Our property management company currently manages about 8 duplexes located on a small dead-in street. The challenge develops because of people cutting through our property, walking behind the buildings into a vacate lot that ends at the next street over. There is a steady stream of undesirable people using this route as a way to save time getting to the next street. Obviously they are trespassing on our property and the vacate lot adjacent to the next street.

The neighborhood is not the best and is predominately working class/Section 8 residents. We are having problems with people dealing drugs in our cul-de-sac, fights, and even stabbings. This of course makes it very difficult to rent our vacate units not to mention causes most of our current tenants to want to move out.

This no-win situation is an opportunity if we can just find a way to eliminate this unwanted traffic. The owners purchased the property at a phenomenal price.

We decided to install 6 foot privacy fences between three buildings. The fence connects all three buildings and eliminate any walk way to the back of the property which leads to the vacate lot and the next street. We are hoping this will encourage people to cut throw the adjacent dead-in streets on either side of us. These types of people are inherently lazy and this should work.

Long-term we will install fences around the entire property and in each yard. This will give additional security to each resident’s home as well as provide a sense of privacy.

There are always possible solutions in property management even in the most impossible situations.

Three or four times a year, a property management company or manager should be prepared to quit working with a rental property owner. Usually, the dispute revolves around paying for expensive repairs to the rental property during the first year of the relationship.

I believe a good property manager must occasionally be willing to fire a rental property owner or at least threaten to quit. A property management company quickly damages their reputation by telling tenants they are unable to fix an AC unit or repair a leaking roof until next month. Tenants will not put up with this answer for long. Usually, the tenant will complain to Code Enforcement, Section 8 Housing, or the City. Not to mention, the tenant will tell every one of their friends about their awful landlord.

Now, your property management company is being painted by the tenant as the bad guy. Other tenants decide to go elsewhere for their housing and Code Enforcement is breathing down your neck. All because the rental property owner refuses or is unable to pay for the needed repairs.

You have two choices in this situation: pay for the repair yourself or quit. Stress Free Property Management uses both techniques every couple of months. If the repair can be paid for out of the rent collected out of the rent for the month, we will complete the repair immediately. Our management agreement gives us the right to perform emergency repairs as we see fit. We then call the owner and quit. Life is too short to deal with irresponsible rental property owners or cheap ones.

If the repair costs exceeds the rent collected for the month or we haven’t collected any rent yet, we simply quit on the spot. We inform the tenant and owner why we are quitting. I would assume the tenant simply breaks the lease, and the owner is now stuck with a vacate property. In any case, a good property management company or manager must protect their reputation in these rare cases.

An extremely vital part of any office is the office furniture. Having the right office liquidation can make or break the functionality of an office. As you look to purchase the furniture, keep a few things in mind. Purchasing used office furniture liquidation can help you equilibrium the budget and will allow some extra money that can give your business the extra boost that it needs. This kind of used furniture is suitable for any kind of office and requires only least modifications to look as good as new. The liquidation office furniture cost only 40-50% of the original price, which is a huge saving. Some office liquidation can even be bought as low as only 20-30% of the actual cost, depending on the condition.

Purchasing second hand or office liquidation is extremely good for the environment also. Buying used office furniture liquidators reduces demand for trees to be felled, with a positive impact on the environment as well as a dramatic drop in the carbon footprint of furniture production.

There are many different reasons that an office would sell their office liquidation to these used furniture store. When an office closes or decides to buy new chairs and furniture, they sell their slightly used items to the used office furniture store. After the used office liquidation store purchases them for such a small price, they pass on the savings by offering the furniture at a much reduced price.

In order to find affordable and comfortable used office furniture liquidation you must have a little patience to look around. There are a few ways of finding used office liquidation, and that is by searching on the internet, and looking offline. There are lots of used office furniture stores rights at your fingertips as well as online. Starting online is the fastest way to find almost anything and everything you are looking for. These online stores have more choice, including leather chairs, desks, sofas, chairs, desks, dressing Ward, cabinets, bookcases, beds, cabinets, computers and comprises of some top brands like Ethospace cubicles, Herman miller used cubicles, Herman miller etho.

