Don’t look so worried…

We’ll be back next week with more in property management.  Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at Landabout!

Filed under: General Information, home staging, investment, Landabout, Landlord, Property, Property Management, recession, rental, wealth creation

Good reads: This week in property management

A brand new gray area:  Do tenants have the right to ask that other tenants not smoke? Turns out an answer may be unnecessary as more landlords across the country move to ban smoking in and outside of the units they own.

For a new class of rookie landlords–aka homeowners who can’t sell in this market–two Chicago companies offer some newbie guidance.

Another happy ending (or beginning, rather) in the foreclosure crisis:  A vacant building in Colorado finds a new life as an affordable housing complex.  Designed to be a complete life skills opportunity, the program helps residents get and stay on their feet.

On a related note, opportunities, lessons, and challenges for small to mid sized investors in the Buffalo market.

Go green, get green.  NY dangles incentives for improving existing buildings and making them more energy efficient.

Caution and skepticism from the REIT side.

Think of the great food on these business trips:  Canadian investors eye an emerging boom in India.

Filed under: General Information, Green Building, Links, Property Maintenance, Property Management Topics, Real Estate Investment, affordable housing, foreclosure, green, Landabout, Landlord, lease, multi-family, news, Property, Property Management, recession, Urban Renewal, wealth creation

DIY Property Manager: Taking your own property photos

If you’ve ever browsed It’s Lovely!  I’ll Take It!, you know that a slightly bad photo can leave a property vacant, but a really bad photo can make it a world wide joke.  Of all the things you do to get and keep your property occupied, taking good photos is one of the most important.  Particularly with the number of home and rental shoppers browsing first online, your property photos are truly your first impression.  While a number of investors and property managers hire out professional work, there are ways to DIY and represent yourself and your property in a flattering light.

In fact, light itself is perhaps the most important element to consider when planning your photos.  Whenever possible, take exterior photos during the optimal “Golden Light” hours—the first morning light, or just before sunset.  Don’t shoot directly into the sun, and use the best natural light for exterior rather than interior shots if you’re pressed for time.

When shooting indoors, open or adjust window treatments to let in the most natural light, and turn on all lamps and overhead lighting as well.  When determining which perspective to shoot a room from, try standing with your back to the window or light source and capture the angles where sunlight will fall.  This easy light effect creates a warm and inviting photo.

Be mindful of televisions, mirrors, beveled glass, or glass cabinet doors, which can create a glare or capture a flash image in your photographs.  A glare can be removed with photo editing, but this creates more work and it’s best to avoid them initially.  Consider angling these features away from you, or adjusting your position before taking photos.

It likely goes without saying, but take the time to tidy the property and all rooms before taking your photos.  Nothing is more frustrating than taking a great shot and noticing a wayward bag of trash, a raised toilet seat, or a crooked bed spread.  Depending on your climate, try to avoid taking photos in the winter when the landscaping and property surroundings are likely to look desolate.  Outdoor photographs in general may not seem as important as the interior, but the full property and its surroundings can be chock full of psychological triggers and will prevent a sense of claustrophobia.  Seeing a nearby walkable shopping area, waterway, or lush greenery in your photographs may be just the thing to move someone to make an appointment for a showing.

Indoors, start with corner shots to maximize the space and include as much of the room as possible.  Emphasize the unique features in and around the property, and don’t photograph doors unless they are one of those unique features.  The object of property photography is to invite a tenant in, not literally show them the door.

Finally, invest in or borrow high quality equipment.  Find and train yourself to use a photo editing software that you’re comfortable with, like Photoshop or MS Picture Manager.  Use an 8 MP or higher digital camera so that you can snap freely and choose the best photos.  Do not feel as though you need to include photos of every room or property feature, particularly if you’re finding it difficult to get a good shot.  Be selective and show the best you have to offer.  With some care and creativity, browsers will turn to renters, and will say “It’s lovely!  I’ll take it!” with absolute  sincerity.

