Corporate furnished apartments Archives

Jul 09, 2018 CHBO General, Corporate Housing, Ideas & Tips Post a Comment

How to Avoid Rental Scams in Your Furnished Housing Properties

No one likes admitting when they have been scammed, and even more so when that scam has led to serious financial losses. Rental scams are the worst of these scenarios because there are so many ways that you might avoid them. Yet, when an individual or even an organization does manage to obtain furnished housing rentals from you, and then proves to be a scam, you might wish to pretend it never happened and move on. Is that a good idea? In a word: No. Instead, it’s a great idea to share details about any rental scams with others, and help improve the whole furnished housing industry for the many investors out there.

Below are some of our biggest tips for identifying rental scams and avoiding the culprits. We share them because we have experienced many ourselves, as you can read about in this previous article, and others.

Red Flags

Here are the biggest and easiest to spot of the proverbial “red flags” that indicate your furnished housing is being targeted by a scammer:

They don’t complete the rental application – No blanks allowed should be your new motto. And even if the “name” given is a corporation, don’t just accept it. Do the research and find out all that you can, including full details about the individual actually seeking their “corporate” housing. This also applies if someone refuses to submit the rental credit application. It could be that they have a history of scams, really horrible credit or are unable to actually afford the rental. If someone refuses the credit check…refuse the application.

Incomplete data – The forms may seem to be complete, but don’t overlook a very common scam, which is to leave numbers (social security, credit card and phone numbers to be precise) incomplete. You can also ask for copies of documents like a driver’s license if you fear that an identity might not be all that authentic.

They’re in a hurry – They want that property of yours and they want it yesterday! This is one of the best types of rental scams because it forces you to rush into the deal, and these are often deals that end up costing you. Take your time, no matter what amount is at stake.

Differing stories – Have you gotten mixed messages from someone or some firm seeking your furnished housing? Maybe one person has spoken with you and someone who helps you at your business? Maybe you’ve gotten someone who wants nothing on paper or written down (i.e. all kinds of verbal agreements)? Maybe they tell you one thing during their first call and something else during another? If a story changes, even a little, it is probably scam related.

Cash offers – Finally, we once covered the issue of cash offers as rental scams. This too is a major red flag to be avoided.

Now you have some of our most recognizable scams and can dodge the worst offenders out there.

Apr 03, 2018 CHBO General, Cities, Corporate Housing Post a Comment

Property Spotlight: It’s All Love at this Sacramento Lakeside Luxury Rental

Life is sweeter on the water, but better still in this CHBO Certified four-bedroom executive rental in Elk Grove, south of Sacramento. Where gold once brought “49ers” by the thousands, it’s now an area of boom and bust towns, antiques and art, and new residents who want to enjoy California at a discount compared to its Bay Area cousins. Here, there is still a mild climate and farmland in Sacramento Valley that brings fresh and bountiful harvests and high-quality wines. “Gold Country” restaurants and wineries keep racking up awards but they’re not as expensive as Sonoma and Napa wine regions. There’s even a growing local craft-beer scene. Todays’ spotlight is found in an upscale quiet subdivision with tranquil ambiance south of the city in Elk Grove. It’s two hours to Lake Tahoe, less than twenty minutes to Downtown, and even closer to major tech companies based here in California’s capital city – thanks to its close but not too close location by the I-5 highway.

Microchips are Replacing Cow Chips in Elk Grove (And Elsewhere)

Sacramento’s mayor recently agreed on a $100 million partnership with Verizon to upgrade the city’s tech infrastructure and create a more connected city. Tech, driven out by high bay area prices, have been leaving overpriced San Francisco recently. Intel, Apple (3 minutes away!), HP Enterprise, and aerospace’s Aerojet Rocketdyne plus an ever-growing group of smaller firms like TSI Semiconductors, ClearCaptions, SunSystem Technology, Slidebelts, and MediaSmack. There are many young people following their career dreams here every day. Surprisingly, farming concern Blue Diamond Growers is the area’s largest employer still, but visiting college professors have the choice of CSU Sacramento, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento City College, or the McGeorge School of Law, while Doctors and travel nurses choose Sutter Health’s Roseville Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, CHW/Mercy Healthcare, or Dignity Health. These trends are found throughout the Gold Country, the close access to I-5 means that no matter what brings you to Elk Grove and Sacramento, this four-bedroom lakeside gem is a worthy choice for your furnished rental.

