Partnerships create success. (Observations).

This issue of Units has several articles about partnering with and listening to residents to create better, safer and more productive communities for all.

SatisFacts Research shares a few verbatim remarks made by residents in thousands of telesurveys around the country. The remarks show what residents really think. Read Residents Say it Best ... Learning What They Want Begins With Listening by Doug Miller and Chris Pulket on page 29.

On another note, B. Kreisler reviews the recently adopted federal tax cuts. The author examines the concerns over changes to the low income housing tax credit and the Section 8 housing choice voucher program. Kreisler reviews what has been done and what is on the horizon in Industry Responds to Bush Tax Cut and Braces for New Battles, page 34. I had the pleasure of representing National Apartment Association/National Multi Housing Council (NAA/NMHC) in testimony on these issues before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Opportunity in early summer. Highlights from the testimony can be found on page 36, in conjunction with Kreisler's article.

Wayne Kaplan, of the Arizona Multihousing Association, elaborates on a partnership building exercise. He tells how AMA-sponsored family safety education programs helped build camaraderie and awareness among residents in their communities. The article is on page 40, Learning How to Save Lives Benefits Residents and Property Owners.

During today's economic pinch, multifamily housing industry members must be aware of the distinct differences between training and learning if they are to produce the most results from their investment in education programs. See Training or Learning? on page 44, by NAA Director of Education, Susan Weston, CAM, CAPS.

In Creative Partnerships Are Key to Successful Social Responsiveness, page 46, B. Kreisler explains how affordable housing property owners invest in programs and services that provide access to health care, education and employment as a way to move their residents toward self-sufficiency, to create better living environments and, ultimately, to create more valuable properties.

Two articles about attracting and maintaining residents follow. The first, a Service Spotlight Special Report, Top-Grade Equipment Helps Owners Work Out a Great Deal for Residents, by Robert Hammond, explains that by offering gym-club quality fitness equipment, property management companies can recruit and retain residents by selling them on the savings they could realize by not having to pay membership dues at the nearby club. See page 52.

The second article, by Mary Gwyn, CPM, Just Say No! To Concessions, That Is!, page 56, addresses other selling points. As with hotel rooms, plane tickets and laundry soap, residents shop for bargains in apartments. As Gwyn notes, many onsite sales people sell their community's special rather than the special qualities of the apartment home. Gwyn reminds onsite staff of the importance of maximizing income by minimizing concessions and suggests how it can be accomplished.

Finally, a review of last month's 2003 NAA Education Conference & Exposition: Leading the Way. From students of the industry to long-time multifamily housing professionals, conference attendees participated in education sessions, were inspired by keynote speakers newsman Sam Donaldson and baseball great Cai Ripken Jr., and enjoyed New Orleans style hospitality and entertainment. See page 62 for highlights.