Year of the Renter With more vacancies due to renters being unwilling or even unable to pay higher amounts of money, property owners are scrambling to find ways to attract new tenants while keeping their current tenants hooked in. That’s why they’re calling this “the year of the renter.” Do you agree? 10 Hottest Housing Markets for 2017 Looking to invest in real estate...
Opinions On This Year’s Market Head-to-Head Some believe 2017 will mimic 2016’s slower patterns, while others aren’t so optimistic. What are your thoughts? Millennials’ Domination of the Market Expanding Once again, millennials seem to be dominating the market, but not just in rentals. The myth that millennials only want to rent is being disproved as we see them now...
A Growing Number of Millennials Are Entering the Housing Market Studies show that millennials (people ages 18-35) are making up an increasing share of the home buying market, particularly in suburban areas. A survey shows that 65% of the respondents are renting because of cost and financial circumstances. However, more of these millennials are starting families. Although 65% of this group is...
Higher rates don’t mean the death of housing Concerns about the impact of what’s expected to be higher Federal Reserve interest rates on the property market are overblown, Jonathan Gray, global head of real estate at Blackstone, told CNBC on Tuesday. “We’re later in the cycle, but some people are getting a bit too negative,” said Gray, who manages $103 billion of...
How Grandma can help the housing crunch If your community’s zoning keeps people from carving little apartments out of existing homes, it doesn’t just add to some abstract housing shortage. It also oppresses Grandma — and lots of other would-be renters. Accessory apartments aren’t some fad that arose last week at a new-urbanism conference. They’re part of a long tradition of modest apartments and...
Future-Proofing Your Property with Technology The concept know as “future-proofing” is getting a lot of attention from property manager’s throughout the United States. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of future-proofing, its I hope this article will help explain it further. If you enjoy or strive to create an ambient environment for future tenants I would strongly...
Even though some companies specialize in single-family homes, this list of property management companies is for those that work with apartments. It makes sense that the largest primarily manage apartments, because of the ability to scale that single-family homes just don’t afford. The largest apartment management companies manage over 400,000 units! Could you imagine taking care of that...
Working with a real estate agent is something almost every home buyer and seller should do. But managing agents is a skill, because most of us aren’t used to having someone help with a major project (like a multi-hundred thousand real estate deal!) Here are a few things to keep in mind as the deal progresses. Most of this article is directed towards sellers, but buyers should take note as...
Homeowner’s association management can make or break a community. There’s a reason why some HOAs are known as strict, rule-driven Nazis while others are loved by the entire neighborhood! When you’re in charge of an HOA, or at least a member of the board, here are a few things to keep in mind to succeed: 1) Stay Balanced Homeowner associations fail when they tend to lean too much...
Reading opinion articles about the future of the housing market is always interesting. On the one hand, some people argue that home prices will peak in 2016, so investors should be wary. Meanwhile others claim that the market won’t reverse itself quite yet, and will continue to grow until at least 2019. So who’s right? What can we expect in the next 12 months? Well even though some things are...
If you invest in real estate- whether it’s as a landlord or just the home you live in- 2015 was a good year. Here are a few highlights of what we saw these last 12 months. Interest Rates Will Finally Start Going Back Up Interest rates were frozen at rock-bottom numbers for almost a decade. The Fed finally announced this month (December) that the rates are going up from 0.0-0.25 percent to 0.25-0...
This week in rental property, mortgage rates rose up to 3.98 percent in in anticipation of a Federal Reserve rate hike next month. Housing market is recovering but the number of first-time home buyers are at the lowest point in 28 years. HomeUnion announced top 10 investment markets in the U.S. for single-family rentals and Coldwell Banker’s released this year’s annual Home Listing...
Condominium investment is a great way to get started in real estate. Even though there are a few cons to this form of investing, it’s generally one of the better ways to start building up a portfolio of rental properties. Here are a few reasons both for and against condominium investment: Pro #1: Lower Upfront Costs Condos generally cost less than a house simply due to less size. This makes it...
Being able to pay rent online is still fairly new. Even though a lot of large apartment complexes have implemented it, the vast majority of landlords still aren’t using this great tool. Here are a few reasons why you should consider moving to a system that allows your tenants to pay over the web, along with a few drawbacks to consider. Benefit #1: Easier for Everyone Let’s say you collect rent on...
Home rental services are here to stay, as they provide extremely valuable services to both investors and renters. Usually offered by property management companies, there are several reasons why you should consider using them- no matter which side of the fence you’re on. Benefits for Renters When you’re renting a home, you may be living someplace previously occupied by the owner. If that’s the...
This week in rental property, in a week marked by a stock market turmoil from Asia, average 30-year mortgage rates dropped to 3.84% from 3.93%. We take a close look at the Chinese stock market turmoil with an article from Economist. Consequently, Chinese investors are trying to protect their wealth by diversifying their assets by buying US real estate. Then, listen to domestic fundamentals on why...
You don’t become one of the largest property management companies without knowing your stuff. To survive in this tough industry, you have to be willing to constantly market for new clients, keep current clients happy and select top-quality tenants. To give you an example of how that’s done, let’s take a look at the best of the best. Greystar Greystar started in 1993, with a clear vision of where...
This week in rental property, mortgage rates climbed up to the highest levels for the year. We take a look at some of the reactions towards the last week’s controversial Supreme Court ruling on Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. More and more studies are showing the age shift will affect the housing market. This week, Fannie Mae found that...
Believe it or not, there are not many spelled out landlord rights that pertain throughout the U.S. Instead, most laws regarding landlord/tenant relationships are dealt with at the state level. This can be a challenge, considering that many landlords own rental properties in multiple states. The good news is that there are a few general landlord rights found throughout the States. These are...
You’ve got a little extra money in your pocket. You’re hoping to make it grow into a lot of extra money in your pocket. Investing in real estate and managing property sound like solid ways to increase your cash. Before you run out and buy the first house you see, don’t fall for these myths about managing property. Incoming Rent Will Cover All Expenses Do not count on your tenants covering your...
Property managers do well on their own, but they do even better when they can connect, learn, and invest together. A property managers association can provide these types of benefits. By being a member, they have access to the most current skills, professional certifications for their business, and access to continuing education credits. But how can you determine which property managers...
This week in rental property a shortage of rentals in Brevard North Carolina has led The United Way of Transylvania County to begin a “tiny house initiative”. Next, Airbnb makes the headlines yet again as opposition from Santa Ynez Valley government in California is less than happy about the single-family zoned areas being used as vacation rentals.Are your property taxes high? Time...
Two weeks ago, we followed the Seattle rental market and a property manager’s response to the situation here (link 5). This week in rental property, we visit a man who is taking action. We then turn our attention to the Newark Advocate who brings us a story of a stubborn city council who are refusing to develop stricter property maintenance codes. Spring is around the corner, and...
Missteps. Mess-ups. Gaffes. Or as Homer says, “Doh!” Whatever you call them, mistakes are common in life. Everyone has them, even the best of us, and especially when you’re new on the job. That being said, there are two types of mistakes. There are the ones that you can look at immediately afterward and chuckle about. Things like forgetting someone’s name, or accidentally...
When you keep files on your residents, you are keeping a lot of information on hand. More than that, it’s very sensitive information. You wouldn’t just leave your identifying information, social security number, address and bank details laying around for others to look at: so, don’t leave your data unprotected. Data safety is quickly becoming a much bigger concern than it used to be...