Are you brave enough to specialize?

  By Judy | October 14, 2011 - 10:03 am | Property Management Industry Trends, Property Management Tips Leave a comment
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I see it all too often…real estate licensees claiming to do it all. Really, people?  Do you really mean to tell me that you’re a top listing agent, a savvy buyer’s representative, you list and sell residential property, multifamily, office, retail, and industrial properties, you provide property management services for all of these property types with sufficient expertise to protect your clients’ interests, and, you serve a geographical territory that encompasses everything within an hour’s drive or more? Wow. Just, wow. How do you do all that with any degree of expertise?  Continue reading →

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I’ll Be Presenting at the Century 21 International Convention

  By Judy | October 9, 2011 - 8:50 am | Classes & Workshops, Property Management Industry Trends 2 Comments
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That’s right! Century-21 Real Estate’s International Convention is set for March 3-6, 2012 in the beautiful city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and I’ve been selected as one of this year’s presenters. I’m so excited to have this opportunity to talk about property management with some of the world’s most well-respected real estate professionals!

 

My topics for the convention are Tenant Screening and Property Management Profitability — two areas which are crucial to the success of any property management endeavor. In addition, I’ll be participating in a panel discussion around market trends in the real estate industry. Those of you who read this blog are well aware that the trend toward property management is very strong right now.

 

In advance of the convention, I was asked to submit a short promo video, introducing myself and my topics to the conference attendees. Here’s the video: Continue reading →

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I Was Going to Write About Bed Bugs

  By Judy | October 7, 2011 - 6:27 am | NV Landlord/Tenant Law, Property Management Tips 2 Comments
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After all, everyone else has. And, there are a bunch of good articles out there on the subject. I have read many of them, and I suggest you do the same. After all, what do I know? I’m not a pest control expert. All I can tell you is this; I’ve gotten 3 emails in the last week about existing bedbug problems – all of them in the Reno-Sparks area. I have to conclude, bed bugs are a problem in Reno-Sparks rental properties, just as they are in many other locations throughout the United States. Bed bugs seem to be more prevalent in multifamily properties, than they are in single family. Makes sense, doesn’t it? You know, adjoining walls, and such…

 

But, I’m not writing about bed bugs, because, I really want to write about something else. And, besides, I’m no expert. I don’t have a pest control license.

 

But, speaking only for Nevada, NRS 118A says, in order to be considered “habitable,” a residential rental unit must be “reasonably free of insects” at the time the tenant moves in. Continue reading →

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Announcing: Truckee Meadows Property Management

  By Judy | October 1, 2011 - 1:45 pm | Managing the Management Office, Property Management Industry Trends Leave a comment
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It gives me tremendous pleasure to announce the opening of my new company, Truckee Meadows Property Management, a division of Cook & Company, Ltd., specializing in property management of single family homes in the Sparks, Spanish Springs, and Reno areas.  Continue reading →

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It’s Official! I’ve Gone National!

  By Judy | September 28, 2011 - 1:52 pm | Classes & Workshops, Property Management Industry Trends Leave a comment
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Who would have thought this might happen? After some 20+ years of facilitating property management classes and workshops throughout Nevada, and consulting with some of the finest property managers in the industry, I’ve been picked up by one of the most well-respected national booking agents in the country, BettsWorks, Inc. Yep, I’m taking this show on the road!  Continue reading →

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Questions from Property Managers – How can you tell if the tenant is really gone?

  By Judy | September 21, 2011 - 12:49 pm | NV Landlord/Tenant Law, Property Management Tips 2 Comments
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Today’s question comes from one of our faithful readers, a fellow Nevada property manager, and a valued guest contributor, Bob Frenchu. Bob writes:

 

“When do you decide the tenants are out of the property?

 

Let’s say you’ve served a 5-Day Pay or Quit eviction notice. Noon of the fifth day rolls around, the tenants aren’t answering their phone. You drive out to the property to check to see if they’ve moved out of the premises. You knock, get no answer, open the door and find:  Continue reading →

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Questions from Property Managers: 3rd Party Payments, Co-signers

  By Judy | September 13, 2011 - 1:07 pm | Property Management Industry Trends, Property Management Tips Leave a comment
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We Heart Co-Signers!

Today’s post follows up on one from last week where we mentioned co-signers, and their added security to a rental property owner. This question came via a Facebook email from a Reno-area broker and property manager:

“Do you think it’s appropriate for a property manager to accept a rent check from someone who is not on the lease? It happens all the time, but I’m curious if I should have some sort of policy against it, for any reason? What are your thoughts?”  Continue reading →

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Questions from Property Managers: Early Termination and Co-Signers

  By Judy | September 7, 2011 - 3:30 pm | Property Management Industry Trends, Property Management Tips 8 Comments
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Property Managers are frequently faced with an all-too-common scenario, these days: The tenant has lost his/her job, and can no longer afford the rent. Here’s a question that came to me via email the other day, and my response:

What’s an owner to do?

We are currently renting out our home, and the tenants signed a year lease(with a co-signer) in Feb. 2011. Yesterday, we received an email from them stating they can no longer stay in the home because the husband has been laid off. They asked us if they could stay until next month and use their security deposit as a rent payment for September. He says his cell phone has been cut off, so he can’t talk to us over the phone, and will only converse through email. I’m so angry but would like to deal with this in a professional and calm manner. Do you have any advice as to how to approach this situation? This is our first time renting our home out.

Continue reading →

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Questions from Property Managers – Part 2

  By Judy | August 25, 2011 - 7:51 am | Fair Housing, Managing the Management Office, Property Management Tips 2 Comments
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Thoughts on Tenant Selection

Last week, my blog addressed a few of the more common questions raised by Nevada Property Managers. This week, I’ll address a couple of questions received from a California landlord, as they pertain to managing residential rental property throughout the USA.

 

Screening Tenants

I am a landlord renting out a single detached home in California. I have received 5 applications to rent in the last couple of weeks, and I have two questions about the rental process.  Continue reading →

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Questions from Property Managers – Part I

  By Judy | August 17, 2011 - 8:00 am | Managing the Management Office, Property Management Tips 3 Comments
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Emailed questions from Property Management Pros

As anyone who has ever attended one of my property management classes knows, I welcome questions from the property management community in Nevada, and elsewhere. No, I don’t give legal advice, but I enjoy answering practical questions about the landlord/tenant business, fair housing, rental agreements, management contracts, policies and procedures, risk reduction, and other issues important to our industry. Whenever I do this, I learn something new.

 

This morning, it occurred to me that, if one person is asking, there may be ten with the same question who are not asking. Odds are, they’ll benefit from the information shared in these email exchanges, too.  So, with that in mind, here’s a sampling of questions recently emailed to me, and my responses.

 

Security Deposits

 

QUESTION: “The way I understand NRS 118A.242, I am allowed to collect a deposit that doesn’t exceed 3 months’ rent. Does this amount include the first month’s rent?”  Continue reading →

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