This Furnished Sacramento Executive Rental is Packed with Extras

Four bedrooms and three baths of CHBO Certified luxury lakefront home are on offer. The property boasts a lake inlet running behind the home where you can paddle board or listen to the waters lap against the docks. You have access to the entire home minus the garage, but parking is free and easy in front of the home. You’ll love the vaulted ceilings and picture windows that let in the sunlight to the living room, while the adjacent family room has even more comfortable seating and a fireplace. A 60” HDTV with HBO, Netflix, and cable combines with a theater style movie area on the landing upstairs so cinephiles will be in heaven. Grab a snack from the spacious kitchen that includes tile counters and stainless-steel appliances including a gas stove. Plenty of cabinetry is here for food storage, and everything you need to whip up gourmet meals is right here, too.

One bedroom is on the ground floor and three bedrooms plus two baths are upstairs. The posh master suite upstairs includes a huge king size bed and a walkout balcony with a panoramic lake view. The master bath features Jack-and-Jill sinks and a glassed off tub and shower combination. Three other bedrooms include two Queen beds and a bedroom with two twins that would be great for kids. There’s an in-home washer and dryer for laundry day fun, and because this is a smoke-free home, it will be easier to clean.

Discover the Gold Country like the Old 49ers from this Furnished Rental

New residents and visitors are discovering that Sacramento is deep with entertainment and food options. The Sacramento Historic River Cruise, The B Street Theater, and Sacramento Memorial Auditorium are great options for date night. The California State Railroad Museum, Crocker Art Museum, California State Capital Museum, and the Automobile Museum will thrill history and art lovers. The historic highway 49, for which the 49ers are named, runs 300 miles north and south near the city and is perfect for a top-down driving tour. As a wine growing region, while Sacramento is becoming better and better known, it’s still often free to go tasting here, and the wine quality is top notch. The farming emphasis means family restaurants serve the freshest foods, on reason the city bills itself as the “Farm-to-Fork Capital”. Sports fans will enjoy the NBA’s Sacramento Kings playing here at the Golden 1 Center, AAA River Cats baseball, plus USL Soccer courtesy the Sacramento Republic FC. And don’t miss the American River Bike Trail – a famous place to run and bike here in California’s Capital.

Rush to the Gold Country for this Executive Lakeside Home Today

Contact Boon, the owner, to arrange your minimum one month stay lakeside in Elk Grove. Rich with a growing economy and ever more entertainment options, you’ll strike gold on this corporate rental.

Jan 08, 2018 CHBO General, Corporate Housing Post a Comment

Outlook Bright for Corporate Housing Owners

Whether you are the owner of corporate housing that you describe as short term furnished apartments, an executive rental, or furnished housing, the future is looking quite promising. Recent industry surveys indicated executive rental properties of all kinds are increasingly more sought after and profitable.

Many owners of furnished housing rentals say they plan to invest in more real estate in order to offer them as corporate housing or short term furnished apartments.

Property management software continues to be adopted by owners to help them with their rentals. Because most handle management themselves, using industry specific resources in marketing and accounting helps them address these responsibilities more professionally.

Have sites like Airbnb changed how these property owners do their jobs? A bit, yes. While many now say they meet their renters face to face before the rental begins (this is up by more than 40% from the year 2014), most are also saying their real world communications by phone, text and email are up, too.

The most popular corporate housing properties offered, contain 3 or more bedrooms. Single family homes are tied with condos as to favored property types, though, this does not mean that single bedroom corporate rentals are unprofitable. The desirability has to do more with a one or two bedroom condo may be just as busy as the single family homeowner.

It has to do more with location and demand in the specific area, so an urban owner with a one or two bedroom apartment may be just as busy as the single family homeowner renting their property.