Lisa Wells' Landlord2Landlord.com Blog

Leveraging Free PR Distribution to Drive Website Traffic

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:44:56 -0500

Leveraging Free PR Distribution to Drive Website Traffic
By Lisa Wells

If you are actively posting ActiveRain blogs, you already know how web-based content can drive your search engine rankings and website traffic. Congratulations for making a great start! Please take a minute to learn about free public relations distribution websites: another way you can drive visitors to your site and grow your online visibility.

Online PR distribution sites allow you to post relevant news about your upcoming events, such as open houses, or business accomplishments - using keywords like the tags on your ActiveRain blog posts to drive the news release's online visibility for your target audience. Many PR distribution sites will let you add URLs, pictures and even video links to your online press release.

I have successfully used online press releases for years to drive media inquiries, tv and magazine story placement and to naturally increase website traffic - in fact, one company that I worked with experienced a 200% increase in web traffic in less than six months with NO OTHER web-based marketing except the online press release campaign. If you are paying for Google ads or other online ad placement, you know how valuable this can be!

Most press release distribution websites charge for their services, but there are some great press release resources that are free for small businesses, or that offer a free press release service with the option of paid upgrades for additional services. My list of preferred online press release distribution services is below. I personally use these sites on a regular basis.

Free Press Release Distribution Sites

http://www.prlog.org - This site allows you to add HTML links in the press release body, and shows you the number of hits per release like the viewing statistics on your ActiveRain blogs. The site offers press release distribution to Google News, numerous search engines as well as javascript, html & RSS feeds. And, you can submit an unlimited number of free press releases [please note that most free PR distribution sites only allow you to submit one news release per day]. Here's an example of a press release that I distributed through PRLog recently: http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:JHjXmmSd3uIJ:www.prlog.org/10197050-sigvaris-announces-life-for-legs-compression-therapy-contest-during-dvt-awareness-month.pdf+sigvaris+prlog&hl=en&gl=us

http://www.pr-inside.com - This free press release distribution site will let you upload pictures, embed video as well as URLs, and select a category to post your press release. Of all the PR distribution sites that I use, this one has the easiest PR content upload process. Here's an example of a press release that I distributed through PR-Inside.com recently: http://www.pr-inside.com/sigvaris-offers-deep-vein-thrombosis-prevention-r1085996.htm

http://www.1888pressrelease.com - Their unique services allow you to distribute releases to search engines, newswires and websites to help increase awareness of your product, company, or self for free. For a small fee, you can upgrade your submission for maximum exposure. This site stands out because all press release submissions are manually reviewed by editors before approval for distribution, which means you need to follow their guidelines to be posted. They offer a sample press release for reference at http://www.1888pressrelease.com/pr-sample.php

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com - This site offers a free press release distribution service in the hopes that you will upgrade to their paid services. As a result, their publishing guidelines are strict, as free releases receive limited distribution and are not guaranteed to be posted. HTML links may not be used in free press releases on this site, and they have a limit of 1 free release per day! That said, I have posted 18 free releases that received distribution and exposure from the site. Here's an example: http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/sigvaris-perfect-medical-solutions-will-host-a-compression-therapy-healthy-leg-day-at-the-eastmont-civic-center-senior-health-fair-in-altamonte-springs-fl-on-february-18-2009-87569.php

Web-based Public Relations Assistance

If you would like help in creating and distributing your online public relations campaign, please feel free to contact me! I'd be glad to:

• Proofread/edit your press release for search engine optimization and adherence to PR editorial guidelines,

• Set up your FREE press release distribution account on multiple PR websites ,

• Share my trusty list of HINTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL ONLINE PRESS RELEASE, and

• Distribute your online press release to your local media outlets including newspaper, magazine, tv and radio contacts.

ActiveRain users who reply with promo code RAIN will receive my Online PR Start-Up service for only $20 per press release.

Hope this helps your business!

Step Up Your Sales: Five Easy Ways to Help You Feel Better on the Job

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:51:48 -0600

Step Up Your Sales: Five Easy Ways to Help You Feel Better on the Job
By Lisa Wells

As a realtor or property manager, you're on your feet all day long, guiding real estate clients or potential tenants through one property after another. By the end of the day, your feet ache endlessly, and you can't wait to stop pounding the pavement. Sound familiar?

Have you ever considered how the physical stress of your job may negatively impact your sales?
Think about it. When you feel good, you make a better impression on your clients through the energy and enthusiasm you give off!

When your feet, legs and lower back hurt after a long day of standing though, you can't avoid coming across as less than high-spirited. Even worse, your client may accidentally perceive you to be less interested in helping them.

Many employers already realize the value of healthy, happy workers and offer Corporate Wellness programs to improve their employees' fitness and morale. However, the first step to improving how you feel at the end of the day begins with YOU!

So take a moment to learn how a simple change of socks could improve your physical well-being and may translate to better sales performance. Remember, when you feel good - you'll sell more.

Why Your Legs Hurt After A Long Day of Standing or Walking
When your ankles swell or your legs hurt after a long day of standing, most of the time this is due to circulation problems in your leg veins. In fact, 90% of leg disorders originate within the veins.

Why? Your arteries push blood down into your legs from the heart. Your veins fight gravity to push blood back up to the heart so it can be re-oxygenated. Your veins are smaller and more fragile than arteries, and can be damaged more easily. Damaged veins have a harder time circulating blood normally, and this can cause Chronic Venous Insufficiency [CVI] -- a condition in which blood pools in the vein rather than being efficiently pumped back to the heart.

Venous diseases like CVI are progressive. If left undiagnosed and untreated, minimal symptoms may result in a more serious condition. CVI can lead to Varicose Veins, Phlebitis, Thrombophlebitis, Deep Vein Thrombosis [blood clots], and changes in the skin, including leg ulcers. In most cases, leg problems do not just occur "out of the blue." Typical warning signs include:

Pain, swelling or aching in the legs
Dense spider veins or swelling around the ankle
Leg cramps at night
Skin discoloration or pigmentation changes
Inflammation

Who Is At Risk?
If you have one or more of following risk factors, you're more likely to suffer from leg aches and pains -- and you're not alone. Over 59% of the population suffers from some degree of vascular disease, and approximately 24 million Americans have varicose veins. Risk factors include:

Heredity
Age 40 or over
Pregnancy - the risk increases after each one.
Obesity
Professions that require long periods of standing/sitting in one place

The impact of CVI and related conditions such as deep vein thrombosis is so widespread that Acting US Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H., recently issued a Call to Action to reduce the number of cases of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in the United States. Galson urged all Americans to learn about and prevent these treatable conditions.

Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism affect an estimated 350,000 to 600,000 Americans each year, and the numbers are expected to increase as the U.S. population ages. Together, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism contribute to at least 100,000 deaths each year.

"Being hospitalized or confined to bed rest, having major surgery, suffering a trauma, or traveling for several hours can increase a person's risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism," Galson said. "We want to increase the awareness and knowledge of these potentially deadly conditions and encourage patients and health care providers to take the steps to prevent them."

Five Easy Ways to Keep Your Legs Healthy and Feeling Better on the Job

Moving legs are healthier legs! Avoid standing or sitting for prolonged periods.
Stay active. Frequent moderate physical exercise [like walking or swimming] is important for leg health and an overall healthy lifestyle.
Wear graduated compression hosiery [aka support hose] or socks. Compression Therapy helps promote blood circulation and reduce the CVI symptoms listed above.
When resting or at night, elevate your legs slightly.
Avoid extended exposure to heat from sunbathing, hot baths or the sauna as excessive heat will cause your veins to dilate and may cause swelling.

About Compression Therapy
Of all the tips listed above, most were familiar to me but Compression Therapy was not. Compression Therapy means wearing socks or stockings that are specially designed to support your veins and increase circulation in your legs. When you wear compression socks or stockings throughout the day, the additional support that they provide prevents blood from pooling in leg veins, and reduces the side effects of poor circulation. Think of it as medicine that you wear, but the good news is it doesn't look like medicine!

A great video that explains how compression therapy works is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nrUNmFtCAo. Scenes include a pregnant woman who suffers from swollen ankles, a business traveller who is concerned about the long time she spends in flight, and a repairman who stands for long periods of time at work. Medical commentary provided by Michel Zummo, M.D., a leading vascular physician.

That said, it's easy to understand why Compression Therapy is many physicians' treatment of choice for tired legs and swollen ankles. If you could relieve your tired, achy legs simply by changing socks or pantyhose, would you do it? Of course you would!

Additional resources
Several companies produce compression therapy hosiery and socks such as Juzo, Jobst and Mediven. SIGVARIS is generally considered to be the world leader. You can find their products in medical supply stores, pharmacies, retail drug stores and online. Visit www.sigvarisusa.com to find a SIGVARIS store near you.

For more information about leg health and venous disease, consult your physician or one of the following websites:

The American Venous Forum: www.venous-info.com

The Society for Vascular Surgery: http://svs.vascularweb.org/

The US Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism 2008, is available at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/calls/index.html

Note: This article provides content of a general nature and is designed for informational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your own health, you should always consult with a physician.

Help ActiveRain Members in Atlanta find GAS! This tool will show you gas stations with gas.

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:03:30 -0500

ActiveRain members,

Many Atlanta agents are having trouble doing business with the current gas shortage.

There's a great website that lets you put in gas station locations that still have gas, and the price, to help people search for gas by zip code.

You can go to www.GasBuddy.com to look for a station near you, anywhere in the country, that has gas - including the Atlanta area.

Thanks and good luck!

-- Lisa

Hiring Talent with Bad Credit - Would You Do It?

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:51:21 -0500

Hiring Talent with Bad Credit - Would You Do It?
by Lisa Wells

With the economy, foreclosures, lay-offs and consumer credit issues what they are today, the sad truth is many talented people now have bad credit, and are looking for a job. Unfortunately their job hunt is even more difficult if they are applying for positions, such as those in the financial services industry, where credit worthiness is a factor in being offered a job.

I can see the issue from both sides as I managed services that allow employers and landlords to check applicants' backgrounds - including criminal records, MVRs and credit reports. Most employers that have credit score requirements do so when recruiting for positions that involve financial responsibility, cash management, inventory control, etc.

The general thought is if an individual cannot control their own finances, they may not be able to successfully handle those of the company, and those who are struggling with high amounts of debt may be more predisposed to steal [inventory, embezzle, etc.] on the job. And before you ask, yes, it is legal to have a credit score requirement when considering a job candidate, as long as that standard is consistently applied to all applicants.

Here's a quote from the Federal Trade Commission website: "Credit is so much more than a plastic card. It's your financial trustworthiness. Having good credit means it will be easier for you to get loans and low interest rates. Low interest rates usually translate into smaller monthly payments. That's important when you borrow money for a car or a place to live. Sometimes, people even check your credit when you apply for a job."

However, in today's credit environment, I believe that employers may be losing the opportunity to employ great people who have had unfortunate circumstances occur in their personal lives, simply due to a bias toward a low credit score. I believe that employers may need to revisit their credit standards for hiring in light of the unprecedented economic issues that millions of individuals are facing if we are to help stop this downward cycle of economic loss.

