The American Dream - Homeownership - home maintenance

 Hello,

Did you know that the city your property is located in can send a yard service out to your property if your lawn in not mowed often and send you a very LARGE bill?  Yes they can.

 

See you tomorrow.

TERMS realtors know - Week 34 and Week 35

 

The American Dream - Homeownership - home maintenance

 Hello,

Maintaining your investment is important.  Keeping its parts in working order will help keep its value.  This maintenance includes - interior, exterior and the landscape around it especially for single family homes.  For townhouses and condos that are a part of an HOA (home owner association) the exteriors and landscaping is usually maintained by the service that is hired by the HOA. 

More on maintaining and sustaining the value of your investment tomorrow.

 

See you there. 

The American Dream - Homeownership - Looking for a home

 Hello,

 It has been said that home ownership is the road to wealth.  Property can gain value and when you can pass that wealth onto the next generation you are passing on wealth.

 

See you tomorrow.

The American Dream - Homeownership - renting

 Hi,

One semi-secure way to rent your property is to a HUD/HRA program. Yes, Section-8 eligible tenants.  Why?  Well, a tenant with a Section-8 voucher will have close to 80% of their rent paid to you, the landlord, by the government and the rest of the rent comes from the tenant.  This can truly help your bottom line.  

See you tomorrow

The American Dream - Homeownership - renting

 Hi,

Do know that it does take money to make money.  Having a surplus will be very important when having a rental property.  Even when you have your tenant give you a deposit, do know that the damage they may do can cost way more than the deposit.  This is where the landlord rental insurance could be of help.  Still the need for surplus funds will be important.

See you tomorrow.

TERMS realtors know - Week 33

 

The American Dream - Homeownership

 Choosing to rent your property - 

As I mentioned earlier, when you have a rental, you may find that city your property is located may choose to have landlords be licensed, which means that you as the landlord will have standards your property must meet.

It always helps to have your tenant on the same page. Some tenants may feel that they don't have to do anything but eat, sleep, and socialize in their rental, when cleanliness and maintenance awareness is important as well.

I suggest that you review your agreement that you have with the renter so that you are reminded of what you agreed to with your renters and make sure your renters are aware as to what they promised you as a tenant.  I suggest that this should be done at least every 6 months.  If you have more rentals than you can handle, you may wish to hire a management company to handle them for you. 😊

See your tomorrow.

The American Dream - Homeownership

 Hi there,

The realtor word of the week has been posted.  We are on week 32 in this year.  Home prices have started to change.

Well, back to home ownership and the possibility of making it a rental.  I have mentioned that the city that my townhouse rental is located in has decided that all landlords are to be license.  I have been working on this process since the end of July.  Yesterday I installed brand new 10-year - life smoke detectors in all sleeping areas of the property.  Do know that if a room does not have an egress sized window in it, it can not be used as a sleeping area.  Each property type will have standards for smoke detectors that must be met.

When you purchase the smoke detectors there will be an instructions and guidelines document included.  This always helps.

See you tomorrow.

TERMS realtors know - Week 32

 

The American Dream - Homeownership

 Hello,

 

Seems as the Internet is having a very big hiccup, as my post from the past 2 days no longer exist.  In those posts I spoke of inspections that landlords may have to go through when a city decides to invoke a licensing program, which the city of Maplewood, MN has decided to do.  I have had to walk the property and make sure that it meets the standard now set by the city. Yesterday - Wednesday - I had a licensed electrician check the rather new electrical box installed in the rental property 2 years ago.  The city stated that the box should have a "yellow" sticker confirming that the box was properly installed and that no extension cords be used as permanent wiring and ARC outlets be installed.  Then the box must be approved by the state licensed electrician. Do know that the licensed electrician must submit a permit request in order to do the repairs officially.

With much luck this will stick.

See you tomorrow.

The American Dream - Homeownership

 The American Dream - Home ownership

As you know there are several styles of homes and several community designs.  Do know that even if you live in a single family home the community could be structured as an HOA community. In this state of existence, you could be told how many trees you are allowed in your yard, where your trash cans be placed for pick up and how many cars can be on the street.  The nice part is that your lawn service and snow removal (if you live in an area where it snows) is handled by the management company.

 Well, more tomorrow.

The American Dream - Homeownership - Townhomes

 To Whom You Rent Your Property

Be aware that finding the right tenants for your properties can be a challenge.  Do know that when you have a property that is a part of an "association" the CC&R's are very important.  May sure you go over every rule and regulation of the HOA as any violation is your responsibility.

See you tomorrow.😀

The American Dream - Homeownership - Townhomes

Renting your townhome 

As I may have mentioned in my last post - usually an HOA has CC&R's that provide guidelines and requirements as to how the community will exist.  Well, cities do the same as well and if you own a property and decide to rent it out, the city might tell you that you need to meet certain standards to keep those renters safe and even charge you a fee to do this.  The housing inspector will or have one of their staff go to your property and make sure that the property meets the standards, if not they will give you time to bring these issues up to "code".  The housing inspector will have the property re-inspected and when it passes you will receive a certificate stating that you are a landlord in good standing.