Did you know that as an owner of a rental home you are required by law to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home?  Each year carbon monoxide poisoning effects hundreds of Americans with fatal results.  The tricky thing about this poisonous gas is that it is invisible and odorless, which makes it virtually impossible to detect without the aid of a carbon monoxide alarm.  Oftentimes the symptoms of poisoning are mistakenly attributed to  illnesses like the flu or common cold.  Carbon monoxide can cause dizziness, nausea, headaches, confusion, and reduced coordination at moderate levels of exposure and death at high levels!

Carbon monoxide poisoning works by producing substances that inhibit your body’s ability to utilize oxygen.  Essentially the body suffocates due to lack of oxygen.  Carbon monoxide poisoning kills more people annually than just about any other form of accidental poisoning!  So what does this all mean to you?  Not only is it a law to include a carbon monoxide detector in your rental, but it you should also be aware of the tragic consequences that can befall you and your loved ones if you should fail to keep your own home protected as well!  These detectors can be picked up for a very reasonable price from just about any home improvement store, so head out there and pick one up today!

Click for more information on carbon monoxide, dangers in the home, and detectors.

Here at Classic, we have spent a considerable amount of time finding out what it is that makes homes rent faster.  In this blog we have covered some of the basics such as making sure your home is clean and making sure that everything works!  The truth is that what you do on the outside of your home can have just as important an impact as what you do on the inside!  Here is southern California, we have a habit of letting the yards get a bit wild during the winter months.  Even if you do manage to keep up with the mowing and edging, there are typically several other areas that tend to go unnoticed by everyone (except potential tenants!).  With that in mind, let’s spring into action with this action plan for spring!!!

1.   Those leaves take a while to decompose.  Even if your lawn is leaf-free we can oftentimes forget the wee mountains of leaves that accumulate in planters, gutters, and corners of your property.  The truth is that we all have these piles of leaves, but the rental that doesn’t is going to stand out as being neat and orderly!  So attack those mountains, lord of the landscape, and conquer your vacancy…

2.   Flower beds are a great place for…flowers!  If your beds show like a flower grave yard of fossil collection, it may be time for some added color.  It is interesting to note that when companies advertise a product they tend to use bright coloring.  The truth is that they do it for a reason!  A bright splash of color catches the eye.  The great news is that you don’t need a multimillion dollar ad research campaign to benefit from these little truths.  All you need is a fresh batch of flowers like this financially friendly foliage.

More great info is on the way, so stay tuned and cut that vacancy down!

I recently read a little quip from a realtor I follow on facebook. He says “Sellers: buyers that are looking in the holidays are SERIOUS!” His point is that this is a great time to list your home for sale because the people who are looking to buy right now aren’t “looky-lou”s. I agree with him. And I will argue that the same goes for the rental market. Anyone currently looking for a rental is serious and many of the people looking right now will be moved into a place before the first of the year.

This year especially. Why? Because if they live in a home that gets foreclosed on they don’t have a choice. And from the looks of things, there will be foreclosures before Christmas. Now, could the federal government introduce or even pass legislation that would stall foreclosures until after the first of the year? Sure. They have certainly done equally drastic things in the past. But if you gamble that they will and they don’t you could lose much more than if gamble that they won’t and they do.

Last week was one of the hottest weeks in our company’s history when we talk about homes renting. We saw a flurry of applications with quick move-ins and many of our clients are now collecting handsome rent checks. Especially those clients who were aggressive with their pricing and presentation of their homes.

Now, I am going to offer a dose of realism. We don’t necessarily anticipate that our December numbers are going to beat our October or November numbers. But I do know this: they won’t be zero. In fact, we already have four homes where the leases have been signed with December move-in dates!

If you have thought about whether to buckle down and get that rental property ready for move-in now or whether to wait and be ready for the first of the year my advice is simple: err on the side of winning. Get it ready now and place it on the market, you might just collect a few thousand dollars more in 2010 and start 2011 with a head start!

When it comes to viewing a property, there are a couple of things that you may want to consider.  Whether we like it or not, there is truth to the saying that “first impressions are lasting impressions.”  With that in mind, I would recommend that if you schedule a viewing of a property, whether through a company or with an owner, that you adhere to a few simple guidelines:

Be punctual!

When I have a busy day of showings lined up, one late viewer can set off a chain reaction of schedule-destroying mayhem that causes me to fly through Santa Clarita like Steve McQueen trying to get to my next showing on time.  It also makes me wonder about our odds of rent coming in on time if the viewer doesn’t show up on time.  Obviously things do pop up unexpectedly.  Should that be the case however, it is a good practice to call and let the agent/owner know that you are running behind, unable to make it, etc.

