6 Easily-Corrected Mistakes Many Landlords Make That Cost Them Thousands In Rental Income

MISTAKE #1: Asking What You “WANT” For Rent Instead Of What The Market Will Bear

Knowing the rental market and setting your rent accordingly will, in the long run, maximize your revenue and virtually guarantees you will never have a vacancy.

MISTAKE #2: Over-Improving Your Apartments

Don’t work in a vacuum. This isn’t Field of Dreams. Chances are that if you build it, they will come… and go. Make smart renovations that put your property a cut above the competition without pricing yourself out of the game.

MISTAKE #3: Under-Improving Or Not Maintaining Your Apartments

Deferring maintenance and upgrades puts you at a disadvantage. Make smart decisions and spend wisely to maximize rent now and increase the value of your investment when it’s time to sell.

MISTAKE #4: Failure To Plan Ahead

Create a Move-Out/Move-In checklist with a timeline, tasks, and contacts to ensure a hassle free apartment turnover. It takes stress off you and starts your new landlord-tenant relationship off to a positive beginning.

MISTAKE #5: Failure To Conduct A Complete Applicant Check

Carpenters say Measure Twice, Cut Once. President Reagan said, Trust, But Verify. The courts today are overwhelmingly pro-tenant. It is very time-consuming and very expensive to evict a tenant. Take the time to conduct a comprehensive vetting of your prospective tenant.

MISTAKE #6: Failure To Complete All Documentation Required By Law

Lawyers are the only persons in whom ignorance of the law is not punished. OK, OK a bad joke. But, not knowing or deliberately flaunting the law will get you in hot water – legally and financially. Learn what you can and cannot say and what you need to have a complete leasing paperwork package.

Even in today’s market, real estate can still make you wealthy. I ask you to remember that being a landlord is a business, so even if you only own a single two family, being professional is the key to make your investment pay off.

http://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/blog/2012/11/26/6-easily-corrected-mistakes-many-landlords-make-that-cost-them-thousands-in-rental-income/

How to Manage Your Tenants’ Holiday Decorations

Give your tenants the give of safety this holiday season, by reminding them of hazards that arise from common holiday decorations:

Candles are one of the worst culprits when it comes to holiday fires.  This risk is even greater when tenants have pets.  Insist tenants use flameless candles, and avoid the horror of a late night fire after a tenant falls asleep with a candle burning.

Holiday lights are festive, but harbor hidden dangers.  If lights have been placed in storage, cords can crack or even become a midnight snack for gnawing insects or rodents.  Make sure tenants check light strings for wear or damage.

In order to hide cords, it’s common for exuberant tenants to overload outlets with lighted decorations.  Make sure tenants follow building codes and the manufacturers’ restrictions regarding stringing cords and wattage of bulbs.

When using extension cords, tenants must check that the cord is not damaged, or overloaded, for instance, by stringing extension cords together.  Cords should not be covered by rugs.

Live trees and wreaths pose a fire risk if not properly tended.  Discourage tenants from setting up a live tree if they will not be in town for the holidays. Live trees need regular water or they become tinder for fire.  Also, trees must be kept several feet from fireplaces.

Make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in good working order.

Most fires and injuries occur because tenants are unaware of the dangers.  Providing them tips for staying safe over the holidays is the best gift you can provide to them as a landlord — and it helps keep your property safe, which makes for a happy and prosperous new year!

http://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/blog/2012/11/21/how-to-manage-your-tenants-holiday-decorations/

5 Reasons Why Our Time Is Now

Wow! Has it already been over five years already since the real estate market tanked? TARP, the “new normal”, bailouts, CDO’s, and toxic assets were all the rage back then. Home buyers disappeared, home sellers were really unhappy, and real estate prices dropped like a rock. Renters were deemed the smart folks, and landlords, not so much.

It was a tough time for most people as the economy soured and landlords were no different. Rental rates were relatively low, almost no one could get a mortgage to refinance, and people (landlords and tenants included) were losing their jobs.

