This cry for help came in from one of my clients via a voice mail message. Owning a rental property provides great tax breaks and potentially good financial returns, but also exposes the individual to major legal liabilities. This individual was in a lot of trouble and needed to take a quick lesson in Landlord 101. Based on my experience, I  put together the following list of 7 basic aspects for my new investor-client to study, and to help him become a good law-abiding landlord and a savvy investor.

• Educate yourself about your duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a landlord. It is a business in which ignorance is NOT a defensible argument. If you have to go to court to either collect your rents, evict somebody, or even worse; being sued by one of your tenants, you better know your job very well and be prepared, it could cost you the entire investment property and more, if you are not.
  

• Join a group of "Apartment Owners Associations." Become a subscriber and get involved in their discussions.  These people will be your best allies. The AOA group provides professional guidance and will help and support you in making your business of providing housing for others more profitable, easier and more enjoyable. They will have real time alerts on new laws and local proposals that can affect the business of apartment owners.

• Chose your tenants carefully! Be fair and color blind when interviewing potential tenants. There are strict rules about discrimination of any kind. Your own personal beliefs should not dictate who you rent to. Develop a consistent and clear procedure to always use when choosing your tenants. Tests are regularly conducted by the Fair Housing authorities and the penalties are severe.

• Maintain your rental properties! Landlords who do not spend money in maintenance or repairs, will invariably spend much more money defending their actions or lack off in court when a tenant gets injured or harmed because of lack of maintenance. The value of a rental property is based on income and overall physical condition. A clean, safe and well maintained property will always provide high rental values with less tenant turnover.
  

• Do not get personal, seek legal advise when dealing with trouble tenants. There is a set of steps that must be followed exactly when enforcing a lease or rental agreement. The correct forms must be used, the timing must be absolute, and even the wording on the document must be specific and appropriate for each situation. If it is not done right, the entire process must start all over again. Let the professionals handle these situations.

• Know thy Limits...! Even if you consider yourself a "handyman," and know how to swing a hammer or use a power tool, know when to call the professionals. Can you really tackle a plumbing or an electrical problem? Hiring the right professional could shield you not only from personal injuries to yourself or your tenants but from legal liability. The key here is to do it right; do not think "expenses" think instead "tax reductions."

• Put together a team to help you run your business. Do not wait until you need an attorney to look for one. Begin by asking other landlords in the area if they know someone locally. If possible, get to meet them, find out what their fees are, their work schedules, where are they located etc. Do this for everybody. You will need a good plumber, electrician, roofer, flooring specialist and painter. If you do your homework, you will know exactly who to call when an emergency arises. Taking care of tenants problems right away is a good solid block in which to build a strong relationship with the most valuable partner you will have in your rental business: YOUR Tenant.

A rental property pays back at least in 3 different ways: Appreciation: in a healthy real estate market, properties go up in price. Depreciation: When you own a rental property you can deduct the improvement (the value of the building) one 27th of its value every year for 27 years. And finally, Income: the rent paid by the tenant, minus expenses. Keep your tenants happy and they in turn will respect your property, pay you good rents and stay in place longer.

I love San Leandro

I am deeply saddened however by the destruction of the 1950s mid century modern "googie" style EBMUD office on Washington Boulevard in the Downtown area.

What a cool building this "was".  It had a precast concrete roof in a really interesting rolling wave pattern.

The water utility EBMUD gave up on selling the property and let the city tear down the building for a parking lot.  This parking lot would serve the shoppers for the downtown farmer's market on Wednesday evenings.

Why didn't someone on the city council or the library's historical committee speak up and save this crazy googie mid century modern building.

To me San Leandro is only content on knocking down everything that is not Mission Revival stucco and with a red tile roof.  I am not in favor of a fake hacienda look for Downtown San Leandro.

I would like to see a variety of styles downtown.  Let's see some modern contemporary.  Let's see some Art Deco.  Let's see some Victorian.  Let's see some craftsman.  Let's even have some funky roadside vernacular.

I should run for city council and help preserve some of what makes this city such a nice place to live.

The Tax Credit passed by congress have given home buyers a better incentive to go out and make a purchase of their first home. But are they stimulated enough to do that? I believe the problem we have is not simply the apathy of the home buyer but rather the confidence level of the average buyer, any buyer of any product.

