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.

Managing Time Tips for Property Managers

Property managers face a burdened workload, constant interruptions, a deluge of information, and tenant issues – in short, there is always too much to do and never enough time to accomplish it.  One of the biggest challenges for property managers is to complete all tasks efficiently and accurately. Given the number of interruptions you get during the day, completing a fraction of must-do tasks is remarkable. 

Property mangers deal with a number of issues including: negotiating leases with existing and prospective tenants, chasing payments, addressing maintenance problems, keeping the property owner up to date, and marketing and networking.    A jam packed schedule has the potential for disaster.  In the midst of all of the activities, moving from one task to another without completing any of the priority issues. 

Build each day around a simplistic plan that allows you to complete priority tasks first thing in the morning.   Handle high priority problems immediately and when possible, delegate work.  Afternoons should be reserved for activities out of the office. This includes meetings with vendors, landlords, tenants, and property inspections.


Simplicity and time management is the key to an effective workday. It is inevitable that you will encounter days when this plan will not be achievable due to some unintended event; however for every hour you devote to planning, you’ll save 3 to 4 hours from poorly managed tasks, so it definitely pays off to stick to a schedule.

Property Manager's Guide to Advertising

Key words and elements included when advertising a rental property can be the difference between good tenants and destructive tenants.   Here is some important information to include in your advertisements:

#1.  Contact information
The more available you are, the more potential tenants will trust you as a responsible and considerate manager.  Be sure to provide a phone number where you know someone will always be able to answer.
 
#2.  Specs and Amenities
Most property advertisements only list the square footage.  At minimum, always list the property’s square footage and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms it has. Expand upon the specifics of the rental with details such as appliances, floor coverings, closet space, and so on. Desirable items you’d want to highlight might be an in-unit washer and dryer, out door space,

#3.  Rental Amount
When advertising a rental property, be careful to only charge the market rent, or slightly less.  This is regardless of what overhead or costs are attached to the property.  Some tenants can be quite familiar with the market, and may not even consider looking at your unit if the price is too high above market.  
#4.  Location
Location is a big priority for most people.  With the technology of GPS, it is extremely helpful for potential tenants to have the exact address.  It is also wise to include the cross-streets.  Some advertisements only include a general area, know your area and keep this in mind when listing your advertisement.

#5.  Pet Policy
Whether or not you allow pets will likely be a huge factor as price and location, studies show a vast majority of renters have a pet of some kind.    If you have breed or size restrictions, say so.  Make your pet policy AS clear as you can in advertisement to avoid confusion or conflict later on.

#6.  Screening Process and Background Check
It can save you a considerable amount of time and money if you are upfront about the fact that you intend to run a background check on applicants.  if you explain that you will require references, you will weed out the tenants with a poor rental history.


 Use your word choice wisely to attract the tenants that are right for you.  You want to include accurate information that isn't misleading or deceptive, the main goal is to make sure your ad stands out from the rest.

Houses And Apartment Vacancies

U.S. Vacancies Rise

US apartment & Houses vacancies are at the highest level in 20 years. This may be good news for renters as they have a better selection to choose from and many property management firms are offering incentives such as paying the first month’s rent Or offering zero deposit. Landlords and property managers however need to be concerned that it may take much longer to rent their properties.

Here are a few tips to help you avoid vacancies:

1. Ask existing tenants a few months early if they plan to stay for the next year.
2. Get your tenants to sign a lease as soon as possible.
3. Collect a security deposit.
4. Advertise your vacancy several months before it is available.
5. Use every resource possible to advertise your vacancy.
6. Offer incentives to get tenants to sign a lease quickly.
7. Make your rental stand out from the millions of others with special features.

Manage your rental properties effectively and you can avoid vacancies and loss of valuable rental income.

Rental Maintenance Question

Rental maintenance question: If you are an investor with many properties and are not very handy, is it a good idea to purchase a home service warranty to cover certain items in the home should a tenant need maintenance? Is sending say $400.00 a year for the plan and another perhaps $75.00 per service call worth it or not? Do you offer this type of service to your tenant as say a security blanket so they know if any issues come up they would be covered?

I don't know if thats a good idea or not. Looking for some input??

Are There Any Reasons NOT to Buy a Home?

