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. 

How to Screen a Perspective Tenant Part Three:

This is the third blog in a series on how to screen perspective tenants.  The first two are:

 How to Screen a Perspective Tenant Part One  and How to Screen a Perspective Tenant Part Two

These blogs go into ways you can screen a tenant, before they even fill out an application.  Todays talks about ways of screening, once the application is front of you. 

So once you have gotten beyond the phone screening and the showing and have a complete application in your hands, you have got a lot of work to do.  If you have a good application, you should have collected a lot of information that needs to be checked out before you can consider the applicant for an approval.  The first and most basic step is to do a quick public records search, which is free of charge to make sure the person does not have any local felonies, evictions or anything else that would disqualify them.  You can also do a Google search of their names and see what comes up there. 

If I find something at this point, I will notify the applicant and give them their money back. I didn’t spend any of the application fee, and it only took a couple of minutes of my time. I find the person is not as angry about being rejected at this point, if they can get their money back.  Once I do actually run the information through the paid site that I use, they will no longer get a refund. 

I usually look over the application one more time, prior to running the credit. sometimes there are things that may have ben missed, like the dat they are looking to move in. is it reasonable or is it a month or more out? if it is more than a week or two, i usually contact the owner to see if they would be willing to hold the property for that long.  Are they smokers is another question on the application, that may warrant a call to the owner prior to running credit. Smoking is not allowed in the majority of rental properties these days, but some people still smoke, and they might say yes, to the smoking question, but state that they only smoke outside.  This can be true in some cases, and not true in others.  I like to give my owner the opportunity to make that call.  I also double check as to whether or not they listed a pet on the application, and if yes, what type and/or breed.  This is important especially if I did not show the rental property, and therefore did not have the opportunity to screen them on this at the beginning. 

If everything checks out, I move forward with the processing of the application.  As you can see, it is a lot more complicated than it would seem that is why a good property manager is a very good asset to have. 

Are You doing a Good Job for Your Client?

Every so often while doing comps or researching something on the MLS, I come across some examples of  real estate agents providing very poor service to their client.  I recently read a blog here on Active Rain that had multiple  photos that had been used in listings that were not very flattering to the property.  I have seen my share of those, as well as the listings that have no photos except for the front.  I understand that sometimes the client will insist the listing go in, prior to work being completed, or tenants moving out, so inside photos are just not feasible. I personally make a note of that in the MLS and get the photos in as quick as I can.  Some of the photos I see with no inside photos, are not having work done and are vacant and have been for a while (hmm wonder why?).   I know as a consumer myself, if there are no inside photos, I just move on. There must be a reason the agent didn't wantto show the inside.  Then there are those that just take lousy photos.  I am always surprised that the seller/owner doesn’t complain, after all most of them today have access to the Internet and have plenty to say about how the listing looks.  

Another example of poor representation of the client is when the home is listed in the wrong area, or as the wrong type. I have seen listings that say they are in one area and upon looking closer, can tell that they are actually several miles away and in area that is actually more desirable or just the opposite.  I have seen single-family homes listed as condos, manufactured homes listed as townhouses and wonder how long it will take the agent to realize it.  Our MLS has a way to police the listings. I prefer to just let the agent know with an e-mail and have done that and once or teice, I never even received a thank you from agents. 

It just makes me wonder how those agents stay in business, because a lot of them do.  Some of the listings I have seen with these type of issues are from well established agents who have been in business for a long time.  I guess they must be doing something right. 

How to Screen a Tenant: Part One

One of the biggest problems you can run into as a landlord is renting to the wrong tenant.  Its seems like a no brainer, but you would ne surprised at how many properties I have ended up with managing, because the owner rented to wrong person and they either finally got them out, but they trashed their house, or they pay late all the time and/or are in non-compliance in other areas in the lease, and the owner finally determines that paying the ten percent management fee is cheap in exchange for having someone else deal with the tenants.

There are many, many ways to screen a tenant.  Today I am going to discuss one of those and will feature some of the others in future blogs.  If you noticed I said some of the others. I am not actually going to give away all of my secrets. 

