% of the US population has free access to online reviews, ratings and opinions of both services and products that are available to consumers. With that being said, there is vast opportunity for our property managers and onsite team member to utilize the internet in communicating with future and current residents.

For this week’s video, our staff at 25Twenty in Lubbock, Texas, caught fever of the latest YouTube hit that is going on around campuses nationwide, and created their own  version of the series called “Stuff 25Twenty Says”.  This video features two minutes of basic one liners highlighting all of 25Twenty's amenities and reasons why they are the best housing in Lubbock!

Knowing what is going on at your local University is important for all off campus student housing communities, however, keeping up with what is popular online is just as imperative when it comes to managing resident retention.  By being friends with your residents on Facebook or having them "Like" your business fan page, you are able to observe what is trending and popular amongst your audience.  With this knowledge you can plan events and YouTube videos based upon the students' interests.

Our team in Lubbock demonstrates their familiarity with the Texas Tech market by creating clever videos like such and posting them on their Facebook Fan Pages.  Kudos, team!

Be sure to check out Asset Plus and Asset Campus Housing's January 2012 Asset Report.  The Asset Report begins with a message from our company President, Michael McGrath, and then discuss different business accomplishments that we have seen on the student housing and multifamily side.

New student housing developments are discussed in detail along with photos that depict the new luxury living facilities.  The student housing division also began a new training and development department that focuses on ensuring each and every property staff member is fully educated on the Asset Campus Housing procedures and strategies. 

In addition, 2011 was a big year for Asset Plus when it came to giving back.  With the support of residents, clients and colleagues, the Houston based property management company surpassed it's goal of fundraising $25,000 for the non-profit Charity:Water. The report discusses what Charity:Water is and how the management company raised support.

Click the image below to read the full Asset Report!

We believe that our people are our greatest asset and we have continued to recruit the industry's top talent by adding a new multifamily regional supervisor, Bonnie Donaldson, to our team!

Bonnie Donaldson joins the Asset Plus multifamily division as a Houston based Regional Supervisor with over 27 years in the multifamily industry. Bonnie is an experienced leader and brings expertise in implementing innovative sales and marketing strategies as well as maximizing revenue for clients.

Prior to joining Asset Plus, Bonnie served as Vice President of Property Management for Martin Fein Interests and most recently served as Regional Manager of over 2,100 units for Alliance Residential.

Last Saturday, the Asset Plus team along with friends and family members participated in the annual Autism Speaks Walk located in Houston, Texas at Reliant Stadium. With the success of our 2010-2011 campaign to fundraise and raise awareness for Autism Speaks, Asset Plus Companies was featured as one of this year’s largest corporate sponsors. 

Autism Speaks is a non-profit that is dear to the hearts of many of our employees and their families; the annual walk is an opportunity for all of us to take a step in the right direction for advancing the research into the causes, treatments and a cure for autism.

Over 9,500 people were in attendance at Saturday’s walk and over $300,000 was raised at Houston’s Walk Now for Autism Speaks event.

With over 225 people in attendance, Asset Plus Companies celebrated its 25th anniversary with property managers, vendors, clients and the entire corporate office last Tuesday.

The evening was an opportunity for all three of the company’s divisions: multifamily, student housing and commercial, to celebrate 25 years of success together.

Multiple employees were recognized in front of their peers for their hard work and dedication this past year including: Property Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Ambassador of the Year and Property of the Year.

Along with the awards presented, we also introduced Asset Plus’ most recent philanthropic endeavors with the non-profit Charity Water. Charity Water  is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations - 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.  

We will be supporting Charity Water company wide and look forward to raising over $100,000 with the support of employees, residents and clients by the end of 2012.  Look forward to receiving more information and material on how you and your property can help with this cause.

In the meantime, you can visit our company’s profile on the Charity Water website at: www.mycharitywater.org/25thanniversary and make your contribution!

Thank you once again to everyone who has helped Asset Plus Companies achieve 25 years of success; we are truly blessed to have such an incredible Asset Plus Family.

Asset Plus Companies is pleased to welcome The Commons on Edgebrook to our Houston multifamily portfolio.  The 444 unit community offers one-, two-, three– and four bedroom floor plans ranging from 578 Sq. Ft. to 1,373 Sq. Ft. The community is conveniently located off of Hwy 3 near I-45 and Loop 610.