PropertyManager.com » Aimee Miller

Recyling Bins Now Required for Apartment Complexes in California

Aimee Miller — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:44:01 +0000

In California, Governor Jerry Brown recently signed the Renter’s Right to Recycle Act, requiring landlords to offer recycling bins and services for cans, plastic and paper in complexes with five or more apartment units. This effort was led by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield (Democrat, Woodland Hills), Bob said “…Green living is the future and nothing is more basic than being able to recycle where you live.” This bill was also supported by the California Apartment Association (CAA) which represents thousands of landlords.

An interesting statistic mentioned in the article was that the recycling rate in apartment buildings is just 15%, compared with 70% of Californians who live in single family homes. Before this bill, less than 40% of the renters living in apartments had the option to recycle on the property. If they wanted to recycle, these renters would have to carry their waste across town to a recycling center…..and you can bet not many people will do that!

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2011/09/apartment-recycling-law-signed-by-governor.html

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July 2011 Index of Sales Agreements Drops (Data from NAR)

Aimee Miller — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:14:38 +0000

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) shared statistics for home sales in July of 2011….and the news isn’t great.

Their index of sales agreements dropped 1.3% in the month of July, landing at a reading of 89.7. To put it into perspective, economists say that a reading of 100 is considered ‘healthy’. The index reached a similar level in April 2010, but signings are about 18% above the June 2010 reading (75.9) which was the lowest since the housing market collapsed over 4 years ago.

The signing of contracts is a pretty good indicator of which direction the housing market is going — when the number of people who sign agreements to purchase homes falls, it is yet another bit of evidence showing that the tough housing market is hurting the economy. The National Association of Realtors group also said that a large number of buyers actually canceled contracts once the appraisals showed the houses were worth less than the original agreed to price. And, since a sale isn’t final until the mortgage is closed, this is a depressing trend for homebuyers but possibly good news for those offering rentals. For the 3rd month in a row, sales of new homes (in July) fell again and this year is on track to be the worst for new home sales since 1963!

Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/08/29/pending-home-sales-dip-in-july/

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Making Rentals Out of Foreclosures

Aimee Miller — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:55:52 +0000

The White House said that it is looking to move more than 92,000 foreclosed properties (that are currently owned by the US government) into rental units. The Obama administration is looking into new ways to sell these foreclosed homes owned by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac to investors who would then rent out the properties.

Real estate market analysts believe that getting rid of these foreclosed properties is vital to help improve the economy and the housing market. In a recent statement, Treasury Secretary Geithner said “Exploring new options for selling these foreclosed properties will help expand access to affordable rental housing, promote private investment in local housing markets and support neighborhood and home-price stability”.

One idea on the table is to look for private investors willing to purchase these homes then have them managed by companies that specialize in professional property management. The administration is hoping that there will be a range of interested parties like hedge funds, nonprofit groups, financial institutions, etc who will be willing to offer scenarios in which they would consider purchasing packages of these foreclosed, government-owned single family properties in larger, bulk transactions. Many of the homes would need to be renovated prior to renting. This is essentially a call for creative ideas and innovation from businesses interested in partnering with the government to turn these foreclosures into viable rentals and help the real estate recovery process.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-moves-to-sell-rent-92000-foreclosed-homes-2011-08-10

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Zillow Shares Sell Like Hot Cakes

Aimee Miller — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 22:57:18 +0000

Even as the housing sector continues to be unpredictable it was exciting to see the Zillow IPO on Wednesday July 20th. Zillow priced its IPO at $20 per share and the stock quickly doubled right out of the gates. Around when this article was published it was trading closer to $34.40 which is a 72% increase from the initial price.

Even though Zillow is not yet profitable, the company sold 3.46 million shares in the IPO. They are getting closer to profitability and the revenue growth is good – Zillow reported $30.5 million in 2010 and $17.5 million in 2009. This IPO does come at a tough period for the housing sector, which still has not made any kind of a sustained recovery. Does this IPO indicate that investors believe in the profitability of the residential property sector? Or is it just increased confidence in the technology sector as a whole?

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/20/technology/zillow_IPO/

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Rentals with Hollywood Connections – These Could Be Yours!

Aimee Miller — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:19:23 +0000

Now, finally these fancy Hollywood villas are a little bit more affordable….but that’s all relative! With the real estate bust now luxury homes are cheaper and when they don’t sell, these celebrity owners must offer them for rent. Here are a few famous houses on the rental market:

– Malibu – $250,000/month for 16,107 square feet right on Pacific Coast Highway. This house is called La Villa Contenta and you might have seen it in the 2009 movie “I Love You Man”. This eight acre estate has 13 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, indoor and outdoor pools and an amazing ocean view.

– Heidi Montag’s house in Malibu now will rent for $16,500 / month and that’s down from $25K /month! But…that makes sense because there is only a community pool.