One of the best places for used office furniture liquidation is Ethosource. Ethosource sell best quality used furniture and would like to help you with all of your office liquidation needs. There is a wide selection of used office liquidation and will allow a user to choose from a considerable variety of options. They offer only top quality brands like Herman Miller, Steelcase, Knoll, Teknion, Haworth, Kimball, Geiger, Reff, Tuohy, Paoli, Gunlocke, and many more.

Out of hours calls to sort out maintenance problems increase with the number of properties a landlord owns and how many tenants live in them. Handling the problems effectively solves two issues – keeping the tenant satisfied and making sure a property suffers the least damage possible in an emergency.

Experienced landlords will have a plan for handling maintenance, but less experienced landlords may find a 999 approach to dealing with incidents as they happen expensive. Like most things, having a plan is the best way to deal with maintenance.

Conduct a regular safety and maintenance inspection – at least once a year Look at the roof, chimneys, gutters, fences, window frames, plumbing and white goods to make sure they are in a good condition.

It’s a good idea to have a list to check off what work may be required and to note whether any aspect of the property may need attention in the near future. Rental properties seem to suffer an inordinate amount of emergency repairs compared with a landlord’s home.

You need plumbers, electricians, gas engineers and handymen with the tools and experience to deal with repairs.

Always assess the problem and take the action required to make sure the tenants are safe and the property is protected as far as possible from further damage. arranging for the tradesman to come back the next day is generally cheaper than paying extortionate call out rates.

The most common problems involve plumbing, drains and boilers.

Don’t always fork out for expensive repairs straight away. Tenants are notorious for blocking drains and then reporting a ‘problem’. Make clear that if the blockage is found to be the tenant’s fault that they will get the bill before the work is done, if possible.

Condensation is another regular issue. Tenants often dry clothes on radiators and seem to have regular steam baths without ventilating the rooms. Unsurprisingly, this causes condensation that leads to mould.

Prevention is often better than cure, so leave written instructions about how to stop condensation with tenants when they move in and make sure they sign the handover agreeing no damp exists.

Some things which a property owner (landlord) can take note of when renting out property

1. Get a good “feel” of each other

Landlord-tenant relationships can either be smooth-sailing or extremely rocky. Some tenants may not be familiar with local culture, common market practices or may sometimes have over-expectations in service quality standards. It’s important for both parties to be more understanding, learn a bit about each others positions and differences and hopefully, as they say, “live happily ever after”.

2. Check tenant’s particulars

By law, the landlord is supposed to check and ensure the tenants are not illegally staying in Singapore. This can be easily done by verifying:

(1) with the HR of the company that the tenant is working in,
(2) through ICA,
(3) through MOM.

3. Have a contact list of maintenance personnel ready

Prepare a contact list of regular contractors (or ask for some recommendations from friends), and take note of the brands of appliances in the house and write out a contact list of the companies acting as service agents for these appliances.

4. Be flexible when handling lease proposals and requests

Some tenants may offer higher rental in exchange for additional requirements to the lease package. For instance, giving higher rental, but landlord takes full charge of all repairs and maintenance of the property (instead of implementing a “repair clause”).

5. Do not disturb the tenant

Within the contract (Tenancy Agreement), there’s a specific covenant which clearly states the tenant having full right to the use of the property during the term of lease and landlord shouldn’t “check up” on the tenants, or constantly pop by to inspect the condition of the property.

6. Attend to urgent repairs with urgency

It’s only fair, when urgent repairs are needed, that the tenant (who pays rent promptly) receives assistance as quickly as possible. Some landlords are really busy and the matter may have slipped their mind. One suggestion is to allow your representative agent to handle all the repair matters on your behalf, trusting that as a professional, he will be able to source a fair deal for you. Sometimes, the item may really be beyond economic repair and the only way is to discard and buy new.

7. Take stock of inventory and maintain property in good condition

During the vacancy period, it is advisable to take stock of the items in the house which might need changing soon. So, you can instruct your representative agent to simply proceed if those items break down during the term of the lease – don’t even need to worry about getting quotes for repair, save hassle, save money (inspection quotes may sometimes need to pay for transport charges). Keeping the items in the property in good condition will help to entice tenant to renew lease with you later.

