landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part XXII * Bottom Feeders Think ALL Rental Homes are for SALE
- 04/14/13 08:57 PM
One of the pitfalls of my frequent use of Craigslist for marketing my clients' AVAILABLE rental properties is that they are EASY to FIND....by rental prospects AND listing SCAMMERS and LAZY Agents and BUYERS. Several of my clients have been contacted by UNknown persons indicating they want to BUY their property. This is not a NEW issue - just has a twist. My listings appear VACANT in my online postings so my clients are not loosing any $$$....they are getting rent. Also, I start advertising EARLIER when I know that residents are leaving so that I have a MUCH WIDER net … (3 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Beach Book Season is coming! Are you READY for some JACK DANIELS on the Beach
- 04/12/13 09:21 PM
I'm not sure how I found out about Jack Daniels....the character in JA Konrath's thriller series that are named after Jack Daniels bourbon drink recipes...and I am VERY GLAD I did. Jack is a Chicago police detective formally known as Jacqueline until she married her husband * Alan Daniels * then she became JACK DANIELS. Since I listen to books on cds in my car, I was pleased to find that the various character voices are read by male and female voices which really helps with the continuity of characters and locations. Reading (listening) to them in order his very helpful … (4 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part XXI * YES! I need ALL OF THAT INFORMATION, please
- 04/10/13 02:43 AM
My rental application is only 1 page and one-third of that is boilerplate Q&A about filing bankruptcy, being evicted, having a criminal history so completing it is fairly easy; however, for some reason, some rental prospects are curious why I require some of the information I am requesting. This ONE PIECE of PAPER may be the ONLY time I get valuable information on rental prospects and this ONE PIECE of PAPER gets them a new home. Mortgage loan qualifications often take a ream of paper and hours of compiling financial, stock, retirement, liability balances and income figures...and then the BANK/mortgage … (4 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part XX * I Do NOT Think your Out-of-Office Reply is Helping
- 04/04/13 09:13 PM
I am in HEAVY renting mode with only 2 VACANT/Available NOW homes.....so when I get a rental prospect inquiry for one of these propertie - I want to schedule a viewing ASAP. I have been in communication with a rental prospect attempting to set up a viewing on Saturday and I keep getting her Out-of-Office e-mail reply when attempting to get a confirmation of the showing time. It is unfortunate if she only has her WORK e-mail to use during this process and if she is truly UNAVAILABLE to respond.
I'll keep posting these homes online and will schedule … (10 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part 17 * Wallace turns 1,000,000 in Dog (ActiveRain) Years
- 04/01/13 08:32 PM
In almost 50 years as a property manager, I have had some awesome milestones.... Obtaining my Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) in January, 1986 Obtaining my Master Property Manager (MPM) designation from the National Association of Rental Property Managers (NARPM) in September, 2000 * first property manager in Virginia to obtain this designation Being Chair of the Virginia Association of Realtors (VAR) Property Management Council for 2 terms * 1998 through 2000 HOWEVER.....I will FOREVER cherish my FIRST 1,000,000 points on ActiveRain. I wanted to get my 1M badge by the end of … (49 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part 16 * Third Time is a CHARM!
- 03/30/13 08:59 PM
I showed a townhouse on Friday to a GREAT applicant * I already had her application PREapproved * and she wants to move in Monday - in 3 days....the unit is ready and I just needed to do the lease packet paperwork ( 6-page lease & 20+ page Resident Handbook) and we agreed to meet Saturday/next day at her work. When we met and she was reading the lease, she asked * THIS HOME IS NOT GOING INTO FORECLOSURE? Right? * the home she currently occupies is on the auction block mid-April and the home she lived in PREVIOUSLY, had also … (5 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part 15 * YES, Virginia...I Raised the RENT on that Home
- 03/28/13 08:07 PM
For several reasons, I have 3 available rental homes available NOW * OFF Rental Season * and I have priced their rent according to market and the rental prospects have just not been there....fortunately 2 have PRE-paid rent from the former occupants and one of the homes is one that I own and that I am having repainted. As of April 1 * we are coming into the PRIME rental season so I am INCREASING the rents on the 2 UNrented homes that I have available NOW for occupancy. I REposted these 2 rental listings on Craigslist this morning and UPPED … (7 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part 14 * I'm Making an Inspection * SMILE! My Tenant has CAMERAS!
- 03/26/13 09:00 PM
I notified 5 of my current residents via e-mail yesterday that I would be making pre-move-out property inspections to note any MAKE-READY items and alert my owners of costs accordingly. These inspections are not to be confused with the inspection I will make AFTER the residents move * clean * and THEN return the keys and I make a POST-move-out inspection to determine the return of their security deposit. Two of my residents are homeowners elsewhere renting their former homes and they have NEVER heard of such a thing....obviously, their agent/property manager is not as THOROUGH as the LandlordWhisperer....and then I … (8 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part DOZEN * Can't find a Home to BUY * Needs to RENEW Her Lease
- 03/24/13 08:49 PM
I have a high-end home that I rented late in the rental season last summer to a woman who had sold her home and the contract on her new home had to be cancelled because of too many issues on the home inspection. We BOTH figured that she would she would start looking for a new home in January with her "vintage" real estate agent and I offered her a lease renewal in February pro forma. She did not respond so her renewal offered expired and her fixed term lease kicks in... I received an e-mail over the weekend that she … (7 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part 11 * SELLERS* Start Viewing Rental Homes When...
- 03/22/13 09:06 PM
I'm experiencing a really new phenomenon in my rental inquiries - sellers who think their homes will sell FAST and they will need to move FAST. I have my fingers crossed that this happens for them; however, the actuality is that they need to have a CLOSING DATE of their home sale to have a MOVE-IN date for a new rental home. Keeping an eye on the rental home inventory online is a GREAT idea; however, unless there is a PURCHASE contract on their home, they really do not have an exact move-in date and SMART SELLERS wait until all contingencies are … (8 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part Nuef * You have to follow Steps 1 thru 4 to get to #5
- 03/21/13 06:35 AM
I am in FULL RENTING MODE * I am responding to 20 to 40 e-mail inquiries a day generated from my AGGRESSIVE posting routine on Craigslist (posting 6 properties 2x each days for 6 days) and I am scheduling showings to PRE-screened applicants and notifying my residents of our entry times for viewing their home. Usually this happens a few days in advance; and when the process works * it REALLY WORKS! Rental prospects who want a home with a fenced yard 5 minutes from his work found a GREAT home on my website and he brought their rental applications to … (3 comments)
landlordwhisperer: Cinderella Chronicles * Part SEPT * YES! Let Me Call you a Taxi
- 03/17/13 08:46 PM
I've been asked about the "strange/off the menu" services I have been asked to perform and one of the ones that came to the top of my high-maintenance, blond head was providing TAXI service. A few years ago, I rented a nice, downtown condo to a female, international attorney teaching at the UVa Law and JAG school. She loved the location, could walk to restaurants and theaters downtown and only had one problem....she did not drive...not that she did not have a CAR; she could not drive because of eyesight problems. NO PROBLEM....I found a local taxi driver who would take … (11 comments)
One of the pitfalls of my frequent use of Craigslist for marketing my clients' AVAILABLE rental properties is that they are EASY to FIND....by rental prospects AND listing SCAMMERS and LAZY Agents and BUYERS.
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