Archive for June 21st, 2012

Rental Property Management Programs

Rental Property Management ProgramsMost people may have one or two rental properties and manage them themselves. They have to deal with all of the issues that renters will put land lords through and sometimes they even lose money over the deal as well. This can be from damages caused by the renter or perhaps the market just did not increase enough to compensate for all of the carrying costs and maintenance fees.

There also this feeling by renters that landlords are rich and can afford to lose a month’s rent or perform repairs to things that have been damaged. Some also think that by walking away in the middle of the night they can actually get away with it. They can be found and charged and most are, but who really wants to go through that?

Some land lords will group together under rental property management programs and agreements. These are known as rental pools in some circles and have a great advantage of spreading the risk across a number of owners. Cash flow is always maintained, although it does vary. There is never a month were you have zero cash flow, such as when your unit might be vacant. This is an excellent advantage when you have taxes and a mortgage to pay every month.

How Rental Property Management Programs Work

There are likely all kinds of rental property management programs, however the one that this writer has had experience with is the rental pool program. Basically it works by all owners pooling all of their rental money into one account. All expenses to manage the condo or apartment building are paid out of it. This includes all common expenses, such as common lighting, garbage disposal, landscaping, condo fees, and rental expenses such as advertising.

The rental pool also pays for units that are vacant for the month. They also pay for expenses associated with going to small claims court to claim rent that has not been paid. In most cases a property manager is hired to manage the rental pool and all renting of the units. There is a board of directors for the rental pool separate from a condo board.

The rental company is contracted to manage the rental pool, to pay all expenses and to pay all owners each month as well from the proceeds. When you pool units like this, owners can usually get a better price for the rental management side of things which also saves money.

Rental Pool Operation

Most rental pools that are part of a rental property management program run smoothly provided that you follow standard operating procedures. You must have a board made up of at least 3 members of the owners. The books must be audited each year and a tax report prepared each year for each owner to include in their tax filings.

Rental pools sometimes get into trouble when there is no oversight or very little oversite by the owners. Sometimes one owner will take control and that is usually when the trouble starts. Always make sure that there are at least 3 board members. They should meet with the property manager at least every 2 months and also review the books every quarter. The board should have an annual meeting that elects them and gives everyone to ask any questions that they might have.

An agreement for the rental pool should be set up. There should be a contract between the rental pool and the property manager. There should be an election of at least 3 board members each year. The board members staggered so that there is a combination of both new and experienced members on the board.

Simple Rules

Follow some of these simple rules for a rental pool as part of a rental property management program. Generally you will have no serious problems unless the property manager fails to do his or her job. Always maintain a reserve fund for the rental pool. As well to make sure you can deal easily with any financial surprises.

We will write more about rental pools in future posts. However if you have comments or want more information, please feel free to leave us some comments.

For more posts about property management topics, click here.


Indoor Coverage Solution

Indoor Coverage SolutionIndoor coverage solutions will ensure that your wireless mobile connections are strong enough to handle regular phone calls without calls dropping. Or with the conversation becoming garbled are available for business people as well as for consumers.

Most people are just totally frustrated when they find that they cannot make calls within their home or business. Often the carrier will not do anything about it since the business generated from that building or suburban area. They are just unwilling to spend the money since there is not enough return on their investment.

What to do for Indoor Coverage Solution

They can change carriers. But this will usually involved changes in phones as well as cancellation fee’s especially if there is a contract in place. The mobile companies will not let you out of these contracts.  Consumers also have the choice of doing nothing and just living with the situation as frustrating as it is.

There is another solution to the Indoor coverage solution problem. Various vendors sell what are known as wireless repeaters for consumers as well as business situations. They vary a great deal in price as well. These systems must be tuned to the carrier that you are subscribed too.  The wireless repeater must be tuned to the proper frequency for it to provide any improvement to your phone. If you decide to change carriers, this wireless repeater is not going to work for the new phone and improve this Indoor coverage solution problem.