I found this great article from About.com, and it discusses ten reasons why someone might not want to become a home owner. This is one of the biggest purchases most people make in their life, so make sure you know it's what you want before it's too late. Scan the list below if you're on the fence about this decision. If more than one of these reasons applies to you, you should become weary of taking the plunge - consider other options such as renting a home or leasing a unit in an apartment complex.

REASON 1: NO DOWN PAYMENT

Excluding VA loans and a smattering of first-time home buyer programs, you will need to make a down payment to finance a home purchase. This amount can range from 3.5% of the sales price for an FHA loan to a minimum of 10% for a conventional loan. The best interest rates are offered to those buyers with 20% to put down.

REASON 2: BAD CREDIT

Bad credit can disqualify you from obtaining any mortgage. Those with credit scores below 620 might find hard-money sources that will lend on a home, but the interest rates and fees will be through the roof. A higher interest rate equates to a higher mortgage payment. If you have borderline credit, consider waiting, and making changes in your spending habits to improve your FICO score.

REASON 3: HIGH DEBT RATIOS

Lenders change the rules all the time for debt ratios. If bills eat up 50% of your gross income every month, you probably cannot afford a mortgage payment on top of those expenses. Because lender guidelines have changed since the mortgage meltdown of 2007, your debt ratios will need to be line or you will never get through underwriting. Consider paying down or paying off your credit cards before buying a home.

REASON 4: LITTLE JOB SECURITY

If you have reason to believe that your job may be in jeopardy, now is not a good time to buy a home. Many home owners who go into foreclosure end up in that position because they have lost their jobs. Unemployed individuals often place priorities on buying groceries and putting gas in their car over making a mortgage payment, hoping they can make up the mortgage payments later. Instead, they tend to go deeper into debt.

REASON 5: WHEN RENTING IS 50% CHEAPER THAN BUYING

If your main objective is to put a roof over your head, consider whether it's smarter to rent than to buy. In some real estate markets, it can be a bit of a stretch to meet the financial obligations of home ownership when rents in those areas are 50% lower than a mortgage payment. When home prices are so high that few buyers cannot afford to buy their first home, you may be better off renting and paying less for that roof.

REASON 6: TEND TO MOVE EVERY YEAR

Buying a home is generally a long-term commitment. If you love the excitement of new digs, which makes you want to constantly change your environment, you may find that it's impossible to sell your new home in a relatively short period of time without absorbing a big loss. The reason many people buy a home is to build equity, and it's very difficult to build equity if you're buying and selling at the drop of a hat, especially in areas where appreciation is little or none.

REASON 7: UNSTABLE RELATIONSHIPS

Although many single people buy a home, especially single woman home buyers, often a home buying purchase is made with a partner or spouse. If your relationship with that person is unstable, what will you do if you're relying on that person's income and support to make the mortgage payment, and that person vanishes? At that point you could be facing a short sale or, at the very least, a loan modification, both of which affect credit.

REASON 8: DECLINING REAL ESTATE MARKET

People who buy homes in declining markets often watch in horror as their equity disappears when the market continues to fall. Home buying in a falling market means if you put down 20% and the market falls another 5%, you have now lost 25% of your investment. Poof. Gone. Out the window. The only way that it makes sense to buy in a falling market is if you buy below the comparable sales. If you try to time the real estate market and buy at the bottom, your predictions could be wrong.

REASON 9: CONSTANT TRAVELING

Let's be serious here. If you travel all the time, why would you want to buy a home? Some people say condos are a good choice for people on the go; it's called a lock-and-go lifestyle. They feel that other owners in the condo complex will watch over their home in their absence and nothing will happen. Well, what about that homeowner association fee that is due and payable every month for services that are used once or twice a month? That could be a huge waste of money.

REASON 10: EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING IT

It's a fact that in seller's markets, buyers often end up in multiple offer situations. That's because in those markets, inventory is tight and demand is high. When you buy a home in a seller's market, you have little negotiating power and often will pay more than the list price. You'd be much better off buying a home in a buyer's market, when there are fewer buyers competing for larger amounts of inventory. You don't always have to follow the crowd to make a wise financial decision.

** This article was written by Elizabeth Weintraub who has 30+ years in the real estate industry and is currently a full-time broker-associate at Lyon Real Estate's midtown Sacramento office.

Buying is Cheaper Than Renting, But Not in Omaha

CNN reports that a 2 bed home is cheaper to buy than rent in most cities. Omaha is one of the few cities, they say, that renting is a better option than buying. CNN reports that buying is 27 times annual rents.

