PropertyManagementMaven: Wallace S. Gibson CPM * LandlordWhisperer (Gibson Management Group, Ltd.)

According to Forbes, The Mags' half-time show is worth $84,000,000 IF she was getting paid - which she is not.

Typically, entertainers would have to appear 20+ times on LENO to get the media exposure that a half-time show at the Super Bowl will generate.  

The "Peas" did not get paid and with Mags having a new movie, W.E., coming out this month and a new CD in March, this exposure is priceless.

While she won't get paid, all of her expenses ARE being paid for including dancers, musicians, transportation, lodgings.

What every real estate agent has heard and few remember is that there are EXEMPTIONS to the FEDERAL Fair Housing Act.

One of those exemptions is the Mrs. Murphy's rule OR Mrs. Murphy's Exemption under the FHA.  This exemption provides that if a "dwelling" has four or fewer rental units and the OWNER lives in one of those units, that the home is exempt from the FHA.  There really is no Mrs. Murphy * she is a fictional elderly widow who has converted her home into a rental or boarding house to supplement her income.

NOW, with the economic downturn, there has come the recent EXPLOSION of roommate advertising and matching websites.

Trisha Rowe of Grand Rapids Michigan wanted a roommate for the three bedroom single family home she owned.  She posted a notice in a church bulletin indicating that she was looking for a female CHRISTIAN roommate.  The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan filed a complaint stating that Ms. Rowe expressed an ILLEGAL preference for a Christian roommate.  This prompted the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to take action.

....almost like Mrs. Murphy was NOT a feature in the FHA.

The Alliance Defense Fund provided legal assistance to Ms. Rowe and invoked her freedom of association under the First Amendment of the US Constitution and ULTIMATELY HUD agreed.

In a separate case, Roommates.com, which provides roommate locator service from their website, requests that users provide a "profile" where their roommate preferences can be "searched".

The Fair Housing Councils of San Fernando Valley and San Dieto filed lawsuits against Roommates.com indicating that these searches were a violation of the FHA.

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit rejected these Housing Councils' claims.

The Court indicated that a roommate's unfettered access to one's home implicated considerations of SAFETY, PRIVACY, PROPERTY PROTECTION and the CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOM of ASSOCIATION.  

KUDOS! Mrs. Murphy is Alive and Well and Taking in ROOMMATES!

I ask owner/clients about utility costs during my property management presentation at the property.  When asked by a tenant prospect, I provide those number$ with a caveat as to the # of occupants and if anyone was working from home. 

I got a phone call from a local homeowner inquiring about renting his house and in the fashion that these "cold calls" usually go, he was hesitant to give me his address * like I was going to come over there and stuff his mailbox with my literature!  He should BE so LUCKY.

After some basic questions, I gleaned that 1) he had a LARGE rural home that he was in the process of finishing off the basement himself; 2) he has at least 2 mortgages on it and he bought at the HEIGHT of the sales market; 3) he loves the home and "hates" to leave it. Meanwhile, he is talking to HeadHunters about his employment prospects and expects to leave this summer.

He THEN proceeded to tell him what rental amount he wants and how I should proceed to market his home AND who his target renter market would be.

I suggested that while I had not seen his home, I know where it is * within NOISE distance of the interstate * 20 minutes to the nearest public school and middle school students have to change their bus once * 15 min to nearest grocery store * and YES!  his home is in God's Country because I live 5 minutes away in the same ZIP CODE.

He had the PERFECT opportunity to get a professional property manager's expertise and insight FREE!  A professional property manager who LIVES 5 minutes from his property and has done rental management in the area for the last 20 years.....and YET, he wanted to tell ME MY business.

So the COLD HARD truth is what I told him....his idea of $3k for rent is unrealistic - they are not getting that in the GATED, golf course community 10 minutes CLOSER to town with the same zip code; that his "finishing" off the basement would not get him an additional $500 per month in rent AND that he may have to include yard service in the rent because of he home was on 3 acres that required 3 hours of mowing every 2 to 3 weeks.

I told him that I would be happy to view his home; however, I would not take it to lease and manage if he insisted on being unrealistic * YES! I said THAT word * with his anticipated rent....WHILE I was thinking that I am sure he can find a newbie real estate agent who would L♥VE to take an over-priced RENTAL listing.