Only Supports One Carrier and Frequencies

The other important message that you need to understand is that this repeater will improve  Indoor coverage for all phones with the same carrier and the same frequency. Sometimes you will have guests, customers or other employees that use other phones from other carriers. Your wireless repeater will not improve the indoor wireless coverage for their phones. However it is quite possible that one carriers signal could be more than strong enough to penetrate the walls of your home or business. This is imply because the transmitting tower is much closer for them that it is for your carrier.

If all of this sounds complicated it can be. We have only discussed in general terms the theory of using repeaters.

Most providers of wireless repeaters that solve indoor coverage solutions will be more than happy to help you through the decision process. They can help figure out which repeater makes sense for you and matches the technical requirements of your carrier. They will gladly do this for you with the expectation that you will make a purchase from them.

We welcome comments from readers on this issue and look forward to your comments. For more details about indoor wireless coverage, click here.

 

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Reduce Montly Costs – Debt Freedom

Debt FreedomDebt-freedom is the mantra of many baby boomers about to retire. They have worked all of their lives to pay for the house. They have to pay for the car and to pay to get their kids through school. Then there are the various adult toys that they have collected. These include everything from cottages, sports vehicles, fancy cars and all of the electronics that money can buy. Now they are focusing on eliminating debt or reducing it as much as possible prior to retirement so they can live on a reduced retirement income.

Non baby boomers and first time home buyers are also aiming for debt freedom, paying off mortgages more quickly than needed and doing without so they can focus on reducing debt and saving the interest that they pay on this debt. Since 2008, interest rates have been at historic lows, but they are about to rise again in 2013 and 2014. This is the time to reduce your debt before interest rates go up. Debt freedom is important to many people who have either learned a hard lesson over the past two years or who have watched friends and relatives lose their homes and cars.

Debt Freedom – How Are They Doing That

Well the answer is that it varies, however for many of them it starts with setting a budget to try to keep their debts under control, and setting money aside to pay for any outstanding loans and mortgages.

It also starts by avoiding purchases in the first place that will increase your debt or make it more difficult to pay off existing debt.  Ask yourself if you really need the item, can you do without it , is there another cheaper alternative?

With all that has occurred over the past 2 years, the stock market crash, the foreclosed homes and more on the way, more and more people are aiming to decrease their debt. They are worried about the exposure they might have if they lose their jobs or if interest rates increase.

It starts with setting budgets for holiday spending, vacation activities and everyday expenses. Shaving some of the extras off your day to day expenses can save a great deal of money which you can use to reduce your debt. Budgets are difficult to keep, many people break them and some people will even spend more money than what they planned. Some folks are doing without vacations for their family.

Commitment is Key

The first step is to set up a budget and is a good start. However sticking with it requires commitment and perseverance.

There are ways to increase the level of commitment and some of the rules are the same as any other activity that takes commitment:

  • Set a budget per gift recipient
  • Write down your purchases
  • Keep track of daily expenditures
  • Make sure you and your spouse are equally committed
  • Set a budget that is realistic
  • Identify specific monthly expenditures that can be reduced or cut
  • Set up targets for your debt reduction
  • Discuss expenditures with your spouse or friend before purchasing
  • Wait a day or a week to think about purchases, maybe you really do not need  the item after all

Debt-free target

Setting targets for your credit card payments, car loan payments and any other debts you have will help you go a long way to managing your debt. If at all possible cut up your cards and pay with cash. Pay for the things you need and do without the things you want. Use credit cards responsibly. Avoid high interest rate cards and pay off your cards balance at the end of each month.

Reduce your debt on the highest interest debt first to maximize your savings and make more money available to reduce your debt. If you can transfer high interest debt to low interest debt do so as quickly as possible. Use the savings to reduce your debt. Never use the savings to buy more things that you really do not need.

Debt freedom is an enviable target and objective and kudoo’s to those that achieve it. There is a certain amount of freedom an euphoria when it happens to you, enjoy it, you worked hard for it.

Comments and ideas about achieving debt freedom are welcome. Our readers are looking for ways to achieve this objective.

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Building Electric Auto Infrastructure

Building Electric Auto InfrastructureOur last post discussed Recharging Electric Vehicles in Condo Buildings. This post is looking at the subject from a broader perspective. We are asking what will the infrastructure look like for electric cars in the future. It will take time, but this is definitely the way that the future is going. Electric cars will become more and more popular.

