Important Tips Every Property Manager Should Know

Many individuals refrain from purchasing property even if they are in a healthy financial position to do so simply because they are not confident that they can manage the property effectively. Property management in NYC will require individuals to incur some expenses, but delaying maintenance or hiring unprofessional services will ensure that these expenses rise significantly. A property that has a poor maintenance history will be extremely difficult to sell on the market. There are some important things to keep in mind when dealing with the realty market.

 

Keep yourself informed about everything

As a property manager, it is your responsibility to educate yourself on the various laws and regulations that your property is subject to. You will also need to keep yourself up to date with any changes in property legislation that may affect your own property. Identify and update all the legal documentation required to prove ownership and sell your property.

Other things to keep in mind

Create systems and procedures for maintenance so that you can measure progress effectively and quickly identify deficiencies and faults in your property.

Be honest to your clients and give them a full history of the property when trying to sell. Your reputation in the market may depend on this.

Create a routine and stick to it. This not only ensures that you use your time in the best way, but will ensure that all tasks will eventually become like muscle memory.

Keep a proper track of all documentation, even if it extremely unimportant. It is often difficult to anticipate when a document may be required and for what.

Top 5 iPhone and iPad Apps for Property Managers

With the increasing competition in the real estate market as well as the ever-escalating prices in NYC, it is important to stay on top of the changing trends. One easy way to keep abreast with the latest developments as a property manager is to use to the right apps. If you are using an iPhone or iPad to carry out everyday tasks for work, installing a few free apps can go a long way in ensuring that you stay ahead of the curve.

 

Free real estate apps for your Apple device

One of the most popular apps designed for an iPad or iPhone is called Homesnap Real Estate. With this app, you can find everything you need to know about a property by clicking a picture. Scan the image through the app you can download the current value as well the price of the last sale. You can also get essential information including number of bathrooms, bedrooms, locality, schools etc.  If you are interested in local real estate, you can try Smarter Agent’s Real Estate app that helps you enhance your search for residential property. It offers information with 40 POIs including local establishments, ATMs, entertainment and restaurants.

 

Get all necessary information with a single image

Property Capsule is an app designed to create a commercial property portfolio in cities like NYC with a few easy clicks. You can present your commercial portfolio in real time to potential tenants with your Apple device. Cartavi is another simple app that allows real estate professionals and property managers to share and manage essential documents through their iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. You can also try other Apple apps like MagicPlan, Happy Inspector, and Ten Eight 2.0

How Landlords Should Handle a Natural Disaster

Oftentimes, natural disasters uproot ongoing lives in cities and raise havoc in heavily populated areas. Whether you have recently experienced a flood, tsunami, earthquake, landslide, or hurricane there are many steps landlords and tenants can take to handle the damage. Here is what you should know about handling property damage caused by natural disasters.

Common Scenarios Between Tenants and Landlords

After experiencing a natural disaster with varying effects and damage on property, four general scenarios may arise between tenants and landlords. The first scenario includes both parties wishing to cancel the agreement for rental occupation. The second scenario involves the landlord wishing the tenants to vacate the property but the latter opposing the move. The third scenario is when both the landlord and tenant wish to stay in the property and the fourth includes the landlords wishing the tenant to continue occupying the property but the latter wishing otherwise.

How Should Landlords Approach Tenants? 

If both the landlord and tenant are in agreement, the contracts and repair services are relatively simple. Mutual agreements between the tenant and landlord, whether choosing to stay or move out, should be solidified with a written contract. However, if the landlord wants the tenant to relocate, they must provide them with a 30-day notice. They can also provide a 60-day no cause notice if the tenants have occupied the property for over a year. It is important to note that landlords cannot charge their tenants for any damage caused by the natural disaster. However, they can charge for expenses of damage that are not related to the natural disaster.

Online Rental Scams: How Can Landlords Avoid Them?

How to Protect the Best Interests of Your Property

People who are looking to let their properties for rent are becoming increasingly aware of the scams taking place. As a result, a cautious approach is adopted when picking renters. Unfortunately, property owners cannot tell whether or not their rental properties are used in scams. However, the following few tips can help you make your property highly credible to a large pool of prospective tenants.

