Posts Tagged rental properties
Landlords and Tenants; How to Market for a Tenant Successfully
Posted by Top Home Loans in Landlord Guide, Mortgage Advice, Property Management on April 11, 2009
Hiring a Property Management Company
If you are looking to have a unit filled and looked after with no effort at all because you are too busy with other things in your life, then this is the way to go. They will do all the marketing of the unit, they will respond to any request for repairs, they will deal with all legal requirements in terms of the property, they will show the property, and they will maintain regular upkeep. They will do all this for a fraction of the rent price.
This method is extremely effective if you live a long range from the property, or if you are too busy in life to take care of the property on your own and need a helping hand. Most property management firms are quite reasonable in what they charge, and what you get back in return is extremely important. If you valuye your time over looking after the rental property, then this is the way to go.
Marketing the Property Yourself
Many apartment seekers use online apartment postings to find a dream unit to rent. This is because it takes the least amount of time to search a lot of units to find the perfect one to rent. Someone can search by criteria to find a dream unit in a limited amount of time. This is extremely important for a tenant because it takes a lot of time searching units for a tenant to find a dream unit. This way it is effective to post using popular internet websites like: Craigslist or Kijiji.
These popular websites have been even merged with other sites, like Google Maps, to make the search even easier. Padmapper has mashed up Craigslist with Google Maps to make find a property easy for a perspective tenant.
When posting a listing make sure that it includes the following information and is presented in such a way that it attracts the tenants that you are looking for:
- Price of the listing
- Exact property address of the listing
- Number of bedrooms
- Square footage of the rental unit
- State of upkeep of the rental unit
- Details on other tenants at the location
- Details on the type of tenant that you are looking for
- Details about the surrounding amenities
- Many pictures showing the unit in full
With these details all provided upfront, then you will have less people calling about the unit and not ending up renting. Make sure that you provide potential tenants up front full disclosure on the property, and you will complete the transaction much more efficiently.
By either hiring or successfully marketing your property, you can save yourself a lot of time and money. The revenue that you will earn of marketing a rental unit yourself is great, so it would be a good idea to learn the skills to be able to market your property successfully.
The stronger you are able to market your rental units, then the quicker you will be able to achieve full rental income for longer amounts of time. You will also be able to find the tenants that you are looking for and maximize on your rental income. The better your postings, then the more rental income that you can expect to receive for your unit. A strong online posting and presence, will give you much larger results in terms of dollars at the end of the day.
Save your Mortgage from the Bank. Simply Mortgages can Help!
Welcome back!
Landlords and Tenants; What you need to know About Eviction
Posted by Top Home Loans in Landlord Guide, Mortgage Advice, Property Management on April 7, 2009
When operating or living in a rental unit, it may be possible that you run into a situation where you are either receiving or giving an eviction notice. Before proceeding with this form of action, it is best to know about all the legal requirements surrounding eviction. In each state and province the rules and regulations are most likely different, so it is best to contact a legal representative to help to find out your rights. Also, a lot of myths surround eviction. For example, in most cases, you can be evicted in the middle of winter.
Grounds that a Landlord can Evict a Tenant
The following examples are occasions when a landlord can evict the tenants of a property:
- If the payment of rent is not received on the day that it is due, then the landlord can give a Notice of Termination; however it does not take effect until the 14th day after the notice is given, this is only 7 days if the rent is paid daily or weekly. The termination notice must provide the details that eviction can be avoided if rent is paid before the date the notice takes effect.
- If the tenant or if the tenant allows someone to do illegal acts on the grounds or anywhere on the property. The person must be found guilty in a criminal court and must be to the satisfaction of an adjudicator of the Landlord and Tenant Board.
- If the tenant of if the tenant allows someone to cause willful or negligent damage to the rental unit, property, or building, then the tenant can be evicted. The tenant must be provided with a way to remedy the situation before being evicted.
- If the tenant, guests of the tenant, or other users of the rental unit substantially interfere with the reasonable enjoyment of the building for other tenants within the building, or if the building has 3 units or less and the landlord resides there.
- If the tenant, other residents of the unit, or a guest of the tenant impairs the safety of anyone in the residential complex.
- If the am0unt of people occupying the rental unit on a consistent basis has an effect on the health, safety, or housing standards as required by law.
- If the tenant lives in subsidized or public housing and provides false information about there income or the income of those living in the household.
- Animals can cause a tenant to be evicted if the Landlord and Tenant Board is convinced that the tenant is keeping the animal and the animal is interfering with the reasonable enjoyment of the premise for other tenants in the building.
There are, also, other reasons why a tenant could be evicted. For example, if the landlord needs the apartment to live in, if the building is being destroyed, if the building is being converted, if the building is having major renovations completed that they need the unit vacated.
A landlord may use one of these reasons to evict a tenant for unjust reasons. If you feel you are becoming the victim of an unfair eviction, then it is best to study your local laws, contact a real estate lawyer, or speak with your local tenancy board and explain the situation to see if you have a case.
Save your Mortgage from the Bank. Simply Mortgages can Help!
The Landlord’s Market, and What you Can do to Capitalize on this Emerging Market
Posted by Top Home Loans in Economy, Mortgage Advice, Property Management, Real Estate on January 4, 2009
With the events over the last year in the real estate market, more and more people have gone out of the real estate market entirely or have gone into foreclosure. Less buyers and more sellers is a reality of today’s market, and house values continue to drop; however, with the fall of house values, it could be a great time to start property management. Rent rates have continuously stayed constant, and with more and more people fleeing the real estate market, then it could be a good time to purchase rental units at rock bottom prices.
What you Need to Know about being a Landlord
Being a landlord is a great way to position yourself to earn residual income as well as capital growth in the long term. Being a landlord should not be confused with a get rich quick scheme or something along that lines. It should be viewed as a viable long term income stream that you are willing to invest the time and effort to ensure that you are successful. If you are considering managing several properties or properties that are away from your home, then you may want to hire a property management firm. Property management firms will look after your property and collect the rent; however, this may reduce your overall incomes from the property.
The disadvantages of using a property management company or individual could be the following:
- High costs that could consume up to 25% of your rental income.
- The company may put less priority on marketing your rental property. This may cause an increased duration of time that your property is not rented.
- Substandard service to the rental property due to lack of time or resources from the property management firm.
If the property is some distance from where you live, then you should definitely hire a property management firm. This is because it is extremely difficult to manage a property from a distance. It is hard to maintain, hard to collect rent, hard to bring in perspective tenants. If you can manage the property yourself, then it may be in your best interests to become the landlord yourself.
In future articles, we will be providing you with all the knowledge that you need in order to manage properties on your own. From marketing to managing your tenants, we will provide you with all the knowledge you need.