Market Update - June 2021

Do You Need a Property Manager?

 

If you already own a rental property, or you’re looking to get into the business, the idea of having to deal with tenants and managing the property might be daunting.

But that’s where property managers step in.

A credible property manager will take over the responsibilities that rental owners might not want to handle. This could include surveying the market and area to determine a reasonable and competitive rate to charge for rent. Property managers can also help you sell a home by generating solid leads through a variety of channels, including social media, advertising, and the multiple listing service.

Once your property has caught the eye of prospective tenants, the property manager can help you vet the tenants to make sure any potential renters will be responsible and reliable. Once the tenants have been screened and approved and have moved in, property managers will even be able to protect you from potential lawsuits by staying up to date on your city’s laws, rules, and regulations to make sure you’re in the clear.

From there, they’ll be able to take over the less desirable parts of property management, like handling emergency repairs, creating monthly expenditure reports, taking care of important tax filings, and performing home visits. Given the wide range of services that property managers provide, you might now be wondering how much they charge. Fees vary widely depending on where you live, but most managers will charge one month’s rent to secure a tenant and then charge a monthly fee to manage the property.

As with all things related to buying and renting property, you’ll want to make sure you do your research before hiring a property manager. But once you find one that is experienced and dependable, you might be amazed by the peace of mind their services can bring.

Your real estate agent can assist by recommending a reputable company.

Bring Your Home Up-to-Date with this Year’s Color Trends

 

Searching for a fast way to catch attention and bring out the best in your house? Go from drab to dynamic in just days with these hot color trends.

The colors

Without a doubt today’s popular color trends reflect the warmth and beauty of nature – with a touch of elegance.  Blue Iris, Caribbean Sea and Ochre are a few of the new offerings to be found on this year’s palette.  Close behind is green – in fact, green is so popular it is considered by many to be the new “neutral” color to be used in almost any setting. Search for natural hues reminiscent of flora and fauna tones.

The style

One of the newest color trends isn’t the color itself but rather the location of color usage. Painted ceilings, floors and even cabinets are rapidly transforming ordinary rooms into extraordinary settings.  Solve common design dilemmas by strategically using color to draw the eye upward or outward for narrow rooms or other common conditions.

The future

When it comes to trends, knowing what is “out” is nearly as important as spotting the next big thing. While you might be able to get away with a shade of green that is a little different than this year’s selection, some colors are a pure liability. Make it a priority to paint if your home is still sporting pastels from the 90s, brown/beige combos from the 80s, or (gasp!) avocado green and harvest gold from the 70s.

8 Easy Ways to Save Energy in Your Home

 

Running an energy-efficient home this winter doesn't necessarily entail buying expensive solar panels or wind generators. Neither does it mean you have to wear your outdoor clothes inside to stop you shivering! Here are 8 useful tips.

Laundry: Wait until you have a full load of laundry and run the machine on cold. Detergents are available to clan clothes at low temperatures.

Dishes: Don't pre-rinse your dishes as this wastes energy. And wait until the dishwasher is full before turning it on. If you have the time, use the air dry or no-heat dry settings so the dishes dry without using electricity.

Windows: In the winter during the day, open the blinds on south-facing windows to allow the sun to warm your home then close them in the evening to increase insulation. (In the summer, you can do the opposite to keep your home cool.)

Computers and TVs: Turn off your appliances when you are not using them. Even when they're in standby mode they are still using electricity -- it's estimated 5% of household energy use is from appliances leaking away electricity. So turn them off at the wall.

Showers: While a long, hot shower is nice and relaxing, you can save a lot of money taking shorter showers and by installing energy-efficient showerheads that give you a good shower while reducing water use.

Space heaters: Surprisingly, space heaters are a lot cheaper than a central heating system. And don't forget to turn them off when you're out. Installing a programmable thermostat will also keep your heating bill low.

