Home Improvement – Real Estate

Five Considerations of Hiring Property Managers

1. Management Fee
The property owner needs to understand the purpose of the management fee (typically 10%). The percentage management fee pays for the property manager’s time. The 10% allows someone else to help shoulder the burden of owning the property. The owner is paying for someone else to field 2:00 am calls. It is important to remember that the property manager cannot take all of the responsibility and burden off the owner. In the end, it is the owner’s property and the owner’s responsibility.

2. Interview
When hiring any professional, an interview will be conducted to hire the correct candidate and then the professional is left to alone to do their job. Working with a property manager is no different. During the interview process ask good questions; require forthright answers, hire the right candidate, and then get out of their way. If an owner is a high micromanager then they should hire a certain type property manager (see Property Manager categories below).

3. Personality fit
The owner’s personality has to fit the property manager’s systems and procedures. Sometimes owners will have difficulty with a property managers systems and procedures. If a property management company sets office hours between 9-5 Monday through Friday and owner wants an update on their property @ 6:00pm on a Friday evening they will have to wait until 9:00 am Monday. This may drive some owners crazy who want to be very involved in the day-to-day management. If this is the case they probably should hire a manager who will be more responsive to the owner’s needs.

4. Communication
Communication is a two-way street. It is not only the property manager’s responsibility to communicate effectively. Owners should understand they have to lead the property manager in how they expect the manager to manage the property.

Here’s an example: My wife is a director of marketing for a company. She has to be the leader in guiding and directing the advertising agency as to what she wants for the project. She cannot expect the advertising agency to try to guess what she wants in the project.

If your property manager is slow in returning your phone calls explain to them the level of communication you expect. In return, ask them how much communication they expect from you.

Many property managers would rather only communicate with you on as needed basis. Much more than this level of communication from the owner is overkill.

5. Property Manager Categories
While Property managers fall into three categories, the size of the property management company is neither better nor worse than the others. Choosing the size of property manager has more to do with the level of owner pampering and paperwork provided rather than a property manager being good or bad.

Small 1-50 units
Property managers in the small category are usually unlicensed with no training in property management. These managers will have more time for the property owner. This type of property manager is usually not much more than a handyman who will show and rent apartments. If a property owner wants to be hands on and needs to be updated on every specific action of the property this is the manager they should hire.

Pros:
These property managers have the time to cuddle and coddle the owner. They will provide the owner with receipts for repairs and nothing else in documentation.

Cons:
These managers will have no systems in place to and will not be able to negotiate vendor discounts. No 1099s and no accounting documents prepared for your accountant.

Medium 50-150 units

Pros:
These managers have more of a professional approach with the use of some systems. They have the purchase power to negotiate some vendor discounts.

Cons:
The paperwork may be enough for the owner to understand the numbers, but may not be enough information to submit to an accountant or to the IRS.

Large 150+

Pros:
Large companies have invested a lot of money in their systems procedures. They will have an in-house maintenance staff. Their accounting reports can be submitted to an accountant or the IRS.

Cons:
No time with the owner. Communication is very professional, but impersonal, done mostly through email and voicemail. Large management companies offer very little owner pampering and handholding. The downside: even owners who have been in real estate for many years still need some positive reinforcement once in a while.

Ryan Windley coauthored The Property Management Start-Up Guide – How to Start a Property Management Business and Still Keep Your Life in order to introduce entrepreneurs to property management as a viable business.

If you would like to know more about starting your own property management company you can purchase the book @ http://www.propertyprof.info

We all want our bedrooms to be delightful and inviting as well as being a haven away from all the stresses that the modern world throws at us but many of us don’t know how to properly decorate the bedroom without spending lots of money on professional consultation. Hopefully these bedroom decorating tips will help you create the room of your dreams.