Almost all manufacturers have introduced hybrid cars into their lineups in order to maximize gas mileage. A few have introduced electric only vehicles. A Tesla roadster for example will go 245 miles on a charge. However it needs a 24o volt charging station to charge it. You can also use 120 Volt, however it just takes longer at this lower voltage to charge it.

The trend to electric vehicles is simply a matter of time, consumers ability to figure out how and when to use them and an infrastructure to recharge them. Hybrid cars do not need to plug into the electrical grid to recharge their batteries. Cars that do not have any kind of gas engine, require available sources of electricity and need to be plugged in to recharge their batteries.

It Takes Planning

Right now if you buy an electric only vehicle, you have to plan when and were you are going to recharge your vehicle. Plugging into just any outlet is akin to stealing power and people are not going to like that.  Even if you offer to pay for a recharge, there will still be some suspicion, since they will relate recharging to filling the tank with gas and wondering why you are not handing over $40 or $50 dollars instead of the $5 that you are offering which is all that it really cost! Someone really needs to figure out a solution that is economically acceptable to society and demonstrate to business how they can make a profit. All of us also need to be educated as well.

Building Electric Auto Infrastructure

There are many potential solutions, however today as we write this post, none are commercially available in any significant numbers that we are aware of. Some may not even be on the drawing board for all we know. But one way or another we need to be building an electric auto infrastructure to recharge our electric automobiles. The trigger of course will be high gas prices and by that I mean at least plus $5 per gallon. California has the highest prices in the nation, so a solution will probably appear here in California first.

Electric Meters on Our Cars

One way to deal with the cost of recharging and not just ripping people off, is to install a unit on the car which measures just how much electricity you used when recharging and the corresponding cost. You can then show whoever owns the outlet the amount used and pay them accordingly.

Solar Panels

While this is not the complete answer, I still do not understand why the auto manufacturers have not built solar panels into the roof of the car. At least this would provide some power and help to recharge the battery. We are well aware that you cannot depend on solar panels alone for electrical power. Races across the California desert in electric solar powered vehicles have proved that. But a vehicle that gets maybe 75 miles on one battery charge might get an extra 10 or 20% power with a solar panel. If your car is parked a lot it might even amount to more than 20%.

Electrical Outlets at Work, at the Shopping Center etc

In some northern Canadian cities were it gets down to -40F in the winter, they already provide outlets at parking spots to plug in your engine warmer on these really cold days. Why not have more of these electrical plugs at work locations, shopping centers and other public places for those people who like to drive electric vehicles. This could be perceived as a benefit to employees and a competitive advantage for shopping centers!

Negotiate with Your Employer

This is one that could be interesting. Would the union negotiate with an employer to arrange for outlets at work locations as a benefit. It would be a win win for everyone! Everyone is seen to be saving energy and the employee benefits as well by getting free power at work for his or her car.

There are probably many other ideas for electric infrastructure for electric cars. We would love to hear from you about our ideas and any new ideas for electrical auto infrastructure solutions. Leave your comments and we will be happy to post them!


Hardwood Floor Installation Cost

Hardwood Floors Installation CostWhat is the hardwood floor installation cost? Doing a hardwood floor installation estimate must take into account a lot of items. The final hardwood floor installation cost really depends on the agreement that you strike with the installation company and how much work you are willing to do yourself.

Our last post discussed all of the components and now we will talk about those items you can easily do yourself to minimize the hardwood floor installation cost and save you hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars depending on the size of the job.

Hardwood Floor Installation Cost – DIY

Most people do not want to lay the floor themselves since they are concerned that they may make a mess of it, however, there are lots you can do which will contribute to reducing the overall cost of the hardwood floor installation. Various hardware stores that sell hardwood flooring also offer training courses as enticements to make your purchase from them. if you would prefer to lay your own floor to further control the cost, then taking one of these courses is an excellent idea.

The items we discussed in the last post consisted of

  • Preparing your Space for a New Hardwood Floor
  • Choosing your Hardwood Floor Material
  • Installing a Sub floor (if needed)
  • Hardwood Floor Installation
  • Installing the Baseboards
  • Clean Up

More Details

All of these items can be done by do it your self consumers, however, if you are concerned about laying the hardwood floor, then why not try to do the other things to reduce some of the installation cost.

