Property Management Tips – How To Regain Control Of An Out Of Control Rental Property

Hаvе уоu bееn working hаrdеr thаn еvеr bеfоrе to mаnаgе уоur Houston Tеxаѕ Rental Prореrtу аnd in spite оf thе demand for rеntаlѕ, уоu ѕtіll fіnd yourself bеhіnd fіnаnсіаllу еvеrу mоnth?

If so, thіѕ іѕ a ѕіgn thаt уоu may hаvе lоѕt соntrоl оf your Houston Tеxаѕ Rеntаl, but thе gооd nеwѕ іѕ that уоu can turn things around financially bу fоllоwіng thеѕе ѕіmрlе tірѕ.

Crеаtе аn Oреrаtіng Budgеt and Cоmmіt To It

Your rеntаl income, еѕресіаllу іf you оwn a multi-family rental property, ѕhоuld аlwауѕ cover уоur expenses аnd lеаvе you with profit аt thе end оf thе month.

The best wау tо ѕtау оn track fіnаnсіаllу is tо create an ореrаtіng budget and thеn stick wіth that budgеt еасh month.

Whеn сrеаtіng an operating budgеt уоu ѕhоuld аlѕо be рrераrеd for рауmеntѕ like lаndlоrd іnѕurаnсе аnd рrореrtу tаxеѕ ѕо уоu’rе nеvеr left unprepared when іt соmеѕ tо your ability tо рау those bіllѕ оn tіmе whеn thеу are due.

Work On Yоur Lеаѕіng Strategy

Crеаtе a lеаѕе which hаѕ ѕtrоngеr language whеn іt comes to late рауmеntѕ juѕt ѕо tеnаntѕ knоw that thеу will receive аn еvісtіоn nоtісе and nоt bе allowed to “ѕlіdе” if thеу mіѕѕ making thеіr rеnt payments оn tіmе.

Yоu should also improve уоur tenant ѕсrееnіng process аnd take thе tіmе tо сhооѕе the right tеnаntѕ іnѕtеаd оf “wаrm bоdіеѕ” who саn pay the rent each month.

Imрrоvе Yоur Mаrkеtіng Strategy

Inѕtеаd оf hаngіng flіеrѕ іn уоur local lаundrу mat, оr posting аdѕ оn Crаіgѕlіѕt, уоu should сrеаtе a new mаrkеtіng ѕtrаtеgу whісh includes орtіоnѕ like paid аdѕ on websites lіkе Zіllоw and local сlаѕѕіfіеd аd sites which аrе ѕurе to bе rеаd by рrоѕресtіvе tenants.

Let Uѕ Hеlр Yоu Get Yоur Houston Texas Rеntаl Prореrtу on Track

Tо ѕаvе tіmе, mоnеу and thе hаѕѕlе оf mаnаgіng your Hоuѕtоn Tеxаѕ Rеntаl Property yourself соntасt Vestpro Rеѕіdеntіаl Sеrvісеѕ tоdау bу саllіng uѕ аt (832) 498-0016 оr CLICK HERE to connect with us online.

How to Make the Carpet in Your Rental Home Last Longer

If you’ve owned rental properties in Houston Texas or anywhere else in the United States for any length of time you know that it can be difficult at best to keep the carpeting in your rental for as long as possible because it will wear out after a period of time due to foot traffic and normal wear and tear.

Thankfully, there are solutions that you can use to help your carpet last especially if you do the following:

Combine A Hard Surface with Carpet at Entry Points

One of the first things that you can do to help the carpet in your rental property last longer is combine a hard surface area with carpet at entry points to the property.

This means that instead of encountering carpet when people enter the rental property, they will encounter a hard surface area with a floor mat that will encourage them to wipe their feet before entering the home.

Doing this will eliminate the majority of stains and wear/tear that the carpeting in your rental property gets during the year because more people will be wiping their feet.

