Property Management Brainstorm

Different generations of people have distinct values, lifestyles and communication preferences. And as property managers, we need to understand the perspectives of each group and adapt accordingly to best serve the tenants in our rental properties.On this edition of Five Minute Friday, Bob walks us through the five generations a landlord or property manager might interact with, from Traditionalists to Generation Z, explaining why it’s crucial for us to recognize and accommodate generational differences.Bob shares the characteristics of Traditionalists, Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, discussing why each group might be looking for a rental property and how they differ in terms of communication preferences. Listen in for insight around marketing to Millennials or Generation Z and learn how life experiences influence what a tenant is looking for in a rental property.Topics Covered[0:43] Why it’s crucial for a landlord to understand generational differences[1:19] An overview of the five major generational groupings [2

Because the landlord verification process is so cumbersome, a surprising number of landlords and property managers take it lightly—or don’t bother with it at all! But what if there was a quick and easy way to verify a prospective tenant’s rental history?Sherry McKillop is the Chief Operating Officer at LandLord Verification Online. Today, she joins Bob to explain why it’s crucial to complete a thorough landlord verification and walk us through the process of using her team’s service.Listen in to understand what’s included in LandLord Verification Online’s 14-item questionnaire for past landlords, how the team addresses Fair Housing concerns, and what insights a receiving landlord can glean from the LLVO report.Topics Covered[2:26] How Sherry’s experience with poor tenants inspired LandLord Verification Online[5:16] The turnaround time for landlord responses with Sherry’s service[6:05] The process of using LandLord Verification Online[8:30] The 14 fact-based questions landlords answer + how they certify that t

As with any earnings, the rental income a property owner brings in must be reported to the IRS. So, what do property managers and homeowners need to know about reporting rental income and expenses on their federal and state tax returns?On this edition of Five Minute Friday, Bob offers an overview of the tax implications of owning a rental property. He describes the landlord or property manager’s role in keeping accurate records, discussing the most common methods for tracking income and expenses and explaining what information is included on the 1099 North County Property Group submits to both the property owner and the IRS.Bob weighs in on why the gross rental income listed on the 1099 differs from the total of owner distributions and walks us through the most common landlord deductions. Listen in to understand California’s requirements for out-of-state property owners and learn how an accountant uses the information provided by a property manager to prepare the owner’s federal and state returns.Topics Cover

So, you’ve shown a property and collected applications from prospective tenants. Though you may have a gut instinct around who is the best fit, it’s critical that you put ALL potential renters through a consistent screening process. What does that look like? On this edition of Five Minute Friday, Bob walks us through the process of establishing a set of criteria for screening prospective tenants. He shares North County Property Group’s published guidelines, discussing what questions to consider in terms of income requirements, proof of income and minimum credit score as you set your screening standards.Bob goes on to address what considerations to make around previous evictions, bankruptcy, negative landlord references and pet restrictions. Listen in for insight into North County’s digital application process and automated screening for criminal record, credit and eviction history—and learn how we work with property owners to select the most qualified tenants for a given property!Topics Covered[1:09] Why it’s

As part of our commitment to give back to the community, North County Property Group has forged a partnership with the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity to provide safe, affordable housing for hardworking families in San Diego County.Bridget Strickland is the Corporate Partnership Manager for San Diego Habitat for Humanity. Today, she joins Bob to explain how the organization provides home ownership opportunities for low-income families, walking us through the process of qualifying for the program and the sweat equity hours required of Habitat homeowners. Bridget describes how long it usually takes to complete a project, the size of a typical Habitat home, and the locations where the organization has built affordable housing in San Diego County. Listen in for insight around San Diego Habitat’s Neighborhood Revitalization initiative and learn how you can get involved by volunteering in any of Habitat’s locations around the world.Topics Covered[3:55] What inspired Bridget to join San Diego Habitat for Hum

