Asset Management Journal Guide

Diligently managed assets of a business organization can make a lot of difference in its profit percentages. Judicious control over all tangible and intangible assets of a company makes sure that there are no leaking funds in the organization and all assets are utilized at maximum capacity. An inefficient management of resources and incorrect information about the objects in a commercial establishment may lead to drainage of finances and in turn adversely affect company?s performance.

Realizing the importance of asset management in any company?s performance has led to newer advanced strategies in this field of trade. Entire business management consists of host of issues comprising of cost management, capital budgeting, expense accounting, financial planning and reporting and many other similar topics. Asset management constitutes a large percentage of managing concerns in an organization. Apart from administering tangible goods, raw materials, finished products, vehicles, buildings and many other such items modern businesses also need to manage their intellectual assets.

Asset management is a comprehensive term and usually requires professional handling of the situation. There are many commercial asset-managing firms that offer services for administering various resources of the company. Many software are presently available in market that enable efficient managing of a companies assets. Traditional asset management meant dealing mostly with fixed assets in their every stage of life cycle. Entire infrastructure related to factory establishment comes under asset management.

Monitoring the whereabouts of assets, ensuring the availability of all resources required in an industry whether easily available or scarce is an integral part of managing assets for that company. Finalizing purchasing requests, valuation, depreciation, asset receipts, maintenance, warranties, user data and other related physical attributes of an asset form a major role of an asset manager.

Optimal judgment about methodology applied for managing assets of different enterprises differs according to their unique characteristics. No one procedure that has been successful for one concern can guarantee similar affluent results for another enterprise with different objectives.

Professional asset managers are also required to fix emergency problems arising due to unanticipated reduction in production capacity or a major break down in plants machinery, etc. the training received by them during their learning and skills learnt through experience facilitates a asset manager to handle every job diligently. Regular maintenance of assets ensures an adequate potential of asset manager while, recovering quickly from unpredicted adverse situation test the actual capability of asset management in a company.

The asset manager is liable to provide information about vast enquires related to it. The actual cost at procurement, vendor?s details, the department and the particular team that is using it, the physical location, depreciation and any other data related should always be available at any point of time. All this helps in efficient running of a business enterprise. Decisions as when new machinery needs to be purchased or the firm could carry on with just repairing old machinery and judgment about whether the concern should buy an asset or should lease it depends on information provided by the asset manger of the company.

Mansi aggarwal writes about asset management journal news. Learn more http://www.assetmanagementjournal.com

Asset Management For Web Developers

When building large scale database driven web applications which require the development effort of numerous individuals and interoperating teams as well as networked access to a central repository of assets in the form of PHP code, HTML documents, images, source code, media files, and documentation it can help to organize the workflow by keeping track of data and intellectual property assets using specially designed asset management software applications that allow for a meta searchable database of digital media and a check in/check out system to allow multiple designers to work together without doubling up on the same task.

Asset management software isn't just for enterprise class development anymore. SOHO users will find software such as Canto Cumulus asset management software to be scalable to even the needs of a small design house with only 3-4 developers.

No matter what kind of web development you are doing, proper asset management is key to an organized workflow, especially on projects that depend on numerous individuals and teams and requires the document to "change hands" and allow for the scrutiny of the entire team during every phase of design and development.

Asset management solutions allow for a more disciplined approach to portfolio cataloguing and media library organization, which can help developers contemplate their creative palette and visual media assets more thoroughly and completely when selecting templates and production from the company's supply of IP.

If you find that your design team is having trouble maintaining a manually organized library of content and intellectual property and you want to have a library witch allows for rich meta tagging and highly organized searching and browsing, you should research investing the time and effort into setting up an asset management solution for your company today! The time and effort you put into an asset management system today pays off ten fold through more efficient workflow and library management.

James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest. Read more at www.asset-management-center.com

Asset Management 101

Asset management is the method that a company uses to track fixed assets. It is the process of controlling assets throughout their lifecycle - from procurement, through daily operations, and finally disposal. Factory equipment, desks, chairs, computers, and property are some examples of such assets. Broadly speaking, asset management involves tracking the physical location of assets, managing demand for scarce resources, and accounting tasks such as amortization. Issues that are part of asset management include asset value and depreciation; purchasing requests, orders, and asset receipts; licenses, leases, maintenance, and other contracts; vendor performance, service levels, and warranties; departmental and user data; and physical asset attributes. One of the purposes of going all these lengths and putting in effort to organize all this information is to keep track of important information such as how much the asset costs, whom it was purchased from, who is using it, where it is physically located, which department code the cost should be assigned to, which vendor should be called for support, when the lease expires, when it should be retired, what the depreciation rate is, etc. This, in turn, provides the basis for managing and optimizing an organization?s entire asset portfolio.

When we speak of property management as part of asset management, it includes property selection, implementation of policies and performance standards for that property, and monitoring of its performance in relation to the owner?s objectives.

Generally, there are four broad stages of the asset lifecycle:

Planning and procurement: This involves planning, ordering, and receiving the technology.

Operations: This includes managing the day-to-day operations of the assets to maximize productivity.

Financial management: It involves ensuring accurate tax, depreciation, and other costs.

Disposal: Once it is time for disposal, you are required to remove the asset from the enterprise in compliance with environmental regulations.

Various tools are available for asset management. However, it is important to realize that asset management is primarily a process, and the tools aspect is just a small aspect of it. Since every organization is unique, with its own unique needs and strategies, the ideal asset management process for each organization differs.

Chris Tolamalu is interested in asset management. See http://www.assetmanagementjournal.com/ for more information.

