DIY V.S PROFESSIONAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Five Keys to Tenant Screening Success!

Tenant Screening: Five Keys              
By Tracey March (All Property Management)

 If you want to minimize the risk in your property investment business, you should understand that a key to your success isn’t just buying the right investment property–it’s finding the right property management–whether that’s you, or someone you hire. And a critical component of property management is finding the right tenant for your real estate investment property, which means tenant screening should be at the top of your priority list. Here are five things you can do to ensure that your tenant screening process helps you identify the best tenants and weed out the bad ones.

Five Keys To Successful Tenant Screening

1. Let applicants know that tenant screening is mandatory. Just hearing the words “screening process” will make some potentially bad renters self-filter and save you time.
 2. Use your tenant screening process consistently. A systematic and comprehensive screening process that you apply objectively to every applicant will protect you if someone claims you violated the Fair Housing Act. It will also help you to screen out bad renters.
3. Decide what your minimum qualifications will be, and stick to them. Will you have income requirements so you have some assurance that your tenants can make their rental payments? Will you accept tenants with criminal records? What if they haven’t had any arrests for more than ten years and a steady job? Think about these issues, make a decision, and apply them consistently.
4. Run a credit check. Credit checks are critical. You can find out applicants’ debt-to-income ratios and whether they pay their bills on time. Learn how to read a credit report. And never accept a credit report that a potential renter brings to you; get them directly from a credit reporting company.
 5. Check references. Always call present and past landlords. A present landlord may give a good reference to get rid of a bad tenant; a past landlord may be more forthcoming. Ask about evictions, complaints from other tenants, pets, major maintenance issues, if rent was paid on time, and if the landlord would rent to the tenant again. Also consider getting and checking employment and personal references. If you don’t have the time or the desire to do tenant screening, don’t cut corners–consider hiring a property manager to help you.

Freedom Property Management has partnered with leading edge software for managing your properties efficiently and cost-effectively, as well as running tenant screenings and credit checks.

Please contact us with any further questions @ 949 584 5712

Article: Top 7 Real Estate Market Trends to Expect 2014

1.   Price gains will moderate - Orange County home prices shot up over 22% in 2013.  Local economists and experts forecast home prices to stabilize in 2014 with lower price gains. Cal State Fullerton economists say that price appreciation will be in the range of 5 to 7 percent this year.
2.  Increased inventory of homes for sale - More homeowners will list their homes for sale this year.  The number of homes on the market was extremely low in early 2013 and then doubled by November while climbing to more than 6,000 actives.  Local experts expect this trend of more homes for sale to continue.
3.  Improving economy will create more buyers - Cal State Fullerton and Chapman economists predict that Orange County employment will increase by 35,000 jobs this year.  This trend together with other factors will result in increased demand for housing. 
4.  New home sales will increase - Orange County new home building was way up last year 2013 and is now back at pre-recession levels.  The number of new homes to be built and sold is expected to go much higher this year in 2014.  
5.  Mortgage rates to rise - Rates for 30-year, fixed mortgages, are likely to go up this year and average somewhere in the 4.9 percent to 5.3 percent range, some experts say.  That's still historically low and amazingly good for buyers.  However, rates will be higher than during the past 2.5 years.
6.  Getting home loans might be more challenging - Tougher U.S. government lending standards go into effect today on January 10, 2014, and will apply to loans that institutions plan to sell to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and on the “secondary” market.
7.  Apartment rents continue rising - Rents have been going up at Orange County for the past three years, and experts predict this will continue.  When apartment rents go up, people who want to own their homes and are qualified to purchase will see advantages of home buying.

We look forward to a bright 2014 for Orange County real estate markets with continued movement toward more normal, positive conditions. 

10 Reason to Hire a Property Manager! This article will give you fantastic insite on what we do!

10 Reasons to Hire a Property Manager

 

If you've owned income property for any length of time, you know that managing a rental can be financially rewarding. At the same time, you've also likely discovered that property management requires a large commitment of time and effort.
While it may make sense to take the do-it-yourself approach if you're a handy person, live close to your property, and don't mind devoting several hours per month to the task, in many cases this just isn't practical---especially if you hope to expand your business. With this in mind, here are some critical tasks a property manager can help you with:

1. Setting the right rental rates: While looking through the classifieds to see what other landlords are charging for similar properties is a fine way to ballpark your rent price, a good property management company will conduct a thorough market study in order to set a rental price for your property, ensuring that you achieve the perfect balance between maximizing monthly income and maintaining a low vacancy rate.


2. Collecting and depositing monthly rent payments on time: If you've ever worked in a billing department, you know that securing payment from clients can be difficult, not to mention awkward. Property management companies have efficient, tried-and-true systems in place to effectively collect rent and maintain on-time payments. You'll find this particularly important if you have a limited number of properties, and collecting payments on time is crucial to maintaining your cash flow.


3. Marketing and advertising your property: Through long experience, a property manager will know exactly where to market your property and how to craft compelling advertising materials---a significant advantage when it comes to filling your properties quickly and avoiding long vacancies.


4. Finding the right tenants: Experienced property managers are experts at finding good tenants, and will take care of all the details, including the securing all criminal background and security checks, running credit reports, verifying employment, and collecting previous landlord references.


5. Managing tenants: In addition to finding good tenants, a property management company will manage all aspects of the tenant-landlord relationship. The property manager will handle both routine and emergency maintenance, take care of routine inspections, and manage any situations where conflict resolution is required.


6. Managing vendor relationships: Property management companies have relationships with maintenance workers, tradesmen, contractors, suppliers, and vendors that it's almost impossible for an independent landlord to duplicate. Not only will your property manager get you the best work for the best price, they'll oversee any necessary maintenance projects.


7. Ensuring that you're in compliance with housing regulations and property laws: There is a multitude of applicable laws and regulations to abide by when renting and maintaining your rental property. These include local, state and federal regulations, as well as fair housing regulations (such as the ADA). A property manager can help you avoid lawsuits by keeping your property up-to-date and in compliance with these regulations.


8. Enabling you to invest in geographically distant properties: If you manage your own properties, you're pretty much limited to investment opportunities within a tight radius of your own home. By hiring a property manager, you can take advantage of investment deals in any location you wish.


9. Maximizing the profitability of your time: By having a property manager take care of the day-to-day aspects of running your income property, your free to spend your time identifying further investment opportunities or otherwise furthering your career.


10. Maximizing the profitability of your money: Most property managers charge a percentage of your property's monthly rental rate in exchange for their services. The rate typically runs anywhere from 6-10%, which is generally less than the money you save by hiring a professional to take care of your property.