Property Management Software

A Generational Opportunity?

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:56:29 -0600

Commercial Real Estate Investments – Is it a Generational Opportunity?

Current good deals for real estate investors and landlords are deals that turned bad for previous investors and lenders that provided financing to the investors. Commercial property values have declined considerably and in some areas, as much as 40%, which has led some of the experts to suggest that the commercial real estate market has hit the bottom.

Other real estate industry members are predicting that the commercial real estate will not hit the bottom until 2011 or later and it would be risky to make any investments earlier than 2011. Some of the phrases that are being used to forecast the commercial real estate market are “Early is the new wrong” or “Slow motion train wreck” as compared to residential real estate market that blew up.

Commercial real estate market will start recovering when the lending market opens up and the current short-term loans with high rates on decreased property values are either refinanced or paid over longer time. Some lenders are taking the approach of extending the loans hoping that property values recover and they are able to collect on most of their loans. Is commercial real estate at 40% below 2004 prices a good deal?

3 Tips for Purchasing Real Estate Investment Property in the Current Market

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:20:17 -0500

Foreclosures and REO’s are bringing many investors out of the woodwork - and some of the new investors who are novices are making many mistakes in selecting and purchasing of undervalued residential real estate.

RealtyTimes published an article that discusses a situation where a novice investor purchased a property and outsourced property management to a property manager. The property had lots of defects and improving the property to get it ready for rental proved expensive for this investor. The investor was blaming the property manager for the expenses.

Before becoming a Do-It-Yourself or absentee landlord, the 3 tips that investors should follow for success are:

1. Understand the market you are purchasing your investment property.

2. Be clear of your end goal and write it down

3. Calculate the costs of owning the investment property

These key rules will help you make good decisions when you are purchasing investment property.

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Property Management Lessons From a New Landlord

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:16:09 -0500

BusinessWeek editor Chris Palmeri got his first residential rental property in March and faced the usual challenges of property management. Many real estate investors, especially the ones who own properties far away from where they live - do the smart thing and hire a property manager so that they sleep well at night.

Chris, a new do-it-yourself landlord, was anxious to rent his property quickly, and skipped tenant screening. Once landlords are burnt by a tenant, they never skip tenant screening! Read 5 tips for tenant screening in today’s market to make sure that you do not make this error. Luckily, he has managed to rent his property to new tenants. The best part is that he is looking to acquire another property.

Read his story on BusinessWeek by CLICKING HERE

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Is Your City in Builder’s List of Bottom Real Estate Markets?

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:41:20 -0500

According to Builder magazine the real estate markets that have been hit the hardest will take the most time to recover. They did a study of all the real estate markets in USA to determine which ones are the weakest. The real estate markets that appear on this list have had the most job losses, increasing foreclosures and falling home prices.

The real estate markets were ranked based on population trends and job growth, perennial drivers of housing demand. Builder magazine also examined the rate of home price declines. The other factors considered by the magazine included the rate of building permits, which they consider to be the single best ongoing indicator of builder confidence in a market. They combined all these factors to rank the markets with a score.

The bottom 5 markets in USA are:

1. Detroit, Michigan

2. Stockton, California

3. Port St. Lucie, Florida

4. West Palm Beach, Florida

5. Daytona Beach, Florida

To check the list to see which real estate markets are likely to recover last from the real estate downturn, Click Here

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Crap, I think we just offended the neighbors

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:41:51 -0500

Interesting situation!

Via Todd Clark (Broker) (503)524-9494 (Beaverton, Oregon Real Estate Expert) (Palazzo Realty Group):

I had a listing that had some neighbors that were nice neighbors, but their yard was somewhat of an eyesore. It really wasn't as much the yard as it was the house. It also needed some touch up and my seller was willing to help out.

You see, in today's world my seller and I figured the reason for not painting the house and doing the up keep on the yard was because of the lack of money. But, it turns out that they just didn't see a reason too.

This is where we went from being helpful to (apparently) offensive. My seller offered to pay to have his yard professionally cleaned up, landscaped, and to have the side of the house that faced him painted at no cost to the owners next door. But, I guess they didn't see it as a way to help him sell his house, but rather as an insult to how they kept their yard and house.

Now, we had an angry neighbor who wanted to do what ever they could to make the yard as ugly as possible. Kids toys everywhere, lawn equipment left out, yard debris piled next to the fence, but the one that really said it all was while trying to show the home having their kid come out and pee on the fence.

I think we have a problem. I said and we need to figure out what to do about it. We went and talked to the neighbor and explained it wasn't the seller that was upset with the yard, they had lived next door to each other for 5 years and he thought he was a great neighbor, but the feedback was saying otherwise.

They sat down, hammered out their differences, and the yard got cleaned up, the house painted and my client got his home sold. This could have gone on for forever, it could have gone to court. But instead, two level headed people sat down and discussed what the real issue was and worked out a compromise over a mis-understanding.

What do you do when you offend someone? Do you walk away and ignore the situation, or be upfront and say your sorry? Or do you work something out so they can understand your side of the story? Lucky my seller did the latter and it worked out great for him, but it certainly could have been a lot worse! What would you have done in this situation?

Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

Tigard Oregon Homes for Sale, Tigard OR homes for sale, homes for sale in zip code, 97223,97224, Tigard Oregon Realtor, Tigard OR Realtor, Tigard Oregon MLS Search, Tigard OR MLS Search, 1st time home buying expert, short sale expert, avoiding foreclosure in Tigard, helping families home, LivingBeaverton, Townhomes for sale, home for sale, house for sale, Bull Mountain North, Bull Mountain South, King City, Mountainview, Greenburg, Summer Lake Neighborhood, Summerfield neighborhood, Tigard neighborhood, Walnut Grove Neighborhood. Tigard Oregon Real Estate, Tigard OR real estate, Todd Clark, (503)524-9494, WWW.LivingTigard.com, www.IFoundYourNewHome.com, www.SavingyouFromForeclosure.com

©2009 Todd Clark - Crap, I think we just offended the neighbors

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Duplicate Content- Fact Vs Fiction!

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:55:45 -0500

Thanks for the explanation, excellent post!

Via Nestor & Katerina Gasset Realtors® Wellington Florida Luxury Homes (International Properties and Investments, Inc.):

Duplicate Content- Fact versus Fiction!

You have your Active Rain blog climbing the SERPS, then you start your Active Blog, outside Active Rain blog and then maybe you then send your posts to Facebook or you have a wordpress blog. Some of you then will take your posts that you have written and copy and paste them into your website. You are doing great, then suddenly- you read some blog or some comment in the blogosphere that you are posting Duplicate content and you may get the Google slap, ending up in the dreaded Google sand box.

Some bloggers get so fearful that they may stop blogging on Active Rain. You will also hear people who don't like Active Rain using the duplicate content spin to attack Active Rain bloggers. Well, pay them no mind. Look the other way. Walk on by.

Duplicate content that gets the Google discipline is highly likely not going to be yours. Below you can find all of this information from Matt Cutts of Google- in his own words. So don't take my word for it. You can have it right from the horse's mouth. Matt Cutts talked about duplicate content at the latest SMX Seattle conference.

The kind of duplicate content that Google is concerned with is the spammers that go out and use software to duplicate thousands of sites and then try to manipulate the search engine spiders to pick up their sites in SERPS ( Search Engine Results Pages). This is what happened to Squidoo several years ago. I was very active on Squidoo and my lenses were climbing fast on SERPS when we all were at the mercy of some hackers that got into Squidoo and started spamming the search engines. Now Seth Godin is a pretty famous guy on the internet, the creator of Squidoo, yet even he could not stop the Google slap. There was one guy in South America that produced 1500 Squidoo lenses with some software that were all spam! Matt explains more of what Google looks at for spam in the video I posted below.

When you are writing on your Active Rain blog and then click on the post to your outside blog and then add the same post to your website or your wordpress blog- there is nothing wrong with that. You can even tell the search engines which blog is your 'authority' site. But that is beyond the scope of this post. Let's just say that you do post regularly as stated in the beginning of this paragraph. What Google algorithms will do is to choose one to two spots on the search result page for your content. They will just ignore the others.

So if you are following me; it does not hurt you to post duplicate content, you don't get punished for doing so and you get more chances of Google picking up one blog or another. It is like you have put out the same bait in different locations to attract the spiders to your bait. When the spiders arrive they may choose one bait over the other. Many people get the notion that they are being punished because Google only chooses one or two articles with the same content but that is not a punishment. It is just a matter of bringing back to the searcher the best possible variety of matches.

Matt also states that seldom is Google picking up article submissions to article marketers like Ezine articles because they know that is an article from your blog or website. It is still great to do article marketing for the link value.

The goal of Google is to get smarter and smarter. For instance if you change like 10% of the content in one post or just change your keywords around in another post of the same- Google is now smart enough to catch that little trick that many marketers used. Now they will look at that as duplicate content and count it still as one article.

Happy Blogging!

The next SEO TO THE TOP Webinar begins on January 13, 2010- get your space reserved today, limited spaces for the webinar. Start your new year off right with a great SEO boost to the top.

Duplicate Content - Fact Vs Fiction! by Coach Katerina Gasset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

By TwitterButton

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Are You Engaging Your Readers?

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:51:38 -0500

Via Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman HAWAII Relocations & Real Estate (Century 21 Liberty Homes):

There are many topics and thousands of posts that have been written about How to Blog, Why to Blog, When to Blog, Where to Blog and What to Blog. And then you see a comment on someones post where the writer is complaining about others getting featured posts all the time. Obviously they aren't getting a post featured ...or even read......and they are wondering why?

We engage the reader with our ‘interesting' content and I can't be more straightforward than to say that if you want others to read your posts you have to MAKE it interesting.

Localism Posts: They have been always my favorite to write and I've written hundreds that have given the consumer an idea (and then some) about my local area happenings and so forth. One of my favorites was: Tsukiji Fish Market & Restaurant- Honolulu Hawaii where my husband and I took clients to lunch.

Personal Posts: No one said that transparency in blogging meant to reveal the skeletons in your closet but it does mean to have a little transparency in your writing. Showing your personality through your writing is something we all share when ‘getting to know others'. The best way your peers and the consumer will ‘see' you is right there in your writing. "The Lovely Wifes" Blog.... is for members only blog but indeed a level of transparency that we all can relate to.

Market Reports: You can do a ‘boring' market report but make it eye appealing and attractive with a graph, pie charts and pictures of the area you're doing the report on. KNOW what you're talking about and give details that the consumer WILL UNDERSTAND. Renee Burrows taught me how to do pie charts and I'm doing some wonderful ones with Hawaii pictures in the background to enhance them.

