Checklist to Hiring an Experienced Property Manager ~ Darien, Ct.

By DMK Property Management llc, Darien, Ct.

When it comes to property management, experience counts. Property managers come from many fields such as experienced real estate investors, building contractors, real estate agents, architects and educational centers and degrees. Many states require property managers to be licensed real estate brokers, license business and/or Community Association Managers which many require a certain amount of classroom hours, passing examinations and continuing education programs. With many states adopting new laws regarding real estate and property management check yearly with your state to see current status on licensing.

Checklist to hiring an Experienced Property Manager.

• Tenant Relations.
• Rent Collection.
• Visit each property quarterly.
• Speak with prospective tenants and show property when necessary.
• Work with Landlord to set rental rates and prepare leases.
• Negotiate, prepare and review lease agreements.
• Interface with Real Estate Agents. Open house, mailings, calls to stay up to date.
• Supervise superintendents, maintenance employees and bookkeepers.
• General maintenance and Emergency Repairs ~ solicit bids and schedule.
• Interface with Insurance Companies when needed.
• Prepare work to be done lists for maintenance employees, superintendents and subcontractors.
• Tenant fit up, construction, improvements and repair projects.
• Knowledge of local building and zoning regulations and permit process.
• Maintenance Contracts ~ solicit and prepare contracts.
• Review all invoices and monthly itemized category reports.
• Knowledge of eviction process.
• Placement of advertisements.
• Currently active and knowledgeable in the rental and real estate market.
• Keep and up-date tenant emergency information book.

DMK Property Management llc currently serving Darien, New Canaan, Rowayton and lower Fairfield County, Connecticut. DMK Property Management llc is a locally owned company that can custom tailor their service to fit your individual needs be it a weekend walk through up to a fully maintain estate program. With combined experience in Real Estate Maintenance and Management that spans over 75+ years here in Fairfield County. Our team can provide you the experience and reliability you expect and can trust.

Smaller is Better ~Multi-Purpose Rooms & Micro-Apartments.

There is a trend happening in residential real estate of multi-purpose rooms that you are seeing more and more. The office can turn into a guest bedroom, the walk in closet is also the laundry room, sliding walls to create a great room or separate rooms. The key is to make the space flexible, maintain a flow and maximize space & storage.

In New York City Mayor Bloomberg unveiled the winner of a city owned micro unit apartment complex where each unit will be between 250 to 370 square feet. These will be affordable housing apartments restricted to tenants earning no more than $77,190 a year. To help in the cost of construction the 10 story tower will be modular construction with prefabricated units stacked on top of one another.

David Popoff is a certified “Green” Realtor with William Pitt Sotheby’s in lower Fairfield County, Connecticut and associate of

DMK Property Management llc a locally owned company serving lower Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Specializing in Residential Property Management that can custom tailor a program to fit the homeowners needs be it short term or long term from rental management to full estate management.

cell 203-228-0646

email DavidPopoffCT@hotmail.com

Green Tip #4, Seal & Insulate Attic Doors.

Be it an attic door, pull down stairway or hatch, this is a big hole that goes from your condition living space to an unheated dirty space. Besides losing heating and air conditioning you are also allowing dust and particles into your living environment.

For better energy efficiency and healthier living conditions these passageways need to be sealed and insulted.

The easiest way is to use the proper weather stripping on the doorway and then as well install some type of insulation box, shell or blanket.

There are many products you can buy ready-made, here are some of them:

• The Battic Door attic stairs cover. $50 - $125
• The Attic Tent. $200
• The Draft Cap attic stair insulator. $145
• The Energy Guardian. $185
• The Blanket.  $50.

To read more on attic door sealing and insulation click here for DIY article.

Green Tip #3    LED’s @ $10 in Connecticut.

Green Tip #2    Seal Your Leaky Ducts Now with AEROSEAL, UL-listed.  

Green Tip #1    Numbers Do Not Lie, Green Building = Saved $$$.

David Popoff is a Connecticut license real estate agent in lower Fairfield County. He has lived and worked in the area for over 30 years and now reside in Darien since 2004.

