What You Need To Consider When Hiring a Property Manager

Once you have actually found a good rental, the next step is to pick a great property manager.  In searching, you want to do a thorough interview, and in doing so, you will be able to determine if they are worth working with.  Here are some questions to keep in mind when choosing a property manager:


How do they control maintenance costs?  
Make sure the manager has you approve a list of vendors, which will include a plumber, handyman, electrician, painter, etc.   Ask your manager to contact you only if a certain project goes over the maximum expense.

How do they advertise vacancies?
As a landlord, your goal is to have maximum exposure for your vacancies to shorten the time that a rental goes unoccupied.  A good manager will be aggressive n their advertisements.  You don't want your property staying vacant for too long.  Aim for free advertising, like Craigslist or Facebook.

How do they show properties?
The process used to show properties describes whether they will be successful or not in obtaining quality tenants.  For example, if your manager only shows properties 8-5, this decreases your odds of getting a tenant with a day job.

How does the company screen tenants?
Ensure in-depth credit,criminal, employment, and prior residency checks, these checks can find any negative history and keep you from some big losses.  All it takes is one bad tenant to turn you off to rental properties.

How does the company deal with accounting and owner reports?
Your property manager should have a quick system to provide all lease expiration data on your properties, move-in/move-out inspections, lease documents, open work orders, and tax information.


How does the manager deal with after hour emergencies? 
Most property managers will have a 24 hour maintenance emergency line to handle requests immediately.  Be sure the manager has a line and it is staffed 24-7.

How do they deal with evictions?
Ask your manager how often they file for eviction on their current properties.  Usually a high rate of eviction can determine that the manager is not accurately screening applicants.  A renter should be able to pass a basic credit check and have an adequate landlord reference.


As a property investor you have the choice of managing your properties yourself or delegating the day-to-day operations to managing agents.  It is critical that you choose your manager wisely as the company can considerably increase the return from your property.

Whatever type of property you need – residential, retail, office, wholesale or industrial – we at Landmark Group can help you buy, sell, maintain or renovate. We can also help you manage your property. Just give us a call.

Is It Time For A Property Manager

Renting a property requires a broad skill set to match an ever-changing set of challenges. What you might have been able to handle at one point in your career as a landlord may alter over time.

Read on for the aspects of property management that might inspire you to call in reinforcements to help you out.

Maintenance
If your stable of properties has grown, you feel like you’re losing money on repairs, or you’re just short on time, you might want help with property maintenance.  Consider how a landscaping service might do more work than you can comfortably, saving you hours that could be put to other use.

Interacting with residents
If you have a number of residents or have your properties scattered throughout the area, collecting rent and dealing with all the issues residents might have can become time-consuming. A reputable property management company can take the headaches away by collecting rent, keeping units rented, and dealing with resident problems. Property managers can also help you stay on top of maintenance, legal issues and affordable housing program paperwork. The peace of mind you get from the help will likely make the service worth every penny.

Keeping up with laws
Housing law is in constant flux. From rent control to changing codes, you need to be on top of it all to stay compliant. If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, a real estate lawyer might make your life easier by making sure you are up to date legally and that your property insurance provides adequate protection, for instance.

Taxes
If you’ve been brave enough to manage your taxes on your own, hats off to you. With a single rental property, there is a lot to keep track of in terms of deductions and how much tax you owe. With more than one property, the paperwork increases significantly.

Why Choose Landmark Group?

A few weeks ago I was having dinner with a friend and he asked about my work and the company Landmark Group. I told him that Landmark is a real estate company that manages houses and apartments for rent. He then told me a story of an experience he had over twenty years ago when he was in the service.

He had purchased and was living in a house when he got orders to go overseas. A neighborhood friend of his, who was also in the service, offered to manage it for him, and the friend did a good job choosing tenants and making sure rent was paid and the property was maintained. Then, that friend got orders to go overseas and they had to find a new manager. They found a Realtor who said he could manage it for them. He then started noticing a lot of people renting for only a short time and moving out. The house almost always had a tenant but my friend wondered why they were not staying. When he finally got orders to return to the U.S., he told the manager not to rent it out any more because he would be returning. Upon returning he found that the Realtor had been using the house to rent to people who had sold one house and were moving to another, but the other was not yet ready. The tenants and the agent had no incentive to keep the place in tip top shape, so when he returned he had a lot of work to do. He had picked a professional to manage the property, but not really a professional, who was only a manager part time and was selling real estate full time.

Landmark is different. We have agents who sell real estate full time, and we have a separate large department dedicated to managing apartments and houses. We have a maintenance crew dedicated to keeping these properties in tip top shape. We qualify tenants and try to find tenants who will be good long term tenants. We work with both tenants and property owners to be sure the property is maintained and liveable for both the current tenant and future tenants. So, if you have a property which you would like to rent, come to the pros. Come to Landmark Group Omaha.

Save 10% at Lowes or Home Depot

As a new home owner, I am often found at Lowes or Home Depot. I almost never leave the store without spending several hundred dollars. I discovered that you can go to the Post Office and get a change of address packet. Within the packet is a 10% off coupon to Lowes. Home Depot will accept it as well. Use this trick for some big ticket items and save yourself some mula.

Landmark Lead Safe

What is RRP lead safe? Why is it important? And WHY are property repairs and maintanence more expensive now because of it ?

The EPA RRP Rule represents the most significant and far-reaching Federal lead regulation since HUD published the Lead-Safe Housing Rule over 10 years ago. But how to properly implement the various components of the rule has created many issues and concerns among public agencies, community groups, contractors, property managers and owners.

When lead paint is sanded or scraped or disturbed, microscopic particles of the metal mingle with the dust that is created. That "lead-containing" dust is what can seriously impact people'shealth, especially children and pregnant women. Lead causes a long list of problems, including learning and behavioral problems, kidney disease, high blood pressure, miscarriage and birth defects. Lead can even cause depression and aggressive behavior. Experts say lead poisoning doubles the number of children in special education classes, and some studies show it plays a major role in crime rates as well. There is no safe level of lead - any amount can be harmful to you and your family.

The EPA’s Renovate, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP), which began on April 22, 2010, is designed to help reduce the hazards of lead based paint exposure during renovation projects. The RRP Rule is best known for the very specific and tedious safety and work practices that must be followed by all contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that will disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities and schools built before 1978. In addition to the extensive lead safe work practices,  the rule requires that firms also keep extensive records for all work done for a minimum of three years.

The fines for non-compliance can be over $30,000 per day, and enforcement has begun nation wide. One Omaha company was already asessed fines and penalties as a cost of over $15,000. Click here to read the original story from the OWH.

Maintainence of the Season

It is that time again to do the routine checks on your furnace. I recommend you do this twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. It's better to check now before it is freezing and you have to wait in line behind a bunch of people (this is especially bad if you have a major pipe leak problem or something worse on your hands).

Another good thing to do at this time is change the furnace filter, alarm batteries, winterize your sprinkler system, and check for any major air leaks in the windows - it could save you a ton a money before it is too late. Because there is no Nebraska game this weekend and the weather will be nice, it will be a great time to take care of these items.

If you are having trouble or don't have time managing and maintaining your rental property, Landmark Group are the experts. Contact us today at 402-553-8111.