All Posts Tagged With: "Property Management"

Property crimes are at an all time high in today’s world, and landlords need to feel they can trust the person they are handing the keys over to. Tenant fraud involving property damage, unpaid monthly payments, false credit reports, and criminal activity has increased exponentially over the last few years. Tenant screening is an essential step in order to feel safe and trust the identity and record of the renter. Proper screening involves several steps, which will be outlined below.

1. The tenant must provide adequate identification. Identification is a first round screening step which involves verifying the names, addresses, and social security numbers with the rental application. These details should match and be double-checked for accuracy. Proper identification includes drivers licenses, birth certificates, or a valid US passport.

2. The rental application is extremely important and should include these essential fields: Name, current and previous addresses, primary and secondary phone numbers, work and salary information, and bank accounts. It should also include information pertaining to the tenant’s credit history and/or their ability to make the monthly payments based on salary and debt information. Furthermore, the application should contain two references who can be contacted for further screening and verification.

3. Obtaining a tenant background check is one of the most important actions a landlord can perform. These reports provide a detailed list of criminal activity, nationwide arrests, and sex offender status. They also detail the tenant’s personal information which should be compared to the rental application for accuracy.

The background check will also provide information relating to previous addresses, employers, and alias information. As stated before, it is imperative to compare these reports with the rental application for accuracy. If these records do not match, there should be some concern and proper action should be taken.

4. The last essential factor involves obtaining a credit history. This information should be included in the tenant background check. The report should include late payments, bankruptcies, and specific addresses of residence. These reports should play a major part in the landlord’s decision making process.

Sometimes landlords neglect to run a background check due to the fees involved. In the real estate market, it is a common, if not a mandatory practice to charge the renters the fee for the check in the rental application fee. All fees should be paid upfront and should cover all aspects of the process. The landlord is not responsible for these fees. If the renter complains, then a landlord should consider this a part of the screening process, and should seriously consider the character of this individual as a possible tenant.

You do not have to become a victim of tenant fraud if you carry out these essential steps. They are not difficult to perform and they could potentially save you thousands of dollars and hours of heartache. Today, good renters are hard to come by; however, you do not have to rely on your intuition. Tenant screening with proper tenant background checks will detail all of the information you need to make an educated and researched opinion in order to protect your property and your family.

If you are mulling over property investments in SE Queensland, Australia, there is something very important you need to think about, something which is neglected by all too many novice real estate investors. If gone about the right way, there’s a good profit to be made by selling the property once it appreciates in value or a steady revenue stream to be had by renting out the property. However, if you try to do this by yourself, you may run into trouble.

Let’s suppose you’ve just purchased a rental property and you’ve leased it to a tenant. For the first few months, everything goes great and you might be lulled into thinking this is going to be easy; that is until that late night call from the tenant informing you that their toilet is overflowing and it’s flooding their bathroom! You have to drop what you were doing and find a plumber who will come out on short notice. You make call after call and realize no one is going to be able to come out and fix it that night. You decide that it’s going to have to wait until the morning; at least until your tenant calls you again. You then have to go over to your property to take a look at the problem yourself.

The tenant is understandably upset. While it’s really no one’s fault, they will of course hold you responsible. This is not really what you had in mind - for the evening or as a landlord in general. You got into this to make money, not to fix toilets.

A lot of property investors run into this situation. They buy a property without thinking about how much work they are going to personally need to put into the property. There is admittedly a lot of work - but you don’t have to - and shouldn’t do it all yourself.

One way to get around this is to hire a property manager. For a nominal fee, they will take care of all the leg work for you. You buy the property and get the profit, but they manage it for you. This is really a win-win for all parties involved.

Hiring a property manager is a good idea - most property investors, especially as they first start out, know little to nothing about rental regulations and landlord/tenant issues but still want to invest in real estate.

A property manager knows the ins and outs of the business. They can develop a lease agreement for you that will keep you safe from liability and headaches. They can collect the rent for you and fix any problems with the property. Besides this, your time is valuable. Any amount of time that you spend doing these activities will prevent you from making money at your current job.