What do you think? Does credit matter when hiring for a financial position such as a broker, mortgage processor, or property manager?

Would love to hear your thoughts....

$1295 - 3 Story Alpharetta Townhouse for rent

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:43:59 -0500

Available July 1st. Rent is $1295 per month, plus 1 month deposit.
All rental applicants will be background & credit checked. Pets ok with deposit of $100.

Please call 404-944-0081 or email homehints (at) hotmail.com to see the property. Thanks and happy house hunting!

Three-story townhouse with garage for rent in swim community - Whittington Views - just off Windward Parkway - Exit 11 on 400. Forsyth county, City of Alpharetta address.

This beautiful townhouse offers a Great Room, bonus room downstairs, laundry room, fireplace in living room, both full baths have garden tubs, curved foyer stairway, 9' ceilings on main, large deck with privacy wall, patio below, walk-in closets.

More PROPERTY DETAILS

· Condo/Townhouse • Approx.

1/3 acres lot

· Traditional • 3 bedrooms [2 on top floor, one bonus room]

· 3+ Stories • 2.

5 bathrooms

· Finished Basement • Shingle roof

· 1 Car Garage • siding exterior

· Built in 2004

PROPERTY FEATURES

· Central Air • Building name: WHITTINGTON

· Forced Air Heat • Type: Fee Simple, Interior unit

· Breakfast Area • Style: Townhouse/Multi-Level, Traditional

· Family Room • Dining room

· Walk-in Closet(s) • Family room

· Den/Office • Basement

· Bonus/Guest Room • Laundry room

· Laundry • Bathroom(s) on main floor

· Walk-out Basement • Hardwood floors

· Fireplace(s) • Fireplace(s)

· Hardwood Floors and Carpet• Fireplace features: Factory built, Gas Logs remain, Gas Starter, In Great/Famil

· W-W Carpeting • Swimming pool(s)

· Tile Floors • 1 car garage

· Ceiling Fan(s) • Attached parking

· Parking features: Attached, Auto Garage Door, Driveway

· Kitchen Pantry• Heating features: Central System,Electric,

· Dishwasher/Disposal • Central air conditioning

· Patio/Balcony • Cooling features: Central Electric, Zoned

· Fenced Yard • Interior features: 2 story foyer, 9 ft + ceiling(s), Bonus Room, Breakfast area

· Condo/Townhome/Coop Property • Exterior features: Patio, Private Backyard, Professional landscaping, Yard, Ass

· Status: Active • Exterior construction: Brick & Frame

· Area: FORSYTH COUNTY • Energy Info: High efficiency system, Ridge vents, Thermal pane windows

· County: FORSYTH • Community features: HOA

· Year Built: 2004 • Approximate lot is LESS THAN 1/3

Schools

· Elementary School: MIDWAY

· Jr.

High School: VICKERY CREEK

· High School: SOUTH FORSYTH

· Near School(s) • Easy Highway Access

· Near Shopping Center(s) • City/Public water

· Near Hospital • Street Sewer (Connected) sewer

COMMON AREA FEATURES
• Swimming Pool

New Federal CAN-SPAM law updates: Email Marketing Basics You Should Know

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:16:47 -0500

Federal CAN-SPAM law updates: Email Marketing Basics You Should Know
by Lisa Wells

In 2003, the Federal government enacted the CAN-SPAM Act to oversee and provide protective guidelines for email marketing campaigns. Recently, the Federal Trade Commission announced four new rules or requirements in CAN-SPAM that you should know if you engage in email marketing [this includes e-newsletters or any email that you send out that contains a marketing message for your product or service].

Here's a summary of the new CAN-SPAM rules:

• An email recipient cannot be required to:
-- pay a fee,

-- provide information other than his or her email address and opt-out preferences, or

-- take any steps other than sending a reply email message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future email from a sender.

[if you aren't including Opt-Out links in your mass emails, even newsletters, this is a HUGE violation of CAN-SPAM requirements.]

• The definition of "sender" was revised by the FTC to simplify which of multiple parties advertising in a single email message is responsible for complying with the Act's opt-out requirements.

• A "sender" of commercial email must include an address that can be an accurately registered post office box or private mailbox established under United States Postal Service regulations to satisfy the Act's requirement that a commercial email display a "valid physical postal address."

[This one is very important -- as most e-marketers struggled with providing a Physical Street Address in large email campaigns. Imagine sending a message to a million people and not knowing what address to provide if you have multiple company locations?]

• A definition of the term "person" was added to show that CAN-SPAM's obligations are not limited to "natural persons."

To view the new FTC CAN-SPAM rule provisions,
please see http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/05/canspam.shtm.

Question of the day: Do you have a good understanding of CAN-SPAM requirements and how they may impact your online/e-marketing efforts? I'm glad to help you with e-marketing! Just ask a question below.

Best of luck in your sales success!

As always, information in this article is not intended to be used, and should not be used, as legal, tax or accounting advice.

Will Kijiji Knock Off Craigslist As the Best Free Classified Ad Website?

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:29:22 -0500

Will Kijiji Knock Off Craigslist As the Best Free Classified Ad Website?
by Lisa Wells

Folks, if you haven't seen Kijiji yet - now's the time to check it out at http://www.kijiji.com/. I've been an avid Craigslist fan for years, but I have to admit, the classified ad posting engine at Kijiji takes the cake.

Just don't ask me to pronounce Kijiji because I have no idea how to do it!
But for a site that works this easily in posting real estate ads, who cares if you can't say the name?

The ad posting process works exactly the same as Craigslist -- but all cities and all ad genres are completely free. The best part though is the designation you can assign to your classified ad. You can post it in the city or state of your choice, or opt to have it displayed in the same category across the ENTIRE nation. If you're advertising vacation property or retirement communities, what a wonderful time-saving tool!

So, check out http://www.kijiji.com/ and let me know what you think - does it beat www.craigslist.com in your opinion? Would love to know what your experience and response rate has been. Thanks!

Ways Media Directories Can Build Your Real Estate Business

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:54:04 -0500

Ways Media Directories Can Build Your Real Estate Business
By Lisa Wells

Property Managers and Real Estate Agents: online marketing is an incredible vehicle to drive new traffic to your real estate business, but don't forget the traditional tools that land on your target audience's doorstep every morning! Media directories [i.e. newspaper contact lists] are a great resource for building your real estate business - here's why they are so valuable to you.

Pitch Your Property Expertise Over Sunday Morning Coffee

Let's face it, nowadays just about everyone hops online to check out the finer points of property that they're considering, as pictures tell the story better than a classified ad ever could. BUT KEEP IN MIND - your prospective buyer is usually lured online by something that peaks their interest, and nine times out of ten it's raised by something they read. The Sunday morning newspaper's home insert fuels countless Sunday afternoon drives through neighborhoods where your property is listed. Sure, your home visitors went online to get map directions to the property, and to check out specifics before the drive-by, but the effort may have been sparked by their daily or weekly newspaper.

More importantly, newspapers provide a excellent avenue to establish yourself as a community expert. Have you ever considered positioning yourself with your media outlets as a quotable authority on real estate, home financing, leasing options, landscaping or whatever property-related service you provide? A simple press release to papers in your region could help you gain excellent visibility and business referrals from a news article that includes your quote - and press endorsements are ten times more influential than any ad you could buy.

Promote Educational Events Within Your Local Community

Speaking of opportunities, newspapers are the perfect place to share information about your next homebuyer seminar, [held free for the community of course], on topics like obtaining financing or getting your home ready to put on the market. Most of the time, newspapers will publish your event information for free, but you might be surprised to learn that many also welcome your story suggestions and contributions on topics that appeal to their local audience.

Advertise Specialty Property Services to Out-Of-State Audiences

Are you marketing vacation rentals or retirement communities? How about property locating services for transferring employees? There are free places online like Craigslist where you can easily advertise in another city or state, but the biggest challenge of marketing is being in the right place at the right time with your message. For example, I wrote a blog on my dream of one day buying a home in Salt Lake City, even though I live on the other side of the country. Can you imagine how excited I would be to find an ad for Salt Lake City ski property in my hometown paper?!

If you are promoting property in heavy tourist or retirement areas like Florida or Hilton Head or the mountains, get the word out in the newspapers where your visitors are coming from. [Your local Convention and Visitors Bureau probably has a good idea where most of your tourism originates from if you need some help in targeting the right markets.] Differentiate yourself from the competition by being front and center for your prospects BEFORE they leave home in search of real estate.

Recruit Talent For Your Business

Growing your business doesn't only mean increasing your prospects. If you're doing a great job at that, eventually you'll need additional help. If your company is participating in a job fair, recruiting interns or posting open positions, reach out to newspapers at Universities and in smaller, nearby markets - consider weekly newspapers again as great alternatives with lower ad rates than daily papers in major metropolitan areas. A well-placed ad can translate into new talent that takes your business to new levels!

Media Directory Resources

"All right, Lisa! You've convinced me! So what's the best way to get in touch with newspapers across the country?"

Thought you'd never ask. J You can find newspaper contact information free online by using just about any search engine, like my favorite, Google. A bunch of free websites also list newspapers by state like www.thepaperboy.com. Free sites work great if you're contacting a small number of newspapers and you only need to look up four or five email addresses or fax numbers. Heck, you could even use the Yellow Pages.

But if you're planning a press release campaign, or if you're looking for papers outside of your local area, save yourself the time and headache in seeking them online - simply purchase a media directory that contains the Newspaper Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Phone, Fax, Email and Website information. Some even offer Circulation details as well, and that's a nice plus.

Here's a few downloadable newspaper lists to consider:

http://www.usnpl.com/ - US Newspaper List offers contact information on mailing labels that they will send to you or you can download their entire directory of 3300 newspapers for $124.95. College newspapers are not included. Their website also has direct links to individual newspaper websites in case you just want to go straight to the source.

http://us.cision.com/ - Most people in the media industry know Bacon's Directories as a household name, except now they've been acquired by CISION. The big momma of newspaper directories, Bacon's Newspaper and Magazine Directory contains information on every daily newspaper in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, all community newspapers in the U.S. and Canada, including over 18,000 trade and consumer magazines, newsletters and journals. And you can have it all for $495.

http://www.mynewspaperdirectory.com - this one's the best bargain of the bunch. Their directories include daily, weekly, Spanish, University, Ethnic, Business and Religious newspapers. For only $39.99, you can download a list of more than 6600 newspapers from across the country. Or, you can pay as little as $7.99 for a state-specific list. They offer a secure check-out process using Paypal.

You can load these directories into your favorite email or fax-blast tool, or CRM system, or consult the list via Excel to pull out the ones you want to target with a specific announcement, ad request or press release.

Final Thought

Remember the old joke -internet listings have taken over the world, but newspapers truly are black and white and read all over .... The better you are at getting the word out about your real estate business and the property you represent, using both new and traditional media, the better sales results you'll have.

Best of luck in your sales success!

As always, information in this article is not intended to be used, and should not be used, as legal, tax or accounting advice.

