Thursday, April 26, 2012

Document Retrieval

Keep your documents together. Keep the documents digital and backed up.  LandlordStation.com provides the perfect solution for all of your real-estate document storage needs.  There are countless times that you will you will need to reference your lease, closing statements, tenant application, tenant report, home inspection, survey, construction documents, partnership agreements, etc.  Keeping your files neat and together seems so simple, yet not everyone does it.  Don't waste your time preparing things that should be in one spot.  Part of being a successful landlord in managing your time to the best of your ability.  Time is money and is part of your overall utility on the investment.  Do you best and get those documents together today.

Posted by LandlordStation.com

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Good Tenants equal less hassle

Issues with tenants often avail themselves to the Landlord before the application is ever signed.  While not every property is blessed to have a plethora of available renters, the Landlord typically knows when they have a potential bad tenant.  As a Landlord it is responsible to resist the temptation to simply lease to anyone that looks at your property.  Personality and other meaningless traits aside, it is important to be disciplined in your rental process.  Meet the renters, use a Tenant Screening process involving a Credit Check from a approved bureau like Trans Union, verify financial credibility, check for past rental history, etc.  It is your investment.

Posted by LandLordStation.com

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Valero Texas Open

Landlordstation.com congratulates Ben Curtis for winning the 2012 Valero Texas Open.  The Valero Texas Open is one of the longest running tournaments on the PGA Tour and is celebrating its 90th year in existence.  This is Ben's 4th win on the PGA Tour and first since his 2 win season in 2006.  Ben was an incredibly accomplished Amateur coming out of Kent State, and then shocked the golfing world by winning the British Open in his first try at a Major Championship, equally a feat by the great Francis Ouimet.  Ben was playing the 2012 PGA Tour season with conditional status until his incredible win this week.  Landlordstation appreciates all of the incredible charity work preformed by the PGA Tour and outstanding events like the Valero Texas Open.  Good luck to Ben the rest of the 2012 season, and we will see you at Augusta National in 2013.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Value, Value, Value...Good Value

I hear the cliche over and over "You make your money in Real-Estate on the buy side."  That statement rings true through the good times and the bad times.  However, there is a difference in buying properties for a good value instead of a cheap price.  Getting a seller to knock money off of his "Asking Price" is not necessarily getting "Good Value".  Merriam-Webster defines Value as : "a fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged."  So to achieve a "Good Value" one must get better than a fair return.  One way to do this is to look at the fact that properties often have extraneous and invisible costs.  Closing costs, broker fees, inspection costs, time costs, hassle costs, etc, etc that can often add up to 7-10% of the price(double that on a buy sell).  Getting good value can often include finding ways to limit your invisible cost exposure.  Paying 14-20% to round trip a property can blow up a value proposition.  Send letters in the mail, direct to the owners, on streets with properties that you like.  Get an agent as a partner and use his commission as part of the purchase price.  Network to find properties off the market.  Be disciplined in your buying locations that fit your "leasing needs".  All of these things lower your exposure and help to achieve "Good Value."

Posted by Landlordstation.com

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Your potential renter

Who is your client?  Often times people buy properties is specific areas, but don't really know who their renter is going to be.  Sometimes it is obvious, because the investment property is near a college or business campus. But in today's marketplace, where more single family homes are for rent then in any other time in history, it is really important to know who your most likely renter is going to be.  Different age groups, couples, singles, etc. often have particular preferences.  What is important to the college student and his buddies, might not be as important to the young professional couple.  Most everyone likes a nice clean place, that goes without saying, but when setting up the house (or choosing which one to buy) it is important to give yourself the best chance to maximise rent.  While anyone can rent in any area, it is always best practices to set your investment property up for your most likely client/renter.  Posted by your Renter Service LandlordStation.com

Monday, April 9, 2012

Property Taxes

Watch out for your property taxes.  If you own houses in a state that has high property taxes make sure you are extra careful watching the value of your home.  Property taxes will rise, but it is important to challenge those taxes if they rise faster than homes on your street.  Get the comparable values, as most Landlords own houses for the long term.  You can challenge your taxes with the taxing authority, especially if you have bought your properties in the last few years.  The best case examples is bringing in your closing statements to those authorities.  They will match them to your recent closing prices, and if comparable sales have been lower than what you purchased you homes at they will also match them to those closing prices of those homes.  When you own for the long term it is important to be efficient with all of your costs, whether those costs are: taxes, maintenance charges, interest charges, insurance costs, etc. be the best you can be.  Rental rates are your revenue and the rest are costs.  Mange your costs.  Posted by your Landlord service expert.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Maintenance Charges Revisited

A couple of weeks ago we looked at the importance of detailing maintenance charges out by your different properties.  I would be remiss if I didn't take that concept one step further.  Demand your vendors (if you use a third party) to detail out their charges on an invoice and then apply those details to different categories inside your QuickBooks or accounting program.  It is imperative to understand if you have an appliance that is costing you way more than it would be to replace it.  Use categories like: HVAC, flooring, roofing, landscaping, sprinklers, kitchen appliances, paint, etc. to determine your charges by property and by category.  As a landlord you are an investor and investors demand efficiencies out of companies they put capital into, treat your properties the same way.  Posted by LandLordStation

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Escrow Accounts and Refinance

Often times your mortgage holder/bank will force you as a landlord to have an escrow account for taxes and insurance.  It is in their best interest to do this, and they will often offer you a slightly lower rate if you use an escrow account.  One thing to pay very close attention to is the size of these escrow accounts, especially after a refinance.  Often times the banks will hold too much aside for taxes and insurance, compared to what they actually need.  If you have recently challenged your tax invoice or lowered your insurance amount the bank will often not automatically adjust your escrows.  It is up to you to call the bank and adjusts these amounts or ask for a check for the overage.  Also, if you refinance a property close to the end of the year (or close to when your property tax bill is due) mistakes can be made with the payments of these taxes.  Make sure to follow up with your taxing authority and check through all closing statements to make sure invoices were not paid twice.  It is your money in those accounts, make sure they are holding the correct amounts.  Posted by LandLordStation.com

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Ownership in the Neighborhood

As a responsible landlord it is imperative to try and understand the ownership in the neighborhoods you are looking at or buying in.  For instance if one owner or a company owns several lots in the neighborhood you are working, it is always a good idea to see if they will share with you their pricing thoughts or future development plans.  Sometimes it can be a tough task to get to someone you may not know, but you will often be surprised, if you go about it the right way, how much information most people are willing to give up.  If you are just buying one property, it can be very helpful to know the people that either own or rent in your adjacent properties.  Being a landlord can be about managing problems, and it never hurts to have some allies on the street.  Of course not everyone is nice, forthcoming with their plans, or frankly enjoyable to be around, but if you don't try you certainly will not get any information.  Posted by your Landlord Services ally.