8. Accept the market rate

Although it will be nice to get “above market rate” rental, do work the sums and think of the vacancy period (loss of income) whilst waiting for the offer to come to you. If your property IS higher floor, better view, more well-kept, in a better condition and more newly furnished than other rental units, you should of course ask for higher rental.

9. Keep proper accounts

Always a good practice to keep proper accounts so that you can report to IRAS promptly when they ask you to, and ask them for “discounts” when you can.

Download for free – Rental Income Statement (excel spreadsheet) for reporting to IRAS

* New – Register Subletting of Rooms with HDB

From 1 Feb 2010, flat owners who sub-let rooms in their HDB flats will have to register with HDB within 7 days of doing so. They are also required to notify HDB when they renew or terminate the sub-letting of rooms, and when there are changes to their sub-tenants’ particulars. There is no need to seek prior approval for sub-letting of rooms.

75% of Vendors overcharge on supplies and hours. As an owner of a large property management company, I typically have to go through 3-5 new AC guys, electricians, carpenters, or plumbers to find somebody skilled, with great rates who is honest. I test them by setting up a job so they can easily cheat me in materials and/or hours. I just sit back and see if they take advantage of that opportunity. If they do, we never use them again.

Typical Tests

1) Buy more supplies than we need and put them on the job. For instance, if I have a carpenter putting in ceramic tile, I will buy 200 sq feet more than the job requires. If the materials are not there at the end of the job and he claims he used them, I know this person cannot be trusted.

2) Send a trusted electrician to a job and have him tell me exactly what is wrong and needs to be fixed. Than, I call the electrician I want to test and send him to the same job to give me a quote of labor and materials. Compare the two quotes and make a decision.

3) Measure a job for materials and than request the new vendor to do the same thing and compare. Obviously, you should not mention that you have already measured.

Any of the above tests can be used for all new vendors regardless of type of repair. You need to test a new vendor’s integrity because you cannot supervise all their jobs. Many people try to judge a person’s integrity by just getting a feel for their personality. This feels right but is a terrible management style. I am constantly amazed by which vendors cheat me on jobs. Some of these guys seem to reek of integrity yet are the first to overcharge. You have to put them to the test.

I do not say anything if they pass or fail these tests. It is very important not to confront a vendor if they cheat or try to cheat you on the job. You should either pay them for their time or not assign them the job and never use them again. I confronted a new AC repairman once for cheating me on Freon use. He actually wanted to fight me in the parking lot. So, you should be discreet and keep the results to yourself.

Periodically test your vendors that have proven themselves. From time to time, trusted vendors will simply lose their minds or have to be gently reminded that you are paying attention.

There is an old management axiom: “Inspect what you Expect.”

In our property management company, collecting rent is very tricky and requires some insight into the psychology of dealing with tenants. The most common method of rent collection is to insist the rent is paid on time or an eviction is filed after the 3 to 10 day notice expires (changes depending on what State). If the landlord doesn’t follow through with this threat, the tenant knows that paying rent on time is optional because there are no consequences.

I think it is better to save the eviction threat till later. We insist that at least ½ the rent is paid by the 15th if they are a new tenant. The balance of the rent must be paid by the end of the month with the late fee. However, we are flexible. If the tenant makes a good effort and pays us the majority of the rent by the end of the month, we will set-up a payment plan over the next two months to pay the balance. Depending on whether you are dealing with middle class, working class, or low income tenants dictates how we work with them.

Every landlord should expect problems with working class and lower income tenants usually 3 or 4 times a year. As a rule of thumb, they are not good at budgeting their money. Car repairs, high electric bills, school clothes, and Christmas gifts usually catch these people unprepared from time to time. Tenants feel, right or wrong, that you should be patient with them once in awhile when they get into financial trouble. I would agree.

