If you own real estate, whether residential or commercial, you are responsible for snow removal at your property. It is a service you provide to your tenants in exchange for the rent. Snow removal is also a necessary preventive measure to reduce risk and liability from slips and falls. Here are some tips to reduce risk, prevent injuries, and consider your neighbors who may walk on your property. How and When to Protect Your Property You should have your snow removed every day, preferably before you go to work. Ice should be removed on an hourly basis if needed, especially if there is a rainstorm. If you use a contractor, frequent talks with them to determine the best times to visit your property are recommended. Mark the date and time snow removal was performed at your property. Also have your contractor do the same. If you are sued for a slip and fall, you can use the dates and times the property was serviced as a defense with your homeowner policy. Some homeowners think that shoveling a path through the sidewalk is sufficient. Not only is it not sufficient, but also one snowstorm after snowstorm will make shoveling harder to complete. Snow not shoveled will be packed down, and heavy. Also, you will find it hard to find someplace to put the snow. A good path clearing should be at least 42 inches wide. Designate yard or driveway space in anticipation of a big winter of snow. When there is a blizzard, it could snow day and night. You will want your snow removed so your tenants can go to work in the morning to avoid slip and fall suits. Also, research your city ordinances about required snow removal. In Boston, Massachusetts, landlords must remove the snow and slush from their sidewalks within 3 hours of a storm, or they will be fined every day of non-compliance. Make sure the path to the trashcans or dumpster is cleared. If not, people will not put their trash there any more. When it snows, they will leave it at the nearest convenience place near the trashcans. If your commercial tenants have a lease stating they are responsible for their own snow removal, take a ride and see if they are doing it properly. If not, send them a warning letter, with a specific deadline for lease compliance. Again, check your local ordinances on snow removal requirements. Some cities charge a substantial fine for shoveling your snow onto the street or on someone else’s property. Snow is best put in your yard, or another desigated place on your property.

This article is for all those landlords and managers who are having cash flow problems because their tenants are not paying the rent. This happens more during the end of the year holidays, when travel and gift giving is sometimes more important than any other concern.

Do not let the holiday season become a tragedy. Implement a plan to prevent a joyous time of year from turning into a property inferno and homelessness. Here are some preventive suggestions to have a safe holiday this year.    We all know that Christmas is a time when spirits are high, and people work to have a merry Christmas. Yet, tragedies still occur like fires, floods, and loss of property and possessions. As a homeowner, landlord or property manager, you have the responsibility of taking care that your property is protected during this season. Work out a plan to remind your tenants that they need to be careful even as they have seasonal fun and delight in their apartments. Here are some tips for landlords and managers to help prevent a Christmas disaster.   Notify Your Tenants in Advance   Give yourself thirty days to focus and take action on fire prevention at your properties. Send each tenant a written notice about fire prevention during the holiday season.   Do not leave unattended candles in a room, especially if they leave their apartment   Keep their Christmas trees watered daily. If they hang real wreaths, spray them daily with water   Use a surge protector instead of extension cords for their decorations and portable heaters   Keep their portable heaters away from the Christmas tree, whether live or artificial   Tell your tenants if you do not want outside lighting on the building   Caution your tenants about having loud and long Christmas parties. They need to watch their family and friends leave the building in a quiet manner.  As the owner/manager, you want to prevent slips and falls, which could lead to homeowner insurance lawsuits   Require every tenant to cover and remove their Christmas tree by December 31st.   Remind tenants and strongly recommend that they buy Renters Insurance for their personal belongings.     What You Can Do As an Owner or Manager to Avoid Holiday Problems   Install ABC fire extinguishers on the wall in each kitchen as a preventive measure   Install a carbon monoxide monitor in each apartment to avoid tenants being poisoned by carbon monoxide gas while asleep    Make sure every apartment has a working smoke detector on each public hallway ceiling, outside of each bedroom ceiling, and in the basement   Install extra electrical outlets to prevent tenants using extension cords for their Christmas decorations. Extra outlets will also help electrical overload from decorations and portable heating units   Failing the installation of extra outlets, give tenants a surge protector for their living room tree decorations. Have them sign and date a receipt that you provided one. This is cheaper than an apartment fire from using extension cords.   Look up the Red Cross online and see if or what they provide for your tenants in the event of an unfortunate catastrophe. Better to know now, then to try to find out if the worse happens    If you have a vacant apartment, leave the heat on a low level to avoid pipes     breaking during a cold spell. Keep a little heat flowing through the pipes. The heat bill will certainly be lower than having to stop your winter vacation to take care of the expense of a flooded apartment or basement from broken pipes.    Review your property insurance coverage. See what you will receive in case of a house fire, frozen pipes, flood, etc. Look at the amount of your deduction and make sure you can afford to pay it if you need to complete major repairs.   In summary, do not assume that your tenants know about fire safety during the holidays. Do not assume that they will take the appropriate precautions to protect their homes and your property. Give them the information they need to know.   A little money spent in advance could avoid the loss of your property or massive financial renovations during or after the holidays.

