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Tenant & Landlord Relationship – It Goes Both Ways

Wooded

Here at Tenant File, we constantly emphasize the importance of finding a good tenant, and keeping them. A large part of tenant retention is being a good landlord or property manager.

As  a landlord or property manager, you hold a very important role in your tenants life; you own the place that they call home, and you control the terms that allow them to live there. Obviously it is in your tenants best interest to be the best that they can and make the lease process go smoothly, so you want to make sure that you’re reciprocating this.

Being a good landlord or property manager goes beyond just making sure you do things in a timely manner or charge a fair price for rent (though these are super important), it means treating your tenant with respect and developing a a good understanding with them. Because of the nature of the situation, it isn’t as difficult to be a good landlord to a single home or small property; you’re able to have a more personal experience as a landlord and give more individualized service. If you’re a property manager with a lot of tenants, be sure to get to know them and make them feel that they’re not just lost in the sea of all the tenants. If you can make a lot of tenants happy, you’re bound to keep them and have them referring people to your property.

 

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Round of Applause for the all new Tenant File website!

We are very excited to announce the all new Tenant File website ! The new website can now be accessed from a number of mobile devices across different platforms (you can see it on your android and your iPad!), so getting your Tenant File questions answered on-the-go will never be an issue.

Recently, there’s been a lot of buzz about the all new Google algorithm that launches next week (you can read more about it here), emphasizing the importance of mobile-friendly websites. By optimizing our site to make it mobile friendly and easier to navigate, we hope that we can help our users become more familiar with our software and give them a better feel for Tenant File in general.

Beyond just optimizing our website, we’ve also changed our blog to keep up with the times. Our blog can still be accessed here, but now you’ll be able to read from any device with internet capabilities.

Now, we don’t want our current users to be scared by our new design! Both the blog and website are more user friendly than ever, and designed with the user in mind. There are also now more support topics, and an ever increasing number of helpful videos that the Tenant File is making available to all customers.

We’ve made these changes to enhance your experience with Tenant File so that we can guarantee we’re providing you with the best service possible.

Tenant File website
Just a small preview of the all-new Tenant File site!
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How should you go about eviction?

Recently on the Tenant File Blog, we talked about signs that you should consider finding a new tenant (check it out here). Once you decide that you want your tenant out, how do you go about the eviction process?

Now, eviction laws and the eviction process vary from state to state, so for the sake of all of our readers, we’re going to make this a fairly basic outline of the process.

1. First comes the eviction notice. The eviction notice is the written notice where the tenant is asked to vacate the premises. This notice usually includes the reason for the eviction, the amount of time the tenant has to leave, the date and your signature, and any conditions that may affect the eviction.

2. If you’ve already given your tenant an eviction notice and they’ve failed to leave by the specified date, it’s time to move on to the next step: filing a lawsuit. Once your tenant is served, you’re both responsible for showing up to trial; for the most part, this ends with the judge giving your soon to be ex tenant a date by which they have to leave the property.

3. If after all of that your tenant still hasn’t left, you have the right to have them removed from the property. You can ask someone from your local sheriff’s office to escort them out of their property and place their possessions outside.

These steps are just the general process for eviction, make sure you check out what your state requires before you take the plunge.

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The Google Update: What’s to Come

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google

As some of you may know, Google, the most popular search engine, is is going to be launching a new algorithm on April 21st that focuses on the mobile-friendliness of your site.

What does this mean for your real estate website?

Basically, all sites that haven’t been optimized to be mobile friendly will go down in the Google search rankings. Considering how important the internet is for the real estate industry, this new algorithm is a pretty big deal. This is a great opportunity for realtors and real estate companies to change up their web pages beyond just making them mobile friendly. Being mobile friendly doesn’t simply mean changing the coding of your site so that it can be seen on a phone or tablet, it means optimizing it so that it’s user friendly and aesthetically pleasing too.

Being mobile friendly will also help increase web page views! If people can access your site on the go, they’ll be more likely to go on it. It’s very convenient knowing that you can go on a real estate site from your cellphone or iPad, rather than having to wait until you have access to a computer. Being mobile friendly is definitely going to be a huge demand from consumers, so Google’s new algorithm is definitely going in the right direction.

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Investing in debt?

Why you need to be careful before investing in the real estate market

It’s no secret that the real estate market has loads of great investment opportunities for realtors and consumers alike. But as we all know, sometimes things are too good to be true. Before you take the plunge and invest in what seems like a great real estate venture, there are a few things you should consider.

Is this property as good as it looks at first glance?

A property may look great when you first see it, but you can’t guarantee that there aren’t any underlying issues. Imagine if you look at an apartment with carpeting, and it looks great…but then summer comes along and mold starts to grow because the property had water damage, something that you didn’t know about because you can’t really see that when you preview an apartment. It’s important to fully check the property to make sure that it has no previous damages or anything that may be on the verge on breaking.

Will you find a tenant/tenants for this property?

