by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Jul 17, 2013 | Santa Cruz Property Management Education
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 as the ongoing management fee which is also a percentage of the rent that is collected. That should cover all the costs of professional property management, but some companies will charge additional fees for different things. (more…)
by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Jul 10, 2013 | Santa Cruz Property Management Education
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 minute and how you can use it to advertise your rental property. (more…)
by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Jul 2, 2013 | Santa Cruz Property Management Education
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 find out why. Maybe they lost their job, or they’ve had a recent illness or injury that has affected their ability to pay the rent. When you find yourself in that uncomfortable situation that you have to make the decision to move forward with an eviction, prepare yourself to pay costs upwards of $1,500 in the Santa Cruz area. Plus, you will have the lost rent during the eviction process to include in the total expenses involved in an eviction. You might want to consider a negotiation of some sort in lieu of the eviction. (more…)
by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Jun 25, 2013 | Santa Cruz Property Management Education
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 of potential tenants interested in your property, you should remain open to the idea of allowing pets into your home. (more…)
by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Jun 19, 2013 | Santa Cruz Property Management Education
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 fee. Property managers have different ways of charging for these. (more…)
by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Jun 12, 2013 | Santa Cruz Property Management Education
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 advertising is very high quality and professional. We cast a wide net with the various online websites we use. We put ads up on all the big sites, those that people know and recognize such as Zillow, Trulia and Craigslist. Then, there is a whole syndication network beyond those websites that we always utilize for our property listings. It helps us to cast an even wider net and give us the best pool of candidates possible for our property owners. (more…)
by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Jun 4, 2013 | Santa Cruz Property Management Education
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 for rent, we start by comparing the property to others that are similar and in the same area with identical amenities. We take a look at what those properties have rented for in the past, which helps us to recommend a good price point. (more…)
by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Feb 22, 2013 | Property Management
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 with the tenant. (more…)
by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Feb 22, 2013 | Property Management
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 out. Properly setting expectations up front will go a long way towards a good tenancy experience. Understanding landlord/tenant laws is the best protection for a landlord other than hiring a professional property manager. (more…)
by Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg | Feb 22, 2013 | Property Management
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. (more…)
