I often get owners that decide to rent their personal home either through job change or kids are gone and they can downsize.  The following tips are important to consider:

1.  This is the only time I recommend that you hire a professional property manager for at least one year to manage the property.  The reason being is you are too emotionally attached to the property.

2. If you have a Tips sheet for the new occupants please don’t go over board with all the things you expect them to do while living in the property.  I have seen pages.  They aren’t going to live in the property as you did and you don’t want them to feel like they are guests in the home.  Keep the list short and to the most important items such as how to maintain the water softner.

3. DO NOT rent to friends or family.  It never goes well and you can ruin relationships.

If you are looking for rentals or management in the Santa Cruz area please check out our website – www.PortolaRentals.com

Kathleen

We just observed the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. The take away for me was the reminder of how precious life is and the fact that our lives as we know it can be turned upside down in an instant.  So how does that impact owning rentals?

We need to be prepared.  Once you own real estate you need to have a living trust, a will, written instructions for family, insurance such as Term Insurance, that would cover the mortgage on the rental so the loan would be paid off and the surviving family members can receive the income from the rental.  Have a list of all your contacts associated with the rental – plumber, accountant, gardener, insurance agent etc. Have a file with everything related to the rental so people know where to go to get info. 

Make sure bank accounts have appropriate names on the accounts for the rentals.  I added my husband to my bank accounts even though I own the rentals so that in the event of my passing he can still access the accounts, pay bills etc.

Life can get complicated when things happen unexpectedly try to be as prepared as possible.

I have a client that knew he was ill and terminal and came to me to take over management of his rentals so that when the time came it wouldn’t be a burden to his wife.  Now, we are educating his wife about the properties and working with her.  Her comment to us all the time is, “Thank you for handling all this for me.  It is such a relief.”  I really admire her husband for taking action to protect his wife.  He truly loved her.  I feel blessed to be able to lift the burden and to protect her.

If you have property management needs in Santa Cruz County check us out we might be able to help you.  www.PortolaRentals.com

Kathleen

Every landlord has had something go wrong with their tenant, the rental, a vendor the list goes on.  How you handle the issue will reveal what kind of landlord you are or the type of business you operate.  I will share with you a recent experience and how I handled it.

I offer placement services in addition to full management.  I had a very high-end home in Aptos, CA on the golf course.  It was owner occupied and they didn’t get out of the property soon enough for us to turn it over before the tenant moved in.

The owner also had a long laundry list of things they wanted done to the property prior to tenant moving in – within 3 days.

In addition we had advertised the property with washer and dryer and owner decided to remove them because they weren’t working properly.  I informed the owner they had advertised and should provide the appliances.  We decided that we would offer the tenant money towards a used set of washer and dryer and they could get what they wanted.

We informed tenant of the lack of washer/dryer immediately.  Well it didn’t sit well with them.  Screaming, yelling, why should they have to spend time replacing the appliances, they wouldn’t have rented the house had it not had these appliances etc etc. 

One repair the owner wanted to do was stain the deck which is an access point to enter the house.  I advised this should be done after the tenant moved in.  Well owner went ahead and did this and the day the carpet cleaners arrived they couldn’t get into the property.  So they had to go the following day now we are 24 hours away from tenant move in.  Owner has friend going in to clean the house and I still have to do the move in report that goes with the lease. 

Tenants have asked if they can meet me on move in day at the house at 8:00am.  This is an exception to how we do business but in order to accomodate them since they were so upset over the appliances I agreed to meet them. So I am there at 7:00am to do the move in report and make sure the house is clean – well one of the bedrooms (hardwood floors) was not clean.  There I am cleaning the house myself with my cleaning supplies from my car – thank goodness I am prepared.  Carpets are still damp because it has been less than 24 hours but the good news is there is a washer and dryer in the house!

I meet the tenant tell them the house is clean and they will be really happy there is a washer and dryer in the unit.  I give them the keys and leave.

That afternoon I get calls from our emergency answering service from irate tenants who are upset the carpet is damp(they say soaking wet) we get carpet cleaner back and set up fans!  They have a melt down and continue to relive the washer/dryer stress even though they now have one.  They were threatening lawsuit, etc etc. 

From my experience when people are this upset it isn’t about us something personal is going on and we are taking the brunt of it.

So, this is how to handle a situation when things start going south.

