Property Management Blog

What are habitability issues?

The term habitability in regards to rental property has to do with the livability of a house or apartment.  One of the laws that govern real estate that is rented out to a tenant is referred to as Landlord/Tenant law.  Many of these rules or statutes are found in the Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 90 (ORS 90).  In particular ORS 90.320(1) states that, “A Landlord shall at all times during the tenancy maintain the dwelling unit in a habitable condition.”  The list ... read more >>

How much cash reserves do I need for my rental property?

As I have mentioned many times before in previous blog posts, having a reserve set aside for future repairs is a must.  It is not a matter of if things will break and need fixing it is a matter of when.  Also, maintenance and repair items tend to be one of the bigger expense line items for a rental property.  It is very much part of the cost of doing business.  Unfortunately, many landlords are caught off guard or by surprise when things begin to go... read more >>

DO YOU EVEN NEED A PROPERTY MANAGER?

Before you go hiring a property management company, be sure you need one in the first place. If you can do the following yourself, then maybe hiring a property manager won’t be necessary.

• Do you have the resources to screen the tenants thoroughly?
• Do you... read more >>

What is the real cost of property management in Albany, OR?

When considering the cost of professional property management there are several items that you want to take into consideration.  For instance, the real cost of management is really only about half of what you are seeing – BECAUSE, half of the cost would be the same if YOU or any other person did it.  For example, not even counting how much your time is worth (soft cost or “opportunity cost”) YOU spend money on fuel to get to the property,... read more >>

How to compare property management companies

Finding the best property management company for your rental property can be a difficult task.  It can be tough enough just deciding to finally turn over your rental to someone you don’t know let alone decide which property manager is going to do the best job for you.

Here are a few things to consider when making this decision.  In general, the number one question asked by prospective owners searching out a property management company is, “what do you ... read more >>

What to know before you buy a rental property

While my standard advice is to buy real estate, it is important to buy right.  In other words you need to do your due diligence before purchasing your next rental property.  Some of the primary things to consider about the physical property are the location, unit mix, differed maintenance issues and repairs that might be needed now or in the near future.  An insp... read more >>

How much does it cost for a handyman to do repairs on a rental property in Albany, OR

Repairs and maintenance issues on your rental property can be one of your most expensive line items. 

Simple repairs that can be done in just an hour or two can end up costing several hundreds of dollars with many of the local handyman service companies or a local contractor.  Throughout the Mid-Willamette Valle... read more >>

How should I handle landscaping at my rental property?

Landscaping issues tend to be a hot topic, especially with owners of rental homes.  The conversation usually begins by the homeowner asking us if we can find a tenant that will take care of all the landscaping.  We generally respond with, “we can sure try”.  We always want to do our best for our owners.  However, time has taught us many lessons especially in the department of landscape upkeep.  Generally speaking, tenants do not take ... read more >>

Avoiding risk with your rental property.

With risk comes reward, however unnecessary risk brings liability that can cost you everything.  One of the biggest risks in rental property is in regards to negligence.  An owner or landlord of rental property can be negligent if they should have been aware of an issue and failed to address and resolve the problem.  This can take many forms but often we see it in regards to safety issues at the rental property.  For instance, a loose handrail that... read more >>

An Interesting Dilemma

The definition of a “dilemma” is:  A situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, esp. equally undesirable ones.

Well, there are plenty of dilemmas in property management.  One of the common dilemmas we deal with on a daily basis is that Owners generally do not want a lot of maintenance done on their property and yet the #1 reason tenants move out is that maintenance issues are not being dealt with.  Coupled with the fact that ... read more >>