How Landlords Can Improve The Bathroom in a Rental

One of the best ways landlords and property owners can make their properties more appealing to renters is by making improvements to the bathroom. However, most new landlords probably don’t want to get caught up in an expensive renovation during times of economic uncertainty. The good news is, there are ways to improve the bathroom without breaking the bank:

Freshen up grout and caulk. New tiling can be a very expensive upgrade. A simple way to avoid those costs is to clean up your existing tiles by re-grouting and re-caulking around the sink and tub areas. Grout and caulk are relatively cheap, and can make such a huge impact.

Replace faucet fixtures. If your rental property’s sink and shower faucets are more than fifteen years old, they probably aren’t energy efficient. New fixtures don’t have to be expensive, and they will make your bathroom shine. Big box stores sell faucets starting around the $30-$40 range.

Add storage. If the bathroom space in your rental is small, tenant applicants will appreciate having more storage options.  Consider adding shelves or cabinets to a small bathroom area to make the space more appealing.

Don’t just paint the walls. If a new sink and vanity isn’t in your budget, consider sanding and painting the existing one. A fresh coat of paint can make an otherwise older, outdated vanity look brand new.  Accent the piece with new knobs and modern drawer pulls. Your tenants will not even know the cabinetry isn’t brand new.

Update the little things. Don’t overlook the smaller, inexpensive fixtures. Replacing old toilet paper holders, towel racks and adding a quieter, more efficient ventilation fan can bring your bathroom’s style & functionality into the new millennium.

Many real estate experts believe that updating a bathroom is a great way to add value to your property.  While a huge renovation may not be in the budget for 2013, even small upgrades to your bathroom will make a huge difference in the appeal of your rental. 

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Famous Celebrities Moonlighting as Landlords

Think being a landlord is strictly for the business-oriented individual? Think again! Many celebrities are trying their hands at being landlords, and offering their properties as rentals. One can assume it’s likely the rich and famous property owners are not conducting their own tenant screenings, and instead using a reliable property management company to do their dirty work.

Actor Orlando Bloom owns a 4-bedroom, 3,250-square-foot home in the Hollywood Hills that is on the rental market for $18,000-a-month. The home boasts a library, built-in-barbeque and a swimming pool.

Actress Pamela Anderson put her Malibu beach home up for rent this past summer for $50,000-a-month, but has since lowered the price to the bargain amount of $30,000-a-month. Anderson purchased the home over a decade ago for a $1.2 million.

Leonardo DiCaprio is also sampling the rental market. The actor is asking $70,000-a-month to rent his $23 million Malibu home. The impressive real estate investment sits on a half-acre of beachfront property and includes a 4-bedroom main house, in addition to a 2-bedroom guesthouse. No word on whether potential tenants of this palatial estate will be required to provide employment verification prior to signing a lease agreement.

Many other celebrities are also offering homes to rent all over the country. Oprah Winfrey has a Chicago co-op that is listed for $15,000-a-month, and actress Nicole Kidman has an apartment in NYC with a $45,000-a-month.  In comparison, chef Paula Deen’s Savannah home, which rents for $300-a-night, seems like a steal!

Who knew, nowadays if you are a new landlord or real estate investor, you can say you have something in common with the biggest names in show business!

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Landlords, here’s what you can deduct on your taxes

As the year winds to a close, it’s time to start thinking about your taxes. We know it’s not a pleasant thought, particularly in the middle of the holiday season, but the earlier you start working toward gathering the necessary records and receipts, the easier you make it for your accountant – and the larger your tax break will be!

To get you started, here is a list of landlord tax deduction tips:

1.  Interest. Often a landlord’s biggest deduction, the interest landlords can deduct includes mortgage interest payments on loans used to acquire or improve rental property and interest on credit cards for goods or services used as part of the landlord business.

2.  Depreciation. Landlords get back the cost of real estate through depreciation, which involves deducting a portion of the cost of the property over several years. Your accountant can help with the figures.

3. Travel expenses. This includes gas, mileage, and travel expenses for trips made on behalf of the business – trips to the hardware store for supplies needed to fix something, trips to another town or state to look at possible investment property, even traveling to and from your rental property to speak with tenants.

4.  Repairs. Keep excellent records and receipts of money spent on ordinary, necessary repairs and maintenance of the rental property, because it’s all deductible in the year in which those repairs were made.

5. Home office. Provided they meet certain minimal requirements, landlords may deduct their home office expenses from their taxable income.

6. Insurance. You can deduct the premiums you pay for almost any insurance that pertains to the rental business, including fire, theft, and flood insurance for the rental property and landlord liability insurance. And if you have employees, you can deduct the cost of their health insurance as well

Contact ATS Inc today to find out how we can help with your tenant screening services. 

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What to look for in a tenant background check

Paying a tenant screening service to provide you with thorough tenant screening reports doesn’t make a bit of difference if you don’t take the time to read through them, carefully discerning the most important information to help with your decision of whether or not to rent to that particular applicant.  

Here are a few landlord tips for what to look for when poring over the tenant background check and application:

• Take careful note of any collections flags. Applicants with collections actions against them are much more prone to skipping payments or requiring eviction proceedings sometime down the road – and you don’t want that to be your road.
• Calculate the income to rent ratio. Tenants who make less than two times the rent amount are more likely to pay late, skip rent or stop paying all together. Also, if possible factor in the average amount for utilities at your rental property (something you already should know) as well as any loan amounts or credit card balances listed on the tenant credit check. Adding up all those expenses against the applicant’s income will give you a pretty clear picture of whether or not they are likely to be able to meet their financial obligations to you. Conversely, tenants who make more than three times the rent amount are much less likely to have payment issues.
• Be very wary of tenants who don’t have a bank account and only want to deal in cash. This can often be a sign of a problem, either with the person’s credit history or with their criminal record.

Contact ATS Inc today to find out how we can help with your tenant screening services. 

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The pros and cons of a furnished rental

If you’re a property owner considering renting out your property, or a new landlord wondering how to make the most money from your rental unit, have you thought about keeping it furnished? Most landlords think an unfurnished apartment is the easiest way to go, but in certain markets it could be beneficial to your bottom line if you offer your rental as a fully furnished place to live. You could be looking at a higher-end tenant; a professional in an urban area in particular might find a furnished place appealing. You could also charge a higher rent – in some areas finding a furnished place is rare and, as such, in demand.

Landlords who are worried about their furnishings being damaged should take heart:  Security deposits don’t usually include the value of the furnishings, but in case anything is damaged or needs to be replaced, your insurance policy should cover it. (Check with your agent to be sure.)

A few things to keep in mind before scouring Craigslist and auctions for some nice but inexpensive furnishings are the downsides to renting out a furnished apartment. For one thing, you’ll need to keep a careful inventory of everything you’re providing tenants, from large furniture to kitchen utensils.  And that means a higher chance of having to deal with maintenance and cleaning issues, as you’ll likely be faced with the occasional need to clean, repair or replace furnishings that become damaged or go missing.

Also, people who are looking for furnished apartments are not usually long-term lease signers. They’re often starting a new job in a new place, starting over in their personal lives, or in a temporary living situation due to an emergency. So you have to be OK with that kind of turnover.  Just remember that tenant screening is just as important with a short-term tenant as it is with a long-term tenant; perhaps even more so. 

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