Guidelines on Property Management and Benefits of having a Property Manager

• Procure sufficient liability and additional property insurance as it protects you from losses to your rental property caused due to burglary, damage, combustion and blizzards.
• Improve in your rental properties through painting, carpeting & flooring, installation of plumbing, fixing of lights & locks and also other carpentry works.
• Choose a "property manager" carefully and explain his duties in detail. If you are incapable on managing your property then "property manager" plays a vital role in managing your asset and look after its maintenance.
• You must make it a point on telling your occupants to inform you quickly if at all the paint of your house gets peeled off and any other problems regarding your maintenance.
• If there's a problem such as lead or mold on the property, you must inform your "occupants" as soon as you came to know about it.
• In case any argument with your tenants regarding to rent, repairs, your access to the rental unit and noise takes place, solve it without involving any lawyers and grievance.

Benefits of Having Property Manager

1.Help?s you Avoid Legal Tribulations

He will not let you face any legal tribulations, as he gets familiar to ?Acts? such as ?Tenant Act? or ?Landlord Act?.

2.Search Financially Qualified Occupants

Property Manager thoroughly scrutinize ?occupants? and assist you in finding them much faster and lessen your loss of income.

3.Once your home is rented

When you are away from home your ?property manager? will lookout your property to make sure that occupants to whom you have rented your home are taking care or not.

More info on Property Management http://www.browseme.info/property_management.asp Benefits of having a Property Manager http://www.browseme.info/property_manager.asp

Home & Pet Sitting - Your Home is NOT Alone!

Do you and your family need to leave your residence, but prefer not to leave your home unattended? Let a house sitting service provide you with the peace of mind to relax. Hiring a house sitter is perfect it you have pets. The high cost of boarding and the undue stress it puts on your pet can be eliminated by using a house sitter while you are away.

Selling? The right professional home sitting and care takers can provide your property the warm ambiance potential buyers find appealing. Your asset will have the correct lighting and mood, improving that "first impression."

A watchful eye is the most valuable home security system. Your home will never look empty. Enjoy the benefits of having a watchful eye over your landscaping and maintenance contractors. Mail and deliveries can be received and forwarded. Utility and basic bill paying tasks can be counted on. Meet and greet real estate staff. Maintain the ability to have contact and control with your home base.

Estates, single family homes, condominiums, and townhomes are all candidates for house sitting. Your immediate property should not be under construction. If your property is for sale, the right house sitter should be happy to act as a liaison between your residence, and the visiting brokers and clients. Your care taker can help prepare your home with the correct ambient lighting, atmosphere, and mood. They can even have fresh coffee waiting! During open-houses, your home sitter should be happy to spend the day away from your showcase. House sitter are available to schedules and care taking opportunities as short as one month to over a year.

During the home sitters stay at your home they will be happy to provide basic services such as mail receiving and forwarding, utility bill payments, keeping a watchful eye on landscapers, pool or maintenance contractors, cleaning and upkeep, and care-taking your cat, small dog, or visiting with your horses. Situations with multiple pets and large dogs are perfect consideration for employing a home sitter, as the cost of boarding can be tremendous!

There are other opportunities that may not be suitable for a house sitting situation. Live in managers for apartments for example, may be better suited to an employment arrangement. If you have additional family members that will reside at the property while you are away the house sitter should be happy to visit and interact, share meals and conversation, and provide company. However, do not place the responsibility of caring for a person that can not care for themselves on your house sitter.

Benefits of house sitting

• Security - not leaving your house unoccupied and susceptible to a break in.
• Peace of mind - knowing your house and garden are being cared for.
• No worries of burdening your friend, family or neighbor to mow lawns, water plants, check mailboxes, feed and exercise pets, etc.
• Pet care - knowing your pet is happy being looked after at home, instead of at an expensive and foreign pet motel.
• Someone reliable collecting and redirecting mail, and taking your phone messages.

Remember, there are benefits for the house sitter too - its a Win-Win arrangement!

Find a home sitters who's mission is to manifest a comfortable home environment to reside in temporarily. They should be looking for a partner to achieve the common goals. Finding the right person or couple to care take your residence while you are away will ensure that your home is happy and secure so you can be worry free.

House Sitting

professional home sitting and pet sitters

Choosing Property Management Software the Smart Way

Face it, you don't need more headaches -- property management is hard enough by itself. Now you have to find a good software program to get your growing business organized. Hand scribbled notes and mountains of paper are a thing of the past -- hopefully.

