All posts in Rental

Stress Free Rental Owners With Its Deal to Rent

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Normally I’m interested in the prospect by the time the first question is asked. However, as we see there are many terrific benefits granted to the owner / lessor of the lease deal. It really is a winning solution for any owner / landlord perspective. Let us now consider the advantages of the owner or the owner.

The first advantage is that the lessor’s lease will attract tenants who are interested in paying the rent on time. For this reason, is that the tenant / buyer receives rent credits only if he / she pays rent on time every month. If the rent is too late for a month, then no rent credit is applied. As a result, it actually ends the tenant free money, and it should ensure that the tenant / buyer pays rent on time each month. It should be noted that a traditional lease is not a real incentive for the tenant pays rent on time, because the law is stacked in favor of the tenant. As a result, a number of missing payments or making late payments to the tenant does not cost anything. As a matter of fact, it usually costs the landlord money, and usually a large sum to go through the eviction process. Rent a bike purchase gives credit tenant / buyer incentive to be excellent and the tenant pays on time every month.

Rent credit will also receive your free property rented out quickly for the same reasons listed above. Rent credit gives the tenant / buyer something in return for their rent, that is to pay down the home they eventually purchase. This gives them a credit toward the purchase price of the house or condominium that they currently rent. Incentive will be at home with a mature and serious prospects for your perfect property.

Another useful list of what I like to call a “worry free” by the owner. The reason I say this because the lease agreement the tenant is responsible for all minor maintenance issues at home. That’s right, no more phone calls to the broken water pipe or a clogged toilet in the middle of the night. These issues are now a contractual obligation to the tenant / buyer. The reason is that if the tenant / buyer intends to your home, it can start to take care of your home.

Additional benefits are listed on the market, or even exceed the market rent, the landlord can get. For this reason, is that if the owner is offering generous rent credit program, the tenant / buyer would be willing to pay slightly more each month because the money goes to the purchase price of the house at the end of the lease / option period. Therefore, the tenant is actually paying rent and paying off the house at the same time.

The fourth benefit is to be discussed is non-refundable option consideration money. This is very useful for a number of fronts couple. First, the money is for the owner to ensure the right to buy property at any time during the lease term of the contract. This money, as mentioned above, are non-refundable. As a result, if the tenant / buyer does not use the opportunity to buy a home if the money remains in the holder. If the tenant / buyer exercises the option, then the money can be applied to the purchase price of the house. Other related advantage is that if the tenant / buyer, for whatever reason, do not pay rent on time or at all, from pre-money option is to give the owner a good financial buffer to evict tenants. It usually takes several months, the landlord evicted the tenants, and this money will help support the benefits of ownership during this time. In addition to traditional lease the landlord usually has the first and last month’s rent. This means that if the eviction will take longer than one month, and it usually does, now costs the owner money to keep up with the costs of owning homes.

Another big advantage is that the selling price of the house is a negotiated transaction in the beginning, the landlord may negotiate their sale price in advance. In addition, the owner can add a small percentage is higher than the market value of the house to compensate for the contract period. For example, if the lease option contract is a two-year contract and then it would be appropriate for the landlord to add 5% to the purchase price in order to take into account potential market value at that time. In addition, it is clear that if the option is exercised for home purchase, then the house will be sold without brokers. As a result, there is no property tax involved. This saves the owner or holder of 5% of the purchase price. In real numbers, this means that from $ 15,000 to save $ 300,000 for sale. This is a landlord’s pocket some serious cash.

The final benefit is that during the lease option period, the landlord is still the owner. As a result, his / her name and the offense is entitled to all tax exemptions granted to the owner or the owner’s home. The house had not sold as a result of the tax benefits are still the owner of the privilege. Thus the owner / lessor will receive all the tax advantages of a lease of real property, pay down the mortgage and continue to acquire ownership of his / her property without a traditional lease headaches.

For more information on Rent To Own Houses visit our rent site findrenttoownhomes.

Tricks For Making Your Tenant Avoid Late Rental Payment.

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A tenant background check will help you choose tenants who have no criminal records or who have a stable job. However, this resident screening is not a guarantee that the tenant will pay rent on time. For this reason, you have to have a plan of action in case you are lucky enough to welcome a tenant who always fall behind on payments.

