Helpful tips for not stressing out your pet when you move

As we all know moving can be a very stressful time for us all, your pets are creatures of habit so this change will be just as stressful on them if not more so and the last thing you need to worry about is how well your pet will adapt to the change in their environment. Here are some tips to help them make the transition into their new home.

• Keep them on the same schedule

Be sure you keep them on their same eating schedule or if it’s a dog try to keep their daily walks at about the same time, this can be difficult if you are moving to a different time zone, so try to acclimate them slowly, by keeping to the same times from your previous time zone, but slowly changing the schedule, professionals recommend changing/adjusting about 15 minutes per day

• Keep smells as similar as possible

It’s really helpful to remember that they rely on smell as much as sight so it can be a good to not wash their belongings for the first days of living in the new place. Also, when leaving for work or shopping, try to leave an unwashed t-shirt in their bed, or around where they lounge.

• Pack their items last

When you pack make sure you pack their items like toys and bedding last so they can stay as comfortable as possible and when you arrive make it the first items you unpack and put out for them.

• Put them in a room while you unpack

Put them in a room with their items as you unpack, it will be easier for them to adjust once you have the place as close to unpacked as possible so there will be some similarities ie: the familiar couch or dining table are in their place.

• Take them out frequently

If you have a dog, take them out on walks more frequently than you would normally do so. Get them used to the area and knowing where their new home is. When you get home from your walk, give them a treat so they associate the new residence with a happy place. This will also get them used to knowing where to go, should they become lost.

• Make sure tags and chips are updated

No matter what you do you cannot eliminate all of your pets stress and when they are stressed is when they are most likely to try and get out, be sure they are chipped and the chip contact information is up to date with any new contact info and their tags/registration have been updated with their new address.

Property Management Fundamentals: Prioritizing Goals

To be effective in any workplace, you need to prioritize your goals to get the most important things done immediately, but also be able to have sufficient time to accomplish every aspect of your job. Once you get good at identifying where each task belongs on this list, you’ll be effective in prioritizing your work.

1. Emergencies

This is a given, however emergencies are the things you absolutely are unable to ignore, but often impede on your day-to-day. Whether it’s a plumbing issue in a unit, a tenant lock-out, or criminal activity in the neighborhood, you weren’t planning for it, but now it’s the most important part of the day. When there isn’t an emergency going on, you should be focusing heavily on projects and organizational changes that can reduce the risk of emergencies occurring in the future. If emergencies happen on a continual basis, then they’re getting too much in the way of your day-to-day work.

2. Procedural

Procedural tasks are tasks that you do on a schedule. You know ahead of time that they’re coming and they play a central role in the working of your company. Procedural tasks for a property manager include billing, make-readies, minor work orders, and more. These tasks are usually best accomplished first in the day if there aren’t any emergencies. Once accomplished, you now have the rest of the day to work on projects and organizational changes that improve your business.

3. Projects

In general, a project has a deadline. Projects are tasks that can’t be accomplished in one day, but provide great benefit to the company long term. Projects can be for all kinds of things that benefit your procedural tasks or may help to prevent emergencies from happening in the future. Sample projects might be a new marketing campaign, implementing new property management software, refurbishing a property, creating an event for your tenants, or other projects that improve the organization and efficiency of your work.

4. Research

It’s always good to do a little research on the side whether it is for building your own skills or finding new tools online that will help your business. Whereas implementing property management software can be considered a project, actually discovering and learning about that software requires research. However, research has no guarantee of providing immediate results. For that reason, it’s the lowest priority on this list. You can’t be researching 70% of the time and working for 30%. Your daily dose of research should probably be no more that 1-2% of each day, if not less. You may be at a stage in your work life where you’re working on to many emergencies and procedural tasks to ever have time to do research. In that case, you might consider doing research when you’re outside of work. Habitual research in small doses can provide powerful insight for improving your work in the present as well as develop your career in the future.

If You Are Not Advertising your Property Rentals On Social Networks You Should Be

We are always looking for the best ways to advertise our rental properties for lease with the company that will give us the best reach for the best price, if you keep your social networks current and active they may be the best way to reach potential new renters.

Here’s how:

1) The majority of your target audience is on social networks

– By keeping your listings current you can ask friends, family members, and current tenants to like and share your listing posts casting an even a wider net within the community. Larger exposure will equate to quicker rentals.

2) Photography Is Important

– be sure the photos you use are quality and show the entire property, especially areas you feel should be highlighted. Remember you want them to click onto your post to check it out, make it inviting.

3) Monitor Your Posts and Respond To All Comments

-Be sure to respond to all comments in a timely manner, especially those that ask if/when they can see the property. If this comment came from a friends reposting of your post then be sure to reach out and thank them for the help. Everyone loves a thank you.