Understanding Your Monthly Commercial Property Management Report

Each month your property manager will send you a monthly report. Each company has its own format, using different property management software and internal processes. However, you should receive the following:

1. A one-page summary that highlights key issues about the property, e.g., one tenant is 30 days behind on the rent.
2. Income & expense statement. This should be a short statement showing the base rent, Common Area Maintenance (CAM) charges for each tenant, rent and CAM payments received from each tenant. It also shows maintenance expenses and management fee; so you may quickly determine if each tenant has paid rent or not. This statement itemizes all of the income and expenses which may include:
   • Late fee: when the tenant pays late, he has to pay the rent plus the late fee. The late fee amount is normally stated in the lease. Normally, when the tenant pays late, the property manager has to do extra work to collect it. The amount of work depends on whether the tenant is too busy to mail the rent check, does not have the money or simply does not want to pay. Typically, the property manager is entitled to the late fees as an incentive to collect the rent.
   • Management fee: this fee is usually a percentage of the monthly income from the property that both you and the property manager agreed in the management contract. If you have a very stable property with the same income every month, then the management fee is the same. Otherwise, it varies from month to month.
   • Leasing fee: you typically see this when there is a new tenant or a renewed lease.
   • Security/Fire Protection: your property may have fire & security monitoring services.
   • Electricity: this is most likely for parking or common area lighting.
   • Water: this is for both drinking and irrigation.
   • Disposal: this is for garbage collection paid to the city.
   • HVAC repairs & maintenance: this is the maintenance costs for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. Usually, there is a service contract for HVAC whereby the maintenance company will inspect the HVAC twice a year: once before the winter and once before the summer. So, you may receive the service bills only twice a year.
   • Garbage dumping: sometimes people dispose their unused furniture, mattress on the property because there is no one around at night. The maintenance crew may have to clean up these things. Normally, you or the property manager will want a picture of the dumping to make sure that it is a legitimate bill.
   • Landscaping: this is often the biggest expense item. Typically, the landscaper signs a one year contract to maintain the landscaping on the property, such as mowing the lawn, trimming the trees/shrubs, and planting flowers. Thus, the monthly payment should be the same for the whole year.
   • Sweeping: the parking lot is usually swept daily, either late in the evening or before the tenants open for business. In the winter, there may be an expense for snow removal.
   • Steam cleaning: the concrete sidewalk is normally steam cleaned once a month. This is done by the same company that handles the sweeping and landscaping.
   • Roof maintenance: the roof of a commercial building is often flat and requires regular maintenance especially during the rainy season. The roofer may charge each time he is called to fix a roof leak. So, this is not something you see on the statement on a regular basis.
   • Supplies: there are various things on the property that have to be replaced periodically: light bulbs, trash bins, sprinklers, etc.
   • Bank charges: sometimes the tenants pay by check with non-sufficient funds. The bank will charge a fee each time the check is bounced.
   • Legal fees: you may see this if the property manager has to evict a tenant.

As a rule of thumb, you should not spend more than 30 minutes to review the management report of a retail property with 10 tenants. If you have to spend much more than that, then your property manager has sent you too much information or not organized the report properly.

The property management company often proposes an annual maintenance budget for the property based on the prior year?s maintenance expenses. Each tenant is then billed a fixed monthly amount, proportional to the size of his unit. Thus, the base rent and CAM charges are the same each month; so, the tenants may expect to pay a consistent amount each month. Annually, between January and March, the property manager reconciles the accounting for the prior year. If the actual expenses exceeded the budget, the tenant will have to pay his share of the difference. In the event, the actual expenses were less than the budget; the tenant will be refunded or credited back the difference.

Do?s and Don?ts

1. Use email for most of your correspondence. This will allow you to have records (date, time) of all issues sent and received between you and the property manager. You may want to set up the mail option such that it automatically will save all out-going mail. In addition, you may want to create an email folder for each property and keep all email messages related to that property in that folder. This allows you to find information quickly.
2. Ask the property manager to email to you the monthly reports. You should save all of the reports on your computer. Time and time again, you will need to look at a report from a previous month. The easier and faster you can access them, the more likely you will do it. Paper reports are much more time consuming to retrieve.
3. Have a copy of the rent roll handy with rent rate, lease start date, lease expiration, and CAM share portion. When you are asked to approve a new lease, check to make sure it does not expire on a year when you have several other leases expiring. This minimizes the risk of high vacancies on your property.

   David V. Tran is the CEO eFunding Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage, loan broker, property management, self-directed IRA investment, TIC and syndication company in San Jose, CA. His website is http://www.efundingcom.com. He may be contacted at (408) 288-5500. eFunding does business in all 50 states. He is selected as Pensco Trust?s (a major self-directed IRA custodian) Preferred Professional. David offers 3 FREE real estate investment seminars:
   

   1. How to invest in commercial real estate for retirement income NOW.
   2. How to maximize cash flow with 1031 tax-deferred exchange.
   3. TIC/Syndication: strategy for small investors and self-directed IRA investors to acquire high-valued properties.
      

   
   Andrew La is an Attorney, CPA, & Real Estate Broker in San Jose. His phone is 408-275-9683.
   
   You are welcome to share this report, unedited and in its entirety, with anyone you like. You may not remove this text. ? 2007 eFunding, Inc.

Facts about Property Management

Property management is the concern of many of us, taking into account the fact that our society is in continuous movement and change. Property management information is available not only in specialized magazines and research papers, but also online, on websites that have as their major concern study, market research, covering issues regarding marketing and leasing, land use and development, maintenance and other important subjects. There are also property management companies that offer their consultancy and assistance during an investment and management period.

The advantage of reading property management magazines is that they present both the academic and professional point of view. Besides, some of them are available online, too. Another advantage of property management magazines is that some of them are focused either on the national or international perspective regarding important issues. Property management magazines are a valuable resource for people who want to be informed about changes of this domain.

