Indonesian Property Investment Guide

Tenant Selection - Process Or Skill?

2009-04-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

Investors spend hundreds and even thousand on "motivation" and education for real estate purchases. Hours with agents combing property profiles, data and formulations for ROI. Weeks even months evaluating "deals". And in the climate of today, upwards of 45 days in escrow if using traditional financing methods. Yet when it comes to tenant selection it is a few questions and a "how fast can I get a tenant" approach. I'm in the business of minimizing vacancy so I recognize and understand the mentality.

Most don't realize tenant selection and screening as a skill or art. By making the right selection initially it can make everything that happens from that point forward much easier to deal with. Most problems with the tenant actually began prior to giving them the keys because they handle the presentation and viewing wrong.

You must first eliminate and then investigate. With the initial phone call don't just jump the gun on getting them inside the property. Ask questions based on needs, desires and direction. Identify the motivation for moving, selection of property and area. So unless they lie on the phone or leave "something" out, you can attempt to eliminate and then investigate. During the initial elimination period you can ask questions [with the proper approach] about income, credit, evictions and convictions.

Be prepared to say NO. Be prepared to stick to the parameters set to qualify and disqualify. Be prepared to let the "cash in hand" walk away if it is not a right fit. I have always practiced the belief that the cost of vacancy will be dwarfed by the cost of bad tenancy. Be willing to take the time to do the diligence to thoroughly investigate the candidate(s). Take nothing for granted or at "face value". Remember that the mindset [perception] of this tenancy is viewed differently from tenant to landlord.

Before the lease is signed the ball is in your court. As the pen hits the paper, it is now a matter of process for alterations or to solve problems. So again take the time to do the investigation. Don't loose site of the "big picture" for the cash in hand and a {wrong} tenant in place.

A couple of days or weeks longer on tenant selection will go a long way towards many smooth months ahead.
Tenant selection is more than just an applied process, proper tenant selection is a skill. One that will come with great worth for the years ahead in our real estate rental markets.

By Jason Rush

Basement Apartments For Rent - What Owners Should Know Before Renting

2009-04-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

Basement apartments are a great way for renters to gain cheep, affordable space in very hip urban cities like Boston and New York City. Renting basement areas out is a great way for owners and landlords to make storage space usable with a simple basement-refinishing project. With the rise of these "basement conversion" apartments, cities and towns are now enforcing laws regarding habitable space, and basement-waterproofing companies are urging them to listen.

An apartment in an exciting urban area is great to have, but if the apartment you're buying was constructed prematurely and not brought up to code, your apartment can be a very unsafe place for you and your family.

When you have your basement inspected before finishing make sure that you have enough head height to accommodate refinishing in the first place. A full head height basement ranges (by state) between 7'-9'. If you install a drop ceiling or a rigid board ceiling, your "after head height" has to allow for access to pipes and still allow for a person to stand with no obstructions. Each town has different ordinances so check with your local building inspectors before starting construction.

Egress windows are required by law in many states to be installed if the basement is going to be used as a living area. Seeing as the goal of the homeowner is to have another person living down there, this should be the first project to be tackled. This window will give a second emergency exit in order to escape the building encase of a flood or of a fire. They must be large enough for a grown man to climb out of, and it must have direct access to a paved area or yard. Not only is this a mandatory safety feature but also it's also nice to allow natural light into a basement.

Mandate a full basement moisture control system in your basement. By doing this you can avoid leaks, musty, moldy conditions and control the amount of moisture present in the space. Many renters are turned off by odors, mold, and some with medical conditions will skip out on your space if it's not properly pre-conditioned before you finish.

A basement waterproofing or moisture control system will fit neatly behind your finished walls, protecting the studs, the walls and most importantly the insulation. There's nothing worse then spending thousands of dollars for a basement-finishing project that goes bust after a flood or a tiny leak. As the homeowner your money is precious, and as a renter your health is important. By combining the protective qualities of a moisture control system with the enhancing and usable space options of a basement finishing design, not only can you make the space healthy, but you can also increase your usable space and help it to be the perfect living area for a new family.

By Jacob Ewing Lee

What Can I Expect From a Good Property Manager?

2009-04-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Finding a renter in Boise is easier than you think. Many property owners try to do their own management and I do not recommend that. From my own personal experience, each time I have directly managed a property that I owned, I was taken advantage of by the tenants. A good property manager does several things to protect the property owner from being taken advantage of, and is something you should consider for the following reasons.

A good property manager will screen prospective renters and filter them according to rent history, background history and credit score. Keep in mind that each of those reports will cost money but may be worth it when placing someone in a real estate investment you own. The reason that the property manager will look into the rent history of the renter is to establish a consistent record of payment of rent, and maintaining the property. If a renter doesn't maintain the lawn or keep the house up as they should, that is important information for a property owner to have. The background history of an applicant is important because if they have a history of vandalism or some kinds of violent crime, the property owner has the right to decline their application. The credit score comes into play just as a character validation. If the applicant has the history of keeping up their bills their credit report will indicate that.

A good property manager will may also prevent the homeowner from getting sued. There are many laws surrounding rental rights and they range from race discrimination all the way to not accommodating the handicapped. lawsuits generally arise from a lack of communication by either party and property managers are bound to keep up on the laws and regulations in that industry. As a property own, you may not like the fact that the person works as a bouncer at a strip club, but the law says you cannot discriminate based on their source of employment, as long as it is regular.

Property manager's also have significant experience in dealing with renters and may know how to negotiate the property owner out of a tight situation. An example of this, in one of my rentals I had mold develop within the walls. The renters found out about it and immediately started going to the hospital and requested that I pay their medical bills. My property manager contacted them and said that since they had not paid their rent, they should take this months rent and find a safer place to live. This allowed me to have my rental vacated, so I could do the repairs, without putting my renters in an unhealthy situation. As a property owner I may have never considered this option and simply paid the hospital bills without reaching a point of resolution before it was too late.

Property managers essentially function as a protective layer between the property owner and the renter. If the renter can get directly to you, the potential to manipulate you increases tremendously. With the property manager as a buffer, none of the excuses and traumatic events get to anyone who will bow under the pressure. It may sound heartless, but they really can save your bacon, as well as your wallet.

By Gavin King

Key Components to Moving Rental Property

2009-04-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

While there are many "moving parts" to residential rental property, vacancy is always a hot topic. There are 3 real components to filling the vacancy of residential rental property.

First, is to offer rental property that is a par or above par piece of product. By this I mean based on the age, condition, area, curb appeal, rent ability and price point you want to offer product that is at least equal to the surrounding rental area/availability.

Second, is to offer the property at (with in) the supportive rent range for the area and the property specifics. Within any given area with rental property presence there is a recognizable {supportive} range for properties of equivalent size, number of bedrooms and amenities/condition. Certainly in tougher economic times or with higher than average levels of inventory you do not want to try and "redefine" the ceiling of the rent point; unless you are willing to lose it in vacancy. You want to consider all the property, area and market factors to "strike the balance" on what rent point you offer the property.

The Third component to filling residential rental property is to cast a "wide enough net" of advertising & marketing. Some companies (property owners) will focus or utilize only a couple or specific venues of advertising and marketing. Now I am all for getting the "bang for your buck". My thought process is to put my best foot forward from day one. I encourage evaluating and utilizing as many adverting/marketing venues (as possible) to capture as much traffic and exposure to the highest number of prospects to qualify [in or out].

As I always say, there are many other "moving parts" to residential rental property but the three key components we have touched on [if followed] will have positive impact on vacancy and bottom line.

Todays thought: Life is 49% what you make it and 51% how you take it!!

By Jason Rush

Maintenance of Home Rentals

2009-04-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

This is a manager's biggest problem. Tenants want service. Because they are paying 1/3 or more of their budget for housing, they want things fixed. The owner complains when they get a bill... because no one likes bills. The fact is maintenance is here to stay and must be addressed if you want a successful rental business.

With that said, let me discuss in-house maintenance vs. outsourced contract services (handyman, contractor, supplier). Experience has taught me that contract services are recommended over employee services/in-house maintenance. Advantages include locking in costs and avoiding over billing.

Employees must be kept busy. What I have found when using in-house services is that, many times staff members are not as competent as a contractor and usually are salaried. An independent contractor can't afford to take coffee breaks or engage in water cooler talk. Their time has to produce income as their own overhead is on-going. Another advantage is some items truly need to go to bid.

A contractor is working for a profit and concerned with efficiency. An employee just doesn't have these same concerns. It is a balancing act for the manager deciding what to maintain and what to put off safely until a later date. Some owners don't want to spend any money; others insists that we keep their property in top shape.

Emergencies must be responded to in a timely manner to keep damage to a minimum. If it is a habitability item we and the owner have a responsibility to attend to correcting the problem immediately.

The definition of habitability is:

1) Effective waterproofing and weather protection of roof and exterior walls, including unbroken windows and doors.

2) Plumbing or gas facilities which conform to applicable law in effect at the time of installation and maintained in good working order.

3) Water supply approved under applicable law, capable of producing hot and cold running water and connected to a sewage disposal system.

4) Heating facilities which conformed to applicable law at the time of installation, maintained in good working order.

5) Building grounds in clean, sanitary, and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents and vermin, and all areas under control of the landlord to be kept clean ,sanitary and free from all accumulations of debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin

6) An adequate number of receptacles for garbage and rubbish.

7) Floors, stairways, and railings maintained in good repair.

8) One working phone outlet is required per unit.

The law states that a landlord must maintain habitability at all times. Cooling is not required. Excluded are damages causes by tenants.

It seems property managers receive their biggest maintenance requests on the first of the month. This is when the rent is being paid and it is human nature to ask "What have you done for me lately?" A big job for the property manager includes sorting out legitimate requests regarding who is responsible, then arguing with everyone about it.

However, the toughest job of all is listening to the tenants complain about lack of service and later to the owners after they received the bill. It goes with the territory.

The bottom line is that no matter who is responsibility, houses require maintenance.

New investors and their advisers never allow enough money in the budget for maintenance.of their rental. What is enough? It depends on the age of the rental. A study done by others says to allow about an annual average of $1300 for a single family home.

1. STUFF HAPPENS AND STUFF WEARS OUT. YOU CAN DELAY SOME MAINTENANCE, BUT YOU CAN'T AVOID IT AND EVENTUALLY IT WILL AFFECT INCOME.

2. IT'S CHEAPER TO MAINTAIN A BUILDING THAN IT IS TO REPAIR IT.

A big help in the operation of the home is operating manuals. Not all appliances operate in the same way. Very few people have been educated about home operation. Especially young people. We cannot expect people to operate a strange home, without some basic instructions. If they are coming from an apartment, most things were taken care of for them. We have to point out that onsite maintenance is no longer available.

What are priorities? FLOOD, BLOOD, FIRE, AND HABITABILITY ITEMS,. Everything else is secondary nature, everyone should be patient with their manager. As with everything else in life, priorities come first.

Another area that needs attention. IT IS CALLED THE BROKEN WINDOW THEORY. This means that ignored small disorders such as broken window, graffiti, abandoned cars, and unkempt yards, lead to larger disorders. We encourage that these items are handles ASAP.

There are home maintenance warranty programs available offered by several companies. Service varies between companies, but it can be good insurance for a major repair.

Other information needed by property managers is the year the home was built. Builders have a 1 year warranty and a 10 year structural warranty on new homes. There is also usually a roof warranty. We need to know the builder and dae of construction. Then, we can usually arrange for warranty service to be performed.

I hope this has enlightened you regarding home real estate investments.

By Lambert Munz

Benefits of Hiring a Property Manager

2009-04-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

When hiring a property manager, look for someone who is stern, but willing to work with your tenants. Having someone who is not afraid to confront tenants about late rent takes the stress off of you. If your property manager is going to be responsible for collecting and depositing the rent for you, make sure to have them give tenants a receipt to clear themselves of any wrongdoing.

Property managers can be paid a variety of ways. One of the cheapest ways to have someone manage your property is by offering an exchange of rent for their work. This keeps you from paying any money out of pocket, and property managers often still pay partial rent. If possible, only offer this type of opportunity to someone who is willing to stay on the property and continue performing their duties for at least a few years. This gives other tenants a sense of stability. This is especially helpful in a mobile home park, since many residents will live there for many years. Having a manager who will form lasting relationships with tenants will save you time and money down the road.

Your property manager can alert you of problems with tenants before they escalate, hopefully decreasing the need for evictions. A good property manager will be able to tell the difference between a tenant who is having a real issue that is keeping them from paying rent on time, and one who is just slow or lazy about getting you the money. If your property manager sees a tenant is having money trouble, they might be able to negotiate a lower rent. Although your monthly income may be slightly lower, it is better than losing a tenant all together.

When living on site, property managers have a vested interest in keeping the property clean and neat in appearance. Hopefully they will decrease other costs associated with a rental property such as general maintenance and cleaning.

You can also get more information about Property Management including an extensive collection of free property management forms.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wolfgang_O

By Wolfgang O

Residential Property

2009-04-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Residential property or residential real estate, as the name suggests, is real estate that is primarily used for residential purposes.

Types of residential property

Any structure or dwelling used for people to stay in can, strictly speaking, be called a residential property or residential real estate. The residences can be classified based on a number of parameters. These include the type of ownership, the size of the dwelling etc. Generally speaking, the various residences can be classified under the following headings.

Attached or multi unit dwellings:

Apartments - The world is becoming smaller; and so are our houses. The palatial villas and detached houses of the years gone by have given way to the more practical and infinitely more suitable apartments (ore flats if you prefer to use the Queen's English). The primary feature that sets apart apartments from other types of houses is the fact that it is a part of a larger building and is a self contained housing unit.

Terraced houses - A number of multi storied buildings with shared walls.

Condominium - Condominiums are not a different type of dwelling in terms of design. Instead the difference lies in the fact that whereas the apartment itself is owned by the owner, the common facilities such as hallways, heating system and elevators etc. are shared.

Semi-detached dwellings:

Duplex - These are a set of two units which share a common wall.

Portable dwellings:

These are houses that can be moved around and consist of mobile homes, houseboats and tents.
Any and all of these types of dwellings can be termed 'residential real estate'.