Many families and individuals die from smoke inhalation and house fires. In too many situations, there either wasn't a smoke detector in the building, or the smoke detector was not working.

A smoke detector serves to give advance warning of a fire. It is supposed to help a family get out of their home before the fire consumes them. If you provide a smoke detector in your house or building, as the owner, you should take the responsibility of checking the batteries in every unit, front and back hallways at least twice a year.

If you have a tenant who either tampers with the smoke detector, or removes the battery, this should be handled as a crisis situation. Charge the tenant labor and materials whenever you find their smoke detector battery removed. Send a letter of warning that tampering with their smoke detector is considered an evictable offense.

It is never too late to get on track with fire prevention. If you haven't done so yet, check all of the smoke detectors and batteries in your home and those of your tenants. Then, take preventive action to ensure that if there is a fire, the smoke detector(s) will alert you or your tenant(s) to get out of the house as quickly as possible.

Where do you keep your paperwork for your house and your tenants? Do you have a file cabinet for all of your business paperwork? Is it locked when you're not using it? How do your tenant files look?

You should keep organized files on your tenants. When or if you need to evict a tenant, you do not want to have to go through years of leases, letters, and other documents to take to court with you. Your tenant file folder should be kept in chronological order. The newest information on the tenant should be at the top, the older informtion at the bottom.

You need to have your tenant files at your fingertips, the same as you maintain your income taxes. You need to know when each lease will expire, so you can send their termination letter and offer of a new lease. You need to know the last time you gave out a rent increase, and for how much.

How many letters have you sent to your tenant about their noise? If you have to take the tenant to housing court, the judge will want to see a copy of each letter as evidence. You want to be able to find and pull out your necessary documents with ease. Your files should be kept by year, and category, such as letters, inspections, work completed, so that if you need to show a piece of paper in court, you can find it within a short period of time.

Even if you keep your tenant files in a large envelope, at least that will save you days of looking around for it. You never know when your tenant's paperwork will be needed, so keep it organized.

Do you own rental property? Are you a real estate investor? Have you had problems getting your tenants to pay the rent? This article will cover some important policies that you need to conduct the financial business of collecting residential rent.

Rent pays the mortgage and the expenses of a property, even if you lease a single-family house. If you are an investor, a monthly positive cash flow is critical to owing investment property. Therefore, collecting the rent is a major part of your property's success. Collecting rent is a business, because it is what pays for the long-term maintenance of your building. It should be your priority. You may believe that you have your current collection efforts under control. Still, as long as you rent apartments, at some point in time, you will have a rent collection problem.