 

Scanning Craigslist

An increasing number of people are turning to Craigslist when they look for rentals. Scam artists also use the website to find rental space. Scanning the rentals in your area on Craigslist every now and then can help in ensuring that your properties are not appropriated by scam landlords.

 

Online Advertising

When putting up a property for rent, property management must be done effectively on the internet. Not only will you have to write an effective description of the rental property, but linking it to a created site will make potential renters view your property in high regard. Since scam artists usually deal in bulk, they won’t have time to create professional webpages, thus putting you ahead on potential suitors’ list.

 

Signage

The property for rent must have a sign that lists the phone number of the landlord. It would help in attracting more suitors if you link your property with a professional property management firm as renters tend to find it easier to conduct business with a company than individual landlords. Advertising the number will help you find tenants quickly.

Five Keys for Tenant Screening

Inform the Applicants about Tenant Screening

Before starting off with tenant screening, it is important to inform applicants that screening is compulsory. Just learning that there is a screening process is sure to eliminate potentially bad tenants, thus saving you valuable time.

Screen Consistently

A comprehensive and systematic tenant screening process for all your potential tenants will protect you in case an applicant makes claims that you have made violations against the Fair Housing Act.

Deciding Minimum Qualification

As the owner of a property in NYC, you are expected to pick a tenant who will give you no trouble with regards to payment of rent or other issues. Decide whether you want tenants who have criminal records, or if such applicants must refrain from applying regardless of how long back they were arrested for whatever reason. Think in detail what kind of tenant you would like before starting with the screenings.

Credit Checks

Once your applicants have met your prior requirements, run a credit check to ensure that they will be able to meet rent and bill payments on time. Get the report directly from the applicant’s credit reported to make sure that there are no shenanigans.

 

Check References

Calling the present or past landlords of an individual will help you determine whether or not an applicant is worthy of your space. Personal and employment references will help you know more about the person, thus enabling you to make an informed decision regarding the outlet of your rental space.

Having an Annual Meeting

We’re in the midst of the annual meeting cycle for co-ops and condominiums as most associations hold their meeting in May or June.  This is a good time to look at some aspects of the gathering while it is fresh in the minds of the boards and residents who have just met and for those preparing for theirs.

The co-op or condo annual meeting is much like that of public companies when shareholders, both big and small, gather to hear about the company’s performance and its future prospects from the chairman and president and vote on board members and other issues.  These meetings, on which many companies spend considerable time and expense, are usually held in the spring of the year for companies whose fiscal year ends on December 31.

While far from as elaborate or attention-grabbing as the meetings of the public companies, the annual meetings of co-op and condos are for many of the shareholders and unit-owners at least of equal importance.  For many, the investment in their home is their largest asset. While each meeting has its own rhythm and tone, the basic structure and requirements are similar, and, in fact, mirror to a great extent the corporate sessions.

Annual meetings help inform shareholders and unit owner

There are three main purposes for the annual meeting: to update shareholders and unit-owners on the operations and finances of the property; elect the board as well as vote on other issues, such as amendments to the building’s by-laws; and provide an opportunity for residents to ask questions.

The annual meeting, as with all regulations and rules in a co-op or condominium, is governed by the building’s by-laws. While these are unique to each building, they all call for an annual meeting according to Business Corporate Law of New York State, which govern co-ops and condominiums.

Most meetings follow a standard agenda.  A management report is given, usually by the president or managing agent, describing operations in the past year and specific changes and improvements that were made as well as current issues and future plans.   The treasurer, and or accountant, describes the financial condition of the building and the accountant presents the audit report certifying that the financial records are in order.  The treasurer, president or managing agent also may discuss capital improvement requirements and whether these can be funded from the reserve fund or will require a special assessment or other financial arrangement.

Some co-ops and condominiums require a vote on capital improvements, and some, mainly smaller ones, require a vote on the annual budget.