Start on the Right Footing
Needless to say, no landlord would want to welcome a tenant who does not pay rent on time. So early on, during the signing of the lease agreement, make sure to clarify the due date to your tenant. Spell out the mode of payment you prefer, the specific date (and time, if need be), and the late fees you charge for payments not made on time. You may also want to require them to call you when they cannot pay on time for you to decide whether or not you will waive late fees. If it is their first time, or is not a habit already, then there is nothing wrong with being considerate. However, make sure to firmly stress to them that this is the only time you will consider, otherwise this may become a precedent and would make them think that it is okay to be late in paying the rent.

Make Him Pay the Price for Being Late
If the late payments and alibis keep recurring month after month, it is time for you to remind them whos boss. Since you own the property, you call the shots and that you can enforce the late penalty on each day that the payment has not been made. No tenant would like the idea of paying extra so this will be a deterrent for them to fall behind on rental. Since you are making extra money, this extra charge will also assuage you of the stress of not getting the rent on time.

Make Him Pay or Shoo Him Away
If despite the late penalty your tenant continues to fall behind in payment for 2 to 3 days, then you have the right to send out a 10-day notice to pay rent within 10 working days or else they have to vacate the property. Make sure to keep a copy for yourself and consider service times for delivery of the notice. This notice will usually prompt tenants to pay up, but if they dont, you can file for repossession after 10 days.

Turn to The Powers That Be
If after implementing the first three steps rent is still late, inform your tenant that you will report this delinquency to any or all of the various credit bureaus and tenant databases. This will hopefully spur them to cough up. If they still dont, then act on your threat. Take note that to do this you have to pay to sign up for this service. You may also opt to use websites that offer free landlord software where you can post and skim through tenant records using landlord database.

How To Start And Run A Profitable Bouncy Castle Play Inflatable Rental Business.

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Introduction.
Renting out bouncy castles and other play inflatables is a great home business to be in either full time or part time, and the profits can be high, as well as the fun element! You own the business and all the equipment, theres no need to pay any franchising fees or licencing rights. For example, operating just three bouncy castles part-time at weekends, at 55 ($US88) per day per bouncer will bring in 330 ($528) per weekend, or over 1,300 $US2,080) per month. Assuming expenses of around 300 ($US480) per month, this leaves over 1,000 ($US1,600) profit! Not bad for just a few hours work!

Children have birthdays every single day of the year. In the summer and autumn, their parents can hire a bouncy castle for the back garden or yard. In the winter and spring, parents can hire a community hall to hold the party and accommodate the bouncer.

To run a successful bouncy castle rental business, you dont have to give up your full time job, and also you dont need any large capital investment. This article will show newcomers how to start and successfully run a bouncy castle/inflatable hire business from home and avoid the mistakes that others have made in the past.

1: Research.
When thinking about starting a bouncy castle hire business, the first thing to do is to look through all your local newspapers, (classified sections), Yellow Pages, and online. See if there is anyone else in your town advertising a bouncy castle hire business. If you do spot a regular advertiser, dont be put off – theres still room for you. In most towns the demand for bouncy castles far exceeds the supply of them especially in the summer months. You will have a very clear idea of the competition in your area. In a busy area, rival companies will very often pass over enquiries and even bookings to other companies when they are too busy to fulfill the booking themselves. If you are very fortunate, there may be no rivals operating in your area.

2: Equipment needed.
Below is a list of equipment which you will need to start a bouncy castle hire business:
a) Bouncy Castle, rain-cover, electric blower, and anchor stakes.
b) Ground sheet to protect underside of bouncer.
c) Electrical extension cable (25 – 30 meters long).
d) RCD circuit breaker. (safety cut-out device).
e) Safety mat to put at front of the castle.
f) A sat nav or local street map of your town and its surrounding area.
g) Large A4 size desk diary for taking bookings (1 Page to a day).
h) Ledger book for recording takings and expenses etc.
i) Public Liability Insurance cover. We strongly recommend one million pounds as the absolute minimum.
j) Safety instruction sheet and customer disclaimer form.
k) A sack trolley.

