5 Ways: HOA Management Can Increase Your ROI

 by Rental Choice

Apart from maintaining the look and feel of a community, property managers are also expected to take the necessary steps needed to ensure that the fees are being utilized efficiently. Using the HOA fees, making key property repairs, and implementing other face lifting measures that will enhance the value of the property owners should be considered another key responsibility for property managers.

At every step, they should be prioritizing and undertaking measures that will eventually lead to a return on investment.

Here are 5 ways in which property managers can boost the value of your property:

1. Improve the Entry

The first thing anyone notices is the front of your house. The whole combination of the garage and landscaping makes huge impact when it comes to property appraisal. So be sure to make a great first impression and improve the landscaping and maybe even the garage door if your budget permits.

2. Change the Front Door

The door is very impactful. If you have a door with some wear and tear, maybe it is time you dress it up a little better. Managers do not need to replace the whole door unless necessary. Getting it polished with some new fixtures would do the trick. This is a simple and cost effective way to improve the first impression of your property.

3. Paint Job

If the property hasn’t received a fresh coat of paint in years, then it’s time for a fresh paint job for the house. This is another quick fix and can greatly affect the appearance of the house. New paint can make your property stand out and breathes new life into the personality of the structure. Property managers should use their discretion on a case-by-case basis figuring out which properties need a paint job and which ones can be held back on it.

4. Improved Lighting

Light fixtures add a great deal of ambiance and drama to the overall aesthetical appeal of the property. Though this may not be necessary for all houses, improved lighting can help the house feel more welcoming during nighttime – something that interested parties will notice.

5. Dual Paned Windows

If your property is fitted with single-pane windows, a great home improvement project regardless of whether or not you seek a bump in the value of the property, should be the installation of dual-paned windows. Dual-Paned windows greatly influence your utilities. They reduce the cooling costs considerably, and stand the test of time, not to mention, they look great too.

If your property manager is not suggesting you changes like the ones mentioned above, he or she is not fulfilling her duty to the maximum. Property managers are there to help you draw more utility out of your property. They must have the owners’ best interest in mind, and should help improve your living conditions, community involvement, and lifestyle while simultaneously increasing return on investment through careful budgeting for appropriate renovations.

What To Consider When Hiring a Property Management Company

by Rental Choice

Property owners today are leaning towards hiring a property management company who looks after the property and deals with the daily operations of the business. Like every other industry, there are some good companies and some bad ones. Therefore, a property manager must choose a management company that is going to make their work easier rather than harder. The amount of properties an owner has does not have any bearing whatsoever on the process of hiring an effective property management company.

In order to benefit from hiring a property management company here are some things to consider for property owners in order to acquire the right services related to property management.

Do you have Effective Owner Management?

There are lots of cases where people have acquired property without realizing the consequences and the amount of responsibility they will be required to have in order to manage the property effectively.

A property management company allows property owners and landlords to have more free time, increased revenues and reduced direct costs. Therefore, people who don’t possess effective owner management skills should look at hiring property management companies to look after their business.

Here are some of the things a property manager needs in order to become an effective owner of the property.

Knowledge of Property Laws:

Every person who owns or manages a property has to be familiar with the state laws regarding property management. Owners who don’t have any knowledge about property laws are liable to heavy fines and law suits.

A property management company has expert knowledge about property laws and could therefore be highly useful for property owners who don’t want to deal with complicated lawsuits.

Expenses & Time Spent On Properties:

All property owners who live far away from their properties will have to travel regularly to their properties in order to ensure that they are in good condition. This will also result in high expenses for the owner, since they will have to find effective ways in order to manage their properties.

A property management company comes in handy when owners live far away from their properties. The company will take care of the maintenance of the property and owners will not have to travel frequently to their properties.

Repairs & Maintenance:

A property manager who is looking after a property by themselves will have to look after the maintenance and repairs of the property alone. They will also be required to posses basic skills sets, which include carpentry, plumbing, landscaping and electrical skills in order to maintain and repair a property.

This is where a property management company allows owners peace of mind, since they are experts when it comes to responsibility for maintenance and repairs. They have got people with expert skill sets in all departments and can therefore handle the issue much better.

Tenant Screening and Maintenance:

All property managers must carefully screen their tenants in order to discard people who will later become a problem for them. You will be required to check their backgrounds, credit checks, employment information and criminal records. Even after the screening process, there is a chance that you may encounter certain tenants that become a headache for you.

A property management company can help deal with this issue with ease, since they have got an effective tenant screening process and will be able to handle the problems of tenants much more effectively.

Property Taxes: A Taxing Expense

by Rental Choice

http://rentalchoice.com/property-taxes-taxing-expense/http://rentalchoice.com/author/admin/

All “buy and hold” real estate follows the same, simple equation:

 rent collected – expenses = profit (or loss)

Lowering expenses increases profit, and investor/owners like you work hard to tame expenses. You can insulate and install energy efficient lighting and timer thermostats to lower your utility costs. You can refinance your mortgage to lower your monthly payment. But what about your property taxes?

Nothing certain but death and taxes?

Does the old saying still ring true? The answer is “yes and no.” You will always have to pay your property taxes, but you don’t have to pay what the government is currently charging you.