 After many years of experience there are certain things I look for even and or take note of, even before any paperwork is even started, or in some cases before the property is even shown to the potential applicants.  Today’s blog is about one of the ways to screen prior to showing the property. 

So the property is listed in MLS, on my website and various other websites.  The phone starts to ring and I have someone who would like to see the property.  Here s the first thing I consider.

 Do they answer my preliminary screening questions clearly and precisely or are they vague or uncertain? 

 I always ask the person when they are looking to move, how many people and if they have any pets.  If they are hesitant on any of these answers, my proverbial antennae are up.  I may follow up with a couple of clarifying questions, and determine that they are just nervous for some reason or determine that they are not being totally honest.  If I feel they are not being totally honest, I will ask for their full name and tell them I will call them back to schedule an appointment. 

In the meantime, I will pull their name up in public records and unless they have a common name, I can usually get some information on them.  They may have said they weren’t exactly sure when they need to move, possibly the next week or so, and there they are in the public records, with an eviction filled and waiting for the final judgment. Maybe they stumbled with the answer on whether or not they had a pet or not, and there they are with animal control violations against them.  Both of those things have actually occurred. 

 If I find any information that would adversely affect their chances of being approved at that stage, I call them back and tell them what I found and sometimes they argue with me, and sometimes they don’t, either way I don’t schedule a showing with them.  If I can’t find anything, I call and schedule a showing and move on to the next round of screening. 

Things I love about Brevard County: Part One

There are so many things that I love about Brevard County so I figured it would be a great subject to make a recurring blog about all of them.

The first one I am going to write about is the weather in January, February and March.  While there are so many things to love about Brevard, I have to admit that for me the heat isn't one of them.  I don't do well in the heat. I avoid it as much as I can.  Thank God for air conditioning, for cars with air conditioning and for malls and restaurants with air conditioning.  If it wasn't for air conditioning I wouldn't be able to live in this area.
This time of year however is what I look forward to all year long.  So while the majority of the country is freezing cold, we are enjoying mostly cool, crisp days that enable us to pull out those sweaters and jeans and sometimes even boots.  I love being able to wear my boots.  Last year we had such a warm winter I didn't get to wear any.  This year I have worn several pairs a couple of times each.
I enjoy being able to open the windows and enjoy the wonderful breezes.  I love being able to straighten my hair and not have it curl and frizz up the minute I step outside.  I love being able to wear jackets and blazers and sweaters and fuzzy socks.
I love that when it gets cold and stays cold for a few days, the manatees will come to a canal by my house and I get to see them up close.  I love getting hot drinks at Starbucks, instead of my usual Frapicinnos.  I also love that there is no chance of snow and that I will have all of this to look forward to again next year.

This was the temperature from the screen in my car this afternoon:


It was such a beautiful day, it inspired me to write this blog.

All You Need is Love... and a Dog, or Two

Yesterday’s blog was all about my adorable chocolate lab named Cooper and today’s is going to be about his equally adorable counterpart, Sadie. 

We adopted Sadie from Florida Lab Rescue from a wonderful women who fostered many labs, Denise(there will be more about her in a future blog).  We had decided that it would be good for Cooper to have a companion.  Although I work from home, I didn’t have a lot of time to play with Cooper and we figured another dog would do him good.  I am not sure if he has actually forgiven us yet.  LOL, Sadie has turned his quiet peaceful world upside down. 

 Sadie is a beautiful yellow lab who we like to compare to Kramer from Seinfeld.  She is crazy and silly and wants nothing more than to please and to be loved.  She is our problem child you could say.  She barks too much, she gets into the trash, she steals things off the coffee tables, all of which Cooper has never done.  She also tries to lick everyone and when I mentioned this as well as the jumping up on people, to an owner of mine who has several labs, his suggestion was to get a squirt bottle with water and squirt her with it when she licks and or jumps up. Well we tried that and she loved it. She is getting better with the licking now, but stil tries to do it, if she is super excited. 

She always seen to find some trouble. We had an area in the yard partioned off, so sod could grow. she got stuck here and hoped nobody would notice. 

 

She hates baths. 

 

 She won't let you forget it's 4:30, time for dinner.

