There’s always one thing on a landlord’s mind at any time, summer or winter, beginning of the month or middle – cashflow. Sure, there’s new legislation, a tighter grip on rental housing, more complications to tenant screening. There’s the ever-present worry that the water heater will break, flood one’s precious hardwood flooring or carpet, and cause molding. Even with the most elegant and elaborate rental property possible in a place with simple screening laws, a landlord will always have at least one eye watching their accounts each month. Fortunately, this is 2021 and there are some great ways to feel confident about renters paying on-time.

Setup Automation

Humans can just be forgetful, and sometimes remembering the date is a bit more complicated than remembering the day. Setting up automatic rent payments can be easy, and your renters won’t have to worry about late fees (which you can also automate) or taking a hit to their credit (if you’re reporting their payments). Website, such as PayRent, that offer automation will oftentimes design it to be easy-to-use so you can customize the things you want to automate without having to know much about automation.

With Q4 just around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about conducting your tenant satisfaction surveys. Not only does asking your tenants for their feedback show that you are proactive and care about their needs, it also can help you identify any areas of your property or business management that need improvement.

However, it is important that you request feedback in the right way! You want the process to be convenient and hassle-free for the tenant and provide you with quality and actionable information.

Ready to get started? Here’s what you need to know.

Rent reporting to the major credit bureaus is an in-demand service with landlords and for good reason. Historically, landlords have been slower to adopt this process, but tenant demand drives the industry to focus more on this. From protecting your credit history from delinquent tenants to making your properties more marketable, you’ve come to the right place to learn more about reporting rent payments. 

It is important to understand why your tenants may or may not want their landlord to report their monthly rent payments and what those pros and cons equate to for you. We’ll dive into all these points and touch on a new law centered around rent reporting that California landlords should be aware of.

Dear Kari: What Are Some Inexpensive Things I Can Do That Will Add the “WOW” Factor to My Apartment Vacancies?

By Kari Negri, Chief Executive Officer, SKY Properties

First, I would like to say that although the apartment market in Los Angeles has always been very competitive, I think that it is going to be even more so now that newer buildings have been running specials and people are doing a lot of moving around these days.  As apartment owners, we are going to need to step-up our “game” in order to be competitive in today’s market. 

You cannot deny the importance of making minor renovations when renting your apartment building. Not only does doing so add a “WOW” factor to your property, but it may also increase the chances of renting your apartment faster and for much longer. There are various options available to you when it comes to renovating a rental property, and you can do plenty of things to make your rental property more appealing without having to spend thousands of dollars. 

Fair housing laws and occupancy standards are notoriously tricky. So, it’s no surprise that even well-meaning property managers may inadvertently violate the Fair Housing Act. To protect yourself and ensure compliance, make sure you are well versed on these five common standards.

But before we dive in, there’s a general rule that applies to every policy decision in property management:

Document everything. 

That includes:

• Why you approved or denied an applicant based on screening criteria, making sure that non-discriminatory reasons are clear should you be challenged or sued
• Written policies and implementation processes
• Evidence that policies are distributed evenly and fairly

Now let’s look at the fair housing laws property managers need to know. 

Have we?  It feels that way.  Through the stroke of the pen by our Governor, Mayors, and County Supervisors, it feels as though we have become our tenants’ “bitches.”  Hold on, now…I am not making any derogatory comments about women or anyone else here merely by stating that we have become our tenants’ “bitches.”  Yet, Microsoft Word scolded me as I typed the “B-word” warning me that it might be offensive to the reader.  Well, just get over it, Microsoft, and each of you too!  Let me finish making my point.

No, I am using the term in the context of “someone’s bitch” as in someone (we landlords in the context of this editorial) who does everything for another, not very loved by the other person who we are doing stuff for. In other words, if we are our tenants’ “bitch,” then we are their indentured servant like someone who they need to clean-up for them, or someone who does not mean very much.  Stripped of all of our rights, forced into providing free housing services, handcuffed from taking legal action to protect property and other residents, and all at the same time, shamefully and harmfully demeaned, lambasted, demoralized, and subdued.  The past year and a half, or so, has been like hell in a handbasket for many of us.

By Jason Salmon, Senior Vice President, Kay Properties & Investments

Many investors recoil at the thought of selling an investment property. And they usually have a good reason, whether it’s missing out on future appreciation, having to pay a massive tax bill, or other factors.  However, it can often make good sense to sell your property thanks to a real estate investment alternative that simplifies your life and lets you defer the taxes using a 1031 exchange.  So, let us take a look at six reasons you may wish to consider when selling and reinvesting in this alternative.

Reason 1: You’re Sick and Tired of Actively Managing Your Investment Property

Let us face it, managing real estate is often a “real” hassle. You have to keep your eye on the ball 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And dealing with tenants, stopped-up toilets, and trash just gets old after a while.  Sometimes even the sound of a ringing phone can fill you with dread.

Inspections and Maintenance Are Key

Authored by Steve Pinkus, Owner of Royal Roofing Company

Preventative maintenance is always better than waiting for a problem to arise and having to fix it in a panic. If you ignore the “check engine”  light in your car for too long, you could end up stranded on the side of the road. If you do the same to your roof, you could be awake at 2:00am during a storm begging for an emergency leak repair. Even after the clouds pass, you’ll be left with property damage, angry tenants, and a big bill from your roofer.

Contrary to popular belief, water is NOT the #1  cause of roof damage. Extreme weather is a culprit, but the sun does far more roof damage in the long run. In the summer months, the impacts of extreme heat and UV rays make your roof vulnerable before moisture becomes a problem.  Similarly, fallen leaves and debris from a lack of regular maintenance can compromise the integrity of your roof.

By Rae Parker

Property maintenance and utilities represent some of the largest, most difficult-to-control hard costs at your properties. When managed with outdated and inefficient processes, they can seriously affect your revenue. In a recent webinar featuring Stephanie Anderson and Mark Vanderhoof of Grace Hill, along with AppFolio’s Kelly Dean and Daniel Waas, our panelists addressed the most common maintenance challenges that can streamline your task boards, improve resident relations, and boost your NOI. Read below for a recap of the webinar, as well as tips from those who attended. 

Just how much does maintenance affect NOI?

There’s many reasons why maintenance can affect your NOI. If you compare two properties, where one has all the proper procedures, technology, and employee trainings in place and the other does not, one could argue that the latter is not adequately prepared and its long-term effects could be very costly down the line. 

Steven Greenhut

SACRAMENTO – Conservatives promote the importance of property rights, free markets, regulatory reform, small businesses, family values and the need to reduce the power of unelected bureaucrats. In California, for instance, they want to exempt projects from the dreaded California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and streamline the permit process so builders can boost housing supply.

They are completely right on all those points. Yet after a bill came along that promotes those concepts, many Republican legislators and right-leaning activists have opposed it. Apparently, these conservatives support freedom and property rights, but not when it affects their neighborhoods or intrudes on their personal preferences.