There are various online resource centers offering news and information about property management. You can find there information about property and real estate, tax deductions for landlords, frequently asked tenants concerning the legal or practical issues of tenants and landlords. Property management resource centers also offer useful tips for landlords and valuable details about usual issues. Tenant injuries is a subject discussed by online property management resource centers, pointing out insurance facts and landlord liability. There are also legal updates to previous information offered on the website so that the landlords would be well informed about recent changes.

Landlords may be amazed by the fact that there is property management software available. This property management software is of great help for landlords with a few rental units and for management of big properties. In this way, you can have your rental properties organized, benefiting from the smart Windows based software. This popular property management software reminds you of expiring leases, late rent, providing extensive reports in various categories. Property management is made easier and more accessible with simple software that provides necessary and valuable information in due time.

There are also National Property Management Associations focused on personal property and fixed-asset professionals. These associations can offer training, educational opportunities as well as certification programs, all of them concerning the subject property management.

You can find information and assistance concerning agriculture, industry property management. There are property management divisions concerned with some particular branches: real property, personal property and physical property. Property management can become easier with support, implementation and monitoring of procedures, regulations and policies for the management of real and personal property.

Property management companies have to deal with multiple responsibilities and aspects of management of ownership of real estate. These companies offer to negotiate and stabilize the relationships between landlord and tenant. They also manage income and activities involving expenses, repair, maintenance and other aspects of the construction and development.

Property management is much more than a matter of responsibility, awareness and information. It requires time, intelligence and witness, great attention to details, but also management qualifications.

Property related issues explained clearly at http://propertymeet.info Up to date property business and management factors that are affecting your monetary return.

What You Should Know About Property Management

Now that you have made an offer to acquire a commercial property and are waiting to close escrow, you may want to start looking for a property manager to professionally manage the property. Your real estate investment advisor should present you with 2 or 3 local companies, each with its own proposal. Your job is to decide which company you will hire. The property manager will be the main point of contact between you, as the landlord, and the tenants. Her main job is to:

1. Receive and collect the rents and other payments from your tenants. This is typically simple until a tenant does not send the rent check. A good property manager will somehow get the tenant to pay the rent while a lousy one will throw a monkey on your back!

2. Hire, pay, and supervise personnel to maintain, repair and operate the property, e.g. trash removal, window cleaning, and landscaping. Otherwise, the property loses its appeal, and customers may not patronize your tenants? businesses. The tenants then may not renew their lease. As a consequence, you may not realize the expected cash flow.

3. Lease any vacant space.

4. Keep an accurate record of income and expenses, and provide you with a monthly report.

A good property manager is critical in keeping your property fully occupied at the highest market rent, the tenants happy and in turn helps you achieve your investment objectives. Before choosing a property management company, you may want to:

1. Interview the company with focus on how the company handles and resolves problems, e.g. late payment.

2. Talk to the person who will manage the property day to day as this may be a different person from the one who signs the property management contract. You want someone with strong interpersonal skills to effectively deal with tenants.

The property managing company normally wants a contract for at least one year. The contract should spell out the duties of the property manager, compensation, and what will require the landlord?s approval.

Agent?s Compensation: you will have to pay someone to manage and lease the property. You may have one company to manage the property and a different company to lease the property. However, it?s best to work with one company that handles both managing and leasing to save time and money.

1. Management fee: the fee varies between 3-6% of the base monthly rent for a retail center, depending on the amount of work needed to manage the property. For example, it takes much less time to manage a $2M retail center with just a single tenant than a $2M retail strip with 12 tenants. So, for the center with 12 tenants, you may have to pay a higher percentage to motivate the property manager. You should negotiate the fee as a percentage of the base rent instead of the gross rent. Base rent does not include NNN charges. Ideally, you want a lease in which the tenants pay for their share of property management fee.
2. Late fee: when a tenant pays late, he is often required by the lease to pay late fee. The property manager is allowed to keep this fee as an incentive to collect the rent.
3. Leasing fee: this fee compensates the property manager to lease any vacant space. In a typical lease contract, the leasing company wants 4-7% of the gross rent over the life of the lease. It also wants the leasing fee to be paid when the new tenant moves in. In addition, the leasing company wants around 2% of gross rent when the lease is renewed. The tenant may also ask for Tenant Improvement (TI) credit, typically between $10-20 per square foot to pay for construction expenses. So if a new tenant with a 10-year lease goes under after one year then you may lose money. As the landlord you should:
   • Approve a long term lease (10 years or longer) only when the tenant?s financial strength is solid. Otherwise, it may be better to reduce the lease to 3-5 years.

   • Make sure the new lease has a provision for some kind of rent escalation, preferably based on Consumer Price Index (CPI), i.e. inflation which is 3-4% a year instead of lower fixed 1-2% annual increase.

   • Consider TI request from the tenant as one of the factors to approve a lease. The TI credit depends on whether you need the tenant more or the tenant needs you more.

   • Negotiate for a flat rate renewal fee, e.g. $500 instead of paying a percentage of the rent for the life of the lease. The negotiation is easier with one company that handles both leasing and management.

   • Negotiate to pay the leasing agent a lower percentage, e.g. 4% when no outside leasing broker is involved.
     

You can see that it?s very important to minimize tenants? turnover rate as it has a direct impact on the cash flow of your commercial property. A good property manager will help you achieve this goal.

Monthly Report: each month the property manager should send you a report on income received, expenses incurred, and property status. You shouldReview the report to see if the numbers make sense. You should:

1. Request a report showing both rent and CAM fees received.
2. Request a separate bank account for your property and have a monthly bank statement sent to you. Without this, the property manager will deposit and commingle all the rents from all properties that she manages into her company?s bank account.