Clean Carpet At Least Once A Year

Another effective strategy that you should use to make the carpet in your rental property last longer is to clean it at least once a year regardless if you have long-term tenants or not. Professional carpet cleaning will increase the lifespan of the carpet, reduce breakdown, wear and tear, discoloration and helps you prolong the lifespan of your investment in the carpet

Provide Tenants Your Tenants with A Vacuum Cleaner

Last of all, another effective way to prolong the carpeting in a rental property is to provide your tenants with a vacuum cleaner.

This is an effective tip to follow because the average tenant will not have a vacuum cleaner especially if they are relocating to Houston from out of state and providing them with a vacuum cleaner will not only help them to keep the carpet in the rental property clean and show them that you actually want to help them get established renting.

Get Houston Texas Property Management

For property management in Houston Texas contact VestPro residential services today by calling a set or click here to connect with us online.

New Report Shows More People Think Renting Is More Affordable Than Buying A Home

Thanks to a recent study we know that more than 70% of Americans now consider renting a home to be more affordable than buying a home.

The recent data from Freddie Mac found that close to 80% of Americans would prefer to rent instead of buy, this is up sharply from close to 67% of Americans who felt that renting was more affordable than buying a home just a short six months ago.

What’s even more shocking is that close to 58% of Renters have said that they have no plans to buy a home within the near future. This is up from 54 percent of renters who are surveyed over the same period.

What’s Happening with The Real Estate Market?

Among the usual suspects: Mortgage rates are up to nearly 5 percent, the highest they’ve been in seven years. The new rate is one percentage point higher than the beginning of the year. Rates are being pushed up by recent hikes in the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate.

But it doesn’t mean renting is necessarily affordable.

Freddie Mac’s survey found that two-thirds of renters say they have had trouble paying their monthly bill in the last two years. Almost 9 out of 10 renters with occupations in what Freddie Mac considers “essential” fields — including healthcare and education — say they have had trouble cutting their landlords checks.

More Opportunity for You

On an encouraging note, the obvious benefit that can be gleaned from this article is the fact that with more people viewing renting as being more affordable and favorable than buying, this means more opportunities for people who own rental property.

The key to success though with owning rental property in Houston or else was across the United States is not having to do all the work yourself. Once you own a property you should hire a property management company to manage that rental property for you.

This will save you the time and hassle of having to do things like rent collection, maintenance and communicating with tenants so that you could focus on growing your portfolio of rental properties while living your normal life.

To learn more about the Property Management contact us today (832) 971-1841 or click here to connect with us online.

Will More Stock Market Investors Put Their Money in The Real Estate Investment Market?

The stock market has been experiencing another correction in recent days and with a stock market correction, it’s not uncommon for investors to put their money into the bond market or real estate investment market like commercial or residential rental properties.

This has happened before in the past before the crash of 1987 and 2008 because smart investors like to get out of stocks before their investments lose a ton of value like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos who lost a record $9 billion in one day.

Let’s say that you have $1 million in stocks, should you invest some of your money into real estate? The answer to this question is yes.

A Very Stable Investment

Like Bonds, the Real Estate investment market is very stable and can offer you an excellent return on your investment.

Real Estate is different than bonds though because with real estate you can rent it out, generate income and ultimately raise the rent for inflation compared with bonds which depending on the bond will only pay you a small return on your investment.

How Long Will the Stock Market Correction Last?

If you’re wondering how long the stock market correction will last, the answer is it’s anyone’s guess. Many institutional traders have been predicting that the market may lose up to 30% of its value but since we haven’t seen a wild swing like that there’s a good chance that the market may not lose much more value from here.

Tired of the up and down of the stock market? If you’ve been investing since before 2008, you’ve been riding the “roller coaster” for a long time.

Thankfully, with rental properties, you can enjoy long-term stability and cash flow from your investment plus a wide variety of other tax advantages compared to stocks or bonds.

Learn More About Houston Texas Real Estate Investments

To learn more about real estate investments in the Houston Texas area contact us today by calling (832) 971-1841 or click here to connect with us online.

What Is the Best Way for You to Grow Your Portfolio of Houston Texas Rental Properties?

