property management software: Social Media - Professional Friend or Foe? - 05/20/15 07:01 AM
One day when there was a major traffic mess in my hometown on my drive to Rentec Direct headquarters, I took the advice of a friend who suggested I "like" the local Facebook group that reports on police/fire & rescue scanner activity in our area so I would have a head's up on any detours, etc.  Every once in a while I click over to the page to see if anything is happening and I'm always surprised to see how busy this page is!  So much more going on in my town than I ever knew!
This weekend, I happened across a … (6 comments)

property management software: Delinquencies & Payment Plans... Good or Bad? - 05/11/15 02:52 AM
If you have tenants, you will - TRUST ME - have a time when a tenant will come to you and say "I can't pay my rent.  Can I make payments?"  
You may tell yourself now, as you drink your coffee and envision this hypothetical dead-beat tenant, that no-way-on-God's-green-earth will you accept a payment plan.  There are payment terms written into your rental agreement and that's that!  And if that's your stance - which is a perfectly acceptable one - then good, 'cause you have a "plan." 
On the other hand, if you tell yourself "I'll cross that bridge when I get to … (2 comments)

property management software: Bigger Is Better - 04/28/15 09:44 AM
At least when it comes to monitor screen size.  Once you go big, you'll never go back.
This past week, in celebration of rolling out vertically responsive software at Rentec Direct, we all received a gift from the big boss:  a fancy-pants, 32″ monitor.  WOWZER!  This baby is bigger than the TV I grew up watching!
And with a monster new tool such as this (that loads my property management software in high-def), a sure-fire way to increase my productivity is to add in another snappy-geek-tool (said affectionately,) The Virtual Desktop.  NOW I HAVE FOUR GIANT MONITORS!!  Can you tell how excited I am? … (2 comments)

property management software: Technology Throwback ... to 1964 - 04/07/15 03:42 AM
51 years ago today,  IBM released its flashy System/360 (S/360) mainframe computer and boy-howdy, was it sleek!!!  It could process up to 34,500 instructions per second.  Wow, that WAS pretty cool.  
Nowadays your fit and trim desktop can process billions of instructions per second. It is staggering to think of the technological advancements in the past 50 years!
I'm not a dinosaur (just yet) however when I first began working in Property Management, back in 1991, we handled all of our accounting, tenant tracking, applications, tenant screening, leases and maintenance requests with good old-fashioned pen and paper.  We lugged boxes and boxes and boxes … (8 comments)

property management software: If I Could Save Time In A Bottle.... - 04/01/15 05:32 AM
The first thing that I'd like to do is...
 
???
 
We all know that ol' Jim Croce song and let's face it, we all wish we had more time.  More time to be with those we love, more time to get more work done, more time to take more adventures. Time is a gift!!  And in the business of helping people, if there was something you could do to help create more time for your clients, wouldn't you want to?  Is there really such a gift as more time?
I believe the answer is a big YES!  This week at Rentec Direct, our developers … (1 comments)

property management software: I Have Orange Hair - 03/30/15 09:39 AM
It's true and it's my own fault.  Yesterday I thought I'd spice up my hair by coloring it with henna I bought in a box from our local herb shop.  It's an all-natural product so I figured it would render more "natural" looking results.  Holy Henna!  I look like a pumpkin.  
 
This is not the first time I've taken matters into my own hands only to find that a professional would have been the best way to go.  My DIY spirit/impatient manners spun me a tale of "just get 'er done...it will be fine!"  Aye yi yi!  
Thank goodness my customers … (5 comments)

property management software: What Motivates You To Offer A Referral? - 03/12/15 11:24 AM
We have all heard the phrase that "word of mouth" is your best advertising and when referrals come my way for our property management software, I feel like I'm one step ahead in closing a sales lead.
While I still consult with the Google Gods and knowledgeable online advice columns for online services and products, I still will put weight with a trusted referral, and I'd wager a bet, you might too.  Running over the services/products I've consulted a trusted friend/associate about in the last 3 months prior to purchase, I was surprised with my list:
1.  Desktop computer               … (4 comments)

property management software: Quick-Fix For Carpet Stains - 03/04/15 03:17 AM
Let's face it, dirty carpet is not attractive and replacing carpeting can be cost prohibitive.  What if your carpet cleaning vendor isn't available when you need him?  
I am the queen of "ooopsy!" when it comes to walking, talking and carrying a beverage.  That could be why I might actually also be an expert on how to get spills and spots out of carpet.  I owe a lot of credit for this skill-set to my days of property management.  Tenants + Carpet = Stains.  But Stains + Budget ╪ Carpet Replacement and from there was born the need to find creative ways … (3 comments)

property management software: Oh No... It's The DIY Homeowner!! - 02/18/15 07:22 AM
Many home owners keep detailed records of home repairs and improvements.  They hire professionals or learn from a Pro,  have copies of invoices, before and after pictures and have worked to keep their homes in tip-top condition.  And then there are the others.  The ones that don't. 
Before working in property management software with Rentec Direct, I worked as a Property Manager for a variety of Landlord profiles.  Every once in a while, a Landlord would call in and say "I think I can fix that myself..." to avoid paying a qualified contractor for a property repair when they had no true … (3 comments)

property management software: I'm Not Prejudice, But.... - 02/09/15 04:37 AM
It no longer surprises me when I hear this.  I still cringe inside - because it's usually followed with some horrible story attached to a particular ethnicity, religion or various orientation - but I am not surprised.   People discriminate every day.  We all recognize differences between one thing and another.  That's a skill we developed as we grew from a babbling babe. Back then, the skill was useful for "this dog is friendly and won't bite my face off like this one."  As an adult, you've moved beyond those basic discriminating skills and use the tool for forming judgments or sensible conclusions.
Today … (5 comments)

