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property management: Business 101: What does your email address say about you? - 12/26/11 07:21 AM
So one of the things that I do in my position is to hire new property managers to work with our firm so as you can imagine when we post a job we get tons of resumes. So I was sent one that appeared to be a pretty qualified person, had a nice resume, well written, no spelling errors (we'll save that for a later blog) and I was sending a reply email to set up a first telephone interview. As soon as I hit the "reply to" button I noticed her email address "onecrazymama@something.net" and I had to pause for … (8 comments)
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property management: Can you be a successful residential property manager working 9-5? - 12/18/11 11:15 AM
Here is the easy answer: Probably not!
Why you say? Unlike commercial property management you need to be able to be flexible to when tenants and prospective tenants are available. Residential tenants normally are busy during the day, so the best time to show properties, inspect units, and gain access to property to perform inspections is normally weekends and evenings. Without being available after normal hours it is going to make your job a bit more difficult.
Could you be successful working 9-5 in residential management? Maybe-but it will be more difficult. Best managers are available nights and weekends, at … (3 comments)
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property management: Business 101: How much money do you lose not answering the phone? - 12/17/11 06:19 AM
Its more and more common these days with all the electronic gadgets that companies and small business people have, like Realtors, that they now rely on technology instead of people to answer their telephones. Why? Ask them and they will tell you that it works better, they can be found 24/7, it is a great lead capturing technique, etc. But the real reason: They don't want to spend the money hiring someone!
But do you really save money or is it cutting off your nose to spite your face? Let me tell you about my friend the roofing company owner. … (14 comments)
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property management: You have to be one or the other-Morning or Night? - 12/16/11 04:42 AM
So are you a morning person or a night owl? I tend to be a morning person as I can get a ton of work done before most people get up. No phones, no distractions like TV, no one to bug you. I just get up and get on the computer that never shuts off and get my blogs done, my clients emailed, my searches done. Then when the paper comes I read for a bit, hop in the shower, and off I go.
Of course I am dead by 8PM! I don't have an issue with it, but I am … (8 comments)
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property management: Condo Management: What's the little complex to do? - 12/15/11 05:12 AM
So in the world on condo management, the large communities normally have a condo office and a full time maintenance staff to handle the duties of maintenance, rent collection, tenant disputes, supervision, etc. What about smaller communities? What do they do?
Well, they normally don't have the money or enough units to have a full time manager so the option for many is to self-manage. Self management is when the board of directors, who are nomally residents of the complex, elect one unlucky person to become president and then they get to manage, normally for free.
That person then normally … (2 comments)
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property management: Tenant Story of the Week: Ghosts? Now what? - 12/10/11 07:33 AM
So now what? Ghosts!
So I have a 2 family and unit 1 was vacating because they found somewhere else to live, and they did not get along with the tenants in unit 2. So the week they moved out the tenants in unit 2, 2 college men who shared a place called and said they wanted to move early because they were not getting along. I said that they needed to honor their lease. So about a week later one of them shot themselves in the apartment and committed suicide. Wait-it gets better!
So a few weeks later I … (4 comments)
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property management: Tenant story of the week! - 12/07/11 05:16 AM
Got a new place in with an anxious owner who wants his places rented about 2 weeks ago, sound like most of yours? So ran a special, had someone take an app, look at the place, and love it! They like the special on the rent, and would like to be in this weekend since they want in before the holiday. Sounds plausible, and my client is in love with the idea, and she seems nice enough-good income, decent dress, decent car.
So I pull her report. Nothing out of the ordinary shows until I hand run the eviction report, which … (4 comments)
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property management: How do you screen tenants? - 11/28/11 05:59 AM
It's probably the number 1 question I get asked all the time when I talk to new property owners venturing into real estate investing. So let me give you the "book" answer then my real answer!
We look for 3 things in a tenant: 1. The ability to pay is very important. Our guideline is rent is not greater than 31-35% of their gross monthly income. The standard rule of thumb for many is income is 3 times rent. If their income is non-taxable income then we can give a little on this since we compute based on gross taxable income … (5 comments)
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property management: Here's your free "Lifetime Membership" in Property Management - 11/08/11 10:02 PM
So I got a flyer from my Allstate Inurance agent offering me a "free membership" in their Roadside Assistance program. Sounds like a pretty good deal since I don't have one of those, and you never know when you need a jump or have a flat tire. So I called my agent and they said they would sign me up and there was no charge unless you use it. If you have a flat they charge you when they get there!
So I said "Excuse me?" I had a membership in a club that is free as long as i didn't … (0 comments)
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property management: Who got the "Tenant from Hell" this month? - 09/07/11 06:09 AM
So who got the tenant from hell this month? I had them, then they passed to another. But the real question I want to ask is "Why don't landlords screen tenants effectively anymore?"