1300-4-A-VALUER is an independent specialist company, established in 2007. They source independent and professional valuers who are licensed in that state to perform independent property valuations. The valuers associated with 1300-4-A-VALUER are also members of the Australian Property Institute, which is the professional body that represents trains and regulates valuers in Australia. 1300-4-A-VALUER covers all major cities and regional centres in Australia. You can get your house evaluated simply by logging on to their website at www.13004avaluer.com.au.

http://www.13004avaluer.com.au

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kyle_Barry

By Kyle Barry

Property Investment in the UK

2009-04-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

"Just as in other parts of the world, what you pay for property in the UK largely depends on that property's location. Where a property is situated and what services and amenities are nearby is often more important to property buyers and investors than the state of the property itself. If, for example, you are looking for property in central London then you can expect to pay a premium price for that property. In the north of England and in some parts of Wales and Scotland property prices are often much cheaper.

Before you decide to buy property in the UK it is best to assess why you want the property and what type of property would suit your needs. If, for example, you are moving house to another area because the schools are better in that area then you should expect to pay more for a property than the amount you get for your current property. If you want the property as an investment piece and are thinking of entering the buy to let market then you might not be quite so restricted as someone who needed to buy a property in a certain area of the UK.

There are many different types of property in the UK for buyers to choose from including commercial property. If it is housing that you are looking at then you can choose between detached and semi-detached properties, as well as flats, maisonettes and bungalows. You might decide that you want a particular type of detached property, say one that is in the Tudor style - these are known as mock Tudor. Then you have to decide whether you want a modern detached property in Tudor architectural style or whether you want an actual historic, Tudor home.

One of the main differences is that Mock Tudor homes were built after the nineteenth century and although they have the same black and white exterior the interior beams are there purely for decoration purposes - what is known as half timbering. In Tudor period houses the beams acted as part of the supporting structures.

Most of the Tudor houses that you will find on sale today do not date from the original period of 1485-1603 but are of a much later period, generally the nineteenth century when there was a revival of this particular style. Tudor houses generally have a timbered front and in houses built at the time this timber was part of the structure. The doorways will be lower than normal and arched rather than rectangular. If you are looking for an original Tudor property then these are rarely for sale; but if you should find one then it will tend to be in an area of the UK that was famed for its Tudor architecture - if the building is original then it is probably a listed building which will put all kinds of caveats about what you can and cannot do with the property.

If you are a first time buyer looking for a property then you may come under the new regulations the Government have brought in which encourages mortgage providers to give firs time buyers a longer payback period with a longer term fixed interest - this is designed to make monthly mortgage repayments lower but it can involve extra costs in the long run. Some companies will allow new purchasers to borrow more than the value of their home in order to help with the deposit and with the legal and estate agent fees that are incurred in the first year of buying a property. The Government also runs a number of shared ownership schemes in an attempt to help first time buyers break into the market.

You may not be a first time buyer but a flat owner looking to upgrade to a house. If you are looking at buying a brand new build then you could save money on surveyor's costs. Some builders are offering good deals to buyers of new property either by paying their stamp duty or offering a cash back bonus when a person moves into the property. Whatever you decide to go for make sure that you have sound legal advice concerning property and property buyer's rights and obligations."

Jorge wrote this article. Get all info about property investment in the UK. If You Want To Be A Landlord, If you want to Build or Grow A Property Portfolio & if you are looking Alternative Investments then please visit http://www.buyproperty4less.com/ for more information

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jorge_Brand

By Jorge Brand

What is a Residential Property Management Software?

2009-04-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

In the last 20 years, real estate market around the world had witnessed an incredible growth, something that was never observed before. Interestingly, only properties that were properly maintained and managed witnessed such a development. In this regard, property management becomes an extremely important aspect if you desire to gain maximum value for your residential properties. One of the best ways to accomplish your property management tasks in an effective and efficient manner is to sign up for good residential property management software.

Often, property owners find themselves surprised when they find out that residential property management is not all about collecting rents from the tenants. On the other hand, it requires a great deal of money management that includes maintaining financial records, preparing balance sheets involving income and expenditure details, and bookkeeping.

In addition, one needs to ensure that all the reports are ready for annual taxation purpose. Residential property management software provides property owners the ability to track every single aspect involved when taking care of their residential property. Mentioned in this article are some important features that must be present in any residential property management software.

Inventory - With an inventory, it is easier to keep track of every aspect related to the rental property. In this, one can clearly list out every single detail about the property including the property dimensions, type of property, information about the tenant, rent details, and even list out all the complaints received with respect to a particular property.

Furthermore, one can even create groups or segregate properties depending on the location, property values, or even based on monthly rental values. In fact, property management firms can gain maximum benefit by using residential property management software as it helps them manage multiple properties with ease.

Creating and printing reports - Report creation and record maintenance is critical when it comes to managing any residential property as it helps maintain transparency during transactions and avoids any disputes. In this regard, residential property management software currently available in the market can be of extreme help. Whether you want to review the lease agreement, prepare an eviction notice, or send a late payment notice, you can easily create any report.

Most of the software contain saved templates of forms that are commonly used by property owners or managing firms. Users can create customized documents using these templates and store them at appropriate location, thereby saving a good amount of time and energy.

Preparing balance sheets - Financial management package is another important feature provided by many residential property management software, something that is extremely necessary both for accounting and year-end taxation purpose.

Extensive data storage capacity - One major prerequisite offered by almost every management software is providing ample storage space, thereby helping users store every small amount of data including several intricate details about each property such as the carpet type, color of the wall, doors and window specifications, interior decoration details, and even about the appliances present in the home.

Many of the residential property management software have so much space that you can even upload and preserve your tenants' profile such as the name of the tenant, personal credit reports, current employer details, references from past property owners, copies of mails that you had communicated with the tenant and any other information that you might consider useful in future. In some of the software, one can even upload digital images of each and every room in the home and store them. These images would be of immense help when the property is rented out to tenants, as they can be used as evidence describing the existing condition at the time when the home was being given out on rent.

By Sarah Rockler

How to Select a Property Manager

2009-04-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

Because of the current economic climate, property managers are popping up all over the nation. Some just got their license, some have been listing and selling for a living, and most don't have a clue what they are getting into. If you are considering hiring a property manager you need to understand the issues. What you don't know can hurt you! Here are some things to think about before you make the decision, "Who can I trust to manage my rental property?"

First, there are thousands of good realtors in this country that make great listing (buyer's) agents but are currently starving and looking for ways to supplement their incomes. As properties sit on the market longer and longer customers are asking their listing agents, "Can you rent it?" Realtors who are accustomed to saying "no" to that question are starting to say "yes" and enter a world they are neither trained for nor familiar with. These well-intentioned agents have the license to manage rentals but their skills are not developed in this unique field and it will take them a while to figure things out. Property management is very different than what they are use to and it can cost you plenty of your own hard-earned money to be part of their learning curve.

Next, Property managers must be licensed by the real estate regulatory agency of their state. There are lots of well-intended entrepreneurs running property management businesses out of their homes without a license. This has become a cottage industry, much like the listing and selling business, and it takes almost no capital to get into the management business. They manage properties for others for a fee but are not licensed to do so. This means they are not under the scrutiny and control of the regulatory system created by the states to protect the public from dishonest managers. They typically are not holding other's money in a trust account registered with the agency and you have no one to report them to when they mismanage the property, the money, or you. If they steal from you there is no place for you to go for help, as there is no regulatory authority with jurisdiction over the unlicensed manager. You are on your own with unlicensed managers so be on your guard.

Lastly, they should manage rentals as a primary business, not as a sideline to another business. Many real estate agents hold themselves out as property managers when their real business is listing and selling. Lots of real estate agents manage a few rentals as a sideline to their brokerage business and these businesses naturally compete for their attention. There are plenty of mom and pop property management businesses in every town and the owner of a rental property needs to consider the shortcomings of these sideline operations. Property management needs the total focus and attention of a manager because it's demanding and more complicated than it looks. If they are listing and selling homes for a living, and managing a few houses on the side, make sure they have plenty of extra staff doing the managing. The big dollars they get selling houses will distract them from the "nickel dime" business of managing rentals. There is a natural conflict of interest between these businesses and you don't want them competing for your attention as a landlord. You do not want them having to decide, "do I show a house for sale today, or show a house for rent?" The sale option will always win out because the potential reward is much greater. Find somebody who is focusing on the management business for a living. "I do both" is the wrong answer.
By Robert Locke

Property Management - Maintenance Considerations

2009-04-16T06:07:00.000-07:00

For the property manager, maintenance is a major responsibility that involves preserving and improving the property. The overriding objective is to maximize the owners profits while holding down expenses for property upkeep. This person must accurately assess the property's upkeep needs and employ qualified personnel to do the work. These jobs will break down into recurring jobs, preventative maintenance, repairs, and major expansion or remodeling.

One of the main considerations is the hiring of personnel to work these jobs. Hiring above the need will waste money, while inadequate maintenance staffing will result in degradation of the property, and unnecessary expenses in the longer term. Often property managers will contract out these jobs, especially the ones involving new construction. Contracting out these jobs can be an efficient method of cost control through the bidding process. Larger properties with about 20 units or more will probably require at least one maintenance person on permanent staff. These permanent staff can better conduct the recurring upkeep, and cleaning, some of which must be done daily.

Variations in the economy make it difficult to plan ahead for building upkeep costs, but this is a necessary skill of the property manager. Property managers must employ a bidding and evaluation method for contract maintenance. Costs should be minimized.

A reasonable estimate of repair and upkeep costs is probably in the range of 25% of all the income received in rents. This is for a residential property. The driver or instigation for much of this work is tenant requests. Due to the complexity of tracking the building's inventory, determining what jobs need to be done, and hiring these jobs done, a good computer software program is recommended. The computer can help greatly in tracking the many moving parts of managing a large property. Balancing tenant requests, occupancy, building condition, and costs make property management a challenging career.

Ed Desmond is a small business owner with real estate training, who also works as a Registered Nurse.

Property Management - Articles and resources about property management.

By Edmund F Desmond

The Benefits of Maintaining Your Pavement

2009-04-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

When people look at pavement they see something to drive and walk on. As a property owner you see an expense. As a contractor I see trip hazards and possible damage claims.

People are fickle and loyalty is not what it once was. If your parking lot is filled with potholes and navigating them frustrates the driver, they will go somewhere else next time. It is the same with your sidewalks, if they are full of puddles or raised pieces people will not feel secure and frequent another establishment. People want comfort, security and convenience. Many business owners concentrate on these things once the customer is through the door.

As a property owner or manager you should work with an experienced contractor. Your contractor should inspect your pavement annually. This will result in preventative strategies, alternatives and cost projections. This will allow you as the owner/manager to develop a budget and a plan for your pavement maintenance. A reputable contractor will be mindful of your need to work within your budget and work with you to prioritize the work needing to be done.

Preventative maintenance has many benefits to you as the owner/manager. Identifying problems at the early stages ensure they won't become large ones later. By having these inspections done you will be addressing issues and therefore minimizing damage claims, both the frequency and degree of settlements. If there is litigation these inspections and work orders will be invaluable to show due diligence on your part.

An awful looking parking lot will not encourage customers to come into your business and this will cost you money in lost revenue. Dangerous pavement will cost you in lawsuits. Budgeting for pavement maintenance is a low cost alternative.

Kimberley-Rose Leafloor
Potholes Plus Ltd
http://www.potholesplusltd.com

By Kimberley Leafloor

Residential Rental Vs Community Association

2009-04-16T05:54:00.000-07:00

Property Management - Residential Rental Vs Community Association

Regularly we receive calls from community housing boards seeking association management services. Not that we have not considered expanding into said market.

There are distinct differences in residential rental property management and community/association management. While several of these components overlap or reflect closely to one another; they are certainly 2 different "beasts".

Both require collection; one from the tenant and the other from the property owner.

Both require grounds service or other maintenance/upkeep items.

Each require utility servicing whether for specific individual units or community common area.

Both have provisions, stipulations and parameters to adhere to, oversee and enforce.

Community/association management services are responsible for dues collection, common area maintenance, service and utilities, compliance with community C.C.R.'s (covenants, codes and restrictions) and overall community operation and accounting.

Rental property management services are responsible for rent collection, property specific grounds and unit maintenance, utilities associated with specific unit and compliance with HOA and city provisions for property along with property specific accounting on both the tenant collections side and owner payable side. Including lease compliance.

So as these two services somewhat mirror one another the actual specific and "moving parts" are certainly different.

One thing I must add having a number of acquaintances with community association managers; they currently have their work cut out for them. These HOA management companies are trying to manage a community on a portion of the funds required to cover all the facets and costs of the community management. As you factor in all the foreclosures, pre-foreclosures and those that are delinquent on their HOA dues; this puts a strain on the community and the services the HOA can provide or pay for. One plus to this with the bank owned (REO) properties is that the lender is responsible for the HOA dues, compliance and grounds maintenance on those properties under their ownership. This helps relieve a bit of strain and help prevent further impact on these communities.

Another thing I am warning my investors of are the outstanding balances owed to the association
from the builders (gone under) based on contractual agreements and deferred payment dates. The impact this then may have to the property owners is the necessary services can not be supported by the current income of the community which results in the increased dues not to mention the initial community impact by the short-fall in the money to operate the community. This is still part of the correction process that has not fully taken place yet...

By Jason Rush

Maintaining Your Property Like a Professional

2009-04-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

Our law firm just purchased a small professional office building, but we are not large enough to employ a property manager. What is the best way to maintain the property?

You do not have to have a full-time property manager to maintain your property, but you, or whoever will be responsible for day-to-day maintenance, should think like one. Since you will not have an in-house maintenance staff, you will be depending on outsourced work. Your maintenance manager must have sufficient knowledge of maintenance operations to effectively oversee contracted work and make sure it is done in a competent and timely manner.

The first step is a maintenance policy and procedures manual. This will ultimately be a collection of everything that could or should be done to maintain the property. You can start with any documents that you may have inherited when you purchased the building. You probably had an engineering inspection before closing, and you may have had subcontractor inspections as well. These reports and recommendations can be the start of on-going checklists.

Each of the major systems of your building should have their own calendared checklist. They include:

1. Roof and structure
2. Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC)
3. Plumbing - including storm water drainage and sanitary systems
4. Electrical
5. Fire Safety - including fire sprinklers, fire extinguishers, and fire alarms
6. Security
7. Paving
8. Landscaping

Your building may have other requirements as well, such as elevator maintenance and inspection. The most important goal is to fully understand the systems of your building and develop a plan for handling the short term and long term maintenance requirements. Do not hesitate to ask your contractors for their recommendations on maintenance. However, use that information to develop your own checklist. And make sure that all your contractors are licensed, insured and qualified.

