Perhaps, the most protracted parts of property management are the synchronization of rent gathering and increases. So as to abridge your property management for superior profitability, focus on the listed three items first:

1) Rent should be due on the first day of the month. Some people gather rent founded on when during the first month an occupant or tenant moved into the place. This is a disastrous tactic. Knowledgeable property managers will tell you to at all time pro-rate the rent of the first month and then gather all upcoming rents on the first of the month.

2) Raise rent on all leases at restitution. When signing the lease, it should be implicit that rents will ascend at the ending of the lease period. The best way out is to make the resident or tenant agree to the increase in rent in their original lease. People are usually excited to get a new place and usually agree to the raise on the rent by say $50 after a year from now.

3) Raise all month-to-month payments at the same time. If you utilize a rigid lease period with the inhabitant having an alternative of pulling out on a month to month basis, then plan all increases at the same time. By this means you can send out a blanket letter to all residents fitting in that category. This is a way of making everyone feel equal as when a whole group of people receive the same notice they do not feel singled out for the increase. What is more is that it is easier to modify your bookkeeping/billing program one time per year for this function than multiple times. Additionally, if you decide intelligently what time of year to put into practice these enhances, less people would be going away from your place because of the supplementary rent for the reason that they will be too active to look for a different place, the weather would either be too hot or too cold, or they will wish to have stable holidays. The lifestyle of your residents would give you a fair idea about the best time of the year.

If you develop your business to take benefit of this kind of management process in a methodical manner, you will discover that property management is not as hard or time consuming as is generally believed. Property Management can be a magnificent and money-spinning part of the business.

Do you own a property that needs to be managed? Do you want a reliable property manager? Why don’t you try our property management directory to find one that suites your needs and requirements?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_Gilchrist

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »

I always see lots of topics on how landlords handle their rentals. If you want to continue to have rentals, here is what I would do if it were my property. I do not recommend doing leases longer than six months. Here is what I would do.

First make it clear that you don’t put up with problems. Let the tenants know that the first 60 days are a trial period. If there is anything that you don’t like about how they are treating your property they will be evicted immediately and lose their deposit.

Also tell them that you will be over once a month for three months to check on the house to make sure they are keeping it up. This will set the stage and show them that they can’t mess around with you.

Make sure that in your contract that you have a clause that states that tenants take care of any problems under $100. Also get a home warranty on the property. That will protect you from any unexpected large problems that might accrue. The best part about getting the tenants to cover any repairs under $100 is that that is the maximum the home warranty companies will charge for their deductible. This tip will eliminate all repair costs put out by you the landlord.

The reason to limit the contract to six months is that you don’t want one tenant to have too much control over your property. You will review with them every six months why they should get to stay in your home over the next six months. Let them know that you have a waiting list even if you don’t. I would suggest one month before there contract expires to get a list of potential renters to insure someone always being in the property. That will make sure that you will retain the best possible tenants. I really believe that every tenant has the ability to be a great tenant. I also believe that every tenant has the ability to be your worst nightmare.

I don’t like having single-family homes as rentals.

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »

When you need to spruce up that recent real estate investment or get your home ready to sell, but you don’t want to spend a lot of time or money on it. Here are a few tips that are quick, easy and inexpensive ways to fix your fixer upper.

Paint - When you are trying to improve the appearance a little paint can go a long way in improvement. A nice freshly painted surface can make it look as good as new. If you find a good looking paint you may want to think about brightening up the trim with a coat of semi gloss. Make sure to go with a beige or white neutral color when painting the interior.

Cabinets - Do the bathroom and kitchen cabinets got you down? Spruce them up with a coat of paint to give them a new and improved look. If the cabinets are stained or heavily colored use a white semi gloss. A quick coat of paint on the cabinets is much less costly than replacing them and can make them shine. Take it a little further by purchasing some new hardware for the cabinets. You can pick up simple round handles inexpensively at any home improvement store.

Switch out the switch and outlet covers - Do not paint over switch plate covers. They are cheap so just purchase new ones and replace them for a fresh and clean look. If the problem is the entire switch does not work, replace the whole thing for as little as $2.

Give it new trim - If that trim is not looking good, just replace it. You can get the durable foam trim that looks just like the real stuff at Lowes or Home Depot. You will be able to find it either unfinished or already painted depending on what you are looking for.