It really just depends on what type of tenant you are dealing with and how long they have rented from you. You never want to allow a tenant to get two months behind in rent. Once that mark has been reached, you must file eviction immediately regardless of the tenant’s reasons. However, you should not allow them to fall that far behind unless they have been excellent tenants for a long period of time. If a tenant has been with me less than a year, I give them till the 15th to pay half the rent. If they do not make that date, I call or meet with them in person and tell them I am filing for eviction on the 18th if the money is not paid.

Come the 18th of the month, I file for eviction no matter what. You must do what you say or the tenant will not take you seriously. I find that half of the time the tenant will suddenly come up with all the money and eviction costs once they receive the eviction papers.

The real key to collecting the past due rent is being firm, polite and a good listener. I will ask them why they haven’t paid the rent, and I will than shut up. Many times, the tenant will tell you the rent will be paid in full on the 8th or 10th. This is better then getting ½ by the 15th and I will accept this payment plan.

If the tenant says the rent will be paid with next month’s rent, I draw the line and explain how they must pay at least ½ by the 15th or I will file for eviction. You cannot let tenants dictate payment terms unless the terms are better than your worst case scenario. And you never want to waive late fees on a regular basis. Once in awhile is okay, but if you do it all the time, you will always be chasing tenants for late rent.

I will never use curse words, yell, or scream. Being polite and patient goes a long way in collecting rent not just this month but every month. Tenants will appreciate and remember that you always dealt with them calmly and firmly. If the tenant loses control, just state your position of when the rent must be paid and end the conversation. Tenants have bad days and occasional short fuses just like everyone else. Our property management company’s purpose (when it comes to collection) is to collect rent and late fees, and therefore, we are realistic that tenants will pay late from time to time.

I can not tell you how many times in the beginning of my property management career a prospective tenant called and caught me unprepared. I quickly learned I saved 5 to 10 hours a week and rented more houses by being well prepared. Here are my best tips.

1) Application Forms
A property manager should carry at least 50 blank rental applications with him at all times. Quite often, you will find yourself listing a new rental house and have no applications to place in the kitchen. You want to have applications in the house so you are not always running to your car during a showing.

The property management company should also have the rental application saved on the computer in a format that can be emailed to your clients quickly. You do not want to limit yourself to just faxing or having them pick up the form from you. This is very quick and painless.

2) At least 10 Copies of Blank Leases
Quite often, you will approve a tenant and need to meet with them to sign the lease. On your way out of the office at the end of the day, you completely forget to print out and bring the copies of the lease. Even the most organized person gets side tracked. Having the blank lease in your car ensures you never show up empty handed.

3) Key Tags
You should carry a small box of key tags so you can label keys you receive from new listings/property owners. In the past, I would constantly forget which keys belong to which properties and have to throw them out. This means the rental could not be rented until I could get a maintenance guy out there to change the locks. With just a little extra discipline and tagging the key as soon as you receive it, you save yourself a bunch of aggravation.

4) Digital Camera
You should keep your digital camera in the car as much as possible to ensure you are ready for new listings. Half the time, new property owners have cleaned their property and it is ready to go. By having the camera ready you can simply snap all the pictures you need to advertise the rental on MLS or Craigslist.

5) Property Management Agreements
Just like the lease, you should keep 10 copies of your management agreement in your car. This will make preparing for a listing appointment much easier and less stressful. If you bring your camera, business cards, and the management agreement, you have everything you need to sign up the new owner. You also want to have the agreement in email format to quickly send to the owners over the Internet.

6) Pens and Business Cards
It is embarrassing to not have either one on a listing or leasing appointment. Professionalism is found in the details.

7) Organizer to Carry Everything
You can buy an organizer at Office Depot or Staples that can store all the items listed above. Some people prefer a briefcase but I personally use a black plastic box with hanging folders. Use whatever suits you but just have it all in one place in your car

Note: A prepared property manager will create an automatic task in Outlook or a Day Planner to refill all the items once a month. Getting organized is useless for your property management company, if you do not have a follow-up system to ensure you stay organized.

Our property management company is currently experiencing the worst Section 8 tenant in the history of our company. This is a great illustration of how to handle an out of control Section 8 tenant (which are very rare).

