Ames property management companies are teaming up for the 2010 Housing Expo on Tuesday from 10 a.m–4 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

The event is a great time for students to go searching for next year’s apartment, and an opportunity to meet landlords and staff of various property management groups, said Mike Frisk, manager at First Property Management.

“There’ll be 21 different tables of different landlords,” Frisk said. “There’s also going to be a couple vendors.”

In addition, the event will be raising money for the Ames Emergency Residence Project, which helps prevent local families from losing their homes and helps those that have.

“We’re just trying to give back a little bit,” Frisk said.

Frisk said that a portion of each landlord’s registration fee from the event will go toward the Emergency Residence Project. In addition, the Expo will host the second annual Running for the Homeless fundraiser.

“We have runners running throughout the day from 10[a.m.] to 4 [p.m.],” Frisk said. “We’re going to see how far they can run in those six hours.”

The Expo is organized by the Ames Property Managers’ Network.

“It’s not a formal legal entity, but that’s what we’ve been calling ourselves,” Frisk said. “It’s just a place for landlords to meet.”

While Ames’ landlords do compete for renters, they also work together, through the Ames Property Managers’ Network, to address issues common to all and to put on events similar to the Housing Expo.

“There’s a lot of good landlords in Ames.” Frisk said. “We’re all in the same boat — we all want to rent our apartments at some point. A lot of us market different ways.”

Frisk said that students who attend the Expo can register for a drawing that includes prizes such as a 42-inch flat-screen TV, an iPod Touch, a motorized scooter and gift cards to Walmart, Best Buy and Hy-Vee.