Tag Archives: property management

Property Manager Monday

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Due to the nature of the arrangement, you’ll most likely be dealing with the management personnel from the property you live at pretty frequently. They’ll be the ones handling your rent, your maintenance requests, and the overall experience living at that property. It’s hard to know whether or not you’ve found yourself a good property manager until you move in, so it’s important to do some research before you get yourself in too deep.

Check reviews online to see what previous residents of that property have to say about the management. The internet can reveal all sorts of things that you wouldn’t find out from visiting the property and speaking to the management. Ask around and see if anyone you know lives at that property and talk to them about their experiences with the management; have they had trouble getting in contact with the property manager? Do maintenance requests take a long time to fulfill? Does the management reach out to residents? Is the community well-equipped? These are all things that you should know before making the decision to move there or not. The management may come off as super nice and helpful, and that may be the case, but you really won’t know how residents are treated until you move in.

If the management at the place you’re interested in runs more than one property, check it out and see what it’s like. Consistency is very important, and you want to find a property manager that is consistent in making residents happy.

property manager

Keep it Clean

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As someone renting a home, you’re not liable for all of the same maintenance things that a homeowner is. Because of this, you’re responsible for a different set of things, as stated in your lease. One of the most important things in the lease agreement (aside from rent, duh) is making sure that you take good care of your property and leave it as your landlord first rented it to you. A huge component of making sure that your property is maintained well is by keeping it clean.

Appliances pretty much fall into the group of things that we use regularly, so they should be cleaned regularly. Though it depends on the specific terms of your lease, it’s usually your landlord’s responsibility to make sure that your appliances are working well, and repair or replace them when they’re not. However, your landlord is not responsible for the daily cleaning and daily maintenance of said appliances. Things like microwaves, refrigerators, ovens, etc. are used pretty regularly, so you should be cleaning them often, too. If you don’t clean these things regularly, you’re gonna have a whole lot of cleaning to deal with when you move out. While they probably get more dirty than others, kitchen appliances aren’t the only things you should be cleaning. If you want to make sure that your dryer is functioning right, make sure you regularly remove the lint from it. Not only does this allow it to work properly, but it also helps prevent a fire happening from the buildup.

Amenities You’ll Be Glad You Have

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When you’re looking for a new place to rent, the amenities offered aren’t really the first thing that you factor in to your decision making process. Though a lot of amenities aren’t really absolutely necessary, there are a couple that you’re gonna be glad you didn’t compromise.

amenities Having a washer and dryer in your unit (or somewhere on the property) is something you should definitely look for when you’re trying to find a new place. You may be thinking that it won’t be a hassle having to do your laundry at your laundromat, and it may not be (at first), but it can be very inconvenient at times. Imagine that you have a huge interview and an hour before you need to leave you spill something on your shirt…big problem. If you don’t have a washer and dryer, you’re going to have to hit the laundromat and end up being late; with a washer and dryer readily available to you, this can be avoided. If you have kids, having a washer and dryer in your home or on your property can save you the hassle of having to find a babysitter or drag your kids back and forth when you need to do laundry. Basically, if you have the option to get a place with a washer and dryer, go for it.

Parking is also something that a lot of us tend to overlook when looking for a new place. You’re not going to want to walk far to your car, so try to find a place with parking that’s close to your unit. If you like to entertain, parking should definitely be an amenity you look for in your new place; your guests aren’t going to want to walk super duper far to get from their car to your door, and they’re definitely not going to want to pay to park, either. It seems silly to think of parking as being so important, but think about how happy you’ll be when you don’t have to lug your groceries all around your complex.

Get a Move on

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A while back we brought you our best tips for making your move as easy as possible, you can read it here. Aside from packing up your stuff, what else should you take care of when you’re moving out of your home?

Make sure you clean up. Clean bathrooms, bedrooms, floors; basically everything. If your place was furnished, make sure clean furniture too. Aside from not wanting to leave the property trashed for your landlord, cleaning up can also help you avoid being fined once you move out. Typically lease agreements require that you leave the home as you found it (clean), so if you don’t you’ll be going against it. If there’s a stain in your carpet, steam it so that you’re not responsible for paying way more for it later. Same goes with things like tiles and floorboards. Do it now, or it’ll cost you more later.

Part of leaving your hopaint me just as you first got it involves making sure the walls and floors are in good condition. Seeing as the walls probably have holes from having had pictures or shelves, it’s up to you to patch them up. This sounds more complicated than it actually is; you can buy quick dry plaster and primer and have it all fixed up in no time. Once you’ve patched up the holes and little imperfections, find out what paint color the walls were first painted and touch up the color. This way the wall looks even and your landlord won’t charge you for any repairs.

You Can’t Rush Perfection

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If you’re in the market for a new rental home, it’s important to give yourself an adequate amount of time for your search. Before picking the first property you see, spend some time doing some research about the property and look at all of your available options.

Ask current residents what they think! Since they’re currently living there, they know the current state of the community and how management is currently doing things. If you have a friend who lives in the property, ask them what they like and dislike about the property and whether or not they recommend it to you. You’ll probably get a wayyy more honest answer from them than from someone who is trying to get you to sign a lease.

