Make a Recruitment Pledge
Your SFAA Board of Directors attended the annual California Apartment Association Board of Directors and committee meetings at the end of January in Costa Mesa. As many of you know, CAA consists of 19 local organizations (affiliates and chapters) representing distinct regions of apartment owners in our state. SFAA is unique in that, geographically, our district is the smallest in terms of square miles. Yet it was apparent from these meetings that our miniscule slice of the state creates the most intense and daunting political battles. Indeed, the Los Angeles CAA chapter hardly ever encounters the gross hostility that we contend with on a regular basis here at home.
In the midst of this reality comes a sobering and embarrassing fact discussed at length during this year’s CAA membership committee meeting: SFAA represents less than 10% of the market in San Francisco, meaning that more than 90% of all apartment owners and operators in the city are not members. No wonder city hall balks at our demands!
Many of the other apartment association heads bragged that their organizations command more than 60% market penetration. Ironically, such eager enrollment occurs in areas like Orange County, San Diego and Sacramento, places where rent control remains someone else’s nightmare. Here at ground zero, the troops seem content to relegate active participation to the few, and sadly the vast majority of us cannot even muster the will to pay modest membership fees to enable this organization to fight the war.
Why? Is it because most have given up? Or are we just content with the pervasive erosion of our rights as owners? Everyday, I hear someone tell me that you have to be crazy to own rental property in San Francisco. Yet ask your local real-estate salesperson about available inventory, and they will tell you that prices keep going up, and that supply cannot keep up with ever-increasing demand. Obviously, someone recognizes that housing is our scarcest and most valuable commodity.
SFAA’s regular apartment owner membership stands at about 2,600. As discussed above, this number represents less than 10% of San Francisco’s landlord population. SFAA annually spends considerable time and funding on advertising and new member outreach. Such exposure only goes so far, and perhaps cannot go any farther.
Therefore, what I need from each of you is a sincere commitment to recruit at least one new member this year. This is an easy task, and the results will more than double our membership. A national consultant, hired by CAA to increase membership in all CAA affiliates and chapters, confirmed what most of us already know to be true: new recruits come quickest and easiest from referrals and word-of-mouth, not newspaper ads. So, please, I urge each of you to take this pledge seriously. The increase in revenue will translate into better representation in state and local government, which in turn will improve our ability to stop the onslaught of anti-property-rights legislation.
If you cannot make this recruitment pledge, then please do not complain about the further horrors that will inevitably confront us this year. Do not express frustration at the membership meetings. In sum, be happy with what you have, and with what you will lose in years to come.
Admittedly, membership recruitment may be impeded in part due to the nature of our market. Specifically, the statistics tell us that many apartment buildings are being sold to TIC developers or large real-estate investment companies. In addition, overseas purchasing is substantial in San Francisco; a large part of the housing stock may be owned by groups who do not live in the community. Yet even with these factors in play, I am reluctant to accept the notion that we cannot double our membership in 2007. I also refuse to embrace the attitude that big investors or out-of-town owners should not help this organization, as undoubtedly these groups gain the most from the association’s success.
I also urge the current membership to honestly and accurately report their unit count. As most of you know, dues are calculated based upon the number of units owned or managed by a member. Some of us either intentionally or carelessly fail to report the actual number of units that we own and manage. The consequence of cheating, however, is to further deprive this organization of desperately needed resources. How can we file lawsuits against the city or participate in hotly contested political battles when the members we do have refuse to pay what they owe?
At the CAA meeting, each affiliate and chapter promised to substantially increase its membership over the next year. In fact, our board will be undergoing serious introspection as to how each board member shall bear personal responsibility for this shortfall. As the leading representative body for apartment owners in the city, we cannot act effectively when the vast majority of the constituency sits on the sidelines. So let’s change this reality now, and begin recruitment by contacting an owner you know to have either relinquished membership or to never have joined our organization. All current members should also make sure that their 2007 dues statement reflects what they now own and manage. I thank you for making this pledge.
In closing, I ask you to consider the alternative. If this organization is hampered in its ability to function effectively, then your voice at city hall disappears. While some might argue that the housing industry always loses, those of you who attend the meetings and read the magazine know differently. The amount of legislation we defeat, the candidates that we have successfully backed, and the lawsuits we have pursued have made a tremendous difference not only in what has been changed, but also in what has been prevented from becoming law. For every “defeat,” there are probably 10 victories. If we had no voice, I can assure you that the present landscape would look bleaker. But most importantly, we must continue, if not elevate, the fight so as to paint the future in a different color from our recent past.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or SF Apartment Magazine. David Wasserman is the president of SFAA and serves on the Government Affairs Committee of CAA. He can be reached at the Wasserman-Stern, 415-567-9600. Copyright © 2007 by SF Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.