Get the important stuff first, and then sweat the details

You can rule out 50% of the property management software on the market if you focus first on what you 'really' are looking for. The two main mistakes many people make is (1) buying software that is overkill for their needs (thus wasting money and time) or (2) going for the cheapest alternative and getting software that has defects and doesn't fit their need (thus wasting time and money). Let's look at the differences:

Overkill: Do you need software to manage your properties and your office too? Let your property management software do what it does best - manage property. For your office accounting and payroll, there are plenty of inexpensive products that are perfectly good for both large and small businesses. However, if you use another accounting software for your office expenses, you may want your rental property software to export your bank deposits and checks to your office management software. Other features that add to the cost that you may not need include budgeting, double-entry accounting, asset and liability accounting, and tenant background checking. Some features, such as tenant background checking are really done by well-known Internet companies, but the software vendor just buys the service first, and marks up the cost to you. The prices for property management software can range from $100 to $10,000 (or more), so don't buy more than you need. However, if you do buy a version that supports a smaller number of rental units, make sure that you can easily upgrade to the larger version at a reasonable cost (hopefully the difference in cost between that smaller and larger versions) and won't be required to re-enter any of your precious information again.

Underkill: Anybody with some web software can make an impressive looking web site. But underneath may be a piece of junk software. Look at the product, make sure you can run a full demo, and better yet a 'trial version' that allows you to 'try before you buy'. Make sure the software can do the basic things you need: (1) maintain a separate ledger for each Tenant and each Owner (2) write bank checks and deposits (3) maintain a vendor file (4) automatically post rent, management fees, and late fees (4) easily update your information. Make sure the software will handle a mixture of single family homes, multifamily homes, condos, and commercial without having to buy extra modules. Look for the ability to purchase add-ons, such as work order modules, online rent payment modules, or tax related modules -- you may need them in the future as your business grows. Be sure to check the cost!

Then, go for the details

Some things may not be critical in your property management software, but are great to have. These are features, such as a reminder system to keep track of appointments, log conversations and interactions with your tenants, and to pop up a list of tenants and owners that owe you money. Look for the ability of the software to transfer your tenant information to an inactive file, so that you can later look up your tenant info for credit references and to log back payments. Look for features such as the ability to automatically update rent amounts, automatically post amounts to each ledger, and to update your account names. Speaking of account names, you might want to find a software that uses 'real' names for your accounts like 'Rent Received', instead of an account number, such as '300021 - Rent Received'.

Don't take the Technical Support bait

Free Support! Most tenant management software companies don't even offer it, but even if they do, there may be big conditions. Some vendors force you to buy their expensive software updates in order to receive their technical support. Others offer free support for a short period of time then charge anywhere from a dollar per minute (with a minimum amount per call) to well over $100.00 per hour for support. You should get at least a 60 to 90 day free support plan as part of the purchase, but better yet, find an experienced vendor that offers free unlimited support. Yes, there are actually some vendors that back their products with free phone and email support.

Hidden costs

If you spend a frustrating hour doing battle with your property management software, what is that worth in dollars? Difficult, unfriendly software costs you time. And, if you have employees trying to figure out how to do something, you are paying them to read the 2 inch thick manual, and paying again if they have to call for support. Make sure your software program is easy to install, easy to use, and has plenty of help. You should always receive a printed user's guide with the program, a comprehensive built-in help file, and an online help page. Another big cost is the 'update'. Are you forced to buy it even if you don't need the new features? What have the last 5 updates cost the user base? Will you still receive any technical support if you have an older version? These are important questions you should always ask when shopping for property management software.

Follow these simple guidelines, and your property management software will help you grow a thriving and efficient business.

Paul Toller has worked in Real Estate consulting and Computer Software Development for over 20 years. He is co-developer of the Tenant File Property Management Software http://www.TenantFile.com. His latest release is a tenant lease creation software called Lease Designer http://www.LeaseDesigner.com.

Costa Del Sol Property Management

Now that you have purchased a villa or apartment on the Costa del Sol, Spain, you now face another decision: property management or finding a company to look after your property. Whether your villa is in Fuengirola, Mijas Costa, Benalmadena or Marbella, you need to be sure that the property management company will provide you with all the services you require such as maintenance, cleaning, property administration, holiday rental services, building and refurbishment.

Multi Property Services - gives owners of Costal del Sol property who are interested in letting out their villa or letting out their apartment the confidence and piece of mind in knowing that they can gain the financial rewards of short- or long-term rentals while protecting their property and interest. Here are some tips for you if you are looking for a company in Fuengirola, Mijas Costa, Benalmadena or Marbella to manage your property or letting your villa or apartment.

Property inspections - the company you select should check your property on a weekly basis. Inspections should include a check of all plumbing, baths, toilets and making sure all showers are off and all other fixtures are in working order. It should also include an inspection of electrical outlets and small appliances, again to ensure that they are in perfect working order.

Outdoor inspections – includes the checking of lawns, gardens, and the pool for any damage. The rental property management company should make sure that the sprinkler systems and pool filters are working. The company should also regularly inspect for any pests or vermin.

Property administration - The rental property management company will ensure that utility payments, taxes, and other bills are paid in a timely manner. They should also provide you with a monthly report.

Property inventory - the property management company will go through the property with you, making a thorough property inventory and using that as the basis for checking the apartment or villa after guests have departed.

