Why Do I Need A Property Manager?

Every so often, I meet with a potential client that understands the need for an agent or property manager to list their home for rent, but despite the fact that they are moving, or are currently living, far away, they think they can do without a property manager.  I usually try to explain some of the advantages of having a property manager and let them come to their own conclusion. If they decide to manage the property themselves, I hope they don't learn a hard lesson, and wish them well. 
This post is a story about an owner that made a good choice, when it came to the management of his property. It was years ago I that I took on the management of a new property.  It had been a referral from an agent from another local company, that didn't have a property management department and we had worked together in the past.  I had managed it for several years, when the owner's decided they needed to sell the house, the other agent listed it and it sold pretty quickly.

The new owner lived in California and was in the military. He wasn't sure if he wanted to keep me as his property manager, and while he was in town for the closing, we got together and he decided to continue with me, and signed my agreement.  The house was pretty old, built in the 1950s, but appeared to be in great shape.  The tenants that had been there for several years stayed for another year or so and then decided to move. 

I listed the property for rent again and that was when things started going less than smoothly. The house was broken into one night, one of the neighbors noticed a broken window and called me, since my number was on the sign. It was late, but I called the police and my husband and I went over to the house to secure it.  I called the owner to let him know and he was really grateful that I was on my way there, despite the late hour. 

A week or so later, I was showing the house and it was raining outside so I left my shoes on the front porch.  While walking around, I noticed the floor was really warm in a certain area and realized there must be a leak under the floor.  I checked the water meter, after making sure there was no water running, and it appeared that there was a leak.  I let the owner know and advised him that we needed someone to come out and detect the leak.  He was really anxious being so far away, and was getting ready to be deployed, but I assured him that I would be there to help. 

There was a leak and there was an issue with tree roots under the house and it turned into a really huge deal.  The floor needed to be jack hammered up, as did sections of the walls (that were poured cement) to replace the pipes.  A huge tree needed to be removed and new flooring, drywall and paint needed to be taken cafe of.  It was a mess but it all got taken care of.  I was able to get it re-rented before the work was even complete, and the owner was really happy he had decided to keep me as the property manager. 

How to Work With a Difficult Tenant

As a property manager, a landlord, real estate agent and/or broker, there will be times when you need to deal with a demanding, even difficult tenant.   I personally have come across a few.  If you find yourself in a situation where you have to deal with a difficult tenant here are some things to keep in mind:

1.     Be an effective communicator: Many of the misunderstandings that can occur with tenants, can be avoided with clear communication.  If a tenant is unhappy and seems to be acting in an unreasonable manner, take a minute to really understand the problem, before becoming defensive or reactive.  Listen to what they have to say, and then repeat back what it is you heard and make sure you are both on the same page from the beginning.  Someone that feels listened to and understood is less likely to remain or become angry. 

2.     Remain calm: When someone is really upset or seems angry or defensive, try not to take it personally and respond without emotion or irritation.  Two emotional people are more likely to add to the problem, rather than diffuse it.  Sometimes the tenant is really upset about something that has nothing to do with the issue at hand, and you reacting in a calm, or even kind manner, can help them to calm them down. 

3.     Don’t be dismissive: Sometimes what is important to the tenant may seem like a trivial thing to you, but it was important enough to them to let you know about.  Hear the tenant out and if it not something you can do anything about, explain to them why and if necessary, bring the lease or the law into it. 

 4.     Think Before you Act or React:  Sometimes a tenant can be really difficult and you feel frustrated, especially if you have the law on your side.  For example: If you would like to show a property that is tenant occupied, and the tenant will not allow showings, you could point out that their lease requires that they cooperate with showings in the last thirty days of their lease.  If they still will not cooperate, you can post a 24 hour notice and bring your buyers to see the property then.  Sure you could do that, but do you really think it will be a good showing with a really angry tenant, who doesn’t want to let them in? 

5.     Know the law:  Sometimes there will be situations that you cannot diffuse, and tenants that are beyond all reason.  Then it is up to you as the property manager or the landlord to know how you can legally remedy the situation.  There are things that you cannot do legally, like change the locks or enter the property without notice, doing something that is not legal will only put you in a more difficult situation. 

6. Don’t let the issue get clouded: I have had issues with some tenants who were masters at skirting the issue, or turning the issue around.  They want to blame you, the bank, post office and who ever else they can, if their rent is late, instead of accepting the responsibility themselves.  You could spend a lot of time defending yourself or explaining things to this tenant, but sometimes you just have to pause the conversation, state the obvious: your rent is late, it is no ones fault but your own, you owe a late fee, end of discussion. 

Brevard County Florida's Weather

I have been sick for the last several days and barely left the house.  I don't do well with being cooped up.  This evening I am starting to get a little stir crazy.  I didn't feel well enough to make dinner or go out to eat. Thankfully my husband went out to get sandwiches and just got back before we got hit with a thunderstorm.  I like being home and nice and cozy when it rains and storms.  I have a bunch of showings stacked up for tomorrow, around this time, since I haven't felt up to showings yet this week.  I am grateful to be home tonight though and and to not have to be anywhere.  I am also grateful that I live in Brevard County Florida. 