Preparing your Space for a New hardwood Floor: This one is pretty easy to do for most people. Move all of the furniture out of the room and remove the existing carpet and flooring. Nail down the existing plywood if there are any loose areas and remove any staples or other material that might make the floor uneven.

Installing a Sub floor (if needed): That is the easy part. Laying a new sub floor to strengthen the main floor can also be completed by almost any consumer. However, you will need some tools for this work. Lay the 4 by 8 sheets across the joists and nail them into the joists. You will need to cut the sheets of plywood to fit in the corners and at the end of the walls.

Installing the Baseboards: The new baseboards can also be easily installed by do it your selfers. However, you will need to have the proper tools to cut and nail the baseboard on the wall. Also caulking compound will help to deal with any imperfections, nail holes and joints that do not fit properly.

Clean Up: Cleaning up is not that hard to do and will reduce your hardwood floor installation cost a lot. Remove all small pieces of wood that cannot be used. Sweep up all sawdust and give the room that has the new hardwood floor a thorough cleaning. It is amazing just how much dust is created. It gets on everything when a hardwood floor is being laid.

Installation Summary

The total hardwood floor installation cost can be reduced to the cost of the material and the labor cost to install the floor. This saves a great deal of money for the consumer. As long as you are prepared to do a bit of work, the cost of hardwood floors can be quite reasonable.  The installers really do not like to do these other jobs as well. So if you are willing to pitch in and help they will appreciate it.

Comments are welcome about the cost to install hardwood floors, especially if you have the experience and knowledge.

 

 

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Saving Money on Gasoline

Saving Money on GasolineWe all need to figure out the best method of saving money on gasoline, because whether we like it or not, the price of gasoline is just going to keep going up and up and there is not a lot we can do about it other than not use it. The price of gasoline affects us in many ways. Some we are not even aware of. For most of us, we think that it is only the cost of a gallon or a liter in Canada’s case. We drive every day and we put gasoline into our cars every day. So we see what how much the cost of gasoline is going up. Recently the price of gas has dropped because there is a surplus of fuel available. It probably will not last long so enjoy it while it is here.

Food Costs More

But what about all of the food that we eat. This is impacted in a big way as well since diesel which is also derived from oil is going up just as much. Diesel is used to power tractors and the trucks that deliver food to us across the country. If it were not for the trucks we would not have fresh produce available to us each and every day. The price of food is going to go up as well, which spells even more inflation.

Then there are all of the synthetics and the electrical generation plants that run on oil. All of these things are going to increase in price due to the rise in oil. Back to our original theme. The only way we can save money on gasoline is to not use it. That applies to the what we purchase as well.

Saving Money on Gasoline – Drive Less and Plan Your Trips

Saving money on gasoline should not be that hard. Drive less, plan your trips to avoid using the car unnecessarily. Purchase a car that is economical on cars. As I am writing this particular post, I am in southern California. I am really appalled at the size of some of the vehicles that are on the roads. Large trucks with one person in them. SUV’s and expensive cars that practically pour gasoline through the engine.

I am also heartened by the number of Toyota Prius’s that are on the road as well. They get 50 miles to the gallon  on average and can really make a difference when it comes to saving money on gasoline.

It All Costs Money

Unfortunately you really do not save that much money on a Toyota Prius  due to the upfront cost of the car. There is a premium on the battery and while your operating costs are much lower, the initial up front cost is high.

There is new battery technology coming and hopefully over the next 10 years we are going to see cars that are at a lower price than they are today with better gas mileage that use rechargeable batteries to help us all save money on Gasoline.

This is one of the most important things for our economy and if we do not solve this problem, our way of life, our standard of living is going to fall considerably. We can start now by saving money on gasoline by being smart about how we maintain our car and how we drive. For more information on how to save money on gasoline, see our previous post entitled, “how to save money on gasoline”.

Your comments are welcome. Anything that can help with reducing our dependence on oil and help the average consumer will be appreciated.

For more ideas about reducing your gas consumption, click here.

 


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