Filing for Tenant Eviction We previously mentioned an eviction process which could begin once proper documentation has been prepared.  These eviction documents include lease violation notices and other important correspondences. In some cases, tenants may respond and voluntarily work with the landlord to address their lease violations in order to avoid eviction. However, when tenants…

Dangers Lurk for the Unwary Landlord Do you take time to consider the risk and liability that landlords or property managers face every day? There are some key responsibilities to know.  And there are many reasons to be up on risk and liability including legal action, firing, danger to tenants, tenant safety, and potential big financial…

How to Manage Tenant Leases Easily Tenant leases are at the core of the relationship between the property manager and the tenant. The lease defines the terms of a lease and generates automated accounting transactions. Leases are often created in a non standard fashion, and often landlords simply copy a lease they found on the…

Renting Out Your House It's not only landlords and real estate investors who see the opportunity of rental property. Many homeowners are intrigued about the idea of renting out their home, or part of it, to help pay their mortgage. Some are renting their homes out and moving to Florida, Mexico, California or some sunny…

California’s Housing Market Forecast This report on the California housing market updated for October, covers important stats including home prices, sales, and recent home sales trends from CAR, NAR, Statista, Zillow and more. And we'll take a look at the forecast for 2020. The California real estate market was active in October. This is the…

Hawaii Housing Market 2020 It's not just American buyers who want a slice of Hawaiian paradise during these good times. Foreign buyers too are pouring billions more into the 2020 Hawaiian housing market. Hot Oahu, Kauai and Maui It’s not just American buyers who want a slice of Hawaiian paradise during these good times. Billions of…

The Accidental Landlord When Al and Pat bought a beautiful 3 bedroom townhouse for their graduating daughter, they pictured it as the perfect way to help her launch her life. It was a new build released in 2012 in a very nice neighborhood within a fast growing city. A very smart and timely choice. Instead,…

Landlord Software Benefits A growing number of landlords and property managers who do property management on their own are looking for new tools, apps , and other software to help them manage their work. Do-it-yourself or self-managing landlords are seeing more pressures on their time and budgets. Should landlords start cutting corners on everything, or maybe…

15 Key Property Management Trends for 2020 How will property owners and property managers improve business operations and revenue in 2020? By keeping a close and persistent eye on the housing market and major trends affecting future business performance. Property management is a booming multidimensional business worth Billions. Improvements and threats will come from many…

How ManageCasa Compares In 2020, property manager's busy work schedule will only get busier to the point of exhaustion.  What's needed and is actually available now, is a property management solution designed for SMB property managers and landlords. Keeping owners happy, completing maintenance, processing leases and documents, ensuring payments, helping staff learn new property management…

Never Forget to Document Before Legal Proceedings In previous articles, we talked about the eviction process and the importance of documenting properly. While non-payment of rent is the cause of most evictions, other lease violations whether minor or major, can also lead to tenancy termination and eventually with legal proceedings.  Serving lease violations to tenants…

Focus on Convenience and Simplicity In almost every business sector, companies are looking to simplify products, processes and services. Within your real estate, investment or rental property management work, the volume and complexity of data, paperwork, and relationships are becoming your top issue. But how do you get untangled? The truth might be that simplicity…

Property Management Software The cloud can help you attract new tenants to lower your operating costs, make administration easier, extend services, increase manager mobility, and make property management that much easier. What is the new definition of property management software for SMB landlords?  It's cloud based property management software. Below, we describe the benefits more fully. …

Renters Do Love Their Pets One estimate is that there are more 80 million homes in the US which have pets of which 87 million are dogs and 62 million are cats. Whether you like it as a property investor, landlord, or property manager, the era of pets is upon us. With such a strong…

Smart Home Tech is in Demand Technology has entered almost every aspect of property management today. The new smart home technology is enticing both landlords and property managers.  We're all wondering if it's ready and what benefits it will offer. Just as property managers are enjoying the convenience and power of high tech property management…

House Rules 101  — Rental Unit Changes In the previous property management articles, we discussed some major provisions in lease agreements. While tenancy between management/owner and tenant is established by executed lease agreements, tenants should also pay attention to other legal documentations such as house rules and addendums. Below are some common critical provisions in the…