The warnings started coming across the TV late this afternoon and it's been a while since I have seen one.   I started to watch World News this evening and was reminded that  although we have not had many weather issues lately, the rest of the country sure has. Especially the east coast.  The news mentioned that Atlanta is getting hit hard again, although better prepared this time.  The meteorologist was standing with the New York City Skyline and mentioned that in eight hours, the visibility will be so bad, you would not be able to see it.  I grew up on Long Island and still have friends and family there to feel sympathy for.  I was so happy to get away from the winters up north.  

Here in Brevard we have afternoon thunderstorms certain times of the year and have a history of being hit hard by hurricanes, (2004 three in a row).  We have only actually had five hurricanes directly affect us since 1950. 

Overall we are pretty lucky with our weather.  Wikipedia describes our climate as a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers.  We have distinct wet and dry seasons. The dry typically lasts from December through May, the wet from June through November.  Our temperature varies noticeably in this 72-mile-long county, that runs north-to-south, especially in the winter. 

January is our coldest month, with an average low of 50.7  degrees and an average high 71 .  The hottest months are July and August with average highs of 90 degrees and average lows of 72.2.   The driest month is April with  an average 1.6 inches (4 of rainfall; the wettest is September, with 6.6 inches.  

Here's an interesting comparison from the weather channel app about an hour ago, for Satellite Beach(where I live in Brevard County), Atlanta, GA and Richmond, VA.

 

So where would you rather be tonight? 

Why Would Anyone Want to Live in Satellite Beach Florida?

Satellite Beach is a beautiful oceanfront community, located on the east coast of Florida.  Surrounded by water, it boasts both ocean and river frontage.  It is the largest beach side community in South Brevard County. There are 7.7 miles of shoreline, including 2.8 miles on the  Atlantic Ocean, and 1.3 miles of Banana River shoreline, plus shoreline fronting navigable canals connected to the Banana River. The average daytime temperature is 90 °F  in the summer months and 73 °F in the winter months. 

You can enjoy Satellite Beach's "vacation like atmosphere,"while still being close to everything.   It's just minutes from Patrick Air Force Base, about forty minutes from Port Canaveral and a little over an hour from the Orlando International Airport.   

According to the 2010 Census Data from 2010, the populations 10,109, with the median age being 45 years old.  The median household income is $58,605.     There are a little over eleven thousand housing units, with a little less than 3000 of those being rentals.  There are 982 seasonal rental units.  The average home sold price is $237,325.  The average rental price is $1,651.   Forty two percent of the population are long term residents having lived in their homes for more than 5 years

Click on this picture, to check out Google maps for Satellite Beach.

If you love wildlife, Satellite Beach may just be the city for you.  There are Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles and green sea turtles that nest on the city's ocean beaches.  Endangered right whales calve off the city's shoreline, and West Indian manatees frequent the canals as well as the Banana River.  You may even see bald eagles forage over Samsons Island.

There is lot’s to do and see in Satellite Beach, with numerous public parks, beaches, a community center, library, lots of restaurants and shops.   One of the parks, is The Satellite Beach Sports and Recreation Park which is thirty five acre park.  It has a walking trail, Skate Park, Dog Park, Frisbee fields, soccer fields and volleyball courts.  My dogs personally have enjoyed the dog park many times. It is always clean and even had a dog washing area.  The walking trail is also great to ride bicycles on and to walk the dogs enjoying the beautiful weather. 

So why would anyone want to live in Satellite Beach, Florida? The real question is why wouldn’t anyone want to live in Satellite Beach, Florida? I love living in Satellite Beach and think you would too.  

How To Provide Great Service, Without Sacrificing Your Sanity

There are times that I am so busy and have so many balls in the air at one time that I can't possibly concentrate on one more thing. On these kind of days, I find it is best to answer the phone if I can and unless it is something I can quickly respond to, just let the caller know that I am really busy and will call them back at another time, when I can give them my undivided attention, or to let the call go to voice mail.  I have seen quite a few posts from other Brokers and Agents where the subject of being accessible to their clients comes up.  While I completely agree that answering your phone whenever you can is an awesome business practice, I feel that there are times when the best thing for me and the client I am currently working for is to not pick up.  

I used to have a lot of anxiety about not be able to get everything done immediately. I wanted to do an awesome job for all my clients, and also be available whenever anyone needs me.  It's almost funny to say it now. Because It is impossible to be able to do that.  Now I take a more relaxed approach and if necessary work a bit longer, and get everything accomplished, without the added stress.  

 

Experience has taught me that there are certain times when in order to give one client the best service I can give, I may have to put other potential or current clients off for a while.  I have learned that if my not being accessible 24/7 will cost me a client then I am better off without that client.  

 

There are certain services that I perform that I have decided I will not accept phone call while doing, these are: 

 

1.  Performing inspections; I have a system that works and getting distracted throws that off and has caused me to have to go back to a property to get the missed items, which is not something that makes me very happy. 

