I just returned from the 23rd Annual Convention of NARPM which was held in Dallas, Texas, October 18-21, 2011.  The association celebrated their 23rd convention anniversary during the event while various general sessions emphasized professionalism.  Workshops offered current attendees  information to help residential property managers keep abrest of the latest developments in the industry.  Suppliers and vendors were also present with samples of goods and services for improving the management of property.

The NARPM Annual Convention is a great way to keep up with current trends and changes in our industry and to locate products helpful for efficient property management and professional development.  Workshop topics ranged from the latest trends in social networking to ethics to managing effective and profitable teams.  As always, there was a strong emphasis on the NARPM designation program.

Over 500 of the best property managers in the industry were at the annual event.  NARPM has over 3,000 members and is the nation's only professional organization dedicated exclusively to enhancing the professionalism and ethics of those managing single family dwellings for their clients.

Not much has changed in the rental real estate market in the last six months.  Rentals are in demand, but single family rents are only inching upward.  High unemployment and foreclosure activity has reduced investor confidence as well as demand for rentals.  When it all gets better is up for speculation, but it does not seem to be getting worse, and that is good news.  We continue to see enough people renting to keep our vacancy rate at or below 4%.  

If you are in the market for a property manager for your single family home, duplex, condominium, or small apartment you may want to read this article and next months article as well.   

 There are many factors to consider when looking for a professional property management company.  I believe the first method to use to narrow your search is to see which of the various property management companies show up on the major search engines.  I would not be too concerned if they show up using search terms like:  property manager, or property management, or professional property manager in (your city).  What I would care about is if the vacancies they have show up under searches like rentals in (your city), or houses for rent in (your city), or homes for rent in (your city).  Think  of search terms a prospective renter might use and see what vacancies show up.  Note that the company's own web site may or may not show up.  It is their listings that you want to see.  They may show up in rentals.com, craigslist.net, vast.com, or oodle.com to name a few of the sites that carry property for rent.  For my money I want a property management company that is all over the internet with listings, getting me the widest possible exposure.  That will help keep my home rented, rented for more money, and hopefully to a better tenant.

Find a property manager that answers the phone during working hours.  Some property managers have no provisions to handle problems while they are out of the office. What if you need an answer to your pressing question and no one is there to give you an answer?  The important point is that your renter may need a water heater fixed on a weekday, at night, or a weekend.  What does your property manager have set to handle such events?  A good way to check is this out is to call after hours and hear what the procedure is.  I would also suggest calling the property management company during the day to hear what the response time is.  It may not be immediate, but is should be reasonable.

Does the property manager's website have a method for residents to report maintenance problems?  As I mentioned in earlier, web presence is very important.  80% of renters are now using the web to locate rentals and they will continue to use the website if the property manager has an accommodation for them.

Another element in communication is the distance your property is to the property management company's office.  The fact is, the farther your rental property home is from the property management office, the less likely your property will be shown to prospects and the less likely your tenant will receive great service.  I suggest that you make sure that your rental house, duplex, condominium, or apartment is within 30 minutes drive time to the property management office, and the closer the better.    More than this will most likely result in diminished service.

HomePointe current vacancy  rate is 3.5%.  This is a landlords market with some cautions.  With high unemployment, rents have not been able to rise up as one would expect with a low vacancy rate.  But it does mean that landlords can expect to rent their property quicker. 

It is also a sign of the times that applicants credit reports often have a  foreclosure or short sale on them.  This is to be expected with the mortgage crises fallout in full swing. 

Visit our website for our most current and past rent surveys covering the entire Sacramento Region at www.HomePointe.com and click on Owner Services.

HomePointe Property Management has partnered with the Sacramento Kings for the 2011 season.  As part of the program HomePointe will be able to market its services to other Kings businesses and HomePointe will be displayed on the Kings website at www.Kings.com. 

