Every month, Suzy Rodoni-Silverberg writes a column for the Good Times Santa Cruz, sharing important information about real estate and property management for those living, renting, and buying in the greater Santa Cruz Area. This month, Suzy explores the renting vs. buying topic. Do you have a real estate or property management question that you’d… Continue Reading
REAL ESTATE REINVENTED
Why We Love Capitola Year Round
It’s no mystery that we’re big fans of Capitola Village and the surrounding neighborhoods. We recently shared our top 5 reasons for loving the Jewel Box neighborhood. One thing that makes Capitola unique is that it is an incredibly seasonal city, providing visitors and residents with two very different types of experiences during the year. CAPITOLA… Continue Reading
5 Reasons We Love the Jewel Box in Capitola
Why is Capitola’s Jewel Box one of Santa Cruz County’s most desired neighborhoods? We are going to give you our top five reasons in our first edition of our new monthly blog featuring neighborhoods in the 831. Capitola and the Jewel Box are a natural place to start as the Real Estate Eight Three One… Continue Reading
How to Handle Repairs for your Santa Cruz Rental Property
Today we are talking about how to handle repairs and maintenance on your rental property in Santa Cruz. Property maintenance is very important for your rental home, and not just because it reduces your liability. It’s also important to keep your investment in good shape. You have a lot of money invested in your rental… Continue Reading
Security Deposit Advice for your Santa Cruz Rental Property
Today, we are offering a bit of security deposit advice for both owners and tenants. If you put a group of property managers together in one room, they are all going to tell you that this is one of the toughest areas they deal with on a regular basis. Security deposits and how much gets… Continue Reading
How Often do Santa Cruz Property Managers Inspect Properties?
Owners and landlords often ask the question: how often should property managers inspect properties? The really short answer to that question is – as often as possible. Any opportunity that we have to go look at the inside of a residence should be taken. This might mean taking a look around when a minor repair… Continue Reading
What Qualifications Must Santa Cruz Property Managers Have?
Today we are talking about what qualifications you should look for in a property manager. I have been thinking about this a lot recently because I just came back from a convention in Las Vegas held by the National Association of Residential Property Managers. This is a group of property managers from all across the… Continue Reading
Full Property Management vs. Lease Up Service in Santa Cruz
As a landlord, you might be wondering if you require lease up services only, or a full property management service. Sometimes, we have landlords who live in our local area, and they are okay with the idea of taking care of the ongoing management of their property, but they don’t have any idea of how… Continue Reading
How to Shop for and Interview a Santa Cruz Property Management Company
It’s important to know how to shop for a property manager. When you sit down with somebody and you are interviewing them, what do you really need to find out? What is important to know about this person who you are turning over your valuable asset to manage? I think it’s important to start out… Continue Reading
How Much Does Santa Cruz Property Management Cost?
Landlords often want to know what it really costs to have somebody professionally manage their properties. In a previous blog, we discussed the two major types of fees involved in property management. Those are the lease up fee, which is typically either a flat fee or a percentage of the first month’s rent, as well… Continue Reading
How to Advertise a Rental Property in Santa Cruz
Today, everybody is using Craigslist to advertise their properties. Lots of people are going online to list and access rentals. The days of advertising in the local newspaper seem to be over. People are starting their rental search online, and the first place most people go is Craigslist. So, let’s talk about Craigslist for a… Continue Reading
Eviction vs. Negotiation Santa Cruz Property Management Blog
Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, you may wind up in a situation where you have to evict a tenant. Today we are going to talk about what to do if you are faced with that situation, and whether there might be a way out. When a tenant stops paying rent, you need to… Continue Reading
Setting a Pet Policy in Santa Cruz Property Management How To
We are talking today about the importance of setting a pet policy for your rental property. At Real Estate Eight Three One, we work with a lot of landlords who do allow pets because they are pet lovers themselves and they want to attract a broader pool of potential tenants. To get a greater number… Continue Reading
Santa Cruz Property Management Fees and Services
Our topic today is the fees and services that you can typically expect to hear a property manager talk about when you are interviewing him or her. There are two kinds of fees that are the most common when it comes to property management and those are the lease up fee and the ongoing maintenance… Continue Reading
Find Me a Tenant! Santa Cruz Property Management Advice
Usually, when landlords come to us and ask us to find them a tenant, what they really want to ask us is to find them a good tenant. The best way to do that is through our advertising and our tenant screening process. We have a very large advertising network, and we use syndication. Our… Continue Reading
How to Set a Rental Price – Santa Cruz Property Management Advice
Today I want to talk to you about how you should set a price for your rental property. It’s an easy thing for us at Real Estate Eight Three One to do because we do it every day, so we have a good pulse on the rental market. When we are advising owners what to charge… Continue Reading
Who is Responsible, Landlord or Tenant?