If you instruct the property manager to send you the excess cash flow then you will also get a check.

Landlord?s Approval: the management contract should specify the dollar limit for exceptional maintenance expense above which would require your approval. This amount varies from landlord to landlord as well as the type of property. However, it?s typically somewhere between $500 to $2,000 dollars.

Communication with property manager: in the first few months, you and the new property manager should communicate often to make sure things go smoothly. You should give instructions in writing, e.g. email, to your property manager and keep records of all your correspondence. If the property manager does not do what you instructed, you may refer to your records and minimize disputes.

If you want to work hard for your money, you may want to manage your own property. However, if you want to work smart, your partner should be a good property manager.

David V. Tran is the CEO eFunding Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage, commercial loan broker, property management, self-directed IRA investment, TIC and syndication company in San Jose, CA. His website is http://www.efundingcom.com. He may be contacted at (408) 288-5500. eFunding does business in all 50 states. He is selected as Pensco Trust?s (a major self-directed IRA custodian) Preferred Professional. David is well-known for his 3 FREE real estate investment seminars:

1. How to invest in commercial real estate for retirement income NOW.
2. How to maximize cash flow with 1031 tax-deferred exchange.
3. TIC/Syndication: strategy for small investors and self-directed IRA investors to acquire high-valued properties.
   

   You are welcome to share this report, unedited and in its entirety, with anyone you like. You may not remove this text. ? 2007 eFunding, Inc.
   Andrew La is a real estate and tax attorney, CPA and Real Estate Broker in San Jose.

Property Management

Property management pertains to the processes applied to maximize returns by effective administration of property?one of the major assets of most organizations. It also comprises the disciplines implemented on property rules and rental policies.

Property Management is a career profession that is a part of our growing business industry. A property manager?s employment can either be directly under the supervision of a real estate property owner, or for a property management company, hired by an owner or legal entity to look after the real estate over a particular span of time.

A property management company is tasked with the responsibility of managing the multiple aspects which come along with the ownership of real estate. This is akin to the role of management in any business.

One of the important roles property management companies play is that of acting as liaison between the landlord and tenant. Their duties include posing appropriate gross rent, accepting rent, responding to and addressing maintenance issues, advertising vacancies for landlords, and doing credit and background checks on tenants.

In exchange for the service provided, property management companies charge landlords a percentage of the gross rent collected each month, in addition to lease commissions.

In addition to managing income and expense related activity, property managers may also manage construction, development, repair and maintenance on a property. The direction of repair and maintenance is quite a large part of a property manager's function.

Property managers should develop a relationship with the management company, property owner and tenants that is based on a mutual trust and complete confidence in one another. His alliance with tenants gives an advantage to the landlord and provides them the necessary buffer servicing their desire to profit and distance themselves from their tenant constituency.

There are many aspects to this profession, including participating in and/or initiating litigation with tenants, contractors and insurance agencies. Litigation alone is at times considered an entirely separate function, set aside for trained attorneys. Although a person or persons will be responsible for this in their job description, there may or may not be an attorney working under a property manager.

Special attention is given to Landlord/Tenant law and most commonly evictions, non-payment, harassment, reduction of pre-arranged services, and public nuisance are legal subjects that gain the most amount of attention from property managers. Therefore, it is a necessity that a property manager be current with new laws and practices in their given localities, cities and states.

Excellent property management can only achieved by top-notch managers. To be the best in this field, one must know and stay updated on local ordinances and state laws; be highly honest and ethical in enforcing property rules and rental policies; be detail oriented and organized with paper works; have good communication and computer skills; like working with the public; have a strong sense of duty and commitment; and be an exceptional follow-up person.

Unlock the secrets of successful executives and professionals. http://www.BestManagementArticles.com -- the article directory with thousands of free articles in business and management--tips, advices, strategies and solutions for your success. Specialized articles in the field of Property Management may also be accessed at: http://property-management.bestmanagementarticles.com/

Property Management In Bulgaria

Property investment in Bulgaria becomes more and more popular among Brits and other EU countries residents. Now that Bulgaria is a member of the European union, the investment has become less risky. The property market is going up for over 4 years now, but the prices are still much lower than the average in other EU countries. To make the best of your property investment in Bulgaria, you would need to find a reliable property management agent. The property management packages usually include 2 main scopes of services:

• Taking care of your property while you are away, incl. cleaning, laundry, payment of bills for electricity, water and telephone, payment of annual municipal and local taxes, regular inspections, etc. The prices for these packages range from 500 to 900 Euro per year, depending on the type of property and its location.
• Rent management. These services are provided for people, who are investing in "buy to let" properties (such as apartments in holiday resorts). The property management agencies organize the whole process of the renting: advertising the apartment, meeting the renters, organizing viewings, signing rent contracts, etc. The prices for this package are either percentage of the first rent (usually 50%) or percentage of each rent (usually 10 to 20%).

If you are planning to purchase a newly-built apartment in a sea or ski resort, you will also need assistance with the interior design and furnishing of your property. The property management agents might help you with that too. The prices vary depending on your requirements, but to make it suitable for renting, the repair works of a 100 sq.m flat will cost around 10,000 Euro.

Invest in apartments in Bulgaria. Profit from rents and property price increase. http://apartments.propertyinbg.co.uk/

How to Interview A Property Management Company

Property Management companies come in all sizes and shapes. It seems that many of them are a small business or family business. If you have a large portfolio of properties or a large multi-family income property you can attract a variety of companies because many are paid as a percentage of rental income. If you have a single family home or a smaller rental property its just not that attractive to many companies because they won't see much income from it and you may not get the attention you deserve. You may find better service from a smaller property management firm.

