A PROPERTY MANAGER CAN BE A LANDLORDS KEY RESOURCE
At first blush, deciding to hire a Las Vegas professional property manager may seem counter-productive. Whether you bought the property you will be renting out specifically for that purpose, or else are simply holding onto your former home rather than selling it, the expense of employing a town property manager will materially reduce the cash benefit your rental promises to throw your way. In fact, many new landlords don’t seriously consider hiring a property manager. It’s an offshoot of their long-time home owning experience. They’ve learned to handle the residential maintenance issues that crop up from time to time, so it seems unnecessary to hire a professional manager for the occasional problems they know how to solve themselves. They may acknowledge that there will be twice as much to handle, it still may seem to be a needless extravagance. After all, the two great benefits of becoming a landlord are to build equity and generate income, so why give away part of the latter? One cogent reason is the principal difference between managing a rental and your household. In your home, you aren’t answerable to any outside entity. When a faucet starts leaking, or a circuit breaker blows, you are free to ignore it until the weekend or whenever it’s most convenient. That’s simply not true for a conscientious landlord. Even with a cooperative, understanding tenant, in a way, you almost become your tenant’s employee (or at least it can seem that way when the phone rings at an inconvenient moment). A good tenant rightfully expects his residence to be maintained promptly and diligently; it’s your part of the rental bargain. Another factor that argues for opting for a reputable Las Vegas property manager goes to another difference between managing your residence and a rental. The professional has so much experience in all aspects of property care that he or she is considerably more likely to have dealt with any given situation. Likewise for handling the technicalities of attracting and interviewing tenants, and seeing that contractual issues are completed correctly—tasks that need to be handled with legal exactitude. There are plenty of reasons that can make hiring a property manager a sensible move, starting with that quality of life issues—your life! For retirees or others with abundant spare time, they may not be as significant, but for fully-employed persons, the time factor, and necessity to “be on call” can be crucial. I always recommend giving the professional management option full consideration. Of course it’s always possible for a first-time landlord to test the waters for a while before making the decision—though it’s important to realize that one false step can escalate into costly legal troubles when it comes to national and state civil codes, fair housing laws, and tenant rights. Ignorance of the law will be no excuse for do-it-yourself landlords who are unlucky enough to find themselves on the wrong side of a tenant dispute—so be sure to educate yourself and have access to a reputable Las Vegas landlord-tenant attorney If a town income-producing real estate investment opportunity is something you would like to explore, this summer has produced some properties with terrific potential. Give me a call anytime to discuss how best to explore what’s out there!
LAS VEGAS REAL ESTATE MARKETING IS A RISKY DIY PROJECT
If you are bound and determined to try to sell your area house without the aid of a real estate professional, you will quickly discover that one critical element that can’t be overlooked is marketing. Just planting a ‘For Sale by Owner” (FSBO) sign on the front lawn and taking an 8-line classified ad in the Las Vegas paper is a good first step—but that’s all it is. Not only must you immediately embark on a do-it-yourself real estate marketing campaign, you will be doing so against competition from all the similar properties that will be promoted by the veteran voices of the real estate industry. It’s a true David and Goliath situation, but Goliath isn’t just a giant—he’s a superbly well-organized giant. If you’re going to be a David, you’d better arm your sling with more than pebbles! Start with the product you will be marketing. While you are putting your house into top-notch presentation shape, first banish any temptation to overlook areas that need elbow grease or budget dollars to bring them up to top condition. Any defects that go uncorrected will be the reason for lowered offers (or no offers at all). Remember that competing properties have local real estate marketing channels open to them, and will have been put on the market after consultation with experienced hands. Your ultimate ace in the hole can only be that of having a desirable property, well-situated and clean as a whistle. But that ace will only be relevant if your marketing effort brings a critical number of potential buyers through the front door! Another key will be to hire the best real estate photographer in Las Vegas, and on the