Sadie has brought a lot of laughter and joy into our home and has provided a playmate for Cooper. They do enjoy wrestling and playing tug of war. Cooper however, likes some time to himself the just relax, or get some sun, and if Sadie wants to play, and will not leave him alone. She will grab him by the color and actually drag him until the collar comes off. Some days he just has to hide under my desk. 

 

We have had Sadie for two years now and she is a wonderful addition to our family.  

 

 

 

Are You a Helper?

My son gets impatient with me because he says I am always helping people.  I laugh at him and ask him what am supposed to do just walk away? He says "yes, you already have too much to do".   I feel bad that he thinks that way.  He was always taught not to talk to strangers as a child, and I guess it mostly stayed with him. I wasn't taught that and had a Mom that talked to everyone and a Dad who helped everyone.  So maybe that's the difference?

I never really gave much thought to whether I considered myself a helper or not.  It came up fairly recently when we were running late for an appointment and I needed something from CVS.  As I was rushing in a lady stopped me to ask me if I knew how to use the Red Box, to return a movie. I actually do, so I stopped and helped her.  When I got back I in the car, my son asked me why I took the time to help that lady, when I was already running late.  I told him that I wouldn't dream of saying, "sorry figure it out, I am in a hurry."   We got on that subject while driving and he pointed out several occasions that he witnessed me "helping" and tried to convince me that sometimes me "helping" someone can be dangerous.  I agreed with his point, but didn't change the way I feel.  I pointed out that he too sometimes helps people, for example if someone can't reach something at the grocery store, he helps them.  He also holds the door open all the time for people, a few times I was like okay, that's enough, we have to go.  So I don't think he's as self serving as he wants me to believe he is.  The conversation continued and my final answer was, "I guess I am just a helper."

LOL, I started writing this blog while waiting at the Dr's office, and got interrupted by my appointment, ended up at Starbucks getting a latte and paying with my Starbucks app on my phone and a young man questioned me about using Passbook instead of the app, and why it is better.  I explained I didn't use my passbook app, because I didn't know how and he ended up helping me to do that and we chatted for a while while drinking our coffee.  My plan was to sit there and write my blog while having my coffee, before moving on to the next stop, but I ended up talking to him until I had to go.  I thought it was really ironic that the subject that came to mind was helping people and someone ended up helping me today. 

My propensity to help people doesn't always carry over to my professional life.  I have been doing property management long enough to have heard pretty much every sob story.  I can't recommend that my owner rents his property to someone who does not qualify, and that would be a risky person to rent to, just because I feel sorry for them.  In my line of business, I have had to evict families with children.  There was one really horrible situation.  They ignored the 24 hour notice from the sheriff, and had their crying children helping moving their stuff out while  myself, the sheriff and the neighbors stood by watching.  Before you start thinking I am a horrible person, the reality is that I work for the owner. It is my job to help him get the most from his investment.  That being said, I offered that particular family multiple options to avoid eviction.  They choose to not communicate with me and left me with no option but to start the process.  I had no prior experience with this family, I didn't rent the property to them.  I took over the management after they were already there and hadn't been paying for a while. 

I will never forget that day and those children but the reality is, if the parents would have communicated with me, it could have gone differently and I may have been able to help them to avoid that experience.  There have been numerous other situations that didn't turn out as badly, when the tenants stopped paying rent.  There are ways to do a good job for the owner, and still treat the tenants with compassion and respect.  I feel good about the balance I am usually able to create.  I am proud to say that I go above and beyond for my owners and even for my tenants at times.  I do a lot of things that the average property manager does not do.  I guess that just goes back to me just being a "helper."
This topic came to me this morning while waiting at the doctors office an elderly couple came in and right away a woman offered her seat(it was crowded) then the person who had sitting next to her offered his seat, and than that same lady opened the door for a woman in a wheel chair.  it all got me thinking about helping people. 

What about you? Are you a helper? 

How's The Rental Market?