1. Listen, let them vent, take notes
2. Try to calmly explain the situation (hard when you are being personally attached)
3. Don’t take comments personally – it is a business try to solve the problem
4. Always apologize even if you didn’t do anything wrong – apologize that they didn’t have the smooth move in experience they should have, or that things didn’t happen according to their expectations.
5. Ask for their recommendations of what you could have done or could do in the future to avoid this situation from happening again.
6. Be open minded enough to consider their ideas
7. Implement ideas if it makes sense
8. Drop off a small gift and card – again apologizing for the unfortunate circumstances.  This is what I did. By they way – they were in a heated arguement when I arrived – so my intuition was correct – not about me.
9. If you do make changes to how you do business based upon their recommendations – send another thank you card and inform them of the new business policy in place as a direct result of their feedback. I did this as well.

I have always learned the most and grown personally from the mistakes and trying situations.  If life were easy we would never make changes and often for the better.  Try to stay positive and always take the high-road.

How you handle adversity is a true reflection of the kind of business person/landlord you want to be.

If you are looking for property mgmt services in Santa Cruz County please visit my website www.PortolaRentals.com

Kathleen

This month a new law was passed that stipulates if you apply for rental housing and you are denied because of your credit the property mgmt firm must give you your FICO score.  The State of California requires that if an applicant asks for their credit report you must provide it to them.

If you are looking for a great place to rent or a great property management company in Santa Cruz please contact www.PortolaRentals.com.

Kathleen

Hi all,

Some of you may know that I teach property management classes at Cabrillo College each semester.  The last class was a huge success.  I revamped the class from a 1 day class down to a 4 hour class.  We had 25 people and a waiting list!

Well, another class is coming.  The current schedule is set for Saturday October 1, 2011 from 9:00-1:00 at Cabrillo College.  Look for it in the Extension Booklet that comes in the mail.

We cover how to get your property ready to rent, advertisement do’s and don’ts, screening for the tenant, the move-in, the lease, once tenant is in what to do when things go wrong, how to handle the move out and the security deposit, all the steps and red flags that you need to know to have a wonderful landlord experience.  It really can be easy if you do a few things.

I am also working with Nolo Press to see if I can get you discounted books for attending the class.  Look for the class.

I look forward to spending another great morning with you!

If you are looking for management or rentals in Santa Cruz, Soquel, Capitola or Aptos, check us out at: www.PortolaRentals.com

Kathleen Richards

Answering the same old questions again and again can be a huge drain on time, and frustrating too.  We aren’t parrots!

Besides your employees can be better used doing other tasks than answering standard questions all day long.  Here is how we have solved this in our office.

1. Have template emails that you can send out as auto responses to certain questions.

2. Have a Q&A section on your website for prospective Owners and Tenants

3. Rental voicemail box – standard instructions for how to apply for a property and how to schedule an appointment to view a property.

4. When people call the office we usually refer them to our website which will answer all their questions or to stop by our office (if they aren’t online) and pick up our application & criteria form which will answer all their questions.

Yes, it takes time once to set up these standard responses but it will save you a huge amount of time down the road.  Most people today are very internet savy and often go to the internet first to do research.  I get compliments all the time about my website and I found once we put these different sources of information in place it really cut down on our phone time.

Please check out my website at www.PortolaRentals.com if you are interested in properties in Santa Cruz or have rentals in Santa Cruz, CA.

Kathleen Richards

Client Contact – all business coaches or marketing guru’s have tons of ideas for connecting with clients – Owners, Vendors, Tenants, anyone you consider your client.  What I have learned over the years is to pick one or two things and do them consistently.  I don’t do birthday cards – wouldn’t remember them all.  I don’t do Christmas Cards – everyone does them and mine will get lost with all the others.

This is what I do and have done for years.  I schedule it on my calendar so I don’t forget.

I do a quarterly news letter to all my owners with legal updates, what’s new in rental housing in Santa Cruz, a did you know section and a bit about what I am up to these day – more of a professional development section.  My end of year newsletter has info about new services, and ways I have saved my clients money over the past year.

I do a post card to tenants 2 times a year with seasonal reminders such as:  test your oven (before Thanksgiving Day), change batteries in smoke detectors etc.

Tenant’s who pay rent on time – meaning before or on the 1st of the month are entered into a raffle and one tenant receives a $20 gas card.  We do this monthly and post the winner on the home page of our website.

Owner clients – get an annual gift – a small token of my appreciation for their continued business.  I do this just before Thanksgiving and send a Thanksgiving Thank You Card with gift.  Past years have included:  Marie Calendar Pie gift certificates (I have out of state owners), Gas cards, home made bottled wine etc.