Can Better Digital Bookkeeping Make For Happier Landlords? Friction bedevils pretty much everything in commerce and payments, and that holds especially true for the management of rental property. Not only are there many moving parts and a variety of participants involved —  landlords, tenants, property managers, financial institutions, service providers such as plumbers and electricians…

New Flooring for Your Rentals? There are a lot of ways to make your units attractive to renters. New appliances, new paint, kitchen renos, and new bathroom fixtures come to mind. Flooring is a good one to evaluate too and we've got the major options listed below.  Flooring gets quite a workout and when worn, it…

Landlords Want to Make Money What's the top question most landlords ask today? It has to be, "how do I make more money?" If you're asking revenue type questions, then perhaps you're not meeting earnings expectations. If your owners and landlords are putting the heat on, you need to take the quest more seriously. We've got…

Could You Go Virtual with Your Company? Managers in many business sectors find physical management from a brick and mortar office location a profit and time draining waste. That time, money and effort spent reduces a property managers ability to keep assets profitable. One property management trend you may have heard of is virtual property…

US Housing Market Investors and homebuyers compete for available residential properties, because housing is in demand and in short supply.  That's putting renewed upward pressure on prices (+5.5%) nationwide. Existing home sales in August grew 2.6% from last August to 5.35 million completed transactions, according to NAR. "As expected, buyers are finding it hard to…

Which are the best California Cities for Investment Property? Looking for an investment condo in the Golden State. A lot of property investors still are.  Prices are high because that's the value put on real estate here. But after you see the high prices, high taxes, landlord restrictions, employment in different California cities, and the…

10 Best Apps for Modern Landlords Along with great property management software there are a host of helpful landlord apps and property management apps to help you manage your business better. Time and money are always issues for landlords, especially those operating under rent controls. Apps plus cloud based property software means you and you staff…

Get Your Tenant to Pay Attention to Building Safety While no one can guarantee an accident free environment, it’s essential for property managers to enhance tenant’s and employee’s safety awareness. It’s also the property manager’s responsibility to minimize any potential risks, hazards, and injuries to both tenants and employees.  It's the property manager who must…

How To Generate More Property Management Leads This coming year, property managers will lose some doors and landlords, yet hopefully replace them with some new, perhaps better ones. That fluctuation though leaves you with cash flow issues yourself and that can be concerning. It might be wise to put an emphasis on building a renewable…

Will Rent Controls Spread? As we wrote in this post originally, the threat of rent controls are real. And to prove it, just this week California approved new rent control measures.  And in New York, there is concern rent controls will be extended as court battles rage. Since state governments want to avoid renter subsidies…

Lease Agreement 101 – Evictions Tenants are often fearful to hear the word of “lease termination” or “eviction’. Yet a landlord can indeed terminate the lease agreement if tenant materially breaches the lease terms. Tenants should pay extra attention to the lease terms, timeline on written notice to vacate the units, as well as the…

Apartment Rent Prices Rise Amidst a market where affordability and rent controls are the subject of activist pro rent control protests, rent prices appear to rising fast in 2019. Zumper reports that rents are growing strongly again in September while new construction starts at their lowest in several years. Multifamily starts have plummeted according to…

Which PM Software Features Are Vital? Whether property managers, HOA managers, asset managers or landlords are or aren't using property management software currently, they're always looking for PM software with the right mix of features and benefits. Tens of thousands of property managers are finding their current solutions aging and not compatible with the new,…

Top 9 Mistakes New Landlords Make Congratulations on building your property portfolio and we hope you're enjoying growing revenues and profit. There's plenty of perils ahead that can erode profit and make rental property investment unsuccessful. You definitely should be constantly aware of anything that erodes your profit. Then you can focus on the path…

Hacking Your Way to ROI Growth and Success With the cooler fall season coming, we'll all be feeling a lot fresher and invigorated soon. The fall colors and kids back at school makes us realize the seasons are changing. It's at these positive times that your confidence and optimism will be peaking too. It's a…

Management Success Paired with a Thoughtful Maintenance Program In the previous article, we recommended that property managers use a sample checklist to track progress and outcomes for property performances in different aspects.  Property maintenance is one of the most regular and important services to tenants. Thus, property managers should establish a maintenance program to create…