Freecycle.org - A Giving Resource For Property Managers and Real Estate Owners

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:13:55 -0500

Freecycle.org - A Giving Resource For Property Managers and Real Estate Owners
By Lisa Wells

Property Managers and Realtors, here's a great resource to use when you have a garage to clean out, household items to unload or past renters who have left behind their unwanted furniture! The Freecycle Network^TM [ http://www.freecycle.org/ ] will find your unwanted goods a new home - and the beauty is in the name. Everything offered on this website is FREE - it's free to advertise or receive any item!

What is The Freecycle Network^TM?

When you visit their website, you'll learn that "the Freecycle Network^TM is made up of 4,299 groups with 4,721,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer. Membership is free." To sign up, find your community online [you can browse groups at http://www.freecycle.org/group/US/?noautodetect=1 ] and subscribe to their daily posts.

How to post items or ask for those being offered
Check out the member guidelines at http://www.freecycle.org/faq/faq/faq_guidelines. Remember, abide by the community rules to keep this a safe place for giving. The volunteer moderators are serious about the guidelines and member etiquette - two strikes and you're out! The basics are:

1. KEEP IT FREE, LEGAL & APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AGES.

2. NO POLITICS, NO SPAM, NO MONEY, NO PERSONAL ATTACKS/RUDENESS, NO PROSELYTIZING/RELIGION.

3. NO TRADING PLEASE.

The site works similarly to Craigslist and Ebay with the community posting system [with the key exception that everything listed on this site is FREE], but in order to view the postings, you must subscribe to your local list group to receive notifications by email - either in list form or individually. Warning: These are very active groups, so if you don't want to fill up your inbox, subscribe for the list version.

What Freecycle is NOT:

The Freecycle Network^TM is *not* a place to just go get free stuff for nothing.

It *is* a place to give or receive what you have and don't need or what you need and don't have -- a free cycle of giving which keeps stuff out of landfills.

That perspective makes all the difference! Think about the impact that attitude has on the ActiveRain community...the same is true for this non-profit. Freecycle empowers people on a grassroots and local level to take charge and make the world a better place, keeping countless tons of reusable items out of local landfills. It is a cycle of giving, not charity. Everyone gives to everyone with absolutely no expectations of anything at all in return.

Below are some examples of people whose lives were positively impacted through the giving community on http://www.freecycle.org/.

" I gave a loveseat to a lady who had nothing. Her husband had walked out on her and her children, and they were starting over from scratch. She was so thankful she cried - over a loveseat I would have probably thrown away. "
-Louisville, KY

" My Daughters' stolen bicycles were replaced in time for Christmas! "
- mom of five, Austin, Texas

" A truckload of diapers, clothes and supplies was collected through Freecycle for an orphanage in Haiti. FedEx donated the shipping! "
-San Jose, CA

" At a local Freecycle "Hurricane Help Project" event, hundreds of local community members helped victims of the latest hurricane with free furniture and building supplies. "
-Melbourne, FL

Author's Note: I'm a believer too and an active member of the Atlanta community.

How did Freecycle begin?

According to the group's website, "On May 1st, 2003, Deron Beal sent out the first e-mail announcing The Freecycle Network^TM to about 30 or 40 friends and a handful of nonprofits in Tucson, Arizona. At the time Deron founded The Freecycle Network, he worked with a small nonprofit organization, RISE, which provides recycling services to downtown businesses and transitional employment to Tucsonans in need.

As the team recycled, rather than watching perfectly good items being thrown away, they found themselves calling or driving around to see if various local nonprofits could use them. Thinking there had to be an easier way, Beal set up that first Freecycle e-mail group in a way that permitted everyone in Tucson to give and to get. Freecycle was off and running.

The Freecycle concept has since spread to over 75 countries, where there are thousands of local groups representing millions of of members -- people helping people and "changing the world one gift at a time." As a result, we are currently keeping over 300 tons a day out of landfills! This amounts to four times the height of Mt. Everest in the past year alone, when stacked in garbage trucks!

By giving freely with no strings attached, members of The Freecycle Network help instill a sense of generosity of spirit as they strengthen local community ties and promote environmental sustainability and reuse. People from all walks of life have joined together to turn trash into treasure."

The Freecycle Network is incorporated as a nonprofit in the State of Arizona.

Additional Recycling Resources

Not sure what can be recycled where? Visit http://www.freecycle.org/freecyclopedia/index.php?tpl=didyouknow.

Freecycle provides the following links on their website to help you learn more ways to reduce, reuse and recycle:

The Story of Stuff
The Story of Stuff is an interesting discussion of the materials economy with Annie Leonard.

New American Dream
The Center for a New American Dream helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice.

The Internet Consumer Recycling Guide
This recycling guide provides a starting point for consumers in the US and Canada searching the 'Net for recycling information. The goal is to help make recycling so easy and automatic that it blends into the flow of everyday life.

The Consumer's Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste
Reusing products is just one way to cut down on what we throw away. This booklet outlines many practical steps to reduce the amount and toxicity of garbage. These aren't the only steps that can be taken to reduce waste, but they're a good start.

Recyclopedia: Reuse and Recycling Resources from the Simsbury Recycling Committee.

How to Get Rid of...
This site, from the Peace & Environment Centre in Ottawa, Canada, is chock full of really creative ideas for reusing just about anything!

Composting and Organics Recycling Site by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

Earth911
This organization has an extensive database on recycling options and shares many tips for conserving energy, preventing air pollution, and dealing with household hazardous waste.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Uncle Sam offers lots of statistics as well as news and practical tips on this site.

call2recycle
This organization is the only nonprofit group committed to comprehensive, nationwide program to collect and recycle rechargeable batteries and cell phones. Local drop-off sites noted on their site. A portion of proceeds goes to select charities.

As always, information in this article is not intended to be used, and should not be used, as legal, tax or accounting advice.

My Renter Owes Me Money. Now What?

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:09:11 -0500

This article is also viewable at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/Newsletters.aspx. For more articles like this, please join our Newsletter.

My Renter Owes Me Money. Now What?
by Annette West, CCIM, MBA, CPA

Editor's Note: Most landlords and property managers can tell you stories of renters who disappeared under the cover of darkness, and still owe them money. But many rental managers struggle with what to do to recoup unpaid rent after the resident is long gone. Here are some tips to improve your rental collections - and how to report unpaid rent as a consumer debt.

Two acts designed to protect consumers are usually not considered relevant by landlords or property managers: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; The Fair Credit Reporting Act. Until recently, the relationship between tenants and landlords was not viewed as a consumer debt relationship. However a recent case may suggest that anyone who helps landlords collect past due rents can be subject to the FDCPA, including property managers and attorneys.

The goal of the FDCPA is to stop unfair, unethical and illegal bill collection tactics by debt collectors. Personal, family and household debts are covered under the FDCPA. This includes money owed for the purchase of an automobile, for medical care or for charge accounts.

The act defines a debt collector as any person who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes attorneys who collect debts on a regular basis. But does it include property managers or landlords trying to collect past due rent?

The answer seems clear: if you are the property owner, you need to follow landlord tenant law but not specifically meet the requirements of the FDCPA. If you are not the property owner and contact tenants about past due rent, it is recommended that communications with tenants meet the requirements of the FDCPA.

Within five days after first contacting the debtor, the collector must send a written notice stating the amount of money owed; the name of the creditor to whom the money is owed; and what action to take if the debtor believes they do not owe the money you may want to talk to your attorney first.

A second act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, regulates the providers and users of credit reports.

The National Multi-Housing Council recently requested an opinion from the Federal Trade Commission regarding the use of credit reports when screening tenants. The FTC reported back that landlords have obligations under the FCRA when they take adverse actions based on credit reports or other types of consumer reports. (A consumer report contains information about an individual's personal and credit characteristics, character, general reputation, and lifestyle).

The FCRA covers a report if a consumer reporting agency, i.e. a business that assembles such reports for other businesses, prepares the report.

Most property managers and landlords rely on these credit reports as part of the tenant screening process. Amendments in 1996 to the FCRA added a broad catch-all to cover all actions or determinations "adverse to the interests of the consumer," made in connection with an application made by, or a transaction initiated by, the consumer, i.e. a tenant denied housing due to their credit report.

The catch-all provision clearly covers the landlord-tenant situation. Thus, landlords who use consumer reports must now provide applicants Section 615(a) adverse action notices when they refuse to rent or lease a dwelling, or when they require an increased security deposit as a precondition to the rental, based on a consumer report.

John Darden, attorney at law with the Darden Law Firm in Las Cruces, NM, said: "While FCRA does not apply when a landlord's employee individually verifies credit information and adverse action is taken against a tenant applicant, if the landlord uses in any minor way a report from a tenant screening or credit reporting agency and takes any adverse action, a notice under FCRA must be provided.

"That adverse action may be as innocuous as requiring a larger deposit for FCRA to apply," he said. "FCRA gives tenants the right to access federal court and an award of damages and attorney's fees against the landlord. In some instances FCRA permits punitive damages against landlords. When in doubt, send the notice for each adverse action which depends in part upon a report to a landlord from any individual other than the landlord's own employee."

Additional Resources

Landlord2Landlord.com offers bad debt reporting services - if a renter leaves your property and still owes you money, you can report their debt through our website to all three credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax and Transunion. This means the renter's debt to you will appear on their individual credit report until the debt is settled with you. See http://www.landlord2landlord.com/bureaudebtreporting.aspx for more details.

We also have a contributory database that allows landlords and property managers to create Tenant Report Cards on renters, and to update those report cards at the end of the renter's lease. Renters in our system that have a history of evictions or not paying rent will be flagged when you run a criminal or credit report on a new applicant. For more information, please visit http://www.landlord2landlord.com/tenantreportcards.aspx.

About the Author

Annette West, CCIM, MBA, CPA, is a Las Cruces Commercial REALTOR® and can be reached at AWest@AnnetteWest.com, http://www.annettewest.com/ or at 505-644-1634. She is a contributing writer for Landlord2Landlord.

As always, information in this article is not intended to be used, and should not be used, as legal, tax or accounting advice. Investors should seek advice from an independent financial advisor about their specific situation.

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About Landlord2Landlord

Our website is easy to use, available 24 hours per day, and delivers instant, inexpensive results that comply with FCRA and Fair Housing Act requirements. See our Success Stories at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/SuccessStories2.aspx.

We also have a free monthly e-newsletter that contains information to help homeowners maintain and lease their residential properties more effectively. To receive the e-newsletter, please visit http://www.landlord2landlord.com/ezinesignup.aspx.

Using Credit Summary Reports In Your Rental Application Review Process

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:12:43 -0500

Using Credit Summary Reports In Your Rental Application Review Process
by Lisa Wells

If you've been paying attention to the tenant screening industry over the last few years, you've noticed that all three credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Transunion, have stricter requirements for businesses that wish to obtain credit reports for tenant screening or leasing decision purposes. These requirements were made stricter in light of the risk to consumers for identity theft and other misuse of their personal information by the inappropriate use and/or access to individual credit reports.

The upside to stricter requirements for obtaining credit reports is obviously increased protection of consumer information. The downside for small property managers and landlords who operate their residential rental company as a home-based business is that it is now extremely difficult to obtain full credit reports containing trade line information when reviewing a rental application.