My other two major recommendations are to make safety an absolute priority, and concentrate on fixing problems right the first time. You will actually lower your maintenance costs over the long term by establishing and maintaining optimal conditions from the first day. As an example, a major cause of expensive HVAC repairs is not replacing filters on a regular basis.

In closing, I would suggest that you know, and prominently post, the location of all water and gas shut off valves, as well as the main electrical circuit breakers. Plans for the building should also be accessible. These are the basic steps a professional property manager would take to manage the risk and lower the long-term operating costs of an office building.

By David G. Hunt

Advantages of Using Property Management Services

2009-04-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Property needs due care. After all, real estate can really produce the miracle that we so often desire in our lives. If we take due care of our portfolio then we end up getting prospective buyers and tenants in our net and we all know what this may lead to? Sometimes though, it is not possible for us to keep a track of our entire portfolio. In such times, we can use the services of property management companies. There are plenty of advantages to it:

It minutely scrutinizes each of our property needs and methodically caters to our requirements. The property management services use highly skilled workforce for helping us out with our property matters. Also, the unit is dedicated to its cause and covers all aspects of property tracking beautifully

It helps us with keeping a tab on our tenants. We have seen in past how delinquent tenants can create a sore in our bottoms. They can conduct nefarious and anti-social meets in our homes. They can deny making timely rents, withdraw from paying maintenance charges and also deny paying property arrears. In addition, they might also indulge us in a property dispute. A property management company can take care of all this efficiently.

Property management services unit can collect bills, pay property arrears, keep the lien-file updated, make timely property tax payment, look after renovation and repairs of the home and also recommend us about what needs to be done for each house. This might include small but aesthetic modifications of the home. All this is aimed at attracting a prospective buyer.

They also looks after technical and marketing specifics.Know how best to create real estate newsletters and classifieds. These are marketing gigs that are bombarded periodically on the prospective buyers. Obviously, these have a great effect. Company staffs know about how to use Internet for adding to the marketing venture. They give links, listings and pop-ups for the purpose. At times, they also hire affiliates for promoting your property website.

By Zafar Ahmed

What is a Property Management Service?

2009-04-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

We all appreciate living in or driving by beautiful office buildings and apartment complexes but we rarely give a thought to the people that maintain that beauty. The best maintained properties are usually taken care of by property management services.

What is a Property Management Service?

Landlords, whether they own office space or living space, often hire property management services to take over the routine duties associated with income and maintenance. Building manangers accept rent payments, advertise vacancies, screen potential residents, take care of the property's maintenance and repair issues and handle any issues that arise with the tenants.

That's not the only thing apartment and building management services do, however. Many developers hire a service even as a property is being built so that they don't have to be involved in the construction details. A good service specializing in construction can handle cost overruns and budget challenges as well as issues with workers or unions and getting the project done on time.

One of the most valuable aspects of engaging this type of service is time. The time a property owner used to spend involved in the everyday details of ownership can now be used to expand the business, spend precious time with family or just enjoy life more. Property managers are also meticulous in keeping up with changes in real estate law as regards to landlords and tenants. Any issues with non-payment, nuisance tenants, evictions, etc., can be handled by the service instead of the landlord. The service's accounting department relieves the owner of tax worries and collections and the legal department can usually prevent or resolve issues before they reach a court.

When the wages and benefits of caretakers, skilled repairmen, office personnel and accountants are added up, a property managers make a lot of sense.

When you decide to use a service it's important to choose one that is a member of the Building Owners & Managers Institute International, or BOMI. This organization has certified firms that have gone through the special training required to be members that conform to high industry standards. Check references as well as Better Business Bureau ratings will ensure you get a reputable company that will manage your property efficiently. Also check with the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) and the National Apartment Association (NAA).

Screening your building or apartment management service thoroughly is the best investment of your time. You'll be able to have peace of mind knowing your properties are well cared for and managed.

Rialto Management Corp. manages properties in New York city. For more information about NYC building manager or New York City building manager please visit their website.

By Ryan Gilbert

Property Management Tips

2009-04-12T03:18:00.000-07:00

Property management is not an easy task. Often, it becomes increasingly difficult to tackle your entire portfolio. In such cases you have to hire a property management firm. But till the time you can take care of it yourself, you need not make the extra expense of hiring such a unit. Here are a few tips on property management.

Look after renovations and repairs regularly

Unless you keep making constant renovations, a property will not retain its charm. It will open up a leaking basement or a damaged staircase or something else. In such cases the property will hardly present a rosy picture to the prospective buyers. Also, you shall think of non-structural modifications whenever you can. It adds to the class of your property. For instance, accent painting or fitting diffused lights can add to the effect amazingly.

Check for pending property arrears

If there are any property arrears, look for them. It is because most of the states are pretty severe with these norms. It might also include a lien that you might have overlooked.

Always ensure correct transfers

Though this phase comes before property management, it is just as important. While buying a property, always ensure correct transfers. Look minutely for multiple deeds or liens or fraudulent transfers or improper sales contact.

Look for correct flips

Property management portfolio is disturbed with one poor house flipping. Thus you shall make all your flips a success. This is possible if you design all your homes aesthetically. This way, buyers are bound to give a good price for it.

Choose tenants with a lot of care

This is most important as one nefarious tenant can spoil your show; thorough background check of each tenant is mandatory.

Keep precise account keeping

A precise book of records keeps you updated and white-collared in the eyes of IRA. So you must make sure that you don't have a pending tax or property paper

Put expeditious ads for vacancies

Just as you anticipate a vacancy, put strong ads for re-filling. It can be done via newspaper classifieds, pamphlets and online bombardment. Today, you can generate real estate newsletters just as well.

Property Management Basics

2009-04-12T03:17:00.000-07:00

Property management is quite essential for keeping the sheen of your properties alive. Unless you keep your portfolio under strict scrutiny, you will never be able to reap the highest benefit out of them.

Do proper background checks on the tenant

Tenants can stake illegitimate claims, withdraw from paying timely rents and also conduct anti-social activities in your home. This is why it is mandatory to put them through a thorough background check. If the rent is on the higher side then you can also take the help of background check specialists for the purpose.

Look for drainage repairs and sewage issues

A ruptured drainage can cause a leaking basement. This can be fatal for your reputation. First, it will certainly not help in the retention of tenant and second, poor word of mouth publicity can repel prospective buyers. Sewage shall also be taken care of quite well. After all, water can really play havoc if not tempered.

Look for home renovation and repairs

A house that needs renovation and is not given one will lose its charm in a matter of months. Wallpapers will show cracks, stairs will breakdown from the shaft area, tiles will produce fissures, and area rugs and furnishings will show wear and tear. Obviously, how do you plan to show your home to a buyer or a tenant then?

Keep account-books maintained

Properly maintenance of account books will keep you white collared in the eyes of government and IRA. Of course who wants property arrears and liens placed on his property, just keep yourself update with the property taxes and arrears and you will be doing well.

Give vigorous ad for re-filling just as there is a vacancy

Soon after an old tenant leaves your home start placing ads for a new tenant. In fact, start placing ads in anticipation. These days, Internet has become a super medium for placing such classifieds.

Take help of property management companies

If your workload is high and you cannot manage the entire portfolio on your own then it would be a prudent decision to take help from property management companies. They use dedicated and knowledgeable professionals for tackling your property.

UUS Government Influence on Housing in New York City

2009-04-12T03:08:00.000-07:00

Few people have heard of the War Emergency Tenant Protection Act, at least not by its formal name. However, New Yorkers do know it by its more common name: rent control.

Rent control in New York City began in World War I as an emergency measure. It ended in the late 1920's when the war was over and the markets were roaring. During World War II, New York passed the War Emergency Tenant Protection Act as a temporary measure to keep workers and soldiers from being priced out of the city. As with most "emergency" laws passed during wartime, this "temporary measure" never left. Rather, it served as a permanent increase in government control over the free market.

62 years later, there are still 43,317 apartments with rents fixed at their 1947 prices. Another 1,043,677 units are rent stabilized with property owners forced to place a rent ceiling at $2,000 per month. So much for a free market; 70% of New York's rental apartments are still under rent control or rent stabilization. So much for keeping prices affordable; New Yorkers are still unable to buy houses. Maybe if prices were allowed to increase, there would be further incentive for the construction of new apartment complexes. Increase supply to bring down prices. Nope. That makes too much sense. Let's do the opposite.

The government still rallies for more affordable housing. On March 14, 2007, Mayor Bloomberg and the Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) announced a "major milestone". Their $7.5 billion plan to preserve affordable housing in the city was underway. Mayor Bloomberg, who donates his time to the city and works for no salary, had done it again. He donated $7.5 of his $20 billion personal fortune; that's over 1/3 of his total net worth. Well, not exactly... If that had been the case, I would have whole-heartedly commended Mr. Bloomberg for his altruism, however misdirected it was. Of course, it wasn't really his money, it was your money.

"The City is on track to reach our goal of creating enough affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers, more than the entire population of Atlanta," said Mayor Bloomberg.

Although it will inevitably decrease the quality of living of New Yorkers without decreasing prices, Bloomberg still supports affordable housing. It's so important, that Bloomberg felt it was necessary to redistribute some more wealth in favor of it. After all, it would be unreasonable to suggest that people who can't afford to live in New York City move elsewhere.

According to the 2000 census, 1.3 million people commute to work in Manhattan every day, more than doubling the boroughs nighttime population. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey found that New Yorkers had the longest average commute time in the country at 30.4 minutes.

A previous survey found that New York City led the nation in 'extreme commuters' (workers 16 and over who travel 90 minutes or more to work) with 5.6%. The New York City metro area had 6 of the top 7 counties for extreme commuters.

That's what should happen. Rather than being subsidized by other New Yorkers, those living in government enforced affordable housing, should move to the suburbs and commute like 1.3 million other commuters.

Affordable housing however, might come back. It will happen the only way it can, by allowing the free market to operate.

According to the most recent Case-Shiller home price survey, home prices in New York City have dropped by 16% since their high in June 2006. This wasn't out of the blue. People saw it coming, including Bloomberg himself. On a 2006 radio show, Bloomberg announced that, "The real estate market is slowing down dramatically and we're going to have a problem down the road". There was an obvious bubble, and it did what bubbles do - it popped.

Now that home prices are declining, the federal government is stepping in and doing all it can to stop the plummeting home values. With Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner at the helm, mortgage rates are at the lowest rate since records started in 1971. So far this hasn't helped, which is probably for the best. It seems we haven't learned that people shouldn't be buying houses that they can't afford. Since it seems that his plan isn't working, we're likely to see some more government action. After all, prices are too low.

The government is beginning to act like my 18-month-old niece. She has a favorite toy. It's whatever I'm playing with. Just like Emily, the government wants whatever it doesn't have. Housing prices are too high, too low or just right. It can't be both too high and too low at the same time. The government clamors for affordable housing, while at the same, it tries to increase the value of homes. Rather than trying to pin the tail on the market, the government should remove its blindfold and take its turn at musical chairs. The free market will do what it does best: smooth the market and find the right price.

Holiday Home Property Management

2009-04-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

Holiday Home Property Management - Marketing Tips For Owners Who Are Marketing Their Own Properties

Effective marketing is a key element of profitable holiday home property management. Unless the holiday home is achieving good levels of occupancy, the returns on the holiday home will not be maximised. If you use a letting agent, the agent will handle all marketing and PR on your behalf and you do not need to worry about it. The better holiday home services companies will also sometimes be able to help you with your website and online marketing. However, many holiday home owners do not use agency services and prefer to manage their own properties. Marketing is a specialist area and therefore owners are often not as skilled at marketing as they are at other aspects of property management. So if you are an owner who markets your own holiday homes, here are six marketing tips to help you win customers and achieve the highest possible yield from your property investment:

TIP 1: Firstly, work out who your target audience is for the holiday home. Taking into account the price band, location, style and layout of the property, what kind of people are most likely to want to stay there? For example, some holiday homes are ideal for families with young children, some are ideal for older people who want to be close to nature, some are perfect for young people who want to be close to nightlife and attractions. Clear definition of your target audience is a vital first step to effective marketing. Once you have defined your target audience, add any accessories and extras to the holiday home that are the kind of thing your target audience will appreciate. For example, a holiday home aimed at young families will be made more attractive by a selection of age-appropriate DVDs, a selection of toys and the provision of items such as cots or buggies that your customer would prefer not to bring with them.

TIP 2: Once you have decided on the target audience for your holiday home, think through all the ways you can attract this particular target audience. Which are the magazines and newspapers your target audience read? If you are not sure, ask the advertising departments at various publications to send you information on their readership. This will help you work out where you should be advertising or trying to get some free coverage through PR

TIP 3 Make the most of the internet. The worldwide web is used by the majority of prospective customers as their first port of call for research when they are planning a holiday. So it is essential that your holiday property is presented as well as it can be on the internet. Whether you have your own website or you advertise on a website belonging to someone else, do not be tempted to cut corners on photography for the website. It is worth using a professional photographer to make sure your holiday home looks its very best. Always use online booking if possible, so that it is as easy as possible for a customer to go ahead and book as soon as he or she has been interested by your holiday home.

TIP 4 Don’t miss out on the huge potential profitability of attracting repeat customers. Many people like to return to the same holiday home for many years, if they have a good experience first time round. So make it easy for potential repeat customers to decide to come back. Set up an email newsletter so that you can keep in touch with them and tempt them with a stream of special offers as well as news about the local area and perhaps even a web cam. You may also like to consider offering a reduced rate if customers book to return next year, whilst they are still on their first stay. People are often sad to leave so it is a good time to tempt customers with the prospect of a return visit. Many accommodation providers in the tourism industry see up to 70% or 80% of customers returning. Making the most of the potential for winning repeat business is an essential tool for effective marketing.

TIP 5 Try to increase your bookings by thinking laterally about how customers could enjoy the holiday home out of the peak season. Most holiday home property management companies say that although the peak season achieves full occupancy without too much difficulty, the biggest marketing challenge is achieving high occupancy early and late in the season. This is where effective marketing can really come into its own. One tried and tested tip is to create a theme for a break. For example, maybe your holiday home is close to gardens that look great in the early Spring. If so, this can be made into an effective marketing proposition, pointing out how close your holiday home is to leading gardens and maybe even creating a partnership with local gardens, so you offer entry tickets as part of the rental price for the week. If you start thinking laterally about what is going on in the vicinity of the holiday home at different times of the year, you will find it easy to come up with effective marketing strategies for achieving more sales out of the peak season.