Off Topic:Sure, we want to create a discussion on whatever the topic for off topic (not real estate) like SEO, Windows 7, Positive Attitudes and so forth. Keeping it light and not judgmental is a great start. No one wants to read a closed minded post full of ‘only my opinion matters' type of thing. Again, we engage the reader without insulting everyone that is reading.

Real Estate Industry Related: We all know that ActiveRain is a wonderful place to gain knowledge about everything real estate industry related. My favorite real estate writers are long time seasoned ActiveRain bloggers Lenn Harley and Broker Bryant and you'll see some hard core real estate with engaging conversations for sure on their blogs.

Why do I read the blogs of these writers? They are creative, interesting, eye appealing and lo and behold ORIGINAL, honest, great information, entertaining..... and they allow the reader to walk beside them while they are talking ‘with' them. ....not AT them. They engage me.

Are YOU engaging the reader?

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Marketing Can Be Fun...But Numbers Are Everything

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:48:08 -0500

Via Larry Easto (Real Estate Marketing Link):

As much as I love writing about marketing, I am very aware that effective marketing is impossible without sound business planning.

Good Business Planning

Some of the factors that contribute to good business planning are:

knowing your numbers;

knowing who your clients are;

know who can assist you and what they can do for you;

being aware of what you are doing;

having a schedule to dedicate 60% of your time towards building new business by prospecting for new clients;

being clear of your budget and time;

knowing your peak performance time; and finally - fully planning your year with adequate time off.

Numbers Are Everything

We have to know where we stand. How would we know where we are going unless we know where we are?

The numbers provide the objective data about everything we need to know about our business activities:

how many calls you have to make in order to connect with a good lead

how many leads you need in order to generate one client

how much money you make from each client

how much money you earn for each call you make...and for each hour you work

how many Internet hits you need to get one client

etc.

We have to know things like this...but unfortunately we often find...or make...ourselves too busy to track these numbers, let alone pay much attention to them.

Certainly many sales people have the motivation to undertake varied and demanding actions.

But far too often tracking and making sense of the numbers is not one of these actions.

Sure it's great to feel good about what we are doing...but what do your numbers tell you?

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

House Extends Tax Credit to Active Military for One More Year

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:35:44 -0500

Great news for our soldiers!

Via Nicole Lahti, Austin Texas Mortgage (Real Mortgage Partners):

Yesterday the House of Representatives unanimously voted to extend the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit to active military personnel, foreign service and intelligence officers. HR 3590 extends the existing tax credit to this group until November 30th, 2010. The bill now goes to the Senate, and is expected to pass with the same ease.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) because it was thought that military personel serving oversees this year did not have the same opportunity to take advantage of the tax credit. If the original qualifications are met, the extension applies to military personnel who spent at least 90 days of the current calendar year oversees. It also does not require borrowers to payback the tax credit if they are deployed after receiving it. The current tax credit requires borrowers payback the tax credit if they do not occupy the home within three years of receiving the tax credit.

No word yet on whether the $8,000 tax credit will be extended for all eligible borrowers.

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Is your city in Builder’s List of Top Real Estate Markets?

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:20:07 -0500

Builder magazine has just updated its list for the Top Real Estate Markets in USA.

Since the list was published in early 2009, the economy seems to be staggering to recover the federal government $8000 tax credit along with real estate investors have been picking up real estate properties at discounts. Even though many economists are suggesting that the recession has ended, unemployment is running very high.

The magazine reports that right now no market is really healthy but some of the real estate markets are doing better than others. So the markets which are on the top of the list will do much better than others. This study and report is one of the most comprehensive available and covers the top 100 real estate markets in USA.

According to Builder's List, the top 5 real estate markets in USA are:

1. Austin, Texas

2. San Antonio, Texas

3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C./Va/Md/W.Va

4. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas

5. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Check the list to see which 20 real estate markets are likely to recover first from the real estate downturn, click here

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

4 Tips To Attract Tenants In High Vacancy Market

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:10:22 -0500

Vacancy rates have mushroomed to a 23 year high, close to 8%. As inventory of vacant residential rental properties is increasing, rents are dropping. Even then, savvy do-it-yourself landlords and property managers are still able to attract high quality tenants and keep their residential rental properties occupied.

Are you able to attract high quality tenants or is one of your tenants leaving soon? Here are steps to take to have high quality tenant line up to rent from you making your experience as a landlord or a property manager enjoyable and profitable.

1. Approach your property from the eyes of the tenant and make sure that it has curb appeal. A property that is very attractive from the curb will rent itself.

2. Create an ad targeting your prospective tenants. Landlords or Property Managers can determine the target tenant based on the location and size of the property. Depending upon the features of your residential rental property a target tenant could be a student, couple or a family. In the ad, highlight the features of the property that would attract the target tenant.

3. Advertise your property in Craigslist, the most popular rental property listing site. If you are a do-it-yourself landlord, contact your local rental property management company and pay for their service to find and do tenant screening. You can also advertise on various rental sites on the internet like rent.com, etc.

4. Respond to emails, phone calls from prospective tenants to keep their interest high in the property and highlight the features of the property in your response.

Until you get into the habit of looking at your residential rental property from the eyes of the target tenant, pin these 4 tips where they stay in front and follow them rigorously. Make attracting high quality tenants a high priority for you and you will have target tenants lining up to rent your property.

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Is Your Home Making You Sick?