From experience, we highly recommend that your first bouncy castle is 12 foot by 12 foot. (3.6m x 3.6m) with a 3 or 4 foot (Approx. 1 metre) safety step at the front. This size is by far the most popular with customers and is easily handled and stored, and when inflated will fit in most back gardens and community halls.

There are many excellent companies selling bouncy castles. Most new bouncy castles come with a one year guarantee, while some manufacturers offer a two year guarantee. Make sure that a minor repair kit is included in the price of your bouncer.

If buying new, make sure that the inflatable has a certificate to say that it has been manufactured to the recognised Standard which as at January 2010 is: BS EN 14960:2006 (UK and Europe).

Be very careful when buying used play inflatables as the stitching on the seams does wear over time, and can cause bed failure. Take an experienced person with you, who will know what to look out for.

3: Where to get customers.
Fortunately, children are born every single day of the year, so there is a virtually endless supply of prospective customers. Most parents prefer to use their own back gardens, or the local community hall to hold the party.

As well as private childrens parties, there are several other places where you can hire out your bouncer e.g. playgroups, nurseries, pubs, hotels, after-school clubs, shopping malls, school fetes, car boot fairs, shows and galas, charity events, football clubs, barbeques, beach parties, christening parties, wedding receptions, tennis clubs, cub and scout groups, brownie and guide groups, business promotions, open days etc.

4: How to get bookings.
In order to get your first hires, I recommend that you do the following: Firstly, tell everyone that you know who have young children, that you have a bouncy castle for hire. Offer to let them rent it at a discount, if they are prepared to tell all their friends and relatives.
Secondly, you need to place an advert in your local newspaper, and in your local yellow pages directory. This advertising will attract enquiries, and providing your telephone manner is polite and helpful you will get bookings virtually automatically.

You should also consider registering for free with Google Maps, so that your potential customers can easily find you when they type out the name of your town and bouncy castle hire in the Google search engine. (It is a very good idea to have a website, but it is not essential to have one, in order to have your company listed in Google Maps for free.

Initial enquiries will take several forms, most callers want to initially know the cost of hiring a bouncy castle, what sizes are available? how many children can use it at the same time? Up to what age group can use it? When a customer calls, the first question you should always ask is what date is the party on? Secondly, ask what age the children will be? Armed with this information, you can suggest a size of bouncy castle, 90% of the time it will be a 12ft x 12ft bouncer. If the children are very young i.e. aged 1 4, it may be better to suggest a smaller bouncer, or even a bouncy ballpond (a small semi-enclosed bouncy castle filled with multi-coloured plastic balls).

Also, tell the customer that you can deliver the castle, set it all up, and collect it at the end of the party. Tell the customer, that you will ring them a couple of days before to confirm the delivery time etc. This approach helps to develop trust with the customer, which should bring them back next time.
Always tell the customer that there is a rain-cover included in the price.

5: Promotional Items and referrals.
It is very important to take advantage of your first bouncy castle bookings. For example a parent has just rented your bouncy castle for their sons birthday party. Youve just taken fifty five pounds or so. But it doesnt end there. At this party, there will be parents of other children, and these children will have birthday parties as well, so you need to promote your company as much as possible. The best way of doing this is to hand out A5 size leaflets. It is also a good idea to get some business cards printed, and given out.
Always remember, customer satisfaction is the number one priority. You really want their party to be a success, and their children to have a really enjoyable time. That way, the parents are more likely to recommend you to their friends, and hire from you again and again.

6: Safety
Obviously with children, safety is absolutely paramount. We strongly recommend that you give your customers a safety instruction sheet. We have produced some templates for you. You can find a copy of this on the BIHA homepage or visit: www.biha.org.uk/safecartoons1 Also, you should familiarize yourself with the legal requirements and codes of practice which apply to the operation of bouncy castles. ( See: www.biha.org.uk ).

7: Basic Book-keeping.
It is very important to keep track of all the money you receive. Also, of course, your expenses regarding advertising, printing, fuel, telephone calls, etc.

8: Expanding your business.
After you have your first few hires under your belt, you will probably start to think of other types of inflatables that you can invest in such as inflatable slides and bouncy ballponds. Don’t forget that the corporate market can be very lucrative (E.g. local councils and big companies in your town).