When a new tenant moves in on the 15th of the month, it is only fair to prorate the rent—charging them only for the number days they occupy the unit. But there is a downside to charging a partial month’s rent at move-in. So, what’s the best approach to proration? How can we be fair to our tenants and meet our own financial obligations? On this episode of Five Minute Friday, Bob explains the standard practice of prorating the rent when a tenant moves in mid-month and shares an example of how prorated rent is calculated. He discusses how the first month proration system works and why it may leave you short as a landlord.Bob goes on to introduce us to second month proration, explaining what tenants pay in the first, second and subsequent months under this policy and how it provides assurance that the tenant can afford a full month rent payment. Listen in to understand when a landlord might require both first and last month’s rent at move-in and learn which system we use here at North County Property Group!Topics

What does it mean to get a property ‘rent ready’? Are we talking a fresh coat of paint? Replacing the carpet? New appliances? There are a number of things we can do to ensure a property shows well and puts its best foot forward, so to speak.On this episode of Five Minute Friday, Bob explains what it means to make a property rent ready, describing the repairs, cleaning, deferred maintenance and upgrades that can make a rental more attractive to prospective tenants.Bob goes on to discuss North County Property Group’s general contracting arm, sharing the benefit to having a database of reliable vendors and subcontractors. Listen in for Bob’s advice to homeowners renting a property for the first time and learn how to make a property safe, secure, livable—and rent ready!Topics Covered[0:38] What it means for a property to be rent ready[0:49] The problem with listing homes as ‘coming soon’ for too long[1:01] Doing repairs, cleaning and deferred maintenance to make a property rent ready[1:12] Examples of common upgr

What if you could predict a maintenance issue before it turned into an emergency? Property automation technology gives us the data to catch problems early on and be proactive—before a water heater leak turns into a flooded home!Sean Miller is the CEO of PointCentral, the leading IoT platform for residential property managers. On this episode, Sean joins Bob to discuss the most common property automation devices, including smart locks, video doorbells and voice assistants. Sean introduces several of PointCentral’s hardware partners and describes how its technology benefits property managers, owners and tenants alike. Listen in for a high-level overview of PointCentral’s in-home hub and learn how you can drive operational efficiency via property automation.Topics Covered[2:50] How PointCentral helps property managers leverage IoT[5:43] The difference between smart home technology and property automation[6:48] The devices that fall into the category of property automation[8:12] How PointCentral integrates with t

Yes, property owners want to maximize their rental income. But if you set the monthly rent too high and the unit stays empty, no one generates any revenue at all! So, how do you decide on a monthly rental rate that keeps the property owner happy AND competes in the local market?On this episode of Five Minute Friday, Bob explains the importance of correctly setting the monthly rental rate for a property. He discusses how the real estate market is influenced by supply and demand, location, amenities, and seasonality, offering insight around using ‘market comparatives’ to determine the rental rate for a given property. Bob goes on to share how sites like Zillow have made prospective renters savvy to fair market value, what that means for property owners, and how North County collaborates with owners to set the monthly rental rate for a property. Listen in to understand how time of year impacts the monthly rental rate and learn how to adjust the rental rate if a property is not generating significant interest.Top

The idea of generating passive income through a rental property sounds pretty terrific. But the reality is, being a landlord is not as passive as you might think. Renting your home is equivalent to running a business, and there are a number of responsibilities that come with it. So, what do you need to consider before becoming a landlord? And what are the best practices for renting your home? On this episode of Five Minute Friday, Bob walks us through the main topics covered in his new eBook, Best Practices for Renting Your Home: Learn the Pitfalls and Safety Nets from a Pro. He explains why NOW is an attractive time for real estate investors to enter the rental market, describing how a rental property has the potential to both generate cashflow and appreciate in value. Bob goes on to cover the many obligations and responsibilities of being a landlord in terms of compliance, maintenance, record keeping, insurance and 24/7 responsiveness. Listen in for insight around what questions to ask yourself before renti