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:37:35 -0500

The National Center for Healthy Housing released a study using Census Bureau data that states that 1 in 3 homes in metro areas have problems that could result in illness for the resident. Landlords, Property Managers, and residents can easily prevent some of these conditions that result in unhealthy homes.

Unhealthy homes have significant impact on residents. Americans spend more than 90% of their time indoors. It increases their chance of getting sick due to the health hazard that may exist in the property. For example, since 1980 asthma has tripled amongst children and the major factor driving this increase is poor ventilation and water leaks.

Landlords, Property Managers and homeowners should take quick action on these 2 major issues in properties. Most of the times an ounce of prevention is the best fix to these problems. Below you will find suggestions and tips on how to prevent these problems in the most economical way.

1. Mold: A plumbing leak, roof or windows that makes an area continuously wet leads to mold. Ask your tenants to inform about any leak so that it is stopped quickly. Check the roof once a year especially the attic ceiling for leaks. Seal any leaks around pipes that extend into exterior walls, ensure that the windows and doors are well caulked. Also always check the gutters and downspouts to make that they are draining water properly.

2. Rodents: Rodents are one of the toughest to fight and they can cause significant damage over time to property. They have been known to gnaw through pipes, wood paneling, and contaminate stored food. Many landlords and property managers find use of traps, glue strips and bait stations quite effective in getting rid of this problem. In order to prevent the problem, ask your tenants to keep food sealed and generally keep the property clean.

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Five Ways To Be Better Than You Are Now

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:35:41 -0500

Via Clint Miller (Real Estate Client Referrals, LLC (RECR)):

I recently read an article that really sparked my interest. The article was simply a basic list of the ways that someone could re-invent themselves by investing time and effort into the one asset that all agents have - Themselves.

The key principle to this article was the fact that, despite this uncertain market, there are people that appear to be striving to make their own abilities better and five ways to do so. Below is the list that was in the article...and a good healthy dose of my own explanations as to why this is so important in this uncertain market.

IMAGE: You chose a career in real estate to be an independent business person. So, do you carry yourself in a professional manner? Do you "look the part"? Do you have your business cards on you? Are you showing that you are proud of whom you work for or what you do? Whether you want to believe it or not, your image IS your first impression. Make sure that the impression you are making is the on that you actually want to make. There are some places where you can get away with blue jeans and a nice shirt. There are other places where a suit is more appropriate. Dress the part! Maintain your personal image. Get your hair cut or styled. Ladies...get your nails done. Guys...shave every day. (Believe me, I realize that sucks ...I'm a guy...I understand. But, its 2 or 3 minutes...and it makes a ton of difference to those around you.) I actually know of one agent that wears a tuxedo to all of his closings. That is part of his image. It is what sets him apart from the rest. (His name is Todd Waller out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and he works for RealEstateOne. But, you can get more info on him and his Team366 at www.blog.team366.net.)

TRAINING: Aside from the mandatory requirements involved, you should try to find as many different options to better your ability as you can. Take the time to sit down with your broker to discuss some in-house training options. If you know of any free options for training, jump on it. Any training you involve yourself in will only re-emphasize the skill set you already have developed. So, it will not be wasted time or effort. You never know, you may learn something. (Also, anything that you can learn about social networking...that is a must! Trust me on this...this is a skill that does require some time to master, but you will not regret it!)

NETWORKING: Making yourself known in the community by getting involved with community events is a great way of networking with some of the more influential people in your market. Get involved with the community. Start working with the Chamber of Commerce. Go to PTA meetings. Join Toastmasters. Get involved in your local neighborhood activities. Surrounding yourself with such innovative, like-minded people will help you with both your image and your over-all success. Most people do business with people that they know on a social level. So, networking like this is a key to success in a troubled market.

MENTORING: They say that the teacher will always learn something from the student. Become a mentor for younger agents. Help them be successful. This will cause you to make sure that what you are doing is what you SHOULD be doing. It will help you cross your ‘T's and dot your ‘I's, as it were. Besides...there are times when you can actually team up and work together for the success of each.

YOU: Seems weird that I have to add this since this entire post is about you. But, if you are not taking good care of yourself, you will not have the energy or the will to commit to the rest of this list. Take care of your own body and mind. Get sleep. It is probably more important than anything else you can do for yourself. Make sure you get some exercise. (In this industry with showing property and running from one location to another, that usually isn't hard...but you should do 30 minutes of cardio every day.) Eat right. (Did you know that eating an apple will actually wake you up better than a cup of coffee??) Bring fresh fruits with you on your appointments and eat them when you can. Avoid the drive-thrus. If you don't know where else to start in your investments in you...look in the mirror and start there.

If you would like information on how to get more clients, please contact Clint at 800-977-7058. Or, visit www.recr.com. Or, follow Clint on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TheRealClint.

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

3 No Cost Tips To Keep Property Crime-Free

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:55:16 -0500

Due to high unemployment and the worst recession since the great depression, crime numbers have picked up across the nation. Landlords and property managers have a higher probability of crime occuring on their residential rental property. Obviously, any crime including vandalism will result in a negative impact on the value of the property.

The good news is that landlords and property managers can take steps to prevent and even stop crime on their properties. Again an ounce of prevention is better than pound of cure which can protect landlords and property managers from expensive lawsuits. The following tips can eliminate the risk of crime on residential rental properties at very little or no expense.