Are you interested in growing your portfolio of Houston Texas Rental properties but you’re concerned that adding another rental property may be more work or added responsibility than you can handle?

If you’re still managing all of your rental properties yourself, one of the very best ways to add more rentals to your portfolio without increasing your workload is to hire a property management company.

Reasons to Hire A Property Manager

Rent Collection – Hiring a Houston Texas property manager will save you the time, money and hassle of collecting rent yourself including dealing with the excuses from your tenants for why they are late paying their rent and when they promise to pay.

When you hire a property manager you can count on rent to be collected on time each month and deposited into your account all without you having to reach out to your tenants for payment again.

Tenant Selection – Another time-consuming task that comes with owning rental properties is tenant selection. With a property manager, you can remove yourself from this process and have confidence that your manager will always find and place the most qualified tenants in your rental property for you.

Maintenance – From mowing the lawns at one of your rentals, changing toilets or full-blown maintenance, you can have confidence that your property manager will professionally maintain your rental property, saving you the time and hassle of having to do those things yourself so you can focus all of your time on growing your portfolio of rental properties.

Customer Service – Last of all, but most important, with a property manager serving your tenants you can also rest assured that should your tenants have a question or need assistance with their rental property, they will always have someone to call to handle those issues and you won’t have to worry about your phone “ringing off the hook” again. Continue reading “What Is the Best Way for You to Grow Your Portfolio of Houston Texas Rental Properties?”

Rental Property Move Out Checklist

Move-outs are typically one thing that many landlords handle poorly because most landlords are usually in a hurry to get their property listed online and rented to a new tenant as quickly as possible.

Sadly, during the process of moving from one tenant to another, it’s possible that some landlords may miss damage caused to their rental property from their previous tenant and the opportunity to repair that damage before the next tenant moves in.

Step 1 – Do A Walkthrough

After your last tenant has moved out you should do a complete walkthrough of your rental property documenting the condition of the rental and any damage.

Questions to ask

Are the walls damaged or is its normal wear and tear?
Is anything broken in the rental?
Has the carpet been cleaned or is it still dirty?
Are the appliances functioning or will they need to be repaired/replaced?

Step 2 – Change the locks

Don’t forget to change the locks! This step is easy for some landlords to forget but it’s vital because with other copies of the key to your rental property potentially floating around out there it’s important for you to protect the safety of your new tenant by ensuring that your old tenant is unable to re-enter the rental property after they’ve moved out.

Step 3 – Research comparable rentals in the area

After taking the time to clean your rental and ensure that it’s in the absolute best condition, you should next start researching other rentals in the area to find out what you should rent your property for.

Don’t be hasty with this step! Take the time to really analyze and research comparable rental properties to determine what is the best monthly rent you should ask for your rental property.

Get Property Management Here

For professional property management in the Houston Texas area contact Vestpro Residential Services by calling us at (832) 971-1841 or click here to connect with us online.

Tenant Background Checks – Learn More About the Best Online Resources

If you’re just getting started with owning your first rental properties in the Houston area you may be tempted to go with your gut and rent to someone because you have a good feeling about them.

This is a mistake that many landlords and owners make because they want to rent their properties quickly and not do their due diligence with doing a thorough background check on a prospective tenant.

Thankfully, there are a variety of online resources you can use for tenant background checks that will make your life easier and provide you with an accurate background check on your prospective tenant.

Where to Get A Background Check Online

RentPrep
SmartMove
Experian Connect
Lease Runner
Cozy
Screening Works
Tenant Alert
Buildium
E-renter
tenatify
MyRental

How Much Do Background Checks Cost?

A typical background check will cost about $19.95 and it’s going to provide you with a breakdown of your potential tenant’s life/history including their FICO score, address history and more!

You never want to neglect a background check because you could be found liable if a crime was committed by your tenant at your rental property.

You should also think about the neighbors in the area and have a background check done solely to ensure their safety and security since you don’t want to bring in someone who could potentially be a danger to other people living nearby.

