accounting

When Things Go Awry – Have A Contingency Plan

July 28, 2010

Ok, we all know we should have contingency plans in the event of natural disasters.  In Santa Cruz we are in earthquake country.  We all know the Boy Scout Motto to “Be Prepared.” But, do you have a plan of action for when your phone lines go down, or your internet goes down, or your computer [...]

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Property Management from A-Z: Z

April 16, 2010

Well I am on Z and covered all topics related to Property Management through the alphabet and then some.  Hope you have found the topics timely and of interest.  Zero Sum Gain (break even), Zap Your Energy, Zombie, Zen, Zest for Life Zero-Sum-Gain – break even is at least where you want to be with [...]

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Property Management from A-Z: Y

April 14, 2010

Yearly Planning, Year-End Planning Yearly Planning – this should be done before the new year begins.  It should also be reviewed quarterly.  Again, this is your business, your investment.  What should be part of your yearly-planning?  Any turnovers coming up, what maintenance needs to be done this year?  Have a budget?  Taxes, Insurance, Mortgage, Utilities [...]

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Property Management from A-Z: O

March 12, 2010

Organization Even if you have only 1 rental you need to be organized and have a system that keeps all your records in order.  I have a binder and it has the following tabs: Summary – 1sheet with tenant contact info, rental amount, security deposit amount, recent maintenance done Lease – lease and application, credit [...]

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Property Management from A-Z: M

March 8, 2010

Management – Time, Money, Maintenance, Relationships Management – Time This is extremely important if you are going to manage your properties yourself.  Prospects can gobble up and waste your time.  The biggest tip I can give all of you is to make applicants, tenants fit your schedule.  I don’t do open houses for showings – [...]

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Property Management from A-Z: J

February 22, 2010

Jaded, Job & Judge Jaded – I see long time property owners who get to a point where they are jaded about tenants and being a property manager.  This ultimately comes about because they, the owners, don’t have procedures in place so every interaction with their tenants is a new and taxing experience.  This is [...]

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Property Management from A-Z: A

January 18, 2010

I’m preparing for one of the classes I teach at Cabrillo Community College on How to be a Good Landlord and I thought about titles for the class – Nuts & Bolts of Property Management, Do’s & Don’ts, and A-Z. So over the next few weeks I am going to take one letter of the [...]

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