The Best Way to Find a Rental Home or Homes for Sale in Omaha Nebraska? Landmark Group

What is the best way to find a rental home or homes for sale in Omaha Nebraska?

Landmark Group

There are hundreds of ways to find properties, and that's what brought Landmark Group into this business in the first place. We used to advertise in the newspaper, a popular place to find rental homes or homes for sale. People used to look for rental yard sign, or they heard from a neighbor about a rental that was coming available and took advantage of that.

Obviously, the world has changed significantly in the past 10 years. Now there are dozens of sites out there that provide rental listings online. You have Landmarkomaha.com, Craigslist, you have Home Exchange and American Classified. There are a lot of sites you can use, and each one has its pluses and minuses. Craigslist has the most content, however, a lot of it is duplicate and a lot is fraudulent, and it is very painful to search there. The other sites are going to have a lot more content from professional property managers, the pictures and the ads might be better and you can can trust that the source of the ad is legitimate because they had to pay for it.

So the best thing to do is to go to Google and type in what you want to find. If you want to rent a home in Omaha, Ne. you could type in "3 bedroom two bath apartment Omaha that takes dogs."

The site that I recommend using is our site: Landmarkomaha.com. Between Craigslist & Landmarkomaha.com you should be able to find what you are looking for.
Another way to search are to look for yard signs. For landlords and property managers, yard signs are probably the biggest source of leads generation - even in an internet world, the method we used for the past 150 years is still one of the best. So if you are driving around Omaha, Ne. and cruise neighborhood the old fashioned way, you will eventually see something you like with a yard sign. If you are in the mode of searching for an Omaha rental and you don't want to burn up tons of high-priced gas in this economy, check out Landmarkomaha.com and let it do the driving for you.
Once you are in the market for a rental property, your radar goes up. So search for exactly what you want and see if it is there. Start with Google and if that does not work for you can look at Landmarkomaha.com & Craigslist or just contact me Chris Young, your intelligent real estate expert, at (402) 657-6938 and let me help you find what you're looking for.

Welcome to Landmark Group, "Your Boutique Agency"

Landmark Group Omaha is a full service boutique agency offing residential and commercial sales and leasing, also property management. The last three months have shown a significant increase in property rentals.

If you are in the market of buying, selling or just plain looking for a good ol' rental property contact Landmark Group Omaha and give us a try. We are the home of the no deposit special!!

Rent Increases

I question if it is a good time to increase rent or not. Do you take the chance of loosing a good tenant over a rent increase of say $25.00 to $30.00, or do you increase the rent in hopes that the tenant will be able to absorb the increase and all will be good?

The rents in the Omaha area are very competitive right now. Every where you look there are move in specials, free rent, no deposit. How do you decide?? Would you move over a rent increase??

Can You Still Buy Rental Houses in Omaha?

YOU BETCHA! In todays market there is a 2 step process that can make you very wealthy. Two steps...but you must do both to succeed. They are: 1) MAKE OUTRAGEOUSLY LOW OFFERS. Then once purchased, 2) RENT THEM ON SECTION 8. Lets examine both steps.

MAKING LOW OFFERS - There is so much inventory on the market making this the best buying situation in decades. Many sellers are beyond motivated and this includes investors that must unload for any number of reasons. I have seen houses that sold in $70,000-80,000 range 5 years ago sell today in the $40,000 range. Will the housing market recover? Yes! It will. How long will it take to recover? I don't know, but it will.

Now when you make these offers, say half of what the seller is asking will they be offended? Sure most will but who cares because you will eventually get the seller motivated or desperate enough to accept. It will probably take several offers but then one comes back to you with a yes. This also includes banks as they need to clear foreclosed inventory.

You still need to have a cash line of credit and a lender that will lend on investment property. This is more difficult to line up but not impossible.Buy with cash then put a loan on the property and repay your line of credit. Keep repeating this step.

As an investor myself the type of house I look for and would recommend would be the 1950s or 1960s built ranch style house. The older house built in the early 1900s most often comes with much more repair issues. I tend to avoid anything built prior to 1950. The house can be either 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms with a garage. I always want a solid foundation, newer roof and a good working order furnace and AC. It goes without saying they must be in well kept neighborhoods.

