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No way. The economy has yet to turn around, and prices are going to keep falling.

Close, but not quite. If the market hasn’t bottomed out already, it’s getting there. It’s definitely time to start looking for a good buy.

Absolutely. There are great bargains out there now. You’ll kick yourself later if you don’t grab one soon.

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A property manager is required to look after property management tasks, but also the management of the financial and investment needs associated with the land and buildings. This holds true whether it is a single family home, a condominium complex, or commercial location. On the outside, these jobs appear to take only minutes, but the resources needed for the entire position of property management can be difficult for those who are not prepared.

A property manager is not only responsible for looking after property management tasks, but also the management of the financial and investment needs associated with the land and buildings. This holds true whether it is a single family home, a condominium complex, or commercial location. On the outside, these jobs appear to take only minutes, but the resources needed for the entire position of property management can be difficult for those who are not prepared.

Some Responsibilities of a Property Management Company
Part of a property manager’s job involves looking after the tenants and the rental unit itself. A property management expert is responsible for ensuring all of the units are rented. He or she will advertise any vacancies and select qualified tenants to save the owner’s resources. In fact, a property management professional can often perform this part of the job more efficiently because he already has a series of resources in place to get the most exposure and ensure tenant screening is accurate. This helps to fill empty units faster and increases the property’s revenue. The expert is also responsible for inspecting the space before and after a tenant moves out as well as all the financial and legal aspects of the damage deposits.

The property manager will also look after all of the needs of the building’s tenants. This can include having repairs and general maintenance duties performed in a timely and cost-effective manner, and paying and billing various tradesmen and vendors. He or she will also set the rent amounts, collect fees from tenants, and deal with late payers and NSF issues.

A property manager assumes an important customer service role since he or she is the third party between the tenant and owner. This means addressing concerns from both sides. This can include emergencies, lost keys, and situations that arise between business hours and at night. The quality of service the expert provides will ultimately determine the success of the owner’s investment since this factor is what keeps the home rented and may even build up a waiting list.

Why would you even consider a property manager? For one thing, you decided to invest in a rental property, but don?t know what to do next. You?re not alone. The realities of maintaining and running a rental property can quickly become overwhelming- even to the savviest investor. Many times, people choose to hire a property manager to help them in the day to day tasks, which could be just the answer you?re looking for. To help make up your mind if hiring a property manager is right for you, here are 10 reasons that could help influence your decision.

Why would you even consider a property manager? For one thing, you decided to invest in a rental property, but don’t know what to do next. You’re not alone. The realities of maintaining and running a rental property can quickly become overwhelming even to the savviest investor. Many times, people choose to hire a property manager to help them in the day to day tasks, which could be just the answer you’re looking for. To help make up your mind if hiring a property manager is right for you, here are 10 reasons that could help influence your decision.

Collecting and Depositing Monthly Rent Payments. If you’ve ever worked in the billing department of an organization, you know that securing payment from clients and patients can be difficult, not mention awkward. A property manager has his/her own systems in place to effectively collect rent and maintain on-time payments. Especially if you are a small investor, with a limited number of properties, not being able to maintain consistent payments is going to significantly affect your cash flow.

Rental Rates. A property manager is going to make sure your rental rates are competitive, which is the key to securing (and keeping) tenants in your property. Their job is to know the rental market, knowledge which most likely isn’t your forte.

Housing Regulations and Property Law. There is a multitude of applicable laws and regulations that you are going to need to abide by when renting and maintaining your rental property. These include local, state and federal regulations, as well as fair housing regulations (such as the ADA). A property manager can help you avoid lawsuits by keeping up to date and in compliance with these regulations.

Marketing and Advertising. A good property manager is going to have experience in offline and online marketing, as well as local direct mail opportunities, which will increase the exposure of your properties. Carrying a vacant property can be extremely expensive, and is an expense you want to avoid whenever possible.

Inspections. Being extra vigilant in the care of your rental property is critical to the maintenance of your investment. Through routine inspections, a property manager can find and repair problems before they grow into expensive endeavors. It is standard for property managers to perform inspections before a tenant moves in, during their lease, and after the tenant moves out.

Tenants. Securing tenants can be a time consuming process. Depending on the extensiveness of requirements for your rental properties, a property manager can take care of securing all criminal background and security checks, credit reports, employment verification, and previous landlord references. In addition all tenant disputes, conflict resolution and emergency maintenance will all go through a property manager, who will involve you at his or her discretion. In addition,

Access to Professionals. A property manager has existing relationships with maintenance workers, tradesmen, vendors, supplies and contractors that you do not have. This can save you significant time and money when it comes to maintenance on your rental property, not to mention ensuring quality work.