Give it new doors and handles - Go ahead like on the outlet covers, bit the bullet and replace the doors. Doors are inexpensive you can typically replace an old door with a new six panel hollow core for around $30. Then take and give it even more by replacing the old, worn door handles with new ones. This can give it a fresh, less grungy look. Door handles will run about $10 to $20 depending on the style you choose.

On the topic of doors - Improve the entrance to the home by replacing that front door to make the home brighter. You can get a nice heavy door for about $140, but if you don’t want to replace it try giving it a coat of high gloss paint instead. Use a color that makes it pop like red or green.

Make the mailman smile - Buy a new mailbox that makes a statement. For around $30 to $40 you can get a mailbox unlike anyone else’s on the street. If you add another $60 you should be able to get a nice, new sturdy post to place it on.

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »

Whether you are a For Sale by Owner or looking for that right agent or broker to sell your home, you could be making a big mistake. Let’s first make one thing clear about selling a home. Selling a home is just like selling any other product: if it is correctly marketed it will sell. Features and benefits don’t matter that much. Don’t get me wrong, your home’s features and benefits are an important part of selling, but the truth is it doesn’t matter if your home has the best upgrades in the neighborhood. If your home is not marketed correctly you will never get all the money out of your home that you should.

Now you understand that Marketing is the most important aspect of selling Real Estate. That brings us to the next question. If agents are contacting you to list your home, what is their marketing plan? The truth is they don’t have a marketing plan or know how to effectively market. If they are calling you that means they don’t do any advertising. Their advertising is calling you. Once they get your listing they throw your home up on the Multiple Listing Service and hope that it sells. They don’t focus their time and energy to sell your home as they have promised. Not that they are trying to. The problem is they have the wrong systems and no marketing experience.

Do you know how many hours are spent “calling for dollars” as they call it? On average an agent will spend 2 hours a day or 10 hours a week, which equals a ¼ of their working time each and every week. That would mean they have to get to all of their other activities completed in less time. If the agent works more hours which in turn burns them out faster than someone who knows how to market.

Another question you will have to ask is, what is their marketing for buyers? Do they start going through the phone book and call people to buy your house? No, of course not! What they really do is put your home on the MLS and place the sign out front, which is supposed to attract buyers. If that is all they do, you can do all of that yourself! What do you need them for?

Final Thoughts: Do not list with those that call you to list your home. They know nothing about marketing or how to market your home. Ask yourself as a buyer, where do you go to look for a home or find out valuable information on homes? Those agents that you see over and over again are the ones that you should be contacting.

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »

With the upside down market that the United States is presently experiencing, agents across the country are wondering how they are going to stay in real estate when they have no cash flow. They are still taking on listings in record numbers, but many agents are reporting that they have no income. The houses are staying on the market an overwhelming long time, and most are not selling under their watch, only to be listed by a competitor, leaving the agents with a lot of expense and time invested and no income as a result. The sellers are more anxious than ever before and are becoming difficult to deal with. They expect the agent to pay more and more marketing fees and spend more and more time with them discussing options all in an effort to get the house sold. And, due to the amount of inventory that most agents are carrying, they still feel the need to keep their assistants, even though they can not afford them. The latest joke in the industry is that you want to be the first born, second wife and the third real estate agent.

So, what is an agent to do? How do you turn a dismal market into something that produces revenue when your whole income is dependent upon happenings that you can not control? Many feel real estate is a game of risk; chance and what some agents call luck.

Luck. Risk. Chance. But is it really? Does it have to be all of these things that keep a real estate agent out of control of their own income and destiny? Other businesses don’t operate that way, so why does a real estate agent have to have a lack of common sense and as a result a lack of income, the same common sense that runs most other businesses in the U.S. today?

The only way to put common sense in real estate is to shift the responsibility of the sale to the homeowner and for the real estate professional to assume only the responsibility of “marketing” the home, not the expense of marketing the home. Marketing it in places that they have access to as brokers or in venues in which they get a discount when they advertise in bulk. Many MLS sponsored sites and real estate magazines require an agent to be the advertising party. But these advertising firms don’t get paid on contingent behavior, they take a retainer or money due upon advertising as they know that their responsibility lies in delivering the product, not making the product perform certain results outside their control.

