TReX Global's Blog

Property management companies, landlords and property managers - Make energy efficient upgrades whenever you can. Such upgrades will make your rental property less expensive to maintain while you and your tenants live in it as well as contribute to market value of the property.  

1. Make sure your rental property is well insulated and equipped with heating and cooling systems that work properly. Buy energy-efficient appliances or revamp heating and cooling systems to save energy if you have the money. Less expensive steps, like insulating doors and windows, will also save you money and help conserve energy.

2. Utility companies, agencies, nonprofit organizations provide advice and information through publications and sometimes even provide subsidies to help property management companies, landlords and property managers make their properties more energy efficient.

Property management companies, landlords or property managers – try responding promptly to address the tenant’s requests. In some extreme cases, the tenant may be entitled to withhold rent and your property management company could be held accountable for personal injuries as well.

Property Managers or Landlords and Tenants should perform a joint inspection of the rental property or rental unit before the tenant moves in. The objective of the inspection is to

a. identify and document the condition of the property
b. check the conditions of the appliances, security systems, heating, air conditioning systems
c. identify common areas
d. identify service areas such as trash, recycling,  newspaper delivery, mail box, club house and pool
e. provide information on utilities such as water, electricity, telephone and cable services

At the end of the inspection, Property Managers or Landlords and Tenants should review the check list and sign each page. Property Managers or Landlords should retain the original check list and provide a copy to the tenant. The check list should be updated as repairs are made to the unit, including what and when the repairs were performed. Both the parties should initial any changes to the original check list.
When the tenant moves out, this checklist serves as evidence as to why property management company, landlord or property manager can withhold all or part of a security deposit.

Property managers running their own companies should prioritize for end of the year tax planning, and keep more money in their pockets by taking advantage of the tax benefits available to them.

Unfortunately, 2010 is the worst year for end of the year tax planning due to the deadlock in Congress and the inability of Congress to act upon tax issues. One of the positive tax law changes affecting property managers and property management companies is the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which provides $12 billion of tax incentives – including bonus depreciation, enhanced expensing, and other relief for small businesses.

Does your property fall in one of these states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington?

What do you think is your biggest challenge as a property manager or as an owner of a property management company?

Most property managers hate Book-keeping because this creates a lot of stress as monthly rental income and expenses reports have to be sent to landlords. Some property managers may track the information manually or in spreadsheets and this is a time consuming process. Other property managers use property management softwares that could be complicated, expensive, and hard to use.

If you also hate book-keeping and are looking for a user friendly, cost effective and efficient way of maintaining your books, then try out a web based property management software. Below are a few advantages of using a property management software:

     1. Track Rental Income and Expenses with a Click!

Easily Track Rental Income and Expenses. Property management software can be used to track rents collected from tenants and rental property expenses including property management fees.

     2. Monthly Owner Statements

Easily generate monthly statements and send it to landlords or owners. Most property management software come with many different kinds of reports such as tenant payment history report.

     3. Collect Rents on time!

Easy online rent collection! Some property management software will have capabilities to send automatic rent reminders to remind tenants to pay rent on time. This eliminates the cost and hassle of rent collection for property managers and property management companies.

Switch to a user friendly property management software and make managing properties easy and fun!

Does your business require maintaining a lot of paper business records? Have you considered going paperless? Read this quick guide to going paperless.

Does your business operate in a city that is prone to natural hazards such as Earthquakes, Floods, or Hurricanes? Do you keep all your files and records on-site? Then, read the following tips to protect your files and records in an event of a natural disaster:

Why Book keeping?
Without proper Business book keeping practices, your business is susceptible to cash flow issues and potential legal problems.  Book keeping is one of the most important of your business records since it includes all your business transactions.  Book keeping enables the IRS to evaluate your business operations and helps manage your business better.

Here is a Guide to Understanding the Basics of Book Keeping:

1. Maintaining Employee Records
Employers are responsible for maintaining records on withholding, employer matching, unemployment, worker’s compensation and employee forms such as the W-4 (Withholding Allowance Certification and the I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification).

New property management companies and property managers should focus on providing their customers with great service to gain repeat service and succeed in their businesses.  A recent study conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business revealed that small businesses that prioritize customer service are at an advantage in beating their competitors who may be charging lower prices.  According to the Customer Service Institute, 65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers, and it costs 5X as much to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one satisfied.