Landlord Tenant

Some Questions To Ask A Property Manager

by Brendan O'Brien | November 28, 2008

This started out as “Some Questions to Ask Your Property Manager.” But if you’ve already hired a property management company, you’re a bit late – you want to ask these questions before you make the hiring decision. You may even want to ask them before you settle on a property purchase.
In some cases, you’ll hire [...]

Commercial Real Estate

Top 5 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Apartment Building

by Ted Karsch | November 25, 2008

Raise the rents. This is definitely the most obvious solution if you are look at different ways to raise the value of your apartment building investment. Before you decide to raise rents do a survey of comparable rents at comparable [...]

8 comments Read the full article →

Investors & Landlords: What Kind of Car Should You Drive?

by Brendan O'Brien | November 22, 2008

No, you’re not reading Consumer Reports or Motor Trend. But believe it or not, your choice of car can have an impact on your level of real estate investment success. This is because your choice of car makes an impression on people, and you always want to make the right impression. And of course, since [...]

3 comments Read the full article →

Commercial Real Estate

Keep Your Apartment Building Vacancies Low

by Ted Karsch | November 18, 2008

One of the best methods to keep your apartment building investment profitable and to increase its long term value is to be constantly vigilant about keeping your tenants satisfied. Satisfied tenants tend to stay at the apartment building longer and thus they reduce turnover and your costs. Many individual owners of apartment buildings make the [...]

Does Every Dog Have Its Day?

by Brendan O'Brien | November 15, 2008

Here are two fallacies that often strike new real estate investors. The first one bugs me only a little – the second one bugs me a lot.
The first fallacy is the one peddled by late-night infomercial stars. It’s the idea that it’s really not that difficult to find an old house, buy it for [...]

Double the Tenants, Same Rent

by Brendan O'Brien | November 9, 2008

Boy, it would be great if the financial crisis and general economic slowdown meant I saw more qualified tenants to rent my apartments. The theory is that increased foreclosures and tighter credit will result in more people looking for apartments. The problem with this theory, at least in my little corner of New Hampshire, is [...]

When Your Tenant Wants a Roommate

by Brendan O'Brien | November 8, 2008

Your tenant calls. He’s having some money troubles, and he needs a favor. You think “Oh no.” But this request isn’t what you expected. He wants to… bring in a roommate.
Of course, your tenant had to ask your permission to do this because your lease specified that only those people named in the lease could [...]

Commercial Real Estate

Retaining Your Apartment Building Tenants on the Cheap

by Ted Karsch | November 4, 2008

One of the key factors to success when investing in apartment buildings is having the ability to keep our tenants happy. Happy tenants will stay at your property longer and this reduces turnover. High and steady turnover rates can have a negative impact on the apartment building investor’s bottom line.
The first and most obvious [...]

Landlords: Learn How to Find Average Market Rents for your Area

by Troy Schuricht | October 31, 2008

If your in the market to buy a rental, knowing the expected rental rates should be part of your due diligence. The following will help you find the average property rental price in your area.

Read your local newspapers. As you read through the classified adds, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Homes with [...]

4 comments Read the full article →

Cold-Weather Landlords – Get Ready For Snow Removal

by Brendan O'Brien | October 30, 2008

This post is really for snow-belt landlords. Here in New Hampshire, snow season can start as early as November and continue into May. Unless you are renting SFRs, or have some other arrangement where the tenant is responsible for outdoor care, it is up to you to take care of the snow and ice on [...]

Commentary

Landlords: We Have to Police our Own Business!

by Brendan O'Brien | October 18, 2008

Have you ever seen those polls which list different groups and industries by how much respect they get from the public? Real estate agents and used car salesmen usually rank near the bottom. And while I’ve never seen the rental property industry evaluated in any of these polls, suppose we were included? Suppose the American [...]

Current Market Conditions and Rental Cash Flow

by Troy Schuricht | October 16, 2008

The perfect storm is underway to help landlords cash flow on their rental purchases in certain market places. The dramatic decrease in home prices, underwriting guidelines that require larger down payment, low interest rates and the increased number of renters can lead to more cash flow for investors.
Market places across the country have seen [...]

4 comments Read the full article →