Cleaning services - Prior to the arrival of guests, the rental property management company should arrange to have your villa or apartment cleaned and prepared for letting. Some companies may, for an extra fee, also offer a greet and meet service for guests.

Mail pick-up – Any mail should be picked up from the property and forwarded on to the owner.

When you do find the right rental property management company, then owning a property in Fuengirola, Mijas Costa, Benalmadena or Marbella will be both a personally and financially rewarding experience. To learn more about subjects like costa del sol property management please visit the web site at: http://www.multipropertyservices.com

Georgi Mollov - SEO and Web-Design services - http://www.spainseo.com

Property Management Considerations for College Housing

Property Management is not easy, but there are ways to make your job easier if you will understand a little about human psychology and work with the tenants whether they be business owners or residents. One group of properties that is an industry sub-sector is managing properties for college housing. The students will be renting the properties for the school year about nine months. So you need to average your costs over twelve months and total it up and then divide by nine for your costs.

Next you need to figure in the problems that occur and get busy signing people up for next year. Of course remember these are party animal kids and therefore you will need a substantial deposit from them up front and guarantees from their folks that you will be paid. If anything goes wrong you zap the deposit and let the parents know that one more incident and they are gone. Of course all this must be done swiftly, efficiently and without aggressive action. Warnings will help and nice polite staff is the key to diverting potentially hostile problems from these kids.

Being on good terms with the College or University is certain to help fill up the buildings thru referrals from the student information offices. Finding additional properties can be tough if the area is not use to massive numbers of young adults in the area. Most citizens nearby will complain and attempt to prevent that type of usage, as it adds lots of traffic, parties and just over congestion to the area. These are all interesting considerations to be discussed when contemplating property management strategies for College Housing Units.

Lance Winslow, a retired entrepreneur, adventurer, modern day philosopher and perpetual tourist.

Property Maintenance Management Software

Properties represent buildings, apartments, houses and rooms which one rents out. With rising legal costs, real estate is a highly profitable business. Real estate properties belong to two categories, residential and commercial buildings. Although the cost of land rises every year, the buildings constructed on the land depreciate at a rate depending on the location, cities and region.

Properties depreciate due to the weakening concrete structure over the years, because of the effects of weather. Electrical and mechanical systems need to be replaced in due course. A property owner can have one apartment building or multiple buildings. Property management is itself a function covering domains like tenants, i.e., who lives in an apartment, the rent structure (including monthly and daily rentals), rate of increase of rent and the maintenance of the building and its installations.

Property management software is a powerful tool in the hands of property owners, managers and landlords. It helps keep track of the tenants in different apartments and buildings. All the financial transactions related to the building can be managed, and the data can be retrieved. Besides these functions, maintenance is an important cost center for the management of buildings.

Property maintenance management software helps landlords in optimizing the maintenance costs of the building. Maintenance costs include repairing the installations like utilities, and maintaining outdoor maintenance works. The major modules include work-order generation, a database of the contractors and tradesmen, the history of the work orders, reports generation of the asset, and maintenance costs, to help managers make decisions regarding repair works and disposal.

A major portion of physical assets of corporate houses is in the form of buildings. Hence, property management software can be integrated throughout the enterprise. This will potentially reduce maintenance costs, and therefore reduce the operating and administrative costs of organizations.



Equipment Maintenance Management Software provides detailed information on Equipment Maintenance Management Software, Facility Maintenance Management Software, Fleet Maintenance Management Software, Foundation Maintenance Management Software and more. Equipment Maintenance Management Software is affiliated with Fleet Maintenance Software.

An Introduction To Real Estate Property Management Software

The real estate market is a booming industry. The success of the industry is a result of competition and the intervention of modern technology. Most people in the business prefer to use real estate property management software to stay ahead in the race. This software has been designed to cater to commercial and residential property, office buildings and apartments.

Real estate property management software is an effective and easy-to-use tool. This software helps people understand the real estate business. It is a quick response application that can store each detail of every transaction. This helps study non-payments and full-payments of rent, and maintains a detailed report of rent receipts and invoices.

Property owners are able to key inputs as and when required. The secured system is intelligent and allows changes from authorized personnel. Real estate property management software can evaluate an unlimited number of properties and units simultaneously. The software stores detailed data related to rent payments for all individual properties. This systematic approach eliminates any problems due to taxation.

Real estate property management software generates automated reports in cases of wrong payments and non-payments. The software does away with the practice of owners waiting for rent payments. All maintenance expenses or any extra revenue statements are regularly updated. The software also stores tenant information.

Residential property managers must select property management software that is most suited for their work. These applications are available with one-month money-back guarantees.

The residential property management system is considered to be time- and cost-effective for a manager and resident. The application can create a personalized website for an individual company in a relatively short time. This allows prospective and existing customers to visit the web site. This is a convenient method to view pictures of property, pay rent and submit maintenance requests.