Why are the meetings usually scheduled in May and June, when most fiscal years end on December 31? One reason is that it takes the accountants time to review and certify the financial statements.  As we all know, accountants are usually immersed in taxes through April, and May and June are the earliest they can complete the financial statements.

The financial reports should be provided to the shareholders or unit-owners sufficiently in advance of the meeting for them to review the document.  They should also receive the text of items to be voted on, if any, and any potential rules changes.

The managing agent usually organizes and sets the agenda for the annual meeting in conjunction with the board president and in some cases directions from the by-laws. 

Attendance varies from building to building and we at Matthew Adam Properties make certain we collect proxies from those who will not attend, or are uncertain, so a quorum is guaranteed.  By the way, a quorum is needed only for votes, so meetings can start on time and votes taken when more residents arrive and a quorum is achieved.

We’re in the midst of the annual meeting cycle for co-ops and condominiums as most associations hold their meeting in May or June.  This is a good time to look at some aspects of the gathering while it is fresh in the minds of the boards and residents who have just met and for those preparing for theirs.

The co-op or condo annual meeting is much like that of public companies when shareholders, both big and small, gather to hear about the company’s performance and its future prospects from the chairman and president and vote on board members and other issues.  These meetings, on which many companies spend considerable time and expense, are usually held in the spring of the year for companies whose fiscal year ends on December 31.

While far from as elaborate or attention-grabbing as the meetings of the public companies, the annual meetings of co-op and condos are for many of the shareholders and unit-owners at least of equal importance.  For many, the investment in their home is their largest asset. While each meeting has its own rhythm and tone, the basic structure and requirements are similar, and, in fact, mirror to a great extent the corporate sessions.

Annual meetings help inform shareholders and unit owners

There are three main purposes for the annual meeting: to update shareholders and unit-owners on the operations and finances of the property; elect the board as well as vote on other issues, such as amendments to the building’s by-laws; and provide an opportunity for residents to ask questions.

The annual meeting, as with all regulations and rules in a co-op or condominium, is governed by the building’s by-laws. While these are unique to each building, they all call for an annual meeting according to Business Corporate Law of New York State, which govern co-ops and condominiums.

Most meetings follow a standard agenda.  A management report is given, usually by the president or managing agent, describing operations in the past year and specific changes and improvements that were made as well as current issues and future plans.   The treasurer, and or accountant, describes the financial condition of the building and the accountant presents the audit report certifying that the financial records are in order.  The treasurer, president or managing agent also may discuss capital improvement requirements and whether these can be funded from the reserve fund or will require a special assessment or other financial arrangement.

Some co-ops and condominiums require a vote on capital improvements, and some, mainly smaller ones, require a vote on the annual budget.

Why are the meetings usually scheduled in May and June, when most fiscal years end on December 31? One reason is that it takes the accountants time to review and certify the financial statements.  As we all know, accountants are usually immersed in taxes through April, and May and June are the earliest they can complete the financial statements.

The financial reports should be provided to the shareholders or unit-owners sufficiently in advance of the meeting for them to review the document.  They should also receive the text of items to be voted on, if any, and any potential rules changes.

The managing agent usually organizes and sets the agenda for the annual meeting in conjunction with the board president and in some cases directions from the by-laws. 

Attendance varies from building to building and we at Matthew Adam Properties make certain we collect proxies from those who will not attend, or are uncertain, so a quorum is guaranteed.  By the way, a quorum is needed only for votes, so meetings can start on time and votes taken when more residents arrive and a quorum is achieved.

While most buildings have one meeting a year, there are some that have periodic informational meetings to keep the shareholders or unit-owners current on building operations and issues.  Some buildings also have a pre-annual meeting session where the residents can get to know potential candidates for the board of directors and receive an update on building activities.  Additionally, when a major issue arises during the year, such as a capital improvement project, a special meeting may be called.

While most buildings have one meeting a year, there are some that have periodic informational meetings to keep the shareholders or unit-owners current on building operations and issues.  Some buildings also have a pre-annual meeting session where the residents can get to know potential candidates for the board of directors and receive an update on building activities.  Additionally, when a major issue arises during the year, such as a capital improvement project, a special meeting may be called.