Good luck, and every success!

Decorating a Rental Property Advice for Landlords

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If you’ve purchased a property to let, then the next part of the process will be to ponder how to decorate it. As tempting as it may be, it’s crucial not to decorate the property based solely on your own tastes, but instead to pick colours and styles that will appeal to the largest potential number of prospective tenants.

Thinking about the tenants and the property

The first thing to think about is the location and kind of property, in addition to the kind of tenants who are likely to stay in the property. Is it an apartment or a house? Is it in the suburbs or a city centre? Are the tenants going to be students, a professional couple or a large family? A landlord has to think about decorating their property depending on many of these issues.

Decorating a house might be majorly different to decorating a flat, as a house is just so much bigger and so there’s more that could be done to it.

The size of a property might also fluctuate depending on its location, with a suburbs house likely to be bigger than a property nearer to a city or town centre – it might also determine the style, as houses in the suburbs are more likely to be more traditional and old-fashioned when compared to potentially contemporary and modern city centre apartments, and admittedly the decor will have to complement this.

When thinking of people, you may have to think about the intentions of the rooms. For example, for a property intended for students, most of the rooms will probably have to be bedrooms, with just one alternate room (aside from the bathrooms and kitchen, of course) to be lounge and dining room. A professional couple on the other hand might only require just the one bedroom, with a second as a bedroom for guests.

Colour? Style? Neutral and simple

When it comes to decorating the property, it’s best to ensure everything neutral and simple. That way it will agree with the majority of people’s preferences and shouldn’t clash with their furniture.

A nice colour for walls is a cream or off-white, such as magnolia. White’s a great and sensible ceiling colour. For flooring, contemplate a carpet that is medium pile (not too shaggy yet not too thin) and stay away from a colour that is too light – a cream or white could show dirt and stains more than a mink or beige colour.

Should it be unfurnished or furnished?

An unfurnished property allows tenants to bring their own furniture. However, for some types of tenants, it may be more sensible to furnish the property for them, for example, for students who might only be letting the property for a year.

If you decide to furnish it, make sure that all the furniture is compliant with legislation such as fire regulations – this is very important. Just in case items get broken or go missing, it is also essential to have an inventory. Of course, if you’re furnishing a property for your tenants then brace yourself for possible breakages, in addition to frequent repair work and maintenance that goes with it.

Northern Colorado’s Tough Rental Market

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The Northern Colorado economy is making it more difficult to find qualified tenants for condos, duplexes and single-family homes, according to local landlords and property managers.

Properties have been available for two months and some longer, and not getting a lot of calls. It’s pretty slow for which a lot of it is just that peoples incomes have changed.

The economy is lowering many peoples incomes and nicking their credit, making it harder to find qualified tenants. The Fed’s Regional Economic Survey showed sluggish consumer spending and a sharp contraction in the Oil and Gas Industry with limited activity in Colorado due to low natural-gas prices.

Some landlords have recently made improvements to their property and lowered the rent in an attempt to rent it. Others are offering a free rent for up to 2 months and yet some are offering a cash rebate at the lease signing.

You hear stories like, “We don’t usually have trouble renting it,” “We began advertising the vacancy and even though we have received a similar number of calls as we did a year ago its still remains vacant.”

Many people are asking if the landlord accepts Section 8 vouchers, a federal program that helps very low-income families rent from private owners. Many are not qualifying because of income or credit problems.

Businesses continue to reduce their expenses. Labor is the largest expenditure on most Profit and Loss statements and employees are asked to take furlough days and some are forced to join the unemployment ranks.

I think rental vacancies are close to peaking but reducing the number of vacancies seems really tough. Tenants are shopping for value (filling their needs inexpensively).

Some landlords have bent a little more to fill vacancies and others are working more with current tenants who may have fallen behind on their rent, creating a plan to let them catch-up instead of simply evicting them.

While others are negotiating a new lease agreement with reduced rent collection but extend lease cycle. The thought process is to try to make a win-win for everybody.

This could be the solution needed to get through these tough times but if your tenant vacates then use venues that deliver a great presentation to the widest audience at a minimum price such as the product and services offered at Rentmarkets.com where together with you their mission is to fill your vacancy!