TIP 6 The final tip is to pay close attention to how you can stand out from everyone else. The holiday home market is competitive and it is vital to stay one step ahead of the rest. It goes without saying that cleaning services and key holder services must be arranged to the highest standards and your customer will expect these to go like clockwork. To stand out from the competition you have to go one step further than simply providing a basic service. Nowadays, many self catering holiday homes also offer daily cleaning services – bringing a service normally only associated with hotels to the holiday home market.

As holiday home property management companies look to find new ways of standing out from the competition, a new trend is the emergence of the holiday concierge. A holiday concierge can arrange any extras the customer may want, such as arranging day trips, theatre trips, restaurant bookings, spa trips or even arranging for a gourmet dinner party to be prepared and served at the holiday home. By proving these kind of additional services through a holiday concierge service, you really will make your holiday home stand out from its competitors. If you follow these six tips, you will be able to increase profitability though effective marketing as part of your holiday home property management.

Property Manager Contract Basics

2009-04-10T01:37:00.000-07:00

Whether you are an owner or a manager a contract is a must for both. Both the owner and manager need to know the rules, and a contract outlines these rules. A management contract gives the property manager sole rights to the management of the property. When an owner is reluctant to sign a contract and the owner wants to save fees by telling a manager that if the manager rents the property first, then the owner is willing to pay a fee, confusion usually occurs. The owner and the manager have to continually compare notes, there is duplicate advertising and many duplicate prospective tenants. Both Owner and Manager should think about the problems that can arise when the Manager is not given exclusive rights.

First the contract contains the property manager's company name, the owner's name, the property address or name of property that will be under the contract. Next the contract should contain what the duties of the owner and what are the duties of the property manager. Typically, the duties of the property manager include but not limited to, advertising the property, screening applicants, collecting rent , collecting deposits, keeping all records of the rent received, payments from the collected rent, preparing the lease, and whatever else the property manager and the property owner want in the agreement.

Next would be the compensation for the manager. This would most likely be in two parts. The first part would be the fee for finding the tenant. This fee is usually based on the amount of one months rent, usually anywhere from one-half months rent or one months rent, for a 1 year lease. This covers the cost of the property manager advertising the property, screening prospective tenants, preparing the lease and collecting the security deposit. The second part would be the monthly fee, which is usually a percentage of each month's rent.

The management contract will show the effective dates, the start and end of the contract. This could be for 1 year or it may be for 1 year and renew itself, that is, until one of the parties cancels the contract.

The owner's duties might contain stipulations such as insurance coverage, that the owner will have the necessary insurance for the property. Also the contract might indicate that the property owner must keep the property in good repair and up to building code standards. Other expectations could be added, based on the property manager and the property owner's needs.

Both the property owner and the property manager must know what is expected of them for any property to be managed smoothly and both parties to be happy.

How to Chop Your Rental Vacancy Rate in Half

2009-04-10T01:31:00.000-07:00

Take a moment and consider the costs associated with vacant rental properties: mortgage payments, property taxes, hazard insurance, utilities, break-ins, vandalism, maintenance, landscaping. Not a lot of fun to be paying every month, which means you need to cut your rental vacancy rates to a bare minimum.

How does one go about doing this? By following these eight steps to chopping rental vacancies, and staying on the ball.

Step 1: Research BEFORE Investing

Some neighborhoods make for better rental investing than others do, for a variety of reasons. Look into a neighborhood's vacancy rates before investing, and put your finger on the neighborhood's pulse by finding out WHY a neighborhood has a high or low vacancy rate. Talk to appraisers, fellow landlords, realtors, property managers, and anyone else who's knowledgeable about that neighborhood, and find out the vacancy rate.

Step 2: Location and Visibility

Location, location, location, right? Well, kind of. A crucial element of a rental property's location is its visibility, as passersby will see the For Rent sign and call you up to inquire after it. In some ways, these rental applicants are higher quality, as they're already familiar with the neighborhood and exterior of the property, and already feel comfortable with it. The bottom line: areas with a lot of foot traffic are easier to rent than hidden properties.

Step 3: Quick Repairs Turnaround

If your rental property sits around vacant for several months while your contractor or handyman "gets around to it," it will cost you real money. Get the workers in there the day the prior tenants move out, get any repairs done quickly, and get new tenants signing rental application and rental agreement forms. With that being said, it may be worth an extra week or so of vacancy to catch up on any updates you've been putting off, to help attract a higher caliber tenant.

Step 4: Pricing is Key

Deciding on a rent amount should not be estimated; you need to know exactly how to price your rental property so that it's competitive while still maximizing the return on your investment. Walk through some other properties for rent on your block or street, talk to some area landlords or property managers, and make sure you price the rent EXACTLY right.

Step 5: Market to the Right Clientele

Landlords tend to think in terms of the advertising that reaches THEM, but not necessarily the kind of advertising that reaches their pool of potential rental applicants. An extreme example might be advertising in the English-language, yuppie local magazine you read, instead of the local Spanish newspaper, when your rental property is in a largely Hispanic area. Another example is the internet: you use it, but lower end tenants probably don't. Consider what media outlets will actually reach the kind of tenant you're looking for, and pursue those.

Step 6: On Site = On Task

If you own a larger, multi-unit property, you should definitely consider on-site property management. Statistically, on-site property management fills rental vacancies faster than off-site, so consider whether it might make sense to hire someone specifically for that building, and you may even be able to compensate them with nothing more than subsidized rent.

Step 7: Rental Agreement Term

Consider for a moment: if you have two rental properties, but one has a one year rental agreement, and the other has a two year rental agreement, which will be vacant more often? Aside from the term itself, the longer people reside in one place, the deeper their roots in that property sink, and they will be more inclined to remain as a long term tenant. You may have to offer incentives for tenants to commit to two years at first, as our society is more commitment-phobic than ever, but offering a $40 rebate on rent each month, or perhaps subsidizing their utilities or other incentive structure might make sense to ensure that lower vacancy rate.

Step 8: The Rental Agreement with Purchase Option

Advertising your rental properties as rent-to-own, you can accomplish several strategic goals. First, you can attract a higher caliber tenant to submit a rental application, by offering them a chance to advance to homeownership. Second, your tenants will have a greater incentive to pay their rent on time, to maintain their eligibility to purchase the rental property. Third, they'll be far more invested in the property, and will treat it better, as they hope to own it one day. Fourth, you can sell at retail prices, without paying a Realtor commission.

Start printing out those rental application forms, get advertising, and revise your approach to scoring a signature on the dotted line of that rental agreement.

Property Management Software

2009-04-10T01:21:00.000-07:00

Property management sites are crossing their standards in terms of functionalities and features, but did you know what special offers for residents can be offered through a standard property management site? There are many added bonuses for residents who live in a property that uses an advanced property management software system, usually ran online these systems can make communications fast and easy and help anyone find almost any service or help that he or she needs. Read more to know.

Finding/hiring baby sitters

Many property websites let their residents advertise their house, pet and children for sitting. Here the sitters can load their photos with the ad posted. Each and every ad can be monitored by the site administrator. Or otherwise ads can wait for the administrator's approval.

But the catch starts somewhere else! Reviews on the past services of the sitter can come from other residents. These reviews will be published with the advertisements. But here again, the site administrator can edit, disapprove or delete the reviews.

The whole think can be done with excellent dynamism. As for instance, the ad's expiry date, photo uploading permission, vesting users ad editing authority and the number of advertiser's details fields (availability, experiences, short notice, names and contact addresses)- can all be configured by the site administrators.

Pet directories

Residents love their pets. And they love even more to show or talk about them. The residents' pet directory can come with great futures like- allowing a resident to upload 4/5 photos of a pet. If administrator chooses to, the residents can partially edit their listings.

There is no limit to the number of category of pets listed in the site. The pet owner can choose to arrange a slideshow of the pet's photo/name. The administrator can also configure new/updated with the listings. The time for the new/update signs can be set by the administrator.

The pet owners will receive emails on the approval or disapproval about the updates and loading of pet photos. Thus the whole thing is dynamic, interactive and entertaining while keeping the full supervision of the administrator unhampered.

Recipe books

This is another great motivation for the residents. The residents can submit any recipe in the property management website. The photos can be uploaded with these recipes. They will be arranged in the website according to different categories. The administrator can decide to let the residents edit their posted recipes.

This gets more interesting when the recipes are made printable. 'Mail to friend' is an option that lets any visitor mail it to any address. Comprehensive detail oriented recipes help bring more interest of visitors, contributors and enthusiasts. For instance, the resident posting recipes can fill-in fields like- ingredients, servings, total time, descriptions/procedures, complexity, tips and author information.

High degree of administrator's configurability like new/updated indicators, approval disapproval and approval notices/emails are integral parts of these recipe books.

Rental Property Management Made Easy

2009-04-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

Having your own rental property management plan is key to residential rental property investing.

Its 8:30 at night, your tenant calls and says water is leaking very badly under the sink. Its 8:30 at night, your tenant calls and says the toilets clogged. Its 8:30 at night, your tenant calls and says a window just got smashed. Its 8:30 at night, your tenant calls and says the roofs leaking. Its 8:30 at night, your tenant calls and says the heats not working. Its 8:30 at night, your tenant calls and says the bedroom doorknob fell off.

How about a gutter gets disconnected. No big deal, when it rains make sure your not standing underneath it. Winter comes, where water hits the ground, it starts to collect and then it freezes. Whoops, someone slips there and you get sued. Big problem. It pays to have a rental property management plan.

How about that exterior porch wood that needs painting. No big deal. Next year. Next year comes and goes and you saved 700 bucks not doing it. Three years later you spend $2000 having wood replaced because its to rotted. Big problem. It pays to have a property management plan.

You get the idea, whether something breaks or routine maintenance - things need to get fixed and maintained. A good rental property management plan helps ensure easy and profitable multifamily property investing.

There are three main factors for a good rental property management plan. Knowing who is responsible for managing the properties maintenance, who is going to fix things and when will things get fixed are the three main factors. Having a game plan for these three things is vital for maintaining your rentals. Theses three factors should be addressed and included in the lease. This ensures the tenant knows ahead of time what to expect when things need repairing or maintenance.

Lets start with who will be responsible for managing your rental property. Seventeen years experience of owning rentals has taught me that know one else will be better than the property owner for being responsible for managing the maintenance of your rental units. So the most cost effective rental property management plan has the owner doing the managing.

Before you say, oh god, what a nightmare managing rental property is, let me say I have learned and you can too, how to make property management simple and profitable.

In fact, for those who understand and implement a solid rental management plan correctly and continue investing wisely in cash flowing residential multifamily properties will find that their hourly pay time for managing their rental properties is extremely lucrative.

Needless to say, I personally strongly advise against hiring a management company for residential rental property.

Lets address who is actually going to be fixing broken items or doing the required maintenance?

You, the owner, your payroll help, a hired handyman, who is going to actually be doing the physical work for fixing and maintaining your rental units. Why is it important to have this be part of your rental property management plan?

Well, what you don't want is having every time something needs to be repaired become a stressful costly headache.

By knowing who is going to be doing the repairs ahead of time, through your rental maintenance plan, you eliminate two potential problems.

One, when a problem does occur, your somewhat prepared by having had developed a list of contacts ahead of time. Secondly, being prepared like this, tremendously reduces stress and makes managing your rental property easy.

Hopefully you see the importance of knowing ahead of time who is responsible for and who is actually going to be doing the maintenance work.

Later, I'll tell you the third important key for a cost effective, easy to implement rental property management plan.

A few additional things to consider regarding rental property management. If your just starting out and you buy a multifamily house, and your a hands on type person you may want to do as much of the maintenance and repairs as possible.

If you go on to keep investing in multifamily houses you'll find actually doing the physical maintaining of your income properties to burdensome.

Understand that managing rental properties and doing the physical work are two different things.

If you decide to hire a maintenance man or handyman to do the maintenance, ask around local hardware stores for referrals or ask people in a Home depot or Lowes. They're not supposed to refer people but I have been pleasantly surprised how many people moonlight or know someone fair priced and reliable.

Look in a local paper for a handy man you can enlist to do the maintenance. Call a few people placing adds, not big print adds, rather the small adds and tell them what kind of help your looking for. Listen to them give their spiel, ask questions and ask if they can offer you anyone who they worked for in past as a recommendation. If they check out tell them you'll be giving them a call when you need them.

Personally, I do not recommend hiring an outside company to do your rental property management.

Another great place to get names of reliable people to do your repairs and maintenance is through your local REIA group. The more names and numbers for cost effective, reliable maintenance men, the better. Put their names, numbers and what they do into your cell phone or keep them in a special book. I'm sure I'm not the first or last person to put a name and number in a book and later not remember who they are or what they do!

Who might you want to have on your rental property maintenance list before you even need them? A few general handymen, a furnace repair man unless you want to get repair contracts from the gas company if your property heats by gas, an exterminator ( I actually have contracts for quarterly prevention with exterminator on all my units), an appliance repair man if you supply appliances, a plumber, a drain cleaning company and someone to shovel or plow your dwellings.

If you went on to own a lot of multifamily units, you may want to considering hiring someone on full time for doing the physical maintenance work. Personally I prefer having a large network of contacts I can call on for maintenance and repair work over having employees.

If you follow these rental property management guidelines, managing your cash flow units is simply a very profitable job of receiving and making phone calls.

Earlier I mention there was one more important factor to address regarding how to manage your rentals.y.

When will things be repaired? Put in the lease or addendum how long you have to make arrangements to have things fixed, twenty four, forty eight, seventy two hours? Put it in the lease so tenant knows how you maintain your property. It may seem silly, but I've found by having the tenants being aware of how you manage and maintain your rentals the less misunderstandings you'll have.

Remember, your in charge. Its your property and having a solid rental property plan and informing your tenants how you maintain your rental property will make owning investment property all the better.

As they say in the hood, everyone knows what time it is.

Mark Petrelis has owned and managed his own rental property, primarily 2-6 unit buildings since "92". Rental property management has become easy and very profitable. Some of the rental properties were total rehabs while others had existing tenants and only needed cosmetics.

Did you find the above article helpful?

Learn from someone actually doing it, how to successfully own rental property as well as follow Marks day to day land-lording experiences.

Protect Yourself From a Bad Property Manager

2009-04-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

We're not too proud to say we made gigantic mistakes when we hired property managers for some of our properties. Our biggest errors happened before we even bought the properties, but we continued to make them until one day Dave was reading his name in the paper, calling him "an absentee landlord of a local crack house", and we were making the discovery that our other property manager was robbing rent money from us.