1. Rent To Quality Tenants: Landlords and Property Managers should not be too anxious to rent a property. Tenant Screening is one of the most important steps to prevent crime on a residential rental property. The cost of tenant screening can be covered by the application fee paid by the tenant. Read the blog on Tenant Screening for tips.

2. Maintain Property’s Interior and Exterior: By keeping residential rental property well maintained, landlords and property managers can prevent crime. If a property is well lit and shrubs and trees are kept trimmed it will result in clear visibility and no place to hide. One of the rules of thumb is “3 foot, 6 foot” rule for landscaping. The low ground coverage should be only 3 feet and all trees canopies should be 6 feet high. Lighting is the other element that deters crime on property.

3. Invoke Local Police Help: Most police departments have crime prevention programs and are willing to work with landlords, property managers and property management companies to prevent crime. A crime free multi-housing program offered by many police departments can be leveraged for other residential rental properties. Tap into this free service.

Follow these steps and prevent crime on your property saving yourself from any pain and agony of a lawsuit.

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Time for a Much Needed Vacation!

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:01:15 -0500

I haven't blogged in a while, but now ends right now! I am so excited I can't contain myself! Why?

I am finally going on vacation!

Now I know what you are thinking, Summer is just about over, what is this guy on, right?

Well, to tell you a little more about myself - it's been a long time since I've taken a break for vacation (over 3 years, when my journey at TReXGlobal first began!).

As the Director of Community Relations for TReXGlobal.com, the maker of super cool Property Management Software - there are quite a few things that I am involved with - like our amazingly awesome partner program, and the free monthly newsletter that real estate professionals use to keep in touch with their clients.

As the season comes to an end, I can't help but think about all the cool things that have happened over the last couple months. Our blog has grown a lot since we began in April. I finished my MBA in June and landed in the newspaper, that was nice! A few weeks later Inman News did a wonderful review of our products, that was really cool.

So what is the coolest thing about Summer? I haven't been away from a laptop more than a couple hours in the last three years, and now I am going to Fiji for a month! Ya, that's going to be nice... looking forward to beautiful sights and some wonderful R&R!

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Guerrilla Marketing -- Daring To Be Different

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:20:01 -0500

Wonderful blog post!

Via Clint Miller (Real Estate Client Referrals, LLC):

"Marketing is the differentiation of yourself against your competition. Advertising is the cost of being boring."

That is according to an article I read in BrokerAgentPro roughly a year ago. The article went on to say that, if a person marketed themselves properly, they would never need to advertise because everyone would already know who they are and what they do. The article also went on to say that, if you don't know the difference between the two, you should hire someone that does. And, I couldn't agree more!

I enjoy marketing. I guess that is why I blog. It's a good way for me to differentiate my company versus other companies in this same market space in a way that reaches my customer base quickly, efficiently, and in a format that they understand. And...it's FREE!  What could be better? Especially when you consider that my company does no advertising at all (aside from the gazillion websites we have out in the interwebz).

One aspect of marketing I really find fascinating is the underground, sometimes subtle, sometimes "in-your-face" marketing that has been affectionately called "guerrilla" marketing.

Below is a couple examples of very successful guerilla marketing campaigns.

In this example, the information on the tear-away "teeth" is for a new dentist office that opened up about a block away from this pole.

This photo was taken by a passenger at an airport turnstyle. If you saw this while picking up your bags, do you think you would remember it??

On occasion, I have posted tweets on my Twitter account about different guerrilla marketing ideas that I have come across. As a result, I was asked to compile a list of some of them and write a blog about them.

But, before I started writing this, I posted a status update about a guerrilla campaign on our Facebook fan-page. It quickly insighted a response! (You can see the entire conversation here -- Real Estate Client Referrals fan-page)

"Is this both acceptable and smart?" asked one fan.

"Annoying" and "Obnoxious" said another.

Yet other fans said things like "I like the way you think." And, "I love it!"

Guerrilla marketing isn't for everyone.  And, some of these suggestions are simply just too risky for some to attempt. But, if they didn't work, you wouldn't hear about them. Keep that in mind as you read through this list...

Place business cards (mini moo cards, for example) in the sugar packet containers at restaurants

Go to the local computer store and change the home page on the browsers to your website

Have a rubber stamp made of your twitter handle (Or your website!!) and stamp it on all of your money; Also, if you are attending an event where you would hand out a business card, take $50 in $1 bills that have been stamped with your website. Hand them out to people as if it was your business card.

Use that same stamper and stamp a book of post-it notes. Place those post-it notes anywhere people can see them.

Go to the library/book store and put a business card in every book that relates to your field; IE -- Own a restaurant supply store? Put your cards in the cook books. You're a contractor?? Put cards in all the Do-It-Yourself repair books.

Slip business cards into the magazines at your salon, doctors office, dentist office, etc.

Go to the beach and write your company name in the sand in huge letters

Buy cheap plastic magnetic letters (like for your fridge) and put your website on anything metal -- doors, poles, road signs. The letters are cheap...so if they fall off, no biggie...and they wont cause permanent damage to whatever you put them against (except maybe a hard-drive).

Get sidewalk chalk and draw feet or arrows to your office on the sidewalks and streets around town. As you people get close to your office, write an offer. IE -- "10% off if you mention you saw this!"

Use that same sidewalk chalk and write your website or company name in parking lots/cross walks/ETC

Fliers!!!  Flieers are cheap and can be distributed ANYWHERE! Put them in businesses (that will allow it), parking lots, street poles, bus stops, anywhere people can see them.