Real Estate Software provides detailed information on Real Estate Software, Real Estate Development Software, Real Estate Investment Software, Real Estate Property Management Software and more. Real Estate Software is affiliated with Mortgage Banking Software.

Property Management Software

Property management software is a computer program or computer programs that serve to simplify, streamline, and otherwise facilitate the management of property you own or hope to own. The software is equipped with many useful functions to take care of costs, run tasks, oversee labor, and other helpful aspects. Property management, as the name suggests, is meant to deal with the proper management services and scrutiny of various properties. Nonetheless, property management is a particular discipline of defining and achieving targets in matters of properties. At the same time its primary purpose is to optimize the varied utilizations of resources including energy, space, time, people, technology and many others. But for every property management, time constraints play a major part in the whole process.

For every property management, work is conducted under the supervision of an individual property manager. It is the responsibility of the property manager to organize and supervise the work that needs to be done. There is a lot of software on the market that is designed to make a property manager's job easier.

All the property works are primarily planned through the application of software that not only gives the virtual image of the whole property, but also errorless calculations and accounting works, cost factors, management planning and such other works. Although the best property management professionals are hired for the projects, computer software gives the detailed analysis of the plan, including the calculations and statistical implications. There is even web-based software to manage and facilitate the handling of properties.

Property Management Software provides detailed information on Property Management Software, Real Estate Property Management Software, Rental Property Management Software, Property Management Accounting Software and more. Property Management Software is affiliated with Healthcare PM Software.

Real Estate Property Management Software

Property management is made much easier with the specialized help of property management software. It not only gives the virtual image of the whole property, but also gives the errorless calculations and accounting works, the cost factors, the management planning and such other works.

Real estate property management software solutions are helping people across the country to perform real estate property management tasks more efficiently than ever. Real estate property management software alleviates many of the problems that residential property managers face every day. Resident portal, resident pay, and resident works are the usual real estate property management matters that the software can help handle. Also, in order to save more time and money and to ease the work of maintenance, real estate property management software can help a lot of companies in creating customized web sites.

It is the real estate company that decides what they should pay attention to: some companies pay attention to the acquisition and disposition of properties, while others focus on long-range forecasting for invested capital. The real estate property management software gives solutions to all these issues: the customized online and offline data are carefully maintained, updated and processed to facilitate the company management to make decisions and actions. Apart from this, software solutions also provide the two major information workflows unique to the real estate industry. They are:

Asset Valuation: The real estate software solutions help in building the valuation models.

Budgeting & Forecasting: The software simplifies this by organizing and analyzing the data involved.

Property Management Software provides detailed information on Property Management Software, Real Estate Property Management Software, Rental Property Management Software, Property Management Accounting Software and more. Property Management Software is affiliated with Healthcare PM Software.

Rental Property Management Software

Property management, as the name suggests, is meant to deal with the proper management services and scrutiny of various properties. Property management is a particular discipline of defining and achieving targets in matters of properties. At the same time, its primary purpose is to optimize the utilization of resources such as energy, space, time, people, technology and many others.

To track the income and expenditures related to the holdings and rental properties, rental property management software solutions are ideal. Apart from this tracking of cash flows from the rentals, these software solutions facilitate the completion of the IRS Schedule E, come tax time. Most rental property management software is armored to do these basic rental property maintenance functions in a simple and clean way, providing a sturdy interface to support those tasks admirably. The software is also equipped to do documentation of expenses in a similar process.

A few benefits of the software are: automatic creation of the standardized supporting documents and analysis; time-saving to great extent in negotiating and approving leases; and helping the company with updated information on all ongoing lease negotiations

Some of the notable features of the software include sorting all kinds of deals by the virtue of status, leasing agent, property, unit or tenant. Most of the high quality and user-friendly software supports standard formats in MS Word and Excel. The supporting documents that are very important in matters of rental properties can be created and supported by the rental software. They are: lease agreement, construction estimate, and construction drawing.

Property Management Software provides detailed information on Property Management Software, Real Estate Property Management Software, Rental Property Management Software, Property Management Accounting Software and more. Property Management Software is affiliated with Healthcare PM Software.

Some Important Facts of Property Management

The real estate market, specifically property management market for United Kingdom and Spain, evolves constantly and requires all experience and commitment of management professionals to satisfy the necessities for construction, buys and sale of buildings for more demanding clients every day.

And why I say this? Then, the property market is more and more competitive, actually: new companies are born, the technologies innovate constantly and produce new materials, the geographic breach is not more a limit thanks to the increasing and solid commercial relations generated through the Internet, and the receiving public is allows of competitiveness and quality of the present properties management services.

Therefore, it is strategic and relevant that management professionals fuse in an only quality service those points that the receiving market delay of them. A qualified service that integrates:

? Simple and realistic budgets.

? Projects to the measurement of each one of clients.

? Excellent yield at price/quality relation of project.

? Excellence of external contracted services.

? Flexibility, security and confidence.

? Fluid communication channels.

