DIY Landscaping Projects

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A new landscaping project can improve the overall appearance of your property. However, for most projects you will need to invest a large amount of money. Additionally, property managers and landlords do not have time to maintain these projects once completed. For starters, save yourself stress and plan for a simple landscape design. You can easily transform a property with small additions. Here are a few DIY landscaping ideas:
 

Create Beds of Mulch, Sand, or Gravel

Beds filled with the previously mentioned landscape material can define the area of a yard and give it some life. This is low-stress option that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance. Before planting a bed, use rope to outline the areas to be converted. Then remove sod from the area using a spade. Outline the area with brick, nice plastic edging, or rocks. An additional benefit of a landscape bed is a decrease in grass you will have to mow and weeds you will have to uproot.
 

Use Plants or Shrubs

Native landscaping is another great option due to their long lifespan. Native plants require less fertilization and pest control. Research your area and find out which plants last the longest in your climate.
 

New Layer of Sod

Re-sodding the grass is another low cost idea. Healthy grass always improves the appearance of a property. However, keep in mind that re-sodding can be time-consuming. If you do plan to re-sod the grass, all you need to do is till the old layer of grass and water the soil. Then lay down strips of sod, water again, and roll sod roller over the area to establish the new sod.
 

Draw Attention to an Impressive Feature

If you lack the resources to plant flowers and flower beds, you may want to look at what’s already on the property and highlight that feature. For example, if there is a small but nicely kept shrub on the front lawn, you could surround it with a gravel bed.

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Benefits of Property Management Certification

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While it is not required for some property managers to receive certification, it could boost your career. Some certificates are costly and take a few years to earn. While it is difficult to weigh the benefits and costs of your investment, the upside is always great!

In markets where heavy competition is abundant, having a certificate makes sense. It sets you apart from the crowd. A certificate shows your client that you have undergone rigorous course work and know the world of property management inside out. It also proves your track record of portfolios.

If you decided to pursue a certificate in property management, consider the following options:

Residential Management Professional (RMP) and Master Property Management (MPM): These are offered through the National Association of Residential Property Managers. This is ideal for residential property managers.

Certified Property Manager (CPM): This designation is offered through the Institute of Real Estate Management. CPM is regarded as one of the most prestigious certificates in the country. This is ideal for commercial property managers.

Certified Apartment Manager (CAM): The National Apartment Association offers this designation. A great option for an apartment property management

There are options for every kind of property manager. But if you’re in a market with very minimal competition, you may not need to get a certificate. Earning a certificate of this time requires a large investment of time and money, which would be worthwhile if you are facing stiff competition. Smaller companies and managers should think twice about earning certificates, especially if they do not need to. However, if you still feel you should get one, by all means go ahead.

Certificates open doors for property managers and introduce them to even more individuals and opportunities. It also gives you a great way to network through classmates. You can find more branding opportunities as well as, of course, earn you more business.

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Common Mistakes Made by Experienced Landlords

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Earlier this week, we covered the biggest mistakes new landlords make. Landlords, no matter how many years you have been worked, are still human. Distractions like a a growth in the housing market can trip up the pros. Here are common mistakes by experienced landlords.
 

Confusing Cheap for Good

Just because a rental is cheap does not mean that it is of good quality. Homes in deserted areas are not always appealing to the public. Investigate why that home is in a deserted area. In some cases, you can make those reasons into good marketing tools. But other cases, there’s a good reason why they are abandoned. Other elements to look into are nearby below-quality school districts and unattractive properties. If you find any of these characteristics, it’s probably best to move on.
 

Overlooking Key Costs

Before buying the property, remember to calculate closing costs, which can range from 3 to 6%, repair costs, and holding costs. Then calculate the profit you are predicting to make. Then calculate closing costs. Be as accurate as possible.
 

Forgetting That Time is Money

No matter how successful you are, you have to work efficiently. You lose money when your property is empty. You also lose money when you buy a property, but can’t repair it for quite sometime. In this case, it’s better to accept a lower rent than waiting for a high-paying tenant.
 

Slacking

This may be unintentional, but you can’t sit back and watch your income pour in. Tenant are like homeowners in that they cannot pay to live in their home if they lose their jobs. Other problems like eviction and theft arise as well. You need to pay attention to your tenants or hire someone else to do so. Even after screening your new tenants, you cannot trust them completely after they move in.

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How to Handle Weird Landlord Requests

door-lockToday we have another blog targeted towards tenants. You may already know that landlords are people just like you, just trying to make a living. However, it does not take much training to become a landlord. So you may get a landlord who’s a little crazy. Below are some of the most common weird landlord requests we found online – and how to appropriately respond!

 

Can I Use Your [insert household item]?

Your rent buys your right to a peaceful home with interruptions. You can either politely decline or create a business arrangement from this, such as a cut in rent. This way, the bizarre request does not create anything more than a business relationship.

 

Children Must Sleep Outside

This was for a vacation rental. Ignore this. Children are people, too. Not pets.