Put ads in local free papers (if available in your area) IE -- the Nickel

Get blank business cards made up with only your website address on it (or twitter handle). Hand them out whenever someone talks about a website (or you talk about a website)

Put an add in the personals in our local paper -- "MWM real estate agent seeks buyers for 145 Shady Lane; Must be in good humor and have decent credit". (There is some obvious personal safety issues associated with this one.  I would do this because Im 6'2" tall and weigh about 320 lbs. But, if I were a 5'1" blonde lady that weighed 110 lbs, I might feel like this would not be safe for me to attempt. Be safe, people!)

Use pictures in your blogs titled with your key search words. Trust me, it works! You have to write the post anyway...may as well make it pop AND get some SEO juice from it. Get temporary tattoos made of your website and wear them in plain view. People will take notice, I promise!

Add the phone line from a brokerage that closes to your phone system -- I just spoke with an agent that worked for RE/MAX after calling a phone number that was listed in YellowBook as Century21. It turns out the C21 brokerage closed. So, the RE/MAX office had the number added to their inbound lines. GENIUS!! Now, all of that advertising that the C21 office did is supporting that number!

Yes, it is true. Some of these suggestions simply wont work in your market. Some of these suggestions might just be "too scary" or be deemed by some as "a waste of time". (They used to say that about blogging, too. Just saying.) Yet, other people may think that these are bold attempts at being different...'thinking outside the box' to the 10th power.

Either way, these simple, yet effective, types of marketing will make people talk about you and your business. And, isn't that the goal of marketing?? If you believe that "there is no such thing as bad press", then this underground "guerrilla" marketing might just be the thing for you!

If you would like more information on Real Estate Client Referrals, please click on this link. Or, you can contact Clint at 800-977-7058 or follow us on Twitter.

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Largest Rise in New Home Sales in Eight Years

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:53:58 -0500

New U.S. home sales rose by the largest amount in more than eight years last month. The last time sales rose so dramatically was in December 2000. Is this a sign that the housing market is finally bouncing back from the worst downturn in decades?

Sales rose 11 percent in June to an adjusted annual rate of 384,000, from May's rate of 346,000.

There were 281,000 new homes for sale at the end of June, down more than 4 percent from May. At the current sales pace, that represents 8.8 months of supply — the lowest level since October 2007.

Here's the Yahoo article I read

PS: Do you know anyone who is cool enough to try the most amazing property management software in the world?

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

I Need My Name Back

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:19:31 -0500

Dear Nima,

I have been cursing you for hours...

That's what my email originally sounded like....

One Friday evening at 8:59PM, I suddenly remembered Facebook was giving away vanity URLs in one minute. I assumed the demand for facebook.com/Niman wouldn’t be very high, so I let my friend Katherine go first (she was lucky, she got facebook.com/Katherine).

Claiming facebook.com/Niman was pretty easy, since my only competition for claiming that name is Bill/Nicolette Niman (Niman Ranch), and Henry Niman (swine flu expert)

A few weeks later, I noticed a lot of folks had matching vanity URLs for Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. I had 2 out of 3 (facebook.com/niman and twitter.com/niman) so I decided I should also get my LinkedIn URL.

So then I go to LinkedIn to claim /Niman… AND I AM NOT ABLE TO…. The first thought I had to myself was “Darn it, some other Niman beat me,” and I just had to see who it was. When I found out who it was, I went nuts!

As it turned out, it was someone named Nima. I started thinking to myself “Why did Nima have to take /Niman when he could have taken /Nima,” and I decided Nima would just have to give up that URL!

Then I began writing to Nima. It started off as an angry letter, demanding that Nima change his URL to /Nima so I could claim /Niman. It ended up turning into a really nice and compelling email pleading for his humble graciousness. Then, right before I could send the email, I realized I couldn’t send it!

LinkedIn has a 5 character minimum. Nima doesn’t have /Nima, because he can’t. He took /NimaN, because his last name starts with “N”

NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! I thought to myself….. Now I can’t tell him to change his URL, because I don’t have a reasonable suggestion for what he can change it to!

At this point, I am suddenly back to where I started, and angry at the world because by now this had consumed over an hour of my life.

Then I started to laugh about it. I started thinking to myself about how much this stupid URL was messing with my mind. I decided that this story was just too funny to remain untold, and that I had to share it with someone. Who do you think I chose? You guessed it!

And now, the pleasant surprise: He did it! My name is mine now! linkedin.com/in/niman

So what is the moral of the story?

Many things in life will not land in your lap, and you need to be proactive if you want something to go your way. As I reached out to a complete stranger, I was truthful, humble, and I had no problem with humiliating myself. In return, he did me a huge favor, and I’m sure it made him feel good to do so.

Can you do the same with your clients? How do you reach out to real estate investors? A lot of people seem to have forgotten what a real life conversation can still accomplish these days. Take this for example:

(Knock, knock)
Hi there, my name is (YOUR NAME), and I am here to (SOLVE A PROBLEM FOR THE CLIENT). I pride myself on being able to help my clients, especially with saving time and money, and that's why I think you'll appreciate this.

(SOLVE A PROBLEM FOR THE CLIENT ie. if their grass isn’t green, give them some turf builder!)

Please let me know if this was helpful for you. If there is anything else I can do for you, your friends, and your family members - you can always ask me for assistance. I’m happy to help! Here's my contact info...