Be respectful!

Oftentimes, the properties that we show are occupied by either the property owner or an existing tenant that is planning to move out.  Should you find yourself being shown an occupied home, you should try to keep the crazy to a minimum.  I have shown properties to people who will flick cigarettes onto the driveway, lawn, and bushes at the home they are viewing.  I have shown homes to folks that allow their children to run through the house like wild banshees, picking up the occupant’s belongings, chasing pets, scream at the top of their lungs, etc.  I have been shocked by applicants that swear loudly in front of current occupants, the occupant’s children, and neighbors.  Consider this: if the current occupant is the owner of the home, what do you think the odds will be of him renting to you after observing that madness?  Property managers are hired to keep the owner’s best interest in mind.  If two applications come in on a home where one applicant was polite and respectful and the other was the human embodiment of total chaos, guess who is getting the home?

Even though an owner may not live there anymore, they may still have friends among neighbors that they will want to keep happy, or they may have an emotional attachment to their home coupled with a very real fear of it being destroyed.   So if you want a quality place to live, just remember that when it comes to viewing a home, common sense should reign supreme!

We just wanted to take a moment to let everyone know about a fun way to support a great cause!

Classic Property Management has teamed up with Magic Mountain and the Arthritis Foundation!  On Sunday the 16th of May, Classic will be helping out with the Arthritis Walk.  Our team will be assisting with registration for all of the folks who come out to the park to support this great cause!  If anyone is interested in joining us, we would be more than grateful for the help.

Anyone who joins our team and either donates or raises $250 in their name is also welcome to stay in the park after the event to ride the coasters and have some fun!  As a fun side note, this is the only day of the year that you are welcome to bring your canine friends along and into Magic Mountain!  So come on out with Fido and the family for a day in the park and join us for a great cause.

For those of you who don’t remember, we offered a subscription giveaway when we launched our blog.  

Those of you who subscribed were entered into a drawing to give away several Starbucks gift cards and a grand prize of a $50 Mobil gas card!

We are happy to announce that the drawing has taken place and the winners will be receiving an email from Classic to let them know that their prizes are on the way!  If you get an email from us letting you know that you have won, feel free to share in the comment section!

We plan to have many more opportunities to win free cool stuff, so stay tuned!

Sometimes, the world continues to move and change even when we don’t want it to.  For example, I remember just in MY lifetime when the cost of gas was outrageous  at $1.29 per gallon.  I am sure there are several folks out there who remember when it was even less!  How about home sales?  There was a time when you could expect your home equity to double every 12 months like clockwork!  And now?  Well, you get the idea.

On the flip side, there are some changes that have made life much more convenient and have changed mankind forever!  For example, we complain about the cost of gas but where would we be without our cars?  You think a 2 hour commute to work is bad?  How about a two DAY commute on a horse?  How about the unbelievable medical advances that have been made over the past decade?  Would you rather go to a modern hospital or go to some guy that sticks leaches on your arms to let out the “bad” blood that he thinks is causing your health problems?  Some advances have been great!

In my estimation, the most groundbreaking and life altering invention of my time was the advent of the internet.  Never before has worldwide information been so readily available.  Instead of waiting days or weeks for news about something happening on the other side of the world, we can now have live access through video, social networking sites like Facebook, and more!  Rapid information access has never been this easy!

So how does this relate to companies these days?  As the internet continues to become the primary source of information, successful companies must constantly adapt to, and utilize the web to accomplish their goals!  In your quest to locate a trustworthy property management company or any other company for that matter, you may want to pay close attention to the way they present themselves online.  Is their website easy to use, easy to navigate, and clean-looking?  Or is it out of date, cumbersome to navigate, and unappealing?  Is the content relevant, informative, and well presented?  Or do you have to search hard for the answers you need only to be disappointed by a poorly written, half-hearted attempt at information?

It occurred to me the other day that if a company refuses to adapt to the needs and preferences of today’s market, what other areas have they fallen behind in?  Are they sub-par in the areas of customer service?  Accounting technology?  It certainly makes you think!

Here at Classic, we pay very close attention to the market and the requests of our customers and clients.  Not only does our adaptation of the latest technology make our jobs more streamlined, it also allows us to present the homes that we manage to potential renters in the best possible way!  Being the best property management company in Santa Clarita isn’t an accident!  It takes dedication to our customers, and a willingness to adapt to the ever shifting conditions and demands of the rental market.

