Avondale licensing

Now that your offer on the rental home in Avondale has been accepted it is important that you check into the licensing requirements in that city a little known fact about the city of Avondale, in addition to the city rental taxes of 2.5%, the city also requires that all owners of rental properties have a transaction privilege tax license. These little unknown requirements by cities in Arizona can be quite costly if the rules are not followed. As a Phoenix Property Manager, we have been working with the cities for years to insure all our clients are in compliance and the good news about the City of Avondale you do not need an individual license if your property is being professionally managed.

In order to obtain a business license in for a residential rental in any Arizona city you will need to be register your home as a residential rental with the county Assessor. This can be done online or by filling out a form and mailing it into your local assessors office. For Maricopa county can be found on Maricopa County Assessor site. Failure to register as a rental with the county could be extremely costly with fines up to $150 per day in addition to city fines for not being properly licensed. Once you are registered as "Residential Rental" you can apply for a your city business license. Failure to obtain the proper licensing could result in ordinance violations with hefty fines attached in any city that requires a license. So be sure to research all of the licensing requirements in the city that you purchase your investment property in or contact a local Property Manager to help you navigate smoothly through the process!

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Do you have the right insurance coverage for your Rental Property?

It is very important that you understand what your homeowner’s insurance covers at your Phoenix rental property and be sure to fully discuss all options with your insurance agent to be sure you have the appropriate coverage at all times.

Another important step to take is to double check that your insurance will cover your Phoenix rental property if the property is vacant for more than 30 days.  Unfortunately many policies will not because the property will be exposed to more issues the longer it is vacant.  The good news though is if your policy does not cover your rental property after 30 days, you can usually add a rider or purchase additional coverage that will protect you but be sure to do that prior to the 30 days expiring.

The main thing is that you understand your policy and communicate to your insurer when the property is vacant.  It is much better to pay a little bit more for the right coverage then to assume you are protected and find out the hard way.

One other thing to consider is your liability limit.  Because of the many risks involved in owning a Phoenix rental Property, it may be a good idea to get the highest liability limits that the policy will provide.  If you're not comfortable with the liability limit or if you have multiple policies, you may want to consider purchasing an umbrella policy. 

3 Cheap and Easy Property Updates That Will Help Rent Your House Quickly

Getting your house rented quickly does not have to be difficult. The main thing to do is to price your house correctly. Your asking rental price should correlate with the market. This concept is simple but seems to be missed more often than it should be.

The next thing to do is to make sure your house shows well. Here are three easy things to do to accomplish this. Again, they are simple but are surprisingly not done by many.

If you do these three things, you can increase the odds of getting your property rented fast.

1) Clean Up The Landscape- Nothing says “Landlord doesn’t care” more than a prospective tenant driving up and seeing weeds and a front yard that looks terrible. Cleaning this up is easy and relatively cheap.

2) Don’t Skimp On The Housecleaning- Make sure you pay enough or spend enough time to do this right. Make sure your carpets, floors and surfaces are clean and your house does not smell like the last tenants. Showing a house that stinks or is dirty is a sure way to turn off prospective tenants.

 3) Paint The Walls- This is relatively easy and really makes a difference when showing the home to prospective tenants. A good color to use is neutral tan. Avoid any bright colors as people have different tastes and you wouldn’t want to lose on a potential lease because of a color choice.

Communation & Expectations

As a, Phoenix Property Manager, we understand that as the owner of an investment property your goal is to see your rental home bring you in not only the cash you invested in the property but also to earn a profit. With that being said, to maintain any return on investment it is vital that you keep your rental property rented and properly maintained. One of the most common mistakes we see owner-landlords make is NOT setting up clear expectations with the tenant.Without setting clear lines of communication and expectation you may be going down a long difficult road.

Once the tenant has been screened and you, as you prepare the tenant to sign the lease it is imperative that he or she understand what you expect from them as tenant. You need to clearly communicate the rules that govern the lease, what you expect from the tenant and what happens when the rules are not followed especially if your home is in an HOA. Since the lease agreement is the document that will convey all of the rules that will determine how the tenant will behaves it is imperative it is correct at time of signing. If you have ever evicted a tenant, then you know that the contents of the lease agreement may determine the decision of the court. This means that you need to make your lease rock solid and clearly lays out your expectation and rules including late payments, HOA violations, notices of non-compliance, maintenance, and other items such as health and safety. You need to communicate to the tenants what they will owe you right from the start. Inform the tenant of the monthly reoccurring payment including and applicable taxes that are included. Since some tenants do not treat rent their rent payment as a priority it is a good idea to send a reminder email or statement as this may help with prompt payment. By setting clear expectations and not making exceptions to the rules you should be able to successfully manage your tenants. However if you if you still having difficulties with your tenant contact Real Property Management West Valley Phoenix and we can help you!

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3 Simple Reasons Why Using a Property Management Company Is a Good Idea

Here are three simple reasons to use a Property Management Company.

1-Experience- This is perhaps the most important reason. As an individual property owner, it is not possible to create the real life experience that a Property Management Company has.

With experience comes a great knowledge base. This knowledge base usually will result in good decisions as they relate to placing and managing tenants. Experience is also a plus when it comes to maintaining and keeping your property at the most profitable level.

2- Tenant Buffer - Unless you want an intimate relationship with your tenant, this is also a good reason to let a property manager handle things. If your property manager is good, they will have a clear lease and policies in place and there will be no need for you to get involved.

You will only be consulted if needed on things like large maintenance repairs, property turnovers and rent increases. Then, you will have the privilege of an objective third party to consult with on the above items.

3- Profit - Property Management Services can be a profitable choice if you apply some simple math.

We have found that on average, one property takes about 5 hours a month to manage (this is just an average - some months there will be more hours, some less). The normal management fee is $75 a month. So if you manage the property yourself, you could tell yourself that you are saving $15 an hour for 5 hours.

But what if you have another job or business where you make $40 an hour? Let's say you take those 5 hours and invest that time into your $40 an hour endeavor. You will be effectively be making and additional $125 just by hiring a property manager (5 hrs.x $40 - $75 management fee).