November 9, 2009
Depending upon where your property is located, parking may be a major consideration or something that you rarely think twice about. For example, if
your property is situated in a rural area or a quieter neighborhood, chances are that providing parking to tenants—whether it’s street parking or on-site parking—isn’t something you actively consider. If, however, you are a property manager in an area where parking is scarce, it’s a whole different ballgame. Following are some tips for making the most of parking.
1. Have a parking policy.
First and foremost, if you do provide tenants with parking, make sure that a parking policy is included as part of your standard lease. Think of parking spaces as an extension of your tenants’ units. Just as they are renting a unit from you, so are they renting a parking place and, therefore, certain rules, regulations, and expectations should apply. If you provide additional “guest” spaces on your property, make sure that rules and regulations for them are included in your lease as well. Finally, if you live in an area where weather conditions or other specific events may affect parking, include specific instructions for such conditions in your policy. For example, if you live in an area where it snows frequently, make sure that any affect it may have on your parking policy is explicitly stated.
2. Determine whether you can charge.
Depending upon the neighborhood your property is located in, parking may or may not increase the rental value of your units. If, for example, you live in a safe area where street parking is readily available, chances are that providing tenants with parking spaces will add little or no value to your property in terms of rental rates. If, however, you live in an area that is unsafe or where parking spaces are scarce, on-site parking may well afford you with an opportunity to raise your rent.
If you are not already charging tenants who have parking spaces additional rent, be sure to check out the going rates for comparable units with parking spaces the next time a unit becomes vacant. You may just be able to increase your income.
3. Get credit even when you don’t charge.
Even if your situation does not afford you the opportunity to charge higher rental rates when a parking space is included, be sure that you are advertising your parking space as an amenity rather than a basic. You never know what could make the difference between a potential tenant choosing one unit over another, and a parking space could definitely provide you with an edge over the competition.
4. Rent unused spaces.
If you live in an area where parking spaces are a particularly valuable commodity or have fewer tenants than you do parking spaces, don’t let that space go to waste! Rent out your unused parking spaces, even if it is to a non-tenant. Particularly in dense, urban areas, each parking space can generate up to $200 additional income per month. Best, of all, we bet it will be the easiest unit you’ve ever had to maintain!
Depending on your situation, parking may be a welcome source of additional revenue or a great way to appeal to potential renters. Be sure to make the most of your property’s parking.
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Property Management | Tagged: advertising, amenity, car, income, management, on-site parking, outsource, outsourcing, parking, parking lot, parking management, parking policy, parking spot, policy, price, property, property manager, rates, real estate, rent, resident, snow, space, sparking space, tenant, tenants, unit | 
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Posted by Buildium
November 5, 2009
Inspection time can be stressful for everyone, but being prepared will lessen that stress. When it comes to inspections, education is key. The following links will help ensure that by the time that next inspection rolls around, you’ll know your stuff.
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Property Management | Tagged: diligence, due diligence, hgtv, home, home inspection, inspection, links, management, multifamily, property, Property Management, real estate | 
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Posted by Buildium
November 2, 2009
As a property investor, property purchases are likely less emotional and more logical than they are for the average real estate buyer. Even if you’re
looking at property investment from a business-minded point of view, though, it’s still possible to overlook some critical factors when it comes to making property investment decisions. With that in mind, below you’ll find some tips for making sure you take care of due diligence before purchasing your next investment property.
For the most part, due diligence can be summed up in one word: Inspection. Nothing stands to save you as much money and headache down the line as contracting a professional inspector to come in and look over a property before escrow closes. Your real estate agent will almost surely have inspector recommendations, but you may also want to check the American Society of Home Inspectors. This organization provides a built-in system of checks and balances since all members must pass exams and meet basic standards. Of course, you’ll still want to call a reference or two—after all, a bad inspection can potentially cost you thousands of dollars down the line.
Have the inspection done after you’ve made an offer and make sure your agent builds in a contingency to let you off the hook should an inspection turn up any troubling information. While you can have an inspection done prior to making an offer, remember that you will have to pay for an inspector, so it may not be the most financially desirable decision.
Prior to the inspection, request a disclosure from the seller. This is meant to alert you to any forthcoming problems that may not yet be detectable through a basic inspection. Try to obtain this information prior to the inspection so that your inspector can carefully examine areas that may pose potential hazards or issues in the near future. Remember, however, that disclosures are not foolproof as sellers may not even be aware of some looming issues.