Filed under: General Information, Property Maintenance, Property Management Topics, Real Estate Investment, Urban Renewal, Landlord, lease, multi-family, Property Management, real estate management, reduced vacancy, rental, wealth creation

Good reads: This week in property management

Desperate times call for creative measures.  One underwater owner tries to sell to the people who already call his places home.

Dog bites in Massachusetts. The court system takes on the specifics of landlord liability when one tenant’s dog bites another tenant.

Newark landlords go to court over funds they say have been misappropriated for years.

A handshake agreement for ultracheap rent and a little carte blanche become one man’s habitable work of art.

Not in my job description. Troubled mom leaves baby with landlord.

And, finally…How not to do real estate investment.

Filed under: General Information, Links, Property Management Topics, Real Estate Investment, Urban Renewal, affordable housing, Landabout, Landlord, lease, multi-family, Property Management, real estate management, tenant relationships, tenant turnover, Urban Renewal

The Property Manager’s Playbook: 7 Rules

1. Prepare for change and adjust accordingly. The first rule must mingle quite closely with the second, but it comes first since the only real guarantee in property management is that the picture will change at some point.  And you, Mr/Ms. Malleable Property Manager, will change with it.
2. Update your goals regularly, put them in writing, and honestly appraise your progress. Step one:  Create a one, five, and ten year plan.  Step two:  Make an appointment with yourself every quarter to look at them with fresh eyes.  Admit mistakes and shrug off any tendency to be stubborn.  Strike any ill conceived or ineffective plans and come up with something better.
3. Surround yourself with talent and pay for it. Invite people into your circle who are passionate about what they do and recognize that they don’t come cheap.  When you have the professional culture you’re happy with, make it a space for sharing ideas, reading up on industry news, and networking as an organization.
4. Embrace technology. They great thing about technology is that it was made for lazy people.  In fact, a good technology will often keep you from having to lift a finger at all.  See just how lazy you can become, and watch your business grow.  It may seem like unconventional advice, but when you’re able to stop shouting expletives at a computer screen or fixing the copier jam, you’ll have that time back to take care of your tenants and tell the world how great your business is.  (Psst…And no one says it’s not okay to do that on the golf course)
5. Ask tenants what they want, consider input, and pursue the ideas with the most universal value. Think of direct tenant feedback as a reliable way to stay current in the most meaningful way.  You’ll also enjoy the added benefit of giving your tenants a voice within their own communities, and reinforce their satisfaction and loyalty.
6. Don’t use the natural chaos of the property management industry as an excuse for disorder. There is actually order in all things, even the no-one-day-is-the-same world of property management.  Especially when things seem perfectly unmanageable, teach your team to adjust the perspective and engage in calm, methodical problem solving.  Perhaps you can even adopt a new slogan:  When in doubt, find something to fix.
7. Pass on your lessons. We’re all better off when we can learn from the hits and misses of others.  Don’t be afraid to share the good, bad, and the ugly with your staff and even with others in the industry.  Cooperation is a far nicer word than competition, and a far more profitable one too.

Filed under: General Information, Landabout Features, Property Management Topics, Urban Renewal, affordable housing, customer satisfaction, investment, Landabout, Landlord, lease, multi-family, Property Management, rental, tenant relationships, tenant turnover, wealth creation

Sneak Preview: Inside Landabout Property Management Software

User home page

Admin screen

Payment screen

Chart of Accounts

Work request

Accounting menu

General ledger tracking

Property detail screen

Filed under: General Information, Landabout Features, Property Management Topics, Real Estate Investment, investment, Landlord, multi-family, Property Management, real estate management, rental, wealth creation

Good reads: This week in property management

Sign of the times:  According to the National Association of Independent Landlords (NAIL), almost 2/3 of indie landlords will be or already have reduced rents or made other concessions to keep tenants in their homes.  The perspective of one such landlord in Boston, who is also nervous but reasons that collecting reduced or late rent is better than collecting no rent at all.

On a somewhat related note, how about a flat screen TV, Mr. New Tenant?  Using such a flashy approach may have some companies crying uncle before the race to a slow winter ends.

Fannie Mae goes landlord.