A few years ago if someone wanted to rent they would fill out an application and a landlord would check them out before renting to them. You would call their previous landlord, see if they had any evictions, pull their credit, check their police record, etc. until you had a well screened tenant. If I had a bad tenant, I would tell you if you called me, a … (3 comments)
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property management: Property Owners-What's the best story you have heard? - 08/10/11 06:27 AM
As a property manager with hundreds of units over multiple states, I get stories from my tenants and my managers every day that just make me shake my head in disbelief or sometimes just laugh out loud. It got me to wondering what are some of the best stories you have heard for not paying rent, or maybe maintenance stories, or just general tenant stories that you have come across?
Here's one I got a chuckle out of yesterday: One of my managers called and said they were collecting rent from a tenant whom we are going to evict for … (4 comments)
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property management: So who do your tenants call at 3 am? - 07/20/11 06:57 AM
So why does everything break in the middle of the night or on the weekend? Its a question I have long pondered in my over 20 years of property management. I used to ask my brother-in-law why he never invested in real estate and instead kept his money in the bank. His answer? "My money doesn't call me at 3 AM". Got to admit that's a strong argument.
So who do your tenants call at 3 AM? The answer to that question many times takes real estate investing to a business from a hobby. Our tenants have a 24 hour answering … (45 comments)
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property management: Is Your Property Manager Legal? - 04/19/11 06:18 AM
Bet that's a question you've never thought of, is it? You simply found a manager, through the paper or in an ad, and they called themselves property managers, they looked like property managers, and they had clients that used them. So what's wrong with that?
Actually, nothing is wrong with that, until you get caught! There are ton's of people practicing as illegal property managers. The State of Ohio requires that anyone that does property management, for a fee, has to do it in the name of a licensed real estate broker. Can an agent do it as a side business? … (5 comments)
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property management: Should I rent my home? - 03/04/11 06:22 AM
Thats a question that may come to your mind at some point in the home sale process. At which point is hard to tell, but almost everytime someone tries to sell their home in this market this will come up. So what is the answer?
Well, as a professional property manager I tell people that maybe its a good idea. Why let all the investors offer you way lower than market value and sell your home when you don't need to take that big loss. Why not rent it out, cover your house payment for a year or two, and then … (2 comments)
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property management: Real Estate Investing, Chapter 4 Picking a property manager - 02/14/11 05:58 AM
So to recap, in chapter 3 we talked about building our team to help us in our quest to be real estate investors. Well, no team would be complete without management of our property. There are two ways we could do this, by either managing the property ourselves or hiring a manager.
For most investors buying your first property, management is not too difficult. Normally one tenant is not too difficult to find or manage as there is only so many calls a tenant can make. However, as you acquire more properties the decision is going to have to be whether … (2 comments)
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property management: Make money this year with managment referrals! - 01/02/11 07:31 AM
Seems like about the only thing selling now is foreclosures and bargain priced homes and buildings! Mostly who is buying them is investors. Many investors will put lipstick on them and hang up a sign again and make a few bucks. A lot of the smart ones will put a tenant in them to generate income and when the market turns, and we all know it will, then they will sell them to the tenant or another owner/investor for a large profit.
So how does that benefit you? You make commission when they buy, and hopefully when they sell, but what … (6 comments)
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property management: Real Estate Investing, Chapter 3 - 12/15/10 06:56 AM
In chapter 1 we talked about your plan for investing, and in chapter 2 we discussed the importance of geting financing. Now, in this chapter we will talk about building your "Investment Team".
So here is what I need you to understand: Investing in real estate is almost impossible to be successful without support team members. There is too much to know to try to do this on your own, and you need to build a team of players that will both support you and provide guidance. It is important for you to understand that teamwork goes both ways; if … (2 comments)
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property management: Real Estate Investing, Chapter 2 - 11/28/10 07:27 AM
In chapter 1 we decided that the first step was to have a plan. It is important to have a plan and stick to your plan. It does not matter which plan you have chosen, but the important lesson is to have a plan to follow.
So now that we have the plan it is time for the next step, That next step is to have financing in place so that when you are ready to start investing you have the money in place to execute the plan.
There are a few basics ways to invest in real estate, but they … (0 comments)
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property management: Real Estate Investing Chapter I - 11/24/10 05:55 AM
When I teach my real estate investing class at Columbus State Community College we get a lot of students that would like to become a real estate investor, or may already have dabbled in the real estate market. One of the things we always preach to students is that the successful investor has a plan, and just doesn't buy any house in any location for any price.
So to start off this series on investing, the first thing I want to tell anyone about investing in real estate is you need to start with a plan. And the first part of … (3 comments)
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property management: The case of the stuck toilet..... - 11/22/10 05:05 AM
So I got this call from one of our owners on a home that is currently vacant and we are attempting to rent out. She called frantically saying that there must be a water leak as she just received her water bill for the last 3 months and it was over $300.00, wjhich is about $200 too high on a vacant home (who knew you had a minimum water bill even if the water is turned off).
So we hurried to the home, expecting to see flooded basement and soggy drywall, and nothing. Not a peep. No drips, no sounds, no … (7 comments)
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Dennis Swartz
Reynoldsburg,
OH
More about me…
FirstService Residential Realty
Address: 7638 Slate Ridge Blvd, Reynoldsburg, OH, 43068
Office Phone: (614) 367-1190
Cell Phone: (614) 214-6601
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