landlord: Landlords Required to Install Carbon Monoxide Detectors
- 02/21/12 02:17 AM
My home state of Oregon recently passed requirements stating that carbon monoxide detectors are required in buildings that either: Has an attached garage, OR Has a fuel burning appliances (furnace, etc) California and many other states have also passed similar regulation requiring property owners (landlords) to install these devices. Twenty-five states currently require carbon monoxide detectors, and the trend is spreading quickly. In some cases the deadlines have already passed on states which have already approved legislation requiring detectors. Do you own property, or are you managing someone's property, within the United States and have you already installed carbon monoxide devices according … (5 comments)
landlord: Landlords An Even Bigger Target for the IRS This Year
- 02/20/12 08:52 AM
The IRS recently did an audit of previous years tax returns and found out that landlords are cheating their taxes, whether they know it or not. This audit was conducted because in August 2008, the Government Accountability Office stated that “at least 53 percent of individual taxpayers with rental real estate activity for Tax Year 2001 misreported their rental real estate activity, resulting in an estimated $12.4 billion of net misreported income.” The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration issued a report in December 2010 recommending increased scrutiny of tax returns with rental real estate activity, estimating that the change could recover … (5 comments)
landlord: How Google Voice Can Help Landlords
- 01/15/12 08:35 AM
I wrote about Google Voice a while back and provided a detailed review of google voice right after it was released to the public. Time really does fly, as I'm shocked to see that was 3 years ago back in 2009. Since that time, Google Voice has become a valuable part of mine and many of our client's process. Here's a complication of great reasons landlords and property managers are using google voice: It's free! This goes without saying, you can't get much good stuff for free these days; however, google voice continues to be an exception. You get a free phone … (6 comments)
landlord: More Landlord Friendly Laws in 2012?
- 01/14/12 05:11 AM
I was pleased to read about Wisconsin proposing new rules which are actually in favor of landlords. It's an increasing problem across the country where cities and counties are passing laws which could harm the very fabric that landlords rely upon to run their business. Some examples of laws some localities have passed or plan to pass: Prohibits or limits the landlord from obtaining or using various types of information about a tenant or prospective tenant, such as household income, occupation, court records, rental history, and credit information; Limits how far back in time a prospective tenant’s credit information, conviction record, or … (5 comments)
landlord: Documentation is a Property Manager's Best Friend in Court
- 09/08/10 02:33 AM
I was reading a property management advertisement the other day from a property management company trying to earn my business and on their information sheet they say "less than 1% of our leases end up in court". 1%?!!?!? So as many as 1 in 100 leases end up in court. They were bragging about this, so perhaps other property managers are 2 in 100 or more? That tells me that of all the industries I participate in, the property management (landlord) industry by far and away spends more hours in a courtroom than any other that I'm aware of. Nobody wants to … (4 comments)
landlord: Taxes Incoming, Landlords Don't Forget Your Depreciations
- 12/06/09 02:04 PM
This comes as routine for many home owners and landlords, but I find when I ask various other landlords I know they often aren't taking all their deductions. Usually in the form of depreciable improvements, or in wild cases, depreciation on the house itself! There's a book out there I got off Amazon a while back called 'Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide'. It has a lot of great ideas and is well worth it if your a landlord needing any assistance figuring out what is deductable, what is depreciable, and what might be illegal to decuct on your taxes. Granted my version … (1 comments)
My blog related to property management challenges for small to mid size property owners and items related to Rentec Direct property management software.
My home state of Oregon recently passed requirements stating that carbon monoxide detectors are required in buildings that either:;)
;)