When my husband and I moved into a triplex we own in Toronto, we dismissed our property manager and started collecting rent from the other tenants directly. Imagine our surprise when the checks were for $100 more than we expected! The property manager had lied to us about the amount of rent we were getting, and he had been pocketing the difference. We figure he stole at least $2,000 from us in that one year. The worst part is that his scam was easily preventable.

Make sure this doesn't happen to you by asking for copies of every lease agreement. And ask for photocopies of the checks. If the tenant pays by cash or some other method (we use a lot of e-mail money transfers with our tenants), get a printout of the transfer or get copies of the receipts given to the tenants for cash payments. It is good to have this documentation for tax purposes and it will help prevent your property manager from taking an extra cut off the top.

Other things you can do to protect yourself from a bad property manager include:

Before you buy a property, make sure you are able to hire a good property management firm. There are some properties that good property managers will not manage. And if they won't manage them, there's a good chance they are more work then they are worth.
Research your potential property manager obsessively. When you've found a firm that you think you'd like to hire, get references and find out what other properties they manage. Drive by those properties and see how well they are maintained. Take a walk around and hope to bump into a tenant. See if the tenant is happy with the property management company. And definitely call a few of the owners of these properties the company manages and find out if they would recommend the company.
If there is one unit that always seems to be vacant, check on it. Visit the unit or have someone else visit for you. Confirm that it is vacant. If someone is living there, you want to find out why you aren't getting rent for it. And if it is really vacant, you need to see it yourself to find out why and fix the problem.
If you are being charged for snow removal, check the weather history and make sure it actually snowed that day. If you are being charged for repairs, get receipts or photographs of the repairs.

We've learned a healthy dose of paranoia goes a long ways. So trust your instincts, but check them too. A few extra phone calls and a few extra steps here and there can save you thousands of dollars a year.

Free tips and information on buying and making money with rental property at http://www.revnyou.com

Board-Certified Real Estate Attorney

2009-04-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a common misconception among the real estate buying and selling public that title or escrow agents always look out for the best interests of all parties involved in a transaction. However, the fact of the matter is that title and escrow agents are trained to act in the best interest of their companies and the title insurer. They have no fiduciary obligation to the principal parties involved in any type of real estate transaction.

In other words, when you are a principal in a real estate transaction in which a title or escrow agent is acting as the closing agent, there is no one but you looking out for your best interests. The only thing that the title or escrow agent is concerned about is that all the closing documents are signed and that the proceeds from the sale are disbursed. And the reason for the cold-shoulder treatment is probably that most title insurance and escrow companies are generally leery of doing business with anyone they perceive as being unconventional. By the very nature of their business, title and escrow companies are generally suspicious of any type of real estate transaction that involves more than a typical, run-of-the-mill, easy-to-close residential sale with a buyer and seller and two real estate agents.

The average title or escrow agent does not understand how real estate option transactions are structured. And like most people, they fear what they fail to understand. This fear factor that most title and escrow companies seem to have about real estate investors fosters an atmosphere of mistrust, which is not conducive to a good working relationship. So I highly recommend that you hire an honest, competent, board-certified real estate attorney to act as your legal counsel and closing agent in all real estate transactions. This way, you will have someone working for you.

The counsel must have a working knowledge of real property statutory regulations and case law. He should be experienced in solving complex legal problems related to real property. He is the person who understands the mechanics of a real estate option transaction and has a fiduciary obligation to act in his or her client's best interest.

Comparing Chinese Real Estate and Dubai Real Estate Markets

2009-04-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

Chinese and Dubai real estate markets have many things in common. They both kick started at almost the same time, the amount of construction work seen in Dubai and China at that time was seen nowhere else, both economies have seen a constant upsurge despite recession all over the globe and a healthy growth rate has been witnessed in both Dubai and Chinese property prices throughout these years. By comparing these markets, we can get an idea on what sort of changes we can expect in near future.

The beginning:
Dubai real estate market soared in 2002 when foreigners were allowed to purchase and own properties on freehold basis. Chinese real estate market started to show signs of growth in 2001 when China was all set to enter WTO and Beijing was announced as the host of Olympics 2008. The governments of Dubai and China have invested heavily on infrastructure since then and many investors' friendly laws were introduced.

Acceleration:
Since the beginning, both the economies and real estate markets of Dubai and China have grown in tandem. The sustaining factor in Dubai economy has been its oil reserves and tourism industry, while the China excels in exports. Both of them have seen stacks of foreign investment coming into their economies.

Great momentum:
Real estate markets in China and Dubai have shown a robust progress in demand and prices. Both have their mortgage markets performing really well unlike the mortgage crisis seen in major real estate markets like United States. As stated above, there has been a lot of spending on building infrastructure like roads and airports. Governments are actively involved in making all the right moves needed to maintain this momentum.

Amazing Architectures:
If Dubai has amazed the world by some of the most marvelous designs in real estate, China has not been far behind. Dubai has Burj Dubai as the world's tallest building; China came up with a magnificent 101-story Shanghai world financial center. Ski Dubai is regarded as one of the largest indoor ski resort, while National Swimming Center "Water Cube" is equally unique. Dubai rotating skyscraper stunned people all around the world, so did the design of Central Chinese Television CCTV in Beijing.

What the future holds:
The boom is almost over in Chinese real estate market, while Dubai market is also showing signs of losing the pace to some extent. Although, there are predictions of growth getting a little sluggish, there is still some room for growth in both real estate markets.

William King is the director of Drop shippers Directory and Drop shippers Products and Pakistan Properties & Real Estate Portal. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

Reasons to Have a Property Management Company Take Care of Your HOA

2009-04-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

Homeowner associations provide many benefits to their residents. Some of these are that the neighborhood stays united with a set of rules that maintains appearances, the association maintains the property and grounds of the neighborhood, and provides a fair place for neighbors to settle disputes. Doing these things consistently and effectively can be extremely challenging if an HOA board tries to take it all on by itself. For most homeowner associations, the best, most efficient way to take care of the actual management and care of its neighborhood is to hire a professional company for the heavy lifting. There are several main reasons that most HOA's should, and do use professional management companies.

Consistency is a big advantage when maintaining a property. If the same people are keeping maintenance records, performing repairs, and scheduling work then efficiency increases over time, thus reducing long term costs. There is also less likelihood of things being forgotten from year to year or not passed on to successors as happens often with changing HOA board members.

Third Party Mediation is another advantage. One major perk of having a professional management company is that it acts as a fair, third party mediator for disputes. When disputes do arise with other homeowners or the HOA, residents can be concerned that the HOA will decide in the best interest of the HOA and not the homeowner. If there is a neutral third party, this is not an issue anymore.

Finally, management companies bring a wealth of experience to the HOA that board members usually do not possess. They have run other associations and know how to deal with issues and ways to maximize efficiency, which can only benefit the associations they manage.

Hiring a professional management company allows homeowner association governing boards to do what governing boards do best, and that is making big decisions and setting direction, not running day to day operations and dealing with small issues.

Letting Property - A New Landlord's Questions and Answers

2009-04-05T23:07:00.000-07:00

1. I want to let a property do I need a tenancy agreement?

No, there is nothing in law to say you have to have a tenancy agreement. However, if a dispute arises then it could be very difficult to prove who was right and who was in the wrong. I would always recommend that a landlord uses a solicitor drafted Assured Shorthold Tenancy.

Things to look out for in a tenancy agreement:

• Protects your rights as a landlord.
• Produced by a legal expert.
• Suitable for multi lets.
• Suitable for use by a company.
• Does not include clauses which were recently deemed as 'unfair' by the Office of Fair Trading.
• Allows the landlord to charge for the cost of collecting late rent payments.

2. Can I increase the rent?

A landlord can increase the rent at anytime providing the tenant agrees. If they don't, a landlord will have to wait to the end of the fixed term of the tenancy, or, where it's a periodic tenancy. then the landlord will have to follow the statutory procedures if the tenant refuses to agree to the rent increase.

3. I want to get rid of my tenant because they've stopped paying the rent, surely I can just kick them out?

No. Don't even think about it. A tenancy gives your tenant certain rights to stay in a landlords property, even if they do many things that the landlord thinks are wrong : like not paying rent, being anti-social, failing to look after the rental property. If a landlord tries to evict them without going through the right procedures a landlord could end up with a big fine or even a prison sentence. Even phoning them at work could be considered to be harassment of the tenant. Landlords need to tread carefully.

4. I want to let my property but do I need a letting agent?

No. Landlords can do it all themselves and save a small fortune. A letting agent will look to charge a landlord as much as 15% of the rent for letting and managing the rental property. If a landlord is able to let the rental property themselves this will save a great deal of management costs.

5. I want to get my property back. How do I go about it?

This requires a landlord to seek possession. How a landlord gets possession will depend on the specific circumstances, and getting things wrong can be costly. Some landlords seek legal advice Or some landlords choose to do it themself, but need to follow the possession instructions carefully.

6. Do I need to take a deposit?

No, landlords don't need to take a rental deposit. In fact many landlords letting to students or low value rentals don't bother taking a rental deposit. If a landlord does, they will need to use one of the Governments approved tenancy deposit schemes or risk a big fine.

7. Do I have to declare my rental income to the taxman?

Yes. Rental income is assessed under the land and property section of a landlords self- assessment return. There are a lot of expenses that a landlord can set off against their rental income, some landlords might even make a rental loss ( especially in the current harsh economic climate ). Losses can be carried forward and set off against future rental profits.

8. The tenancy is coming to an end what do I do?

If a landlord has set a fixed term tenancy, say a 6 month tenancy, and want to carry on with the same tenant, the landlord has got a number of choices. Get the tenant to sign and complete a new tenancy agreement. Amend the terms of the existing tenancy including the dates of the tenancy and get the tenant to sign and agree the variation. Allow the fixed tenancy to lapse and it will then run on as a statutory periodic tenancy in which case the tenancy will just carry on with the same from rental period to rental period until the landlord or the tenant bring it to an end.

9. Do I need a specialist landlord insurance policy?

Yes. Normal household insurance won't cover your property if you start renting it out. This is because household policies do not cover buildings, contents or the landlord for third party liabilities while the buy-to-let property is being let out, read more on landlord insurance cover options.

10. What's an EPC? Do I need one?

An EPC or Energy Performance Certificate has been introduced by the Government to measure the energy efficiency of a rental property. Since the 1st of October 2008, any property that is being marketed for rent needs to have one. Find out more about the EPC.

Steps Started in Property Investment

2009-04-05T23:03:00.000-07:00

While there are opportunities to use the loan to finance your investment property, does not mean you become nonchalant. Investment in fixed property requires a commitment of money and time. So research and set a plan before investing in property is very important. Because the initial step and the most important so you decide to invest to learn the property is property sesuatunya about as many as you can.

Continue to learn
There are many sources of information that you may be able to learn about investment property, for example from the book - books, courses, seminars, the internet and others. To recognize a business property you can also take a part-time job as a property broker. Advantages, in addition you can practice what you learned from the various sources of information before, you can also get a commission from the sale of the property you are selling. Not to mention the opportunity to build a network or the network would be very useful to help your business property later. Research first will make you "look out" to the risk or problem-problem that may arise regarding the ownership of property can occur, for example a problem with the tenant, costs of treatment.

Working with agents home seller or broker property
After you provide yourself with adequate information about the property business then look for a home seller or an agent broker property who are willing to help you understand more about the property business. Find the agent that the seller has at least 2 years experience, they usually have much more the business property. You should find a home seller agents working full time from Should, for considered they can not meet

Research on interest rates, increasing property prices, rental price
If you want to use the financing from the bank interest rate credit compare banks with each other and seek the most competitive. And also the assumption about the price increase of property so you can determine approximately how much the selling price at any time later. Do not forget if you want to get out of house rent income, before determining the price to rent seek information on the price to rent a house appropriate for the area adjusted to the conditions of the building.

Is it Difficult to Get Loan For Investment Property?

2009-04-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

The most difficult of all the business is to get money to pay for the business. People even still very difficult to borrow for a business loan from the bank to start business. Banks usually only provide loans only to businesses that have been running 2 years. This does not apply when you want the bank to borrow money to buy a house. No matter whether you buy a new home for the first time or for the umpteenth time, the house can be given credit by the bank for the purchase of the house to whatever. In addition, the bank's home loan is also considered as a type of credit risk is low.

For the amount of home loan repayments with your customized, then with the bank assume that his debt already have a stable income that can be used to pay the monthly installment. Then viewed in terms of his guarantee the building itself, which we know continues to increase in price, then do not wonder if guarantee its generally can cover debt.

Why the Real Estate So Profitable?

2009-04-05T22:58:00.000-07:00

Using the money of others, or use the financing is one of the ease that only can be used to invest dakam property. But other than that there are many benefits of investment in the property which makes it very interesting compare the investment in others.

1. Cash Flow, "Cash Flow",
Cash flow is money that you receive on a regular basis on the money you tanamkan in an investment. such as interest rate and savings deposit is cash flow as income to provide for you. In property, the rent can be an income or cash flow for you. The more buildings that you can sewakan then the larger the cash flow you.

2. The value of your home ownership is increasing.
Value your rights or ownership of investment property that is financed from the concept of using the money of others before akan increase, far beyond your debt or obligation. Rights of ownership in an investment someone is known by the term equity. For example if you purchase property investment of Rp 100 million, financed by the bank Rp 70 million, the remaining Rp 30 million of the money of your own. So you ownership rights to the investment of Rp 100 million earlier is Rp 30 million or 30% of it. Rights of ownership will increase in value due to an installment payment of the debt obligations. In addition, your rights of ownership also increases the value of property increases. Your property value will increase due to inflation that makes the price of goods and services, including property to increase. Inflation is due not only increase the value of the property but you also have the opportunity to increase cash flow or income to the way you regularly raise money to rent a house in line with the inflation line. The increase in property values this can even increase your borrowing power. Bank usually be happy to provide additional loans based on the price increase or agunannya property. You can use this money to pay off old debt balance, and the remaining money from the loans come in your bag. Then for a new installment loan sesuaikanlah with rent income.

3. Opportunity to build a larger building again, after you successfully pay off debt, you will have more money to be allocated, for example, to create a property that already have become greater. Many investment properties starting from a small building, but because of the income from the rent that can be mencover monthly debt repayments, the property to create a larger building to be very possible.

Using Other People Money "Other People's Money"

2009-04-05T22:56:00.000-07:00

One of the most interesting from the investment in the property that the system is made so that allows you to use the money to pay for other people of your investment. This is one of the most important concept that membuata rproperty can make you more rich than other investments.