Today, there are strong state laws that govern, restrict, and outline how, why, and when you can collect your rent. For example, many rent control laws dictate how much rent you can charge, and the methods by which you can collect your rent. Evictions for non-payment of rent can be avoided if an owner develops and follows a few basic policies and procedures. The more consistent you are in maintaining your policies, the better your rent collections will be paid monthly and on time.

My advice is to review your expectations about how and when the rent is paid before you give your tenant the keys. Even if you use a lease, there is no substitute for an eye-to-eye discussion about how you want your property to be treated, and when the rent should be paid. It is important to have a meeting of the minds before you commit your apartment to a person or family that may intend to violate your rules.

The first policy is the date when the rent is due. Rent is usually due on the first day of each month, and is considered late on the second. There are landlords who allow a "grace period". This is a period of time after the first of the month, which allows the tenant to cash his or her pay check and get a check or money order to you within the time frame you determine.

Landlords are not obligated to give a tenant a grace period. It is a courtesy extended to the tenant, not a right. My advice is to allow a grace period of no longer than three days from the first of the month. If the rent has not been paid by then, late charges or a lease termination notice should be processed.

The second tenant policy should state that you want your rent paid by personal check, certified check, or money order. Cash has a way of getting lost, or not recorded as a rent payment. Never take food stamps as rent payments, as this is a federal offense.

Third, make it clear that if your tenant gets behind in the rent, and you must start eviction proceedings, you will continue the case until the rent is paid in full. The tenant will do a better job of getting caught up with the rent if he or she knows that facing a judge could be the penalty.

Last, encourage your tenant to contact you when and if the rent will be late. Establish a good communication practice from the beginning. A landlord sometimes intimidates a tenant. Let the tenant know that you welcome their information; it could become a key element in ensuring prompt rent payments.

Rent collection should be considered the most critical part of being an investor or a homeowner with tenants. This is especially true even if you no longer have a mortgage. If you are not serious about collecting your rent, you give the impression that money is not really that important to you. When you do not insist that the rent be paid on time each month, or even in full, you are in effect, saying that you can get along without the rent.

If you do not articulate your expectations, or accept excuses as to why the rent is not paid every month with no ramifications, you will soon lose control of your rent collection efforts. Collect the rent as if your property is a for-profit business, and you can’t go wrong.

Low interest rates continue to encourage homeowners to re-finance their property. Owners use the extra cash to pay off credit card debt, complete outside repairs, replace porches, upgrade electrical wiring, install a new roof, de-lead the house, renovate kitchens and bathroom in their apartment, and similar large maintenance work.

When or if you have a large sum of money to invest in your real estate, you need to think about upgrading your tenant’s apartment, as well as your vacancies. The condition of your tenant’s unit is part of the market value of your house or building. If it’s in bad shape, it could lower the potential sale price. If it is good condition, it adds to the stability of your financial investment.

You also do not want to be in the position of having to do a complete renovation of the tenant’s apartment after a move-out. When you have the money, consider upgrading key areas of the apartment building.

When was the last time you saw the inside of your tenant’s apartment? Do you know what condition it is in? How long has the tenant lived there? The answers could impact how much money you will need to request to the bank.

Homeowners have an obligation to review and maintain the upkeep of their occupied and vacant units. Doing an annual apartment inspection helps you stay abreast of the condition of your investment. Once you give advance written notice to your tenant, go in with a pen and notebook, and write down what repairs need to be made. Also write down large replacement work needed. For example:

Are there illegal bars on your tenant’s windows that need to be removed or replaced?

Do you have an elderly or disabled tenant who could benefit from hold bars in the bathroom by the toilet and tub?

Are the ceilings and walls cracked from building settling? Does the apartment need any patch and paintwork?

Are there a lot of extension cords, indicating a need for additional electrical plugs? Is there a GFI electrical (safety) switch in the bathroom and kitchen, which may be a part of your state’s housing or building code?

Did the tenant have a roof leak and the water damage from it never got repaired?