SECTION 8 IS 2ND THING YOU MUST DO - If you're a new investor, it is a simple process and if you're an experienced investor not using Section 8 for whatever reason you should strongly consider it. The main advantage is the rent that OHA is paying. As of today a 2 bedroom will rent around $700.3s are getting around $900 and $1000+ for a 4 bedroom. These amounts are generally much higher than what you get for a non Section 8 tenant. You receive the rent at the begining of the month automatically deposited in your checking account. Another reason to rent to a Section 8 tenant is on average they stay 3 times longer than a non Section 8 tenant (anything to avoid a vacancy in this business!).Also I have far less evictions with Section 8 tenants. You do have to pass an inspection before they move in but these are things you would generally do anyway before someone moves in.

Repeat this process 25,50,100 times in this market and once it recovers to the old values... well you can imagine a lifestyle you could create for yourself!

If you want to further discuss investing in rental houses feel free to call me at 402-250-6054.

Rental Turnovers

It never fails to amaze me the condition that tenants leave properties after they have moved out, even after being given instructions on how they need to leave a property in order to get any security deposit back. I think it represents a larger issue in society and a general lack of respect for other people’s property. Here at Landmark Group, our management department takes this seriously, we and are very aggressive in assessing damages and holding these tenants responsible.

After having done over a thousand move out condition reports and turnover assessments, I would say less than 5% leave it in a condition that allows for them to get their security deposit returned. In fact a greater majority end up owing our landlords for all the damages and trash they leave behind. Turn over cost and vacancy loss are the two greatest expenses a landlord faces , and it is just the nature of the game that you have to face them both at the same time while being aggressive on the turnover so you don’t just keep loosing rent .

One of the biggest mistakes a landlord makes is waiting to do a turnover for whatever the reason may be. Rent has 0 shelf life, let me explain:

Yes a landlord can save money and do some or all of the work on their own but while they are waiting to find time to do repairs on the evenings and weekends they still have to pay for the mortgage, taxes and utilities on the property, in addition to those expenses every day the house sits vacant they compound those expenses with vacancy loss. If you have a house that you could rent for $600 per month that equates to $20 per day in lost rents, and this is even worse for apartments imagine having this multiplied by 5or 10 units. This is real money that cannot be recaptured and is lost as long as you have vacancies.

The rental market is strong right now and in order for landlords to fill their vacancies they need to have it rent ready or the potential tenant will just go on to the next one. That is where my department comes in. Landmark Group's Maintenance and Construction division is ready and willing to all the things landlords don’t have time for or don’t want to mess with.

Omaha Rental Market

Omaha Rental Market

The most common questions owners ask me is "why isn't my unit rented?" Obviously there are dozens of factors that go in to which properties rent the fastest. I think the single biggest factor is going to be price, but it is not the only factor - location, features and amenities, how clean the unit is, general upkeep and repair of the property.

Some of the property owners out there struggle with pricing their property, but in my role as a leasing manager, I have a big say on what the rent should be. Most Owners would like to have the high dollar rents, that was 3 years ago when we could rent a 3 bedroom house with basement and garage for $1000 to $1200 a month. With the changing economy, depending on the location, amenities, features that same 3 bedroom house with basement with garage can rent on the high end of $900 and low end of $650 or possibly lower. Property owners hate to hear those numbers and so do I. Because I am 100% commission its not good for me either. Some owners with high mortgages want to hold on to their property by renting it out, which I feel is a big mistake. Because if you are having difficulties paying the mortgage, then more than likely you won't be capable of handling management fees, turn over repairs and vacancy.

With the way the market is, rentals are available at affordable prices. If you are considering renting out your property, whether its a house or apartment, be prepared to update it with fresh paint, new carpet, up to date appliances, finished basement, garage. Some of the many things tenants are looking for and are willing to pay the higher rent rates.

Rent Omaha

Hello,

It has been 2 plus years since I started here at Landmark Group and I have to say that time flies when you're having fun. The rental business in Omaha is booming and we have a lot to offer not only our tenants, but our owners too. We have a different attitude and concept and wish to show that with the rental market. Please check us out.

One other thing that I would like to share is that I have officially started my training for the relay race, Race2recycle. (Some may think that it's a little late, but better late then never.) I'm excited and scared at the same time but look forward to the many rewards that I will reap when its all said and done. Not only me but the community too. That's all for now.

See ya,
Mary