 

Don’t Let Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend Stay the Night

You might want to contact housing services. It is none of your landlord’s business to decide who can stay the night at your rental. Also, write a polite but firm note to your landlord explaining the request and the boundaries of their authority.

 

No Plants on the Porch

If this wasn’t in the lease, you technically do not need to comply. Again, send a note to your landlord explaining that you are not in violation of the lease.

 

No Pictures on the Walls

In addition, the landlord stated, “This isn’t a dorm room.” If this was not included in the lease, you do not need to comply. It’s not criminal or illegal or damage property, if you use the right tools. If it creates holes in the wall, thus damaging the property, then it is a problem Write a polite note to your landlord explaining that you are not violating rules.

 

Notify Me When You Plan to Leave for a Week Or More

This is a little much. This is only a problem when you leave for more than 30 days and then don’t pay rent (i.e. “abandonment”). Write your landlord a note stating that this is intrusion into your privacy and it is unnecessary.

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Pitfalls for New Landlords

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Sometimes, new landlords are way over their heads. The trick is to be prepared for whatever comes your way. And that comes from learning from others’ mistakes. Here are the most common pitfalls for new landlords.

Treating A Rental Poorly

This may be unintentional, but pay attention to your actions and the after effects of them. Failure to treat your rental as a business could lead to fines and legal trouble later. The IRS, authorities, and insurance companies are watching your behavior when it comes to collecting rent. Keep that in mind.

Doing Things Independently

You might want to think about hiring a property manager to assist you if you are just starting out. However, some property managers will not work with landlords who own only one property. To seek assistance, you could also view the National Association of Residential Property Managers, The National Apartment Association, or your state’s laws regarding rentals. The first two sources have directories dedicated to property managers and companies. Keep in mind that property managers sometimes do not advertise themselves, so you may have to dedicate time to find a good one.

Mixing Up “Rent” and “Mortgage”

New landlords often think that rent covers mortgage. This is false. Mortgage is an agreement made with the bank based on a loan, percentage put down, credit history, and market value at the time of sale. None of these factors affect rent. Mortgage is an investment and rent covers housing expenses.

Failing to Complete Background Checks

A nicely dressed person does not mean their background check is optional. Screen every possible tenant that comes your way. You’ll want to know whether a tenant has been evicted before, whether they have a criminal history, and whether they earn enough to stay in your rental. Property managers can be quite helpful with this. They work with background-investigation professionals that could benefit you – and save you headaches later.

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Making Money with College Real Estate

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Housing prices and mortgage rates have fallen, while college enrollment is rising as people go back to school in the wake of job losses. That has led to a scarcity of student housing, which means it’s a great time for real estate in college towns. For a landlord, it makes sense to seek college towns where prices are especially low to generate even more business from college students.

Tenants turn over annually, and today’s students may not suffer slumlords gladly. The economic downturn has made students — and their parents — a little more careful about where they will spend their money. They are willing to pay rents well above market value, if it is in reasonable distance of the university. This means that the bigger the apartment, the more income you will bring in, and that doesn’t include summer housing.

Be sure to keep in mind that students are tougher on apartments than the average tenant, so prospective landlords need to take extra care to protect their property legally. Make sure you get the proper insurance and tighten your property rules. Some measures to added to the rules are “no trespassing on the roof”, “flames of any kind (candles, fireworks, etc.) are not allowed”, “charcoal grills are prohibited”, “gas grills must comply with fire codes”, and “weapons of any kind (ex. revolvers, paintball guns), are not to be displayed on the property.”

One more thing to keep in mind is credit score. Students can be harder to vet financially because students often do not have credit to check. However, you can check with the school to ask about housing behaviors, like if they have ever been kicked out of the dorms or if they have been reprimanded for drugs.

While you need to go the extra mile when securing and managing a college-aged tenant, you can make a great profit. So do not rule out college real estate!

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Why You Should Use Green Pest Control

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Green pest control has grown in popularity in recent years. Pest control used to be associated with harsh chemicals and odorous fumes. With the new Integrated Pest Management movement, pest control is going green. Making your pest control as clean as possible does great things for families with children, senior citizens, and pets. Use green pest control has many advantages. Here are a few of them:

Effectiveness

Pest populations can decrease when traditional pesticides are used. Even an overuse of the traditional pesticides can increase tolerance among your property’s pest population, making the situation much worse. You may have heard of an increase in bed bug populations. This is due to inefficient extermination efforts that led to the bug’s resistance to traditional pest solutions. Green pest control is more effective than traditional pesticides. Additionally, rather than spraying harsh chemicals into the air without properly covering the most affected areas, green pest control goes into the crevices to eliminate pests.

Increase in Demand from Tenants

More and more tenants want green pest control. IPM is a responsible choice for everybody and it is relatively easy to sustain, which means that you can maximize your property’s life expectancy and value. Research completed by IPM shows that pest complaints have gone down. Additionally, one city turned to strict green pest control and pest management costs went down 30%. Lastly, pest problems decreased by 95% in low-income housing after green pest control was utilized.