All these points of property management interrelated to each other and verified throughout the process, to principle to aim, establish a relation that offers clarity and confidence between involved parts.

It fortifies communication channels, it clarify the aims and it is the most effective instrument at the time that it is necessary solve no predicted questions that arise like result of new ideas and modification made during the same project development.

The present challenge is create communication channels between the different professionals from the sector to generate integrating strategies, which satisfy a demanding market.

The constant qualification, the multi-sectorial relations, handling of new technologies, the international projection and a solid position through the time are factors that will contribute to that the management of properties be an integral service more and more sophisticate and attractive.

Eloi Ruart is chartered surveyor and technical architect. Actually design property management projects for property interests in Catalonia.http://www.hfpmanagement.comeloi@hfpmanagement.com

Top 10 Reasons Why Landlords Should Use Online Property Management Software

Introduction:

Online property management systems are becoming popular due to various reasons including easy of use, managing any type of real estate transactions including lease, daily operation or real time information on centralized locations. These systems being web based are easily accessible from all over the world and real time information is gathered.

The system manages all information through your web site. Individual residents can submit applications, make requests, pay online and many more other information can be shared. The property owner gets real time information about their property.

Property software solution providers have made the systems easy so that in a smallest time all the information can be gathered, analyzed and report can be generated at convenience.

Top 10 reasons for landlords to use online Property Management Systems:

1. Property Information: Organization of property information or creating property portfolios is one of the greatest tasks. The online property management system makes this easy. The images of property can be uploaded in the system for multiple owners and the system is capable to handle the information on any size of property.

2. Vacancy Information: All the information regarding leasing of the property can be easily managed and the prospective tenants can access more details about the properties, find out the terms and conditions, payment conditions and if satisfied may apply online.

3. Manage Leases: The property owner can access the property information online at any time, hence may manage the recording of leased properties. Customized information can be shared with other team members.

4. Receive rent online: You can manage and ensure timely receipts from your tenants. The online property managements systems are designed in such a way that after a particular date they will automatically assess a late fee as penalty. You may even generate rent receipts through the online system.

5. Managing Maintenance: To achieve highest benefits you are required to keep proper maintenance records of your properties. The online property management systems have provisions for maintenance and team members responsible for carrying out maintenance job can access the the information efficiently.

6. Service requests from tenants: Tenants may also apply online for maintenance requests and the team members can carry out the job.

7. Lease agreements: All lease agreements; lease duration and rent information can be centralized. On completion of the tenure the system will automatically inform the details of the concern property and tenant to you.

8. Tracking of expenses: Tracking property maintenance expenses and income expenses online and real time is easy. All the information can be retrieved quickly.

9. Specific property reports: A specific property or property portfolio can be tracked easily and all history of the particular portfolio can be retrieved.

10. Cooperation among team members: Various team members responsible for different task can communicate with each other, with property owner and tenants. Through the system the specific task to the team members can be assigned and managed.

John Rossow is Manager of Sales & Marketing, maker of online property management software for landlords, professional property managers, condos and homeowner associations (HOAs) designed to help them operate more easily and with better results. Buildium's rental management software automates the collection of fees and rents, improves maintenance tracking, increases resident satisfaction and more, all for a low monthly fee. For further details, visit the website, http://www.buildium.com or contact John directly at john@buildium.com.

3 Things to Consider: Hiring a Property Management Company to Look After Your Property Investments

Property managers can be a very useful to land owners as the larger property management companies have scale of operations and can run your property for the busy landowner. This would in effect free the busy landowner with more time to look for more real estate deals. This article deals with three things to take note before hiring a property management company to look after your property.

Firstly, the most important thing people think about when hiring a property manager would be fees. Spend some time asking what their management fee covers, whether they will be collecting rent on your behalf and deducting their fee from the monthly rental. Also ask what their procedure is like for other expenses like insurance premiums, repair bills and other expenses that the property might incur.

Secondly, you might want to hire a property management for their expertise. Some property management companies may be good at running residential properties but they may not have any experience at managing a commercial property. Thus I would suggest that you spend time asking the manager what is their current class of properties in their stable and go down to those properties and observe the properties and then go and talk to the tenants of the building.

Thirdly, proximity of the management office is one key consideration. For commercial property, you would notice that the management office is always sited within the commercial building itself so as to respond quickly to any complaints by the tenants. For residential property, the management company that you hire should have an office located in close proximity to your property so that they can rectify problems as they arise.

In conclusion, hiring a real estate property management company can be useful to free up time for owners and allow the owners to spend more time looking for more profitable deals. Take some massive action today and look for your next real estate investment property and soon when you have enough properties, you can pass them over to a real estate property management company to manage and then you can go for a well deserved holiday.

Joel Teo is the owner of several websites and takes a keen interest in real estate investment. For more real estate investment resources go to: http://www.realestateinvestment101.info/Investment_Resources.html

3 Reasons to Hire a Property Management Company to Run Your Real Estate Investment Property

Real Estate Investment sounds like a cool thing to do during the weekend but the problem arises when you start having to many properties to handle. The solution to your real estate investment problem would be to hire a property manager who can then run your property for you and deal with any problems that may arise. The key is to get a reliable person who can then do any repairs or maintenance work for you.