• Green Affiliations.
• • Realtor GREEN designation by the National Association of Realtors.
  • David Popoff is an accredited LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) Homes and USGBC member of the Connecticut chapter (CTGBC).  
  • Associate member and an accredited Certified Green Professional (CGP) of National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the local chapter HBRA-Fairfield County, Ct.
  • Member of the HBA CT Green Homes Council.
  • GPRO Construction Management Certified by Urban Green Council, USGBC NY.

Selecting carpet for your home in New Canaan CT has never been easier...now, you can Shop at Home for your carpeting in Fairfield CT.

Have you ever been to a carpet store and just felt lost and overwhelmed?  Sometimes, there are so many options that you don't even know where to start.  Sometimes, you may go into a store and find so many choices that you leave you more confused than you felt when you entered?  How do you know what's the best type of carpet for your home in New Canaan CT?  What's the right one for your budget?  And, what's the right color?  Here's where we can help.

We make shopping for carpet in Fairfieldfun and easy.

Everything starts with the area you are looking to carpet.  Is it for a bedroom or a living room or a family room or basement or the steps?  Different rooms require different types of carpeting.  We'll help guide you through the right choices.  What does your budget look like?  We'll show you different options for different budgets, and you can determine which works best for you vs. what you would like to spend.

We help you with carpet color selection

First, we'll bring the samples to you...so you can see the carpet samples in your own home and lighting.  The carpet colors do look different in the store vs. your home.  We allow you do color coordinate with your paint, furniture and other rooms.  We will help guide you to select the best color.  If you have pets, we'll help provide guidance on types of carpeting that work well with your pets - both the type of construction and colors that will help hide the dirt (or fur).  We can also order swatches for you so you can take the them to the store to help you as you select paint colors.

Our carpets offer great stain protection

The carpets contain stain protection that is applied before the carpet is tufted, so it's good root to tip.  We can also find carpets that have multiple colors so they will help hide the dirt.

We install carpeting on steps and bind carpet runners

Whether you're looking for wall to wall carpeting or a custom bound runner (which shows the wood on the steps), we can help you and provide design tips.

We offer environmentally friendly carpet options

If you're looking for wool carpeting or sisal, or even sea grass, we have natural fiber carpets that are eco-friendly.  We also offer nylon carpets with recycled content and carpets that are recycleable.

Carpet video - New Canaan CT 06840

When you're looking for carpet for your home in New Canaan CT 06840, give The Flooring Girl a call 914-937-2950 and let us "bring the store to your door."

We are your friendly neighborhood flooring store, and we have done work in New Canaan on the following streets:

• Weed St
• Great Hill Rd
• Gardiner St

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Carpet Store in New Canaan CT 06840 | Shop at home for carpeting in Fairfield County

If you are planning a painting project for your home in New Canaan CT, it's important to understand the value of proper preparation.

You've probably heard that the final look and durability of a paint job is largely dependent on the amount and quality of the preparation.  A layer of paint is only about the thickness of a human hair; so it won't hide defects or fix a faulty substrate.

Although it can be very time consuming, good preparation is worth every effort as it will improve the quality and longevity of the finished surface.

There are various levels of preparation as well.  If you are using a professional New Canaan painter for your interior painting project, it is important to have a mutual understanding of your expectations of the finished surface to determine how "perfect" the end result must be.  The higher the level of preparation, the higher the amount of labor and material costs.

Washing the surface.  Although it sounds obvious, you want to be sure the surface to be painted is clean and dust-free. Paint won't stick to a greasy and dirty surface, so proper cleaning is paramount. Dust down doors with a dusting brush and make sure that no fine dust is left in the corners of the moldings.  Use a tack cloth to wipe over surfaces.  A tack cloth is a small sticky cloth that can be wiped over a surface to remove any remaining dust.  If there is any loose paint or other surface contaminates, you can use sandpaper, scrapers, brushes or steel wool to clean the area.

Preparing Walls.  Holes and cracks can be filled with one of many different compounds.  Spackling compound can either be bought in powder form to be mixed with water, or as a ready to use paste.  (In my college days, we used toothpaste to fill in nail holes!)  In this standard level of preparation you aren't altering the surface level other than correcting obvious existing defects.  Basic patching/filling of nail holes, light sanding and "feather edge" sanding are part of the wall preparation.  Stains should be sealed, gaps in the trim caulked and walls scuff sanded for better adhesion of the paint.  Additional preparation might include filling, patching or taping of sheetrock or drywall and properly dealing with "nail pops."