It goes without saying that every landlord dreams of a quick and seamless leasing process that results in a happy tenant and ongoing rental income. But what can we do to make the leasing process run more smoothly? How can we reduce the number of days on market and fulfill our owner’s expectations—without taking on tenants who are not a good fit?Todd Breen is the experienced real estate broker, investor and property manager behind VirtuallyinCredible, a company offering video training, marketing and outsourcing specific to the property management industry. On this episode, Todd joins Bob to discusses the two major benefits of posting video property tours on your website and the value in leveraging VirtuallyinCredible’s leasing call center to boost your live answer ratio. Todd also describes the process he uses to pre-lease an impressive 80% of his inventory prior to vacancy, the biggest mistake property managers make in the tenant screening process, and the statistics around how many prospective tenants tell l

Lockboxes provide efficiency and convenience, allowing real estate agents and vendors access to a property when we can’t be there. But is it a good idea to utilize lockboxes for property showings? When does it make sense to allow prospective tenants to look at a property on their own? And what can we do to mitigate any security issues associated with using lockboxes for self-showings?On this episode of Five Minute Friday, Bob explains how North County Property Group makes use of lockboxes to assist in property showings. He covers the three main types of lockboxes, simple combo, Sentri and electronic, describing which is used primarily with vendors and which is exclusive to licensed realtors.Bob goes on to discuss when the North County team uses electronic lockboxes for self-showings, allowing prescreened, prospective tenants to view a property by themselves within a limited time window. Listen in to understand how property managers can use electronic lockboxes to track who’s coming and going from a property a

Once you start marketing a property available for rent, inquiries come at you from all directions. You’re answering phone calls, responding to texts, and replying to emails—at all hours of the day and night. So, what is the most efficient way to respond to rental inquiries and schedule property showings? Is there a way to automate some parts of the process?On this Five Minute Friday, Bob walks us through North County Property Group’s system for responding to rental inquiries, explaining how their leasing department answers questions, conducts prescreening, and schedules showings. He describes the advanced marketing system they use to respond automatically to email inquiries with instructions for scheduling a showing online, ensuring that they don’t miss an opportunity to get the property rented.Bob speaks to the efficiency of using an online scheduling tool synced with the leasing agent’s calendar. Listen to learn how the North County team uses an online rental application to screen prospective tenants within

If you own a short term rental property, you want to maximize the return you get from every booking you make. One of the simplest and fastest ways that can be done is through effective pricing practices.On this episode, Bob speaks with Marc Peckler, Senior Account Executive with Beyond Pricing. The Beyond Pricing approach to short term rental pricing is nothing short of amazing. They use dynamic pricing technology to find the proper rate for your rental property every single day of the year… not just seasonally. You won’t want to miss this intriguing conversation. Outline of This Episode[2:03] Setting pricing for short term rentals can be confusing and difficult[3:30] The challenges facing the short-term rental Market and property owners[7:46] How should short term rental pricing be computed?[9:59] Dynamic pricing is similar to airline ticket pricing[13:22] Can the average or do-it-yourself owner use this service?[15:55] Analyze your short term listings by “health” to maximize profits[20:45] A powerful calend

In this Five Minute Friday, Bob discusses the proper insurance coverage that a landlord should have at his rental property before placing a tenant. With Long-term Rentals (typically unfurnished, rented under a 12-month lease) there are two types of insurance policies that should always be required.The first type of insurance is a “rental dwelling” policy:The rental dwelling insurance policy should be a minimum of $1,000,000 public and premises liability insurance. Rental dwelling policies usually cost less than homeowner policies because the owners personal belongings are typically moved out of the home and do not need to be covered.The rental dwelling designation is critical if the house were to become uninhabitable. In such a case, the insurance would pay the property owner’s lost rent during the rebuilding period.Property managers will require current proof of a rental dwelling insurance policy to be on record in their office and will likely want to be named as additionally insured (this is standard proced