How's the rental market? I get that question all the time.  I have to admit, I am not a big fan of the question. Its such a vague question, that it's really difficult to answer.  Are they asking which type of market we are in? A landlord's market? Or a tenant's market? Or maybe they want to know if things are renting at higher prices than in the past? Or are they renting faster? Is it hard to find a renter? Or it is easy to find a renter?  Are they a possible investor trying to determine if buying a property to rent would be a good idea? Maybe they have an elderly relative that wants to downsize and wait for a better sales market to sell, so is flirting with the idea of renting?  Or maybe, they are just trying to make conversation and a long lengthy answer would be inappropriate.  What type of an answer is the person asking the question expecting? 

 Sometimes the way to figure out what type of an answer they are looking for is easy to figure out due, to the context.  For example if an owner that I just notified that their tenant will not be renewing their lease that is up next month, I understand that they are wondering if it will rent easily and for the same price or better.  That question is easy to answer.  If it is someone calling me that I have never spoken to before, I try to get some more information before actually trying to answer, but some people don’t make it easy to figure out exactly what they are hoping to learn.  If it is someone on line behind me at the grocery store, and we strike up a conversation, it can be easy to assume that they are looking for a vague answer and just trying to make conversation, that is not always the case either. 

 It can be a complicated question.  To answer it intelligently requires some additional information.  Without any additional information, my answer tends to depend on the time of the year, the environment where the question is asked and making assumptions about the person.   So a lot of the people that ask me this question may not be getting the answer they want.  That’s why I am not a big fan of the question. 

I think I am pretty knowledgeable on the rental market in Brevard County, but without truly understanding what someone wants to know, it is hard to answer such a vague question. 

So if I run into someone at Publix, who asks me that question, how would I answer it? I think I would say.  “The rental market is good.  It slows down this time of year in my market, because I specialize in long-term residential rentals. I am not an expert on the snowbird rentals, but this time of the year is great for those.  It may be a little more difficult to rent a property over the holidays, but it does happen.  You may not get the same price that you would in June or July, but if the property is in rentable condition, it should rent for a decent price, fairly quickly.”  Typically an answer like that will lead the person to ask additional questions that would be more specific, and easier to answer in a more detailed way. 

The other side of that answer is that if you are looking to rent a long-term residential property that is in poor shape not clean and not “rent ready,” you would be out of luck.  There are too many other rentals to choose from.  In this area we have a lot of property owners, hanging on to properties after moving away, to wait and hope to get a better price in a couple of years.  A lot of these owners are losing money, because they bought when the market was high, but they are smart enough to realize that getting some of your mortgage and other expenses is better than getting none of it. That goes back to the price right part.  so for them the market isn't great, since they are losing money, but it's good, because they are getting something. 

So, the majority of the time, I actually tend to answer their question with a question. I know that doesn’t sound good, but I think it sounds better than giving a generic answer and not showing them just how much I do know about the market. 

What about you? Are their questions you get asked a lot, that are more difficult to answer than they would seem?

 

 

 

You're Never Gonna See No Unicorn!

"A long time ago, when the earth was green,

 

There were more kinds of animals than you've ever seen.

 

They'd run around free while the earth was being born.

 

And the loveliest of them all was the unicorn.

 

 There were green alligators and long-necked geese.

 

Some humpy-backed camels and some chimpanzees.

 

Some cats and rats and elephants, as sure as you're born.

 

And the loveliest of them all was the unicorn."  

Those are lyrics from a song called The Unicorn, by the Irish Rovers, and written by Shel Silverstein  It was played in my home often when I was growing up.  My Dad grew up in Ireland and moved to the US when he was 19.  My mom is 1st generation Irish American and my parents actually met in Ireland.  So Irish music was played pretty frequently in our home.  You can check out the You Tube Video for the song here:  

As a side note I was blown away to find out that this is the same Shel Silverstein that wrote the books Where The Sidewalk Ends and The Giving Tree, those being favorites of my son when he was little. He especially loved The Giving Tree.  I didn't even realize that those books had been around when I was kid. 