This partnership effort is a part HomePointe's effort to support the local communities we serve and therefore a way to give back to our community.  HomePointe supports the effort to build a downtown arena which could serve as a centerpiece for regional entertainment for Sacramento and the surrounding population, whether they are interested in basketball or not.

Fireworks shows this weekend:

Carmichael: July 4th at La Sierra Community center. Parade begins at 7:00pm and fireworks begin at 9:30pm

Citrus Heights: July 4th at Sunrise Mall. A carnival is open all weekend in the parking lot. Fireworks begin at dusk

El Dorado Hills: July 3rd at El Dorado Town Center beginning at 9:30pm

Elk Grove: July 4th at the Elk Grove Regional Park. Music and food begin at 6:00pm. Fireworks begins at 9:30pm. Free admission, $10 to park

Rancho Cordova: July 3rd and 4th at Hagan Park. A carnival is there all weekend. Parade begins at 10:00am with petting barn, pony rides and free concerts. Fireworks begins at 9:45pm each night

Roseville: July 4th at Royer Park. Festivities begins at 11:00am with food, games and music. Fireworks display at Sierra View Country Club begin at dusk. 

Sacramento: July 4th at Cal Expo beginning at 9:30pm. Free admission, $10 to park

West Sacramento: July 3rd at Raley Field, after the RiverCats beat the Tucson Padres. Game begins at 6:35pm

Are you an investor or future investor that would like to know more about how to manage property?  Or, maybe you have an existing tenant and have a problem you do not know how to solve.  Maybe you are considering purchasing a rental and would like to know what market rents are, or how to analyze the property as to its suitability as an investment.

If you have any need to talk to a property manager HomePointe Property Management will be happy to meet with you.  We will talk as long as you need.  There is no cost.

Our aim is to help local landlords be better landlords which will help our industry and the community.  If we can help you with property management services, great, but that is not required to get a consultation.  We really do want to help you.

We have two Certified Property Managers (CPM) on staff, we are members of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), our property managers are members of The National Association of Residential Property Management and we hold all their designations within our company.  We have managed properties from single family dwellings up to 145 units. 

Need some advice?  Contact us.

You can avoid a Fair Housing Complaint by allowing 2 persons per bedroom.  Some also allow one extra person for their rentals.  Be sure not to restrict the number of adults.  For example, do not limit occupancy to two adults and two children in a two bedroom.  You also need to allow four adults or three adults and one child.

The bottom line is you need to require at least one adult, but after that it could be any combination of adults and minors.

If you own and/or manage rental property in California you MUST allow your tenant to run a licensed day care business providing they abide by a few rules.

Rule No. 1:  Make the tenant show you their Day Care License.  It must be current and should state the size allowed, either up to 8 children (small day care) or up to 12 children (large day care).

Rule No. 2: The day care must do one of three things:  If they carry liability insurance you can demand that they name the owner and property manager as additional insured, OR they must carry a bond in the amount of $300,000.00, OR they must have every client sign an affadavit that demonstrates that the parents have been informed that the Day Care Owner (tenant) does not carry liability insurance or a bond.

Rule No. 3:  The security deposit can be increased to the maximum allowed by law.  In California, this would be two times the monthly rent.

NEVER refuse to rent to a prospective resident because they inform you that they are intending to run a day care.  If they do, tell them the above rules and qualify them as you normally would.

At HomePointe Property Management are seeing record breaking occupancy rates this winter for single family homes, duplexes, and apartments.  Our current vacancy rate currently just under 4% which is 1-2% under what we consider a normal market.  

This low rate is due to several factors.  The normal buying and selling in the Sacramento Region is not taking place.  Wtih fewer sales come fewer investors buying homes to rent out.  A number of landlords are giving their properties back to the bank which is taking those properties off the grid.  The only new rentals coming onto the market are from existing rental stock and homeowners that cannot sell but are not upside down on their mortgage.  Finally, tenants are staying put which saves them from moving costs and possible higher rents.

We have not seen rents increasing just yet, but that should be right around the corner.

Best wishes for a great 2011!