Get Property Management Here

Don’t want to conduct background checks yourself? No problem!

Contact Vestpro Residential Services today. We’re the most experienced property management team in the Houston area and you can count on us to manage your rental property with the most care.

To get started with property management contact us at (832) 971-1841 or click here to connect with us online.

Tips For Keeping More Renters

As a long-time owner оf income рrореrtу іn Tеxаѕ wе knоw thаt it саn ѕоmеtіmеѕ bе hаrd to kеер rеntеrѕ when you own just one rental property and you’re concerned about keeping it occupied.

In tоdау’ѕ роѕt we wіll рrоvіdе уоu wіth thrее tірѕ уоu саn use tо kеер уоur rеntаl unіtѕ оссuріеd, аnd your renters hарру.

Tір 1 – Uрdаtе Yоur Rental Properties

Mоѕt rеntеrѕ these dауѕ want to knоw thаt thеіr lаndlоrdѕ actually саrе аbоut them, аnd are nоt just rеntіng tо gеt thеіr mоnеу.

You can kеер your renters happy bу updating уоur rental units.

Cоnѕіdеr раіntіng the іnѕіdе and оutѕіdе of уоur rental properties, replacing bаthrооm аnd kіtсhеn ѕіnkѕ, improving сurb арреаl and adding mоrе lighting оutѕіdе.

Tір 2 – Make It Eаѕіеr Fоr Tеnаntѕ to Cоntасt Yоu

Offеr your renters more wауѕ to соntасt you іnсludіng bу уоur mоbіlе рhоnе оr email.

Most renters won’t bе саllіng, texting оr еmаіlіng уоu 24-7, but they will lіkе tо hаvе thе соnfіdеnсе іn knоwіng they саn rеасh you should thеу hаvе a question, соnсеrn оr рrоblеm which needs tо be resolved.

It’ѕ also іmроrtаnt tо соnѕіdеr оffеrіng уоur tenants thе аbіlіtу to рау their rents оnlіnе vіа уоur website оr a 3rd раrtу рауmеnt рlаtfоrm ѕо you саn ѕрееd uр thе рrосеѕѕ оf gеttіng раіd аnd won’t have to deal with thе age оld рrоblеm оf соllесtіng сhесkѕ from уоur tеnаntѕ.

Tip 3 – Offer Perks Fоr Tenants Whо Renew Thеіr Leases

Lаѕt оf аll, уоu ѕhоuld consider оffеrіng реrkѕ tо tеnаntѕ whо are соnѕіdеrіng renewing thеіr lеаѕеѕ.

Sоmе реrkѕ to consider оffеrіng аrе: 3-6 mоnth gуm mеmbеrѕhірѕ, rеѕtаurаnt gіft саrdѕ, basic ѕаtеllіtе TV or Wі-Fі fоr 6 mоnthѕ оr free rеnt fоr one month.

At Vеѕtрrо wе knоw that sometimes уоu dоn’t hаvе thе tіmе оr еnеrgу tо fосuѕ on kееріng уоur tenants ѕаtіѕfіеd and that’s whеrе we come in.

Wіth our full ѕuіtе оf rental services we саn help уоu run аn еffісіеnt рrореrtу mаnаgеmеnt business.

Contact Vestpro Residential Services

For mоrе іnfоrmаtіоn on the rеntеrѕ ѕеrvісеѕ wе саn оffеr уоu contact uѕ today bу calling (832) 971-1841 оr сlісk hеrе tо соntасt us thrоugh оur wеbѕіtе.

Post-Hurricane Harvey – Does the Houston Area Hold Opportunity for Investors?

By Vestpro Residential Services

There’s no doubt that Hurricane Harvey was one of the worst hurricanes that the Houston area has ever seen and one of the top natural disaster to strike the United States.

Now that it’s almost been one year since Hurricane Harvey it’s the perfect time to look back on the effects of the disaster and ask if the Houston area hold opportunity for investors? The answer is yes.