– Remember The Brady Bunch? You could rent Jan’s oceanfront cottage for only $5,800 / month. It is right on the beach too.

– How about Orlando Bloom’s house? For $18,000 / month this 71-year old Hollywood Hills home has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Want to see more? Check out the slideshow here: http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=27845434#1

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Top 5 Cheapest Housing Markets in the US

Aimee Miller — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 22:46:17 +0000

We all know that housing is cheap right now….but where is it the cheapest? Based on data from the National Association of Realtors, Yahoo Real Estate has put together a list of the 5 cities where the typical house costs less than $82K.

1 – The very cheapest is the area around Youngstown, Ohio. The median home price is around $55K – these are nice suburban neighborhoods with some good looking houses! There is even a 4,800 square foot home with 7 bedrooms in the historic district available for $150K.

2 – Lansing Michigan – Median home price is $64,400. During the first 3 months of 2011 Lansing had the 38th highest foreclosure rate in the nation so there are many great bargains here.

3 – Toledo, OH – Median home price is $64,900. Toledo once depended on the auto plants building Jeeps and GM products, now there are few of these high paying jobs left because many of the plants have closed. The population has decreased leaving many homes available.

Interested in the last 2? Read the full article here: http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/americas-dirt-cheap-housing-markets.html

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Census Shows Increase in Renters Nationwide

Aimee Miller — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:52:38 +0000

More large cities are seeing an increase in the number of renters vs homeowners. According to a USA TODAY analysis of the latest Census data, now more than 500 large and midsize cities have seen growth in the quantity of homes that are rented vs owned. With more than 4 million homes lost due to foreclosure over the past 5 years, it isn’t surprising to see such a large increase in rental properties. Economists predict that having more tenants will mean shifts in neighborhood stability and how people build wealth and retirement savings.

Across the US in 2010 34.9% of occupied homes were rented in 2010, compared with 33.8% in 2000. And this trend is predicted to continue.

Mark Zandi, economist at Moody’s Analytics says that several factors will fuel the growth of rentals in the coming years. These trends include more foreclosures, more drops in home prices that scare potential buyers and the potential for the government to cut government subsidies as well. But homeownership will survive – a recent survey by Fannie Mae found that 74% of renters think owning is better than renting.

SOURCE – http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-05-30-renters-owners-census_n.htm

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Fair Housing Webinar Recap, Featuring Trainer Donna

Aimee Miller — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:00:49 +0000

In honor of April Fair Housing Month, we co-hosted a webinar with Grace Hill featuring Fair Housing Expert, Trainer Donna. Donna gave many best practices on what you should be doing to stay compliant with Fair Housing regulations. This complimentary webinar included lots of questions and Donna took the time to write out answers too!

Watch the recording and read the Q&A on Fair Housing for Property Managers.

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Track Your Energy Costs in Real Time

Aimee Miller — Sat, 14 May 2011 00:06:54 +0000

Anyone who lives in a house or apartment has to pay energy bills. Not only can these bills be expensive, you only find out what you owe after the month is over. Now homeowners and renters can use home-electricity monitors to watch energy use and see what it costs in real time. The device is hooked up to the breaker box and from there it wirelessly transmits the data to a display unit.

According to studies by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (in Washington DC), when people have instant information about the energy use of individual appliances throughout the home they typically save 12%. You can move around the house with the handheld device and see how it impacts energy consumption when you turn on a light or use the toaster. The monitor comes with software but online giants like Google are also offering the ability to review energy usage in real time.

What if you could offer this to a prospective renter – it’s a marketing idea that would definitely make the home stand out from the crowd!

Source: http://realestate.msn.com/real-time-energy-monitors-reduce-use-and-costs

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How Property Managers Can Use Video

Aimee Miller — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:19:42 +0000

AppFolio recently hosted a webinar featuring Todd Breen (CEO of VirtuallyIncredible.com). Todd is an experienced property manager and he shared his best practices on how property managers can effectively use video in their business. This recorded webinar included great ideas on how to shoot marketing videos, inspection videos, move-in/move-out videos and more!

Watch the recorded webinar and read even more of the Q&A here:
http://www.appfolio.com/blog/2011/03/video-improve-property-management-marketing-todd-breen

Do you have employees in your company that just take videos?
You don’t need someone with great video skills – you really want a knowledgeable property manager who can describe the features of each property.

Do we still have to use photos?
Yes, definitely! Video doesn’t replace photos, people will be attracted first by your photos and if they like what they see they’ll watch the property video. People expect to see both.

Do you recommend The Flip Video Camera?
I usually recommend the Kodak z18 for a video camera but lately I have been loving my iPhone 4 videos! Check out the iPhone 4 (video review here: http://virtuallyincredible.com/2011/video-tours-iphone4).

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