On the type of investment other then the large amount of investment is determined from how much you are willing and able to pay with cash. So to buy another investment Barus you pay cash with the assumption that using your own money. We just take for example the investment in capital markets. To buy shares you have to pay all cash transactions of kesuluruhan, unless you do the actual trading margin is very risky. Similarly investment in bonds, mutual funds, deposits and savings in the bank, bahka gold and valuable collection of art, they all require the payment of cash entirely.

Investment in property is not so, you can just pay the deposit of her home of 10% to 30% of house prices in order to have the goods and then the rest can be financed from the loan to the bank. Isn'T bank, even developernya sendiripun would provide relief payment installments for the payment of advance purchase of the goods.

Opportunity to use the money other people realized in the form of financing is called by the term leverage, or ability to multiply things. For example, dihari successfully get your first home with credit advance payment of Rp 30 million, it is also dihari you direct cash assets increased to Rp 100 million. With the use of the investment houses can be doubled in two ways. First, the more money they invested the money of others, or financing that you can get, for example, with the money Rp 30 million, then you can only buy shares up to Rp 30 million. However, with the same amount of money if invested in the property, then you can buy a house worth Rp 100 million. Where you pay down the home sebasar Rp 30 million, and the bank to pay the remaining Rp 70 million, then you become an owner of a building at Rp 100 million. Amount not more than 3 time or 300% of ganda? Extraordinary.

Benefits of Investment in Property

2009-04-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

Investment in property is still a choice most people, because people assume that it is one of the best ways to develop money. In general, investment property is considered more secure than other types of investment. The reason you own or manage the investment, so you can control almost everything. But this is not the only advantage investing in the property, because the most interesting fact from investing in this property allows you to use other people money to start investing.

Most other investment products is influenced by many external factors. For example, prices at the stock exchange can be up and down even faster because of significant issues or gossip about politics, government policy, state security, economic conditions, such as bonds or the price down when the inflation figures and interest rates rise. Compared to the property even though outside factors also affected, but the changes are not too fast, for example, house prices would not be changed once a day but only in the annual need.

Benefits of Investment in Property

With the property to invest, you have the opportunity to get the return investments. If you see Donald Trump's property developer America or Ir. Ciputra from Indonesia, they are rich from the business property. The Bank also has a property, if we look at building high-rise headquarters of a magnificent, not to mention the tens of the number of branches

Many ways to invest to property. You can get started with buying a house to live, shop, build a house rented, commercial building or other vacant land. Of all these options, buy and sell houses rented better selected for the new will start investing in property, then a little bit to save the results of the rent to invest back .. If you see a lot of people interested to make a rented house, because with a employer allows you to have the property that you can control yourself, then sell them later. The good news you do not need much money to start your investment in property.

It's important to understand why a property is often the main choice of people to develop the property his fortune, why not because property is not at risk. Such as investment in other property also have constraints such as the tenant is late paying the rent house, moving without notifying, buildings damaged, whatever difficulties may occur. Basically if you are busy with the affairs of this kind, the investment in the property for you.

Okupansi is High Prices Still Expensive

2009-04-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

Office space rental market (Leased office) is still promising. Although a number of projects experiencing slowing, the overall level of housing (okupansi) office space reached 90% of existing capacity.

See, last February, the building housing the offices managed Development Tbk PT Intiland reach 86 percent of the 30,000 square meter space available. Similar conditions in the building owned by PT Bakrieland Development Tbk. the level reached 80 percent huniannya.

Property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Anton Sitorus ensure, in the business sector will not be dimmed total. "If the slowing growth so, but will still have companies that can berekspansi and that there is a need for office space," he said.

But, you want to rent the office space should sharp and needs to read the company. The problem is, office location will not necessarily fit with the needs.

Associate Director, Office Leasing Procon Igam remind Savitri, okupansi office buildings can not be separated from the trend of building needs. Take an example, office buildings in the Central Business District (CBD) in the Thamrin-Sudirman-Kuningan, Gatot Subroto synonymous with business in the banking sector, financial, and consultants.

The tenant is not reluctant to pay expensive although there are often bottlenecks. His addition is in the city center and toll road, a number of roads that are free from regulation in three one is prepared to indulge the client company. Conversely, outside the business sector, many companies renting office space outside the CBD.

Igam told, the price of rental office space will be in accordance with their respective advantages. In Jakarta, generally the price to rent office space divided into two.

First, the office which is located around the CBD. In this category, the share price to be several that are all in grade per square meter per month. That is, Grade A of Rp 217,000 or U.S. $ 19.8, Grade B of Rp 149,000 or U.S. $ 13.6, while for Grade C Rp 124,000 or U.S. $ 11.4. Consequently, the price of office rental average in the CBD area of Rp 171,000 or U.S. $ 15.6.

Second, for office space located outside the CBD. Building managers determine the price to rent an average of Rp 102,000 or U.S. $ 9.3 per square meter per month

Housing in Batam Twist

2009-04-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

When compared with other areas, Batam clearly more promising. Section, in addition to the area known as the industry, the position of Batam also benefit because the proximity to Singapore. So already, Batam often serve as the meeting place of national or international.

Depart from there, save Batam good prospect, especially for housing. Moreover, here is a lot of foreigners who work in Batam. Of course this is a charm for local developers or from developers to compete in Batam. "A large number of workers in Batam power absorption needs to make the home very high," said Mulia Parmadi, Chairman Rei Batam, Selasa (31 / 3) yesterday.

Only, this time financial crisis needs to make the supply house in Batam only grow about 7000 units. That is, a decline of 30 percent when compared with the growth in 2008 could reach 10,000 units. "Thus, the total housing needs of about 187,000 housing units in 2009, while in 2008 that approximately 180,000 housing units," he said.

Despite the crisis, it does not make the developers lose heart. They still compete to create various types of housing, both below the middle to middle-top. Of course the house was built from the simple to the house type apartment. "However, if less rusunami in Batam behavior for middle-down segment. This is because the price of Rp 144 million, "he said.

Well, of the various types of houses, the competition was most obvious in the middle of housing, especially in the area Tiban. Here are so many developers competing to build housing, especially from developers. Just call the building Bakrieland Batam Nirwana Residence and Bangun Cipta Group Sukajadi build Bukit Indah. "Both developers still have to compete with 40 local developer in Batam," accuse him.

The price they offer is around Rp 184 million up to Rp 1 billion. With the price of the power serapnya still good. Segmentation of consumers begin their middle-class to class up. Some of them are expatriates who work in Batam. Then there's also a local buyer. "However, this still terkendala with foreign ownership is still not clear decision," said CEO Bakrieland Hiramsyah Thaib.

Batam Nirwana Residence has its own area of about 40 hectares of the plan will be built around 1500 housing units. Currently about 500 new housing units have been built on the land area of 15 hectares for the first phase. "Sales had about 70 percent," he said.

Bakrieland own plan to launch the second phase development of 15 hectares in 2010. They plan to build about 500 housing units. The rest will be built in the new year.

What is the Benefit to Insurance House?

2009-04-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

Many home owners are still living menyepelekan house insurance. Home insurance can not be trusted to give full benefit.

However, external risks such as natural disasters floods, landslides, and the waterspout has continually lurk building our house. So, do not delay until the disaster came because the house also need protection that you make the withdrawal on other valuable objects, such as car or motorcycle.

Secure. This is the role in insurance. Not only provide physical protection of course, but also non-physical or financial. Some of the benefits of becoming a customer of insurance, among others:

- You as a customer will get financial compensation if the insured object is exposed to direct risk listed in the congressional policy.

- You will get that forced the cost of Insured pascamusibah issued, the cost of cleaning such debris-rubble of damaged buildings or the cost of the architect or Surveyor to renovate or rebuild the house pascamusibah Insured.

- You memeroleh akan purnajual the prime service without having to wait for the occurrence of such as:

* Information value of forecasts of inflation when the extension of insurance policy so that all buildings and contents building homes Insured insured with adequate and reasonable value
* Check the condition of the building free of termites or pest attack house
* Info-info from the insurance
* Membership automatically

Darmadi Darmawangsa: Turn on Property Ownership for WNA have the money invest

2009-04-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

Rules about property ownership by foreign citizens continues to be warm discussion. Not only the developer, property broker had "itchy" want these regulations passed.

"I wonder why the property can not be owned by foreigners, the nation we can be so easy to open the spigot for the foreign exchanges on the floor. At the time of exchange rocking, they are easily hengkang bring money, "Darmadi Darmawangsa more told, when found in his office some time ago. "If you have foreign property, when they flee to foreign countries even though, own the property will remain here."

ERA President of Indonesia is confident the decision to sell the property to the foreign party is far more secure than the government's decision to sell the shares owned by foreigners. Section, when we want to buy back the company, the price will be far more expensive than the price when we sell it.

On the other hand, Chairman of the General AREBI supplement, the inclusion of foreign property owners will take a lot of positive impact. Darmadi give examples of properties in Bali. According to him, all people know a lot of properties there are owned by foreigners in many ways. But yet the condition of the property in Bali Very improve and price also very expensive. This, he said, because foreigners have the money to plant there.

Le Jardin Cluster - On More Cool gardens on the Central Park City

2009-03-22T02:19:00.000-07:00

To answer that, PT Lippo Cikarang Tbk Cluster Le Jardin offers @ Elysium Residence. The concept of a dwelling in a safe, comfortable and friendly environment.

With only one gate (one gate), to and from the housing, the cluster does not need to Le Jardin wait to long leave their families at home. Complex in the entrance gate, security guard 24 hours standby, equipped with CCTV facilities and display-screen TV to monitor your home environment.

Divine meaning in French, Le Jardin means garden. So, for that also, offers a cluster environment if the meaning of the name implies.

Le Jardin Cluster promises comfort through eco-friendly living. This means you will sekeluarga stay in one area with the comfort and warmth surrounding green environment. Yes, both from the open green of money or "green" garden colorful flowers around your home.

Indeed, in August last year, Lippo Cikarang has launched its first Cluster Elysium Garden. Was launched as many as 168 units, the first cluster of Mega Cluster Elysium Residence is already 80 percent sold. Now, with only 124 units are offered with a contemporary design classic, Le Jardin Cluster, to present a new atmosphere for those who crave the residential areas.

Le Jardin @ Elysium Residence is the second cluster Lippo Cikarang total of 12 cluster that they planned to be developed in the area Mega Cluster Elysium Residence. Total cluster will reach 3,500 units of houses that stood on the land area of 126 hectares.

Meanwhile, the other excess Le Jardin is located in the area is well established, namely between the cluster-cluster in the first present in the area of housing Lippo Cikarang, as Mapple Leaf, My Home 2, Orchard Hill 2, and shop houses, Ventura. Cluster in the vicinity of Le Jardin is also a stand and Food Fest Sport Village, which will meet the needs of the penghuninya feel comfortable.

That is the residential cluster. A type of housing grow flowers in the middle of the city, the area is not too big but is able to strive to provide the ideal comfort for cool hearts and minds of the penghuninya of fatigue life in the city.

Kalibata Residence Worthy to be Your Choice

2009-03-22T02:04:00.000-07:00

Market & Interior in one of the show apartment units funded Kalibata Residence indeed imply such. Adequate design class. Facility security is the access card, as well equipped sports and commercial facilities. Everything offered by the developer for the security and comfort.

Kalibata located at Jalan Raya No 1, South Jakarta, precisely in one of the former factory famous brand shoes, Kalibata City is one of the many apartments funded or rusunami that are developed in the area of South Jakarta. Planned as an integrated area, Kalibata City divided into several stages, among other Kalibata Kalibata Residences and Regency.

Consists of seven blocks, namely Akasia, Borneo, Sandalwood, Damar, Ebony, Flamboyan, and Gaharu, with a total of 7,000 units, unit-unit apartment residence in Kalibata already sold out. Meanwhile, Kalibata Regency, which consists of three blocks, namely Kemuning, Herbras, and Jasmine, and has 2,500 units in sales still be regarded a very strict approach to the number sold 100 percent.

Established with the same size with Kalibata Residence (gross 33 m²), the quality Kalibata Regency is more special with the six units in a single lift towers, access cards in the main lobby, kitchen sinks, tables, ceramics, children's play facilities facilities, jogging track, field basketball, badminton, and volleyball. View from the strategic position and interesting enough to make the investment. Kalibata City is located along the road Kalibata. Only 5 to 10 minute time to roll to the Pancoran.

See it, presumably to access the sidewalk and the center is easy to be calculated. Pancoran entrance into the fastest area of CBD, such as the Gatot Subroto, Semanggi, and Sudirman. Moreover, access to the train near. Mal, several hospitals, and the campus is also something that is not far from the eye.

Built by Pradani PT Agung Sukses Abadi-Podomoro Group, Kalibata Residence (Tower A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) marketed since May years ago with the start price subsidy Rp 144 million (2 bedroom) and Rp 88 million (1 bedroom). Meanwhile, to be marketed Kalibata Regency ago since July 2008 and until now available only 2 percent of the 2500 unit that is provided.

A Day In The Life Of An Apartment Manager

2009-03-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

This is my second article in the series "A Day in the Life of ...." for various positions in the Property management field.
Today we will look at an Apartment Complex Manager. Apartment complexes are most commonly managed by larger Property Management companies who, in turn, hire individual managers to operate each of the facilities in behalf of their clients (the actual owners). Sometimes you will find an individual owner (investor) who hires on-site managers directly, but normally that's not the case. Usually the owners are investment companies, such as insurance firms...and the like; who simply don't have the time nor the expertise to recruit, hire, train and maintain staffing of on-site mangers.

In my time as an apartment manager, I have had the opportunity to work for both types.....among them were: an individual owner of a small 36 apartment complex; and a 135 unit complex for a property management company which was handling dozens of complexes for multiple client/owners.

Generally, the ones run by property management companies are run much more smoothly with tried and true methods normally in place and already operating; whereas the individual owner may be somewhat more inexperienced as to what policies to setup and what expectations there will be.

As in many property management positions.....the bigger the company you work for, the more rigid are the rules and procedures. The smaller the company, the more you are expected to handle things by yourself.... and so your time spent working often becomes excessive.