This article will highlight three additional reasons why you might want to hire a property management company to look after your real estate investment property for you.

Firstly, you might be a busy professional or business person during the weekdays and you do not want to run around looking for a plumber or roof repairer sometime during the week. Time is valuable also if you have several properties that you own and it does not make sense to baby sit your properties.

Thus you would do well to remember that your monthly income is dependent on the number of deals that you can find to add to your real estate investment portfolio. Get your focus right and you will make more money from your real estate investments.

Secondly, proximity is a key issue. One real estate investment author states that he does not own property unless it is within one mile from his own residence. If you want to look after your own properties it is fine but you must be able to go down and take a look if there is any issue arising from your properties.

Note that returns from both offshore rentals and capital appreciation currently in places like Dubai might prove more lucrative so if you are looking into offshore real estate investment, hiring a property management company is a must. Similarly, if you are looking at investing in property outside the state that you reside in, it will be necessary for you to hire a property management company to look after your property.

Thirdly, if you are new to the type of property class, you might want to consider employing the services of a property management company. For example if you have been involved in residential real estate for a long time and you decide to expand to commercial real estate, you might not be familiar with the documentation, the procedures and the possible problems that may arise from such real estate. Hiring a property management company therefore may help you solve some of your transition problems and like mentioned earlier free you to explore other real estate investments.

In conclusion, real estate investment property when done on a small scale in your locality may be okay for a while but when your investments start getting numerous and unwieldy, you might want to tap on the services of a property management company to help you manage your properties thus freeing you to look for more property deals.

Joel Teo is the owner of several websites and takes a keen interest in real estate investment. Learn more about real estate investment at http://www.realestateinvestment101.info

Property Management Advice for Landlords

Discover what every landlord should know about finding tenants and why picking the best person is not always as easy as it sounds.

The most important decision any landlord makes is deciding who can live in their property. Who will you, as the owner, allow to live in your investment? This decision is so vital to the profitability of any property investment business and affects the business on so many levels that it?s amazing that some landlord don?t have a formalised procedure to protect themselves from making bad decision.

Let?s think about what we?re actually doing when we rent a property. Instead of thinking of the property as a monthly income generator think of it as a pile of cash. Cash you have tied up in the deposit and purchasing costs. Cash you hope to gain a regular income from through renting and more cash that you?ll receive if you sell the property and realise your capital gains. (Assuming house prices have risen since you purchased). If you include in this the value you place on your time spend finding the property, buying and arranging the rental then we have a very serious investment on our hands indeed.

Now, imagine all that money in real, tangible terms, stacked up in a room in the house and then consider we hand over the keys to someone and say, ?See you next year?. Now we can begin to see how important it is to select the right tenant. Of course, I?m being dramatic and we do have legal safe guards but I hope that by considering your investment in terms of hard cash (like a professional investor) then you?ll treat the question of occupancy very seriously.

There?s more to it than just financials. Not only are we trusting the tenant to look after our investment but we?re also investing our free time with them. What do I mean? If we are managing the property ourselves and not using a letting agent then we have made a serious commitment in time to look after that tenant. If you have a tenant who does not appreciate your property or does not treat it with care and respect then you run the risk of losing your evening and weekends in maintenance and management tasks. What about rent collection? An unreliable tenant who does not pay on time creates stress and worry. Legal protection lets us all sleep better at night but the practicalities of recouping money and legal costs are a headache we do not need and one that?s very avoidable.

Once we know how seriously we need to take the task of finding the correct tenant we can start looking for the very best people. In this case ?best? has two simple criteria. 1) They pay on time and in full 2) They look after the property as if it were their own.

I?m going to discuss three tools we can use to help find good tenants. The first is a long and very comprehensive application form. I ask for as much detail as possible from the tenant. I need all their contact details, ID, proof of current address such as telephone or electric bills, previous addresses and, perhaps most importantly, references from their employer, previous landlord (if they?re moving out of home I?ll ask for their parents? contact details) and a character reference from a recognised member of the community such as a Doctor or Teacher. Importantly, I always act on these references. I will check with whomever they have given to make sure the details are correct and they can vouch for the applicant.

Secondly, I ask for a larger deposit than the usual 4 weeks rent. Typically I ask for 6 weeks rent (UK law give the tenant an automatic option to sublet if the deposit is too excessive, say more than 8 weeks rent). Paying more upfront is usually a good sign that they are serious.

Finally, I have to feel comfortable about the people. If I can get along with them when the property is viewed and when we talk on the telephone and if I don?t have any intuitive alarm bells going off then I trust my own judgement.