What I encounter in my small town in San Leandro, California must be typical of the rest of the country. The people I talk to are average Jane's and Joe's who if not unemployed, at this time are simply glad to have a job. We need to seek help for other areas of the economy, so as to restore the confidence that the home buyer has to have in order to sign the dotted line that promises to make payments for the next 30 years. Nobody would even think of doing that not knowing weather they will have a job next week or not. Downsizing, cut backs, pay freezes and lay offs are some of the key words that put fear into the heart of the would be home buyer.  

The Recovery Stimulus Package does have very specific time limits that I as a Realtor would like everyone to know... before is too late! The deadline for this credit is December 1, 2009 and you must stay in the house for a minimum of 3 years before selling it in order to avoid having to pay that money back. There are also income limitations to qualify for this tax break; a $75,000 for single tax payers and $150,000 for married couples.

There are other benefits associated with the new Rescue Package: The new FHA and Conforming loan limits gets restored to the $729,760 maximum they had in 2008. This will help finance higher cost homes particularly in areas where the market is higher than the national average. The side effect of this increase is the possibility of refinancing for troubled home owners facing foreclosure.

And lastly, there is also a proviso for increasing up to $625,500 for FHA backed Reverse Mortgages in the Stimulus Package. This will allow seniors to acquire a replacement property without having to sell their primary residence first. Putting it all together, there is help for first time buyers, increase in limits and availability of FHA loans for middle to higher price ranges plus help for seniors who qualify for a higher FHA Reverse Mortgages to downsize. I would strongly suggest anyone reading this post to check with your CPA or attorney to verify this information.

Antonio & Alexia Cardenas, "The Realtors In Motion" can be reached at (510) 326-4263 www.ListedbyAntonio.com Serving the County of Alameda in the heart of the San Francisco bay area, especially the cities of Castro Valley, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, Oakland, Pleasanton & Dublin

I presented an offer on a Short Sale listing, and quickly realized that the listing agent was not familiar with these types of sales. For my client to have a chance of getting his offer accepted I had to step in and diplomatically "guide the listing agent through the process of a short sale." This was his very first short sale listing.

I know that part of being active in AR is to contribute blog posts on subjects we are familiar with or situations in which we have been that will ideally help others either understand a new process or learn from our experiences. Reading posts in different blogs and following closely on their comments by other Professionals who give advice and who offer their 2 cents worth of experience in the matter serves as an important educational process. Short sales are still not my favorite sales, I know that most Realtors do not like them either. But short sales are here to stay and we must learn to deal with them especially since they are a large part of our inventory of homes for sale.

I recall reading with interest several posts regarding how to deal with short sales. In order to avoid being condescending or to give the impression that I was "teaching" my fellow Realtor how to deal with this type of listings, I decided to simply point him to several AR posts that dealt with this issue. A win-win cannot happen if the listing agent does not do his/her job properly, either because of inexperience or lack of proper education. I felt I owe to my client, the buyer to do my best to get his offer accepted even if it meant I had to do the other agent's job. I e-mail him several links to posts that have been published recently on AR including one that I wrote about the subject of short sales.

I was very pleased to see that this particular Realtor was eager to learn and took it to heart to read every piece I sent him. Between the two of us, we presented to the lender a very complete package and my buyer's offer was accepted, it appears that we will get this escrow closed. By pointing the listing agent to read what others have written in AR about the subject, I avoided having the impression of "telling him what to do..."  This was the response that I received from a different Realtor when I offered my help in putting his short sale package together. I had an offer on his listing that did not go.

Bookmarking the blog posts as I read them allows me to find up to date critical information that helps me navigate through these trying times, and knowing how to use this information right away to pass along to a potential buyer or another Realtor can be the difference between a sale or no sale at all. At the end AR gained yet another member since I invited the listing agent to become a part of this group, which he readily accepted. And for me, one more confirmation that I am hanging out with some of the best darn Realtors out there! Thank You Bloggers!