2.  Preparing Leases:  this is not something where any mistake or omission is acceptable. You cannot multitask while preparing a lease or any other contract. 

3. Bookkeeping: not a good idea to be distracted while dealing with money, your clients or your own. 

 

Of course it is not appropriate to take calls while showing property or meeting with clients, but I do manage to get out a text or two while the person is filling out paperwork or something.  

 

I had one of these days today and realized how much easier I find it to just get the stuff that I need to get done, done and work late catching up with calls and emails. So if you are an agent that I am working with, a potential new client or a current client; please keep in mind, I will take your call, answer your e-mail or respond to your text as promptly as I can and if there is a wait, I am worth it.  

Things I Love About Technology: Take Two

Another thing I love about technology is photo stream.  I love being able to take a bunch of photos and easily be able to share them with owners or even tenants.  Not too long ago I would struggle with trying to get a bunch of photos to send in emails.  They would take so long to send and then the recipient would say they can't open it. Yikes! It used to drive me crazy.  

Now I can take hundreds of photos when I do a move in, move out or routine inspection and write notes on each photo so the other person can see exactly what I am am trying to convey.  Then it it is easy to invite the other person to view the stream and they can easily do it from a link in an email.  

I sent an owner a photo stream inspection report today and she told me that it was the best inspection report she ever received and thanked me for it.  It felt great, especially since it was so easy. 

I love photo stream for organizing photos as well.  I have a bunch of streams for each property and after a while I can easily transfer the older ones to an external hard drive to make more space for new ones.  It makes it very easy to sort through photos and to find specific ones. I have a stream for my properties, my family, my friends and of course my dogs :)

Don't Exchange What You Want Most For What You Want At the Moment

I like that saying:  "Don't exchange what you want most for what you want at the moment."  It applies to a lot of things.  What comes to mind for me is staying on track with health and fitness, and not giving in to eating something junkie, just because it's convenient.  

It also applies to buying or renting a home.  

You can have a list of must haves for a house, and look at one that doesn't have everything you want, but you figured you look at is because it is in the school district you want, or close to work.  It has a beautiful fireplace, you didn't even realize you wanted a fire place.  It's a cold day and you can imagine how cozy it would be on a cold day, and on Christmas it would be so pretty.  You start to think you could live there. It's smaller than you want, it doesn't have the floor plan you prefer.  It has a pool, you really didn't want to deal with maintaining a pool, maybe you could hire someone? The fireplace is spectacular though, and the mantle is amazing, you picture the way you would decorate it, yeah you like this house.  Hmm the kitchen is tiny, you wanted an eat in kitchen.  We could eat in the dining room.. 

Not a good idea, especially if you are buying, you would tire of the fireplace pretty quick, when you have to settle for things you really didn't want. Even for a rental, you'd be stuck with it for at least a year.  

It's easy to get carried away like this though.  If you are on the market to buy or rent, keep in mind why you have your list in the first place. The things on it are important to you. If you are working with a buyer or a tenant, try to gently bring them back in, when they start down that path.  

Remember, don't exchange what you want most for what you want at the moment, it will come back and bite you in the end.  

What the World Eats

I stumbled across this amazing article , What The World Eats put together by two photo journalists who traveled the world to twenty four different countries, photo documenting how the eating habits of the world differ from country to country.  They took a photo of the families, with a weeks worth of food & groceries around them and showed how much each family spends per week. Some had fast food as well as groceries.  Fifteen of those photos are shown in the article.  

I was fascinated not only by how different the food is, but how different the families look, (some small, some extended) and by how different the kitchens and homes look. I was surprised to see how many Of what I consider to be "American" brands like Kraft, Nabisco and of course Kellogg. There were a lot of Corn flakes, although the ones from Sarajevo looks different, I don't think they are Kellogg.  

The family in the cover photo, is from Ecuador and only spends $32 a week.  that is amazing with all those people. Notice all the fresh food. The family that they showed from the US, had a lot of junk food and hardly any fresh food.  The amount they spent for four people was $352, which seems high to me, but they had a lot of fast food and/or take out.  I am not sure how representative that is of us, but maybe it is.  

I recently had an interesting situation that really contrasted how different two families eat, from the same country, same ethnic background, even the same parents. My sister and her family moved in with us for several months.  They decided to relocate to this area and we were able to have them stay with us while they saved some money and got to know the area.  

She is a couple of years older than me and very, very different.  She buys an incredible amount of junk food, and does not even make an effort to make a healthier choice.  I try to eat pretty healthy with some junk food thrown in.  She didn't even know how to read a nutrition label, when I asked her to pick me up some creamer without any hydrogenated fat.  I was very surprised by that.  I thought everyone knew how to read the labels.  She buys the fatty cuts of meat and adds gobs of butter to everything.  

We were going to take turns cooking for everyone, but it didn't work out.  They wouldn't even try my delicious chicken burgers, or cock pot chili (the only vegeatable they eat is corn) and I couldn't eat most of her food, besides the fat and lack of nutrients, she leaves her food sitting out all day.  LOL, I could write a book about it.  It was quite an experience.  It's hard to believe we grew up in the same family.