I mail a Thank You card to everyone I know that is a Veteran on Veteran’s Day - I have been doing this since high school.  Want to see a grown man cry?  It is very touching and something I will continue to do. On my tenant and owner information sheet there is a box that asks if they are a veteran.

My vendors are invited to a Vendor Appreciation event  annually – hosted at a  local restaurant for snacks and drinks.  I give awards, gift certificates – gas cards are big winners with this group – certificates of appreciation, and most of all it is a public forum for me to thank my vendors for their excellent service to me and my clients and that they are a direct extension of my business.  It is also a time for me to continue to build my relationship with my vendors.  Think Sunday night 11:00pm on a holiday weekend – my vendors come through for me and my clients!

So decide how you want to recognize, thank and build your relationship with your clients.  Pick one or two things and do it consistently.

Please check out my website at www.PortolaRentals.com if you are interested in properties in Santa Cruz or have rentals in Santa Cruz, CA.

Kathleen Richards

Time Management – is huge for many people.  I am often asked how I get done all I do in a day.  Well I really organize my time and I stick to a schedule.

This is how I schedule appointments.  Try it out and see if it works for you.

Monday – no appointments – day to put out fires from weekend, review upcoming week’s To Do’s, inform owners on rental showing status and apps in process

Tuesday – staff meeting at 8:30 (office opens at (9:00am), no appts before 11:00am, showings noon and after work.

Wednesday – mornings do move out inspections.  No appts until 11:00am.  Showings noon and after work

Thursday – mornings email, phone calls, move out inspections. No appts until 11:00am.  Showings noon and after work.

Friday – no appts.

So, Monday and Friday no appts with clients.  Morning are for email, paperwork, calls, move out inspections, scheduling work orders etc.  My first appt is always 11:00am or later.  Afternoons – client appointments, paperwork and end of day showings.

Monday no appointments so I can get my week scheduled and touch base with clients etc.

Friday no appointments so I have a day to wrap up things I didn’t get done during the week.

I never schedule more than 2 appointments out of the office on T-W-Th.  The reason I don’t over schedule my day is that I allow for emergencies or unexpected client drop in’s to happen.  This keeps me flexible and non-stressed.  It allows me to absorb unplanned events and keep humming along.  I calendar everything.  This also provides for me a nice record of what I did last month, last year etc.

Some people like to use online calendars and that is great if you use them.  I am still a bit old fashioned and like to have a paper calendar – day timer.  I find it faster to grab and see my entire week or jot down an appointment than to get my phone and go through the menu to get to the point where I schedule my calendar.

Whatever system you use is fine – just find one you WILL use and try out my schedule.

Give my schedule a shot and see if you don’t feel more in control, more productive, and less frazzled.  Best yet, I am never late for an appointment – which makes me look and feel professional.

Please check out my website at www.PortolaRentals.com if you are interested in properties in Santa Cruz or have rentals in Santa Cruz, CA.

Kathleen Richards

No one enjoys filing but it is extremely important to keep current and accurate files.  Especially if you ever get audited by the DRE (Dept of Real Estate).

Since filing clerks or part time admin staff usually do filing they aren’t as familiar with the client files and especially if you have properties with same address numbers or owners with multiple properties things can easily get misfiled.

When my business was part of the larger real estate company and the filing clerk did the filing for all managers things would really get misfiled.

So, I had created a file rubber stamp.  Each section of the file is printed on the stamp.  Before I put any paper in the bin to be filed I stamp the paper and check the section of the file where the paper is to go.  I also write the property address or Owner name on the top of the page.

Basically, I took the thinking out of filing.  Now the clerk can just file in the appropriate file and the appropriate section.  Now things don’t get lost.

We also alphabetize each paper before filing and then file in alphabetical order.  This makes grabbing the file out of the cabinet easy and in order and doesn’t waste time opening and closing file cabinets from A-Z.

When I started my own office I gave each property manager their own File Stamp and they do the same thing so the filing clerk knows exactly where the papers go.

It isn’t efficient to pay your more expensive employees – the property managers to file, and the crucial job of filing can now be given to an office staff person without the fear of things being misfiled.

So create your own rubber stamp for filing.  I have 2 for 30 day notices as well.  This way things get routed the way they are suppose to and everyone can see quickly what has and hasn’t been done in the process and who knows and doesn’t know what is happening.

I love stamps.  Try them out.

Please check out my website at www.PortolaRentals.com if you are interested in properties in Santa Cruz or have rentals in Santa Cruz, CA.

Kathleen Richards