E-Renter News

Tips to Help Everyone Save Money

Landlords, rental property managers, and tenants agree on one thing: handling security deposits can be a pain in the neck for everyone. While there are those tenants who take meticulous care of rental property, others demonstrate an extreme lack of accountability and care. Then there are the tenants who just do not know the basics of home care.

While all of these groups are responsible for damages to your rental property on move-out day, it’s obvious which most landlords and property managers would prefer. What if you could help your tenants be better stewards of their rental home? Here’s how:

Let your new tenants know that it will help them retain more of their security deposit if they take good care of the property. These days, everyone is interested in saving money.

When conducting the move-in inspection, point out ways that your new tenants can help keep the property in the condition it is in—and receive the majority of their security deposit back. But don’t make any promises you can’t keep!

On move-in day, along with the rules and regulations and any other paperwork you provide, include a list of dos and don’ts for caring for your property.

1. Encourage tenants to clean up water spills immediately in the bathroom and kitchen.

2. Suggest that your tenants inspect under cabinets and along baseboards occasionally for signs of water damage.

3. Encourage your tenants to contact you at the first sign of damage—to prevent a small problem from becoming worse.

4. Either provide or inform tenants of approved picture-hanging hardware. Let them know of any weight limits on wall hangings, too—and strictly enforce it.

5. Let your tenants know if you’ve found a particular floor cleaner or carpet cleaner that works well.

6. Encourage use of hardwood protectors and carpet disks on all furniture to protect flooring.

These tips won’t prevent all damage to your rental property—but for some of your tenants, just knowing how to take care of things will encourage them to do so. It’s worth a try, just to eliminate one more source of landlord headaches!

Guidelines under the Fair Housing and Americans with Disabilities Acts

Knowing the laws regarding service or companion animals and differentiating them from “normal” pets is valuable to all landlords and property managers. Every rental property owner has the right to prohibit pets; but no one has the right to prohibit legitimate service or companion animals.

Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind:

• Rental property owners are required under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) to “make reasonable exceptions in their policies and operations to afford people with disabilities equal housing opportunities.”

• Persons with disabilities are broadly defined and protected from discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

• Landlords and property managers are required to make accommodations for service and companion animals—even if your property is pet-prohibited.

• Service and companion animals are not always easy to spot—they don’t all wear special vests or collars.

• Service and companion animals are not always dogs. Some tenants might need a cat, a bird, or an iguana to better handle certain emotional issues.

• Tenant disabilities are not always obvious—and both physical and mental disabilities are covered under the ADA.

• The old adage “never assume” is the best advice. Don’t assume your tenant has or does not have a disability and don’t assume your tenant needs or does not need a companion or service animal.

• You have the right to require proof of need of the companion/service animal from your tenant’s physician or other health care provider, as well as for proof of the tenant’s disability.

• You have the right to require tenants with service or companion animals to abide by your rules for waste disposal, leashing, and health requirements such as vaccinations.

The courts have ruled on the side of tenants and on the side of rental property owners in many companion animal cases. If you have a problem with a tenant’s pet—whether or not you have a pet policy in force—obtain sound legal advice from a qualified landlord/tenant attorney.

Join E-Renter USA at the TRENDS Conference & Trade Show, December 8, 2009. This event, the largest rental housing management conference & trade show in the northwest, will be held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, WA from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

The TRENDS show brings together Rental Property Owners, Rental Property Managers, Leasing Professionals, Investors, and Maintenance Professionals for a day of instruction and excitement. Forty workshops, over 200 exhibits, and a $1500 Grand Prize drawing make the TRENDS show a not-to-be missed event.

E-Renter USA is proud to sponsor and exhibit at the TRENDS show. We’re also proud supporters of Search and Rescue Associations. Stop by our display and meet Guy Seeklus and Luke, a trained Search and Rescue dog.

We’ll see you at the TRENDS Conference & Trade Show on December 8 at the Convention Center in Seattle!

Missing Signs Not the Landlord’s Fault

Talk to ten landlords and you’ll ten different “worst ever” tenant stories. No matter how hard to you work to avoid it, if you’re a landlord or property manager, you will have your share of problem tenants. The people signing your lease agreement can be the nicest, most polite and clean-cut people ever—and can quickly become the tenants from you-know-where.

How does this happen? The problem is that tenants are humans, just like us. They have the capacity to be good or not-so-good—just like the rest of us. And some are skilled at taking advantage of others’ trust to get what they want.

Our nature is to trust and like people—especially when they fit within our personal filters for looks, behavior, and other external qualities. Cleanliness, smiles, and agreeable personalities can mask a host of soon-to-be revealed trouble spots.

Another aspect ofhuman nature is the tendency to kick ourselves for missing the “signs” of problem tenants. “Why was I so naïve?” or “How could I have not seen this coming?” are questions many landlords and rental property managers ask themselves.

The fact is that folks with emotional issues, money-handling problems and violent personalities have to live somewhere, too. They are often quite skilled at masking their problems long enough to get what they want from others—like renting an apartment or house from you.

Proper tenant screening procedures will weed out potential tenants with criminal histories, credit problems, and evictions. If a tenant passes your background check and still causes problems, remember that it’s not because of any failure on your part.

First-Time Buyer Incentive Credited

Existing home sales were up 10.1% in October across the United States, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors. Purchases of existing homes drove total housing inventory down by 3.7%.

Inventories are becoming more in line with demand than they have been in two and a half years, according to the study. Buyers becoming more aggressive in some areas, especially in the lower end market.

The Federal first-time buyer tax credit of $8,000 is being credited with the surge in home sales. Buyers who may have been waiting for the economy to turn around before purchasing a home saw the combination of lower prices, low mortgage rates, and a one-time $8,000 tax credit as too good to pass up. The rush to beat a November 30 deadline spurred folks off the couch and into open houses and realtor’s offices.

Mortgage interest rates are the third lowest on record since 1971, according to the National Association of Realtors—another significant contributor to the movement of existing home inventory in October.

The tax credit, which was set to expire at the end of November, has now been extended to April 30, 2010.

Prices continue to be affected by foreclosures and other distressed properties—so this is an extremely favorable affordability climate for real estate investors. The report states that prices continue to flatten and are poised to rise again in 2010.