How Do You Find Them?

Check with the standard sources such as referrals. You can also ask:

* Local Real Estate Agencies - They may have a local property manager they often recommend to or perhaps one of the agents also manages property.

* Check with your local Property Management Association or apartment association for a list of local firms

* In rural areas the State Apartment Association may be a good resource for a firm near you.

What Do You Look for In a Management Firm?

* Valid Brokers License: In may states a brokers license is required to operate a property management company. You can check to with the local dept of real estate to validate it and see if it has ever been revoked or suspended.

* Management Fees: Property Management fees are generally a percentage of rental income. Fees can vary from company to company and you should shop around. Expect fees of 5% or more as a percentage of rental income. If you own a single family home or a duplex that has a low rental income number, you may get quoted a flat rate.

* Maintenance Staff: Does the firm have its own maintenance staff? Are they 24 x 7 for emergencies? Will they provide you with itemized statements and for larger jobs three independent bids? Does the company charge a fee on top off the management fee for major upgrades?

* Working Relationship: Are they friendly and is the staff easy to reach at during normal business hours? Is the office clean and uncluttered? Do they respond in a timely fashion and can they provide referrals or testimonials for you to contact. In short, do you want to work with them?

* Reporting: All property Management firms should have software that will provide you with clear and professional monthly statements. Accounting: When will the manager mail your check to you? Can you use direct deposit? State laws usually dictate accounting rules for managers its good to have that information at hand. On Line Statements: Many firms will have on line monthly itemized statements available to owners. This convenience will increase transparency and save you time. EFT: Does the management firm allow tenants to pay online. This would allow bounced checks to be discovered sooner and that increases your cash flow. 1099: Will the management company provide you with an IRS-1009 and a summary profit and loss statement for tax purposes?

* Reserves: Most companies will require you leave some funds on deposit for small needs your property may require. This way they don't have to call you each time they need to send someone to fix a small item. You should ask how much reserves the company requires. Also, set a limit on how much a company may spend on your property for maintenance or repairs without contacting you for approval. Is $500.00 appropriate or $750.00, discuss your comfort level before you sign

* Vacancies: Do they charge a rental fee? Often companies will charge a percentage of the months rent for the service of renting a unit. The screening should process include an application, a credit report, a conversation with the prior landlord and income verification using the 1040 for self employed or pay stubs. The service should include reporting a qualified tenant to you and a proper lease. We provide a lot of info on tenant screening information. Be familiar with the process so that you can determine for your self that a good job is being done. You only want good tenants, evictions are expensive. Viewings: Some companies will be there for a showing to groups of people interested in the unit. Other companies allow prospective tenants use of the keys with a small deposit. Find out how viewers can see your property and whether you are comfortable with the procedures. If the management company staff shows the unit ask how often they will show and especially on weekends.

* Advertising: How will they advertise the vacancy? Be clear on all costs involved and have limits or a system of approval. Do they use the web? If so, can they create virtual tours or use photographs. These skills should translate into quicker rentals and better cash flow for you.

* Evictions: This should require a lawyer and the proper legal procedure for your area. How do they charge for this and will the lawyers fees be invoiced so that you can see the true cost.

* Termination of your Agreement: We like contracts that can terminate in thirty days with a written notice and without penalties. An exit plan that is agreeable to you is critical.

Good Property Management Keeps Bills Down

In keeping with last weeks blog on how to stay in your home we are going to take a quick view of the markets this week and then offer some articles on how to maximize your tax benefits and how to manage property if you now realize you want to rent rather than sell until the dust clears.

First a quick look at the markets this week:

MSNBC: Housing worst isn?t here yet. According to Richard Syron, chairman and CEO of Freddie Mac ?The mortgages written in 2006 in the sub prime market are probably the most troublesome. They haven?t hit the reset point yet on interest rates.?

Syon went on to say "These steps are focused on helping individual people, and it will help the market. But once you get one of these market dynamics going, you don?t reverse them without it taking some time .... Theyve got to play themselves out.? NOTE: This is the best wisdom on changing markets yet! You can talk about it all day long....but trends play out according to changing circumstances and can be inconsistent.

International Herald Tribune: The S&P Housing index was released and it is an index based on twenty cities. The famed Robert Schiller is involved in crating this index and "He said the numbers indicate "a widespread downward trend" that started at the end of 2006 and has extended into the beginning of this year." How Steep a Downturn? The index looking at ten major metro cities notes a 1.5% decline in sales of single family homes. Seattle and Portland are the lucky ones with modest price increases.

Freddie Mac: Weak home sales are keeping a lid on mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.16 percent down slightly from last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.58 percent. The fifteen year FRM this week was 5.87 and down slightly form the week before.

Now for the good news: Seattle, Portland and Dallas saw rising prices... There are always minor trends within a major trend...in other words its still a local market. Relief is on the way, to be sure it isnt enough to turn a trend but we hope to keep enough bad news out of the markets to keep this downturn moderate and cyclical. Here are some of the important institutions helping to keep people in their homes:

1. Washington Mutual Inc., one of the country?s largest financial institutions, said it will refinance up to $2 billion in sub prime mortgages to help borrowers avoid default and foreclosure.
2. Citigroup and Bank of America have pledged $1 billion of mortgage financing to help sub prime borrowers who are facing the loss of their homes
3. Freddie Mac will buy as much as $20 billion in fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages to help borrowers with high-priced loans keep their homes. Hopes are this should be in place by mid summer.