Time Management. By having a property manager that takes care of the routine daily tasks, you are free to focus on other investments and/or your own career.

Remote Locations. If your investment property is in another city or state, it’s simply not possible for you to oversee management and maintenance of the property and its tenants. A property manager can be where you can’t, and can take care of all the details you don’t have access to.

Money. Most property managers charge a percentage of the monthly rental rate which can range anywhere from 8-12%. The cost is actually quite nominal when compared to all the services a property manager can provide, which frees up your personal and professional time.

This article provided by AllPropertyManagement.com

If you’re a college grad about to rent for the first time — or even if you’ve been renting for years — it’s well worth it to plunk down the small monthly payment to cover yourself should the worst happen.

As college graduates begin to migrate from the dorms in a few short months, one item they may neglect in their move to the real world is a critical one: renters insurance. Renters insurance is an often-ignored insurance that covers everything from personal property to personal liability.

If you’re renting for the first time, or have been renting for years without insurance, you’ll want to consider purchasing some insurance. MSN.com debunks four myths about renters insurance, which just might persuade you to buy a plan:

1. My landlord’s covered
In most cases, a landlord’s insurance covers only structural damage to the building itself — and many landlord policies don’t even go that far if the damage is caused by a tenant. If you leave the tub running and it turns your floor into cardboard and dribbles downstairs, damaging your neighbor’s couch, you may be liable for the whole drippy mess. If your building went up in flames, your landlord’s coverage would include repairs, but only to the building, not to the possessions of tenants.

2. It’s out of my price range
Is $10 to $20 per month too much? For lower rates, you can raise the deductible. For more protection, you can pay more for replacement-cost coverage where the reimbursement is based on today’s replacement cost rather than original value.

3. I’m in a great building and I’m not worried about security
Renters insurance extends beyond on-premise theft and hazards. If your suitcase is stolen while you’re on vacation, you’ll likely be covered. Same with property stolen from your car. If you’re prone to barroom brawls, you might need more help than renters insurance, but you’ll probably be covered if you hurt someone. Speaking of injuries, you’ll also likely be protected if someone slips and sprains her ankle at your annual dance-a-thon; you may even receive compensation for legal defense costs in the case of a lawsuit.

4. My stuff isn’t really worth much
You might be surprised at how quickly all those books, CDs and kitchen appliances add up.

This article provided by Marshall Loeb, MarketWatch

The language in rental contracts is often murky, so make things clear with your landlord before you move in and move out. And, of course, your best bet is to leave the premises as you found them.

It’s moving day and you’ve packed up and scrubbed your rental clean. When you hand your landlord the keys, you’re confident you will have your full deposit back in no time.

But after a few weeks without a check or any word from your old landlord, you start to worry. After a month, you start thinking of him as a swindler.

What could be the problem? Well, lots of things, and the majority have nothing to do with your landlord’s character. Instead, experts say most people lose their money over simple — and preventable — misunderstandings.

Taking just a few key precautions can help you avoid forfeiting any future deposits.

‘Normal’ wear and tear
Technically, the laws in most states say that a tenant must return a rental in its previous state minus “normal wear and tear.” That’s where things get a little tricky.

“It’s one of these legal phrases that drive people nuts because there’s no definition,” says Janet Portman, an attorney and author of “Every Tenant’s Legal Guide.”

Normal wear and tear always needs to be evaluated in the context of the tenants living there, Portman says. If a landlord rented a three-bedroom apartment to a family of four, he can’t use the same standards for wear and tear that he would for a single person.

This is a routine problem for renters with children. “There are going to be wear and tear issues with children that you won’t have with adults,” she says.

This doesn’t mean you can let your kids color on the walls with magic markers. But landlords have no right to charge more of a deposit or keep more of one simply because you have children. If they do, Portman says, they could potentially face a discrimination suit.

Robert Griswold, author of “Property Management for Dummies” and manager of 2,500 rental units in California and Nevada, says the following would all qualify as normal wear and tear:

• Some matting of the carpet.
• A few nail holes (This doesn’t include big gouges from where you tried to hang a giant mirror with 16-penny nails).
• Fading or yellowing of the paint.

Griswold says most landlords expect to repaint at certain intervals — often two to three years — to make an apartment look fresh for new tenants. But if you’ve made changes or damaged the paint in the first year, you’re probably going to need to repaint the place — or get dinged on your deposit.

