Effective advertising

As both the weather in Phoenix and the rental market heat up, it is important to list your homes using a few simple guidelines to optimize your advertising. Start with using an effective descriptive title to grab a prospective tenant’s attention such as the title should be both inviting and descriptive listing some of the amenities and upgrades. Some key items that could draw in a prospective tenant are: Appliances, RV Gates/Parking, Granite Counters, New Paint and Carpet etc.

Next, once you’ve grabbed a prospects attention from the advertisement the ultimate goal is to get them to view your home and rent it. Your ad should be honest, convincing, and attractive. Include unique features for your property. Be sure that the first impression of your home has a warm and welcoming feel. This is after all your opportunity to turn the potential interest into a potential tenant.

Finally, include Images in your listing! A listing with no images will be skipped over by nine out ten people looking for a home. The most important factor is that the images accurately present your home. As a renter, there’s nothing more disgruntling than seeing stock images for a property, only to find that they’re not actually reflective of the properties current condition. Be sure to include multiple images that show a fresh clean property, with good exterior pictures to draw in the perspective tenants. Include photos of all rooms especially the Kitchen and Master Bedroom/Bathroom, and Front and Back Yards.

With these few simple steps you could be well on your way to having an effective ad to quickly rent your home! Follow @rpmwvphoenix

The basics of Turnover Repairs

After a tenant has resided at your property for several years, there will be some normal wear and tear maintenance that is needed.  This can range from simple touch up painting and sprucing up to more extreme cases of multiple loads of trash out, full painting of the property and flooring replacement.

If you use our approach to move outs at your Arizona property, you will be able to make accurate and fair assessments of damage and determine whether your tenants should be charged.

At all of our move outs, we evaluate what needs to be done and whether the owner or tenant should cover the repair costs.  We take very detailed steps to assess property condition.

The first thing we do is take an inventory of the properties condition at move out.  This is done by completing a detailed check list referencing all the rooms at the property. Additionally we take on average 150 pictures of the property during this inspection.

With this information, we can compare it with the properties move in condition.  We also consider the length of occupancy of the tenant moving out.  It makes sense that normal wear and tear expectations would be different for a one year tenant than for a five year tenant.  Then, we determine what needs to be done and if the tenant should be held responsible for the damage.

The two most common issues that need to be addressed are the walls and the floors. With the walls, a room at the average rental property should go up to three years with a good coat of semi-gloss pant.  With carpet, a good rule of thumb is that carpet should last 5 years at a rental property.

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Tenant Retention

Although finding a new tenant in this landlord-friendly rental market may not be difficult but it is still more cost effective to retain a good tenant in most situations. Finding a new tenant can be a costly, time consuming process as placing the tenant after the old tenant moves out could involve deep-cleaning and repairing the unit, posting listings in multiple locations, holding showings and other time- and money-consuming events. Add finally the fact is that no tenant means no income!

When it comes to renewing your tenants lease, contact tenants in advance before the lease expires to get a sense of their future plans. If you initiate the conversation early on, you’ll have a better chance of negotiating a renewal from tenants who may be on the fence about whether to leave or stay. Consider offering a small incentive to tenants who choose to renew their leases. Some landlords offer a week or two of free rent off the 1st month of the new term or a $100 off the 1st month of the term. Others offer upgrades such as new carpet, better appliances, or other needed improvements. A minor incentive or special along with good communication with tenants is the first step toward encouraging lease renewals. In addition to responding promptly to maintenance needs. These simple things can be helpful in retain your existing tenant and save you money. Follow @rpmwvphoenix

Copper Thieves - Phoenix Rental Property

Arizona is known as the Copper State.  From what we have seen in the last few years it really could be referred to as the Copper Thief State.  If you own a phoenix rental property you need to be aware of the copper theft problem and how you can take one easy step to prevent it from happening at your property.

As we are sure you realize, your phoenix vacant rental property is a prime target for copper-jackers.  Copper is used at your property in the air conditioning system and often times the plumbing system.  To change out the plumbing system is an expensive undertaking however protecting your A/C is a very reasonable undertaking and costs way less than having to replace the unit.  The best way to protect the unit is to install a cage around the outside for a few hundred dollars versus paying several thousand if the unit has to be replaced and remember if they take the outside unit the air handler may not have a compatible replacement in which case you will be stuck replacing both!

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Neighbor Danger: Survey from Real Property Management Reveals DIY Landlords May Put Neighborhoods at Risk

Neighbor Danger: Survey from Real Property Management Reveals DIY Landlords May Put Neighborhoods at Risk 

DIY Landlords do not Adequately Conduct Background Checks, According to Survey 

SALT LAKE CITY (May XX, 2014) – Do-it-yourself (DIY) landlords, individuals who manage their rental properties without assistance from property management companies, may be putting neighborhoods at risk, according to a survey on landlord practices conducted by independent research firm Liminality, Inc. on behalf of Real Property Management. That’s because DIY landlords have lenient or non-existent policies when it comes to conducting background checks, the survey of a national probability sample of more than 150 DIY landlords nationwide revealed, which suggests criminals – including sex offenders – could be living next door. The survey found that 21 percent of DIY landlords sometimes or never conduct background checks on their prospective tenants.

The survey also revealed these disturbing findings about DIY landlords:
• Only 44 percent conduct sex offender checks
• Only 51 percent conduct criminal background checks
• 23 percent sometimes or never conduct credit checks
• Only 51 percent contact past landlords for references

Why are background checks so important for neighborhoods? Without thorough screening, criminals – who are likely to commit crimes again in the future – can easily move in next door, potentially putting families at risk. Rates of recidivism, or the act of criminals committing another crime, are high, according to a study from The Bureau of Justice Statistics published in 2014 that tracked 404,638 prisoners from 30 states who were released from prison in 2005. That study found 76.6 percent of the tracked criminals were re-arrested within five years.

In comparison, Real Property Management, the nationwide leader in managing rental homes, has policies in place for franchise offices to conduct rigorous background screenings on behalf of their property-owning customers, which includes credit, employment, rental history, criminal and sexual offender checks. All franchise offices follow local and state rental regulations. “We are very surprised to learn many DIY landlords are not disciplined enough to routinely conduct background checks,” said Real Property Management President Don Lawby. “Not only are they risking an expensive investment in their property, but they could also compromise the well-being of their neighbors. The bottom line is if DIY landlords don’t have the time or resources to screen tenants, they should consult a property management company that can do it for them.” For more information on the benefits of professional property management or to find your local Real Property Management office visit: www.realpropertymgt.com. About Real Property Management Real Property Management is a privately held, Utah based corporation with over 25 years of experience providing full-service residential property management for investors and homeowners throughout the United States and Canada. For more information about Real Property Management, property management services or franchising opportunities, visit www.realpropertymgt.com. Follow @rpmwvphoenix