property management software: K.I.S.S. And Tell - A Videographer's Delimma - 02/02/15 09:13 AM
I was reading Deb Janes's advice in a recent blog she wrote about videos tips for Realtors and I wanted to kiss her for the "Keep It Short Sweety" advice she offered to those using video as a medium to connect to their clientele.  I can't tell you how many times I've felt like poking my eyes out sitting through a long video, just hoping to get to the juicy parts.  I'm annoyed in most instances, not captivated.  As she mentions, we are all very busy and sitting through long videos is not only painful, the truth is, many times we just move … (1 comments)

property management software: Video Release Party! - 01/20/15 06:11 AM
With the New Year, we decided to roll out a new Rentec Direct company logo and begin refreshing our customer video library.  I was reticent at first to the logo change, fearing it would hurt our brand recognition, however we've found no negative effects and to the contrary, are enjoying new SEO perks that come with new online material.  More exposure =  reaching more potential customers!  Today I'm excited to have completed a fresh Product Overview video and I'm ready for a party (to celebrate not hearing my voice replay over and over through edits)!!
Next up?  Training videos for our customers!  Sometimes it's … (2 comments)

property management software: A New Year's Goal Or Noose? - 01/07/15 06:12 AM

I'm back in the saddle after a nice, long holiday break and, thankfully, my teammates at Rentec Direct handled almost all the holiday traffic for me.  I'm excited to rock- and-roll into my New Year's goals over the coming months.  While I'm not a typical "resolution" type of person (the word "resolve" sounds so negative... like "OK, OK, I'll give up the fight...")  I am, however, a list-maker and goal-setter (semantics, you say?) and I can't resist an occasion to whip out pen-and-paper and make plans for a bright future.  
In my goal setting, I typically break out aspects of my … (3 comments)

property management software: Marketing Skills Or Kills? - 12/17/14 03:02 AM
I doubt I'll move here anytime soon, but I do fantasize about what my life would be like if I lived in this little Hobbit House in Wales...

I'd probably eat dandelion greens and carve sticks into magical pieces of art and heat my home with a little wood stove that has a giant pot of soup simmering on it at all times.  My clothes would be handmade from my sheep's wool I hand-dyed and spun myself.  My husband would be a blacksmith in the nearby village and of course, have super buff arms from all that hard work. And most … (3 comments)

property management software: Thank You For Calling, But Stop Calling - 12/10/14 03:25 AM
I'm taken back.
I just left a message for someone who had an office voice mail greeting that said...
"Thank you for calling.  Please leave a message. And don't call back 7 times in a row and leave a message as it will not get us to call you back any quicker. And don't give your rent payment to Henry, Jose or anyone else.  No one is going to come pick it up for you. You have to bring it to our office or you're late."
That was for real.  Someone is frustrated, for sure and most likely chasing his tail to keep up with … (5 comments)

property management software: The Love Boat Or The Titanic? A Tenant Love Affair - 11/13/14 02:19 AM
New love is like Springtime - everything fresh and promising.  Birds Singing, sun warming your skin, grass greening.  As flowers are blooming, no one wants to think of winter, right?  Yet as any good gardener knows, you should always be planning for the change of season.  And that holds true for the world of property management.  An ounce of prevention... or a little Tenant Screening... can save you headaches and heartbreak down the road.
I have a friend of a friend- let's call her Ophelia - who moved into a beautiful rental home last year with a couple she met.  They hit … (17 comments)

property management software: Wordless Wednesday - Unlikely Bedfellows - Gratuitous Pumpkins - 10/29/14 07:22 AM


                                                                                     
  
Janell is a member of Rentec Direct, a web-based property management software program designed to help streamline tenant screening and the day-to-day operations of landlords and property managers.
 
… (5 comments)

property management software: Oregon Braggart - 10/27/14 06:43 AM
Last Thursday I hit the open road with our marketing guru from Rentec Direct, Kaycee Wegener.  While we had seen torrential downpours and storms the night before, our drive through Oregon was crystal clear and gorgeously littered with fall colors.  
Our destination was the North Bend, Rental Owners Association of Southwestern Oregon monthly meeting with a goal to visit with some of our customers, (like Brooke and Herb) and other members of the association.  We not only were able to present on our Tenant Screening Services and make some new connections, we were able to take in some great sites and … (4 comments)

property management software: Because My Wife Said So - 10/09/14 07:40 AM

Part of my daily line-up at Rentec Direct is sorting through any subscription cancellations to glean why a customer has decided to jump ship.  We keep a close eye on why/where people come to us, but an even closer look at why they leave.  Understanding where you went wrong is equally, if not more important, than what was so attractive about you, at least that's what a bazillion statistics tell us.
The Harvard Business Review reports that the average business loses 50% of their customers every five years.
Without any serious computations, I know this means a ton of lost revenue, wasted advertising budget … (2 comments)

property management software: Throw-Back Thursday & The Age Of Aquarius - 10/02/14 04:38 AM
Frequently I wake with a song buzzing through my head - some good and some bad - and today was more like "oh, no, not that one!"  Yes, The 5th Dimension's "Age of Aquarius."  And if you want a big dose of wackiness, I've done the honors of adding in the video for you.  You're welcome.

Call it scrying or an over-active imagination, but sometimes I indulge my subconscious to see why it's throwing out a particular melody.  Garbage in, Garbage out, you say?  Possibly.  Today, though, I had no answers.  What the heck is the Age of Aquarius?!  After … (1 comments)