Properly maintaining is an important part of rental property ownership. Not just because it is the property owner’s responsibility, it reduces owner liability, and helps to maintain the value of the investment. However, there are times when the tenant could be responsible and that can be a difficult situation for the property owner to address… Continue Reading
Tips For Good Landlord Tenant Relations
Many believe that once a tenant moves into a property all that is required is to “collect the rents”. As a property manager I often hear this but know it is far from reality. Tenancy starts before the tenant moves in, progresses while the tenant resides in the property, and continues after the tenant moves… Continue Reading
The Topic of Mold
Mold has been around for a long time. Literally as long as there have been living organisms. Therefore, it may seem strange that it has become such an important and potentially dangerous issue. However, mention the possibility of the existence of mold to any reputable Property Manager, it gains immediate and urgent attention. What constitutes… Continue Reading
The Benefits of Hiring a Professional Property Manager
I am often asked about the value of hiring a property manager. Many property owners mistakenly believe that all a property manager does is “collect the rents”. There is much more to managing a property and I believe the cost associated with hiring a professional property manager is paid back in many ways. Tax benefits… Continue Reading
Rental Properties and Lead Based Paint
Lead based paint has been an important issue since March 6th, 1996, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) & Housing & Urban Development (HUD) released regulations on the Residential Lead Based Paint Hazard Control Act. Property Managers and Landlords nationwide have worked to comply with the law. Additionally, the Lead-Based Paint Pre-Renovation Education Rule was… Continue Reading
Pets and Your Property: Deciding on Pets
Most Landlords are not open to the idea of renting to tenants with pets. To be honest, this is understandable because I have seen situations where tenants have allowed their pets to cause considerable damage. When faced with the issue of pets, property managers and/or landlords need to use a logical approach. Saying “NO” to… Continue Reading
Landlords DO Have Rights
It often seems that a property owner does not have any rights and that tenants call the shots, the courts only rule in favor of the tenant, and the attorneys end up with all the money. Just look at the multi million dollar lawsuits that have happened regarding mold, lead-based paint, Fair Housing, and more.… Continue Reading
Are you a knowledgeable Landlord Understanding Landlord/Tenant Law
How would you rate your knowledge as a landlord. Being a landlord is more than just collecting rents. Understanding landlord/tenant law is the best protection for a landlord other than hiring a professional property manager. Test your knowledge of landlord/tenant law by answering these questions then look at the answers below to see how you… Continue Reading
Adding an Investment Property to Your Portfolio
With today’s rising rents, lower interest rates and property values, buying an investment property may be a good addition to your financial portfolio. Before you make the decision to purchase you should consider the following: Check with your CPA or financial planner: Current tax laws favor investors. Depreciation and principal reduction can build wealth over… Continue Reading
A Credit Report is Not Enough
Many people think tenant screening means only obtaining a current credit report. Credit information is important and in today’s rental market, they contain more details than ever before. There are continual changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, FCRA, because landlords, employers, and businesses consider credit ratings a valuable resource. Then why is a credit… Continue Reading
The Top Five Reasons Your House Did Not Sell
If your home has been on the market for more than its local market average time and you have not been able to sell, chances are that one or more of the reasons below are to blame: Price A good real estate agent should do their best to price a home based on sales of… Continue Reading