Some things that clearly don’t fall under normal wear and tear include:

• Stains and burns on the carpet.
• Broken windows.
• Broken or missing blinds.
• Gouges in the doors and walls.
• Flea infestations caused by your pet.
• Pet scratches on the molding and on or around doors. (Landlords often vary wildly on whether pet scratches on floors are considered normal wear and tear. Ask your landlord upfront where he stands.)

If you have problems like these, Griswold says, hire a professional to come in and repair — just be sure to clear it with your landlord first. Don’t try to do the work yourself. It might cost more to hire someone, but at least it gives you control over how much you will be charged.

Don’t let little problems go
Another way to avoid losing your deposit is to stay on top of the little repairs when you live there. If you don’t call the landlord to fix the dripping kitchen pipes, he may be able to hold you liable for the mold and rotting wood under the sink later, Portman says.

A clause in most leases requires tenants to “promptly report problems.” “You need to nip problems in the bud,” Portman says.

Gwen Schlenker, 48, a resident of the Northglenn suburb of Denver, wishes she’d followed this advice. While she reported plumbing problems in her rental house to her landlord, he never adequately fixed them, and they eventually caused her basement ceiling to cave in. “This would have never had happened if he had fixed the problem,” she says.

Schlenker paid for her own repairs to get the problem fixed in a timely manner and then tried to withhold rent as a means of being repaid. But since she didn’t get her landlord’s permission to use the plumber, Portman says she may be out of luck. Colorado is one of three states — the others are Wyoming and Arkansas — that don’t require landlords to provide a “fit and habitable” place to live. And there’s no provision in Colorado for withholding rent for repairs. (Half of the states do allow tenants to withhold rent if basic services aren’t provided. But oftentimes, this money must be put into an escrow account until the landlord can rectify the situation.)

Schlenker’s options: work out a deal with her landlord when she moves out or go to small-claims court and let a judge decide how much she pays. The lesson here, Portman says, is to be proactive in dealing with problems and familiarize yourself with state and local rental laws.

Most landlords, Griswold says, are willing to be flexible, as long as you have treated the place with some level of respect. But the bottom line is it’s best to be clear upfront on just what a landlord’s expectations are.

The power of the walk-through
When you move in — even if it isn’t required in your state — walk through the place with your landlord, noting any damage or wear and have him sign off on it.

“Take along your digital camera,” says Portman, and document the condition room by room. “It protects you if you see that the tile is chipped around the bathtub already.”

Some states actually require landlords to give you move-in or move-out checklist where you can document the condition of the apartment (you can find a good move-in list here). Keep a copy of all these documents and do another walk-through prior to move-out so you can discuss any problems and expectations for cleaning or repairs. If you want to hire professionals for repairs, make sure you have the documented approval of your landlord. Then, keep any invoices and mail your landlord a copy to verify that you’re taking care of the problems and expect to receive your full deposit back. (A note on mailing your landlord: Certified mail is best because it requires your landlord to sign for it. But if you find that your landlord is somehow avoiding the mail, resend your letter and get a certificate of mailing from your local post office. This doesn’t require your landlord to sign anything and it verifies that you actually mailed it.)

Portman also recommends doing a final walk-through after your furniture has been loaded onto the moving truck, so your landlord can’t claim that your big overstuffed couch was hiding a problem.

Is it really clean?
Like beauty, cleanliness is often in the eye of the beholder. But “if you bring in the dirt, you have to remove it,” says Griswold. “Clean it like a hotel. (Then ask yourself) if you were the next guest, would you accept it like this?”

That means, he says, using germ-killing chemicals like bleach, rather than water and a damp rag to wipe down counters. Tenants should also clean the oft-overlooked places like tile grout, shower tracks and the broiler pan and oven.

“People should be capable of cleaning (their own apartments), but most do such a poor job of it that is it unfair to the next tenant,” says Paul Marokus, a landlord with properties in Colorado, Utah and Texas.

Many tenants, even those who cook regularly, fail to clean the oven. Others, he says, give their hardwood floors a beating, and don’t spiff them up before moving out.

Like many landlords, Marokus copes by subtracting a cleaning fee from the deposit — $80 in his case — that he specifies in the lease. Ask your landlord if he regularly does this, and make sure it’s similarly documented.

Where’s the money?
If everything looks pristine and your landlord has signed off on the condition of the apartment, you should reasonably expect to get your deposit back within a month. In a few rent-controlled areas like Los Angeles, landlords may even be required to pay you interest for the time they have held onto your deposit.

If you haven’t gotten a check, send a letter to your landlord — again, by certified mail — asking for your money back and providing any invoices for repairs you made to the place.