1. Using accents. The best way to achieve this is by using decorative pillows. Pile them high on your bed using a variety of shapes, styles and sizes, colours and patterns. Also candles are a great accent item not only can they add a splash of colour but they provide a wonderful mood altering scent as well. Scent in any bedroom is quite important, so why not look at placing some potpourri in a few small pots to complete the effect.

2. If you want to add enchantment and wonder to a little girl’s room why not consider using special lighting. A small decorative chandelier can be quite inexpensive and your daughter will enjoy looking at the sparkling light.

3. If you want to achieve a fresher look in your bedroom then why not consider using neutral colours. So many items within a bedroom can easily be adapted to match each season all you need to do is change the duvet cover, pillows and pictures for this to be easily achieved on a regular basis. Using netural colors on the walls will help you be able to change the color of the room easier simply by changing out the bedding and accents.

4. If you want to make your decor a little more personalized why not gather a few small mementos based around a particular theme and display them in a picture frame with added depth (shadow box). Just think about the smile that will come to your face every time you see those memories before you. You can also create little vignettes on a side table or bureau of favorite items. When grouping items, remember, that it is best to group in odd numbers – 3 or 5 items together will look better than 2 or 4.

5. If you want to create the illusion of more space in the room then use cool light colours (whites, blues and greens) which will make the walls seem to recede. Also it is a good idea to paint the moldings around the room to match the walls and this will also create the illusion of space. It is also important that you look at the size of the furniture for the room, placing a king sized bed in a small room will just not work and by keeping the room clutter free you will be able to make the most of the space available to you.

These bedroom decorating tips might seem simple and inexpensive, but they can really do the trick and help you to get a designer look in your bedroom for less.

Bamboo flooring is a beautiful, environmentally friendly material that will enhance the look and value of your home. But it needs to be dealt with properly to insure many years of use. So here are five things you should do and five things you should not do with your bamboo flooring to keep it looking good.

Five things you should do to your bamboo flooring:

1. Make sure that your subfloor is dry and level. Never begin flooring installation until the base is ready. Make sure you have all of your supplies together before beginning installation.

2. Allow your bamboo flooring to acclimate to the area of installation. Allow the bamboo planks to expand or contract naturally before installation.

3. Order up to 10% more square footage than your measurements indicate. There will be some waste during the installation process so it is better to have a little bit too much than a little bit too little.

4. Use dry brooms and slightly damp mops to clean your bamboo flooring. Clean it regularly to keep it free from particles that can scratch the surface. Use only cleaners made specifically for hardwood floors.

5. Use runners, mats, and furniture pads to prevent scratches and keep your bamboo flooring clean. Request that guests wipe or remove their shoes upon entering, especially if they are wearing shoes with potentially damaging heels. Never, ever, scoot furniture across your bamboo flooring without pads beneath the furniture feet.

Five things you should not do to your bamboo flooring:

1. Get your bamboo flooring too wet. This can cause serious long-term damage. Soak up spills immediately. Make sure that pots containing houseplants do not leak water onto your floor.

2. Clean your bamboo with abrasive materials. Although bamboo makes for a reasonably strong material, it will retain its beauty better if treated gently with cleaners made specifically for hardwood floors.

3. Install bamboo in very damp areas. Bathrooms may not be good settings for bamboo flooring, and certainly not saunas. Bamboo is best for dry parts of your home. Installation in areas of extreme moisture may void your flooring warranty.

4. Expose bamboo to prolonged periods of intense light. Over time, intense light will cause the bamboo to fade. Use curtains and blinds to limit the amount of direct sunlight to which your flooring is exposed.

5. Walk on your bamboo flooring with high heels. This is a surefire way to scratch your bamboo. Don’t do it! Take your shoes off at the door when entering the room.

So there is your list of five things that you should do and five things you should not do with your bamboo flooring. You should look at your bamboo as an investment – an investment in your soul and an investment in the value of your home. Treat it accordingly by following our advice above. Respect your bamboo flooring (and ask your family and guests to do the same) and it will provide you with years of quality and beauty.