Build Resident Relations from Day 1 From Day 1 when the tenant moves in, the landlord should start to build a mutually respectful and cooperative relationship with them. A clear, positive, and honest communication routine is a foundation of a successful landlord-tenant relationship. It is imperative to recognize that both landlord and tenant have rights…

8 Most Frequent Repairs As a landlord or property manager, unit repairs and maintenance requests are going to more costly than expected. Higher service contractor fees, and parts costs are likely cutting into your bottom line. Tenants aren't always at fault in these added costs however they can certainly be educated and perhaps manage these pesky…

Lease Agreement 101 – Part 3 Following up on our previous posts on tenants lease agreements and tenant lease provisions, we want to explore the tenant lease agreement in greater detail. There are numerous lease provisions which landlords, particularly new landlords aren't fully aware of. Understanding the tenant lease agreement is critical because it is…

The Build to Rent Revolution Shaking up Real Estate Is the build to rent sector about to shake up housing markets in the US? More big companies seem to think build to rent properties have a promising ROI. That's due to excellent demographics, profitability, and easy of property management. From 2009 onward US property investors bought…

The Most Common Property Management Pitfalls The outlook for the property management sector is positive, including multifamily management which means a large group of people will jump into it with the expectations of big profits. While huge profits and fast growth are reported in some sectors, particularly Airbnb rentals and the multifamuly rental sector, new…

Choose the Best Software For Multihousing Management The multifamily housing market continues to be a great place for investors. National Multifamily Housing Council’s most recent quarterly survey of the national apartment market showed indexes continuing above the breakeven level. The NMHC reported that markets were tightening, sales volumes were up, debt financing was better, and…

Partnering With Stripe Landlords are in need of better payment systems because of cash flow issues, tenant payment problems, slow bank transactions, fraud, lagging bank and accounting reconciliation, and a lack of real-time reporting. In a recent hype-free blog post, we listed  online payment service providers who have systems which streamline the revenue collection process. Collecting your…

Understanding Lease Agreements 101 – Part 1 How often do tenants read lease agreements and understand them? Likely not very often or thoroughly, which means potential renters don’t often know what they’re signing. That could lead to misunderstandings, legal battles, and conflict. If a tenant understands the lease they’re signing, it might actually create a…

Are Recent Developments in the UK Good for Renters and Investors? The UK property market is complex and made more complicated by the UK's situation with Brexit and Global trade changes. Even the best experts are challenged to forecast the market in 2020, but let's take a look at some of the factors and trends.…

Buy or Rent Washers and Dryers? For landlords and property managers, the demands from tenants for better amenities, services, comfort and security are on the rise. Meeting tenant wants is good for business. Landlord's technical and operational challenges including washers/dryers and other rental appliances are being solved via a high tech, new business model approach.…

Managing Your Team Could be Simple and Creative Your staff are likely your most important business asset yet keeping their performance optimal is an ongoing challenge. Most managers could use a refresher in staff management, and we've got some tips that might help. Let's take a quick look at some ways to re-energize and guide…

Lease Agreements 101 – Part 2 In our previous article, we mentioned that lease agreements often contain some complicated provisions. And these require tenants to spend time to read each and understand them.  There’s more. A lease agreement can be lengthened with house rules and other addendums. In this article, let’s take a deeper look at other…

How Can Property Management Software Help You? Are you a new landlord who is venturing into the path of professional property management?  You're likely checking out which property management solutions are best. Best really depends on what you need to achieve. You've got your laundry list of tasks, results, issues, fears, hopes, conflicts and more…

It's Wise to Upgrade to Better Software There's two types of property management companies today: The first group are those who are using property management software.  Research shows these managers aren't all that happy with their solutions. The other group are those straggling property managers (late adopters) who haven't moved to fully automated systems, other…

Rent vs Buy? This year, hundreds of thousands of people will be using a rent vs buy calculator to make a decision on whether to buy a home or to continue renting. While you're searching through the rental ads, and weighing the possibility of buying, consider how saving your money and renting might be a better…