In my opinion and in the majority opinion of the over 9,000 clients that I have served over the last five years, all homeowners with a need or desire to sell, want three things. They want the expertise of a seasoned agent who knows the avenues in which to list a home, how to advertise the home so that every buyer in the marketplace has the opportunity to see it and a seasoned agent skilled in contract negotiations to take them from offer to closing. However, they don’t want to overpay for a strategy that hurts them when the desired end result does happen: the sale the home.

In an attempt to turn the legacy of real estate around, we should take a serious look at other businesses. Our efforts and resulting compensation should be based on a reasonable fee structure wherein we are paid a fee upfront for our time and behavior that leads to a successful transaction between a buyer and a seller. Instead of gouging a few people to make up for all the ones that did not get to a successful transaction we should charge clients a reasonable amount based on effort and merit.

By charging people for our time upfront, we will create a positive cash flow and a more respectable industry. This way we can relate to and meet our client’s needs instead of the typical reactionary cycle of churning and plowing just to keep a listing or to force a transaction between two unwilling parties. The future is ours to change in real estate. As real estate agents and the stewards of our industry we should see to that change.

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »

Do you want the ultimate marketing strategy that will allow you as an REI to dominate your market and crush your competition?

Then BE the BANK. What? I can’t be the Bank, I got into REI to make money fast! The number one way you can make money as an REI is to do exactly what the Big Boys do. You need CASH, right? (unless you know the techniques described in my book) So how do you get your hands on a steady flow of cash and eliminate being a landlord?

You could hire a good property management company to outsource all of the work of managing your rental properties for you, and turn over 10-15% of your cash flow to them. Or, you could open up your own property management company and use it as a wealth retaining tool. (recommended).

Or you could set yourself apart from all of the competition and serve an underserved section of the community. Use this to get tons of FREE publicity on local news and radio stations, which in turn will pour thousands of applicants back into your system, give you name recognition, and establish you as the EXPERT in your neighborhood.

But first: How can you be the Bank?

We’re not talking about registering with the SEC, or FICA or any regulating body that has all sorts of requirements and conditions about working as a bank. All we mean is you AS THE OWNER, hold the NOTE.

Good, old fashioned owner financing, the exact same kind of deal you were looking for as an REI, is exactly what you offer to your clients.

How it works is like this: you negotiate to purchase a home for 55 - 60% and write a contract. Take that and get a hard money loan for 70% of the arv. (After repaired value). You use the overages to repair the home and force appreciation to a better than current market value. Now, while your crews are working, put a big sign in the front yard stating, low down, ez terms, no bank qualify, and your phone number, or you can own this home for x a month, call XXX-XXXX!

Set up a voicemail with all of the details, and tell invite them to apply or leave their contact info. Ask for $3000 down (or less, depending on market conditions) and OWNER FINANCE for $200 - $300 over a traditional mortgage cost.

The numbers would look like this:

You bought a home for $55,000.

You got a hard money loan for $70,000 (on a $100,000 ARV)

You acted as your own general contractor and used the $15K difference to repair the home up to a market value of $100,000.

You find a good applicant (out of 100 applications at $25 per app fee) (($2500)) who pays $3000 down, and a monthly payment.

How do you determine your monthly payment? Go to the bank and get an 80% re-fi on the home. Your mortgage payment will be around $650-$750 depending on the interest rate. So your new tenants will pay $850-$950 per month.

As a homeowner, as opposed to a renter, they will be required to pay taxes and insurance on the home, and that can be worked into the payment schedule as well. As the BANK, you would also be well advised to keep a blanket insurance policy on all of your properties.

Let’s look at those numbers again: An REI would make money on the Hard Money Loan by acting as their own contractor ($15K), They would make money on the application fee’s ($2500) plus the down payment, ($3000) and money on the re-fi ($10K). Don’t forget the $200 month positive cash flow, and the good will (FREE PUBLICITY) that comes with providing a valuable service to the community.

A good REI would make $30,500 on a deal like this.

And with the 99 other applicants who didn’t get into this home, you have 99 more customers to go out and find the exact same deal on, multiplying all of your profit by 99. Could you be the bank for $3,000,000?

