Property Owners: ‘Tis the Season for Fire Safety Reminders

It’s that time of year, when the chill in the air and the approaching holiday can mean increased fire hazards in and around the home. All property owners, landlords and property management companies should be vigilant about reminding tenants of these hazards. Landlords and tenants need to know how to protect themselves, their possessions and their property.

Holiday Decorations: Use non-combustible, flame-resistant materials. Never use lighted candles on a tree, evergreens or other flammable materials.

Lights: Check for loose connections, broken or cracked sockets or frayed wires. Use UL approved lighting. Fasten lights to the tree and prevent bulbs from coming in contact with the needles or branches. Unplug all exterior and interior holiday lights and decorations before you go to bed.

Trees: Be sure a natural tree is fresh and less likely to become a fire hazard by cutting 2 inches off the trunk and placing it in a sturdy water stand; water the tree daily. Keep the tree away from fireplaces, wall furnaces and other heat sources. When opting for an artificial tree, make sure it is labeled “fire resistant.”

Portable space heaters: Keep space heaters at least 3 feet away from anything combustible. Turn on space heaters only when you are in the room. Don’t leave a space heater on overnight or near children and pets.

Cooking: Turkey fryers should be used outdoors and away from buildings and flammable materials.

Fire Escape Plan: Be sure your tenants have and know an escape route. Check to make sure there is a working fire extinguisher in the kitchen, laundry room, and garage. Remind them to never burn greens, papers, or other decorations in the fireplace. Test all smoke alarms, and replace their batteries every six months.

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Investors: Stick with up-and-coming neighborhoods

Property investors have a lot to consider when deciding which rental property in which to invest.  When weighing your options and trying to select the right neighborhood and the right property, you have to beware of those unethical investors who are trying to sell properties based on false rent rates, or showing higher cash flow than what will really happen.  When buyers fall into those traps, they find themselves in a mess of too much cash going out and not enough coming in.

Property investors, be wary of investing in property in areas that are going downhill. To the untrained eye, a depressed area with a few promising shops or buildings can be sold as “up and coming,” and while some are, others are on the other end of that slope, making the downward slide into being a forgotten neighborhood without the amenities of other areas in town. It will be a hard sell to get high quality tenants to live there, even if you set the rent below what you originally hoped you could get and do a thorough tenant check on everyone.

Your focus should be to buy and sell in neighborhoods where you have the odds of collecting rent in your favor. You might only make a profit of $150 to $200 a property, but if you actually get the rent every month you’re one step closer to a successful business. In a neighborhood where demand is low, you might luck out with a tenant or two who will pay on time, but chances are if they’re a qualified tenant, they won’t stick around for long, and the vacancy and likely repairs needed to a home in such an area will leave you in a negative situation.

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Landlord Tips: Curb Appeal Goes Beyond Cleaning Up

Curb appeal is something every landlord pays attention to when it comes time to land a new tenant. Attracting tenants to a rental property is done a few ways, one of which is by a carefully worded classified ad. But once the ad piques their interest and they obtain the address, a drive-by is the next step – and they have to like what they see when they drive by.

For many property owners and property management companies, prepping for the tenant drive-bys is limited to decluttering the front porch and trimming a hedge. But if property owners spend a little time and resources into making some small changes that upgrades their property’s curb appeal, they could be looking at a much shorter down time between tenants, and possibly even a bit more in what tenants are willing to pay for rent. If you’re interested in doing more than sweeping the front sidewalk, try these landlord tips:

1.     Play up the era. If your property is from a certain era, play up those features on the outside. Install outdoor lighting authentic to the period, add shutters or other small structural changes that add interest and charm.

2.     Use plants. Adding shrubs, flowers and even small trees in just the right spots can really make the place look inviting. You can also use foliage as additional buffers between close rental units, to add privacy.

Fences make good neighbors. People like privacy, so adding fences, whether a few decorative posts out front or a more substantial fence to enclose the property, will increase curb appeal – particularly for those with pets and children

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Use the same tenant screening process every single time

You’re a good judge of character, right? Every landlord thinks they have a natural gut instinct for picking out the honest, responsible tenant in a sea of possibly unqualified applicants.  There are signs to look for, of course. For example, a tenant applicant’s personal appearance – not to mention their punctuality – when they meet you to tour the rental property can tell you a lot about how they handle responsibility and how they care for their personal property. Also their tenant application can provide clues, based on the job and education they list, not to mention whether it is filled out in its entirety or turned in unfinished.