Should You Manage Your Properties Yourself? Whether through smart investment choices, inheritance, or by some other circumstance, thousands of property owners have become landlords. The revenue is good for some and for others its amazing. While most start out in the property management business with a few houses, duplexes, or apartments and do the work…

Best Cities to Invest in Rental Property 2019 With listings growing and mortgage rates plummeting, a lot of buyers are reopening their buy vs rent calculator and re-checking the numbers. In 2019, the US rental market has grown as new buildings and developments are releaes.  Given the ultra-high home and condo purchase prices, the demand for rentals remains strong. …

How to Buy Berlin Real Estate Berlin is hot. Buyer’s however need to understand the nuances of acquiring houses, apartments and multifamily properties here.  Real estate in Germany is not the same as it is in the US, Canada, or the UK.  It’s wise to understand the peculiar rules, regulations and practices of the Berlin…

Power Up Your Property Management Business Are you limiting your company's potential by doing business as usual? How about a new approach to increase value for owners while ensuring your company's future? Property managers should never assume their clients know all there is to know about the value proposition of their rental properties, how demand…

SAN FRANCISCO, July 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ManageCasa, the leading intuitive, interactive and automated property management software for DIY landlords and property managers, today announced a partnership with Stripe, the leading platform for online payment processing, to launch a new digital payments solution for the property management industry. Landlords and property managers will now be able to…

Demo ManageCasa Today The Apartmentalize conference in Denver gave us the opportunity to meet many new landlords, property managers and other rental property industry pros. It was  a great success. We demo'd our property management platform giving them a perfect opportunity to ask their important questions face to face, and for us to hear about their challenges.…

How to Foresee Tenant Departures Why is it that good things must come to an end? Your tenants have worked out so well, they enjoyed living in your home or apartment, yet despite that bliss, they will decide to move on. Yes, it's so nice when people stay put, but everyone's life evolves. Young couples…

Leasing Success Aligns with Consistent Screening Are you a landlord managing your own rental properties?  Regardless of the size and type of your properties, your goal should be to qualify applicants in a timely manner, and then lease the units to well suited applicants.  That lowers vacancy related losses. A frequently asked question is “How…

Operational Success: Always Starts with People Whether you’re an experienced Property Manager, or are new to the property management industry, you’ll encounter both expected and unexpected challenges in your daily operations. Those challenges are usually related to occupancy, rent collection, maintenance, tenant issues, and more. Your staff will be responding to and resolving maintenance tickets,…

Multifamily Real Estate Boom in Denver As we reported in the Denver Colorado Housing market report, the opportunities for multifamily property buyers and property management companies remains positive in 2019. Denver is one of the hottest cities for multifamily real estate this year. Sales and listings are up and Denver rent prices are rising. Other favorable…

Metro Denver's Housing Market Coming Alive Rebounding from 2018.  The 2019 housing market in Denver, Colorado is one of the hottest housing markets going, looking good for home buyers and apartment rental investors alike. All areas of the Denver housing and multifamily market are forecast to perform well this year. With Millennial renters and buyers making…

US Rental Housing Market While the latest report on rents across America shows little growth in the last month, a historic timeline shows rents have not moderated in the last 9 years. Similarly the US economic growth and expansion have continued for 10 years. And while many former renters have moved on to buy their…

Property Owners Want Better ROI With all the new technology, they know they can get it.  It might seem unfair to ask you the property management company to grow ROI, yet their request for more is your opportunity to ask for more from them. There are 8 areas that you have control over and below you'll…

Creating Your Future Revenue Streams 2017 and 2018 were the best years for rental property investors. The best ever market for rental property owners. In 2019, it still looks promising with plenty of rental properties, low unemployment, and the economy performing well. It's rosy now, but there's plenty of threats that will lower your occupancy…

Powerful Resources for Property Managers & Landlords Smart consultants and advisors will tell you that if you have the right tools, information, guidance and resources, you can get anything accomplished. While we try to provide the very best online property management resource right here on the ManageCasa blog, our industry is vast, complex and evolving.…