How do you cash in on the FREE PUBLICITY that acting as your own BANK generates? As an REI, you need contacts in the community, specifically in the contractors and sub contractors categories. Want to promote your REI business on television for FREE? Get a van with graphics on it, and be sure it has your contact number.

Next, write up a press release with a good hook. Think sensationalism, just like a journalist. A Hook is what makes a viewer want to watch. You’ve heard it before. What’s in your home that may be killing you . . . stay tuned!

Your Hook will be something like, HOW A LOCAL BUSINESSMAN IS PUTTING BANKS OUT OF BUSINESS. Any producer or newspaper editor is going to jump all over that because it sells papers and draws viewers. Just come up with one great Hook, and you’ll never have to pay to advertise again.

When the television news crew sets up to interview you, stand in front of your van graphic. Ask that they hold the shot a little wide, not too obvious, and then you’re going out to thousands and thousands of viewers with your phone number and it didn’t cost you a dime.

If a newspaper crew takes your photo, give them an action shot with your sign, TELL YOUR BANK GOOD BYE, or PUT YOUR BANK OUT OF BUSINESS, and a phone number. Get a shot of you pushing it in the ground, hammer in hand.

Think outside of the box.

Chris Lowry is an active investor, author, and speaker who helps other investors maximize their resources and achieve incredible results. Join the REI club at http://www.reistrategiesclub.com or contact Chris at lowrychris@gmail.com Let’s talk!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Lowry

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »

A good real estate business card can turn out to be quite useful for your real estate company, as it will act as your first line of marketing. With the real estate market being so competitive in nature, you have to make a big first impression the start of this impression will be with a real estate business card design. In an ideal scenario, the design of your business card should be simple, which can be easily understood by everyone.

Start designing your real estate card by including the name of your company. The creation of a brand is quite an important factor in the real estate business, as people do not want to work with real estate companies whose reputation is low in the market.

If you work in the Dallas real estate market, it is advisable that you include a cityscape of Dallas in your card. Furthermore, also include your company logo in the design. Some people also add their pictures on the business cards but that trend is yet to pick up. When designing your business cards make sure that it is different from the cards of other real estate companies.

Another important factor that you must take into account while designing your card is your target audience. For example, if you only sell big apartments then your target audience is going to be individuals that are rich. In that scenario, you have to design your real estate business card in such a way that it shows luxury. To show sophistication ensure that the card is elegant, textured and lists the services and offices you have in the geographic area you are targeting.

Never compromise on the quality of the printing paper. Your card is your marketing tool and will be the basis of your marketing strategy and the start of your business communication with your clients.

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »

If you have even a passing interest in real estate, you’ve undoubtedly heard one or more of the so-called “experts” advising against buying undeveloped land. Why? “Because it generates no income” right? Wrong, the fact is that they’re not telling you the whole story about raw land. There happens to be another school of thought entirely. And once you take notice and begin to analyze things clearly, you’ll start to see that buying land can actually be a tremendous wealth builder, one that can generate a great monthly cash flow.

Let’s think about this for a moment. For literally hundreds of years, vast fortunes have been made in America by owning land. This has occurred in one of two basic ways: either the owner held land that lay in the pathway of progress and growth, or the owner held land that someone else sought to buy in order to change how it was being used. (Remember when the Disney Corporation bought the swamplands near Orlando?) These same basic premises work just as well today. Owning a well-positioned tract of land can return many, MANY times the amount of money invested in it.

Aside from just buying low or in a growing area and selling the property for cash there is a whole other world that most investors overlook. People for the most part usually understand that money can be made in real estate, most people even know someone that has made it big in real estate. But the question I still always get about land investing is “How can I build a cash flow by investing in land?”. Since undeveloped land has nothing on it most people think that they will have to build a house or apartment complex on it before they can receive a monthly income stream from it. I always tell people that for years now I have been receiving a nice cash flow from my properties.

What’s my secret? Well while every other land investor in this county is either developing the land or selling it to someone else for cash, I have been selling a percentage of my properties on terms. So when someone buys a property from me they can pay me in cash or they can pay me just a down payment and finance the rest with me for a number of years. This allows me to receive checks every month for years after. I have been able to acquire hundreds of these notes over the past few years and this has allowed me to live quite comfortably even in down markets.

