Archive by Author
How to Attract “Generation Y” Residents for Your Rental Properties
Posted on 23. Jan, 2012 by Marc Courtenay.
Believe it or not, there are up to 80 million people between the ages of 16 and 29 who will be filling your vacancies in the year ahead.
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Rental Housing and Apartment Rental Market Trends for 2012
Posted on 04. Jan, 2012 by Marc Courtenay.
The year 2011 will go down in history as the year when the rental housing and multifamily apartment rental markets began to tip in favor of owners and landlords.
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What Property Managers Need to Know Now About the Real Estate Market
Posted on 30. Dec, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Property managers need to streamline the application and screening process of filling vacancies. Finding good renters in this economy is becoming a numbers game. The better you know the condition of the housing market in your area, and the more potential renters you can reach and process, the more you’ll succeed.
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Celebrate the New Year with your Staff: 4 Fun Ideas
Posted on 08. Dec, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
The year 2012 is almost upon us. You staff has worked long and hard to fill the vacancies, please the residents and fulfill the expectations of your clients. So it’s time to show them how much your appreciation while at the same time reinforcing their positive efforts to help your property management business to grow and “flourish.”
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How to Select a Property Manager
Posted on 21. Nov, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
A recent set of circumstances helped me to realize that property managers might want to know how owners and investors go about selecting a manager for their property.
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Renting vs. Owning: The Rent Ratio
Posted on 03. Nov, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
The buy-versus-rent question is particularly relevant right now as we see home prices continuing to decline and interest rates on new mortgages also going down to the lowest levels in 60 years. Back in April of 2010 The New York Times did an impressive job of explaining the ratio that helps define whether it is economically more sensible for residents to buy or rent their housing.
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Grow Your Property Management Business with New Investors
Posted on 20. Oct, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
These are the “better times”, when interest rates are their historical lowest and the number of people needing rental housing is growing exponentially with each passing year. As one publication stated it, “However, in real estate, the right time, the most advantageous time, is always the present.”
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Let Your Owners Know You’re a Source for Real Estate News
Posted on 03. Oct, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Give owners some ideas on how they can take advantage of today’s real estate and financial trends. Impress them with your creativity and business acumen.
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4 Easy Ways to Attract More Applicants for Your Vacant Rentals
Posted on 28. Sep, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Let’s look at 4 simple ideas that will motivate and facilitate the rental application process so you can draw a larger number of applicants like metal shavings to a powerful magnet.
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Rental Applications: Knowing the Rules and Requirements
Posted on 16. Sep, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
As property managers, we confront the ever-changing process of attracting and qualifying new residents to fill vacancies. With the legal landscape also changing, it’s increasingly important to understand the laws governing rental applications in the state where we manage our rental properties.
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Protect and Grow Your Owner-Client Relationships
Posted on 07. Sep, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Little things mean a lot in the property management business. Maintaining a strong rapport with your owner-clients derives from focusing on those “little things” and attending to the details that forge lasting loyalty and satisfied clients.
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Bulldozer-Style Foreclosures and Their Hidden Potential
Posted on 29. Aug, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
There are many ways for a lending institution to handle a foreclosure, and there are apparently many ways to deal with the foreclosed property after they have it in their possession. There are close to 1.7 million houses in the U.S. in some stage of foreclosure. Banks already own a large number of these houses and will soon repossess many more. Housing economists worry that a near constant stream of home sales by banks could keep housing prices down for years to come. But what if some of those homes virtually “disappeared” and weren’t sold?
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Rental Income with a “Home Away from Home” Approach
Posted on 12. Aug, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
There are many ways to help owners expand their base of income and to separate yourself as a property manager that’s going above and beyond to help your clients succeed.
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Handling Evictions While Rents are Going Higher
Posted on 14. Jul, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
The national unemployment rate increased during June of 2011, and the number of new jobs created was disappointingly low. As unemployment benefits expire and public assistance programs are drained, more residents are finding it difficult to meet their major expenses, beginning with their rent. On July 9th I interviewed the owner of a property management company in Southern California. We discussed vacancies, rental rates and handling evictions.
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How Your Residents Can Lower Their Electric and Water Bills
Posted on 28. Jun, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Summer time is prime time to remember both electricity and water conservation ideas. If your residents use electricity as the main energy source for their air conditioning and food preparation needs, there are effective ways to save both energy and money.
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Effective Ways To Handle an Eviction
Posted on 16. Jun, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
There are no easy, self-evident ways to deal with a resident eviction. You can’t just change deal with this challenge using your imagination only. A property manager or owner who wants to evict a tenant must fastidiously follow the state and local laws. The process of eviction can be expedited. The challenge though involves doing everything exactly right.
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Who Doesn’t Want Residential Income Property Right Now?
Posted on 26. May, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Owning and managing residential income property is not for the faint of heart. Dealing personally with residents, filling vacancies, collecting the rent and maintaining the properties are the reasons many owners hire professional property managers.
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Plug Into the Power of NARPM
Posted on 23. May, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
With the ever-changing challenges and opportunities of property management it’s wise to be part of a national association that focuses on the issues of that profession. NARPM wants their members to have a heightened expertise and industry knowledge to assist them in doing the best job they possibly can.
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“N” is for Network and “C” is for Contest
Posted on 26. Apr, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
To be a more successful property manager and to stand out as the proactive professional that you are, you’ll want to excel at building your own network.
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Low-Cost Ways to Upgrade Your Leasing Office
Posted on 21. Apr, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
You only get one chance to make a good impression. That’s also true for your rental-leasing office. How your office is arranged and the ambiance it presents will leave a lasting impression on owners and potential residents.
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Working With Real Estate Investment Groups and Associations
Posted on 14. Apr, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
A property manager’s best friend may be her own imagination and creativity. Yes, nothing floats like experience, but sometimes we have to go out of our own “comfort zones” to fish in unchartered waters. Recently I spoke to a group of real estate developers who formed a Syndicate for investors to participate in their projects.
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Fair Housing Resources for Savvy Property Managers
Posted on 01. Apr, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
State and federal laws require nondiscrimination and equal access to housing for all people. There can’t be any discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, age, familial status, children, marital status, veteran status or membership in the armed services, the receiving of public assistance, or physical or mental disability.
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Property Managers Receive Free “Energy Review” and Save Money
Posted on 29. Mar, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
There might not any “free lunches”, but hundreds of utility companies around the nation are offering free consultations and reviews on how to stop wasting both energy and money. The idea is to figure out how to use less energy and yet make your rental properties more comfortable for residents at a meaningful saving in costs.
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Will the Cost of Renting Rise in 2011?
Posted on 24. Mar, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Even though the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. government keep telling us that there’s virtually “no inflation” and little if any “inflationary pressures”, most Americans know otherwise. Major financial news channels like Bloomberg and CNBC are reporting that in many regions around the nation vacancy rates are going down.
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Love Your Residents More Than They Love You
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Apartment Leadership: Courageous Conversations
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Manage Your Property Like a Dog
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Optimizing Your Property Management Facebook Page for Search
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Who Doesn’t Want Residential Income Property Right Now?
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Marc Courtenay: Thank you Aimee. That is an excellent article....
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Aimee Miller: Here's an interesting article with even more stats...
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john: The problem is not a lack of inspections, but a la...