HTML>Rental Home - Lake Monticello, VA Single family rental,

> Click here for full details, additional photos, and an inquiry form < Single family 29 Hopi Way Lake Monticello VA 22963 4 beds/2.5 baths $1495 / month     Gibson Management Group, Ltd. Wallace S. Gibson CPM  PO Box 106 Keswick, VA 22947-0106   Phone: 434 979 9723 Email: cvillecpm@aol.com Website: http://VaHomes4Rent.com Location information 29 Hopi Way  Lake Monticello VA 22963 Planned Community: Lake Monticello Elementary School Zone: Central Jr. High School Zone: Fluvanna High School Zone: Fluvanna Driving Directions: Outside the Lake * Rt.53, L on Rt. 618, L on Tuscarora, R on Seminole, L on Kiowa, L at 2nd Hopi Way * House is on the left Detailed listing information Remarks: SUPER HUGE * 4BR, 2.5BA home with 2-car garage. Large living room with fireplace, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen with all new appliances and back deck off kitchen. 4 bedrooms upstairs and 2 baths upstairs. Nice level back yard. Easy access to Louisa, ZionXRoads, Pantops * 20 minutes to UVA and JAG schools Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2.5 Monthly Rent: $1495.00 Date Available: July 1, 2012 Lease Info: 12 months Included in Rent: Trash Application Fee (Standard): $25.00 Sec Deposit (Refundable): $1495.00 Pets: Possible, with approval Fireplace: One fireplace Heat: Electric heat Cooling: Central air Community Features: Gated community Clubhouse Playground Common area Barbeque grills Lake Tennis court Picnic area Approx Square Feet: 2400 Dwelling Type: Single family Floor Coverings: Carpet Vinyl tile Window Coverings: Mini-blinds Vertical blinds   All listing information is provided by the managing or leasing agent, is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed, and should be independently verified. Information is © Copyright 1997-2012 HERO PM and individual providers of data, who are bound to a membership agreement. HERO PM and all their websites are interactive computer services. Unauthorized reproduction strictly prohibited.

I've been working on my lease renewal spreadsheet for 2012.  With fixed term leases, I task residents with advising ME in February if they wish to renew their lease for another 12 months.

While many do not do this, for the last 3 weeks, residents have been e-mailing and sticking notes with their rent checks that they want to RENEW their leases.

Although I try to warn residents of the issues effecting non-renewal of their lease * 2 pay or quit notices in 12 months * excessive maintenance requests (dripping faucets that do not drip when the plumber checks) * these issues are often over-looked as reasons AFTER the fact and residents think that once they are IN their lease, they get to STAY there until they want to leave.

Fortunately, by tasking them with notifying me and providing WARNINGS in my original lease resident handbook as to how to AVOID the issue of NONrenewal of their lease, there are no Fair Housing issues with my process.

I also use this rental renewal process to INCREASE rents and change or tweak my lease terms.  This year I will be warning area residents on our county water service that there will be a $25 charge if the owners are notified that their water bill has gone delinquent.  This is a process which is tedious to deal with as there is already a warning on their water bill that is often ignored.

Lease renewal time is a GREAT time to increase rents to JUST under market, tweak terms and conditions AND REaliegn lease end dates to be in the PRIME rental season.

PRO property managers RENEW with CONFIDENCE!

I hate CATTLE CALL listing/rental presentations.....the property owner dials or e-mails area property managers for information on listing or property management services.

These seem to start in January and I try to PRE-screen some of these contacts for the type of property and intent of the property owner.

I started receiving an e-mail about 2 weeks ago about my services and while the owner gave me a general area of their property, they kept asking me for my literature - management agreement.

I indicated I would provide it after I met with them and viewed their property and I did that yesterday.  They are leaving the area, have a very nice townhouse in a desirable school area that they had not realized.

The property owner brought out the management materials from another property manager and proceeded to use it as an outline of her questions to me.

It was VERY enlightening.  The materials were boilerplate and while they were in a nice folder, they were printed with the specifics of the property inserted by a very poor hand writing.

There was loads of information on their services; however, there was NO information regarding the JOYS of being a landlord - no information on the tax advantages - not even a Schedule E form.

There was no personalization - no photo - no personalization for the property owners - NOTHING.

....I'll go back today and take a picture of the exterior of their property when the sun and light is right, do my personalized management proposal and my hand-written thank you note and hand-deliver it to their door tomorrow.

Meanwhile.....I took photos of another property before a showing yesterday afternoon and have a property presentation scheduled for Saturday for a 2-year old home in a DESIRABLE, NEW subdivision minutes from a LARGE area employer....

GOT MILK?

I'm so glad that Tom Clancy is EXTENDING the Jack Ryan franchise to a second generation with his latest offerings....Dead or Alive and Locked On

If you have only known Clancy's character of Jack Ryan via Alec Baldwin * The Hunt for Red October * Harrison Ford * Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger * of the EARLY CIA Jack Ryan in Ben Affleck's Sum of all Fears you have miss some GREAT reading.

I nominate Chris Pine to play the Jack Ryan JUNIOR character in Chancy's latest 2 offerings when they make it to the BIG SCREEN.

While his father is running for the presidency, JR is with a SUPER secret * COVERT agency working the VERY BACK channels to keep America safe.

Clancy has brought in several of Ryan SR's former associates including the John Clark character played by Liev Schreiber in the Affleck movie.

I'll bet Alec Baldwin NOW wishes he had kept on with the Ryan character movie franchise * he could have played a US PRESIDENT in the LOCKED ON movie.....

IMHO * the listing agent needs to fix the mistakes with the taxes, etc. AND allowing the former seller/homeowner to remain as a tenant is a mistake.  They did not care enough about the property to organize their lives to pay the  mortgage for a HOME THEY OWNED so they will not be able to pay the market rent.

Building in the seller as the tenant needs to be done in accordance with normal tenant screening including running credit on all would-be adult occupants.

The issues that caused the seller to not be able to pay their mortgage will not disappear with the short-sale

Christopher makes EXCELLENT points in his post * I am meeting with more and more HomeOwners who are moving or downsizing who want to keep their current home with a LOW or NO mortgage as an income producing asset!