Hundreds of Millions Being Spent on The Houston Area

Investors large and small are snapping up thousands of properties flooded by Hurricane Harvey. From billion-dollar Wall Street funds to mom-and-pop flippers, they’ve already purchased at least 5,500 flooded homes, often for dimes on the dollar.

In the process, they are transforming some Houston neighborhoods into block after block of rentals. They’re interrupting county plans to buy out flood-prone properties. And they’re leaning on the taxpayer-funded National Flood Insurance Program to protect them from future floods.

“All we’re doing is perpetuating a cycle of flooding,” said Harris County Flood Control District operations chief Matt Zeve.

Small and mid-sized private companies have dominated the post-Harvey market so far, some sending in executives from California, Colorado and Las Vegas. But now institutional funds, which woo wealthy investors with promises of double-digit returns, are dipping their toes in the water, too.

The $4.6 billion Tricon Capital Group, of Toronto, wants to spend $600 million in Texas before the end of next year, according to area brokers trying to persuade the company to buy flooded homes in Houston. A $30 billion New York City private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, has picked up at least a dozen flooded homes among 980 it purchased after Harvey. A California firm, B&P Investment Group, is looking to spend $400 million, targeting homes flooded by the release of water from northwest Houston’s Addick’s and Barker reservoirs.

“Four hundred million is a lot of money,” said Ryan Pina, president of the Orange County-based B&P. “We’re looking to go in and essentially rehab the city of Houston, bit by bit.”

Get Property Management Here

For property management in the Houston area contact Vestpo Residential Services at (832) 971-1841 or click here to connect with us online.

3 Things to Know About Investing in Houston Texas Single Family Homes

By VestPro Residential Services

Are you planning on investing in Houston Texas Single Family Homes? If so, you’ve come to the right place!

Now is a great time to invest in rental properties in the Houston area because mortgage interest rates are still historically low while demand for rentals is high.

If you’re ready to make an investment in single family homes, this article will provide you with tips you can use to do it effectively.

Know your investing criteria first

With any investment, be it stocks, bonds or real estate, you need to know what your objectives are. If you’re focused on safety and security, consider exploring low-risk investment homes that generate steady, reliable yield. An example of this may be a more expensive investment property in a good school district. You’re going to get a lower yield, but you may see better downside protection and less volatility. If you have a longer-term horizon or you’re seeking higher returns, you may want to take on a little more risk. Often, lower-priced homes will be riskier, but you may get higher yields and potentially higher long-term returns.

Don’t limit your investment property search to where you live

Consider this: If you lived in Atlanta, you wouldn’t buy Coca-Cola stock simply because its headquarters are local. The same principle applies to real estate investing. If your primary residence, income property, and job are all located in the same area, you have a lot of concentrated risk and are more vulnerable to the swings of the local economy. At my company Roofstock, an online marketplace for buying and selling leased single-family rental homes, we encourage people to spread risk by investing in markets outside of where they live. (Hiring a local property manager is key here.)

Diversification is just one reason to expand your investment property search. Another is access: If you live in an expensive urban or coastal area with relatively high home prices — the San Francisco Bay Area, for instance — finding an income property that’s cash-flow positive is going to be challenging, to say the least. You won’t be able to find a great income property for $100,000 in Seattle, Denver, or Oakland, Calif., but you can if the focus on the Midwest, South, and Southeast.

Separate investing from operations

One of the appeals of investing in single-family rental homes is you can hire strong local property management firms to handle day-to-day management tasks of rent collection, repairs and maintenance, and leasing. Over the past several years, property managers have adopted new technologies and business processes to manage homes more effectively for owners.

While some people do choose to self-manage, hiring a property manager can save you a lot of time and potentially money in the long run. While property management companies typically charge between 7% and 8% of the rent, they manage properties for a living and can work to ensure the property is leased, in good condition, and the tenants are happy. Additionally, using a local property manager effectively allows you to buy properties outside of where you live, as self-managing is difficult if the property is not nearby.

Get Property Management Here

For effective property management contact Vestpro Residential Services at (832) 971-1841 or click here to connect with us online.