Let us know what YOU want to read!

If you would like us to blog about a particular topic or if you have questions for us, feel free to let us know!  Sometimes, even the creative geniuses that run Classic also run… out of ideas!  We know that there are probably hundreds of questions floating around from both owners and tenants.  Why not get them answered by Santa Clarita’s most trusted property management team?

Go ahead, let the questions and suggestions fly!

The first most asked is “I lost my house, can I still rent through Classic?”. If you missed it, read it here. But this second most asked question is forefront on a lot of people’s minds. Why? Well, let’s see. Home values in Santa Clarita are down about 30-60% depending on the neighborhood and style of home, interest rates as of 4/6/10 are still crazy low, there seems to be a large pool of renters and there seems not to be a large pool of homes. It’s a valid question, “is now the time to buy?”.

Before I attempt to answer this question from my limited bank of knowledge, let me start by saying that this is an OPINION article. Not fact. No proven crystal ball sits on my desk. My track record isn’t staggering one way or the other. So take all of this with a grain of salt. Now, do I think I am right? Of course. Why would I post this if I didn’t? But if I were you, I would use this info as a piece of the overall pie of information keeping in mind that this is a property manager’s point of view (specifically a property manager from Santa Clarita, CA). It is industry and geographically specific and is biased by my knowledge and experience. I would encourage you to get some opinion from other sources as well, say, a financial planner, a mortgage lender or broker, a real estate sales broker, a pessimist, an optimist, etc…

Now, enjoy my opinion. I believe that we are at or very near (within 5%) the bottom of the market in most areas of Santa Clarita. I believe that we will remain here for some time, perhaps a year or more. I could leave it at that, but I am guessing that some engineer out there is going to want to know why and how I came to that conclusion. If that is not you, you can skip the rest of this post.

Here is some of the data that I used:

• In past declining markets, we have not dipped further than we have this time (granted, the reasons are different this time and there is a first time for everything).
• The fed is fighting tooth and nail to keep rates low until the recovery “gains traction”. (I realize that they have stopped their previous actions in the bond market, but I also believe that they are under the “belief” that the private money will show up. Way can go as far down that rabbit hole as you would like).
• I believe that we have seen the worst of unemployment in Santa Clarita (this is one with which I encounter the most disagreement, partly because it is perhaps the most subjective. Bottom line, this is my perception.) Again, we may hover at this unemployment level for a while, but I think we will not likely dip noticeably lower.
• For the buyer with a down payment of 10-20%, the PITI (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) payments are darn near the same as the rent for a comparable property in most places.

Now, let’s assume that you assume my above assumptions are correct. What would you conclude? I can at least tell you what I conclude. I conclude that this is probably a good time to purchase an investment property in Santa Clarita and will likely remain so for a year or more. Could I be wrong? Well, I guess it’s possible. Okay, I’ll be honest. It’s not big of a stretch. If rates climb quickly, monthly payments will remain the same if the purchase prices dip which can make investors cringe. If unemployment takes a nasty turn in Santa Clarita, rents will dip which will pull sales prices down. (Oh, did I tell you that I believe rents sometimes drive purchase prices, not vice versa?) Honestly, there are probably lots of other factors that could make my answers wrong, but this is my post, so I get to post my opinion. You can post yours in the comments.

Don’t end up in court! Follow Fair Housing Guidelines!

This article is geared toward the “do-it-yourselfer” types out there.  In our ongoing quest to provide top quality information to the masses, we thought it would be wise to take a moment to discuss a pitfall that some unwary owners may inadvertently step into.  Let me introduce you to Fair Housing Laws!

The point of Fair Housing is to make sure that people aren’t being unfairly discriminated against.  Let me give you some examples of discrimination that should be blazingly obvious to you.  You can’t run an ad that says you will only rent to a certain race, religious persuasion, or country of origin.  I am sure that you probably knew about those restrictions.  But how many times have you seen an ad that says something like:

“Clean unfurnished home in quiet Southern California neighborhood, no kids, no pets, no credit scores below 650 from Experian.  Deposit is equal to 3 times the monthly rent. Call now!”

Did you spot the problems in this ad?  Some owners may run an ad similar to this without realizing that they are skipping blindly into a potential lawsuit.

In an effort to see if we can make this a more interactive forum, I would encourage you to leave a comment below if you think you have spotted an illegal requirement in the ad above!  Give it a shot!  If you would like to check your answers, feel free to peruse some of this information: Click Here

The first person to comment correctly with all of the illegal content will receive a $5 Starbucks card compliments of Classic Property Management!