Be especially aware of “internet trolls” that may post a negative comment just for the sake of it. Respond in a professional way, a good strategy would be to ask why, or how they have experience with your property, if it is a valid complaint, thank them for bringing it to your attention, and let them know it is being addressed.

4) Don’t Be Afraid To Repost

– The number of people seeing your post is not as great as you would think as there are so many posts that are vying for their attention.

5) Potential higher Quality Tenant

– Being that the potential new tenant has a good chance of coming from someone you know or already resides in your property it is a higher possibility that they will be a quality tenant.

Of course you want to be careful as with anything in social media there are scammers and others that can prey on information so be cautious of what is placed into your posts and as always be sure you run a background check and don’t do your showings without others in your company coming along or at least have them nearby.

What You Need To Know About Rent Concessions

With rent concessions on the rise nationwide we need to have an understanding what giving or offering a concession can do to your property value if not handled correctly.

Let’s start with the definition of a rent concession, a concession is any “reduction in price, rent or other benefit provided to a potential tenant as an inducement to lease your property”. There are many ways to give a concession, reducing the first month’s rent, reducing rents for a contracted time or maybe even upgrades the property they are considering ie: an accent wall or upgraded appliances. Your goal should be to have all scenarios have about the same amount of rent paid. Also, if you can get a new tenant to accept an upgrade to the unit as a concession, it can be even more beneficial to you.

What you need to consider as you are offering your concessions is how do these concession affect my long term value of my investment. If you find yourself wanting/needing to refi and you begin the underwriting process you will find that lenders are interested in how much income an asset is producing and how much income an asset can optimally produce. Concessions add an additional layer to the equation. When underwriting the Net Operating Income of an asset, concessions are typically subtracted from the Gross Rental Income in order to determine the Net Rental Income — which also factors in things like vacancy and unpaid rent that’s deemed ‘uncollectible’. This may affect the borrowing power of the property, as lenders use multiples and ratios to determine the maximum loan to value.

The top 3 types of concession are- Lease-Up Concessions, Marketing Concessions and of course the old ‘Red Flag’ Concessions.

Lets start with the Red Flag Concessions: Lenders will have some concern when you are looking at buying or refinancing a property with rents that are in line with market competition but have on-going concessions to keep the property occupied. They will wonder why there are ongoing concessions, and what hidden issues might be there.

Lease-Up Concessions are defined as discounts offered in newly rehabbed or newly constructed apartment product during the lease-up phase as a means to stabilized occupancy (roughly 90%) as soon as possible. These one-time concessions are generally not of concern to lenders so long as there is strong lease-up velocity and that asking rents are well supported by the market.

Marketing Concessions: You will find these concession across all asset classes. These are often more of a marketing play in that rents at the property may be slightly above market rates. The ‘concession’ brings rates more in line with the market. These types of concessions are usually of no concern as long as they keep the rents at the market rate.

No matter what type of concession you chose be sure that it is reflected properly in your rent roll as it will make it easier for potential buyers or lenders feel comfortable with your property.

Most Common Employment Screening Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Successful companies all have one thing in common: hard-working, efficient employees. While you won’t always be able to determine which workers will fit best in their roles in your company, choosing the right screening service can help weed out undesirable candidates based on the criteria that matter to you and to the success of your business. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can help ensure that you are hiring the best candidates for your company’s individual needs and that you are protecting yourself from litigation and pointless spending. Remember, good employees can make the difference between a good and a great company, and finding the perfect candidate should be a top priority for business owners and hiring managers.

• Choosing a Screening Process Without Proper Research

• Running a business involves many moving parts, which means that certain aspects can be overlooked, even by the most thorough business owners. Because all screening services are not created equally, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is not doing the proper research before choosing a screening service. You’ll want to choose a service that meets your short-term and long-term screening demands, and that facilitates your company’s individual needs rather than the common needs of most companies.

• Failing to Abide by the Law

• All US companies must abide by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but not all third-party services adhere to the FCRA when compiling data for their screening services. If you choose a service that is not FCRAcompliant, you open yourself up to legal action, which can cause statutory damage, punitive damage, actual damage, and legal fees. While these services may offer enticing prices, the long-term financial consequences outweigh the benefits of short-term savings.

• Overpaying

• Many screening companies offer a one-size-fits-all screening service that values the typical company rather than your company’s individual needs. This can cause you to pay for services you don’t want or need, and can prevent you from utilizing the services that make the most sense for your company. Choose a screening service that adjusts to your needs at a reasonable price.

Running a business and hiring people can be challenging, but you can make things easier on yourself by avoiding these common mistakes. Doing so can save you time, money, and can help maintain your reputation. Only you know what you need, and you are responsible for making sure you’re getting it. Make sure your employment screening service serves you.