Landlord2Landlord has recently introduced a new credit summary report that may be helpful to small property managers and landlords who operate from a home-based business. The press release highlighting this new service is below. Best wishes for your residential rental business - we would love to be of service for your tenant screening needs!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Landlord2Landlord Launches Decision-Only Tenant Credit Reporting Service
Credit Summary Risk Recommendation [CSRR] Aids Small Landlords and Property Managers

Woodstock, GA, October 9, 2007 - Landlord2Landlord, a residential and commercial tenant screening company, has launched a new service - Credit Summary Risk Recommendation [CSRR] - which is designed for small landlords and property managers who wish to review credit score information on prospective renters, but do not wish to receive the rental applicant's full credit report.

"We've responded to a tremendous number of clients who have asked for this kind of service, as the credit bureaus have become more stringent in their requirements for home-based residential rental companies that have a business need to review rental applicant credit history," says Lisa Wells, President of Landlord2Landlord, "Landlord2Landlord's new CSRR reports provide key information to guide a leasing decision while offering cost-effective and innovative tenant screening solutions to small property managers and landlords."

The Credit Summary Risk Recommendation report costs $12.95 and provides an individual's credit score with a risk recommendation level based on the credit. Clients who have not had a physical site inspection may receive CSRR reports. Landlords and property managers who wish to receive full consumer credit reports for tenant screening purposes from any of the three credit bureaus [Experian, Transunion or Equifax] must successfully complete a physical site inspection before gaining access to individual credit history containing trade line information.

To view a sample Credit Summary Risk Recommendation report, please visit http://www.l2l2l.com/pdf/decisionexample.pdf.

About Landlord2Landlord

Landlord2Landlord is a residential and commercial tenant screening company that partners with property management companies and homeowner associations to help communities reduce neighborhood crime, and to protect home and business owners from renters with criminal backgrounds or a history of evictions and poor credit. We've offered credit reports, criminal records and bad debt reporting services since 1997. Our website is easy to use, available 24 hours per day, and delivers instant, inexpensive results that comply with FCRA and Fair Housing Act requirements. For more information, visit http://www.landlord2landlord.com/ or sign up for our monthly e-newsletter at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/ezinesignup.aspx.

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For more articles like this, please join our Newsletter.

Becoming a Builder's #1 Ally: Real Estate Tactics for a Slow Market

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:23:27 -0500

Becoming a Builder's #1 Ally: Real Estate Tactics for a Slow Market
By Lisa Wells

A recent BusinessWeek article titled "Homebuilders: Hitting Bottom at Last?" [http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/sep2007/pi20070914_611413.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives] illustrates the drastic measures homebuilders are using to sell new houses that are standing empty. Aggressive sales tactics are not only a sign of how desperate homebuilders are to unload their excess inventory, they also signal an opportunity for realtors and homebuilders to become strong allies- by teaming up to rent unsold property.

Ask The Right Questions To Solve Your Real Estate Sales Issue

The article asks the question "How much further will prices fall?" However, relationship-savvy real estate agents should capitalize on this opportunity to approach the residential construction industry with another question instead - "Can I help solve your inventory problem with a creative approach?"

The Perfect Storm Creates The Perfect Opportunity

While the article is correct in stating that "an end to falling prices-along with a boost in sales-is certainly what homebuilders are hoping for," it also points out that "more big sales like Hovnanian's big weekend blowout may be necessary before Americans buy up the huge supply of homes on the market. In July, there were so many existing homes on the market that it would have taken more than nine months to sell them all off."

An inventory overload combined with the disappearance of sub-prime purchaser market creates the perfect storm for real estate sales, but it also fosters the perfect environment for realtor-managed rental communities, as sub-prime buyers that can no longer afford their variable interest rate mortgage will be forced to rent instead.

Combine Forces to Do What Each Of You Does Best

As a realtor, you are an expert in the local community and what people are looking for based on their needs according to age, dependents, income level, commuting habits, etc. And builders are an expert in the characteristics of a house that appeal to different demographics as well. You, the realtor, specialize in marketing. Builders give you the product to promote.

By joining forces, you can help the builder address their financial issues that go hand-in-hand with excess inventory, and your assistance may result in an income stream through property management that will boost your sales commissions. [I could make so many Active Rain puns here, but I won't.]

Ask your local builders if you can help in advertising their new houses as rentals, and talk to them about employing creative leasing strategies that might transition into sales over time, such as lease-purchase options.

NOTE: If you are facilitating a rental business, please recommend a thorough background check on rental applicants to review their criminal, credit and eviction history BEFORE making a leasing decision. Online background checks, whether you use the Landlord2Landlord tenant screening service or another, are the cheapest, easiest and fastest form of tenant risk protection available for the rental property and its' owner.

Build Long-Term Relationships Thru Problem Solving

Besides the obvious financial benefits to helping builders in renting unsold houses, by reaching out to an industry peer in need, you will lay the foundation for a partnership that has the potential to grow into a long-term sales advantage. Look at it this way -- by handling rental listings, you may find yourself in the right place for future business on either side of the rental transaction. The temporary benefits of receiving a fee for rental management can transcend into ongoing referrals as a sales agent, or as a buyer agent for builders who are looking for land or property to renovate.

Not only that, but it makes you feel good to help someone in need with the skills that you have learned as a realtor. Use the market to your advantage, and reach out to people who can easily turn into repeat clients and referrers for your business!

So what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone and offer your real estate marketing help to home builders in your community today!

Additional Resources

If you are a real estate agent who also will handle rental listings for property owners and home builders, we're glad to add your contact information to Landlord2Landlord's resource directory that is used by property managers and real estate owners. Simply reply with your interest and include the following contact details:

Category: Real Estate Agent/Broker

Name:

Website Address:

Email:

Phone:

Description: [be sure include the area that you service please]

Please see http://www.landlord2landlord.com/HelpfulLinks.aspx for examples.

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About Landlord2Landlord
Landlord2Landlord (http://www.landlord2landlord.com/) is a residential tenant screening company that partners with property management companies and homeowner associations to help communities reduce neighborhood crime, and to protect homeowners from renters with criminal backgrounds or a history of evictions and poor credit.

Landlord2Landlord Is Seeking Referral Partners - Protect Your Rental Property Clients & Earn Commission

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:54:58 -0500

Landlord2Landlord Is Seeking Affiliate/Affinity Partners
By Lisa Wells

Has your income dropped due to the mortgage industry meltdown? Are you looking for ways to increase your referrals as real estate sales continue to slow? Consider recommending http://www.landlord2landlord.com/ as a risk management resource for your rental property clients!

Our tenant screening and bad debt reporting services can provide some of the most cost-effective tools that landlords and property managers have to prevent renter-related fraud, property damage, crime and lost income.

If you are a real estate industry professional, and have a rolodex of investment or rental property contacts, we'd like to talk to you. Landlord2Landlord offers an ongoing revenue share program to active business referrers, and we will give your clients a discount on their Landlord2Landlord membership as well.

Three Advantages of the Landlord2Landlord Affiliate Program

1. Increase your ongoing revenue stream:

Bring in additional high margin revenue from your existing client base! If you have a growing list of rental property owners and/or managers, encouraging them to use Landlord2Landlord for renter background checks, credit reports, eviction history and bad debt reporting can result in a quarterly revenue stream for your business.

2. Differentiate your services:

When you go the extra mile to protect your clients' rental property investments by giving them ways to reduce renter turnover, renter crime and unpaid rental bills, your clients will see you as more than a property resource - you will become a business resource as well, and one they're likely to endorse to peers or friends.

Our affiliate program is designed to help you create competitive advantages in the scope of your services, enabling you to create higher customer loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals.

3. Simplify your referral commission process:

The Landlord2Landlord affiliate program makes it easier than ever to earn money from your client referrals. With no investment, you can offer tenant risk management solutions that require no maintenance or support on your behalf. Clients will receive a discount on our services simply by entering your unique promotional code on their Landlord2Landlord account application.

How Tenant Screening Protects Rental Property Owners and Managers

When your clients or members are encouraged to include Landlord2Landlord as part of their standard rental application process, their business may benefit in the following ways:

1. Increased profitablity of the property management/rental business by leasing to more individuals without a criminal record, a history of evictions or poor credit

2. Additional liability protection against renter lawsuits

3. Improved safety within the rental community

4. Reduced renter fraud and/or renter debt

5. Lower renter turnover

And it's inexpensive, quick and easy to do online! Most of our clients pass the cost of the renter background check on to the rental applicant as part of of their application fee.

It doesn't take much to explain the benefits of tenant screening to your rental property clients - especially when they have invested so much money in the property and their rental business. So what's stopping you from spreading the good news?

Please contact us at lisa@l2l2l.com or 678-391-9137 if you would like more information on the Landlord2Landlord Affiliate Program. We appreciate your interest in Landlord2Landlord!

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Landlord2Landlord Partners with Internet-Based Community Network Provider - Neighborhood Link

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:35:04 -0500

Landlord2Landlord Partners with Internet-Based Community Network Provider - Neighborhood Link
by Lisa Wells

A few weeks ago we posted a blog on ActiveRain [see http://activerain.com/blogsview/182686/Neighborhood-Link-Bringing-Communities] promoting NeighborhoodLink, which is a free website management service for homeowner associations and community organizations to help them communicate more effectively with their residents and community members.

As a result of that effort, Landlord2Landlord has partnered with NeighborhoodLink to contribute educational articles for landlords and property managers for the resource section available on all NeighborhoodLink-hosted community websites. The press release announcing our partnership is below.

Realtors, we hope you'll take the time to visit NeighborhoodLink to see how this service can also raise your business visibility in the communities that you serve.

Press Release: Strategic Relationship Provides Risk Management Resources to Landlords, Community Associations and Property Managers

Woodstock, GA, September 27, 2007 - Landlord2Landlord, a residential and commercial tenant screening company announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Neighborhood Link, an internet-based community network that enables neighborhoods in participating metropolitan areas to create their own free, interactive Web sites.

Landlord2Landlord will provide educational content for landlords and property managers that will appear on Neighborhood Link's network of free neighborhood and community organization websites. Neighborhood Link will publish these articles as reference resources for their users who wish to learn more about credit reports, renter background checks and other property and risk management resources.

"Neighborhood Link is a tremendous resource for community managers and neighborhood associations across the country," says Lisa Wells, President of Landlord2Landlord, "Their network of over 36,000 community websites is the perfect avenue to provide education on topics that help landlords and property managers to improve their rental business while protecting their community."

"We are thrilled to partner with Landlord2Landlord. Their services are designed for individual landlords up to large property management companies," said Don Bachner, CEO and President of Neighborhood Link, Inc. "We value the educational content they have contributed to our resource guide on property management and rental safety tips. Our community members continually look for resources on these topics, and the services that Landlord2Landlord provides."