You need to consider that not all properties are easy to rent or easy to find tenants for. Before you invest, look at the market and area where the property is located and determine if there is potential for you to find a tenant. You don’t want to spend a ton buying a house to rent, and end up with no one to rent it.

Consider the long-term risks

Make sure that you look at costs that may show up later on in your investment! Short-term costs are important because you need to handle them immediately, but long-term costs can sneak up on you and set you back. Plan out the investment so you’re aware of any expenses that may come up.

investment

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When should you start looking for a new tenant?

If you’re having problems with your current tenant, you have to ask yourself, at what point is it time to have them move out and find a new tenant?

Finding a good tenant is hard, and keeping a good tenant is even more difficult. Sometimes a tenant that may

new tenant, eviction

have been the best thing since sliced bread can turn sour, leaving you with a mess. At some point, you need to start considering finding a new tenant that you know you’ll be at peace with.

Now, you can’t just decide to evict your tenant out because they’re bothering you, but you can evict them if you

have a reason. While actual eviction laws vary from state to state, if you have a valid reason to ask your tenant to leave, it’s typically justified. If your tenant remains in your property beyond the date stated in the lease, you can evict them. You can also evict them if they fail to pay rent. Property damage, and rule breaking

are also justifiable reasons for to ask your tenant to leave the property. Basically, at the first sign of any of these, or if you feel that your tenant is putting you or your property in danger, you should ask them to leave to avoid further problems.

 

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What terms should you include in your lease agreement?

So, you’ve officially found the perfect tenant and now it’s time to put together the finalized lease agreement; but the question is, what do you include in the agreement?

When you’re putting together all the terms of a lease agreement, it’s extremely important to touch on any issue that you think is relevant or may come up throughout the time of the rental. You need to make sure that the lease is clear on everything, and not just a vague list of things that are left to the tenants discretion, or even your own discretion (for their sake).

lease agreement If you make a lease agreement that doesn’t cover specific items, you’re leaving a lot of blank space that may hurt you later on. It’s imperative to set clear roles and decide what’s going to be your tenants responsibility and what’s going to be your responsibility. This comes into play when you’re talking about things like general maintenance, or even landscaping; who’s going to be hiring someone to fix things, who’s going to take care of mowing the lawn? Some people may think these things are implied and won’t put them into the terms of the lease, but that can lead to problems later on.

Your tenant is also going to want to know what they are and aren’t allowed to do, so be sure to set rules that are both clear and fair. If you’re clear with your terms it makes it easier for your tenant to follow them, or for you to address issues if they go against your agreement.

 

 

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Sears Making Moves in the Real Estate Industry

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Earlier today, Sears decided to change up the nature of its business and dabble in the real estate game. Sears, which has had retail locations all over the United States since 1925, is now selling some of these locations, along with Kmart locations to balance out their finances. Sears plans on selling some of its best properties (a whopping 254 stores!) and leasing them back. The department store chain is working out the deal with Seritage Growth Properties, who will buy the properties lease them back to Sears. Sears is also working out a real estate joint venture with General Growth Properties, the number 2 mall owner in the United States. The joint venture involves Sears receiving $165 million dollars and fifty percent ownership of the venture, in exchange for 12 of their locations in General Growth Properties’ malls.

Some think that Sears isn’t making the right move in its new real estate venture, but it seems like it could definitely help them. We all know that real estate has definitely grown since the economic slump in 2009, and commercial real estate is no exception. Sears isn’t putting its name or brand at stake, its just restructuring its assets (both internally and externally) through effective real estate. It’s interesting to think that such a huge company is using real estate to turn itself around; could it be possible that other companies will follow in Sears’ footsteps?

 

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A beacon of hope for the real estate market?

Recently, on the Tenant File Facebook we shared an article about beacons being the next big thing in real estate; this begs the question: can we really change the future of real estate by using beacons to collect buyer information?

First of all, what are beacons? Basically, beacons are small sensors (wireless, of course) that use smartphone technology to push user data via Bluetooth Low Energy. Bluetooth Low Energy uses much less energy than the traditional Bluetooth technology we’re used to, so users don’t have to worry about it draining their phones. Since beacons transmit mobile data, they work very well in terms of convenience for the user and information gatherer.

As we all know, the future is digital and changing very quickly before our eyes, so of course we want to integrate technology into every aspect of life that we can. Using beacons adds an entirely new edge to the real estate market because it allows realtors to easily collect valuable data on consumers and consumer preferences, and even use that data later on. Typically, when you’re on the prowl for a new home, you go and take a look at the home before buying; in this process a realtor will most likely ask you to fill in a sign-in sheet with basic information about you and what you’re looking for. Beacons eliminate this awkward step, and instead use your smartphone to transmit information to the realtors inbox where they can gain consumer insight and have data for later on.

The use of beacons in real estate seems extremely promising, so we’re looking forward to see how this changes the way that consumer data is collected and used.

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A typical beacon and it’s inner parts.
(source: postscapes.com)

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