Sorry, back to my blog-I met with a gentleman about a year ago that reminded of that song, and of the elusive unicorn.  He was from out of the area, (he may have been misled by the buyer’s agent he used) and assumed he was going to get way more than the rental market would allow for a home that he purchased for he and his wife to retire in twenty years or so. When we met, at the house, I showed him all the comps and discussed the market.  He told me he wanted $2,400 a month minimum.  I was a bit taken back by that, since the comps were indicating a rental price of about $1400.  I spoke with him about it, and pointed out that what he was hoping for a number that was about $1,000 above the market, (including an active rental listing next door for $1,000 less) he said he was not willing to rent it to someone who would not be willing to pay the extra money.  
He explained that the type of tenant he wanted was one that would be willing to pay that extra amount.  I tried to understand why anyone would be willing to pay that much more for a nearly identical property.  He said it would show that they were a “better” type of tenant.  Hmm, I have never encountered such a tenant. Is there such a tenant? Someone that wants to pay more than fair market value for something, just because they can?  If there was a tenant like that, I have never encountered them. That’s what made me start to think of that elusive of unicorn that I have heard about. You see the Unicorn is differently, because I have never even heard a story where someone has claimed to have seen the unicorn. Not like the Loch Ness Monster, or Bigfoot, those guys have been seen and even photographed. The unicorn to my knowledge has never been spotted or photographed. 

I personally don’t take highly overpriced listings. I will go a little higher than the market suggests, if there are special or unique things about the property, and sometimes I get it. Sometimes I don’t. I ask the owner’s to keep an open mind and with feedback from me on how many showings, and comments from potential applicants, adjust the price accordingly. If they are not willing to do that, there is no point in working with them.  I am not going to make any money on an overpriced listing and I am going to end up with an unhappy client. 

 

I made a note to myself to keep an eye on the property t see if it was listed and/or rented.  it was listed by a realtor, for the $2400.  It did not rent and was withdrawn at the original listing price of $2400 a year later. 

 

 

 

Understanding Brevard County Property Appreciation

Whether you are an investor, purchasing properties for the purpose of renting them out, or a homeowner that has to move out of the area and needs to rent until the market changes, the appreciation of your property is an important issue for you.   Over time, the worth of a rental property will fluctuate up and down. Property values will appreciate in the long term normally. But, in real estate there are no guarantees.

When your rental property appreciates you have a more valuable asset to borrow against, and you'll generate a greater profit when you sell. There are different reasons why property values in Brevard County fluctuate. So, as an investor, how can you be sure that what you're investing in right now or that will appreciate over time? The most important aspect to consider is that you select a Property Manager/REALTOR^® who understands the factors that drive local prices.

What is the major factor impacting real estate appreciation? Many are convinced that it's the economy. Obviously, there are some factors on a national level that adjust your property's value: unemployment, mortgage rates, the stock market, and more. However, your rental property’s value and the aspects that play the most significant role in its appreciation depend on the local Brevard County economy and housing market.

Location in a community - Convenient access to schools, jobs and amenities like shopping, restaurants and entertainment is a big deal to many families and will greatly influence rental property values and how much rent you can get for it. So when it comes to retaining their value, these communities generally appreciate better than others, and in the mean time, will get you the best rental price. 

The appreciation history - Is the community considered desirable because of its location or affordability? Have property prices gone up or down over the past 5-10 years?

Economic factors - Have companies moved into or away from an area? In this area, the Space Shuttle Program ending has had an adverse affect on home values.  But, who knows what we will be next at the Space Center, and how many new jobs will be created?  Are local businesses hiring? Is there a good mix of jobs in an area, or does it count on just one industry? These items play a part.

Trends in home sales and rental prices - What's the time on market? What was the selling/rental price versus the asking price? Some information can often be retrieved from public records, but a good agent with a login to the local MLS will often be able to provide a more complete picture.

To Paint or Not to Paint...

This a very common question from owners that are getting their properties ready for rent. 
There are many factors involved in marketing and renting your home. You can't control most of them. The curb appeal of your home plays a big role in the rental process, and it's one of the things you can have direct control over. You'll never get another chance to make a first impression of how your property looks from the street. If your property exterior needs new paint, potential renters might not even get out of their car to come in and take a look. Putting fresh paint on your property, both on the outside and the inside, is usually the one thing you can do that pays off the fastest. You'll get more potential renters looking, and they'll like what they see more, translating into a better chance for a quick rental at a higher price.

