Keeping Renters Interested in Your Rental

Getting people to view your rental property is nice, but having people actually love your place enough to put in an application is what most landlords are going for. In this post I will outline some simple steps that one can take to make sure their rental stands out from all the others. Nowadays it is important that your rental have a little spice to make sure it can stand up to the competition.

Step 1: Front Yard and Curb Appeal - Just like selling a house you need to make a good first impression with renters and curb appeal is just as important when renting a house out. Most renters will look at the front yard and if they see weeds or over grown vegetation they will come to the conclusion that the home is not well cared for and that they will not be able to get things fixed when they need the landlord to come in and fix things. So make sure you are keeping the front of the house neat and tidy and remove any weeds that do show up.

Step 2: A Clean House is A Must - Renters want a home that is warm and inviting so make sure that your rental is cleaned from the last tenants, this means carpet, appliances and cupboards. Don't think that tenants arnt going to inspect every square inch of a potential rental because they do! And many are looking to make sure that the property is clean and well cared for, because they want to know they will be taken care of as the renters.

Step 3: Keep The Electricity On - As much as we hate extra bills this can be one of the most important ones.  Most people work... After all don't we all want our renters to have jobs so they can make the rent payment... and most of them work during the day so some times the only time they are available to see a house is in the evening when the sun is starting to go down and it can be pretty dark. It is important to keep the electricity on so that those who see the home as the sun is setting can get a good feel for the home.

These are just three simple steps to take when marketing and getting your rental unit ready to show.

iDeal Realty & Management

9051 W Kelton Lane, Suite 10

Peoria, Arizona 85382

(623) 201-3544

www.idealrealtyaz.com  

Are You Taking the Necessary Steps to Fully Protect Your Investment Properties

Apartment and condo community crime rates are on the rise as developments without adequate security measures are falling victim to on-property offenses. Simple safety measures can be taken to ensure that neighbors and residents are safer in their homes.

Some items to consider are: does the property have security cameras? Are the common areas of the complex well lit at night? Is the entrance to the community or complex gated? And are the gates working properly? These are some simple questions to ask your self when assessing the safety of a community or complex.

Here are some items that Property Managers should be aware of to help keep their residents safe:

• Watch out for gross inconsistencies in applications.
• Watch out for Friday afternoon applicants who say they must move in that weekend.
• Create a guest visitation policy... and enforce it.
• maintain the communities common areas.
• Know your residents
• Create community rules... and enforce them.
• Hold community meetings to keep residents informed and information flowing.

These are just a few tips that can help bring security back to your apartment complex or housing community. Although you might need to take additional measures if you have continual problems it is important to start with a good foundation of rules to keep your residents and their guests safe.

iDeal Realty & Management

9051 W Kelton Lane, Suite 10

Peoria, Arizona 85382

(623) 201-3544

www.idealrealtyaz.com  

Phoenix Area Rental Statistics for August

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Median Lease $: $1,150
Average Lease$: $1,301
Average Days on Market: 38
Number of closed rentals last month: 3,495

 The heat map below shows where the most active rentals are. Areas with red circles have a flood of active rentals available driving down rental prices, where as small yellow circles means rentals are scarce and rental prices are up in general. Market statistics can change daily and the following information is for reference only.

Why Tenant Screening is so Important!

Inexperienced investors will take just about any interested applicant for their investment property, get a lease signed and collect the first months rent and then release the keys to the new tenant. This is a bad idea! No matter how trustworthy the applicant seems to be or what they put on the application, it is imperative that the information be verified and that other steps are taken to ensure you are finding the most qualified tenant for the property.

Once you receive the rental application, the tenant screening process begins:

• Complete a Credit Check
• Complete a Criminal Background Check
• Employment Verification
• Income Verification
• Rental Verification

Now that you have gathered all the information it is important to go over it with the applicant to make sure it is accurate because some times information from other people will show up, especially if they happen to have a common name. Once the information is verified and everything is deemed to be accurate and accounted for a scoring system should be used to determine if the applicant is approved, approved with higher deposit or denied.

If you need any assistance with the tenant screening process, have any questions about the process or require the services of iDeal Realty & Management, feel free to contact us.

Top 5 Ways to Stay Cool In Pheonix!

Today's post is dedicated to staying cool in the blisteringly hot Phoenix Sun. This last week in Phoenix we had excessive heat warnings in effect and even set a few records, so it is important to keep cool. Below are two top 5 list of ways to stay cool in the Desert heat.

Top 5 Ways to Keep Kids Cool

1. Arizona Science Center - Whats better than keeping your kids cool? Keeping them cool and let them learn something at the same time. The Arizona Science Center makes learning both fun and interesting. Arizona Science Center has exhibits that allow guests to touch, feel and even taste Science. 


2. Mini Golf Paradise - While it might be too hot out side to go golfing in the summer at Paradise Golf that's not the case. Amateurs and pros alike will love this indoor mini golf park. Paradise features 18-holes that range from easy to advance and provides a more sophisticated version of putt-putt perfect for the whole family.