If you don’t have any friends or family who have experience with that property, don’t worry! In this day and age, we have one of the most wonderful research tools available to us: Google. Doing a Google search of the name of a community or property management company you’re consideringresearch signing a lease with can give you crucial information that you wouldn’t otherwise know. Sites like Google Reviews and Yelp have comments and reviews from people that have lived in that place, or dealt with that property management company. You have to consider that if someone took the time to write a review, they probably feel very strongly about what they wrote.  The property management company you’re about to sign a lease with may have horrible reviews because of their lack of care for residents; this is something you wouldn’t know just by talking to someone at the lease office. Don’t rush your search and sign with the first property you see just because it’s a great price, or nicely maintained. Sometimes these things mask the reality of the property and by the time you realize it, it’ll be too late.

 

Love Thy Neighbors

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When you move, aside from getting a new home you also get a new vicinity, and with that comes new neighbors. Your neighbors are the people you’ll have closest to your home at all times, so it’s important to have a good relationship with them. If you think about it, neighbors are like distant roommates…

Don’t think we’re saying that you need to be the best of friends with your neighbor (though this may happen); you should just try to get along as best as you can. Be mindful of the fact that you have your space that you’re entitled to, and they have theirs. You wouldn’t like it if their dog messed up your lawn, or if they left their lawnmower blocking your driveway, would you? So don’t let it happen to them! Treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated.

 

Just like with roommates, there’s a chance you and your neighbor(s) may have some issues with each other at some point or another. Most likely this will just be something silly, like one of you had muneighborssic on too loud, or something along those lines. Before complaining to your property manager or a higher authority, talk to your neighbor, first! Your neighbor isn’t going to know that the music was bothering you unless you tell them; once they know that it’s bothering you, they can lower it. This same thing goes for you, too! Respect when your neighbors have a complaint and don’t let it happen again.

Neighbors are especially helpful if you’re moving to a completely new place and don’t know anyone. They can tell you all about the neighborhood and what you need to know, making the move a lot easier for you. Make it a point to introduce yourself whenever new neighbors move into your neighborhood, remember- you’ve been there too!

Summer Gardens

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Is your garden showing off the season?

Though we tend to associate spring with gardening, it’s important to see that summer is also a great time to make our gardens look good.

Take advantage of summer to add some berries to your day! Since you may not be able to grow berry bushes in the yard of your rental, you can plant dwarf versions in small pots instead. Given the right amount of sunlight and water, you can easily have yourself your own mini berry garden. As an added plus, you can freeze your summer berries to have them all year round!

Summer itropical flowerss also an awesome time to add flowers to your garden, but instead of your typical floral choices…spice it up. Tropical flowers are bright and beautiful, automatically livening up even the dullest gardens. Pick some colors that you like and go well together, maybe oranges and yellow, and make yourself a nice arrangement.

If you hadn’t already done this in spring….add some bird feeders and birdhouses! Once you have some flying friends visit, you’ll soon start to see a nice little habitat forming. With birds in your yard, you’ll also have more squirrels and insects, meaning more bees. Keep in mind that bees are a good addition to any garden because they help pollinate your flowers. Having a bit of variety allows an ecosystem to develop within all the inhabitants and visitors of your garden, making your garden even better.

Who should you lease from?

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When you’re considering what kind of property to rent out and make your home, you should also consider who you’re leasing from.

Usually, your options will be a property manager or property management firm, or an individual landlord. Just like everything else, both have their ups and their downs.

Property managers or property management firms 

Property management firms may be more professional and efficient than individual landlords, because of the fact their duty is to take care of the property and make sure it is being run smoothly. But, you also need to consider that property managers may be more strict than regular landlords, since they have a lot of tenants and can’t be allowing people to break rules. Property management firms will most likely have websites set up for you to pay rent, put in maintenance requests, and contact supervisors, so they save you some time as far as going back and forth with your landlord.

Individual landlords

With individual landlords, you need to realize that their job is typically not devoted to running your property, so they may not be as efficient with things the way property management firms are. Buuuut, on the plus side, individual landlords definitely give you more personalized service than companies who are managing a ton of different properties at once. Also, individual landlords are usually more lenient as far as different aspects of the lease agreement, or if you have issues with paying rent. lease

Deal Breakers – why you should always factor them in

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As someone looking for a new place to live, you probably have some standards and requirements that you look for in a home. These may be things like being pet friendly, or having a pool, or being in a particular area, etc.; while you may feel like you can overlook these things if you like a property enough for other reasons, it may not be in your best interest.

It’s extremely important to have some kind of deal breaker(s) that determine whether or not a property is right for you. Now, we’re not telling you to be picky or demanding! Having a deal breaker factor that’s something extremely important to you (maybe being x miles from your job) helps guarantee your satisfaction in your new home, because you’re not settling for whatever you find, you’re making it a point to find what you want. For example, you may have decided that you’re only living within a five mile radius of your office, because you hate driving…but, you found the most beautiful home ever, and for a great price. Only drawback? it’s ten miles away from your job. You may think that you can overlook the distance and just get used to the drive, but you most likely won’t. If there’s something you’re set, you shouldn’t compromise it for something that’s not as important to you.

Having a deal breaker in mind when you’re looking for a place to live also helps narrow down your search. In this aspect, searching for the perfect home is like searching for the perfect car; you have the specific features in mind that you want, and focus your search strictly on what meets these criteria. Keeping a fixed thing in mind that you won’t compromise no matter what will save you the time of looking at those properties that you know don’t match up.

 

deal breaker