Antonio & Alexia Cardenas, "The Realtors In Motion"  (510) 326-4263

Specializing in San Leandro's Best Neighborhoods:

Bay-O-Vista, Estudillo
Estates and Assumption Parish

Serving the beautiful counties of Alameda and Contra Costa

 in the East Bay side  of the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Accepting Referrals 24/7 call us, we'll come and TANGO WITH YOU!

SAUSAGE & SUDS

SUNDAY OCTOBER 5TH

10:00 AM TO 6:00 PM

Parrott Street between East 14th Street and Washington Avenue

San Leandro's long history in Food Processing has brought fourth the annual Sausage & Suds Festival.  San Leandro for a long time has been home to many of the Portuguese Linguicia companies.  Casper's Hot Dogs are made at SPAR sausages on Williams Street.  Saag's sausages also call San Leandro home.

San Leandro is also home to many micro-breweries too.

It's only natural that San Leandro has a Sausage & Suds Festival.  Live music will add to the ambiance as you partake in the beer and sausages!

I hope to see you there.

Being the caregiver I am, I drove my mother down to Classique Styles this afternoon for her regular hair styling appointment.  It's always a good feeling for a cancer patient to look good, it makes her feel good on the inside too.   She smiles allot more when her hair is done up.

Classique Styles is located in the neighborhood shopping district of Bancroft and Dutton in San Leandro.  Mom always goes to stylist Irma.  She does a great job with my mother.

While my mother is getting her hair all done over, I'll walk across the street to Zocalo Coffeehouse for a nice Mocha coffee drink.

Zocalo Coffeehouse is a great neighborhood resource and it is truly the heart of "The Broadmoor" and "Estudillo Estates" neighborhoods.   Tim Holmes and his wife 'Mitch' have created a wonderful place to go and meet neighbors and friends.

Before Zocalo Coffeehouse was Dean's Beans which laid the ground work for Zocalo to follow.  Here is a link to Zocalo Coffeehouse.  www.ZocaloCoffeehouse.com If you're ever in my neck of the woods stop in and say hello to Tim and his crew!

Anyway I digress,  I wanted to blog about the San Leandro Downtown plan that was in the community resources library of reading materials at Zocalo's soft and cushy lounge area.  It's a nice three ringed binder with the city of San Leandro's plans for the downtown area over the next several years.

It starts with a history of the downtown plaza area and it's development over the years.  It chronicles how we got to where we are now with the downtown.

This downtown plan mentions that the city wants to recreate what was here before all the redevelopment changed everything.  The restoration of the downtown plaza at the triangular parcel of land between Washington Avenue and East 14th Street is a large part of this plan.

The city also wants to break up the super-block that was created in 1983 when the strip mall was built.  The city wants to make the Joaquin and Juana connect back up to Hayes Street again.  This means that the second of the two Long's Drugs stores would have a street running right through the middle of it in a few years from now.

What I would personally like to see is a landmark quality building be built on the site of the historic plaza.  The triangular parcel of land between Washington Avenue and East 14th Street.  I would love to see a dramatic flat iron building take up that location and really be a landmark feature. (A flat iron building is a wedge shaped building going to a point)  I would like to see something at least 10 stories tall and looking significant in design.  I think that the city should look to the best building (Named after Daniel Best, one of the founders of Caterpillar Tractor) as the inspiration for this building.

The entire project when completed will be a very nice area.  If you would like to live near the downtown plaza and BART, please give me a call and I would be glad to help you find some place perfect for you!

If you're looking for a great place to eat in San Leandro's downtown plaza area.  Try Tequila Grill, it's a mexican restaurant for lunch and dinner.  For Breakfast it's an all american good food diner.  There is some mexican overflow on the breakfast menu and that's really a great thing.

I have the Huevos Divorciados with rice and beans and flour tortillas.  MMMMM yummy.  This dish comes with both Red and Green Enchilada sauce over eggs and tortillas.  I order my eggs scrambled because I am not too much of a fan of mixxing the yoke with the two sauces.

The servers Chuy, Luis and Fatima are friendly and like family to all the customers.

My group of diners on Sunday mornings have been eating at the same table for about 10 years now.  The restaurant has changed hands recently and was called Dino's International a few years back. 

It's located in the building that was the Old Chuckburgers Diner on East 14th Street just a few doors South of the Estudillo Avenue intersection. Free parking is available at the back of the building in the city parking lot.