At this point you might be wondering about a credit check? Yes this is a great tool depending on the affluence of your potential tenants. Some of my properties are let to people on social security benefits, many of whom I?ve had to help set up a bank account even. In these cases a credit check would not be beneficial but for better off tenants it can be a worth while exercise.

Once we know how to approach the subject of finding great tenants we can consider why people make poor letting decisions. In my experience the worst decisions about tenants are made in pressure situations. An empty property is very damaging to the bottom line of a landlord. If a property is unoccupied it?s very tempting to let the first person who comes along have the tenancy. I know, I?ve made the mistake myself (several times I?m reluctant to admit). This situation is exacerbated if you find your property is not in demand. If you only get one phone call from your advert in the local paper then you?re putting pressure on yourself and your business.

Therefore, the best way to make a good decision is to have a lot of people to choose from. Creating a big list of possible tenants comes from good advertising with good descriptions of you property and its selling points, realistic pricing (even undercutting competition in a renter market) and building a solid reputation as a landlord.

Steve Norton is a landlord with 9 years of experience and owns properties in the UK and Australia. With a clear focus on making the landlord's life as easy as possible while maximising profit more of Steve's insider tips on landlording can be found at Property Management Advice for Landlords.

Selecting a Property Management Company

If you've spent any time in a resort community, you've probably encountered a good number of vacation rentals. These can vary, from cabins to condos and perhaps even a seaside bungalow. These are properties frequently owned by absent investors and rented out to guests on a nightly, weekly or monthly basis. In a busy resort community these homes can not only be a gracious lodging experience, but often more economical than hotels especially at "high season" rates.

If you're among the many considering investing in a rental property you must make a choice. Prepare to spend the time to maintain the unit and arrange for reliable housekeeping services, advertise your little getaway on the internet and in the local media, and provide facilities for checking guests in and out. The alternative is the preference of a majority of out of town owners...hire a reputable property management company to help maximize your ROI.

Here are a few guidelines to help in selecting the management company that best meets your needs.

• Naturally, word of mouth can help you in your research. Talk to locals and other rental property owners. Most will be happy to share their experiences with you.

• Note the visibility of the management company in the market. Are they easily located in the local phone book? How many units do they manage? Do they have actual office facilities or are your guests reporting for check-in to someone's garage? Do they advertise in the local travel guides and other area publications?

• Technology plays an important part in property management success. Does your candidate have a solid internet presence? Can you see ample photos online to help selecting an appropriate retreat? Can you easily check availability and book online? Most important, how easily can your candidate be found in the online community? Target a search engine and a search term that you feel people might actually use to shop for a property.

In Ruidoso, New Mexico a mountain resort community the most popular vacation rental is the mountain cabin.

Select, for example MSN...and the simple search phrase "ruidoso cabin". If your property management candidate shows up in the first page, you've located a firm that has the marketing savvy to help your investment succeed. If the company you're investigating is number one on the first search page you've found an aggressive, professional marketer with the tools you need to maximize the return from your investment. If they do not appear in the first three pages of search results...move on. They may have a website, but it is not positioned to help you make reservations.

• What is the rental experience like for the guest? Is the initial contact with a friendly, knowlegeable reservationist? Here's where your own powers of observation come into play. Call your candidate and actually book a stay in one of their managed properties. How were you treated? Was the property well maintained and clean? Would you rent from them again? This simple technique can be a real eye opener.

These basic questions will help you get started in selecting the property management that can help you realize your investment plans.

Bob Huntington works in property management in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Visit his websites at http://www.casasderuidoso.com and http://www.ruidosocentralreservations.com Bob also authors the blog Visiting Ruidoso at http://www.visitruidoso.blogspot.com

Commercial Property Management Public Relations

It is important always for property management companies to maintain a good standing in the community. This is why property management companies are always involved in civic events, service clubs and chambers of commerce. Often property management companies also operate parking structures and parking lots and are aware of the need to fill up as many parking stalls as possible for the maximum price point. There are many ways to do this. One of the most inexpensive ways is through free publicity. A car wash fundraiser on your lot during a slow time of the week may be just that opportunity.

Let?s say for instance that Sunday is your Lot?s slowest day a car wash for church or youth group might be an idea. Christian radio stations will play public service announcements alerting people the day and time and of course the location, Your Parking lot. The radio station will play the spots 5 times a day for a week. Free airtime and all you have to do is be a Good Samaritan. Just think every good Christian in town will remember to park in your lot, instead of a lot next door. Christian customers may also cut down on Hit and Runs and seldom break into the car next door.

Perhaps Saturday is a slow day you can have a local High School Group hold a fundraiser their. High School bands have annual budgets in excess of $40,000. They have 100+ kids in the groups and that means 1.5 parents per kid, who are all your potential customers. Sound good so far? It gets better. Sometimes for a big event you can get the radio station down to do an onsite remote and give away T-shirts and prizes. Thus promoting them selves on your parking lot. Each time announcing who is involved and what location it is at.

?Come on down we are at the corner of main and 5th street in the Central Parking Lot, bring the whole family.?