A dated law involving a rent control ordinance spells trouble for some San Francisco residents living in older buildings.  They may be suddenly asked to leave for any reason, fair or unfair.

Memphis looks at multifamily rehab with a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) program and unused funds.

Investors take away lessons from the 90s.  Make the money, but make it smart.

In Darien, Connecticut, the community looks at “inclusionary zoning” in an attempt to level the playing field in housing.

The NY Times on evaluating the value of fixer uppers (when there on good deals on fixed uppers).

And finally, the St. Louis Post Dispatch on the disconnect between lower home sales and increased vacancy rates.

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Come back tomorrow for brand new screen shots and a look inside the Landabout property management software…user friendly, affordable, and ready to help you manage!

Filed under: General Information, Landabout Features, Links, Property Management Topics, Real Estate Investment, Urban Renewal, affordable housing, foreclosure, Landabout, Landlord, Property, Property Management, real estate management, recession, reduced vacancy, tenant relationships, tenant turnover, Urban Renewal, wealth creation

The new creditworthy: Assessing your risk

With unprecedented job loss and a mortgage crisis that doesn’t seem to want to quit, property managers and investors are faced with what can only be described as an opportunity and a challenge.  When we finally do emerge from this financial crisis, the Modern Depression for some, it’s very likely that credit will never look the same.  Many individuals, even those with once stellar credit histories and responsible spending habits, have been dealt a devastating blow.  And what is the one thing that binds all of those in financial trouble?  Each of them will need to locate safe, affordable housing despite their new and sometimes deeply flawed credit.

Landlords, particularly independent owners with few properties, have long been known for viewing tenant risk on a case by case basis.  It can be said that any landlord/tenant relationship is one of the bigger leaps of faith in business—a tenant assumes that a landlord will maintain his or her obligations for a lease period, and the landlord assumes that said tenant will make timely rent payments and care for the property.  A great deal of risk is implicit on both sides.  For renters struggling to find housing in these uncertain times, it can be a blessing to find a landlord willing to work with a less than perfect past.

We may have reached a moment in time where an individual’s credit score, or FICO, is not the most reliable indicator of his or her ability and/or desire to pay debts and obligations.  While a score of 600 has long been considered a “floor” for a lenders and landlords alike, there is no across the board standard, and with good reason.  A credit report is fluid and ever changing and will not tell you the same thing 30 days from now that it will tell you today.  Therefore, it may be in the best interest of your business to look more closely at other, more static criteria to determine whether or not to rent to a particular tenant.

Reliable factors to assess tenant risk:

• Longevity of employment, income, and future employability
• History of utility payment
• Credit defaults
• Eviction history, if any

Lenders often use the 45/55 rule when it comes to an income to liability split.  If 45% of one’s income will cover housing as well as other debts and obligations, it is assumed that the other 55% will safely pay for living expenses like groceries, insurance, transportation, and entertainment.  While these figures need not be exact, 45/55 can be a good benchmark for landlords to live by as well.

Working with a prospective tenant and operating with understanding shouldn’t be confused with adopting an “anything goes” policy.  Just because risk is inevitable does not mean that nothing can be done to mitigate it.

Strategies for reducing your risk as a landlord renting to credit troubled tenants:

• Collect personal references and/or request a cosigner
• Being mindful of your state’s laws, ask for an additional upfront rent or deposit amount
• Contact the financial institutions your prospect banks with to see that account(s) are in good standing
• Carefully verify employment and income
• Do invest in tenant screening services.  In addition to uncovering detailed credit information that may be helpful, a criminal background check is and will always be extremely important

It’s often said that the best way to predict future behavior is to look at past behavior.  In these changing times, it is important to note that credit history won’t necessarily provide a black and white, good or bad view of a renter’s character and intentions.  More and more people will be taking the next few years to rebuild their financial lives, and you, as a landlord, can be a significant and invaluable part of the process.

Filed under: General Information, Property Management Topics, Real Estate Investment, affordable housing, customer service, foreclosure, Landabout, Landlord, lease, multi-family, Property Management, real estate management, recession, reduced vacancy, rental, tenant relationships, tenant turnover, wealth creation