The main thing to be aware of, however, in apartment complex management is...... the "type" of clientele you have at the property. Do you have younger residents (say, a nearby college with many students); or perhaps many military families (usually near a base); or are they older residents as in a senior living complex? The number and type of issues you have to deal with will be GREATLY affected by just what type of clientele you have. It will dictate the frequency of domestic squabbles, "party-ing disturbances, maintenance problems, rent collection matters and the whole range of issues that YOU as Apartment Manger will have to handle.

So, if I had ONE piece of advice to give.....it would be to, FIRST, seriously consider what "clientele-type" of apartment complex you would want to manage; and then to look at how big of a complex AND how big of a company you want to manage for.

Again, I look back on my days as an Apartment Manager as having learned some very valuable experience and having many fond memories to look back on.

by Bernie Zelinka (aka the Semi-Retired Affiliate guru)
http://ezinearticles.com

Is the Price Right?

2009-03-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

Charging the correct rent price for your rental property can not be a price you pick out of a hat. The all important monthly rent will be the difference in making a profit from your investment.

The rental charge will not necessarily be what you want, but the price that is fair market in your area. There are several ways to find out what is customary for your property. Do your homework and see what others are charging for rent. Do this by looking in the paper or wherever else property in your area is listed for rent. Drive by properties that are for rent, see what others are charging for a similar rental in your area. If there is a landlords association in your area, join the association and get to know your fellow landlords. Drawing from their experience can be very helpful.

The rent you charge should cover your mortgage, property taxes, property insurance, as well as any other expenses for the property. You will also need enough funds to cover any routine maintenance as well as money for emergency repairs. There could be times that your property is not rented, and you should be prepared at those times.

Think of some amenities that could make your property more appealing, with very little cost. Updated flooring, a new bathroom fixture, new paint or landscaping could make all the difference between a so-so property and a property that makes tenants want to pay their rent and stay.

When setting a rent charge you will have to take everything into consideration, type, size, condition and what is included in the rent. Rental history of your property and other properties will be an important piece of information. If a property has a poor rental history, then find out why. If the rental history is good, and tenants have typically stayed for long periods of time, then find out, again why. Poor rental history could mean that a property is in poor repair and a landlord has not repaired the property. If that is the case, you can get a new and better rental history by doing repairs and listening to the tenants. Poor rental history also can be caused by the landlord, entering the property without the proper notice, or perhaps making and enforcing rules that are not fair to everyone.

By Wolfgang O
http://ezinearticles.com

Successful Apartment Ownership Requires Efficient and Quality Maintenance

2009-03-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

Since a professional team is so important to your success as a real estate investor and, more specifically as an apartment owner, I would like to wrap up this article series on how to use these team members in a little more detail.

Just to recap, some of the essential team members that you'll want to have in place include:

· Bird dogs
· A real estate agent or agents
· A commercial mortgage broker
· A banker (one or more)
· A title company or closing attorney
· A real estate attorney
· Private lenders
· An SEC attorney (if part of your business includes securing private funding)
· An asset protection attorney
· An accountant or CPA
· Property management companies
· Contractors

Contractors are the behind the scenes magicians that can really aid your overall cash flow in the long run as an apartment owner. Units that are in need of complete renovation or simply a few updates do nothing for you if they are unrentable. A good contractor (or collection of them) can minimize the time that units in need of some fixing stay vacant, thus optimizing your income from your properties.

Finding contractors who both do good work and do so in a timely manner can sometimes be challenging but remember that it is a tougher economy out there right now and people are looking for work. Make sure your contractors are necessarily bonded and insured and don't be afraid to move on if someone does poor work or, worse yet, shows up late or not at all. It is your business and you have every right to expect quality and timely work.

I suggest having a variety of contractors at your disposal. You won't need all of them all of the time (at least you hope not) but there is something to be said for specialization. Maybe you're replacing carpet in your units as they turn over from one tenant to another. A professional carpet installer might be a perfect fit for getting a couple of units done at a time. You could make similar arguments for plumbing, electrical work, painting, etc.

Some contractors will claim they can do it all but you rarely need it all when managing apartment units. For assorted odd jobs, a good handyman is always a good bet and they can be great allies when tenants call with fix it items. It is both easy and practical to have budgetary limits set with your property management company so they can coordinate with contractors as needed for small jobs and avoid you getting bombarded with calls for 'nickel and dime' issues'.

Remember, this is a business and, as a business owner, it is both reasonable and advisable to delegate as much as you can so you can actually enjoy the fruits of your labor. As we conclude this more detailed article series on your professional team, remember that just about all highly successful business share a common mindset. Success is a state of mind that is shared by few but for which principles are more freely shared than you might think. Make the acquaintance of wealthy people and pattern your own business after what they have done. This is one of the most basic secrets of becoming wealthy beyond your wildest imagination. Now that you have heard what I have to say about building a team, the next step is to find the deals that will help you build the fortune that is out there for the taking!

By David Lindahl

also known as the "Apartment King" has been successfully investing in single family homes and apartments for the last 14 years and currently owns over 7,000 units around the US. David regularly shares his secrets and experience on the same stage as Tony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, and Donald Trump! For two FREE copies of his highly recognized newsletter Real Estate Insights, please go to

http://www.davesoffer.com/ezine

Rental Revenue - Improve Your Property Rating

2009-03-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

Could your condominium or townhome use a facelift? Have you contemplated a remodeled kitchen, new carpet, or updated furniture, but not sure which area to focus on to improve your individual unit rating? From simply re-painting to complete renovations, condo owners are finding ways to increase their rental revenue.

Some of you may have noticed a decline in your rental revenue this past year considering the economy, especially if your unit has a low rating. Most properties rate units individually. So even if you own a unit at a high end property, but have a low individual rating, your unit may not be getting rented at all unless the property has full occupancy. Lower ratings mean lower occupancy rates which mean less rent revenue generated by your unit. The more you can improve your individual unit rating, the more likely you are to increase your rent revenue.

One of the most important aspects of refurbishing your property is to realize where you can get the most bang for your buck. Find an interior designer or someone to help guide you in the right direction so you're upgrades are in your best economic interest. You'll want to refurbish in the proper areas of your unit to improve your individual property rating.

Here are some suggestions (and keep in mind there are many sustainable, earth friendly options for all of these choices):
1. New Carpet
2. Paint the unit, possibly adding accent walls, bringing in warmth
3. Update artwork and accessories
4. Make sure mattresses & bedding are comfortable & not worn
5. Upgrade any outdated furniture
6. Replace lighting with new, efficient lighting
7. Remodel the kitchen with new cabinets, countertops, & appliances
8. Remodel the bath with new cabinets, countertops, and tile

Making improvements to your rental property can also improve guests' experience as well as increase the marketability of the building.

By Melissa Bailey
Design Consultant & Project Manager in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
http://ezinearticles.com/

The Tenant On Site Property Manager

2009-03-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

It's very tempting to hire a tenant to keep an eye on your property, especially if you live far away from your rental property. You want someone that you can hold accountable, who is near to the property, and who doesn't cost much. A tenant invariably fits all three of these criteria. If you work hard to avoid the potential pitfalls of this type of relationship, there's no reason that this shouldn't work out for you.

Reasonable expectations of an inexperienced tenant may include shoveling/snow blowing, spreading salt or sand, raking leaves, manipulating thermostats and faucets to prevent freezing problems, mowing the lawn, sweeping or cleaning hallways or mutual areas, trash collection, trash removal, coordination with professional contractors who need access to the property, and showing units to prospective tenants.

You just need to keep those potential pitfalls in mind. First off, you have to make the terms of the relationship absolutely clear. What exactly are you asking of your tenant? How much are you knocking off of the rent in exchange? If you and your tenant fail to have a true meaning of the minds, things are not going to work out. Sad to say, your property will be what suffers in this case, to your detriment. The only way to have a true, clear understanding is to put it in writing. List all of the jobs that you expect the tenant to handle. Then, for each job, draft a set of guidelines that lay out exactly how to carry out your wishes. Remember, your tenant isn't an expert. He may not even know how to empty a vacuum cleaner. List all of the steps of the job that you want him to do, and pretend you're writing for a third grader. It may seem like a lot of work for you, but remember that you're making money by writing this set of guidelines.

Next, come up with a reasonable rate of pay for the tenant. It's probably a bad idea to pay your tenant by the hour. You have no way to verify his hours, and it may lead him to believe that he can pick and choose which duties he wants to perform. Instead, you want to estimate the number of hours the tenant will spend over the course of an entire year, and then multiply that number by a reasonable hourly rate (say, $10-12 per hour). Divide that number by 12, round up or down to the nearest $25, and that's a good starting point for figuring out how much to pay. If the number seems a little high to you, try to think about how much it would cost to have someone off the property come and do these duties. You'll probably conclude that you're getting a great deal.

source:http://ezinearticles.com/

Remind to Consider the House Location

2009-02-26T12:19:00.000-08:00

Location Selection Considerations
So that you are not confused in determining the location of the home and a suitable fit for you, here are some considerations that can be used.
1. Home value
Function that reflected the home's location will effect the price. The many functions of the house the higher the price. Consideration here is whether the price already reflects the value and benefits that you will get. What a pity if you buy a house in a location with many facilities, but spend all your time at work. Or you buy a house that expensive, only the place once a month or on weekends only.
2. Educational facilities (schools)
Have children or not, you need to care about this issue. Section, in general, parents will be concerned about this problem and they gave the award on the school yard quality. School facilities should be close to where you live. Do not leave your son, daughter shot in the street so that learning can not concentrate.

In addition, the top quality schools will have a direct impact on property values around these school yard But many wonder if the developers build their own educational facilities, or in cooperation with the private sector school manager. The developers felt that a sekolahan in a housing complex or the area can attract buyers.

3rd Feng Shui home
In buying a home, there are no words too carefully. Wherever possible avoid or reduce the risk of incorrectly selected. One way is to consider things that are traditional and less conventional, such as Feng Shui. You may not believe in Feng Shui, but as a buyer you need to care. Section, those who believe in Feng Shui will determine the amount of demand and supply. If your home meets Feng Shui rules, it is not surprising when the back is definitely a lot of people who evaluate your home.

4. Aspects of taxation
Transaction of land or buildings is a tax object. Then as the owner of the land and the building you will be Land and Building Tax (PBB). Therefore, consider aspects of taxation to find out how much extra you pengeluaraan good at the time of purchase or to pay taxes every year (UN).

5. The development of the future
Before buying, it's good you know the pattern of new development or major renovation that will be or is being done in the area of the location of the house. This is to predict the development is to be conducted in the vicinity of the location of your home environment. For that you can check to Office of Spatial city officials or other authorities.

6. Disaster risk
Whether the location of the home environment that will be purchased easily fell ill floods, fires, or landslides? If your home into a location that will be disaster-prone, it is better to imprison you for your intention to buy the house. Indeed, you can assurance your home to protect the financial disaster of this. However, you should also consider how to overcome the emotional disaster. Insurance only alleviate the suffering of financial loss from the house, but how to alleviate your feelings?

7. Level dwelling
When you buy a house located in the housing, note whether all the houses are all filled or not. When the houses in that location a lot of empty, please be wary. Vacuum could be going home because the environment is less good or because there is a potential risk.

The Property is Not so Brisk in 2009

2009-02-26T12:15:00.000-08:00

This year, may not be a bright year for the national industrial property. Just enter the beginning of the year, part of the business sector is feeling sad because this will be a global crisis that is being whack. His economy of movement of wheel slow, plus the interest rate is still high, will certainly affect the purchasing power and demand. The request will be oppressed by economic growth slowed. Moreover, if the interest rate banks are still recalcitrant roost in high-level, difficult to designate the property industry. Do not forget, about 90 percent of residential consumers, especially middle-class house and down, can not be released from house ownership credit (KPR).

3M 8511 Particulate Sanding Respirator N95, Valve 10-Pack

2009-02-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

Indonesia Property Growth In 2009

2009-02-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

Many among looking deep to the movements in the property business since the end of last year, in line of a global crisis in the United States and Europe. Predicted, it’s effect will be felt in Indonesia and the property was back as well as the financial crisis more than a decade ago.

However, the situation at this time is really different. Individual developers are still optimistic for the year 2009 and confident that the property does not fall back. Unlike the 1998, both in terms of political and banking conditions at this time is more stable. World property is exposed to electrical current that great in 1998 because many companies are bound konglomerating in banking with the owner so that the developer automatically fall together. Many projects are terminated and the property even developer bankruptcy experience. Here and there we could see a number of development-half of development so that eventually abandoned. Domino effect is happening. Industries associated directly with the business property, such as wood, nails, cement, paint, chemicals, and many more also hit by. This situation makes a lot of people said that it is need for time to return the property to rise.

However, in 2001 the industrial property back after the exuberant health and recast some of the developers and the banking problems. Experience in the past, this is also a valuable lesson for developers. Many developers who have experienced a crisis in the past, so they make more and have a more mature strategy. Financial terms of any stronger with the tight coordination of banking. As well as the condition of banks with a more healthy controls from the central bank that is also more stringent, so that electrical current does not have to create an effect like a decade ago.

However, banks now be more selective in the loans contribute property, people are more selective in buying a property and invest the funds owned. This phenomenon occurs at this time, people still have purchasing power, but become more selective in looking for property offered pending the development of the situation and see. This is also justified by the developers, not only in the capital Jakarta, but also in satellites cities such as in Bekasi, Tangerang, and Cileungsi.

Evidence, property sales are still running and development is not stopped. Why is that? One thing is for sure, the house is a basic requirement for every individual so that it will always be needed. On the other hand, people also still need the business center that was one of the movement of the trigger and hold property. Nevertheless, can not be denied that the global crisis that occurred in the United States and Europe has its effect in a little - a lot of influence in the property sales earlier this year. But how much impact and how long it lasts, which distinguishes it. At this time is that many people still wait and see situation. I estimate, if the Indonesian legislative election 2009 held the safe condition will gradually normal.

In the meantime, to move the property in a foreign market segments such as in Bali, the number of foreign consumers continue to decline. Therefore, many are also trying to get the local market is relatively more stable and does not hit by its current crisis in a significant way. In the middle of current conditions, the property of race continue to move slowly but surely, still consider the various aspects. Investment in fixed property are also beneficial to the investment value of the move increased between 10 - 30 percent per year. On the other hand, deposit interest rates now only 8 % and shares are also down, so that the property remains a good investment option at this time.

This is due property value in the relative cheap compared to neighboring countries such as Singapore and Vietnam, so the increase in the price range and still allows the value of investment property in Indonesia always ride in any condition. I can see that the property market in 2009 is open. For the beautiful view in the investment, now is the right time, because the property does not raise prices, while interest rates decline. While the normal condition, it is very possible price changes in a short time.