Five Minute Fridays are bonus "mini-episodes" of Property Management Brainstorm in which Bob covers a pertinent topic of property management or being a landlord, every Friday, in about five minutes or less. In this episode, Bob covers two questions frequently asked by landlords - "how is maintenance handled?" and “are there any mandatory property maintenance items performed regularly”. Bob answers these questions in the context of his own San Diego property management company, North County Property Group and mindful of State of California landlord-tenant law.Bob discusses how property management companies handle facilitation of all property repairs & maintenance. In addition to being a licensed Real Estate Broker, Bob is also a licensed General Contractor, and through his affiliated maintenance company, called “MaintenanceSync”, his property management company has a robust set of vetted sub-contractors in every trade, ready to handle repairs and maintenance.Prior approval is always obt

Anyone who manages rental properties knows first-hand how much hassle is involved with tenant turnover. From advertising to lease signing, it takes a top-notch team to do it effectively at scale.Bob’s guest today is James Barrett, co-founder of Tenant Turner, a software application that takes the hassle out of tenant turnover in very intuitive ways. Listen to learn about how property inquiries receive an immediate response, how applications can immediately be assessed for potential tenant fit, and how self-showings can change the game for property owners.Outline of This Episode[2:20] The multi-faceted challenge of turning over a property for a new tenant[6:05] How Tenant Turner serves property rental companies and property owners[9:15] A peek inside the inner workings of Tenant Turner[16:18] Traditional ways that landlords show properties to potential tenants[21:50] Electronic lockboxes can make a huge difference [24:23] The significant value of self-showings[33:54] Auto responses any time of dayMake it easy

Five Minute Fridays are bonus "mini-episodes" of Property Management Brainstorm in which Bob covers a pertinent topic of property management or being a landlord, every Friday, in about five minutes or less. This is the very first episode of Five Minute Friday. Bob covers the question most frequently asked by landlords when speaking with him about property management - "what charges can be taken from a tenant’s security deposit?" Bob answers this question in the context of the State of California landlord-tenant law.Bob discusses his process at North County Property Group for the amount charged and held as a security deposit, the property inspection process at the tenant's move-in and move-out, and the four purposes for which a security deposit may be used:unpaid rent or utlitiy charges;cleaning the rental unit to make the unit as clean as it was when the tenant first moved in;repair of damages, other than normal wear and tear;cost of restoring or replacing furnishings, other than beca

Plumbing, heating, and air. It's a topic that can be confusing for property managers, tenants, and the property owner because of many of the changing California building codes. On this episode, Bob is joined by John Padilla of John Padilla Plumbing, Heating and Air to highlight some common issues faced in the plumbing and mechanical systems of homes. They focus on water heaters, low flow fixtures, and HVAC (heating and air) to discuss new ordinances, codes, and safety requirements in each of these areas.Outline of This Episode[2:01] The history of John’s career and how the business developed [5:46] Water heaters: Why do they fail and what’s involved in the repair?[11:45] Tankless water heaters are valuable for limitless hot water and rental situations[15:25] Dramatic damage can happen when a water heater pan is not used[18:37] California mandates for plumbing fixture codes and compliance[29:13] Proper frequency for HVAC checkups and what should be checkedWater heater tips and building codes Rust, calcifi

Rental property maintenance is no small issue and is typically a challenging aspect for property owners, property management companies, or tenants. Bob’s guest on this episode wants to help drive the world towards the new and believes that "maintenance shouldn't be so hard". On today’s episode, co‐founder and CEO of Property Meld, Ray Hespen joins Bob for a conversation about the importance of well-managed and effective property maintenance. It is important to understand that the people who rent properties are doing so in part because they don’t want the headaches that come with owning a home. They rent so that someone else, such as the property management company, takes care of issues when they arise. Because this, speed and precision are of the utmost importance when handling maintenance issues. If they aren’t addressed quickly and effectively, renters choose not to renew their lease for that property. Statistics back it up. On this episode, learn how automated systems can help you keep rente