Great for you, the more people who know about your lot the better. Once a person is familiar with your parking lot they are more likely to feel safe pulling into your lot instead of a nearby lot. The price point between competitors may also not be an issue anymore. After all you are the community-oriented business, the other guy is just a parking lot. Just because you are in a business that does not appear to lend it?s self well to getting your name out there, does not mean you have to take a back seat. Be creative, think outside the box and get er? done. Think on this in 2006.

Lance Winslow, a retired entrepreneur, adventurer, modern day philosopher and perpetual tourist.

Property Management Company - Hiring One

Hiring a property management company is a great idea if you have even a small apartment building. Having someone taking care of all the small details of a rental property means you'll have more time to find the next good investment. Also, trying to do it all yourself is the surest way to make your real estate investment experience a bitter one. To find a good property manager, ask the following questions.

1. Other properties they manage? It's best if they have rental properties that are similar to yours. You can also drive by their other properties to see how they are maintained.

2. The fee? They vary around the country from as low as 4% of gross rents for larger buildings, to as high as 12% for single family homes. Be sure the fee is clearly stated and understood.

3. Extra costs? Are showings extra? Do evictions cost extra (beyond the legal fees)? Any other extras?

4. Who actually handles your property? It's best if one person handles your building all the time, and has some experience. Get their name.

5. How and when is the fee collected? Will you be billed, or will it be deducted from your account directly? Monthly? Quarterly?

6. Type of advertising? Exactly how will they advertise the units and what will it typically cost you?

7. Time and cost to prepare units? What's the typical cleaning fee on a vacancy, and how long will it normally be before it's rented out again?

8. Type of accounting? Which types of reports do they send, and how often? How are accounts set up?

9. Their hours of operation? What are their business hours, and who takes weekend calls?

10. What needs owner approval? What dollar amount needs your authorization, and is this negotiable?

You should ask other questions, based on your particular needs and the particular property. Be sure to ask everything up front, and you'll have fewer misunderstandings, and a good manager. Real estate investing and being a landlord is a lot less stressful with a good property management company.

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, get a free real estate investing course, and see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Property Management Software as an ASP

It used to be that in order to manage your properties, be it apartments, mobile homes, or office space, each of the managers would have to store the data on their own machines either on software built for that purpose or with an assortment of personal databases and/or spreadsheets. In order for a central office to be able to view that information or do any sort of reporting, the individual managers would have to mail a floppy disk to the central office, or, as things became more advanced, email or ftp that information. IT Managers hoped that the property managers were backing up their software in case of computer crashes, but never actually knowing if that was occurring or if the backups were valid. Among the other problems that were sure to occur in these scenarios were differing versions of the software, being tied down to a specific operating system, being tied down to a specific computer (the one with the installation), and difficulty correcting problems in the data from a remote location.

I talk about those things as if they are archaic when, in fact, many companies still rely upon these decentralized programs and databases and outdated methods to manage their properties.

Recently, however, companies that wrote these personal solutions have begun to develop centralized solutions based on web servers. And they are not the only ones. Intense competition from Internet startups with savvy web developers backed by knowledgeable property managers and property management companies have appeared, sometimes overnight.

Is it worth it to try one of these out? What does it buy you?

Whether you go with a proven player in the property management software market or a program written by a fledgling company, moving to an Application Service Provider (ASP) most likely provides you with the following important concepts. This list is by no means all-inclusive.

Centralized Data and Software

With data in one location, you can ensure backups happen on all of the properties as many times as you deem necessary. You no longer have to worry about whether your managers are backing up data.

With data in one location, you can run reports on all of the properties at the same time without waiting for managers to mail or email you their data. You can even view these reports with real-time data.

All of your manager?s machines are always running the most up-to-date version, and the ASP doesn?t have to take time building and testing the patches to make sure they patch the program properly on all supported operating systems. They can just make and test the changes on their own servers, and move those changes to where the property managers themselves can use the modifications.

Data fixes do not require the data to be zipped up and sent to the programming company, nor do they require access into your computers or networks.

Versatility and Convenience

No more are the days when you have to buy the Windows version, the Mac version, or, if you are especially daring, trying to get the version of the software to work with the flavor of Unix or Linux that you have selected. If done properly, property management software will run on any of the more popular web browsers on any environment you choose.

You no longer need to bring the computer with you that has the installation on it. You can access your properties from any library, school, Internet caf?, home, or work location at which you find yourself, as long as you have a connection to the Internet.

Cost

How many property managers honestly want to pay a team of IT professionals to manage all of the software and its upgrades at all of their properties?

There is really no need to keep using antiquated alternatives. If the convenience of easy access from anywhere using any web browser doesn?t provide enough of an incentive, the easy and less expensive management and real-time statistics and reporting should. Take a look at some of the choices in online property management software today, and see how easy managing your properties can be.

David Hickenbotham is a professional writer and programmer. He develops property management software for Resident Map.