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »

1. Buy “For Sale by Owner” Properties! You have to research the property and due your own due diligence, but you will save a good amount of money by not going through an agent. You can also go through Investment companies that buy in bulk and pass the savings on to their customers.
2. Check the price of the property you are looking at through similar sold properties. Check the MLS; Go online and see what other lots are selling in the area. Make sure you do your research and know you are getting a good deal.
3. The best is to have your money ready and buy the land in full, no financing. You can negotiate more and get better leverage. If you do have to finance, get a low interest rate!
4. Decide if you are buying for a short-term or long-term investment. For short-term, a good strategy would be to buy a few lots to get a better deal on each (or basically buying in bulk), and than reselling each individual lot. For long-term investments, simply do the correct research regarding location and area of the land, and buy low, I today’s sellers market, so you can sell high, in tomorrows sellers market.
5. Look for motivated buyers. Due to the high number of foreclosures, many people are in need of selling their properties; You can help them by buying, and get a great price to boot!
6. Negotiate! Do your research and try to get as maximum leverage as possible so you can get the best possible price. Especially if your not financing and paying one lump sum, the sellers will be interested and you can get a good discount.
7. And lastly, you are the buyer. The buyer has the money, and makes the ultimate decision of buying or not. Feel comfortable with your investment!

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »

I remember in my early days when I just started investing in Tax Delinquent Properties I was quite confused as to what all these different county departments actually do and how I need to use their services.

For the purpose of Investing in Tax Delinquent Properties you usually don’t work with more than 3-5 different departments which usually are:

- Treasurer / Tax Collector’s office
- Assessor
- Clerk / Recorder
- Mapping Department
- Planning and Zoning Department

Mostly you will work with the first three, and the second two only occasionally.

Here is a brief explanation of what these departments do:

1. Treasurer / Tax Collector’s office
The name might be different in your state but this is basically the office that collects the property taxes. It is that this office where you can find out how much property taxes each property owes and when the next sale (tax Lien or Tax Deed) is scheduled. Also if your state allows for purchase of Tax Liens or Tax Deeds over the counter AFTER the auction, you will be able to do this here.

2. Assessor
The County assessor’s responsibility to assess each property the value for taxation purposes. Whenever a property is being sold, the Assessor usually gets a notification of the sale price as well as some of the terms of sale. With this information he can then assess the value of all properties in the county. You might remember getting a “Property Valuation Notice” from your county Assessor telling you how much he thinks your property is worth.

In many states, the Assessor also keeps copies of all Property Maps, also commonly called Plat Maps. Instead of going to the Recorder (who keeps all official records for the county but these are often in large and weird formats) you can also often go to the Assessor who has all maps in usually more handy formats and paper sizes.

For me this is usually the first stop at a county when I am about to look at a bunch of properties. I go to the Assessor’s office, get copies of all property plat maps which helps me finding the properties I am looking for.

3. Clerk / Recorder:
This official and office keeps records of all recorded documents in the history of the county. That means all property ownership changes, Deeds, Agreements, Mortgages, Liens, Court Judgments are recorded here and kept electronically or in form of paper or micro-fish. Nowadays most counties are well advanced in their conversion from Paper and Micro-fish to Electronically scanned images but some are still in the process of converting these files. In any case and no matter what format the recorded documents exist, they are sorted by Book and Page in chronological form and will allow you to do a title search to any level of detail.

4. Mapping Department:
I personally only use the Mapping department when either the Assessor does not have copies of all Plat Maps available or more frequently when I am looking for a comprehensive County Map with all roads and other orientation points. Usually the mapping department has something like that for sale for a token amount of approx. $10.00

5. Planning and Zoning:
You will need to go to the planning and zoning department if you have questions about what is allowed to be built on the property you are buying and to check the limitations of the allowed uses. For example, if you are planning to bid on a parcel with a House at a busy intersection at Tax Sale you might want to check if this property is zoned commercial or residential. Or if you are planning to purchase a Vacant lot in the outskirts of town, you definitely want to check how this lot is zoned. Is it Residential, Commercial, or even Agricultural… depending on what it is zoned and what the surrounding plans are you might be able to re-zone it which alone can multiply the value of a property.

Posted in Real estate | No Comments »