Why Use a Property Manager?

Most experienced property investors use property managers. Why? Because they make you money.

Property management isn't just about collecting rent. It's about ensuring your property is always rented, ensuring you have the best possible tenants, and ensuring you're getting the best possible rent. It's about keeping the property well maintained, tracking expenses and income, and dealing with the legalities of leases and the rights of tenants.

This is what property managers do. It's their core business. For a landlord, the benefits are significant.

Save Valuable Time

The most obvious benefit is time saving. You don't have to spend an hour or so each week making phone calls, placing ads, interviewing prospective tenants, speaking to solicitors, speaking to your tenants, collecting rent, organising tradesmen and so on.

How much could you earn in that hour if you were focussing on your work rather than chasing your tail?

Know Your Market

Property investment is a business. To succeed in business, you need to know your market.

Property managers make their living out of knowing the rental marketplace. They know how much your property is worth and who'll want it. They know the best ways to reach the market and they have the resources to do it.

A property manager with some real marketing nous can earn you thousands every year, just with an intelligent marketing campaign.

Know Your Rights

Rental legislation is constantly changing. It's important that you know your rights as well as the rights of your tenants. But most people don't even know where to start looking.

Property managers work with tenancy legislation every day. They know all the ins and outs, as well as the pitfalls and loopholes. They're experienced in all aspects of lease negotiation - from bond to maintenance agreements to eviction.

Most importantly, they'll protect your rights as a landlord.

Get Good Tenants

Most good tenants will only rent through property managers. The whole process is much more streamlined and convenient. Payments can be made electronically, their questions can be answered quickly, and everything can be done during business hours.

The opposite is true of bad tenants. They target privately managed rentals, because that's generally all they can get.

Property managers chase down and validate every reference, and they get to know problem tenants. They do everything possible to provide you with a hassle-free investment because they know the eviction process is every landlord's worst fear. You can't just kick someone out without notice. The whole process can take months.

But if you're unlucky enough to end up with a problematic tenant, a property manager will manage the whole eviction process - including all dealings with tenants, sheriffs, and court officials.

Sure, you can juggle all of these elements yourself, and you'll save yourself a small management fee? But what's the cost? Do you want to work for your investment or do you want it working for you?

About The Author

* Glenn Murray is an SEO copywriter and Article Submission Specialist. He is a director of PublishHub and also of copywriting studio Divine Write. He can be contacted on Sydney +612 4334 6222 or at glenn@divinewrite.com. Visit http://www.divinewrite.com or http://www.publishhub.com for further details, more FREE articles, or to purchase his e-book, 'SEO Secrets'.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.