Can you think of a time in the last month that you have gone a whole day without internet? In this day and age internet access has become as necessary to some right up there with electricity and clean water. So as a property owner you may be wondering if it makes sense to offer free internet services included in the rent for their tenants.

While there is  no one right answer to this question, there are a number of important aspects to consider before deciding one way or the other. In some cases, including free internet service with your rental may help attract and retain quality tenants. But in other situations, renters may see the offered services as unwanted or dislike the service provider. Knowing your market and target demographic can help you decide whether offering internet to your tenants is the right choice.

Before you can offer internet, you’ll need to have both services installed and a service plan purchased in advance. For a single-family rental home in a heavily connected area, this may be a quick and straightforward process, especially if your rental property has had internet service in the past.

However, installing and maintaining internet services can place an additional strain on a property owner’s cash flow, and so looking at the financial aspects first is important. The costs to make internet and cable accessible may be completely justified if you expect your target demographic will be attracted to having those amenities already included in their rent. On the other hand, it may not make sense to offer internet to tenants in areas where they are still viewed as add-on services.

Ultimately, the decision of whether to offer cable and internet service to your tenants must come as a result of taking all of these aspects under serious consideration. And, if you haven’t already, consider contacting us with any questions regarding your property!

With these trying times due to the Covid-19 pandemic some tenants have not been as diligent when it comes to making rent payments as they once were. This has caused some property owners to ask what they can do if their rental property is not being taken care of and if money is flying out of their own pocket. Can they evict them? What are other valid reasons for eviction? In general, these serve as valid reasons for wanting to evict a tenant, and can spark the eviction process:

1.Chronic failure to pay rent

 Your property is made available as part of an exchange; your tenants pay you rent every month so they can continue living there. If they stop paying rent, or if you continually face problems with collection, it could be grounds for an eviction. Note that a single missed or late payment probably isn’t a good foundation to evict your tenant. In most cases, it’s better to have a conversation about the issue and try to work out a solution. Only if the issue is recurring, with no effort made to rectify the situation, should eviction be your go-to option.

 

2.Deliberately violating the lease agreement

 Most good tenants will do their best to stay within the parameters specified in the lease. If they step out of line, a polite conversation or request is usually enough to deter the behavior. However, if a tenant seems to deliberately or excessively violate the terms of your lease, such as misusing the property or having pets when none are allowed, an eviction may be on the table.

 

3.Significant damage to your property

 Tenants will inevitably cause some wear and tear to your property, whether they mean to or not. However, some tenants, through intention or negligence, may cause serious damage to your property. If these incidents are repeated without the tenant offering to compensate you for the damage, you should have grounds for an eviction.

 

4.Significant health or safety hazards

It’s important to keep your property in a condition compliant with good health and safety standards. If your tenant violates that, repeatedly, you may be all but forced to evict them. This usually involves unsafe or illegal conduct.

 

5.Chronic violations of noise or occupancy ordinances

 Some tenants may violate ordinances that make life difficult for you, put you in a bad legal situation, or otherwise negatively impact the neighborhood. For example, if they’re frequently hosting loud parties into the early hours of the morning or if they violate occupancy ordinances in your local area, you may be able to evict them.

 

Bad Reasons for Evicting a Tenant

These reasons, are invalid motivations to evict someone. Trying to evict someone for one of these reasons could lead to legal action against you:

Some tenants will be a thorn in your side without breaking the law, or make life difficult for you in a frustrating—but entirely legal—way. In these situations, you’ll be tempted to evict the tenant as a way of punishing them, or as a way to prevent future, similar behavior. This is considered retaliation and is not an acceptable motivation for eviction. For example, if they make a report to the health department that creates hours of work for you, that’s well within their rights. Attempting to evict a tenant after this could be problematic for you.

Any eviction that could be interpreted as discriminatory may also be disallowed in court. There are many possible forms of discrimination, including discriminating against someone based on their ethnicity, their race, their abilities (or disabilities), or whether they have children. Though it’s unlikely you’ll be directly motivated to evict someone based on prejudice, it’s important that you realize this potential interpretation exists, and that you have a crystal-clear case demonstrating why your eviction is not motivated by discrimination.