Have a great day!

I challenge you to go knocking on doors, use this script, and prove to me that it doesn’t work!

My suggestion: Co-Brand our free real estate tools, send monthly newsletters to your prospects (click here for sample newsletter), and share your Property Management Software with them. Let me know how that works for you!

...and that's my story of Love, Deception, and Regret... I love the fact that I got my URL back, I was deceived by LinkedIn's 5 characted minimum, and I did not live with the regret of not sending that email :)

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Seniors Buying New Property with Reverse Mortgages

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:46:44 -0500

There’s a new investment strategy that has become popular recently: buy a multi-unit property with an FHA reverse mortgage, live in one unit while renting out the others, and NEVER pay a dime towards your monthly principal or interest – with a reverse mortgage, of course!

FHA now permits seniors 62 years and older to purchase residential real estate using a reverse mortgage. Until recently, reverse mortgages insured by FHA were only available on homes already owned and occupied by eligible borrowers. Beginning this spring, the agency allows you to buy a duplex, tri-plex, or quadruplex - using a reverse mortgage.

Read the example of a married couple in their early seventies who sold their home in Reno late last year for about $850,000. They're now looking at a $500,000 tri-plex, with the idea of living in one unit, and renting out the other two for about $1,300 a month each.

To qualify for FHA's new “home purchase” reverse loan, they'll take a portion of the sale proceeds from their previous home, and make a 35 percent downpayment on the tri-plex. Then they move into the unit they've chosen for their own personal use, and rent out the other two units for a combined $2,600 a month. Since it's a reverse mortgage, the couple never will have to make a principal or interest payment.

They've got positive cash flow every month that they can use for living expenses, and with any luck, they'll own an appreciating asset that may be worth more in later years.

Plus, if and when they choose, they can refinance the property, pay off the reverse mortgage debt, move out and convert the unit into all-rental so the entire building is investment property, and make it eligible for a 1031 tax exchanges.

As always, before plunging into a strategy like this, get solid advice from an experienced professional. And for professional rental property management software that's easy to use, try Simplify'Em Property Management Software.

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Dear Panda, I Need to Know the Truth

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:37:17 -0500

If you took the time to figure out what your clients really want, and then helped them get what they wanted without any commitment or obligation, you would have a lot more success with your business.

Ask a Panda.

Assuming you could talk to the Panda, the Panda would tell you I am correct. Here’s why:

Let’s say my friend, Bob the Panda, just moved into your neighborhood, and Bob the Panda is really cool… You very badly want Bob to be your friend because of the benefit that can come out of your relationship with him… For the same reason, all your neighbors want to be Bob’s friend too.

You and all your neighbors will compete to become Panda Bob’s best friend. Whoever Panda Bob chooses to hang out with on Friday night, wins. So what makes you so special that Panda Bob will want to hang out with you on Friday night?

One neighbor invites Panda Bob to watch TV on Monday, and the Panda goes. Another neighbor offers to take the Panda Bob shopping on Tuesday, and the Panda goes. You offer to take the Panda Bob jet-skiing on Wednesday, and the Panda goes. The last neighbor offered to let the Panda Bob fly his helicopter on Thursday, and the Panda goes.

Shucks, the last neighbor wins! Right? Wrong!

It’s pretty clear each of you has out done the other, and now you’re accepting the reality that Panda Bob will choose to hang out with the last neighbor, the one who you perceive to be offering the highest value – but you’re terribly mistaken. Friday night comes around, and everyone is asking Panda Bob who he wants hang out with. Panda Bob says he’s going to drive over to the other side of town, to hang out with me.

Why, you ask?

Because I have “pull.”

Old-school marketing tactics don’t work well in today’s Web 2.0 environment, and that’s pretty obvious. Old-school means you’re “pushing” yourself. While “pushing” certainly still works, it is costly and time consuming.

Going back to the example, Pandas actually aren’t very fond of TV, or shopping, or jet-skis and helicopters. Like humans however, Panda’s find it hard to refuse anything that’s free! So you can go ahead and “push” yourself and your services to the Panda all you want, it’s not going to benefit you!

Of course it doesn’t bother me, because I have “pull” (in the form of bamboo). Panda Bob will always choose to come to me, because I have what he truly wants and needs. I leave trails of bamboo allover the city, leading right into my house, and can always expect to see Pandas sitting on my couch and begging for more when I get home. I don’t have to “push” myself to Panda Bob, because I have taken the time to find what he wants, and found a way to “pull” him in.

If you want a Panda to hang out with you on Friday night, you better have some bamboo. And if you want an investor to do business with you, you better have something an investor wants, like your own cobranded property management software.

Real estate investors know what they want, where they can get it, and they don’t have much difficulty finding it. Do you have what they are looking for?

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Pull, don't Push... Bernice said so...

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:51:49 -0500

Bernice Ross wrote a great article on how old-school marketing tactics don’t work well in today’s Web 2.0 environment, and if you’re ready to implement some of the “new school” marketing strategies, here are six strategies to get you started. My favorite was “Pull, don’t push.”

The old-school approach “pushes” out information in the form of newspaper advertisements, magazine ads, and Just Listed and Just Sold cards. Agents “push” their services by door-knocking for expired listings and for-sale-by-owners. While “pushing” certainly still works, it is costly and time consuming.

