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There is nothing easy about finding a tenant.  A qualified tenant we should say.  So what are the ways that property owners or property managers go about finding tenants?

1) Use a realtor.  They have access to the MLS and other realtors.  Expect to pay one month’s rent and sign a contract with the listing agent.  Nowadays prospective tenants search for rentals via the internet and most realtors are members of the major internet sites that they search such as realtor.com.

2) Put up a sign.  Yes, the old time tested means of advertising.  Limited by the traffic on your street and the rules of your building.  Obviously, condo owners will usually have a difficult time trying to post a sign from the 7th floor.

3) Newspaper- expensive and a dying resource. 

4) Internet ads- there are free and paid ad sites that you can use, they work so long as you stay current with the ads and post a descriptive story of the unit with pictures.

These are the major means that are currently used.  Sure there is word of mouth, posting fliers, bus stops and any other possible advertising methods you can come up with but expect to be using one of the above as your primary sources.

Feel free to ask us any questions that you may have regarding property managment…..We get emails all the time and enjoy sharing information…

Republicpm.com   Fort Lauderdale Property Management

BentleyForbes recently added a new executive to the rankings of its upper echelon. The addition of Robert Dezzutti and his years of experience with Cushman Wakefield will prove to be a powerful acquisition to its management team.

BentleyForbes was created in 1993 and has since focused on the acquisition and management of office buildings, hotels and retail properties that are diversified throughout the US.

The privately held company has a Fort Lauderdale property management division as well as a number of other regional offices throughout the eastern seaboard. With assets in excess of $2 billion and almost 8 million square feet of commercial space they have become a dominate player in the commercial real estate management field.

It’s always good to see any positive response from real estate companies throughout Florida. As Florida Equities who is based in Fort Lauderdale but spans the entire state is beginning to expand. The real estate company and Fort Lauderdale property management firm who specializes in large commercial real estate management is now moving into real estate auctions. It is interesting how creative the entire real estate field has become during this downturn and we address this in a following article, stay tuned.

It is a difficult time for all aspects of real estate in South Florida and surrounding areas.  So just how difficult is it to find a tenant and what can an owner expect?  Well, the conventional options of finding a renter include choosing to find a renter yourself or hiring a realtor.  If you choose to find your own renter understand there are advertising and time costs that should be accounted for.  You will need to list it online or the newspaper as well as minor local distribution areas may be of assistance, i.e. (gyms, schools, hospitals, etc).  Then there is the time spent on the phone explaining the unit and driving to and from the unit for showings.  This is indeed not an enviable task. 

The other option includes hiring a realtor.  Realtors typically charge one month of rent or 10% of the annual rental amount.  It seems like a steep price to pay but understand they handle all aspects of the transaction for you and they most likely will have to split the commission with another realtor.  Then you will need a property management in Fort Lauderdale or South Florida to manage the daily tasks of running a unit, which often runs 6% to 10%. As you can see these are difficult times for all and these additional expenses will definitely eat into your profit but it is necessary to hire the right people to avoid even further headaches.  

Up to this point the booming home markets throughout LA and Orange county had not really felt the massive calming that have hit Denver and Miami. However, the latest information that has come out this week starts to show they are not impervious. LA County has seen an 800% increase in foreclosures and the San Diego area increased over 700% from one year ago.

A number of people thought that the high end market was immune from such downturns. But it really just boiled down to people began buying homes they just could not afford. Everyone thought the more house you buy the more it will increase. And as we all know there has to be an end to that theory. This combined with a crash in the sub prime market has locked up cash for these needy buyers. But what’s happening is that seller’s won’t move their prices enough because they can’t. They bought too high and they’ll lose too much money if they sell so they try to float it until they can’t anymore and they are so far upside down that they just foreclose. Then this really doesn’t do much for the buyers because the buys they are expecting to get just aren’t the homeruns there expecting.

So what happens to the realtors who make their living off of commissions? A few I’ve spoken with have moved into rentals and property management. Brokers are closing shops or trying to push commercial properties. The market fall out just continue to affect all sectors of the real estate market down the line. So even mighty California can’t outlast this market.

Here are a few more very good questions you should ask a prospective property manager:

Do you have licensed and insured vendors?

Can you handle emergencies?

How do you advertise and how much does it cost?

Do you inspect the properties?

Do you provide monthly reports?

Do you use a property management software?

Why are you better than other property management companies?

What references do you have?

How long have you been in the property management business?

What experience do you have in my specific location?

Do you do any training with your property managers?

Do you determine your own rent rates?

What is rate your of vacancy and collection rate?

What are you doing to collect those past due rents?

What do you do if a resident does not pay his rent?

 Do you take care of maintenance?

As you begin to acquire property you also take on much more work and there realistically becomes a point where you can’t manage all of the property yourself and still maintain a normal job. So what do you do? Well, you either sell the property or you hire a qualified property manager.

To some this may feel like handing over your first born but let’s be realistic and determine what is your opportunity cost for managing this property if you could be doing something more rewarding. For instance, working harder on your day job which you are probably better at to begin with. How about family time or vacation? How about finding new properties to purchase to hand over to a property manager?

So now that you understand the value of a property manager what qualities should you look for? Well, first off you want to find someone who will actually care about the property as though it were their own. This is often difficult and you hate to hand it over to someone and get it back in worse condition than when you began so begin by consulting with the internet. A search of google for Property Management Fort Lauderdale resulted in a number of reputable companies all just a phone cal or email away. Then talk to their current clients, visit those properties, ask the tenants how they feel about the management company. Look a little bit of research in the beginning can make all the difference in the end. Then you can enjoy all the benefits of property ownership without all of the hassles of property management.