If you get no response, your recourse is to take your landlord to your local small claims court. These courts handle disputes over amounts of $10,000 or less. Fill out the forms (available online or at your local county courthouse) and mail them in. The court can notify your landlord or you can do it yourself, Portman says.

On the day of your hearing, remember to bring all your documentation, including any pictures you have that show the condition of the place, records of cleaning and repairs and any other communication with your landlord.

“They are pretty efficient and they can give you a decision right from the bench,” Portman says, though they could require you to go to mediation first.

With deposits running as high as two months’ rent in many markets, there’s a lot of incentive to fight for your money. “A lot of tenants just don’t realize that they have options,” Portman says.

This article provided by Melinda Fulmer of MSN Real Estate

Many of the households affected by the foreclosure crisis are actually renters, and a federal law is designed to keep them from being evicted with little or no notice.

A federal law enacted this year offers renters more protection from eviction if their landlord loses the property through foreclosure. The law has some fuzzy requirements, but should be a boon to renters who otherwise might have been evicted with little or no notice.

“The fundamental purpose of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act is to ensure that tenants facing eviction from a foreclosed property have adequate time to find alternative housing. To that end, the law establishes a minimum time period that the tenant can remain in a foreclosed property before eviction,” a Federal Reserve memorandum states.

The national foreclosure crisis has not been kind to renters, despite their seeming bystander status. Indeed, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) has estimated that some 40 percent of households that have lost their homes due to foreclosure have been renters.

The law should provide some relief from immediate evictions, according to NLIHC President Sheila Crowley. “This bill brings long overdue relief for the most blameless victims of the foreclosure crisis — the families who, after paying their rent each month, are suddenly told they must move out of the homes because their landlords have been foreclosed on,” Crowley said in a statement.

Renters will get 90 days’ notice
The new law allows tenants who have a lease to remain in their home until the end of the lease period unless a new owner purchases the home at a foreclosure sale and intends to occupy it as a personal residence. In that case, the renter can be evicted with 90 days notice even if a longer-term lease is in force.

A rare but potentially important exception occurs if the renter signed the lease before the owner obtained the foreclosed loan. In that case, the lease will still “survive” the foreclosure, according to Janet Portman, an attorney and author of “Every Tenant’s Legal Guide.”

Tenants who don’t have a lease also are entitled to 90 days notice prior to eviction under the new law.

Technically, the law applies to “any foreclosure on a federally related mortgage loan.” That requirement shouldn’t be a burden for tenants because, as Portman explains, the definition of “federally related” encompasses virtually all loans.

The law became effective May 20 and is scheduled to end Dec. 31, 2012.

Only ‘bona fide’ renters are protected
The law protects only a bona fide lease or tenancy, which is defined as a situation that meets three criteria:

The renter may not be the former owner of the home, or the former owner’s spouse, child or parent.

The terms of the rental must be at arm’s length between the landlord and renter.

The rent cannot be substantially less than the fair-market rent, unless the rent is subject to a government reduction or subsidy.

The arm’s-length and fair-market rent requirements “are designed to prevent a sweetheart deal” between a defaulting landlord-owner and a renter whom the landlord wanted to protect from eviction after the foreclosure, Portman says. For example, if a landlord and renter signed a two-year lease at a very favorable rent just prior to a foreclosure, that likely wouldn’t meet the bona fide requirement.

Broken lease can lead to lawsuit
Renters who have a lease and are evicted may be able to bring a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the former landlord to recoup the costs of their forced move, according to Portman.

“You go to court and say, ‘We had a deal, and he didn’t deliver,’ ” Portman says. “The guy may be long gone. But if you get a judgment, that’s good for many years, and you could probably eventually collect on it.”

New law doesn’t affect rents, deposits
The new law doesn’t pre-empt any state or local laws. Instead, it specifies that it won’t affect “the requirements … of any state or local law that provides longer time periods or other additional protections for tenants.”

State laws apply to most landlord-tenant issues that are beyond the scope of federal law. Examples include prepayment of a last month’s rent and reimbursement of a security deposit. Neither of those issues is mentioned in the new law.

“Many states, including California, protect the tenant at any cost. They say basically that it is up to the buyer and seller, or in this case, the bank and the (former) owner, to figure out how to (handle those sums),” Portman says.

The bottom line is that landlords and renters have new rights and responsibilities in foreclosure situations. While renters may face challenges in their attempts to exercise those rights, knowledge and action can prevail.

This article provided by Marcie Geffner of Bankrate.com

Here’s what you need to know about taxes and insurance if you turn your home into a rental property.

Q: I will be transferred to a new city soon for my job, but housing prices have dropped so much since we bought our house that we can’t afford to sell it. Our only real option is to rent it out and wait for the market to recover. What do I need to know about insurance and taxes?