About Landlord2Landlord
Landlord2Landlord is a residential and commercial tenant screening company that partners with property management companies and homeowner associations to help communities reduce neighborhood crime, and to protect home and business owners from renters with criminal backgrounds or a history of evictions and poor credit. We've offered credit reports, criminal records and bad debt reporting services since 1997. Our website is easy to use, available 24 hours per day, and delivers instant, inexpensive results that comply with FCRA and Fair Housing Act requirements. For more information, visit http://www.landlord2landlord.com/ or sign up for our monthly e-newsletter at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/ezinesignup.aspx.

About Neighborhood Link
Neighborhood Link is an Internet-based community network that enables neighborhoods in participating metropolitan areas to create their own free, interactive Web sites. Neighborhood Link, which launched in 1998, becomes fully integrated into communities through partnerships with local governments, neighborhood groups and community organizations. Denver-based Neighborhood Link is currently deployed in over 50 U.S. metropolitan regions, hundreds of cities and has more than 36,000 neighborhoods online. For more information about obtaining free neighborhood or clubs and organizations Web sites or about Neighborhood Link visit www.neighborhood.link com or call 1-888-241-0123.

How To Control Water Expenses & Promote Conservation on Multifamily Properties With Submetering

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:44:39 -0500

For more articles like this, please join our Newsletter.
SUBMETERING: CONTROLLING EXPENSES AND PROMOTING CONSERVATION
by Mark Jarman, President, Inovonics Wireless Corp.

We all know multifamily property owners are business people driven by the bottom line, and you are unlikely to adopt new technologies in your communities without a tangible benefit to your books. The practice of submetering, or transferring variable utility costs to individual residents, is a proven, reliable and cost-effective way to increase profitability and encourage conservation at multifamily communities.

Submetering is an investment that's generally considered an easy decision because the technology typically pays for itself within five to nine months. For a 250-unit community, a water submetering system would put an average of more than $5,000 back on the books every month.

As the cost of water continues to rise, implementing a wireless submetering system to recover utility costs becomes a simple way to recoup these ongoing expenses. Future rate increases are inevitable. In fact, majority state utilities across the country are calling for rate increases due to supply shortages and to improve on antiquated infrastructures.

In addition to the financial benefits, submetering also encourages water conservation, which is a very hot topic in the United States. Submetering accurately captures each unit's monthly water consumption and residents are billed according to their usage. Residents become much more responsible for their own consumption when they know a bill is going to arrive at the end of the month. Submetering technology can even help owners conserve water by identifying leaks, which according to the American Water Works Association (AWWA) account for 15 percent of indoor water consumption. By pinpointing and fixing these leaks, owners can effectively reduce wasted water and prevent future water damage.

In recent years, most states have adopted and implemented a water conservation programs to reduce water use. Submetering at multifamily communities can contribute to the overall all reduction of water use in the United States. In the National Multiple Family Submetering and Allocation Billing Program Study, submetering was found to achieve water savings of 15.3% compared to properties at which owners did not separately bill residents for individual water usage.

Aside from the obvious return on investment and conservation benefits, there are growing trends that support a broader implementation of submetering than ever before. Wireless networks, integrated technology and the adaptability of technology all build on the value of a submetering installation.

Wireless networks are everywhere, in our homes, at our workplaces and even at our coffee shops. The proliferation of wireless is for good reason: compared to wired networks they are easier to install which equates to a smaller initial investment and less disruption to residents. The systems are also exceptionally reliable and easy to maintain effectively reducing service costs.

Although this radio frequency (RF) technology differs from Wi-Fi or cellular networks, the fundamentals of the solution and the benefits it delivers are similar. This rapidly growing class of technology, which uses wireless sensors, is creating cost-effective solutions for numerous applications in various industries including the multifamily marketplace.

Emerging Submetering Trends

The multifamily marketplace is witnessing the emergence of multiple applications on the same wireless platform. Submetering is often the first application to leverage this type of wireless network because installation is simple and there is an immediate return on investment. Once a wireless submetering network is installed at a property, there is an entire host of other cost-effective applications an owner can integrate into the system. The availability of emerging energy- and water-conservation tools such as vacant-apartment temperature sensors, humidity sensors and common-area security monitoring, increase a property's efficiency and profitability.

With the increased functionality of the wireless network, in the near future owners will also be able to offer resident retention amenities such as in-unit security. As more residents choose not to establish standard telephone lines in their unit, wireless networks make it possible to utilize a phone line operated by the property to call a central monitoring station to report alarms onsite. These are amenities that otherwise would be difficult and costly to install, but when these applications operate on a single wireless network, owners can leverage the initial investment helping to boost the overall ROI.

Keeping up with technological advances has traditionally been expensive due to reoccurring installation costs for systems built on different platforms. One way to reduce these costs is by investing in a single infrastructure that makes plugging in other technologies more affordable and with greater ease. Wireless is the only technology that makes it possible to utilize an existing infrastructure to add other "plug and play" amenities.

When an owner invests in a wireless technology infrastructure, it shouldn't be limited to one application that requires a stand-alone infrastructure. Wireless submetering typically pays for itself and the entire wireless infrastructure in approximately nine months, depending on the cost of water. So, it only makes sense that other technologies such as security get piggybacked on a wireless network originally installed for submetering. By leveraging a system that is capable of operating multiple applications on a single network, owners can more easily define each application's ROI and offer a variety of resident amenities cost effectively.

Submetering alone is enticing to owners for the mere facts that you are accurately and fairly capturing the cost of your residents' water use while encouraging conservation. But, with the enhancements and cost-effectiveness of a wireless submetering installation, combined with the added benefit of affordable resident-retention applications and the "future-proofing" of your community, submetering at multifamily communities truly is an easy decision.

For more information on submetering, please visit http://www.inovonics.com.

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About the Author
Mark Jarman is the president of Inovonics Wireless Corporation, a global leader in wireless sensor networks that offers products and systems for submetering, security, life safety, government and other monitoring and control applications, and a contributing writer to Landlord2Landlord.

Increase Your Active Rain Article Visibility With Bookmarking Websites

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:48:33 -0500

Increase Your Active Rain Article Visibility With Bookmarking Websites
By Lisa Wells

Did you know you can re-post or link to your Active Rain articles on a variety of social bookmarking websites to increase your online/internet exposure? Why wouldn't you want to share "the good news" that you've taken the time to prepare?

This article shows you how to take advantage of free, easy tools that will increase your web presence with a simple click of a button or two. The secret lies within social bookmarking websites. While Active Rain is the leading web site of its' kind dedicated to the real estate industry, the resources in this article will be tremendously helpful in raising your visibility online as well.

Note: I am not an expert on social bookmarking, just a user like all of you. I am providing this information as a learning resource only.

What is Social Bookmarking?

A social bookmarking website is designed to allow you to store and share bookmarks on the web, instead of inside your browser. According to a leading social bookmarking website, del.icio.us - "this has several advantages. First, you can get to your bookmarks from anywhere, no matter whether you're at home, at work, in a library, or on a friend's computer.

Second, you can share your bookmarks publicly, so your friends, coworkers, and other people can view them for reference, amusement, collaboration, or anything else.

Third, you can find other people on these networks who have interesting bookmarks and add their links to your own collection. Everyone chooses to save their bookmarks for a reason. You have access to the links that everyone wants to remember. You can see whether two people have chosen to remember a link, or whether it was useful enough for a thousand people to remember -- which may help you find things that are useful for you, too."

In the simplest terms, social bookmarking websites help you direct more traffic to your posted articles, where ever they reside -- on Active Rain, your company website, your Myspace page [if it's public], etc.

Save the list of TAGS that you add to your Active Rain articles!!!!

TAGS, or keywords that describe the topic of your article, are important to save when you post your blogs on Active Rain, as this is the reference that search engines use to pull up your article when someone is looking for information on the topic. When you add your Active Rain articles to other social networks sites, these websites will ask you to enter tags describing the article topic - so saving them when you post the Active Rain article will reduce the time it takes for you to repost or classify the article on these sites.

Personally, I save a copy of every Active Rain article that we post on the Landlord2Landlord blog as a word document for marketing purposes. I simply cut and paste the tags from my Active Rain blog into the top of the word doc for easy reference.

How do TAGS help readers find my articles?

Tags are one-word descriptors that you can assign to your bookmarks or articles. They're a little bit like keywords. Tagging can be a lot easier and more flexible than fitting your information into preconceived categories or folders. Find out more about tags, including some examples and ideas about how you can use them.

After Saving Your Articles with Tags, Go to Haliboo

Haliboo [http://haliboo.com/] is a social bookmarking distribution service that will expedite your content distribution to the following list of websites. I've included a glossary describing some of the sites list below, although some are so famous they need no explanation!

Note: Please use discretion and apply some thought to your audience when choosing sites from the below list. Facebook, for example, targets primarily high school and college kids - not the right audience for articles on escrow accounts and mortgage re-financing. Remember, the key to successful communication is making it relevant and real to your audience.

Haliboo also offers a link-adding button that you can insert on your Active Rain articles to simplify article distribution to the following websites. Here it is: <a href="http://www.haliboo.com/" onclick="this.href='http://www.haliboo.com/bookmark.php?url='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title);"><img src="http://www.haliboo.com/images/bookmark.png" width="132" height="17" border="0" title="Add to social bookmarking services" /></a>

Add your Active Rain blog articles to: (choose a service and click it)

•· Google

•· Ask

•· Facebook

•· Del.icio.us

•· Digg

•· Live Bookmarks

•· Technorati

•· Yahoo MyWeb

•· Netscape

•· Newsvine

•· Tailrank

•· Backflip

•· LinkaGOGO

•· Wink

•· Feed Me Links

•· Spurl

•· StumbleUpon

•· Blue Dot

•· Magnolia

•· Diigo

•· Furl

•· Shadows

•· Blink

•· Simpy

•· Fark

•· Slashdot

•· Blogmarks

•· Reddit

•· Mister Wong

•· Segnalo

•· Netvouz

The following descriptions of the above websites are provided by Wikipedia - http://www.wikipedia.org/. For detailed information on each website, please visit Wikipedia or go to the website directly.