When you decide to get a property manager, look for one that is reputable and has been around. You want someone who knows what they’re doing and can take care of everything for you. Once you find a good one, hold on to them. A good property manager is invaluable to you and your real estate business.

If you’re thinking of buying vacation property in Spain then you should consider the popular vacation spot, Torrevieja. It has become increasingly popular with Europeans due to its convenient location (a short drive from Alicante) and ideal climate. Not only is Torrevieja naturally beautiful but there are wonderful sights and rich culture in this area. Here are some tips to finding property in this city.

Visiting Torrevieja

Before jumping into a vacation property it’s important to visit the area to get a feel for the city. Visit in the peak season to see how the area deals with the multitude of tourists as well as the off-peak season to see how the area changes. Some highly touristed areas almost close down completely in the winter months. Rent apartments in Torrevieja to get a real feel for neighborhoods and what it’s like to live there.

Stay in different areas of town to find your preferred places to buy. Make a list of the areas that interest you and stay in a different area (or two) for each visit to Torrevieja. Talk to the neighbors and shop at the local stores to give you an idea which neighborhoods are right for you.

Buying Considerations

There are many things to consider when buying a vacation home. Determine your budget realistically and don’t forget to tack on about 10 percent of the purchase price for taxes and fees. Once you know your price range then only look at properties that are within your budget so you’re not tempted to overspend. Don’t look at properties for just their monetary value but also the location and nearby services.

Also think about how you’re going to use the property in Spain. Are you going to be staying in it for a good amount of the year and not renting it out? Then you can look for Torrevieja properties outside the touristy areas and get more for your money. If, on the other hand, you’ll be renting out the property for much of the year then you should look for real estate near the touristy areas. Also, think more about the needs of potential renters rather than your own if it’s going to primarily be a rental.

Rental property Spain do the best in areas that are close to stores, transportation and the beach. These areas are the most expensive but they’ll be easiest to rent and fetch a higher amount. You may only be able to afford a small condo but smaller units are easier to rent.

Also look at the condition of potential properties. Think carefully before you invest in a “fixer-upper” and determine the cost to repair it. Remember that unless you’re willing to move to Spain during the repairs, you will be remodeling without oversight. The amount you’ll be saving with a fixer upper may be less than you plan since you’ll need to be making several visits to check up on the work.

The telephone rings, startling you from a sound slumber. You sit up, dazed, feeling around your nightstand for your glasses and the phone receiver. It’s 3 a.m. and you wonder what earth shattering catastrophe is coming your way. Answering the phone, you experience a mixture of relief and annoyance. It’s Helena, your tenant and new best phone friend. Her voice squeaks as she relays her plight: there is an animal in the house, she thinks. It sounds big and she’s now in the bathroom on top of the toilet seat protected only by her toilet plunger and you.

You are relieved that the world will go on another day and annoyed that Helena has awoken you from a sound sleep yet again. As the landlord, you are probably all too familiar with the nervous Helena, whiny Erwin and house wrecker Sam and his college buddies. What does this all mean? Welcome to the world of do-it-yourself real estate management. Many eager property investors step into something they were just not ready for - how to efficiently and effectively manage a property, not to mention a growing portfolio Helena’s and Sam’s. Investment properties and their management is a reality that many people aren’t ready to deal with.

There are a plethora of unexpected problems that can burn out a novice faster than a flash flood can take out a house. Making money in real estate is more than what’s listed in brochures and presented in seminars. Selection of appropriate tenants requires a good deal of expertise, and it is at the heart of rental success. What makes a good property manager is knowing when to ask the right questions, having the correct forms to fill out and to get as much information as possible from the prospective tenant. If there’s going to be a mistake that gets you Sam and his college pals, this is when it’s going to happen. These mistakes can cost a property manager thousands of dollars in lost time and materials yearly.

For example, in Queensland, Australia in 2006, 63.7% of the disputes filed by tenants involve properties that were managed by property owners. Surprisingly, property owners counted for only 12.7% of the market share, and this 12.7% was involved in nearly 2/3 of the disputes filed. Of the other 87.3% of the properties, these were managed by property managers and not the owners. In these cases, only 36.3% of the disputes were filed. Saved legal fees alone could wind up paying for a decent property manager and the stress and headache of trying to do-it-yourself would be eliminated.