What if You cant sell Now

If your home or condo has lost value an you are willing to wait the market out, then its a good time to rent. generally, when sales are down rentals are in more demand since people have to live somewheres. Strong rental markets are making rental property increasingly lucrative. Keep in mind that managing property is really work. You have to begin to see your home as a cash flow investment and rent wisely using good tenant screening policy. Renting requires a working knowledge of your local rental markets and a good understanding of how to price your rental so that it rents quickly and at the right price. Too low and you will rent very quickly at at a loss....too high and it will sit on the market and you will lose months of valuable rental income.

Good Property Management Keeps Costs Down

Focus on fixed costs are where we think successful property management is made. Mortgages and Insurance are necessary but prices vary considerably. Always comparison shop these products and have agents bid against each other and keep more of your money. Yourpropertypath.com is a good place to get bids and have agents compete for your business

Taxes and tax credits are areas where savings can be had but you must know whats available. We found a few good articles that can serve as a tutorial. Please do take a look:

A Tax-break Tutorial For New Homeowners: By Bill Bischoff. While the cost of renting is generally a nondeductible expense (except for when part of the home is used for business purposes), homeowners can claim an itemized deduction for interest on up to $1 million worth of mortgage debt used to acquire or improve their principal residence. Ditto for interest on up to $100,000 of home-equity debt secured by their principal residence. Real-estate property taxes can be claimed as an itemized deduction, too. You also can generally deduct any points you paid (or the seller paid on your behalf) to take out the mortgage"

A Primer on Homeowner Tax breaks: Now for the tax-law catches your realtor probably never told you about. Don't worry: What's detailed below probably won't have you running back into the arms of your landlord. But it just might give you a more realistic expectation of how home ownership will affect your future tax bills.

Mortgage insurance Gaining Steam: "This time next year, some homeowners who pay mortgage insurance will have an extra deduction on their federal income tax returns."

"In recent years, many borrowers have opted to get around using the insurance by taking two loans: a primary mortgage as well as a second, "piggyback" loan in the form of a home equity loan or line of credit. The equity from the second loan fulfills the down payment of the first, and there are tax breaks on the interest of both loans.

But many piggyback mortgages have variable rates( see articles on mortgages and how to shop for the best rate at yourpropertypath.com) that fluctuate based on the prime rate, which has risen over the last year. The set rate for mortgage insurance has become attractive to homeowners aiming for predictable loan costs, Katkov said. There's also the lure of simplicity that the mortgage insurance offers, since borrowers only need to deal with one set of loan documents in that option, he added. "

Its your property

All About Business to Business Property Management

Business to business property management requires some aspects that point out the professionalism and competitiveness of the employees. Which are these aspects? The main requirements of business to business property management are screening and appraisal of the market pyramid.

Business to business property management specialists provide professional business administration, establishment of profitable goals and their realizing, as well as making decisions for the benefit of the customer. Consultancy and assistance is offered in case of need for business to business property management, be it the case of market research, maintenance, land use and development or issues regarding marketing and leasing.

Business to business property management has five major functions: leading, planning, coordinating, organizing and controlling. Being given the fact that all these functions require various tasks, competences and abilities, business to business property management aspects are accomplished by different professionals, trained for these special roles. All of them have special skills and abilities, respecting an ethical code of behavior in business to business property management and offering outstanding services. Leading the major project of business to business property management is a matter of a huge responsibility, as the leader should know the direction and main tasks of the property management process. The one responsible with planning should be aware of the tasks that have to be accomplished and the methods and manner of dealing with this process. Coordinating various activities, organizing events, market research, studies and statistics is another important part of the business to business property management process. Being in control with the entire situation or several aspects is another aspect that can?t be neglected and requires specific skills and abilities.

The performance of business to business property management companies should meet the high standards of the economic and technological development. Professionals involved in various functions of business to business property management companies offer their abilities and guarantee the performance and wealth of customer?s properties. Highly trained employees involved in the business to business property management meet the customer?s needs and special requirements, providing extensive reports, market searches and studies concerning the effective and successful property management.

People involved in business to business property management have specific roles and accomplish specific tasks, contributing to the great results of the company they work for. Business to business property management process involves the market study, the negotiation on the behalf of the customer, maintenance, repair and other tasks. Business to business property management involves many other tasks and responsibilities, requiring much attention, capacity of establishing new tasks and of accomplishing them successfully.

Business to business property management supposes the involvement of not so pleasant details, such as effective income management and other activities related with construction, repair and maintenance. In order to face all requirements and needs one should have many skills, knowledge and patience. That is why business to business property management companies are so successful, providing assistance and advice for those who can?t cope with so many roles and responsibilities. The rewards for professional services offered by business to business property management companies are worth the time and efforts spent in hard trying to achieve something that a professional can solve almost immediately.

Property related issues explained in detail at http://propertymeet.info Up to date property business and management factors affecting your monetary return.

What Real Estate Investors Need To Know About Property Management

Once you purchase a real estate rental property, you virtually become the CEO of your own small business. Sure, you feel good about becoming a landlord and owner of your own private money-maker, but unless it?s raw land, your work has just begun.

Now you must manage the property. As a real estate investor who has chosen the renting of apartments as a business, your goal now is to keep the units full, and at the highest rent per square foot possible.

So let?s consider the big picture of property management and look at some rental management basics every real estate investor should be aware of inside real estate investment.

