All Forum Posts by: Nathan Gesner

Morals are absolutely important, and the first thing on my list. So even if everyone says it's OK to market PM to existing listings, I probably wouldn't because it still feels like I'm taking business from someone else. I'd rather bring the clients to me vs. pulling them from someone else.

As for word-of-mouth, that's a great point. Unfortunately, almost every owner lives in another state. As for tenants, I get about 70% via referrals. About 1/3 of our referrals are from other agents because we have a great rep in town and we have more rentals than all others combined. The bad news is, my owners live in other states. The bottom line: I don't need more tenants; I need more properties to put tenants in!

Thanks for the input!

We have a record number of homes for sale in my community and the market is slow. I'm expecting it to slow even more in the fall. At the same time, rentals have been strong for decades. I manage 120 units in a town of 9,000 and average five calls a day from people looking to rent. I can't think of a better time to market our company and expand!

I'm looking for ideas of how to market myself to existing homeowners that can't sell in a down market AND to new investors looking to take advantage of the buyer's market and the high demand for rentals. Please help me brainstorm!!!

1. I want to initiate an advertisement blitz in the fall via newspaper, radio, web, etc. People either don't know about property management or they think it's a sham that will cost them money and destroy their property. I want to let them know I'm here and I'm here to reduce their headache while increasing their rate of return. I'm not a big salesman, but I know how to tell the truth and back it up with facts.

2. Part two would be a monthly presentation to explain the sales vs. rental market in our community, how a good PM can increase their rate of return and protect their property, and how my company provides that service like nobody else. They'll have time for questions and walk out the door with a few professional handouts and something to think about.

3. I can provide a detailed analysis of their property and its rate of return. They can walk out the door with a professional product and more crunched numbers than they care to look at. They can review it and decide to hire me, take the data and try to rent on their own, or still be scared and go another direction. But I'm willing to bet many of them will come back to me.

4. It's unethical for a licensed Realtor to contact an owner that has already listed their home through another Realtor. But am I allowed to contact an owner about managing their property as a rental? It still seems kinda shady, but I thought I would throw it out there. I know it's OK to conduct general mailings to a community, so I might consider something along those lines in the areas with a greater number of "rentable" homes.

I've only been thinking of this the last couple of days while dealing with 1,000 other things so this is truly in the infant stages. In fact, I spent more time typing this than I probably have thinking of ideas! If anyone has an idea, throw it out there! Just keep in mind I'm in a town of 9,000!

Thanks in advance!

Ralph S - I am a licensed PM, Realtor, and business owner, so I like to do things right rather than wing it based on someone's opinion. I looked up escheat for Wyoming and the statute spells it out for me. Here's my plan of attack:

Send the refund check to the forwarding address or last-known address with a certified return receipt. If it comes back, I'll file it (unopened) in the tenants file and hold the funds for one year. At the end of the year, I turn the funds over to the state and wash my hands of it. It happens so rarely that it's not worth deducting administrative costs and risking any liability.

Thanks to all for the responses, particularly Ralph S.!!!

NC Mark: I've read the statutes concerning property management, real estate, and trust accounts. They don't address an unfound tenant. I'm in Wyoming, so our PM statutes didn't even exist until 12-13 years ago.

I'm meeting with my attorney about some other issues and will see if he can point me to another statute. I'm sure it's addressed somewhere!

Keep in mind I'm talking about $30 in an account of over $50k. I just don't see the point in requiring me to account for it eternally. Some day I might want to put all $30 on black!

Wyoming law states I must return the deposit within 30 days, or 15 days after receiving a forwarding address. If there are deductions due to cleaning or repairs, I have 60 days to return the remainders of the deposit.

I've sent mail to the last forwarding address, tried forwarding through the post office, tried contacting everyone listed on her application, etc. No luck and it's been well over a year. Am I required to keep and track her security deposit forever or is there some statute of limitations whereby she forfeits the right to the funds?

I understand the Wyoming law as it's written and explained above. But there's nothing in writing to address a tenant that can't be located. Do I need to keep it for eternity? What about the costs of accounting for it, maintaining an account, etc? At some point the tenant should forfeit and I'm wondering if anyone can show me law (not opinion) to support this?

I looked at www.mikecantu.com and wasn't impressed. I don't doubt he's been in the business a long time and might even be very successful. But his page looks cheap and his sales pitch even cheaper. I'd rather learn the facts of management and find a niche that suits my personality rather than try to fit myself into someone else's mold.

Realtyman, I'm right there with you. I'm a voracious researcher and have been covering this site and many others for the last couple of months. When a question pops up, I find the answer.

That said, a book like NOLO is nice because it brings up issues before I think of them on my own. Even though I prefer to create my own forms and documents, I like what came with NOLO as a starting point because I can use them until I have the time to tweak things to my liking.

I'll check out Cantu and see what he's offering.

I've actually looked at the reviews for that book. The reviews are very good, but they also point out it's very wordy and doesn't cover anything different than NOLO. I prefer NOLO's long reputation in the legal realm.

Thanks for the tip! Anyone else have anything?

I have the 2002 version of "Every Landlord's Legal Guide". I haven't read through it since 2004 when I owned one investment property. Now I own a company that manages 120 properties for others and all my training is from the previous owner. She's tired and slacking on some things, so I've been researching how to fix things up and have already got a plan to change things around.

Long story short, I remembered the NOLO book and started reading through it again last night and it is chock full of great advice for screening tenants, drawing contracts, etc. I wish I had read this a month ago! My question is, are there any experienced property managers with a recommendation of a better book than the NOLO guide? I've also considered taking classes but have no idea where to start.

If there's anything out there better than NOLO for general PM guidance, I would love to hear about it! Thanks!