Communication is essential when managing rental properties. Clear and to the point communication eliminates misunderstandings and keeps both tenants and owners happy. This results in fewer problems, a lower turnover rate and good tenants. In order to maintain this balance, it’s important to stay in touch and maintain regular visits for upkeep.

Disasters in properties tend to take up all of the landlord’s attention and they seldom happen at a time when it’s convenient. As a result, property owners will invest great sums of money with little regard to the income that’s being produced from the property. Vacations and holidays disappear in the maelstrom of repairs and crises.

With the evolving landscape of owner/tenant law as well as tax laws, there are always new materials to be read, and record keeping can be a complete nightmare for the average landlord. One mistake in tax records could wind up costing the landlord far more than what he’s saved from self property management. The property manager eliminates the possibility that poor recordkeeping will lead to excess fees, fines and penalties.

Many people realise after a few bad experiences that the knowledge of a good property manager gets rid of the bulk of their frustrations and will save them a significant amount of money in the long run. Property managers who plan, execute and maintain a building, communicate on a regular basis with the tenants and provide lower upkeep costs and a better selection of tenants. Good property managers will take a proactive approach to maintaining and dealing with problems which reduces costs overall. When a landlord relinquishes control into the hands of a person skilled in property management, record keeping is no longer an issue and the property owner can get on with his life confident that problems and decisions will be solved in a timely manner.

Many property owners will find that having an experienced property manager running their investment portfolio is a dream come true, reducing frustration and misunderstanding for all parties concerned. It also works out that it saves the property owner a significant amount of money in the long term and that the properties are well maintained and costs are reduced. Using a property manager to maintain an investment portfolio is only limited by size and balance. Usually a good property manager can handle between 85 to 100 properties, before there is a need to hire more experienced help.

Property managers, like any other professional, operate at peak efficiency when they maintain a comfortable workload. Many times a heavy workload produces unacceptable results. Efficiency levels diminish after the property manager assumes responsibility for more than 85-110 properties. It’s important to find out the ratio of managers to property before you contract with a firm.

Planning is the key to any investment strategy. You can look at properties all you want but until you have a plan and act on it you won’t get very far. You must think long term, short term and middle term.

Real estate investing is a long term strategy. Yes you can make short term profits, and you should. You use those profits to fuel your longer term strategies. I can not tell you how many people have called me up and wanted to get started investing right away. I ask them to come and see me so we can go over their plan so I can figure out how to best help them. No they just want to start looking at cheap houses. I cannot help that person unless of course it was a n experienced investor.

There are several approaches to investing in houses, and one of the main ones is buying and holding for the long term. They rent them out to well qualified tenants. Those renters pay down the landlords mortgage every month year after year.

A real estate agents market knowledge and experience can make them a great partner in your investment career. Finding homes that are in the right price range and in good condition will really boost your real estate investments. In later years long term rentals will provide a good income stream.

Re-habbing properties is another great property investment approach. I didn’t learn this until I was older after I had become a real estate agent. We bought run down properties and repaired them ourselves. Once we got them into great shape we sold them off again, using the profits to fund another deal.

There are many ways to sell properties. Today they call it flipping. Like in flip that house. This is one way to get investment capital without taking money away from your household income. Plus you could turn it into a rental if the NOI (net operating income) works for you.

Ok you don’t have the money to invest in a flip. What do you do. You wholesale a property to another investor or retail buyer. Find a great property and get it under contract. Then assign it to someone else for a little higher price.

No ownership hassles, no closing hassles, yet you get cash. No wonder many people make a good living just doing wholesale. For me it is just one of the three approaches that will , with due diligence and effort, generate profits. Your funds to invest increase, providing a lift to your other two approaches.

If you think long term and short term and use these three approaches you can do quite well for yourself. Your equity and holdings should grow steadily over the long term. Be steady and consistent and you will win with these investment techniques when others do not.