1. Property condition. Getting the best tenants and commanding the highest rent starts with a sharp-looking building that has good curb appeal. Keep the structure, landscaping, common areas, and parking in good clean condition.
2. Tenant applications and screening. Require each potential tenant to complete an application, and then follow up to verify their employment, rental history, and credit and criminal history. Remember, it is always easier to get tenants into your building then it is to get tenants out of your building.
3. Emergency repairs. Be sure you have reputable maintenance personnel on-call to service emergency repairs. This may be your job or someone you hire, just be sure the tenant has a repair ?help line? they can call 24 hours a day when something must be fixed immediately.
4. Aggressive marketing of vacancies. Get the word out about an upcoming vacancy instantly. Use signage, advertise in the newspaper, or post it on the web.
5. Move-in/move-out coordination. Always plan to get a unit ?rent-ready? within a day or two after it becomes vacated. Even when you don?t have a new tenant in the wings, a clean unit ready to show a prospective tenant does help.
6. Keys and locks. It is always a good idea to change locks each time you have a turnover in tenants. This added security is good for you and your new tenant.
7. Learn the laws about eviction. Know what you must do to evict a deadbeat tenant even when you don?t think it is necessary.
8. Keep accurate books and records. Maintaining a good income and expense history is vital to your rental property business and the cornerstone to profitability.

Many real estate investors simply turn their properties over to professional management companies. The advantage being that it relieves the real estate investor of the time and stress of having to deal with tenants and repairs, and puts matters like late rents into the hands of experts.

On the other hand, a professional management company is not free. Moreover, in cases where the property is small enough for owner management, the cost of outside fees for professional property management might not be justifiable.

You must decide whether you want to hire out the management out or to do it yourself. The important thing is not to neglect a sound plan for property management. Otherwise you could find that owning and becoming CEO of your rental property business can quickly become more unpleasant than profitable.

James R Kobzeff is an active real estate broker and developer of ProAPOD Real Estate Investment Software - Rental property analysis at your fingertips! Free real estate investing tips are available at ProAPOD's real estate investing blog

Property Management Web Site: Marketing to Renters and Property Owners

Property management is a unique business that requires a marketing strategy for reaching property owners who want to hand over the burdens of rental management and prospective tenants who are looking for clean, well managed properties. A property management web site should be designed to communicate with both groups.

One of the requirements for developing an effective web site that delivers traffic your business is accommodating the needs of the search engines that send those customers to your property management web site. Property owners will most likely be looking for "property management" or "rental management" along with the name of your town or area.

Renters and prospective tenants are looking for an entirely different set of keywords. They are looking for "apartment rentals in your town, duplexes in your town, houses for rent in your town". You want the search engines to identify both sets of keywords with your property management company. We have found that it works well to have 2 sections in your web site. One caters to the needs of property owners who want to find out the property management services you provide and the other caters to the needs of renters looking for a place to rent in your area.

In many cases, you have 2 different sets of people within your company. One group specializes in working with the property owners and taking care of their needs. The other group consists of property managers that show and rent your properties. We have found that it works best to feature each group separately in the respective areas of your web site. Then the property owners and the prospective tenants are seeing the people they will be working with. Inquiries from your web site will be sent to the correct group of people as well.

You can see some examples of this dual concept in the property management web sites of HDA Management and Metro Property Management. Overall, you will find this is an effective marketing plan that meets the needs of property owners, renters, and the search engines that deliver your web content.

Jim is a web developer and programmer who works with his wife, Cari, in their full service small business web development company. We specialize in serving property management companies that want to market and manage their rental listings online.

Property Management: Online Rental Applications Must Be Encrypted

If you have ever bought anything online, you will notice a little lock symbol that appears on your browser when you enter a secure shopping cart. When you click on the lock, a window pops up that shows the information about the company providing the SSL Certificate for that particular website. SSL stands for secure socket layer and indicates that this shopping cart is encrypted and is safe for you to enter your credit card information.

Some well known companies that provide SSL Certificates are Thawte, VeriSign, and GeoTrust. You will see the name of the company that is providing the encryption for this website and the date their security certificate expires. You should not enter any sensitive information if this security certificate does not exist.

Now take everything we just discussed and transfer the principles to the realm of an online rental application. All the needs for security and encryption still exist and many web developers or property management companies are unaware of this fact.

It is a good business practice to give prospective renters the opportunity to access a rental application through your website. There are 2 basic ways you can do this. The first is take your existing rental application and convert it to a .pdf file that customers can print, fill out, and either mail or bring in to your office. Then you do not have to worry about any of the security issues mentioned above.

If you do opt for an online form for gathering your application information, then we make only one recommendation. The form should be processed on a secure, encrypted page (with the lock symbol) and the information should be written to a database on your server. The form or information should not be sent through an e-mail to your inbox. The reason for this is that e-mail is not encrypted either and can be intercepted. Once again, you do not want sensitive information to fall into the wrong hands. That is why we recommend that the application information be written to your server and viewed through a secure administration panel.

This option costs more to implement than a simple .pdf application that can be printed out. It is important that you realize you have a responsibility as a property management company to handle prospective tenants' personal information with the utmost care and professional standards.

Jim is a web developer and programmer who works with his wife, Cari, in their full service small business web development company. We invite you to take a look at our portfolio of property management web sites and other web applications that we have developed. We specialize in serving property management companies that want to market and manage their rental listings online.

Property Management Website: Pictures Sell and Save You Time

When it comes to marketing rental property, classified ads yield a tidbit of information with no images to engage the mind. Why would a property management website want to do the same thing? The internet is about communicating information with words, pictures and full color.

With database capabilities, a viewer can limit his/her search to properties with specific parameters. The days of having to read and call numerous ads just to gather the important information are gone. An effective property management website can serve listings and images that fit just what the prospective tenant wants.

Renters are thrilled with your company when you offer pictures of the exterior and interior of your rental properties. Everyone benefits from your service: 1. Renters save time and gas when they can view your listings online instead of driving around, 2. Showing agents save a half hour to an hour in wasted time by having renters preview properties online before taking them to a showing.

