There are only a few days left to finish the 3Q survey, and everything is done except Texas. Last week when we tried to call the Houston Metro Area, we were unable to contact 1000+ complexes in our database. So we started again this week and we have been able to get through some of the complexes. We are hearing interesting stories about how communities have been coping with lack of electricity. One building told us they were cooking breakfast for their residents on their outdoor barbeques and several ingenious managers are making “cowboy coffee” for all comers. It has sometimes taken 35 to 40 phone calls to get through, but little by little we are completing the majority of surveys in the Houston area.
The big exception of course are the coastal communities that bore the brunt of the hurricane. In Port Arthur and Beaumont there were a few cases where we could get throught the managers were coping with emergencies like downed trees, flooded ground floors, and heating and cooling systems malfunctioning. The worst problems are in Galveston where we have been unable to reach a single apartment. I have friends that have vacation home on the Brazos River and they tell me that the roads in that area are still impassable. So it remains to be seen whether any of those Galveston apartments will ever be occupied again. What a shame! The fun shops and interesting restaurants of Galveston made it a great destination for Sunday brunch and some time on the beach. Hope we can do it again soon.
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