Telling people to go to your website is pushing them. Giving them a reason to visit the useful content available on your website will pull them in.

I think a perfect example is Deb Agliano’s experience when she did a product review for Inman News:

“I put the widget on my website and wrote about the free tools on Twitter – within half an hour, an investor had signed up through my website to use the applications.”

If agents take the time to figure out what the consumers really want, then help them get there (without commitment or obligation), they’ll have a lot more success with their marketing.

What kind of niche marketing techniques are you using to pull in your audience?

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

OMG, Take a Look at What Inman Wrote About Us

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:07:38 -0500

Have you been to Inman.com today? Aren't you totally surprised? I sure was!

Actually, it wasn't completely a surprise from me. We got an email from Inman yesterday as I was leaving the office and they told us to look out for the news today. I wasn't expecting we would be the headline!

Inman News has assembled several product review teams to rate a range of real estate products, web sites, online tools and services, after a period of hands-on testing that spans at least seven days.

Products are rated on

1. Ease. Is it easy to use for real estate professionals? For real estate consumers? How steep is the learning curve?

2. Value. Is it helpful and useful for real estate professionals? For their clients/customers/consumers? Cost vs. benefits: Is it worth the cost?

3. Power. Would real estate professionals and consumers be likely to use this often? Can it replace existing tools/methods? How much information and how many features does it put at the user's fingertips? Does it have the power to change the industry? Can real estate professionals and consumers use this on the go? Is it innovative and cutting edge? Is it scalable (can be used by individuals and entire offices/companies)? Does it have advanced features for tech-savvy users? Does it integrate with other products?

Overall Ratings: Ease 83, Value 87, Power 90

You can read below to see how the individual reviewers felt:
Deb Agliano - 90, 94, 92
Alicia S. Crum - 95, 90, 90
Janet Krauss - 65, 73, 88

Check out the overall review! If you are already using the Partner Program, please leave a comment to share your experience. THANKS!

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

California Court Rules Rents Not Collectible for Unpermitted Units

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:11:22 -0500

Today’s lesson of the day: “If you are renting out a unit that has not been permitted for occupancy, don’t count on being able to collect a judgment against a tenant who defaults on the rent.” Read More

Maria Espinoza had rented a unit to two tenants, Gudelia Calva and Jorge Soqui, and after three months of not collecting the $750 monthly rent, Espinoza had them evicted. The eviction action was upheld and the landlord was awarded possession of the premises, but the tenants had raised various claims about the sub-standard conditions of the unit, including the fact that it had not been certified for occupancy.

The court ruled that the tenants had owed $3,350, but the amount was reduced by $1,000 because of the condition of the property.

For some reason, the case was appealed. The appellate court upheld the eviction, but disagreed with the first court with respect to the amount due from the tenants. The court referred to the fact that the Santa Ana municipal code prohibits the use or occupation of a building “until the building official has issued a certificate of occupancy,” and because no occupancy permit had been issued, the court held that “the occupancy was unlawful and the lease constitutes an illegal contract.” Therefore, they ruled it was incorrect for the first court to have given an award of any rent at all, and they ruled that no money was due.

Was this ruling a good thing or a bad thing? Some of the unintended consequences will include a reduction in the number of affordable rental units due to the fact that there are a significant number of unpermitted rental units. Many of those units could never be permitted because of various zoning and building ordinances. Many landlords of unpermitted units will take them off the market rather than run the risk of collecting nothing in an eviction action.

This is a huge win for tenants, and this court decision certainly diminishes the appeal of being a landlord - but is it really that bad? Should landlords have been renting out units if they were not certified to be occupied in the first place? What do you think?

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Neighbor Claims Rihanna isn't a Good Neighbor, and Sues!

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:43:29 -0500

Christian Moeller, a professor of design and media art at UCLA, is suing 21-year-old pop singer Rihanna and Stephen Yacobian, the owner of the house she rents in Los Angeles. Read More

Moeller claims vehicles routinely park or wait on his property, including some used by Rihanna. He also claims a security camera at the home is pointed onto his property. He is seeking unspecified damages for trespass, invasion of privacy, and some other claims.

Rihanna’s landlord says the lawsuit is without merit, but wouldn’t comment further until he had spoken to his attorney. According to the lawsuit, Moeller originally gave Yacobian permission to occasionally drive through his property, but claims that Rihanna has been over utilizing the right. The lawsuit claims that some of Rihanna’s guests have even been parking their cars on Moeller’s lawn.

If she’s driving her cars of his front garden and that’s ruining his grass - that’s definitely a problem. But is Rihanna really invading his privacy? Is that a bit much? What do you think?

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!

Gardening Nudists vs Landlord and Neighbors

Niman @TReXGlobal.com (TReXGlobal) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:55:58 -0500

A couple of nudists claim their landlord is wrongly discriminating against them by trying to get them to cover up while gardening. They were accused by their landlord of being a nuisance, because they wear only thong underwears and pasties while gardening.

Neighbors complained to police about the couple’s scanty clothing, but police say the couple is not violating the law as long as their genitals are covered. The landlord however, Boulder Housing Partners, has sent the couple a letter saying they could face eviction if they don’t cover up. The couple says the threat of eviction amounts to discrimination.

What do you think should happen to them? Read More

PS: Our Property Management Software makes it easy for tenants to Pay Rent Online, and it is super cool.

Cooler than the president watching me on TV.

And that's pretty cool... Read more at our Blog!