If a needed repair has been caused by damage to the apartment, rather than wear and tear, you can charge the tenant for the repair cost. The point of the apartment inspection is to review the overall condition of the apartment at least once a year. You want to know if your tenant unit is in as good a shape as the exterior of your property. The inspection can and should be used to determine your needs as part of your re-financing request.

Once you evaluate your needs, talk to contractors for proposals, and calculate the overall costs. That will tell you how much money you require to re-finance, in addition to any other fiscal needs you are looking to resolve. As stated before, if you complete substantial renovations at your property, you can recoup the expenses through your decrease in mortgage interest costs, or a rent increase on the units impacted by the renovations.

In Summary, do not forget that the condition, as a whole, of your tenant’s apartment is what makes your property valuable to you as the owner, real estate investor, and to potential buyers. A good research of what it would cost to upgrade or repair your residential units, as part of your total re-financing needs, is never a waste of time. It could also save you money in the long-term stability of your investment.

Carolyn Gibson's email: Synergysvc@aol.com

 

If you own property, you should review your homeowner's insurance policy every year. Make sure that at least the assessed value of your property is covered, not just the annual percentage of increase. You should have enough insurance to cover a complete loss of your home or property.

1. Always collect the FULL security deposit amount before you give out the keys to a new tenant. If you do not collect all of your deposit before the tenant moves in, you will have to take him/her to Small Claims Court to get it paid in full while they are living in the unit. Always get the full deposit and the full first month's rent paid up front.
2. The security deposit is not to be used as pre-paid rent. It is a guarantee of funds to be used in the event the tenant fails to deliver your apartment to you the same condition you delivered it to them. In most states, a landlord is required to deposit security deposit funds in an interest bearing savings account, and write a check for the interest back to the tenant each year.
3. You and your tenant should go through the apartment together before the tenant moves in. List any and all needed repairs or imperfections at that time. Both of you should get a copy signed by both parties. Then when it is time for your tenant to move out, you both have a copy of the original condition of the apartment to compare. Minus wear and tear items, this list should determine whether or not a security deposit in part or in full, should be given back to the tenant.

The worse thing you can do is to get involved with your tenant's personal life. Listen to their tales of woe, and it will come back on you to your peril. It is not good to befriend a tenant, especially if you live in the same building. When it is time for the rent to be paid, you will be told all kinds of tales. The tenant had to go to the doctor, she didn't work a full week, and other reasons will be given.

Do you tell your tenant to "pay the rent when you can", when a dear relative has passed away? This is because you feel sorry for the tenant. You listened to the entire series of stories about the deceased relative, what he or she meant to your tenant, and all the work and money that had to be paid before the relative passed on. The tenant may want you to take their situation into consideration, and give him or her a break. The tenant wants you to feel sorry for them, and will ask you to give them more time to pay. This will help the tenant, but not you. 

Collecting the rent every month is a business. Your property is a major real estate investment. You cannot stop running your business and consider your tenant's personal problms. This does not happen at Walmart, or Target. If you stop requiring the rent to be paid in full and on time each month, you teach others that your property is a hobby, not a business. Regardless of a tenant's personal problems, they still need a roof over their head. Make getting your rent a priority, and your tenant will make paying it a priority, too.

1. Always complete an apartment inspection report. which outlines the condition of the apartment before you give keys to the tenant.

2. Have all of your paperwork prepared for the tenant to sign. Prepare a check list of important documents such as a lease, lead paint disclosure form, etc. to ensure that you have all of your protective and legal papers ready for the tenant's signature.

3. Make a set of keys for the tenant, and for yourself, including the mailbox key.

4. Prepare your security deposit and last month's rent receipts, outlining what the tenant paid and where the escrowed funds will be kept.

5. Recent laws have changed, and in some states like Massachusetts, the landlord is now required to put the last month's rent into an interest bearing savings account as well as the security deposit. Go to your state house and get the manual for the security deposit law in your state, or look it up on your state web site.