Try to stick with light, neutral colors. These seem to resonate best with renters. A fresh coat of light beige on interior walls will freshen up your propertry and make it more marketable.

Simply put, new paint is usually the most profitable improvement you can make when getting your property ready for rent. So unless your paint is already in like new condition, you probably should paint.

How should you price your rental?

As a professional property manager, I have had years of experience in pricing rentals.  The best and most obvious way I do it is to look at what has rented in the local area and how the property compares. I also look at how long the comparative properties took to rent and the time of the year.  In my experience, the Brevard county rental market slows down around the holidays.  So a property that may rent for $1,000 in July or August, may only rent for $900 (or less) in November.  This may not always be the case, but more often than not, it is. 

I have had owners that have a rental price in their head, that they must have.  If this price is higher than what the market reflects, it usually takes a lot longer to rent it. I have had experience with owners that would not budge on their price, and had the property sitting empty, with no rental income at all for several months. They end up eventually lowering the price or negotiating down to the market price anyway. They don’t realize that they lost more in those few months the property did not rent, then they would have had they have rented it at the market price to begin with. 

I have also had owner that wanted to price their property so high above the market price that I have had to decline listing the property. It would have been a waste of everybody’s time and in most cases those are the owners who would be calling and complaining that their property hasn’t rented. For me it is just not worth it. 

If a property is priced correctly, it should rent relatively quickly and the owner should start receiving rental income in a shorter amount of time. 

How's Your Credit Score?

Your credit score is a review of your years of credit history.  The scores range from 300 to 850, the average credit score is about 600.   Unfortunatley, more people these days are experiencing job loss, short sales and foreclosures which adversely affect their credit scores. Some of the other factors that affect your credit score include:

• Credit Inquiries — Do you have too many open accounts?
• Types of Credit — Do you have a healthy mix of loans and credit cards?
• Payment History — Do you pay your bills on time each month?
• Credit to Debt Ratio — How much do you owe versus your available credit?

In reviewing your credit history, you'll find that you actually have three reports. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, each uses a slightly different model to develop your score. You have a credit score with all three of the bureaus. At Wolters Rentals, we use Trans Union to pull credit.

Most people want a stronger score, but how do you get there? Building your credit score takes time. At Wolters Rentals-A Property Management Company, LLC, we know it's difficult to make a large-scale change in your number with just small, simple changes, but your score can improve in a year or two by keeping tabs your credit report and by using your credit wisely. The best way to do this is to know your credit score. You'll improve your credit score by using these helpful hints:

• Correct any errors on your credit report: If you find incorrect items on your credit report, contact the bureau requesting that the item be removed. If you have a common name or the same name as a family member, you'll want to pay extra attention to make sure the activity reported is correct.
• Even out your debt: At first, this doesn't sound like a good idea. But, you want to avoid of having one card that is maxed out and have your remaining cards at a zero balance. It's better to have each of your cards at an even balance than to have all of your debt sitting on a single card. 
• Use Your Credit Cards: Keep your cards in rotation. Whether you're just getting started with credit, or if you've got older cards, be sure to use your cards so that your accounts maintain an active status. But, pay them off in no more than two or three payments.
• PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME!   How often you're late with payments greatly affects your credit score. It's one of the reasons people who have recently been unemployed see the biggest hit in their credit score. Yes, it takes longer to build up your credit with payment history, but it's the surest way to prove that you're responsible enough to make payments to a bank.

If you have no credit

• Apply for gas station cards or retail credit. For those who have no credit or less-than-stellar credit, department store credit cards and gas credit cards are ways to repair credit, increase your credit limits and have a solid payment history, which will raise your credit score. Just beware of maintaining a large balance for more than a couple of billing cycles because these types of cards normally have a larger interest rate.

You can learn more about credit scores at www.myFICO.com, Fair Isaac's informational site and once per year, for free, you can review all three of your credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com.  this gives you your report, but not your acores.  You can get your scores, for a small payment from each bureau on their websites: www.equifax.com, www.experian.com and www.transunion.com.