So how do we lower property taxes? We lower your assessment by proving that the FMV has dropped on your property and thus the assessment should drop correspondingly. Your property taxes are a function of the “fair market value” (FMV) of your property. The county uses a factor called the “Common Level Ratio” in combination with the property’s FMV to arrive at your “assessed value” (AV). Your property taxes are calculated by multiplying the AV by the total tax rate (or “millage”) for your property’s locale.

Here’s a real life example of a someone I helped:

My client owns 47 properties in Darby Borough, Darby Township and Upper Darby Township. Through property tax appeals, he was able to save over $40,000 per year in excess real estate taxes. That’s over $400,000 over a 10 year period, and $40k going into his pocket every year instead of the tax man’s! He looked at me and said, “You just saved me two college educations over the next 10 years.”

They think it’s their money.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “The school district, the municipality and the County must hate when people do this?” you are correct. The solicitors (read: “lawyers”) for these entities will fight you tooth and nail to keep what they think is their rightful claim to your money. It’s my opinion that it’s not their money, it’s yours. You are the one who took the risk to purchase and rehab your rental property, and you are the one who took the hit when the value of the property dropped; why shouldn’t you get a break from your real estate taxes when the law says you’re entitled to one?

Your real estate taxes represent one of your biggest expenses. It is possible to lower your real estate taxes through the appeal process, and an experienced attorney will help you maximize the savings.

Avoid End-of-Lease Disagreements

As a landlord or a property manager, move-in process can be a little tricky at times. Sometimes unique circumstances create a move-in that strays from the usual, but that may cause certain difficulties at the end of the lease. No matter how friendly your new tenants seem, it’s always safer to follow regulations at the beginning of each and every lease. This way, you can avoid any surprise issues at move-out. The best way to protect yourself as well as your tenants is to use a move-in checklist.

Use Checklists

Before tenants move in, it is standard to take them on a move-in inspection so that both of you are able to check out the amenities and quality of the unit together. We’ve found it useful to create a list for your client, so that you both can agree on which items do or not have previous damage. In some cases, it’s useful to have your tenant individually rate the quality of blinds, countertops, window locks, etc. It may seem redundant, but you’ll definitely be happy you have a form of documentation should any disagreement occur toward the end of the lease. Clients also seem to take comfort in having that written document.

Have your tenants return the inspection list with the rest of their lease paperwork. That way, the inspection is officially documented at the time of move-in. In your lease paperwork, you’ll also want to clear up any policies that typically cause disagreements between landlords and tenants. This may include:

• Pet and pet fee policies
• Forms of payment accepted
• Putting gas and electric bills in their name
• Getting mail
• Renter’s insurance

Include these policies and procedures in the form of a checklist, so that you can get clear, visual confirmation that your tenant understands them. Listing them in addition to the lease agreement ensures that your client will read them rather initialing and skipping them over.

Documentation is Key

Putting in this extra time will save you many headaches further down the road. Even the best tenant screening strategy will not stop anyone from taking advantage of a lack of documentation. The checklist is a great way to put everything on the table in a friendly, open manner.

House vs Apartment: The Ultimate Investment Showdown

by Renters Warehouse

 

Ask anyone who invests in property – and even those who don’t – and they’ll likely have an opinion on the “houses versus apartments” debate. When the topic of conversation drifts towards property investment, it usually generates a heated debate.

On one hand, you will find those who firmly believe that buying a house as an investment property is the superior decision. On the other hand, you’ll find those who believe that a property’s individual characteristics – such as location and number of bedrooms – are far more important than the type of property. Before you pick one over the other, be sure to consider the following pros and cons:

Frequency of Maintenance

Broadly speaking, as a “set and forget” option that promises appreciation over time, it’s hard to beat an apartment in a good location. Provided that you’re careful and do your due diligence in terms of property style and condition, apartments generally attract a higher yield, are low maintenance, and when issues with the building do occur, they are generally handled by the  property manager in place.

However, apartments also come with annual fees, which cover general maintenance to the building and any improvements. The more amenities boasted by an apartment block — such as pools, gyms or lifts — the higher the maintenance fees. This is an important factor detracting from the appeal of apartments as an investment property. With houses, you can decide when to spend money on repairs rather than being locked in to paying for maintenance on someone else’s schedule.

Opportunities to Renovate

When you own your own home, you are able to make additions that are simply not possible in an apartment building. Depending on the area you live in, you may have to acquire a building permit for your addition, but theoretically if you have enough land, you can expand to your heart’s content.

Perhaps you would like to open the master bedroom and put a walk-in closet? As long as you don’t take out a support beam, grab the sledge hammer and get to work! There is virtually no limit to what you can build on your own property as long as you follow the laws and ordinances of your city.  Such changes can be trickier in an apartment, and may require special permissions.

Size of Investment

In essence, it’s demand which ultimately drives investment growth, not the property type. Therefore, when trying to decide whether to buy an apartment or a house, think about what kind of people live in the target area, as well as their preferred choice of property type. In some areas, such as those where young couples live, apartments are the bigger sellers, whereas in others, such as areas where families with children are settling, it will be houses.

A big part of your decision will also be made for you depending on your planned budget for this property investment. When it comes to real estate shopping, apartments tend to be cheaper than houses. It’s entirely possible to find a nice apartment in a major city for less than $50,000, and then rent it out remotely to make a profit.

Ultimately, there are pros and cons attached to any dwelling type, and the right investment for you will depend on your risk profile, investment strategy and financial position. Make an educated decision and reap the benefits!