Today is the 29^th of February – Leap Year.  I always heard it was the one day where a
woman could ask a man to marry her.  In the past women got married because the man had something to offer – good job, income, a home, stability, would be a good father etc.  Well, did you know the largest percentage of home buyers are single women?  Yep!  Many women are delaying marriage for school, career etc and are realizing that maybe they are going to have to take care of themselves so the next step is purchasing a home or investment property.

So once escrow closes then what?  Educate yourself about basic handyman work
and do it yourself.  It really isn’t difficult.  If the job is larger or you just don’t want to get your hands dirty get bids for the work, make sure the vendor is licensed.  I ask as a favor, please do not get a “friend” to do your work unless they are a licensed
contractor or vendor in the area of the job that needs to be done.

As a property manager I can’t tell you how often something goes wrong with the rental – there will always be maintenance so get use to it.  When I try to get the name of the vendor that did the work I am often told it was a friend.  Half the time the friend didn’t know what they were doing and you end up paying twice for the job.

Treat your rental as a business and you will be a-ok.  All this info applies if you are living in the property you bought.  Use licensed vendors, get references, look at other jobs they have done (drive by house they painted) etc. Get a written bid and take photos.

For other info about how to do it yourself check out Tips and Tricks on the blog.  If you are looking for property management services or a great place to rent in Santa Cruz County check out our website:  www.PortolaRentals.com

Kathleen

We finally made the move to signing all leases and management contracts electronically.  I was worried that something would be lost by not sitting down with the tenant and going over the lease with them.

What I realized is that they are so preoccupied with their move that they don’t really read the lease.  We also had problems with all the roommates or couples being able to sign the lease at the same time. And, people kept asking us for the lease in advance so they could read it. We also have out of state residents and this is an easy way to accomodate people.

Electronic signatures is wonderful. We use Docusign, and Echosign, is another vendor.  You send the contract via email, the receiver is prompted to initial or sign where indicated and then it gets emailed back to you.  Now both of you have electronic copies and they can be stored in the cloud.  I would still print a copy and file it.  Ok, so I keep one foot in the past and one in the future but that is my comfort zone.

The advantage is that when the tenant meets you to collect keys and pay you the move in money your initial interaction is short and positive.  There are no lease surprises to add to their stress.  We do have the tenant sign a 1 page form stating they have read the lease and will abide by it.

Check out the vendors I mentioned above.  They have some really inexpensive options and your tenants will love it and so will you.

If you are looking for property management services in Santa Cruz check us out.  Our website is: www.PortolaRentals.com

Kathleen

As many of you know I am the State of California rep for the blog: www.CaliforniaLandlordSolutions.com and I often get calls from people who found out website and want advice on how to handle a situation.

Last week I was called by a lady who was shocked that her former tenant was taking her to Small Claims Court for $5000.00  these tenants had a history of not paying rent and at one time were 4 months behind.  When they did move the owner refund most of their deposit minus the late fees incurred.  Now she is being sued.

Tenants are suing her for not returning the security deposit within the 21 days as is required by law.  The lady stated she was traveling and didn’t get the deposit back within the 21 days but hadn’t the tenants breached the rental contract by not paying rent.

Well two wrongs don’t make a right.  Unfortunately, one has nothing to do with the other.  The tenant’s claim is valid and if the judge sides with the tenants the owner could owe them 2x the security deposit.

So what to do?  I would try to negotiate with tenant to get a settlement.  If you do take your chances and go to court be prepared to hand over money in the worst case scenario and show the judge you were not acting in bad faith.

Lesson Learned?  Security Deposits ALWAYS must be returned within 21 days of receipt of keys.  If work is still going on and you don’t have the actual receipts to send with the return of the deposit then you need to do estimates of the cost and hold back the money and send the remaining portion to the tenant.  Then once the work is done send copies of the receipts and any money owed the tenant.

California is a tenant state and judges favor tenant rights so know the law.  Read the Nolo Press books, have a landlord/tenant attorney on file for questions and get educated.  I don’t know how this case will settle out and if I hear I will pass along the info.

If you have property management needs in Santa Cruz please give me a call or check our my new revised website:  www.PortolaRentals.com

PS.  One of the new laws passed in 2012.  Sm. Claims Court awards are now increased from $7500 to $10,000.

Kathleen

I know in the Cloud there isn’t the necessity to have a physical location and yes we are moving to conducting more and more business in the Cloud these days but in Property Management we still have a physical location.

I like having a place to call home.  I like having our residents and owners come in and see us.  How we take care of our own home will reflect on the service we provide and how we care for our rental properties.

So after 7 years of owning the 27 year old business we have continued to grow – thanks to my wonderful Clients (Owners, Tenants, and Vendors).  We moved into a building 10 times the size but in the same neighborhood.

All mail still goes to our PO Box for security but we can be found from 9-5 M-F at 1210 Brommer Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95062.  Once settled we will have an open house so we can share our new home with you.

Thank you everyone who has supported and helped me grow this business.  I feel blessed to have been able to provide quality homes to tenants, be able to help my owners get  the maximum rent and return on their investment, and to employ great local people in my community and lastly to be able to support my wonderful vendors and keep them in business in this economic climate.

I am committed to my community and neighborhood and we are here to stay in our new home well into the future.

Kathleen

Moving is never easy – there are a lot of logistics to coordinate, long days packing, the actual move and the financial expense all add to the stress of the move.  Although most instances the move is something one looks forward to it still puts alot of stress on family and friends.  Things never go as smoothly as expected.

I deal with people’s stress day in and day out.  We try to be calm and helpful and often repeat the instructions over and over again trying to keep in perspective that the person has alot on their mind.

So property owners the more you can do to help your tenants have as smooth of a move in as possible the better it will be for everyone involved.

As a property manager I have often given to my new tenants a gift certificate for pizza – who wants to cook on moving day.  Have a gift basket in the home with snacks (not just cleaning products), a welcome card and balloons from the dollar store will go along way.

Let you new tenant know you are looking forward to having them as a tenant.

If you are looking for rentals in Santa Cruz feel free to check out my new revised website: www.PortolaRentals.com

Happy Moving – Kathleen

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