Most renters will know from your pictures whether they are interested. Once a property manager starts to show their pictures online, the showing becomes a matter of confirming what the prospective renters saw in your pictures. In short, your pictures do the selling!

Every property management company has to make a few adjustments to implement this service. If you need to buy a digital camera, we recommend the Cannon A-540 because it is one of the highest rated digital cameras in the $200 price range. It has 4x optical zoom, has a long battery life using 2 AA batteries, an easy menu, and simple mode dial for indoor, outdoor and other settings.

To get your pictures, you may need to spend an extra 10 minutes before or after a showing to get the pictures you need, then take the time to load them on your website. Once you have them, the rest of your job becomes so much easier and your tenants will thank you!

Jim is a web developer and programmer who works with his wife, Cari, in their full service small business web development company. We invite you to take a look at our portfolio of property management web sites and other web applications that we have developed. We specialize in serving property management companies that want to market and manage their rental listings online.

How to Select a Good Property Management Firm

This is the time of year when vacation rental and investment property owners start taking a hard look at the revenues for the past 12 months and the quality of customer service that they and their guests received. With so many different property management firms and rental agencies to choose from in most markets, there is no need to suffer from lackluster performance on the part of your service provider.

Here are some thoughts to ponder when deciding whether to stay with your existing property management company or make a move to a better, more professional organization.

First and most important, are the owners of the company available when you need to talk to them or do you get sloughed off to an inexperienced trainee when it's an important issue that you need help with? Does the firm have a lot of turnover or can you count on the same professionals to help you year after year? Do you get a level of customer service that gives you a warm feeling or is there something lacking and you deserve better? Is your property bringing in the revenues you expected and is the firm continually improving its marketing program?

If you don't have complete confidence in the company that is marketing your property for vacation rentals or long term leases, then maybe it's time to make a change.

When you are comparing the services and fees of property management firms it's a bit like comparing apples and oranges. How do you accurately evaluate the sum total of all the various fees and expenses so you can estimate your annual net revenue? Are there hidden charges and monthly administrative fees that reduce your income? What is a fair commission rate to charge and what are the competitors in your market charging?

In Incline Village, the community where I work and live, the range of property management services and fee structures runs the gamut from bare bones to deluxe. If you are perplexed and confounded by these issues, then you are not alone. It seems that many property management firms (especially in the vacation rental business) try to nickel and dime their clients to death with excessive charges for cleaning, maintenance, credit card fees, administrative charges, processing fees, the list goes on and on.

Some firms charge a monthly administrative fee on top of the commission that they earn for managing a property. One can make an argument in favor of charging monthly administrative fees for short term vacation rental properties as they require more hands on attention to paper work with guests always coming and going. But charging this type of fee to the owner of a long-term rental property when all the paper work is done up front when the lease is signed is merely a form of gouging and should not be tolerated.

Processing fees for vacation rental properties are another bone of contention. Why should an owner or an owner-guest pay a processing fee? Companies that engage in this practice are trying to squeeze every penny possible out of the people who are really their clients. If you, your extended family or your guests have ever been charged a processing fee for making a reservation to occupy your own property, then you should seriously consider finding a firm that has more respect for you as a client.

Cleaning fees are another area that merits scrutiny. As a property owner you should not be forced to pay a cleaning fee every time you use your place, especially if there are no paying guests coming to the unit between your personal visits. Also, you should not be required to pay exorbitant sums for the annual "spring cleaning" that many firms insist on doing. If your property is supposed to be cleaned thoroughly after each paying guest, then why does it take several hours and cost hundreds of dollars just to clean a 2 or 3 bedroom condo in the spring time? Are the cleaning services padding their bills? Should you as a property owner and client of the firm have excessive fees extracted from you just because someone at the management firm claims that it took X number of hours to do the work in a unit that should have been reasonably clean to begin with? If you're skeptical about the charges for "spring cleaning", then it's best to either do the work yourself or hire a reputable independent cleaning service. The place will look just as good and you will save substantial amounts of money each year.

It is not always easy to find the right combination of great customer service, reasonable commission rates and high-quality care for rental properties. You can expect to find 2 of the 3, but finding all three things is very difficult. Since many firms in this business tend to experience high levels of staff turnover, finding a firm with a well-trained and stable pool of employees should be your first priority. Even if you have to pay a slightly higher commission rate, you will more than make up for it with increased bookings, better service and fewer problems.

If you own any type of rental property, then On-line booking capability is another big issue, especially when you realize that searching on the Internet is rapidly becoming the research method of choice for both vacation rentals and long term rentals. Any firm that does not offer this service is way behind the times and should not even be considered.

The Internet is a great tool for both marketing all types of rental properties and managing the vacation rental business. Just having a web site with pictures and text is not sufficient in these competitive times. If you are working with a property manager who refuses to set up on-line booking by the time you are reading this article, then it's time to change services. Select a rental agent who cares enough about you as a client to market your property 24 hours a day on the Internet.

Remember, when the rental office is closed, the only way that someone can book your unit is on-line via the Internet. If your property manager does not offer this service, you are losing business. Customers who search on-line normally want to book on-line and they will go somewhere else if they cannot book your property at the moment they are ready to make to a buying decision!

Don't settle for anything less than great customer service, a responsive, professional and well-trained staff and owners who are available and care about you and your property. Your rental property is a big investment and having the right management services can make a lot of difference in your annual rate of return and the long term value that you derive from the property.

Don Kanare is a real estate agent with Lakeshore Realty located in Incline Village, NV at the northeast corner of Lake Tahoe. Don writes a daily column about the new listings, price changes and general market commentary on Incline Village Real Estate. You can find Don's column on his web site at: http://www.InsideIncline.com