Property Management

October 4, 2016 Corporate Housing 101, Ideas & Tips, Property Management Toolbox 2 Comments

Pet Ideas, Facts and Corporate Housing Rentals

Yes, we love our pets. Yes, we travel with our pets. Yes, we need corporate housing rentals that can accommodate our pets. Every year in the Annual CHBO Corporate Housing Real Estate Report we talk to CHBO property owners about accepting pets in their corporate housing rentals and last year 38% of property owners said they will accommodate your pets. Of these respondents 72% say they accept pets because it keeps their rental properties occupied.

Successful corporate housing property owners have discovered that pets can get their properties rented and at higher rental rates. Last year CHBO properties that accommodated pets charged on average $68 dollars in additional monthly pet rent and rentals traditionally included a non-refundable Pet Fee and Accidental Rental Damage Protection to cover any possible damage that could be caused by a pet.

As a provider of a monthly corporate housing rental I would encourage you to review the Pet section of the Annual Report to learn more. This report can be found in your CHBO Tool Box after you Register for Free. Today, Kerrie Kelly, a professional interior designer shares her insight about making your corporate housing rental more pet friendly…

Pet-Approved Patio Accessories for your Corporate Housing Rental

By Kerrie Kelly, ASID

In sunny California, summer hasn’t quite packed up yet, so we are excited to get even more use out of our patios and decks adding to the great experience our corporate housing tenants have in their private corporate housing residential monthly rental. That also means more wear and tear to our outdoor furniture and accessories, especially for those of us with pets and renters with pets. Protect your furniture (and your sanity) by looking for furnishings, finishes and accessories that are pet-proof and can be used all year long, even when the sun isn’t shining.

Start from the Bottom

Chances are you selected your outdoor space’s terrain before you thought about renting the property to a renter with a pet. Most surfaces should be just fine for pets. However, some can be a bit time-consuming to care for and require more maintenance throughout the year. Do you have gravel or pebbles landscaping your backyard? You’d do best leaving it behind and opting for a solid surface instead. Not only can gravel or pebbles get stuck in pool filters or other backyard appliances if kicked around, but they can make a mess when your pups are exercising in the backyard. Instead, pour or lay concrete for a beautiful, flat walkway that’s easy to clean and maintain.

May 25, 2016 CHBO General, Corporate Housing 1 Comment

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Furnished Property Management

A lot of furnished corporate housing owners manage their own properties instead of hiring a property management company to do it for them. This might seem like a lot of work, but it can actually be very simple if you have a good checklist. With this cheat sheet, you can organize your property management responsibilities so that you won’t feel like you’ve taken on a second job with your furnished corporate apartments. Corporate housing

Accept Credit Cards – First of all, you need to be able to accept credit card payments from your renters. You can easily do this with a number of different free and low-cost services, like PayPal, Venmo, and/or Square.

Market Your Listing on CHBO and Social Media – You can list your furnished corporate housing apartments or houses on CHBO. Be sure to upload a number of quality pictures of all aspects of the property, and write a really great description. And don’t forget to link to your listing on social media and let all of your friends and followers know that you have an amazing corporate apartment or home for rent.

Use Google Docs or Google Calendar to Manage Rentals – You don’t have to be an organizational guru to manage when your properties are being rented and when they aren’t. Just use Google Docs or Google Calendar to create a calendar for your rentals to let people know when your properties are available, when they’re occupied, and when they’ll be available again. This will also help you keep track of scheduled maintenance and repairs, too.

Inspect the Property Between Tenants – Instead of paying a large deposit, most renters will have renter’s insurance. If you don’t inspect the property between renters, though, you won’t know when you have to bill a renter or their insurance company. Doing a quick inspection will prevent a lot of hassles and wasted money, and you can schedule it using your Google Calendar for your rentals.

Create a Cleaning and Maintenance Schedule – Finally, don’t neglect the property and don’t just do a little cleaning when you think it needs it. Instead, use your calendar to schedule regular cleanings, deep cleanings, and any maintenance that the property will need. You can also use this to schedule when to replace furniture and/or décor, when to decorate for the holidays, etc.

There you go – with this checklist, you’ll have a much easier time managing your furnished corporate housing properties. You’ll save time and money, and you’ll enjoy a larger profit margin, too.

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May 17, 2016 Ideas & Tips, Property Management Toolbox Post a Comment

Furnished rental tips to survive in the world of Expedia

5 steps to financial success and control of your furnished rental property!

Yes, landlords got spoiled with their furnished rentals when the internet allowed them to efficiently and economically connect with potential renters around the world. Furnished, unfurnished, daily, weekly, monthly and annually leasing all got easier with the connectivity offered by the internet.

Today a lot of these landlords are living in fear because those internet tenants are going away and costing more. How did this happen? How can you, the landlord, protect yourself from financial ruin?

Simple answer: Go Back to the Basics!

No business, no landlord, should ever sit back and rely on one source of income. It is that simple, you need to diversify your marketing. Take control of your destiny by taking control of your marketing.

Somewhere along the line landlords got comfortable with getting all their rentals from one source. I was talking with an associate last week who has been managing a vacation rental property in Winter Park, Colorado for the last 10 years and getting 100% of her renters from VRBO. Good for her, but the game has changed. I asked if she had been developing repeat clients over the past 10 years. “No,” she said. “I didn’t need to develop relationships with my renters because VRBO gave me new ones every year.” “Do you have a website to market your rental property?” I asked. “No,” she replied. “I get everything from VRBO.”

OK, Time to wake up! The nice little website VRBO which has been diligently sending property owner’s renters is now GONE for GOOD and it is not coming back.

Fact: The reason Expedia paid $3.9 billion for HomeAway is because it was under monetized. This means that HomeAway was only charging 3-4% of each rental where Airbnb was taking 10-13% and Booking.com was taking over 15%. Marketing fees are going up and they are not going up by a little, they are going up by a lot.

There are a lot of issues with the new Expedia / HomeAway / VRBO monopoly that will be hurting the individual landlord but we will talk more about those later.

Today we need to talk about marketing your furnished rental property so you are in control of your financial success.