You Can Take a Holiday!

It's starting to warm up down and we are all dreaming of our Christmas holidays, but one of the hardest things about being self-employed is taking a holiday. Who is going to handle any crises that may come up? How will you get paid? But it is important to everyone to take downtime. So how do you work it so that you can take a holiday and come back recharged and refreshed? Yes it is possible to take a break from the calls and requests.

My first suggestion would be to hire a property manager and you will never have to worry about taking a holiday, but if you like going it alone, here are some tips on making a holiday a reality.

Find a "Bob"

While you are away things will happen that need to be addressed so find a trusted friend or a relative ("Bob" )who can take over managing the property(ies) in your absence. Make sure that they are:

• Trusted - you can not worry while you are away, so you must be sure that Bob can handle the job and not make mistakes that could damage your reputation.
• Bob must be reliable in all aspects of the job
• That Bob isn't going to be put out too much (make sure they live within a short drive of  the property(ies)
• Bob must be relativity handy.
• Bob must be willing to do it! 

I would also set up some kind of remuneration for them so that they take the role seriously. Consider even writing up a contract. 'He' may be your best mate or your cousin, but don't take him (or her) for granted.

It sure is a tall order, but once you find the right person, the rest is simple.

So, Your Tenants Left You With Fleas? 5 DIY Tricks for Effective Flea Eradication

We are lucky enough to have a guest blogger today. Shaun Peterson, of Pink Pest Inspections from Sydney writes about a topic that no one wants to think about, but we will have to deal with at one point or another. FLEAS

Is your home currently being taken over by fleas? If yes, then it's time for you to learn how to get rid of these annoying little insects once and for all. Spring and Summer are the two seasons you can expect to see the most fleas, as these are the times of year that they really start to make themselves known. Although fleas love warm and humid temperatures, they also survive in colder temperatures, which can make them a nuisance all year round.

Since fleas are one of the more common types of insects that are found in one's home,

most people tend to know some of the more common ways of getting rid of fleas, like treating pets with flea control medicine and setting off foggers inside the whole house. Today we're going to give you a few lesser-known tricks that have proven to be very useful.

Abandoned Rentals and How to Prevent Them

It's not something that you want to face, and luckily doesn't happen very often, especially if you have screened the tenants well, but it is something that you should be prepared for, and try and avoid at all costs.

Disclaimer: This is just a guide at some steps to take, if you have an abandoned property on your hands then get the right advice! This summary covers some Australian rules and some US rules, so make sure you know which ones to follow.

So what can you do to prevent it?

Make friends with the neighbors! 

This is probably the best deterrent there is.

• If you own a block of apartments, then make sure that all the tenants know that if you see tenants moving out and it looks a bit on the suspicious side, to give you a call. 
• If you own a single dwelling, then give your contact details to some long term residents who live close by and tell them the same thing.
• Make sure you find a (polite) way to inform your tenants that their neighbors will look out for them and if there are any issues that they will call you. This is a nice way of saying "you have been forewarned".

Micro Apartments Vs McMansions

Are you micro or a macro person?

Micro Apartments  

I came across this video of a tiny, tiny, TINY apartment awhile ago and thought 'wow, who would want to rent this place? But it turns out it's not as uncommon as you might think.

In expensive cities like New York (the above video) and San Francisco, people are doing what they can to downsize their possessions and their rent.

In San Francisco there is a 'Lego' development in progress which is made up of 300 sq feet (about 27 square metres) units, that are being built off site then shipped and assembled like building blocks. This sort of living definitely appeals to a certain market, with a highly organized space!  But what about the other end of the scale?

The Best way to Protect your Property is to Maintain it!

To ensure that your rental property stays in tip top condition you need to maintain it. Maintenance doesn't have to be a big problem, if you keep on the little stuff. You maintain your rental pretty much how you keep on top of your own residence. 

By keeping on top of the little stuff, you will have a better shot at enjoying long term tenants. There is never any guarantee that by looking after a property you will have long term tenants. But you can be sure that if you don't look after your property, then you will have NO shot at having satisfied long term tenants. It pretty much guarantees that you will either have a high turn over, or long vacancies.  So what should you focus on?:

• Preventive measures and ongoing maintenance
• Repairs
• Upgrades

How to become a Successful Landlord

No, you won't look like this guy, you will be MUCH better!

So you are a Landlord, how can you be the best that you can be?

Follow the Rules!

Find out what the rules are for you area and follow them. Health and safety, handling the money, tenant and landlord rights. Here's some general information.

Protect your Asset

Get insurance. Do not under insure your pretty. Also consider how you legally want to own the property, is it under your name or a company name? Find out which is the best way for your situation. 

What Rent to Charge

So you have a rental property and you want to rent it out, but how much is the right amount?  There are a lot of variables involved to determine the right price. 

First of all the easiest way of course is to employ a property manager. They will be able to tell you what a fair market rate will be. But even if you employ a property manager it is also a good idea to do some analysis yourself. If you do, you will feel more comfortable with the rent rate, and you will also feel fully involved in the process. You don't want to be in a position where you find out that the property manager is over or under charging your tenants.

1st Step -- Research

Find comparable rentals in the area of yours and go to the showings. Look at the property, ask questions on how long it has been vacant. Look at not just the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, but other amenities like dishwashers, waste disposals, heating/cooling, spa pools etc. 

Also go online and find out if there is a wide range of prices for comparable rentals or if they are are all within a tight figure. The more detailed the search, the more reliable results you will produce. Don't just look at one website, look at several and ask lots of questions.

Can You Change Your Property Manager Mid Lease?

I get asked this question a lot: Can I change my property manager during the lease, or do I have to wait for the lease to be up?

I wrote about terminating your property manager here.

But the short answer is you can change anytime. 

You do not have to wait for the lease on the rental to end, before ending your contract with the property manager.

Incentives from Landlords

I came across an article about a Landlord in Los Angeles who was trying to rent out her apartment, by giving the new tenants a rescue dog and a monthly rental discount (for adopting the dog).  What the landlord offered was a discount of $150 A MONTH if somoene adopted the dog 'Big Louie'.

It got me thinking as to what landlords do to attract tenants to their properties.

Adopting Big Louie is one of the more extreme measures I've heard of (some would think that this is not an incentive in the slightest).  There have been plenty of schemes that I know that landlords have tried to attract tenants when vacancy rates are high.