3. Jump Street - If you trying to keep the kiddos from bouncing off the walls in this heat then Jump Street is the perfect place to take them. Jump Street is and indoor trampoline park that features wall-to-wall trampoline where everyone can indulge in  a little fun and exercise


4. Wet n Wild - Looking for a great water park? Then look no further, claimed as the largest water park in Phoenix wet n wild offers something for everything. They just opened their Wet N Wild jr. water park which scaled down some of the bigger slides for the little ones. Even tho kids are staying cool in the water it is important to remember to put on the sun screen and keep them hydrated as it is still possible to over heat while swimming. 


5. Children's Museum - Much like the Arizona Science Center the Children's Museum offers kids a plays to lean and play in the comforts of air conditioning. At the Children's Museum there is a large number of interactive exhibits where children can get a hands on education.

Top 5 Ways to Keep Cool

1.  Shopping - Although it might not be the best economic climate it doesn't mean you can't at least window shop. The temperature out side may be a blistering 110+ degrees inside the area malls it is a cool 75 degrees.


2. Catch a Show - The Arizona Broadway Theater offers dinner and a show opportunities every month. Currently you can catch The Will Rodger Follies and next month the Odd Couple comes to the stage. With something for everyone you will not be disappointed. 


3. The Musical instrument Museum - The Musical Instrument Museum offers a shared experience of the history of musical instruments throughout the world. The space is bright and open, providing guests with a warm and comfortable environment. They offer guided tours and audio displays for an interactive learning experience. Whats better then being cultured and staying cool at the same time?


4. Catch a Movie - Summer blockbuster season is still hot and right now might be the best time to cool off with a good flick.  Hollywood has released some of the best action movies in the past couple of weeks including a revamp of the classic Total Recall. 


5. Take a Trip - It may be hot in the valley of the sun, but not all of Arizona is an oven in the summer time. Take a day trip up to Flagstaff, Show Low, or even the Grand Canyon.  It may not be as cool as you would like, but these locations can be as much as 30 degrees cooler than in the valley so if you need an escape from the heat and have nothing to do for the day why not get out of town and explore this great state?

iDeal Realty & Management

9051 W Kelton Lane, Suite 10

Peoria, Arizona 85382

(623) 201-3544

www.idealrealtyaz.com  

Housing Market Slowly Climbing Up

According to real-estate website Trulia, recent numbers from their monthly report show that the housing market is 32% of the way back to normal. “Normal” refers to “the rough estimate of the long-term pre-bubble average,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist and head of analytics at Trulia. Construction starts, delinquency and foreclosure rates, and existing-home sales all factor into his calculation.

June construction starts rose 7% compared to the month before, and rose 24%  compared to the year before. Overall, Kolko calculates that construction starts are 28% on the way back to being normal.  In addition, Zillow earlier this week announced that that home prices have found their bottom, and predicts prices to rise in the upcoming year.

The Advanteges of Accepting Section 8

I make it a point to ask every home owner for whom we manage properties whether or not they want to accept section 8 or not. Just about every time I ask this question I get one of two responses; Absolutely not or What is that. Often times section 8 gets a bad rap because it is a looked at as a government program... and we all know how easy the government is to deal with right! Well I don't think Section 8 should get such a negative connotation so I am going to highlight some of the advantages to accepting section 8 vouchers.

Reasons to accept section 8 housing

  
Check's in the Mail:
The best part of accepting a section 8 tenant, hands down has to be the fact that the section 8 portions of the rent come in like clockwork, and you never need to worry about tracking them down.

Additional Sources for tenants:
Section 8 has their own website where only section 8 housing can be advertised and all of the local offices have bulletin boards that can be used to advertise available section 8 housing. The benefits of advertising at the local office is that you ad will be in front of everyone that is applying for new section 8 vouchers.

 You can ask for the same amount of security deposit:
One of the nice things about section 8 housing is the fact that you can ask for as much in security deposit as is allowable by law. In the state of Arizona the amount that is allowable by law is 1 and 1/2 times the monthly rent amount so if you home is renting for $1000 per month you could ask for a security deposit of up to $1500.

You can still screen and choose the tenant:
One misconception about section 8 housing is the though that section 8 tenants are horrible. Although this may be the case for some, it should not be a major factor because you are still able to screen applicants and reject those who do not qualify as long as it is in accordance with Fair Housing Laws. This means that you should be able to find out who the "bad apple" tenants are and toss them aside.

Housing Counselors May Get Involved:
It truly isn't in the tenants best interest to destroy a house while on section 8 many of them rely on the money the voucher saves them to be able to live a "normal life" and many are not willing to throw that away. However if you do have a problem with a tenant it is possible to talk to their Section 8 Representative and get the issue worked out. Most tenants know they could be kicked off the program if they do not take care of the properties so they are some times better tenants than non section 8 tenants.