Rental Market Cools?

Don't get me wrong, it is still a good time to rent out your home. But you must remember that there is more product in the market place. Why? Builders that cannot sell have decided to rent out their homes and foreclosed homes are being purchased by investors and turned into rentals. Also the condo market has gone cold thus these homes have been converted into rentals. Long story short, potential tenants have many choices!

For this reason, investors/landlords need to ensure their product is in good shape and reasonably priced so that it rents quickly. Competition is tough right now. Potentially more important than price is finding a good quality tenant that will keep your home in good condition. Background checks and asking the right questions are vitally important and should not be taken lightly. For instance, is the potential tenant willing to sign a one year lease or longer? It cost money to turnover tenants and the longer they stay around the better for the investor. But first you must find a good qualified tenant.

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Garbage Disposal Trouble Shooting

Before you start with any troubleshooting, please never put your hand in the hopper (down the drain into the disposal)! A common problem is the disposal will not turn on and it is not making a humming sound, then there is an electrical problem. This may seem obvious, but make sure the disposal is plugged in. If it is plugged in then press the Reset button found on the bottom of the unit. If it has reset, the button will be popped out.
If that does not work, check to see if the circuit breaker has tripped and turned off in the electrical service panel. If the breaker has not tripped and the reset button is not popped out, then it's either a faulty switch or a faulty garbage disposal. If this is the case please contact your landlord to make repairs.

A second common problem is that the flywheel becomes stuck. If the garbage disposal won't turn on but makes a humming sound when you flip the switch, it won't do that for long. That means you have a stuck flywheel and the reset button on the unit itself or the fuse or circuit breaker in your electrical service panel will trip and turn off very quickly. The flywheel is stuck because something is lodged between it or the impeller(s) and the shredder ring. To start the repair, turn off power to the garbage disposal at the electrical service panel. Don't ever put your hand down into the garbage disposal hopper (grinding chamber). Take the offset wrench that came with the disposal unit and insert the wrench into the flywheel turning hole in the bottom of the unit. If you don't have the wrench you can pick one up from the hardware store that sells your garbage disposal. Once the wrench is inserted, turn it clockwise to dislodge the stuck impeller or flywheel. When it dislodges, you'll feel the flywheel turn freely.
Another approach is to try and use a wooden broom-handle or similar wooden object to free the stuck impeller and flywheel from the top of the unit through the drain. Place the broom-handle into the hopper and against an impeller. Use leverage to try and free the stuck flywheel. As before, when it dislodges you'll feel the flywheel turn freely. If this does not work please contact your landlord to make repairs.

Renter Tips in a Hot and Cold Rental Market

The rental and real estate markets are cyclical.  Thus when the real estate market is good the rental market has an over supply of rental units to rent thus potential residents can find very good deals.  But once the real estate market softens then the rental pool shrinks and creates a demand for rental units.  This equates to higher rents and today Portland is in this type of rental market.  In either scenario, the most desirable rental units are snapped up the quickest.   

Potential renters should be prepared to have the following information at their finger tips. The more information the renter has at the time of application is just the confidence the landlord needs to process the application.  For this reason, always have the following information with you: your current landlord information and the information for the three previous addresses and landlord phone numbers, your employer and length of employment, your current salary and other income information, personal references, a driver license or picture idea, and a checkbook or cash for the application fees.  

Always ask the landlord for the current criteria to ensure you qualify for the rental unit that you are applying for.  The criteria will tell you what the landlord is looking for when he or she processes your application.  For example, if the criteria requires the applicant to have three years of rental history but you only have one year then you do not qualify and you should not waste your money on the application fee.  

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Prepare the Home before Showing

Build confidence in your tour of the home by arriving early before your appointment with your "Spiff kit." This has been referred to as “Opening the Store”. You should always know what your product looks like before you open the door. You don’t want to stand at the door “praying” it will look good!! You have to be responsible and make sure it does. Today they make a “wipe” with every kind of product you can think of. You don’t even have to carry heavy bottles of product.

Here is a list of items that you can use to quickly make the home sparkle before showing it.
At minimum the Spiff Kit should include wipes with 409, Windex wipes, paper towels, lemon ammonia, Pine-sol, Carpet fresh, Febreeze, light bulbs, a broom and trash bags. Add a nice smell to the home and watch your prospects smile! I like to use a universal smell like vanilla or apple cinnanmon. Thus plug in an oil wall plug in and leave it during your “show of the home” and once the home is leased move it to the next home.

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Tip of the week...Showing a Home

The most effective sales presentations are those that can be demonstrated. It is one thing to say that you have "large closets." It's far better to walk in to the closet, turn around and pronounce the closet as "large enough to hold people!" It is far better to turn the kitchen and bathroom faucet on to show there is strong water pressure than to just tell people that the home has great water pressure. It is much more memorable to show a perspective resident the spic and span, gleaming clean laundry room than to simply mention it in passing. Go out on to the patio or deck with the prospect and show them the treed yard with a view. Don't just tell them it's there. If the home has a smaller than normal oven let them know they can still fit a good size turkey in the oven. This may sound goofy but it proves the point in a fun way.

Always look and act professional so that when you tell them that you are a good landlord that responds quickly to their needs, they know it's true, simply because of their experience with you!

info@RedDoorResidential.com