Healthy

By adopting a green pest control solution, you can be assured that the health of your building staff, tenants, and their families is a priority of the pest control strategy being implemented. IPM is a method that controls pest problems without unnecessary chemical usage. Instead, it uses a combination of sanitation and property maintenance procedures to resolve the causes of a pest situation, rather than just treating its symptoms.

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Essential Features of a Real Estate Mobile Website

digital-marketing

It is essential that real estate professionals have a website that is mobile friendly. A recent survey showed that 79% of mobile users will leave a website and never return if it is not mobile friendly. It is hard to get this consumers back. Here are a few features your real estate mobile website will need that will keep your consumers coming back.
 

Location

You will want to include location information on everything related to your business. Period.
 

Click-to-Call

A convenient feature to have is click-to-call. Once users click on a button or on your phone number listed on your website, it will take them straight to a phone call between you and them.
 

Email

Another important feature is an email button or link of some kind. This way an email to you is just a click away.
 

App

Apps attract users more than a website does. Apps can also be a great avenue to collect lead information.
 

Social Links

Be sure to have links to your social media accounts somewhere on the page. And give them plenty of options.
 

Video

Video, that’s done well, attract users big time. Place a short video focusing on you and your business on the front page.
 

Big Buttons

I can’t stress this enough. The buttons on your website need to be big enough so the user does not get frustrated when they constantly click the wrong button because the buttons are too small.
 

Easy Navigation

Easy navigation is one of the most important aspects of any website. Make sure your website is not confusing to navigate, or the user will get frustrated and click away – to your competitor.
 

Search Bar

A search bar is a good feature to have. They can quickly search for content that can be hard to find otherwise.
 

Up-And-Down Scrolling Only

Make sure that your site only scrolls up and down, not left to right. That will get annoying fast.
 

An Option to View the Full Site

Sometimes mobile users will want to access the full site for whatever. Give them that option, even if it sounds silly to you.

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Credit Reporting and Tenants’ Rights

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Credit is one of the first things landlords consider when reviewing a potential tenant. If you know you have credit problems for whatever reason, you can take a copy to your landlord when they review the apartment you want. While landlords do not have to accept your credit report copy, you can explain why your credit is the way it is. Also explain to them how you will clear up the issue. Another item to have handy is a rental resume, which should include employment information, references from past landlords and supervisors, and other relevant information. This can be especially helpful if your credit score is not where it should.

If you have bad credit, you can make a compromise by offering an additional deposit or maybe a shorter lease. You can even improve your credit by paying debts and ensuring that everything on your credit report is accurate. Be honest with yourself. It’s going to take time to improve your credit. There is no quick way around this. However, if you are willing to work off any bad credit, the landlord can give you a chance.

As of 2004, the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the three big credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to provide you with a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months. Additional credit reports will cost you $10. It will cost a few dollars more if you would also like a credit score (FICO score), in addition to your report.

Keep in mind that each credit reporting agency will have different information. It all depends on whom your creditors use. You might want to get all three, requesting a different one every few months so you have the complete picture.
And after all that, if your landlord denies you because of your credit report, they must tell you that they did so and provide you with the name and contact information of the credit reporting agency that provided that information to them. Then, that credit reporting agency must provide you with a free copy of your credit report.

And after all that, if your landlord denies you because of your credit report, they must tell you that they did so and provide you with the name and contact information of the credit reporting agency that provided that information to them. Then, that credit reporting agency must provide you with a free copy of your credit report.
 
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Features to Consider When Assessing A Property

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As you find a  new property, you may feel overwhelmed by the sales process. Let us simplify it for you and encourage you to focus on these features when assessing whether a property is worth your investment
 

Amenities

Do not underestimate the amenities that come with your property: in-home and in the neighborhood. Consider local public transportation and stores.
 

Listings and Vacancies

Check how many vacancies are in the area. If there’s a high number, you may want to avoid the area. If this is the case, do research on why the vacancy rate is so high.
 

Future Developments

Check with the local council to see if anything is in the works. This could affect the property’s ability to be sold. Factories could make your property unattractive while a small shopping mall could attract clients.
 

Crime

Check the crime rate. Your clients want to feel safe in their new neighborhood.
 

Schools

If the property has great schools in their area, this can be a great selling point for young couples or families.
 

Jobs

Is unemployment rate high or low? Also, if a major employer is in the area, that can lower the vacancy rate
 

Natural Disasters

Research what natural disasters are most likely to occur in the property’s area. You can also find out how much money you will need to invest in insurance premiums.
 

Rent

When you calculate rate, take into account rising interest rates and other unforeseen factors. Rent could increase within five years of move-in.
 

Property Taxes

Property taxes vary based on characteristics of the property. Tax needs to be calculated when determining income. Remember that you also need to pay capital gains tax when selling the property.
 

Neighborhoods

Always assess the neighborhood as a whole before deciding to invest in a property. Different neighborhoods will attract different people. If you live near a university, you will definitely attract students (who might also leave during the summer, so think about this). Consider the local environment and how that will play into your income and investment.
 
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Interesting property management articles and tips