Active Rain members: If you have experience with posting on these websites, please feel free to comment below with your tips, advice and opinions of the services. My personal favorite so far is Newsvine.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG and LSE: GGEA) is an American public corporation, specializing in Internet search and online advertising. The company is based in Mountain View, California, and has 13,748 full-time employees (as of June 30, 2007).^[3] Google's mission statement is, "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."

http://www.google.com/

Ask: Ask.com was originally known as Ask Jeeves, where "Jeeves" is the name of the gentleman's personal gentleman", or valet (illustrated by Marcos Sorenson), fetching answers to any question asked. The character was based on Jeeves, Bertie Wooster's fictional valet from the works of P. G. Wodehouse. The original idea behind Ask Jeeves was to allow users to get answers to questions posed in everyday, natural language. Ask.com was the first commercial question-answering search engine for the World Wide Web. It supports a variety of user queries in plain English (natural language), as well as traditional keyword searching and strives to be more intuitive and user-friendly than other search engines. In other words, when you ask a question, it searches for the answer.

http://www.ask.com/

Facebook is a social networking website which was launched on February 4, 2004. Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Harvard graduate and former Ardsley High School student, in 2004. Initially the membership was restricted to students of Harvard College. Since September 11, 2006, it has been made available to any email address^[2] user who inputs a certain age range. Users can select to join one or more participating networks, such as a high school, place of employment, or geographic region.

http://www.facebook.com/

Del.icio.us: The website del.icio.us (pronounced as "delicious") is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks. The site was founded by Joshua Schachter in late 2003, and was acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. A non-hierarchical keyword categorization system is used on del.icio.us where users can tag each of their bookmarks with a number of freely chosen keywords (cf. folksonomy). A combined view of everyone's bookmarks with a given tag is available; for instance, the URL "http://del.icio.us/tag/wiki" displays all of the most recent links tagged "wiki" (more about navigating tags). Its collective nature makes it possible to view bookmarks added by similar-minded users. Many people use the del.icio.us linkrolls, tagrolls and network badges to display their links and information on their weblogs. Others use the RSS feeds and "daily blog posting" feature to do this.

http://del.icio.us/

Digg is a community-based popularity website with an emphasis on technology and science articles, recently expanding to a broader range of categories such as politics and entertainment. It combines social bookmarking, blogging, and syndication with a form of non-hierarchical, democratic editorial control. News stories and websites are submitted by users, and then promoted to the front page through a user-based ranking system. Users vote to decide which articles to keep on the site. This differs from the hierarchical editorial system that many other news sites employ.

http://www.digg.com/

Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs, competing with Google, Yahoo and IceRocket. As of August 2007, Technorati indexes over 94 million weblogs. The name Technorati is a portmanteau, pointing to the technological version of literati or intellectuals.

http://technorati.com/

Newsvine is a website consisting of community-driven news stories and opinions. Users write articles and save links to external content, vote, comment and chat on article pages created by both users and by journalists from the Associated Press, ESPN and New Scientist.

http://www.newsvine.com/

Tailrank.com is a site that provides a feed of content on the World Wide Web that's being discussed across the blogosphere. The site continuously scans blogs that have been registered with it, and composes an index of "top stories" that have been cited by the various blogs it has scanned. The focus of the site is the news items themselves, but users are also able to see snippets of the various blog citations that made the story popular. The list of top stories changes over time; newer items are given a higher score than older items, and more popular items are given a higher score than less popular items. Items high on the list tend to be articles or posts that have triggered a lot of blog activity over the last day or so. Because the site's index allows one to follow the spread of ideas from blog to blog, it can be considered a memetracker.

http://tailrank.com/

Backflip: From the Backflip website - Backflip is a free service currently being run by volunteers. A few years ago, Backflip was a startup with funding and a bright future. Economic woes at the start of the 21st century forced the parent company to make a decision. Either close the site down, or sell the Backflip assets to a few dedicated ex-Backflip employees to continue running the site. In their wisdom the board and founders decided on the latter. We are now a privately owned California based corporation. We're still called Backflip, although the original Backflip (a Delaware corporation) has since gone out of business.

http://www.backflip.com/login.ihtml

From the Linkagogo website: linkaGoGo, DBA is a Boston metropolitan (USA) based business. Its founder started the linkaGoGo online favorites managing service in the spring of 2001. Initially the original idea for an online favorites service in 1999 was dropped after reading an article about existing online bookmarking services in the New York Times. However a year later the idea was revisited after realizing that other services were too slow or showed such a lack of features that they were practically unusable. The goal for creating the linkaGoGo service was to make it so fast, feature-rich and customizable that people would consider it making their home page. To achieve this goal we designed it from the ground-up to be fast enough to rival the native bookmark lookup in a browser. Our turbo mode is an example of such design. We added a lot of features by using it ourselves a lot (hence the link reminder feature) and listening carefully (we answer within 24 hours) to the need of our members (therefor we support now more then 7 different browser bookmark formats). Besides the service to store your bookmarks online we also provide an online bookmarking service to convert your bookmarks between the different bookmark formats.

http://www.linkagogo.com/

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Realtors: Grow Your Business With Self Storage

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:25:49 -0500

This article is also viewable at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/Newsletters.aspx.

Realtors: Grow Your Business With Self Storage
by Lisa Wells

The explosive growth of the Self Storage industry has created a wealth of marketing opportunities for real estate agents across the country. Take a few moments to consider the available sales angles that appear when you expand your relationships with self storage facilities in your real estate coverage area.

First the Facts
According to the Self Storage Association, the self storage industry has been the fastest-growing sector of the United States commercial real estate industry over the period of the last 30 years, when you count the number of new companies, new facilities and amount of total square footage added. The US Census Bureau states that as of 1Q 2007, more than 50,000 "primary" self storage facilities exist in the United States, with "primary" meaning that self storage is the "primary" source of business revenue. When you count mini-storage companies as well, that total reaches nearly 60,000 businesses.

But here's where it gets interesting.

The top 10 self storage companies, including the 4 public companies (Public Storage, Extra Space, Sovran and U-Store-It REITS - Real Estate Investment Trusts) in the self storage industry only own and operate 6,200 storage centers, according to the Self Storage Association and public data obtained through company websites. 80% of the 60,000+ self storage companies are owned and operated by more than 21,000 small business entrepreneurs.

Explore Your Self Storage Network
Chances are good that a self storage sales opportunity is in your own backyard, as 83.9 percent of all US counties (or 2,634 out of 3,141) have at least one "primary" self storage facility. See for yourself at http://www.selfstorage.org/.

The Self Storage Association offers a storage locator tool on their homepage that allows you to type in your zip code to receive a list of nearby storage properties. Note: Only facilities operated by dues paid members of the SSA and whose owners adhere to the SSA Code of Ethics are listed in this resource.

Compiling your own list of local storage facilities will help your real estate sales in the following ways.

1. Self Storage Entrepreneurs Are Key Sales Contacts For Realtors
Stop to consider what your average commercial property or rental property investor looks like. Most real estate entrepreneurs dabble in more than one type of property investment, or build their portfolio over time by starting in one area, such as rental houses, and expanding into commercial property, raw land purchases, etc.

Taking the time to familiarize yourself with local self storage owner/operators will position your real estate business to grow alongside their investment and expansion needs. Then go one step further! Pick up the phone to schedule a time to introduce yourself to the owner/operators, and ask if you may be of service to them and their clients.

Your local storage facility owner/operators may very well be in the market for buying or selling large tracts of property, existing storage facilities or other types of property such as multi-family housing or commercial real estate. Often, a storage facility website will tell you if they are in the market for property locations.

Why? The Self Storage industry took more than 25 years to build its first billion square feet of space in this country. However, it added the second billion square feet in just 8 years (from 1998-2005), with an overall property expansion of 35% in just five years. Market your real estate services effectively to entrepreneurs who own and operate self storage facilities, and your property sales may mirror their explosive growth.

2. Self Storage Customers Need Your Services Too!
If you already have cultivated a relationship with the self-storage providers in your area, asking for a referral to their clients is obviously much easier and a no-brainer. Consider offering a referral spiff for client leads from self-storage facilities that result in a closed sale, as there's no better thanks than a reward for their efforts!

And, when you expand your knowledge as a self-storage location expert, you become a better agent for consumers who seek your skills when they relocate to the area, or are in need of a self-storage facility when buying, selling or building a house. Those living in apartments may consult you when they are in need of a larger living space or ready to make a home purchase decision.

Hint: You can target these types of clients by authoring http://www.localism.com/ posts on self-storage resources in your community.

Don't forget to consider the clients of Boat and RV Storage Centers as well!
When someone invests in an RV, many times they are moving into the retirement phase of life and may wish to consolidate, rent or sell their home as they plan to embark on lengthy travel adventures.

Those who are storing a boat may also need your services to locate the perfect second home or vacation home in their favorite leisure area. [See another Landlord2Landlord blog: http://activerain.com/blogsview/190696/Investing-in-Rental-Property for more sales advice on this type of client].

Closing Thoughts
Real estate is about being in the right place at the right time. Boosting your self storage knowledge and industry relationships can position you for ongoing opportunities on both sides of the property transaction table.

Have an idea on this topic to share? Please feel free to comment below.

More information on the Self Storage Industry is available at http://www.selfstorage.org/pdf/FactSheet.pdf.

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About Landlord2Landlord
Landlord2Landlord (http://www.landlord2landlord.com/) is a residential and commercial tenant screening company that partners with property management companies and homeowner associations to help communities reduce neighborhood crime, and to protect home and business owners from renters with criminal backgrounds or a history of evictions and poor credit.

Property Management Advice: Will a Wireless LAN help fill your rental units?

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:17:09 -0500

Property Management Advice: Will a Wireless LAN help fill your rental units?
by Annette West

Part One-Smaller Complexes: Part Two for Larger Complexes will be published tomorrow.

A recent article in the Las Cruces Sun News (08/12/05, page 1C) discussed the increase in customer traffic a few local restaurants and most coffee shops are experiencing with the addition of free high speed wireless Internet access. A whole new type of customer is walking in to some of these restaurants.

Can landlords replicate this success story? Would tenants be more likely to rent if free wireless high speed Internet access was offered with the apartment? And if so, what would it cost?

According to the National Real Estate Investor (August 10 2004), Internet cafes are the top amenity being offered at A+ properties and are a "must have" to stay competitive. http://www.nreionline.com/mag/real_estate_showtime_amenities/

Many of the A+ apartment complexes in Las Cruces offer high speed Internet, but few for free. Says Ben Bohannon, Assistant Property Manager at Puerta Villa at Sonoma Ranch: "Many prospective residents are asking for high-speed Internet access in the upper end communities. At this property, our residents pay for high-speed themselves but at some of our other properties, we offer reduced Internet access rates to increase occupancy. "

Adds Celeste Rivera, Casa Bandera Property Manager: "We have Internet hot spots to let residents connect to the Internet from the pool, the clubhouse, and of course from their room. Offering free high speed wireless Internet a HUGE selling point for us."

The consensus: students, retirees and professionals demand high speed Internet access. [Editor's Note: As internet junkies, ActiveRain members can certainly attest to this!]

Clearly, if people are willing to hook up their laptop in Jack in the Box or Arby's, the attraction of being able to do so in their apartment or rental house is high. And to do so for free is even better.

So what is involved to you as a landlord, and how much does it cost?

If you have a smaller complex, you can use what I will call a simple wireless network.

Step one is to get the highest speed Internet connection available from an Internet access provider. (Given the prospect of multiple users, you want the highest speed possible to avoid bottlenecks.)

Internet service providers (ISP) in Las Cruces include Comcast Cable, Qwest and, ZiaNet, among others. Qwest, for example, offers a business DSL account including Internet Service Provider and, if you sign up before October 8 2005, free use of an external modem/router for one year, for a total fee of $53.99 per month. After one year, you can buy the modem for $50 or rent it for $5 per month.

Speeds offered depend on your location. For one complex at 809 West Van Patten, 7 megabits per second is available. At another, 808 North 17th Street, 1.5 megabits per second is offered.

At this point you will need a computer, access to and a cable or DSL external modem that ISP's provide for a fee. The modem will connect to the phone line for DSL or your cable TV jack. An external modem will let you later remove the computer and leave only the modem at the property. The modem should include wireless capabilities; if not, you will need to buy a wireless router ($50 to $100, available even at Wal-Mart).