So, let me set the background. The Section 8 tenant, let’s call her Tina, has been renting a nice 4 bed/2 bath home from us in Tampa. She has been with us about 4 months. About 45 days ago, she asked to move and for us to allow her to break her lease. Now a Section 8 tenant can’t just up and move because they signed a year lease which they are required to fulfill, in normal circumstances. We denied her request, but she kept making them more loudly and aggressively.

Just last week, she calls us to report a water leak on her carpet. We send our plumber out there the same day to fix it. It turns out she broke a pipe connected to a faucet outside. This cracked an interior pipe which caused a major water leak. At the same time, she ripped the refrigerator rubber gasket which caused condensation and a pool of water below. It is likely both of these were caused by one of her 5 children. Well the day before she called us, Tina called in an emergency inspection with the Section 8 office reporting unsafe living conditions. We think her goal was to get the unit declared unsafe so she could break her lease and not lose her Section 8 voucher.

After we fixed the leak, the plumber asked her not to use the water overnight because the glue in the pipe had to set. She agreed to stay the night at a friend’s house. After he left, she immediately called the City of Tampa to come out and turn it back on. This of course caused a major plumbing leak. Oh, I forgot to mention that she cursed out my maintenance men who came out to fix the refrigerator.

We also sent a carpet cleaner over to extract the water from the carpet. They left some blowers overnight so the carpet could be thoroughly dried. The tenant turned off the dryers so the carpet could not dry.
At this point, what would you do? You could just allow her to break the lease and get this horrible tenant out and call it a day. Or you could file for eviction. These would be the most common solutions. We are taking a third alternative. We called the Section 8 counselor assigned to this tenant and informed her of the situation. The counselor called the tenant and explained this behavior was unacceptable and she was at risk of losing her voucher.

We are going to have to file a grievance with the Section 8 office and likely file for eviction. I refuse to allow a tenant to behave in this manner. Most property managers would say it is not worth the effort, and you will lose more money by filing eviction and possible additional damages. I believe that occasionally a tenant crosses a line which is completely unacceptable.

In this case, she will either start behaving, pay us for damages, and fulfill her lease or she will lose her Section 8 voucher for the next 7 years and have an eviction on her credit report. Out of 260 different tenants in a year, our Tampa property management company might encounter someone this bad 2 or 3 times, and I simply will not be intimidated or threatened.

If you need to make London property refurbishments, you’ll want to ensure you hire a capable firm for the undertaking. Read on for advice to help you make the right decision about who to work with. Really, this advice applies whether you want a refurbishment in London or elsewhere.

London is a city with some really old buildings. Many of those buildings need refurbishment either to improve them, restore them, bring them up to safety code, or to improve the valuation for resale purposes. Because it’s such a big city, you’ll undoubtedly find plenty of choices in terms of companies to help you plan, design, and execute construction projects. Whether you want a restoration done to bring a building back to its former glory or want to make changes and / or repairs to improve on the building’s value or livability, getting the right advice and dealing with the right company will help the project, whether big or small, happen more smoothly.

Do you know what you want done or do you need advice? Even if you think you have a really good idea of what changes you would like made, London property refurbishments that are done by a professional firm will give you peace of mind that they will be done properly as compared to those done by companies without professional credentials and a proven track record. In some cases you’ll need building permits and advice from a professional architect. Some refurbishment firms have architects on staff — which adds value to the project as you’ll know that the integrity of the project will be higher and the final outcome will meet your wants and needs from an aesthetics standpoint plus from a safety point of view. In some cases building permits are only supplied when an architect is working on the project so it’s in your best interests to hire the right sort of firm from the start.

Do you want help from a professional interior designer? Very often, people who refurbish their properties have a vision for the end product but whether you do or you do not, a professional interior designer will add finesse to your project, either by making recommendations or helping you take your vision to reality.

How do you find the best company to deal with? Check the credentials and the testimonials of any company you do business with. Check out before and after photos of other projects they’ve worked on, find out if there have been any formal complaints against them for poor workmanship or poor business practises, and compare more than just the quote. The highest quality London property refurbishments may not be the lowest priced but doing business with a premium company will provide you with the highest likelihood of a successful and smooth project as well as the outcome you desire.