The Mass Migration Away from Old Software There's one big factor causing property managers to investigate their next property management software solution  -- obsolescence. You may be experiencing lost or irretrievable data, limited analytics, poor communications, inaccessibility for users on the road, and slowdowns in performing daily business. Maybe your IT support costs are getting…

It Might Be Time to Go Pro If you're a multifamily property owner or investor with a sizable portfolio, or a busy landlord, there's no doubt you're under pressure. Volume of doors x administration x issues x costs = a big number. At some point, you'll need to hire a professional to manage things for…

Your Property Management Brand Have you ever considered what your firm's brand is? What do you think your tenants, landlords, and client property owners think and feel about your company? Your company's brand image is why prospects become customers. Without a good brand, high quality customers may not take your business seriously.  It's not deals,…

Multifamily Housing Looking Very Good into 2019 If you're one of the smart property investors in the last 2 years, you're probably smiling given reports on rising apartment stock, and rising rents with a monster customer base. This spring is a time to grow! Given the stock market looks to be beyond its peak, rental…

2019 Key Year for New Construction Recent housing market data tells us home buying is well down this winter. Yet for the multifamily sector, 2019 is a big year. For rental property owners and property managers, the high growth in construction projects means plenty of opportunity, and a changing marketplace. Due to low affordability most…

Top Tax Savings for 2019 It's spring again and the tax man is knocking at your door.  As a property manager or property investor, you’re undoubtedly wondering how to cut your tax payable. Tax is a serious issue representing one of your largest business costs. Get your tax losses down and you'll be singing a…

Is Chicago's Housing Market Worth Investing In? Chicago's Housing market like a few other housing markets, is recovering from the last recession, yet the political uncertainties of 2019 and the upcoming 2020 election hang heavily on the city's future. The windy city is plagued with high taxes, shaky financials, and restrictive government regulation. Up until a…

Housing Forecast Berlin One of the most dynamic cities in Europe, Berlin Germany also has one of the world's hottest housing markets. In 2017 and 2018, it was under significant pressure with squeezed supply and exploding demand. High asset appreciation, rental income growth, and low interest rates make it a sweet spot for real estate investment…

Everything Property Managers Need To meet an ever growing set of demands, property managers are looking to tech and automation to help them streamline and grow profitability. They're wise, it can make a big difference. Simplicity and focus are key parts of this. And PM's and landlords want to enjoy their work, get more done,…

San Jose's Housing Market 2019/2020 In what is the Valley of Heart's Delight, is perhaps the heart of the new Silicon Valley. With exceptional growth, comes changes in the character, business focus, and location of residents. San Jose seems to be where everyone wants to live in 2019 and beyond according to predictions. As local…

7 Ways to Drive Growth in 2019 After a stellar year in 2018, many property managers might be thinking of coasting for 2019. Is complacency ever good in business though? Does the status quo actually even exist in modern property management? Have pro sports teams ever kept winning championships without continuous improvement?  Conversely, will a growth…

Tenants Love Tech Amenities Want to increase resident retention, grow rents and revenue, make residents happy, and increase the appeal of your properties? Some cool, new amenities might be the way to do it, but which new amenities create the best ROI for rental property managers? When tenants think of places they don't want to…

The Power of Automation in Property Management Software The work of property management staff never seems to end. Whether it's tenants, owners, landlords, contractors, and an endless stream of accounting tasks, the days can be gruelling. It's the same in most industries and as businesses increase their customer base and provide more and better quality…

Competing in the Always On Economy The property management business has come a long way. From checks in the mail to online rental payment apps, and scheduled office visits to online, real time customer service, the property management experience is different today for you and tenants. It's not just automation.  The goal is to serve…

Excellent Property Management Apps for 2019 Are you a property manager or vacation rental manager looking to leverage mobile technology to improve your business? Check out these amazing mobile applications to complement the power of your property management software and make you more effective. Whether you're managing vacation rentals, sourcing new properties or lowering your maintenance costs, these smartphone…

Bring Your Property Accounting into the Modern Era It's not often an accountant or auditor gives you the thumbs up unless you've managed your accounting accurately. And with all those bills, spreadsheets, invoices, and calculators, you're in for the usual arduous year end and tax time pain. Is now the time to upgrade a much…