Finally, an outside antenna (an unobtrusive small box that looks like a smoke detector) is recommended if your complex has more than 4 apartment units ($50 to $100). The wireless-capable modem or the wireless router will include a small antenna. If you have more than 4 units, you should unplug this antenna and instead plug-in the cable from your outside antenna.

Once you have the router and antenna in place, you will need to setup the router using the computer mentioned earlier and the router instruction manual.

As a general rule of thumb you will need one wireless router and one outside antenna per building. The multiple routers need to connect to each other using Ethernet cable, up to a maximum distance of 300 feet.

SIDEBAR:

When shopping for an outside antenna, make sure the plugs from the antenna match the router. Try to locate the router fairly close to the antenna as to minimize the number of walls you drill a hole for the antenna wire.

Some helpful router setup tips include turning the wireless option on, turning the encryption option off, and changing the name (SSID) of the router to make it unique to your complex, such as BuildingA or MyFourplex. The default channel, usually channel 6, should also be changed to a less commonly used channel to minimize interference.

In a situation with multiple routers, give each router a different channel.

Once everything is setup you should walk around the complex with your laptop and make sure the Internet is accessible. Then you can take your computer home and leave the modem and the other equipment. Occasionally you may need to reboot the router or the modem (reboot means turn off the equipment, leave it off for 30 seconds and then turn it back on) if you get complaints about access. Eventually the antenna, the modem or the router may need to be replaced.

Please note that this article outlines a fairly simple wireless network installation for 2 to 8 units and is not a substitute for the help of an experienced computer networking specialist. Next week we will discuss the setup options at a larger complex.

Cost to you as the landlord: One time fees of $100 to $200 per building for the router and antenna, $50 to $100 for the modem, Ethernet CAT-5 cable at $.70 per foot and any labor required to install the antenna and connect the routers. Each month you will pay your Internet access provider a fee, typically $40 to $60. If you add one new tenant one month faster because of the free high speed Internet access and assume rent is $400 per month, a wireless network quickly pays for itself.

About the Author
Annette West, CCIM, MBA, CPA, is a Las Cruces Commercial REALTOR® and can be reached at AWest@AnnetteWest.com, http://www.annettewest.com/ or at 505-644-1634. She is a contributing writer for Landlord2Landlord.

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This article is also viewable at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/Newsletters.aspx. For more articles like this, please join our Newsletter.

Real Estate Rock'N'Roll - Music To Get Your Sales Moving!

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:41:22 -0500

Real Estate Rock'N'Roll - Music To Get Your Sales Moving!
By Lisa Wells

Realtors: If you are planning an informational gathering for prospective clients, this is a great way to add a laugh or two while entertaining your group!! Feel free to use this list to help plan music for your next sales event....

Normally we reserve our blog for more serious topics that will educate or assist landlords and property managers. However, my friend Hillary emailed today with a special request - she's planning a conference for real estate agents and is hoping to jazz it up by playing rock'n'roll music between sessions. She's looking specifically for songs that have these words in the song title or are by artists with names that have "Real Estate", "Property" , "Title", "Home" and "House" in them.

I've included some below. Can you imagine the jokes that attendees will make about these?!

If you know of more songs, would you please comment with the name and artist??

Thanks in advance!

Property

Property Of Jesus
Artist:	Bob Dylan
Album:	Shot Of Love

Personal Property
Artist:	Def Leppard
Album:	Adrenalize

Ocean Front Property
Artist:	George Strait
Album:	50 Number Ones

Private Property
Artist:	Judas Priest
Album:	Priest...live

Property
Artist:	Kinks
Album:	State Of Confusion

Beach Side Property
Artist:	Modest Mouse
Album:	This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About

Real Estate

Sunny Day Real Estate
Artist:	Butch Walker
Album:	Letters

Real Estate
Artist:	Cypress Hill
Album:	Cypress Hill

Bucket Of Chicken
Artist:	Sunny Day Real Estate
Album:	Unknown

Unknown Title 1
Artist:	Beck
Album:	Unknown

The Title
Artist:	Ciara
Album:	Ciara

This Song Has No Title
Artist:	Elton John
Album:	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Rancho Deluxe End Title
Artist:	Jimmy Buffett
Album:	Rancho Deluxe Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

I Can Tell (when You're Telling Lies)
Artist:	John Wesley Harding
Album:	The Name Above The Title

House

House Of Pain And The Rising Sun
Artist:	House Of Pain
Album:	House Of Pain

Step Inside This House (step Inside My House)
Artist:	Lyle Lovett
Album:	Step Inside This House

House Of Love
Artist:	Amy Grant
Album:	House Of Love

House Behind A House
Artist:	Bob Seger
Album:	The Distance

Animal House
Artist:	Angie Martinez
Album:	Animal House

Come 2 My House
Artist:	Chaka Khan
Album:	Come 2 My House

Don't Dream It's Over
Artist:	Crowded House
Album:	Crowded House

Rock the House
Artist:	DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Album:	Rock the House

Beach House On The Moon
Artist:	Jimmy Buffett
Album:	Beach House On The Moon

House Carpenter
Artist:	Natalie Merchant
Album:	The House Carpenter's Daughter

Burning Down The House
Artist:	Tom Jones & The Cardigans
Album:	Burning Down The House [single]

Ladies In Da House
Artist:	Aaliyah
Album:	One In A Million

This House Is On Fire
Artist:	AC/DC
Album:	Flick Of The Switch

A House With No Curtains
Artist:	Alan Jackson
Album:	Everything I Love

Your House
Artist:	Alanis Morissette
Album:	Jagged Little Pill

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Questions Every Realtor Should Be Ready To Answer

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:49:13 -0500

For more articles like this, please join our Newsletter.

Questions Every Realtor Should Be Able To Answer
By Lisa Wells

MSN published a wonderful advisory article for prospective home purchasers today at http://realestate.msn.com/selling/Article2.aspx?cp-documentid=4855652&GT1=10431 . It encouraged consumers to ask the following questions of a realtor before selecting them as their agent. If you are an agent, you may want to take some time to read the story as it contains good points that can sharpen your marketing skills and sales approach.

The article's premise was that more than "600,000 new agents joined the National Association of Realtors during the real estate boom of the past few years, doubling its membership between 2000 and 2006." Stefan Swanepoel, an industry researcher and CEO of RealtyU, a network of agent-education schools in 42 states, was quoted in the story as saying, "That must mean that we have literally hundreds of thousands of agents that have never sold a house or have sold one to (perhaps) a family member or friend."

These questions were designed to help consumers gauge the ability and knowledge of any realtor they are considering to help them with a home sale or purchase.

1. May I see your resume?

2. What's your commission?

3. What makes you special?

4. How often will I hear from you?

5. What's your plan for marketing my home?

6. How many transactions did you complete last year?

7. What do you know about the neighborhoods where I want to live?

8. Are you a solo agent or part of a team?

If you are a relatively new agent, how would you overcome the experience factor that a more seasoned agent has?

What else would you advise prospective homebuyers to ask? ActiveRain members, in your comments below, would you please contribute additional questions that consumers should ask their realtors?

We will publish a consolidated question list as a reference resource on this blog as well as on our website at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/ to assist our clients who are landlords and property managers. In exchange for your help, we'll be glad to credit you as a contributor to the story and include your contact information for interested parties.

Thanks!!

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Why Rentals Can Increase Your Real Estate Sales

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:51:44 -0500

Why Rentals Can Increase Your Real Estate Sales
By Lisa Wells

With real estate sales slowing, an increasing number of ActiveRain agents are turning to rental business to fill sales gaps. Karen Ann Martin posted an encouraging blog on the topic at http://activerain.com/blogsview/202126/My-phone-is-ringing.

Look at it this way, by handling rental listings, you may find yourself in the right place for future business on either side of the rental transaction.

The property owner may decide to sell their rental units, or be in the market for additional property, and they will already have established a business relationship with you through the assistance you provide in their rental business.

And, the renter may eventually decide they wish to purchase a home instead of renting, and they will already know you from the rental experience.

There's no harm in advertising on your business cards and website that you are experienced in both home rentals and home sales.

Use the market to your advantage, and serve the needs of people who can easily turn into repeat clients and referrers for your business! Consider how managing rental listings can help your business grow.

NOTE: If you are facilitating a rental business, please recommend a thorough background check on rental applicants to review their criminal, credit and eviction history BEFORE making a leasing decision. Online background checks, whether you use our service or another, are the cheapest, easiest and fastest form of risk protection available for the rental property and its' owner.

Additional resources:
If you are a real estate agent who also will handle rental listings for property owners, I'm glad to add your contact information to Landlord2Landlord's resource directory that is used by property managers and real estate owners to help with rental leads. Simply reply with your interest and include the following contact details:

Category: Real Estate Agent/Broker

Name:

Website Address:

Email:

Phone:

Description: [be sure include the area that you service please]

Please see http://www.landlord2landlord.com/HelpfulLinks.aspx for examples.

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Does Solar Power Make Sense for Property Owners?

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:00:39 -0500

This article is also viewable at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/Newsletters.aspx. For more articles like this, please join our Newsletter.

Does Solar Power Make Sense for Property Owners?
by Annette West, CCIM, MBA, CPA

The recent Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed right here in New Mexico at Sandia National Laboratories on August 9, gives tax credits to consumers and tax deductions to businesses who make energy conservation improvements. (It also gives credits for buying hybrid gas/electric cars, but with a catch, as we will discuss later.) Remember-a tax credit reduces your income tax bill dollar for dollar, as opposed to a tax deduction, which reduces taxable income and thus to a lesser extent your tax bill.

In order for understand the tax credits and deductions, an explanation of solar energy terminology is useful. Homeowners can get tax credits on two different types of systems: photovoltaic systems and thermal systems.

A photovoltaic system creates electricity that you can use for lighting, and commonly consists of solar panels.

A thermal system heats water pumped through pipes on your roof and stores this water in an insulated tank. The hot water can then be used not only for bathing and dish and clothes washing but also for radiant heat and to heat your swimming pool. (Note: systems heating swimming pool and hot tubs exclusively are not eligible for tax credits.)

Since we have lots of sunshine in Las Cruces, I thought it would be fun to calculate the cost and savings of a photovoltaic system for a 1300 square foot house. (If you would like to do this for your house, I recommend going to http://www.altenergystore.com/.)

The first step is to determine how much energy you use by adding the watts of power consumed by your appliances. I quickly learned that I could save myself the cost of a solar panel if I dry my clothes outside. An electric dryer uses a whopping 4,000 watts per hour, as opposed to a typical refrigerator which uses 475 watts per hour. Our 2 person no children (but computer intensive) household uses approximately 1,680 watt-hours per day.

The second step is to divide the watts used per day by the lowest number of sunshine hours per day predicted for your city, or the closest city in their system. The resulting number gives you the total watts your solar panels will need to generate; in my case, 3500 watts.

The last step is to look at the solar panels available and determine how many panels you need based on their watt output. I would need to buy 21 panels that generate 170 watts per panel for a cost of $17,427.