Many landlords still rely on their gut to tell them whether or not a particular tenant applicant is worthy of signing a rental property agreement and becoming their tenant.  If you are one of these landlords, have you ever faltered from that instinct? Have you ever considered accepting a tenant applicant on first impression alone, but then gone ahead with a tenant credit check or other form of formal tenant verification just to settle your lingering doubts? If so, you could be opening yourself up to claims of discrimination by a tenant or tenant applicant who feels they were treated in a way that was different and discriminatory.

Look, even if you are a great judge of character, property management is a business, and in business it’s best to rely on cold hard facts – every single time. Set yourself up with tenant screening protocols for every single tenant applicant you are seriously considering, and don’t waver from those protocols. That way you can be sure you’re being fair to all, AND you’re almost guaranteeing a better tenant than if you’d just “gone with your gut.” Visit ATS Inc's homepage for more info on how we can help you! 

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Landlord Advice for Renting Your Second Home

If you have a vacation home, no doubt it is your little piece of paradise that you escape to whenever you can. But if you’ve found the ability to escape less and less, if you’d like to find a way to help pay for the mortgage on it, then renting it out as a vacation rental property might be a good idea. But how do you go about it? Here’s some landlord advice:

Set goals. First you need to decide what your goals are for renting out your second home. How many weeks a year are you willing to give it up to strangers? Do you hope to just cover expenses, or make a profit? If your goal is to break even on your expenses, use this as a guideline to calculate your break-even point:

If your monthly mortgage payment is less than or equal to 1 peak-week rental fee, and you rent approximately 17 weeks per year, your property should come close to breaking even. Most rental markets average 12 peak weeks. Other costs (utilities, association dues, etc.) are paid by earnings from approximately five weeks of off-peak rentals.

Check the rules. You’ll need to find out whether renting out your home is acceptable under the terms of your homeowner’s association, or whether there are certain rules regarding renting out your home that you need to be in compliance with.

Pick a boss. Decide whether you want to serve as the landlord and property manager, or whether you’d rather hire a property management company to do it for you. Duties will include advertising your property, responding to inquiries, taking reservations, obtaining the property rental agreement and payments from guests, handling guest requests and problems, and providing cleaning and maintenance services as needed. 

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Landlords, Would You Rather Rent to Obama or Romney?

As the presidential election nears, Apartments.com had a little fun by surveying their visitors to find out who U.S. renters want to win the election: A whopping 66.8 percent said they’d prefer Obama was elected, with 21.6 percent favoring a Romney/Ryan White House.

When respondents were asked who they think will win the election, Obama had even better numbers, with 78.3 percent of renters polled predicting the president will win re-election. Obama also proved to be more popular on a personal level with renters than Romney. The survey showed 74 percent would rather have the president as a roommate while only 26 percent preferred Romney. Apartment dwellers would also rather give their rent checks to Obama, with 74.4 percent saying they would rather have Obama as their landlord and 25.6 percent preferring Romney.

Apartments.com did a similar survey four years ago before the last presidential election, and they noticed some similarities and differences in the answers four years later. For example, the number of survey respondents who said they are registered to vote fell 10 percent from 2008 to 2012, and more than 40 percent described themselves as very politically active back in 2008 in contrast to the 22 percent who consider themselves that way today.

Respondents were not asked about tenant verification for the two candidates, but it’s a pretty safe bet they’d both pass a rental background check and renter credit check with flying colors.

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Consider color when repainting

Landlords often regard painting to be a necessary evil. They know that in order to make the rental unit appear clean and new, painting between tenants is often required, especially in hallways and other high-traffic areas. In order to please the most people and keep the place bright, most landlords default to white or light beige for paint colors. But before you pick up another quart of Eggshell Semi-gloss, consider the possibility of branching out in paint colors just a bit.  By keeping them fairly light pastel shades but trying different hues in different rooms, you could make your rental property really stand out from the crowd.

When deciding which colors to try, consider these general rules regarding colors:

• Pale blues, greens and lavenders can have a calming effect. Consider using these colors in a renter’s bedrooms or bathrooms.
• Green also is a great color for a home office—it is considered the “color of concentration” and if there’s any truth to that, a nice pale shade of green on the walls where the computer will be might not be a bad idea.
• Warm tones, such as yellows, oranges, and reds, are friendly and inviting. These rooms often are good in the living room or entryway, but don’t be too bold. Consider painting one accent wall rather than doing an entire room in red.  Also be mindful that bolder shades, especially red, have been shown to increase heart rate and blood pressure, stimulate activity and also increase appetite!
• Neutral colors have broad appeal in rental units because they’re, well, neutral. Light beige and eggshell or cream are relaxing and inviting. Plus it’s a safe bet they’ll go with just about anyone’s furniture and décor. If you want to stay neutral but branch out just a bit, consider taupe or grey/beige.

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