Although electrical current global crisis began to be perceived, but not drowning clop property development. Start of development superblok, kondotel, to a landed house, each of them showing a greet potential growing in 2009. This condition indicates that the property sector still continues moving fast and remain the property of profitable investment options.

Kondotel, Promising Investment Options

2009-02-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

Indonesian world property, which continues to grow shows the market is also very high. Not only reach the local market, but also for foreign investors into the property business continues to excite. Option to invest in the real sector is also increasingly diverse, one of it is kondotel. In general, the kondotel is a compendium of Condominium and hotel. In other words, a Condominium or apartment managed by the withdrawal of a hotel with all the services and amenities.

Business concept that is applied differ to invest in an apartment. At the apartment, usually rented the unit monthly or yearlyn and managed by the unit owner's apartment. Meanwhile, in kondotel, the developer will join together with parties have experience in managing the hotel with a strong network of international scope. Management that it is set to manage everything from the determination of rental rates, promoting place, and the cost of day-to-day operations. System ownership certificate using its own proprietary WNI (Indonesian Community) strata title or lease to 99 years for WNA (Foreign Community).

This investment option is not shining in the investment apartment or landed house, but this product does not arouse less. Some developers acknowledge that the growth kondotel often occur in areas that become favorite tourist destinations with a high level demand. In addition beside Jakarta, can also be found kondotel in Bandung, which is known as a culinary and shopping paradise. Residential kondotel in the form of, among others, this is Braga Citywalk, The Majesty Hotel & Apartments and the Grand Royal Panghegar.

Recently, also began reaching kondotel Bogor with the presence Aston Bogor Hotel & Resort is located in the area of Bogor Nirwana Residence. Kondotel now offers a fun part of the same shape to stay, with beautiful scenery and cool as it is located at the foot of Mount Salak, but still close to the city center. Also Bali Island, which not only become a local tourist destination, but also people abroad. Approximately 10 kondotel now animate the Bali property. Among them are Pullman Legian Nirwana Bali is located on the edge of Kuta Beach with full facilities such as restaurants, shopping arcade, coffee shop, meeting room, and many more. Incorporate the concept of hotels and resorts, property owned Bakrieland Development, Tbk. cooperate this as Accor International hotel manager.

Meanwhile, in Nusa Dua Bali, which have already exist in different international hotel such as St. Regis, Hotel Nikko and other kondotel like Swissbelhotel Segara. Consists of 121 units, kondotel this will be equipped with various sports facilities, business center, and entertainment facilities. Kondotel resort & spa with this will be done according to plan The key received in November 2010. Not a few among the kondotel to the foreign investors, given that the foreign tourist arrivals to Bali per year is very high. However, it can not be denied, a global crisis that occurred may also affect kondotel growth, especially from foreign customers. Therefore, now many kondotel who eventually try to reach penetrated the local market with a segment that has disponsable income.

For the local market alone, kondotel has taken the hearts of investors who see the increased sales at this time. With a variety of investment profits earned from kondotel, the people who have more funds are investment options to select them as a relative safe and promising. With a complete facilities, fully furnished, and managed quality with international standards, kondotel become the alternative choice for investors and consumers who want to rent a room. As an illustration, the tenant for a room, if need 2-3 regular hotel rooms to accommodate family members, then in this kondotel can only use one unit that has 2 rooms with the same cost.

Meanwhile, the main advantage for investors is the acquisition kondotel income regularly. There is a potential income, since the first day of purchase, if investors want to sell them already have direct benefits that can be obtained. In addition, there are also called passive income, the interest payment per year is determined by the size of the developer's side since the purchase of the hotel is ready to operate.

Meanwhile, there is still active income derived from rental of rooms in which the division of the benefits of the system depends operational, which is determined by the management. There is a profit share system with a 30 percent to 70 percent of investors and management to the manager. The calculation was taken from sales revenue per room its semester that have been audited by independent parties. There is also a system based on the distribution of profit per year and then divided the knowledgeable rooms audited by independent auditors. For investors, sell or not will still get the benefit.

To facilitate investors to monitor the development, management provides a daily update that provides more comfort to investors, such as that done by Swissbelhotel Segara. Kondotel asset value is increased and can sale and purchase. That increase the potential range between 5-10 percent per year and potentially in the top 10 percent, so investors still benefit.

Superblok Development Running Still

2009-02-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

Superblok have applied the concept of fit in the city with high density, such as Jakarta. Employees and business benefit from the presence of very complex, "all have" large scale, and they do not have to walk too far and the road congestion.

This is the concept of living in the area high living community. Living in an apartment or town house that is integrated with other facilities will reduce the dependency of the distance from one place to another. City to be small, but solid. This concept should be the choice of big cities, not always out there - to come. Superblok is a form of concrete from the concept.

The concept is already there since 1990, but have not become a requirement. New since 2000's, many developers who start to the development because the needs are high. And just relieve the crisis to see if some of the superblok still pursuing incentive stages builders targeted.

Take a look Rasuna Epicentrum, mega superblok area of 53.5 hectares in the Kuningan area, which is projected to become a new landmark megapolitan Jakarta. At this time in the area working Epicentrum Bakrie Tower project, The Grove Condominium, The Grove Suites, Epicentrum Walk - Creative Entertainment Center, River Development, and The Wave at Rasuna Epicentrum. Bakrie Tower is in the finishing diserah transfer will begin in March 2009.

Walk-Epicentrum Creative Entertainment Center are also in the settlement, and will be fitting out in March 2009. Similarly Epicentrum Walk - Strata Office Suites The receipt will be in March 2009.

The Grove Codominuim to now enter the 16-storey development. If there is no obstacle in the way, The unit will be received in 2010. While The Grove Suites per day had already completed the construction phase (topping off) and will also start receiving in 2010.

The development of The Wave at Rasuna Epicentrum (phase I) entered the development foundation. The receiving unit will begin in 2010.

Buildings that are in the process of development will complement and improve the facilities that already exist, such as the Aston Rasuna Residence, The 18th Residence Taman Rasuna, Taman Rasuna Apartments, Gold's Gym Elite Rasuna, Market Festival seta Gelanggang Sports Sumantri Bojonegoro.

Projects in the future that will soon overtake the developed project which is own by PT Bakrieland Develompment Tbk this are The Covergence Indonesia, Premium Office Tower, Concert Hall & Office Tower, Hotel Premium, Office Building, Commercial and Mixed Use Building.

Other large-scale project is the City Seasons, superblok developed by Agung Podomoro Group, located in the street Latumeten, West Jakarta. The project covers 5.5 hectares combines residential (apartment) which design to resort, center, shopping center, entertainment center in one integrated area (one living state).

Development of the Seasons, to the City are preparing for the settlement of shopping malls, up to March 2009 will reach about 85 % - its. Estimated in May 2009 will be 95 % finished, and ready to operate and then proceed with the process the receipt is estimated that between September - November 2009.

As a one stop shopping, shopping malls are a part of the City Seasons superblok this facility will have a Fun Seasons, which offers the concept of edutainment for the family.

The concept of Fun Seasons is quite unique Seasons City which offers games and ride facilities, such as rainbow and Rollercoaster. This game is divided in four seasons, namely spring, summer, autumn and cold. Design play area made this the theme of the four seasons. For example, are in the winter, the game is that you can enjoy ice skating with the feel of all white. This is a breakthrough concept interesting for visitors later.

Meanwhile, the center for trade (trade center) City Seasons to this already sold about 65 percent. While for apartments, Tower A is sold out, tower B, and sold about 60 percent. Stalls per unit price from Rp 300 million, while unit apartment offered from Rp 250 million to around Rp 600 million.

Move To The Green Property

2009-02-23T11:28:00.001-08:00

Green natural and fresh air are now increasingly rare obtained. However, this is the continuing search for habitable place for convenience. Due to the compact capital of Jakarta, the option is due to the satellite city still has the original natural condition.

Wide area with the natural contours shall be the area that looking to be developed. Natural conditions with the trees or the lake since the first have maintained, with physical development, both residential and commercial area. In the end, it is this which is the value of selling area. Characteristics of this kind which are also found in Tangerang.

Elegancy Tangerang has become a magnet for big developers. At least now there are around 5-10 developers with large scale development on the 1000 hectares that are currently in the drive position of the region. Among them are Summarecon, Lippo, Modern Land, and Paramount.

This is also shown while the size of the potential development of Tangerang in the future good of the Serpong district, region or city. Development is going so fast. View course of business and commercial area of the overall Tangerang. Starting from row shop, shopping malls, hotels, fitness clubs, to a large number of bank branches that have shown passion and business development area as a whole.

Strategic location relative to the DKI Jakarta setral business center and the west is one of the reasons for the growth peasatnya Tangerang. This is supported by the road toll Jakarta - Merak toll road and Serpong - Jakarta. In addition, because the relative distance close to the airport so the passion to improve business in the area.

Rapid development of high and passionate business this does not override any conditions into the attraction since the beginning. Thus a unique situation here in Jakarta, when the clip-clop spur modernity able coalesce with the beautiful nature.

In the end, every developer to provide race concept unique to attract potential consumers. The concept of maturity and seriousness to the developer in developing a consistent living place in accordance with the initial mission was to be the case in shows. Contention that this is the concept of innovation continues mempersolek face Tangerang area to be settled for a comfortable.

No wonder if now can be found dwelling that has a 9 in it so that the lake provides cool and beautiful scenery which is difficult found in the big city.

Paramount Serpong lucky enough to get the area with the natural wealth of this kind. The lake is used both in the development of golf and club house will be a unique one in its area. Club house is built on the lake, which gives effect float and unique, with beautiful scenery and the beautiful.

Therefore, the developer in the region does not develop any open land, but land that is utilized as part of development planning. Paramount in its own, the area to be residential area only take a third of the total are knowledgeable.

With the development of aggressive, the Tangerang area has become a body that seeing the investors. Crisis conditions in the United States and Europe are not going to affect the condition of property in this area significantly. Sales still take place, developers continue to show the teeth with the launch the latest products. Even when the global crisis has been ongoing, in November ago Summarecon Serpong successful sell out newest product in a short time.

This indicates that the land Tangerang have a high investment. Which is the next challenge is the development strategy for the region continue to complete its investment in order to continue to move up.

There is a complete facility in the area is one of the indicator to increase investment value. Building on the central business than increasing sales, but also increase the value of land. Commercial area that is here even shows an improvement value of 59% since first launched. Temporary housing for the product, there is increasing 25-30% per year.

In 2009 a new development will also continue to be held with the hotel which has ballroom and 135 units of rooms facilities.

Supporting facilities that are no less a role in the educational facilities around the area. There are various schools which can be found in the area of Tangerang and Serpong. Both national and international schools of quality, from the university to play. In a short period of time there have been three prestigious university with a distinctive feature, such as Pelita Harapan, Swiss German University, and University Media Nusantara (UMN).

As Long As The Financial Purpose Is Clear

2009-02-23T11:24:00.000-08:00

The crisis is global property industry consecutive strike Indonesia. The macro, property growth in 2009 is estimated to be flat, or even be declining. However, it also predicted that the crisis will cause survival of the fittest. Only developers who are really healthy future that can exist.

Similarly, on the consumer, whether they are buying property for their own use or for investment. Only consumers who are really ready and able, both financially and experiences that will be to obtain ownership of the property. Decrease in demand and limited sources of funds will only be a player in the field of real property. The other is not to die, but just wait and see and slow down.

Much debate about the prospects of investment property in the middle of the crisis, especially the discussion about the concerns difficulty on sell premium products. But from the confidence developers have the opportunity to the middle property is quite large. Moreover, experience to speak, even in the midst of the crisis many rich people who grow rich.

Based on research data that has been made, property is still a profitable investment alternative in the midst of crisis. Mentioned that, the average capital gain per year for the property over the last 10 years (1998/1999 - 2008) for the property (apartment, Rasuna Epicentrum) reached 17.7 percent, with estimated yield of 13.4 percent. This figure is higher than the relative investment with stocks, gold, and deposit.

The necessary condition is now a partnership between developers, government, and banking circles.

With the opportunities that still large, the chance to get the consumer property also hit the wide-open. Despite that, they intend to invest the money in the form of property must have a clear investment goals. Not only thinking about the return, regardless of financial plans. Ability to pay down payment, plus installments to pay in full, must be the main consideration.

Property function is to generate money, not for our use or living in. House, apartment, shop, or kiosk must produced.

To make money there are two ways you can do. First, rent property that produces income monthly or yearly. The second capital gain, ie, the difference between the benefits of increasing the value of property when its sold.

Given the investment property that are less liquid, so that the required accuracy more secure in selecting the location and developer. It also should make the market of property. Overall trintegrasi in a matter of capital required, the amount of rent that is expected, and some property that can be purchased.

Financial goal will be to provide a kind of benchmark to start the investment property. This is also useful when investors feel a need to take steps, and anticipate all the risks. After all clear, the investment property can be executed.

Stay Agresif Reaching Market

2009-02-23T11:19:00.000-08:00

If the capital city – Jakarta, began to plateau vertical housing, with different areas of the satellites are still many explore project landed house with it. Developers who are playing in this aggressive also continue to develop themselves. Development still in progress, the sale still running, and pulsation properties remain business still moving. Indicates that the property is not fallen.

Throbbing development can be perceived in many places. Whether in the area of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi. Beat this development also can not be separated from the nature of the property itself is developed in many areas. Namely to the end user, who really need a house as a residence and as part of the fulfillment it's primer.

Not a few developers who continue to do experiment new developments in the region. You can look like in the Garden Cileungsi, which continues to add products and variants reach down to the top of the segment. At the beginning of February, the park has recently launched Cileungsi Anggrek cluster, which will be equipped with the sport center and is now sold around 10 % of its. Following in March will be launched with the type of cluster Mawar a tiny house.

Agresivitas developers are important factors to push up sales. Aware of this, the developers also continue to improve the quality of the region, with complete infrastructure facilities and assets.

Sales strategy, of course become important to successful in getting consumers. To show existence still, the developers also utilize a variety of campaign. There are billboards that through the media, there is also through the electronic media.

The strategy is now widely used by developers to push up sales is the ease of payment for consumers. Developer seeks be flexible according to the capability of consumers, for example, with the option to provide fixed repayments for three years, hard cash by giving discounts, and options KPR.

Of course, various options are back on the consumer. In addition to selecting the product, location, and the prospects for the future. At this time the payment is easy to become one of middling role.