How much would this save me? The National Renewable Energy Laboratory offers a calculator called PVWATTS at http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/codes_algs/PVWATTS/version1/ that computes energy savings by city and state.

I would save an estimated $585.08 per year by installing the $17,427 system.

But wait-I get a tax credit. The federal tax credit applies for systems installed in 2006 and 2007, and gives you back 30 cents on every dollar you spend up to a total credit of $2,000 for a photovoltaic system. This reduces my cost to $17,427 less $2,000 or $15,427; the system would pay for itself in 28 years.

When you consider that the average homeowner moves every 5 years or less, installing a system with a 28 year payback does not make much economic sense. Even with the federal tax credit, solar energy does not seem cost effective. Until New Mexico offers state energy tax credits to homeowners, the 30% off sale may be one sale you want to miss.

(Note: New Mexico does offer a Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit of one cent per kilowatt-hour for companies that generate electricity from wind, solar, or biomass.)

However, other breaks in the tax bill are worth noting. If you make energy saving improvements in the next two years, you could get back as much as $500, the maximum tax credit for all improvements during the two year period. Improvements include:

* Added insulation: 10% of cost up to $500

* Replacement windows: 10% of cost up to $200

* Furnaces and boilers: $150 for qualifying units

* Central air conditioning units: $300 for qualifying units

* Fans for heating and cooling systems: $50 for qualifying units

* Water heaters: $300 for qualifying units

For more details, see http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits

One last note on buying a hybrid car: if you have plans to do so, buy the car on or after January 1, 2006 and consider moving quickly. The energy bill offers the full credit on the first 60,000 hybrid cars offered by the manufacturer and for cars sold in the next calendar quarter following the quarter in which the 60,000th vehicle. The tax credit shrinks to 50%, then 25%, and then to zero for cars sold in subsequent quarters.

Please note that this article is NOT intended to provide tax advice but instead to alert you to topics you may want to discuss with your CPA, especially if you have plans to improve the energy efficiency of your home or buy a new car.

Why Your Home May Be 55 Times More Likely To Catch Fire

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:04:04 -0500

This article is also viewable at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/Newsletters.aspx. For more articles like this, please join our Newsletter.

Why Your Home May Be 55 Times More Likely To Catch Fire
by Annette West, CCIM, MBA, CPA

If you own property built between 1965 and 1973, you may want to read this...

I will start this article with a caveat: I am not an electrician. But recently I became aware that wiring matters. We were ready to close on a property only to learn we could not get insurance coverage because the property had aluminum wiring.

Why is aluminum a problem? In two words: fire hazard.

Aluminum has a tendency to "cold-flow" over time. This means that electrical connections which were tight at installation can become loose and cause a fire hazard. Warning signs: warm-to-the-touch face plates on outlets or switches, flickering lights, circuits that don't work, or the smell of burning plastics. If you have any of these warning signs, take note: they can indicate electrical arcing, which can result in a serious fire within the walls of your home.

Making the problem even worse are high-tech appliances and products that draw more current.

Popular in the late 1960's and early 1970's, aluminum was used for a brief period of time when copper prices soared. Aluminum wire was less expensive and thought to be as good as copper. An estimated 2 million homes were built with aluminum wire during this timeframe. Even if your home was not built during the aluminum craze, additions or renovations made during this time may have aluminum wiring.

If you are not sure if your home has aluminum branch circuit wiring, look at the markings on the surface of the electric cables which may be visible in attics or garages. Aluminum wiring will have "Al" or "Aluminum" marked every few feet along the cable. A home inspector or qualified electrician also can assist in identifying aluminum wiring.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CSPC) advises that "consumers should not open the interior of the panelboard or circuit breaker compartment - this can expose live wires and pose an electrocution hazard".

Insurers supposedly haven't moved industry-wide to limit coverage of aluminum-wired houses or to require the recommended fixes. However, when brought to their attention, they are likely to decline writing coverage until upgrades are made, which was the case for me.

Says Michael McKee, an Agent with State Farm Insurance for 14 years, "some insurance companies see a red flag on properties with aluminum wiring".

The Consumer Safety Products Commission (CSPC) has been warning since the early 1970s that homes built or renovated from 1965 to 1973 with aluminum branch-circuit wiring are a fire risk. The CSPC recommends using a COPALUM crimp connector as a complete and permanent repair that reduces the fire hazard in aluminum wire circuits. The COPALUM connector repair materials and power crimping tools are only available to electricians who receive training from the manufacturer, to ensure that repairs are properly made.

However, Jeff Billings, a licensed electrician with Current Electric in Las Cruces, NM, has an even easier fix: checking, tightening and then applying NoAlox to the connection wires.

NoAlox is an anti-oxidant and anti-seizing compound that, according to the manufacturer, reduces galling and seizing on aluminum conduit joints and improves the service life of aluminum electrical applications. Says Jeff: "the repairs are relatively easy compared to the hassle and cost of a fire in your home".

For more information on this issue, you can obtain a free copy of the booklet "Repairing Aluminum Wiring" by writing to CPSC, Washington, DC 20207.

About the Author
Annette West, MBA, CPA, Realtor® can be reached at AWest@NMApartment.comAnnette West, CCIM, MBA, CPA, is a Las Cruces Commercial REALTOR® and can be reached at AWest@AnnetteWest.com, http://www.annettewest.com/ or at 505-644-1634. She is a contributing writer for Landlord2Landlord.

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Landlords: Cover Your Bases With A Move-In Inspection

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 12:36:12 -0500

Landlords: Cover Your Bases With A Move-In Inspection
By Lisa Wells

We often receive questions on landlord management at Landlord2Landlord, and share our opinions and experience on the topic to protect other landlords from going through the same ordeal! Here's a common complaint below.

Q: I am a relative newbie at landlording. I just purchased two fixer uppers on the same street and am now in the remodeling phase. I will begin looking for tenants in a couple of weeks. I am fairly confident on my rental price for the two properties and how to check my renter's backgrounds online. On the other hand, I'm a bit unsure on the best way to do move-in walkthrough. Any suggestions?

A: Most of our clients will agree that landlords who demonstrate due diligence from beginning the leasing process will experience less tenant conflicts over the term of the lease.

Screening the background of your renters is the first step to making a rental decision. After that, be sure you agree on the condition of the property and what the renter will be held accountable for in the lease. Here are some tips to conducting a rental inspection before your renter moves in.

Conduct The Walkthrough BEFORE You Sign The Lease

The first step is ensuring that you perform the move-in walk before signing a lease. Never be so eager to get the lease signed that you leave the walk-through until after the lease is executed. Landlords can save themselves a lot of time and grief should the tenant decide to back out after inspecting the rental. When you perform a walkthrough early in the appointment, the prospect will have the opportunity consider pricing, floor plans and other lease terms before lease signing.

Document Your Property With Pictures

Before the walkthrough, use your digital camera do document as many aspects (inside and outside) of your rental including all floors, appliances, walls, counters doors, etc. Print three copies of the details: one copy for you, one for the tenant and one as a reserve. Leave a small area for comments and signature initials because this is where you and the tenant will be approving and documenting the condition of the rental.

In the old days, people wrote down a description of each property feature and scored the conditions during the walkthrough because photos were too expensive and video was too impractical. Today, the cost of photos is minimal, and pictures provide better documentation with fewer arguments or disputes. It's hard to argue with "before" and "after" photos when a property is damaged.

Set Expectations Upfront

Don't forget to verbally reinforce your expectation of the tenant returning the rental in the same condition as it was received. When they move out, mail them a copy of the before and after photos along with any details if the renter will be billed a damage or clean-up fee.

Additional Resources

Need a copy of a rental inspection checklist? The Missouri Attorney General's Office has one posted online at http://ago.mo.gov/ConsumerCorner/worksheets/renterinspectionchecklist.pdf that you can download for free. A more detailed inspection sheet is also available at http://www.housing.ucsc.edu/cro/pdf/inventory_checklist.pdf, courtesy of the University of California at Santa Cruz.

This article is also viewable at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/Newsletters.aspx. For more articles like this, please join our Newsletter.

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55+ Community Guide - Online Directory for Realtors & Senior Adult Communities

Lisa Wells (independent consultant) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:15:26 -0500

55+ Community Guide: Online Directory of Realtors & Senior Adult Communities
By Lisa Wells

A new website offering a listing of senior adult communities is now available at www.55CommunityGuide.com. The website has a goal of becoming the most comprehensive directory of 55+ communities and homes on the Internet.

In my humble opinion, the website has a very clean design, and you can tell it was created with the reading needs of senior citizens in mind. It offers a wonderful service as an information resource for a growing number of baby boomers who seek a community that fits their lifestyle.

But here's the best news! Retirement communities and realtors specializing in 55+ homes may place FREE Premium directory listings on the 55CommunityGuide.com site. Simply go to http://www.55communityguide.com/classifieds.php to place your listing.

55CommunityGuide.com is a service of Retirement Media Inc. The company was created in 2006 by Robert Fowler after he sold his home rental ads and property management web sites to Consumer Source Interactive. Fowler, age 59, looked at other opportunities and decided his new focus would be retirement sites, especially those related to Boomers and the question of where to live in their retirement.

Noting there is no one place to see information on all retirement communities, 55CommunityGuide.com was created to fill that niche. The site provides Boomers, Seniors and pre-retirees a resource to locate retirement communities and places to retire. The types of properties in 55CommunityGuide.com's directory are 55+ communities, active adult retirement communities, retirement communities, 55+ friendly homes and subdivisions, 55+ condos, manufactured homes, second and vacation homes and brokers/agents catering to 55 plus homes. We even have a category for affordable retirement communities.

We've known Robert Fowler for years over here at Landlord2Landlord, and he consistently delivers a quality, valuable service in all of his business endeavors.

SmallTownRetirement.com was Fowler's first site in this new endeavor and has done quite nicely showing up organically in the search engines, a skill Fowler developed with his previous sites. SmallTownRetirement.com includes a blog where reviews of active adult communities, small towns and retirement communities are published.

Fowler says "A representative of Pulte/Del Webb read our blog and contacted me requesting I review their three new Georgia communities." Fowler was impressed. "I had no idea how nice these new Active Adult Communities are and think they will be a big hit to Boomers my age." And that's how http://www.55communityguide.com/ began.

About 55CommunityGuide
55CommunityGuide.com is always free for those looking for a retirement community or a place to live. Communities and agents can place their free premium ad by clicking the "Advertise with Us" link on top of the home page. 55CommunityGuide.com also includes classifieds ads for agents with individual 55 homes to advertise and sections where open houses and preview events can be scheduled, retirement articles and promotional advertising. Based in Alpharetta, Georgia 55CommunityGuide.com is part of the Retirement Media Inc. family of sites which includes SmallTownRetirement.com and others. For more information, visit http://www.55communityguide.com/.

More helpful links for property managers and landlords, including legal and property management services, are available at: http://www.landlord2landlord.com/HelpfulLinks.aspx

This article is also viewable at http://www.landlord2landlord.com/Newsletters.aspx. For more articles like this, please join our Newsletter.

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