» Property Maintenance
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Residential Management Does RemodelingBy admin on September 9, 2008 | No Comments
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Efficient residential property management can be used to increase the worth of an asset. The assets managing team can advise the owner of a house on making renovations and remodeling of the asset to increase its market value. If required, they should search for an architect or constructor to remodel or renovate the house as desired. The beauty and worth of every room of the house can be increased to enhance the total value of the asset. Here, the different ways in which one can add or modify features of the kitchen are listed
• A kitchen that has an adequate number of well organized cabinets has great market value. The residential property management team can get a plan designed by an architect for adding cabinets to the kitchen. The number of cabinets required, their sizes, the number of shelves in each cabinet and the layout of the cabinet should be planned. The kitchen should not look cluttered with a large number of cabinets. It should look spacious even when the cabinets are placed. The cabinets should not be placed high on the wall because it will be difficult to access, more so, if one has to access the cabinets frequently.
• The residential property management team should see if the kitchen is well ventilated and has adequate fresh air supply. There should be an abundance of light and fresh air in the kitchen because this is the most probable place for harboring pathogenic microorganisms. The place should have at least one window through which air flows freely. If it is not there then it should be made. The kitchen should be well illuminated too. The place where cooking is done is the one that needs the maximum illumination. Fluorescent tubes can be used in the kitchen.
• The concept of the kitchen is redefined in the present times. Gone are the days when the kitchen used to be a place where housewives or cooks used to spend hours together toiling to make some good food. The residential property management team should educate the owner about how a sophisticated kitchen can increase the market value of his entire house. But sophistication does not mean that one brings in a whole lot of items and simply shoves them here and there in the kitchen. All the items including stoves, ovens, dishwasher refrigerators, telephones, television sets and the dining table should be arranged well.
• One major aspect of kitchen architecture is the work triangle, at the vertices of which are the cooking place, the sink and the storing area. The residential property management team will have an idea of the different layouts of the work triangle. There are five types of work triangles in all. They are namely, the single wall arrangement, the L Shaped, the U shaped, the G shaped, and the corridor type.
In the single wall arrangement all the three work areas are in a single line and these are suitable for small kitchens. The L shaped arrangement has two work areas in a row along the wall and the third one at right angles to one of them. This allows for a lot of space in the kitchen. In the U shaped arrangement the three work areas are aligned in the form a U and it is an efficient arrangement as the work areas are not disturbed by traffic. The G shape is a modification of the U shape with an extra space for appliances. The corridor also called the gallery arrangement consists of closely placed work centers. The residential property management team should let one know the arrangement that is best suited for his kitchen.
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Landlord Services For The TenantBy admin on July 9, 2008 | No Comments
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When letting out a property for the purpose of rent the landlord services have to be provided by the owner of the property to the tenant. These include providing certain basic amenities along with some special amenities that are demanded by the tenant. The owner should comply with certain rules and regulations along with the client when he enters into a legal agreement with his tenant on renting out his property. He should provide basic amenities like clean and hygienic premises to his tenants. He should also take care of any faulty electrical circuitry that can be dangerous to the people moving about in that place.
The tenants should be provided with a safe and secure place for dwelling. Landlord services include providing room air-conditioning in certain cases, heating, ventilation and landscaping. Usually the real estate management of the property does not include the offering of any of these services in the clauses of their contract. If the tenant specifically asks for any services then the owner provides them with the desired service. This is done to the advantage of the owner who does not want to take the initiative in offering services as this will lead to his spending some money on these. The real estate management team generally prefers the tenants to insure themselves for their personal property when they are in occupation of the property of the owner.
Landlord Services include providing a number of real estate management maintenance services. These include taking care of the structural components of the building along with its common areas. If there is any service that the owner cannot provide or wants to stop he can remove the clause that states the provision of such services from the lease document. Moreover, if the tenant tends to utilize the resources provided by the real estate management team for a longer duration than that specified, the owner can ask the tenant to pay extra charges for that resource. For example, many tenants tend to use more electricity than the allotted quota in which case they might be asked by the owner to pay extra charges.
The landlord services offered by the owner can be minimized by not making many of the services offered mandatory. The rights of the tenants to have access over certain services can also be controlled. The tenant expects the owner to offer a number of services under the mandatory section of the lease agreement, without him having to pay anything extra from his pocket for any service. The tenant expects to have complete control over the portion of the property offered to him. The tenant also expects to be enlightened on any of the service related issues and the exact amount of money he is spending for each and every service rendered to him.
The landlord services offered invoke expectations in the tenant to see the owner following the legal clauses set in the agreement to the letter. The tenants expect the real estate management team to get all the modifications and the repair works done to the property and pay for the expenditure incurred. The tenant expects the owner to take the responsibility of insuring all the modifications and enhancements made to the property. The tenant may also ask the owner to constantly make improvements to damaged portions of the property occupied by him. The owner is also expected to provide first class services with regard to maintenance of elevators, air conditioners, humidifiers etc.
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Get Your Tenants Involved In Property MaintenanceBy admin on June 27, 2008 | No Comments
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Like many aspects of property management rentals are a piece of the over all financial puzzle when it comes to making money from your investments. If you are in the business of property management rentals will be a huge and constant consideration not only in investment of time but also investment of money and the work involved in updating and maintaining the properties. Consideration should be made to ensure that the tenants of the property, be it a commercial property or a residential home or building, are satisfied with the appearance and the effectiveness of the upgrades and improvements that have been made and that you are responding to the needs of your customers as well as the structural and mechanical needs of the buildings themselves.
For the person who is in charge of property management rentals will require constant upkeep to keep the costs of maintenance down as low as possible. By properly maintaining the structure, inside and outside, and by doing preventative maintenance on a fairly regular basis, you may be able to side step costly repairs that come as a result of neglecting problems for too long.
For example, yearly inspections of the condition of the roofing and the shingles will eliminate having to have the entire roof replaced, since you will be able to spot problem areas and do minor repairs throughout the years. In this way, you can extend the life of the roof by preventing major damage.
The same holds true for basement foundations, pipes, duct work, perimeter fencing repairs and other internal and external aspects of a building.
Regular preventative check ups and maintenance is always best, even if it means that you have to spend additional time once every six months to a year. In the long run, you are saving yourself hefty sums of money. When your business revolves around property management rentals provide a majority of your income and the upkeep should be taken seriously for both you and the people who rent from you to benefit the most from your investment.
Renting to responsible tenants, fixer upper types who take responsibility for cleaning up and maintaining the property, sometimes at a reduced rate of rent, is another way to cut your maintenance costs. Unfortunately, there is no real way to know for certain whether or not they are holding up their end of the bargain, unless you keep tabs on their maintenance yourself. Regular inspections at lease renewal time might be your best bet.
It is easy for a tenant to commit to something in anticipation of lower rent and then neglect to do what they have committed to, be it cleaning the gutters or patching a leaky water pipe. By allowing your self and your renters to neglect the problems over a long period of time, you are most certainly going to have to pay more in the long run to have the problem fixed.
Under the umbrella of property management rentals take up quite a bit of space. Be proactive and manage your business by managing the small tasks regularly, and you will be less likely to be caught off guard with a major repair expense. It is your business, and ultimately your responsibility.