Now that it’s time for the actual inspection, make sure that your general inspector thoroughly completes all of the following:
- Check for structural issues (this includes the roof, plumbing, foundation, and pest damage).
- Check for any heating or electricity issues.
- Check drainage.
- Some inspectors check for pest issues, while others do not. If you choose an inspector that does not check for pest control, you would be wise to have a second contractor in to take a look. You will want this inspector to not only look for pests and termites, but also fungus and dry rot.
Also keep in mind, you may not be done after just one inspection; other specialized inspectors may be necessary as well. For example, if the general inspector finds roof hazards, consider bringing a roof specialist in to let you know exactly what you’re looking at. Additionally, to avoid environmental hazards that could potentially cost you big time down the line, bring in an environmental health hazard specialist to check for things like mold, lead, and asbestos.
When all is said and done, ideally you will not find any major problems, let alone a deal-breaker. If your inspection does turn up problems that will need to be addressed, you can negotiate with the seller, who may agree to make certain repairs or lower the property’s selling price. And if you do find a deal breaker, as unfortunate as it may seem at the time, rest assured that the price you’ve paid on inspections has likely saved you thousands down the line.
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Property Management | Tagged: Property Management, real estate, investment property, inspection, property, damage, investor, investment, hazard, due diligence, agent, purchase, roof, inspector, buyer, electricity, plumbing, heating, invest, emotional, decision, decisions, escrow, american society of home inspectors, disclosure, pest, drainage, fungus, dry rot, roof hazard, asbestos, mold | 
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Posted by Buildium
October 12, 2009
The good news is that in this day and age, there are a number of options for keeping tenants updated about property events and updates on a real-time
basis. Now it’s up to you to identify the mode of communication that works best for all of your tenants … and for you. Following are a few of your best communication bets and some tips for determining which ones will work best for you and your tenants.
Electronic communication
If you opt to communicate with tenants electronically, you have a few options: posting news and events on your company’s website, sending notification emails to tenants on an as-needed basis, or sending out a regular e-newsletter. When determining which sort of electronic communication works best for you, make sure that you carefully analyze its pros and cons. For example, updating tenant news on your company’s website requires minimal effort on your part—simply dash off a few sentences, post it on the website, and you’re done! But remember that websites offer a passive means of communication. In other words, if your tenants aren’t taking the initiative to surf on over to your site and seek out news, your updates may very well never actually make it to their intended audience.
Emails and e-newsletters offer landlords a more active way of distributing information; in other words, when you send out an email or a newsletter and you know that your tenant will see it in their inbox. But, remember, newsletters and emails tend to require a bit more maintenance than website news updates. You will have to update mailing lists, deal with distribution and bounce-back emails, and (if your property management portfolio is big enough) may even have to invest in a specialized mass mailing system.
Again, both websites and emails/newsletters offer today’s landlords a great, relatively low-maintenance way of keeping tenants informed in real-time. Just remember to carefully consider the pros and cons of both when you are determining the most efficient and effective way to communicate with your tenants.
Hard copy communication
Although sending letters and memos was the standard mode for landlord-tenant communication not so long ago, today it is one of the least efficient and cost-effective routes to take. Sending out notices via snail mail involves putting a mailing together, spending money on postage, and accounting for the lag time it takes between when communication is sent and when it is received. This is compounded by the fact that because many of your tenants (particularly those in younger demographics) communicate primarily electronically, they may not even check their mail boxes that often anymore. In other words, all of this effort could potentially be for naught in the end.
If you do want to utilize hard copy communication methods, your best bet is to post bulletins in highly visible areas of your property. For example, on the front door or near elevators and stairwells. If you do need to distribute hard copy communication to tenants on an individual basis, save time and money by distributing communication directly to their door. Despite all of these caveats, do remember that we are not yet living in a completely electronic world. Some of your tenants may still rely on hard copy mailings. Depending on your tenant demographic, even if you are on a primarily electronic system, posting bulletins may still be a necessary step.