Furnace filter: Change the filter at the start of every season and then every month or two after because a dirty filter makes the furnace work harder and be less efficient.

Floors and drafts: If you've got hardwood floors, put down some rugs, particularly if you have wood floors above a cold basement. Make sure also that you've installed insulation such as weather-stripping at the bottom of doors.

 

Build Positive Relationships With Your Tenants

Whether you are a landlord with residential or commercial tenants, building a positive relationship with them can be a profitable and rewarding experience for you.

The following tips may help you improve your relationships with your tenants.

·            Know your stuff: Knowing the ins and outs of the landlord/tenant regulations in your area can go a long way toward building a positive tenant relationship. However, it’s not enough to simply spout the rules; the way you deliver your message is also important.

·            Communicate: Lecturing your tenant will not get you very far. Many boards that deal with landlord/tenant disputes report that the majority of situations they investigate could have been easily resolved if the landlord and tenant had communicated with each other. With today’s technology there are many ways to communicate; choose the method that works for both of you.

·            Make it personal: Show your tenant that you care about building a positive relationship. Be approachable and encourage your tenant to ask questions before things are blown out of proportion.

·            Respond accordingly: Responding to every tenant’s requests can be daunting. While to you not all tenant issues require a four-alarm response, the tenant may not see it this way. If, for example, you are dealing with a flooded unit and another tenant contacts you with a noise complaint, acknowledging the issue (or at least acknowledging you’ve received the message) can go a long way toward diffusing the situation while you deal with the more pressing matter.

Be Sure to Maintain Your Credit after You’re Approved

 

If you’ve been pre-approved to buy your dream home, and are waiting for the paperwork to go through, you may be thinking about some needs and wants to make your new home just right.

You could buy a big-screen TV to go into the family room. And maybe the kitchen remodeling should be done sooner rather than later. But with all the money you’ve put into purchasing your home, you may be strapped for cash.

Your credit is good enough to enable you to buy your new home, so would it really be a problem to purchase some of your needs and, OK, a few wants, before you go to closing? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

Here’s why: Your lender will pull your credit on the day of closing. And if new credit lines show up on your credit report, your loan file will have to go back to underwriting to be re-approved.

If you barely qualified for the loan when you signed the papers, you could have pushed your ratios out of range, and you may not qualify now.

But can you make your purchases by applying for new credit after closing? Resist the urge. Credit pulls could potentially lower your credit scores, and because you may have access to more credit than you did before you started to look for a new home, that may also have an impact.

So before you buy, talk to your mortgage professional. That big-screen TV just may not be worth the risk.

An Appraisal May Make or Break Your Deal

 An appraisal is an important part of any home purchase. This is an evaluation, ordered by lenders, that tells them exactly what their money is going towards; because they focus on the actual value of your property, appraisals are different than home inspections. An inspection looks deeply into the condition of a property, but is less concerned with what it is actually worth.

Once you have a signed contract on a property, and your real estate attorney has reviewed it, your lender will order an appraisal. As the buyer, you’ll pay for the appraisal up front, and regardless of the results, the fee is usually non-refundable.

Once the appointment has been made, but prior to the actual appraisal, an appraiser will look online at what similar homes in the area have sold for recently.

These are called comparable, or comps. Since no two properties are identical, the appraiser will make individual adjustments to the comps to come up with a value for the property. Differences in square footage, number of bedrooms, and lot size form the bases for the appraiser’s adjustments.

After completion, the appraiser sends his or her report to the lender. It happens infrequently, but your deal could be in jeopardy because of a low appraisal. More often, there are items listed on the appraisal that need to be addressed before the lender will give you money to purchase the property. Typically, items such as broken water heaters and missing staircase railings will trigger a hold on your loan.

Sellers should never know the appraised value. The only thing your seller should know is whether the buyer side of the transaction found the appraisal acceptable, or if he or she is being asked to fix any of the items on it.

Your mortgage professional can explain the appraisal process and answer any questions you may have.