appointed day, to give her or him reason to relish the day’s project! Photographers are in the business of presenting eye-pleasing products, but they can’t create what isn’t there. On the day of the shoot, arrange to be at the photographer’s side to help clear or rearrange objects that the lens ‘sees’ as superfluous or obstructive. When spaciousness is mission critical—as it is in real estate marketing—less is always more. The pro you’ve hired will be used to working with professional real estate agents (who sometimes pay their fees), so be quick to help where needed. The difference between great professional real estate photos and poor ones taken by an amateur is more critical in an FSBO situation, where the seriousness of the endeavor is automatically subject to scrutiny. Ditto, the video or virtual tour. Real estate marketing in Las Vegas does not in all instances require a video component—but most FSBO campaigns are launched without even considering the option. What is not optional in any serious offering is a well-written, technically correct local listing, so you should do your best to use every web outlet available to position your offering online, including a web site that facilitates gathering data from interested parties. There are also services that, for a price, will help you place your listing. You pay more for more exposure—frequently six to 10 times the base rate—with the enhanced deluxe packages usually including an MLS insertion, which is vital. When you remember that you are competing against Goliath, it’s no time to skimp! You should also consider creating, printing, and distributing flyers, photo ads in the local press (real estate magazines, newspapers, etc.)—everywhere you are used to seeing area real estate brokerage ads. All of which points to what most local home sellers eventually conclude: rather than reinventing the wheel, the other option is to team up with an area real estate marketing professional… If that’s your choice, I hope you’ll count me in!
CREDIT SCORES NOT A BE ALL FOR POTENTIAL LAS VEGAS HOMEOWNERS
Most Americans have now arrived at the conclusion that it is a good time to buy a home. That’s the top-line analysis from one of the country’s major mortgage creators, but there’s a secondary finding of credit scores that could also have a sizeable impact on Las Vegas real estate activity. Some would-be Las Vegas homeowners would benefit from learning the information—which is about misinformation. The second annual “Wells Fargo Homeownership Survey” is a national survey of 2,016 respondents, and the source upon which last week’s Franklin Codel analysis is based. The excellent news for current and soon-to-be Las Vegas home sellers is that a whopping 72% of respondents think now is a good time to buy a home. Most Americans also agree that “owning a home remains a vital part” of the American dream— and continues to be a key element in the strength of the nation. Running counter to that upbeat survey result is the finding that despite the efforts of lenders (and the government) to make credit more available to potential mortgage applicants, two misconceptions are widespread enough that they are “holding many potential buyers back.” The misinformation: The misconception that every buyer must have at least 20% for a down payment; and A belief that credit scores alone determine whether an applicant will land a home loan Under the heading The Legend of the 20% down payment, Wells Fargo’s Codel points out that 36% of the general population (and larger proportions of minority groups) qualify for loans with lower down payment options— some of them as low as 3%.But equally illuminating is what Codel has to say about the importance of credit scores. He is the head of the mortgage production at Wells Fargo, so Las Vegas home seekers can be expected to pay attention to what he has to say, which is that credit scores are not as all-important as most people think. Because creditworthiness is not determined based on a single factor, homebuyers should do some investigating of their options “before excluding themselves based on credit scores alone.” And when it comes to the actual scores themselves, it’s not true that a ‘good credit score’ has to be above 780. There are multiple models and investor guidelines—and under some of them, more than 660 “is considered good.” If it’s true that Las Vegas homebuyers agree that now is the time to make a foray into the market, it’s refreshing (and rare) to hear a top mortgage lending insider provide that kind of encouragement. His conclusion is that the cited misconceptions can be overcome with a “better understanding of how credit works”—and that a good lender will use a borrower’s “entire financial picture, not just credit score” to decide whether to issue a mortgage. The takeaway is for prospective buyers to do some investigating to find out what their home was owning prospects are: they might be pleasantly surprised. A good place to start: giving me a call!
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