A: First on your to-do list: Replace your homeowners insurance policy with rental-home insurance. It covers the building and provides liability protection but doesn’t cover possessions, so it tends to cost about 20% less than a regular homeowners policy, says June Walbert, of insurer USAA. She also recommends including a section in the lease requiring your tenants to buy renters insurance, which will cover their liability and belongings.

When you file your tax return, you’ll generally report rental income and expenses on Schedule E. You’ll be able to deduct your mortgage interest on the rental property, as well as insurance premiums, real estate taxes, advertising costs to rent the house, rental management fees, utilities you pay, travel to and from the property and legal and accounting costs.

And you can deduct depreciation — basically the purchase price of the house (but not the land) divided by 27.5 each year — and the cost of repairs. You can’t deduct home improvements that add value to the property, but you add the cost of improvements when figuring depreciation. If your expenses exceed your rental income, you can deduct up to $25,000 of the loss against other kinds of income. (That loss allowance declines if your income is more than $100,000.)

Keep a close eye on the calendar, recommends Mark Luscombe, of CCH Tax and Accounting. If you rent for more than three years, you’ll lose the opportunity to claim any tax-free profit from the eventual sale. To qualify for up to $500,000 in profit tax-free when you sell a home, you generally must have lived in it for two of the five years leading up to the sale. For more details, see IRS Publication 527

Hispanics got some of the worst loans during and after the housing boom, making them more susceptible to foreclosure and mortgage fraud, experts said Saturday.

They found it impossible to keep up with their subprime mortgages.

Even as the market began to soften two years ago, Hispanics in Central Florida ended up with about one-third of the region’s subprime loans and with more than 40 percent of the worst subprimes.

Church leaders and attorneys teamed up Saturday at Iglesia de Dios Camino, Verdad y Vida east of Orlando to give people tools to save their homes or make the foreclosure process less painful.

Although attorneys with Consumer Law Group targeted Hispanics during the Spanish-language workshop, they offered tips anyone facing foreclosure can use.

What to do

•Watch for signs. If you’re months behind on rent, tapping your savings or can only afford beans for dinner, you’re likely to fall into trouble. Don’t wait for an eviction notice to find an attorney.

•Understand the foreclosure process. It can help buy more time.

•Make a decision whether to keep or lose the home. Some people don’t want to keep it but need to buy time to find a new place to live.

•Apply for the federal Home Affordable Modification Program. Not everyone qualifies, though. An estimated 3.4 million people nationwide are behind on mortgage payments, but only 200,000 have taken advantage of the program.

•Check attorneys or loan-modification officers’ credentials and ask what options are available in case you have to go into foreclosure.

•Try mediation. Banks are more willing to work with homeowners to restructure their loans. Some counties require it, including Seminole and Orange.

•If you don’t qualify for the federal program or the bank refuses to modify a loan, there’s bankruptcy. It can stop the bank from selling your home.

Who can help

•You. Try negotiating with the bank to lower payments.

•Hire an attorney. Some attorneys are willing to work for free or at a reduced rate. Some lawyers charge a few thousand dollars for their services.

•Loan-modification companies. Although reports of loan-modification fraud have flooded the news, not all companies are corrupt. It’s important to remember loan-modification officers typically aren’t attorneys and may not have the tools to help people facing foreclosure.

Modification myths

I automatically qualify for a loan modification. False. The lender determines whether it wants to enter a voluntary loan modification and who qualifies. Government-funded loans, such as those from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, automatically qualify for the federal modification program.

The bank has to lower the principal because the value of my house dropped. False. Modifications are designed as a temporary fixes. The adjusted rate usually lasts about five years.

What they said

“A lot of misinformation has spread within the Hispanic community, and banks aren’t doing anything to help them.” — Attorney Aldo Bartolone

“They’re people who have paid [their bills] on time and never been in court. When they get to this place [foreclosure], they get intimidated. But it’s not the end of the world.” — Attorney Jesús E. Batista

“My husband lost his job. We’re looking at how to pay our mortgage — we aren’t wanting to lose our home.” — Linda Nogueras, 35, Poinciana

“I’ve been dealing with Wells Fargo trying to modify my loan. … They [bank officials] are moving very rapidly on me. I’m getting letters from some people interested in my home, and men are coming to see it.” — Maria Diaz, 45, Kissimmee

The article provided by Eloísa Ruano González, Orlando Sentinel
Eloísa Ruano González can be reached at egonzalez@orlandosentinel.com or 407-931-5940.

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