If there is extensive damage to the walls, or if that perfectly smooth surface is desired, the walls will need to be completely skim coated, which basically gives the wall a new surface.  Having a professional painter do this work for you will ensure you get the result you are looking for.  Keep in mind that this level of preparation comes at a price, so think about just how "perfect" your walls need to be.

At CertaPro Painters of Norwalk, serving the Fairfield County communities of New Canaan, Norwalk, Wilton and Darien, we will discuss the levels of preparation with our customers to be sure we deliver on our promise and to our customers level of expectation.

Karen Haas, Owner of CertaPro Painters of Norwalk CT serving New Canaan, Norwalk, Wilton and Darien

"Because Painting is Personal"

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Prepping for Interior Painting in New Canaan CT 06840

Are you looking to sand and refinish hardwood floors in New Canaan CT?

It's amazing what a difference refinishing your hardwood flooring can make.  Your floors will look brand new and you even have the option to change the color.  You can go light, dark, mid tones, or red tones. It can really give your home (or room) a whole new look.

If you have hardwood underneath your carpets, we can restore the beauty of the hardwood underneath. It's amazing what a big difference this can make in your home.  And, believe it or not, it is usually less expensive to refinish your floors than to recarpet.  Refinishing your wood floors will also improve your home's value and it will be easier to clean and maintain.

At Floor Coverings International, we are a shop at home service.  We will bring the "store to your door" so that you can see the flooring and colors in your own home and lighting and color coordinate with your paint colors and decor.  When it comes to sanding and refinishing, not only we will help guide you in color selections, but we will also test out a few colors for you on your floor.  This is important because every floor is different, so it's best to see what the stain will actually look like on your own floors (rather than a tiny sample).

We offer both the standard refinishing process as well as a dustless sanding system.  Dustless sanding  costs a bit extra, but many customers feel it's worth it, especially if they have someone with allergies in their household.  We offer both oil and water based polyurethane, and we will help you understand the pros and cons on each method.

We are proud of our work, but don't rely on our word...ask our customers!  We have won the Angie's list Super Service award 2 years in a row, and you can even check our google reviews online.  And, we will gladly provide with a list of over 30 customers to call.

Video of hardwood flooring and refinishing New Canaan CT 06840

Our estimates are always free.  So, when you're ready to refinish your hardwood floors in New Canaan CT 06840, call us at 914-937-2950 and let us "bring the store to your door."

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Related posts:

Water based polyurethane vs. oil based:  Which is better for refinishing hardwood floors?

I have hardwood underneath my carpets.  Should I refinish the hardwood or recarpet?

What types of hardwood are best for pets?

Refinish hardwood flooring | New Canaan CT 06840 | Dustless sanding

Yesterday, I had a really fun and fulfilling appointment.  I had a super nice customer in New Canaan CT and she googled her question:

Should I refinish my hardwood floors or replace them?

And, up came my blog.  So, first, this article answered her question...she explained to me that the other pages that came up didn't help, but my blog post was informative and easy to read.  Second, she was thrilled that I lived in her neighborhood.  She was thrilled to be able to meet with The Flooring Girl.  She then continued to read the bio on my site.  In there, it mentions that I went to Dartmouth College, and well that was super cool to her because as it turns out, both her kids went to Dartmouth, too.

So, I went over to her lovely home in New Canaan, and yes, I could indeed save her a lot of money by refinishing her floors.  Her hardwood flooring is old and worn, but still certainly in great condition structurally and it can be refinished many times.  So, we will restore these floors so they look new and help make her home look beautiful for her daughter's wedding in June.

She then continued to give me advice on how I can use twitter better to find other local buyers that need hardwood flooring.  She explained how she loved my blog so much that she showed my daughter...she loved the blog because it sounded just like me...it sounded like I was speaking to her...and when she met me in person, i sounded the same.

This was a small sale for me, but it was so much fun and so energizing that npw I have my mojo back.