6 Steps to Choose the Right Software Realtors, landlords, investors, property managers and more are still making the software transition in 2019. What is this big transition all about? For property managers of any sized operation, it's the important process of trying out and adopting the next property management software solution to help you modernize.  There's…

How to Reduce Tenant Turnover Have you calculated how much revenue you've lost due to tenant turnover problems over the years?  It's a common underplayed issue for property investors, landlords, and even the best property management companies. When the boom times fade, will this become your top property management business issue? Let's take a look more…

Study Shows US Renter Era is Coming It's a good time to be a property manager, rental income investor, or landlord. Opportunities will be spawned in the apartment and condo rental sector in the coming years. The US is becoming a renter nation due to sheer numbers of new renters along with supporting economic and…

Sydney Home Prices Fall most in 30 Years Sydney and the New South Wales district is beautiful, a destination of dreams for global travelers wishing to sample the lifestyle and unique economy of Southeast Australia. Change creates opportunities. And for investors and property managers, it's these times of change that create buying and management opportunities…

Top Landlord/Developer Concessions Landlords and property managers in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas are pulling out the stops to fill their rising vacancies and keep tenants in 2019. When vacancy rates rise, we all have to be more creative. In these markets, business as usual doesn't…

Create Your Lease Renewal Strategy While your focus is on giving tenants what they want, being professional, and responding quickly to maintenance tickets, you might still see a parade of tenants leaving.  A lease renewal strategy can help you keep tenancy rates up, and avoid losses. Hopefully you already have some tools to help you know…

Humanizing Property Management In recent posts we answered the questions, what do tenants want and also about what makes tenants happy. These are 2 extremely important questions. What questions have you asked as part of your business health checkup? There's one more key question: how do you personalize your relationship with tenants in the era…

How to Excel at Interviewing Renter Applicants Selecting the best tenants is only one of your top challenges yet it sure is one task to get right. Reducing tenant turnover and optimizing your ROI starts at the beginning with renter interviewing. We've talked about the best way to screen in the best applicants, knowing what apartment…

The Right Contractor is a Key Asset Finding qualified, experienced, licensed maintenance contractors is an important job for landlords or property managers. Properties don't stay in good condition by themselves. And if property management is 75% maintenance, this is a key area of business optimization for you. Whether commercial or residential, without the help of…

What's Top of Mind for Property Managers? Portfolio Growth, Revenue Growth, Improved Efficiency and Customer Experience Higher costs in the multifamily sector, housing markets, and ongoing evolution in the property management industry are forcing property managers to adapt/evolve or quit the business. Surveys show big ambitions, but do PMs have the tools and focus necessary…

Business is Never Good Until the Customer is Happy Have you treated your tenants in a professional, businesslike way, and thought everything was fine, but it wasn't? Did they make complaints and eventually vacate the unit? Even very successful business people forget that business is about people. And when people feel good, they might stay…

Get Creative to Fill Rental Vacancies Are you building your rental property empire?  Or are you hoping to lower your vacancies and grow your revenue? Great goals for property managers in 2019, however, are you opened minded enough to let solutions come to you? Very often it's being motivated and taking these matters more seriously…

How to Assess Rental Property Value We've discussed the rich investment potential of the rental market overall in the US. And rental housing markets in cities such as Honolulu, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Oakland, Chicago, Bay Area, San Francisco and Las Vegas are worth a good look. If you're considering buying some rental properties, or you're considering…

Trends Rental Housing Management Conference & Trade Show Seattle Washington is the host city for this year's Rental Housing Management Conference and Trade Show. This is the 35th annual event and it's one of the best property management conferences in the Pacific Northwest, drawing visitors Washington, Vancouver BC, and more locales. This year's conference will…

Our Quest for the Best Property Management Software We all search for the best in clothing, cars, boats, jobs, companies, and even friends. Yet, the best is relative. That expensive car you think is the best might not be so great in reality, because it doesn't suit you. And then you admit that the interior comfort, price,…

A Simple Introduction to Using ManageCasa for Landlords Sometimes the reasons landlords don't adopt landlord software is due to its lack of transparency and easy of use. That confusion can stop us in our tracks. And when you think of it, how many times in life do we find it hard to take that first…