Determining which will work best for you
Not sure which communication method is best for you? Go straight to the source for input—your tenants. Ask them what their preferred method of receiving information is (you can even do this at the time of move-in by having them check their preferred option off of a list at the same time they fill out the rest of their paperwork). Once you’ve received this feedback you can either go with the majority or, if your bandwidth allows, set up electronic and hardcopy mailing lists, placing tenants on their preferred option as specified. Particularly if you opt to use both a hardcopy and electronic system, remember that while it’s important to make sure your tenants have a mode of receiving information efficiently, you also need to make sure the process is as simple as possible for yourself. After all, you don’t want to spend all your time distributing information to tenants through every communication channel possible.
Having a selection of communication options is great, but remember to use them wisely. Whether you’re using an electronic or paper system, any type of communication will simply become white noise if you’re constantly deluging tenants with information. Post all the information you want on your website (where tenants can actively go to seek out information), but send only important, must-know information out actively. This way, tenants will know that when they receive an email or a hard copy bulletin from you, it’s something they should pay attention to, taking any appropriate action as quickly as possible.
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Posted by Buildium
October 5, 2009
When it comes to selecting an investment property, there are a few issues that every landlord must take into account. No matter how wonderful a
property is or how eager you are to invest, never make a property investment without carefully evaluating the following items on your property investment checklist.
1. Calculate your profitability.
Although determining the likely profitability of an investment property may seem like a given, you might be surprised how many investors find themselves in a losing situation simply because they fail to do the math. Before buying an investment property at any price point, be sure you carefully determine how much rental income you are likely to generate on an annual basis. Weigh this against not only your mortgage and property taxes, but also all of the other costs that are likely to occur over the course of a year, such as advertising vacancies and doing general repairs and maintenance.
When calculating these costs, be conservative when estimating income and err towards over-estimating your outgoing expenses. You want to make sure you have enough wiggle room in your profit margins to afford your investment property payments no matter what unforeseen events may unfold in a given year.
About.com’s real estate business page offers some great calculation tools that will help you calculate your risk based on several different variables.
2. Get inside renters’ minds.
Sure, you’re the one who’s purchasing the investment property but never forget that you are purchasing it for the purpose of renting it out to tenants. Which means that while you obviously have to make a pragmatic investment decision, you also have to think like a renter. Take a long hard look at exactly what sort of properties seem to be the most desirable in your area. Evaluate things like number of bedrooms, location, square footage, and other amenities. Knowing what renters want ahead of time helps guarantee that you won’t struggle to fill vacancies or be forced to settle for less desirable tenants later down the line.
3. Think long-term.
Will this property still be good a few years down the line? Remember, when it comes to investments, you’re not only investing in your financial well-being—you’re also investing in your future. Which is why it’s so important to take a good, hard look at long-term trends in areas you are considering. Look at city and county records to see how the neighborhood you’re looking at buying into is trending. Have properties been increasing or decreasing in value over the past five or ten years? How about crime rates? Has the demographic remained stable over the past decade or has it evolved (for instance, are residents generally shifting from families to young, single occupants)?
While no one can predict the future, much can be learned from the past. Make sure that you know exactly what direction the neighborhood you’re thinking about buying is headed.
Checking these few items off your Property Investment Checklist can make all the difference between a good investment and a bad one.
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Posted by Buildium
October 1, 2009
The very nature of emergencies is that they arise without notice and are unpreventable. The key to being prepared to handle emergency is to think possible scenarios through ahead of time, always putting safety first. The following links will help you better prepare for any property emergencies.
- All residential units should have easily accessible fire extinguishers. Learn more about extinguishers at FireExtinguisher.com, a fun and informative site.
- Watch out for the silent killer; make sure every unit has a carbon monoxide detector.
- Property management offices should be just as prepared for an emergency as their residents. OSHA has a great how-to guide for workplace emergencies and evacuations.
- Make sure to provide tenants with printed evacuation maps.
- Help your residents protect themselves from emergencies by informing them about renters insurance policies. Esurance is a great place to compare quotes.
Leave a Comment » | Property Management | Tagged: carbon, detector, emergency, esurance, evacuation, extinguisher, fire, fireextinguisher.com, insurance, landlord, map, monoxide, OSHA, policy, Property Management, real estate, renter, renters, renters insurance, resident, tenant, workplace | Permalink
Posted by Buildium
test of time as a viable marketing tool, with more than 70 million registered users, there’s no doubt that all property managers should at least be considering exactly how Twitter can help them grow and promote their business.
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