This affected landlords in two ways. First, if they lost their job, they still had to pay for their home and their rental homes. And, secondly, if their tenant lost their job, they had to deal with that situation as well. The uncertainty made for tough times for all involved. Many landlords got out of the rental business either by choice or by economic necessity.

However, the times have changed in almost every way for the better now. The rewards for hanging in there the last five years seem to have arrived and I’m seriously wondering if we are entering into a golden age for landlords. Wait- What? Why would someone vested in real estate for his livelihood make such an outrageous claim? Well, let’s look at the facts on the ground:

1. Rental rates keep on rising. Love you, extra cash flow!

2. Mortgage rates have dropped even lower making leverage really cheap. Locking into low interest rates is fun!

So, higher rents coupled with lower mortgage costs equals bigger profits for landlords. Sweet!

3. Home prices are still low and seemed to have bottomed out. For landlords with cash, they can pick up rental homes on the cheap that will immediately cash flow and be primed for a quick equity build-up when the market recovers. There are undoubtedly still more sellers than buyers in the market.

4. The rental market is healthy and homes are filling quickly with higher quality tenants. Many great former homeowners who hit a rough spot are now clamoring to live in rental homes on the market today. They pay on time and maintain the homes extremely well. They know the drill and are great to work with!

5. Being that it seems that home prices have stabilized (and with inflation coming at some point in the near future), home prices will begin to work their way up again. So the landlords who have held on and been paying down their mortgages over the past five years, will be rewarded with equity (cash) in a liquid market.

So, as a landlord, you should be excited! Our time is now!

Livability.com Names the Top 10 Downtowns

Livability.com, a national website that highlights more than 500 of America’s best places to live and visit, has released a list of the Top 10 Downtowns for 2012.

The list is the second installment of an annual listing of the best downtowns in America and includes communities with downtowns that are walkable, well thought out, and have a wealth of dining and entertainment options.

For the 2012 list, editors narrowed down the more than 500 cities on Livability.com to those with populations between 100,000 and 300,000. They then considered the downtown’s economic vitality, which was assessed by analyzing the city’s unemployment rate, downtown vacancy rate, the distance between residential areas and downtown amenities, and residents’ average income levels.

Editors also looked at how well the city’s downtown reflects what Christopher Leinberger, director of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at George Washington University, calls the “experience economy.” In an experience economy, customers value most the memories a place creates for them.

“This list highlights cities with downtowns that offer residents and visitors valuable experiences – museums and theaters for families to visit, restaurants and coffeeshops where friends can gather, shops and boutiques for finding memorable keepsakes,” says John Hood, spokesman for Livability.com. “We chose cities in which the residents and government leaders have invested in downtown revitalization projects providing a favorable atmosphere for older businesses to thrive and new businesses to grow.”

Top 10 Downtowns, 2012
1. Fort Collins, CO
2. Charleston, SC
3. Alexandria, VA
4. Boise, ID
5. Little Rock, AR
6. Stamford, CT
7. Lincoln, NE
8. Provo, UT
9. Hollywood, FL
10. McAllen, TX

http://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/blog/2012/11/05/livability-com-names-the-top-10-downtowns/

How You Can Help Superstorm Sandy Victims

In the wake of superstorm Sandy’s convergence on the East Coast, charity ranking website greatnonprofits.org has released a list of organizations doing work in all affected areas that have been highly-rated by volunteers, donors and actual people helped by these charities.

The list offers up more than just the usual large organizations, and seeks to highlight small, lesser known nonprofits most effectively helping victims of Sandy. For example, charities such as DC Central Kitchen are open during the disaster to provide food to those in need. The lists of nonprofits covers charities whose missions span from providing food and shelter, to helping reunite storm victims with their lost pets following the disaster.

GreatNonprofits urges potential donors to check this list before giving, in order to find groups highly reviewed by their own volunteers and the people they have actually helped.

“It can be really difficult to know who to donate to when a disaster strikes,” said GreatNonprofits CEO Perla Ni, “We want to showcase highly effective, often local organizations who are really getting the work done and helping people now.”

The full list of top-rated Sandy disaster relief nonprofits can be found here: http://greatnonprofits.org/disaster-response/storm-sandy/