 

 

Thinking of hiring a landscaping company for your rental property? Here are some pros and cons!

1. Pro: You will maintain your property value/ Curb appeal
When you keep up with the landscaping at your property you will maintain a positive curb appeal and value for the home. Sadly, you can’t guarantee your tenants will handle the yard work on time and to your specifications. To avoid the potential for your property value to drop, hire a professional landscaper and include it in the lease price.

2. Con: Professional landscaping cost money
Unless you have the time, a green thumb and intend to do the yard work yourself you will need to hire a landscaping company to do the yard work for you. Generally, you can charge a slightly higher rent rate if you intend to pay for the landscaping for your residents. This may even draw residents to the property because its less work they will have to do to maintain the home as well.

3. Pro: You can control what gets cut down
In the winter when bushes and flowers aren’t in bloom residents could mistake them as dead and cut them down. When you control the land scaping you can prevent good plants from mistakenly being torn out. This will result in less you have to spend to replace them.

4. Con: Your tenants may feel invaded
If you constantly have people over at the home tending to the yard the residents may feel that their privacy is being invaded. You also will have some residents that want peace and quiet and the loud tools use to landscape can become frustrating. Especially when they come in the early hours of the day.

5. Pro: Landscaping expenses are a tax write off
Any expenses you incur to manage your property is a tax write-off. Just because it’s a tax write-off doesn’t mean you should spend the money. However, if it makes sense for you to cover landscaping services, don’t forget to itemize the services on your tax return.

6. Con: You will have to haul away debris
When a resident handles the landscaping themselves the  cleanup from the landscaping also becomes their responsibility. Which some residents may feel is a hassle and will leave it in the yard. So if you are considering different landscaping companies make sure that debris haul off is included in their services.

7. Pro: You won’t get in trouble with the HOA
Some homes and neighborhoods will have an HOA. As many know, you can receive fines if the yard violates the HOA regulations. To prevent from receiving the fines for your residents mistakes you could hire a company that knows how to keep the yard to the HOAs specifications. This may be a more cost efficient option rather than constantly receiving fines.

 

So as you can see their is many pros and cons to hiring a landscaping company. Ultimately you need to do what is best for you and your property! And as always we are here to help!

Are you new to the landlord game or have been renting properties for years? It’s always a good idea to consider hiring a property management company. Management companies provide a wealth of services that take the stress off of you. They help in tenant communications, rent collections, maintenance calls, and move in/move out inspections, as well as tenant recruiting and marketing.

If you live nearby your rental property and are willing to be hands-on with your tenants, maintenance, and emergencies, you may be able to get away without hiring a property management company. However, there are some key considerations to think about when making that decision, based on various factors:

Proximity to property
If you’re several hundred miles away, it’s not easy to check up on or maintain your property. You’ll need to have a list of trusted vendors on hand in case of emergencies – such as plumbers, electricians, and general maintenance providers. Service calls to the property can add up, especially if it’s a routine repair that you could have done on your own or that a resident handyman provided by the management company could cover for you. Not to mention the emergency calls that can happen any time day or night.

Number of properties
If you have multiple rental properties, it can be hard to balance everything it takes to run them and keep up with rent payments, moving dates, and tenant issues. A property management company has years of experience and resources to balance hundreds of properties at a time.

Little time for tenant management
Finding and screening tenants, marketing available properties, and handling inspections can eat up a lot of your time, especially if you have other employment. If property management is not your full time job you can expect for most of your free time to be spent managing your properties.

Do you need your own employee
If you’re finding yourself thinking about hiring an assistant or manager of your own to handle your properties, hiring a property management company may be a more cost-effective option.

There are plenty of reasons why property management companies could be the best solution for your rental situation. It all depends on how much of the work you’re willing to take care of on your own and how much you understand the legal part of the game, like lease agreements, inspections, and possibly evictions. If this is not your area or expertise but your interested in investing, we can help with everything listed above!

You can always learn more about the solutions and services All County Property Management offers landlords by contacting us. We can explain more about the benefits you can receive from hiring us, including giving you back the time and freedom you deserve while still earning your rental income. Please contact us today by phone or email!
(817) 567-2500
office@allcountygroup.com