The Crime Free Program is one way to assure yourself that your new home is proactive and vigilant.

Over the years, more and more rental communities have joined the Crime Free Housing Program. The goal of this program is to keep illegal activity out of the rental community and to make single/multi-family communities a safe and desirable place to live. This program requires a partnership between police, the property owner and manager and the residents to ensure a healthy, safe, crime free community. When a property is a part of the program, it doesn’t mean that there will never be a crime committed in the area or rental community, but is more of a warning that if a crime is committed or there is any illegal activity happening on the property, there are serious consequences that will take place. In the rental community, the consequences include termination of the resident’s rental agreement. As a renter, it is important to know that you are held responsible for the actions of your guests. If they commit an illegal act at your place of residents, you will face some consequences as well.

There are 3 phases involved in the Crime Free Housing Program.

Phase 1 relates to management training. Managers are taught how to keep criminals out of the community by performing good tenant screening. This also includes how to remove criminal tenants with the use of a Crime Free Lease Addendum. Before a new resident moves into the community, they are required to sign this lease. The addendum lists the specific criminal acts that, if committed, result in immediate termination of their lease.  It also requires a criminal background check to be run to ensure that the new tenant has not been recently convicted of any crimes.

Phase 2 is related to security assessment of the property. The rental property needs to meet the basic safety requirements to eliminate, or decrease, the possibility of a crime to take place within the community’s common areas. This can include installing indoor and outdoor security cameras, proper lighting in the parking lot, installing security locks to the community and fitness rooms and so on.

Being a part of the Crime Free Housing Program involves the partnership between the managers, owners and the local Police department. Managers are required to inform the police of any suspicious activity happening within the community. However, they are usually only on the premises for a limited number of hours a day. That is why the 3^rd phase involves the residents, the true eyes and ears of the community! When your neighbor is constantly having late night parties, or if you notice suspicious odors that might be drug related, it is important to give the managers a heads up. If you witness domestic violence, theft and burglary, or any life threatening activities taking place, it is crucial that you call the police immediately. Some fear that if they report any harmful activity, they are putting themselves in danger. If you ever run into that situation, always remember, you do have the right to stay anonymous! What’s important is that the situation taking place at the very moment needs immediate attention from the local authority.

The Crime Free Housing Program was developed at the Mesa, Arizona Police Department in 1992. Since then, the program has spread across 44 US states, Canada, Mexico, England, Finland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Japan and Nigeria. Properties that have been fully certified in the program reported that police service calls have reduced 70% from previous years, before joining the program. In the end, this program has been a success for not only property owners, or managers, but has made a number of rental communities a safe and desirable place to live!

The next time you are looking for a new place to call home, you will most likely know which areas to avoid due to heavy traffic or areas with a high crime ratio. For those that aren’t familiar with the town they are relocating to, it is beneficial to do some research. Always remember, a crime can take place anywhere at any time. However, finding a community that is part of Crime Free adds a little peace of mind.  Remember the Crime Free Housing Program was created with you and your safety in mind!

The Laundry Pod is a nifty little washer that uses a little water and a little elbow grease to do what your expensive home appliance or a small stack of quarters would do in a fraction of the time.  It may not be the perfect solution for your monthly trip to the laundry room/mat when you have five large loads including jeans and towels and sheets, but for the smaller mid week loads that come up, it will save you time and money.  Instead of having to scrounge together a full load and quarters and making a special trip to the laundry room/mat you can simply wash the few things you need in your kitchen or bathroom and be ready to go.

The Laundry Pod is a fantastic option for smaller loads (it can only handle 10 garments at a time), and delicate loads that you don’t want to put in the industrial washers.  Simply put water and detergent in the pod with a small load, let it sit, spin the load using the crank and drain.  Using clean water rinse it out and spin in again before hanging the clothes to dry.  In a fraction of the time and water and quarters that the normal machine will require you have a clean load of laundry.  This can help cut down on your monthly cost when you have fewer loads every month, a half load here and there and your down to 2 instead of 5 on laundry day.

The Laundry Pod sounds attractive, but despite the savings in money and time it may not fit for everyone.  It does require manually filling and emptying the wash tub as well as manually cranking to actually agitate and rinse your clothing.  Also there is no dryer so you will need the time to hang your clothes and let them dry.

It may not be for everyone, or for every load of laundry but it may be something worth looking into as either a primary washer or even as a backup for circumstances where accessing and using your normal washer isn’t an option.

Take a look and decide for yourself:

http://www.thelaundrypod.com

Is this something that you’d use? Is it something that you do use? Let us know in the comments below!

It is up to the manager or leasing agent of the property to be aware of each unit’s strengths.  Maybe it is east facing and gets a great view of the sunrise, or is on the third floor and has less neighbor noise, or has updated appliances in stainless steel, or new carpets.  Each of these things offers something different and appeals to different people allowing a manager/leasing agent to sell their units individually.

But, if each unit is unique why do they all cost the same?  A property can maximize their income by individually pricing each unit based on its unique features.  The unit with new carpets may cost more than the unit with a parking lot view, and less than the unit on the third floor.  Consider which of your units are requested the most and price them higher.  Do people want to be on the top floors or on the lower ones, do you have units that have views worth selling, or sound proofing that tenants have asked about.  Each of these things can change the rent you charge for each unit.

This doesn’t mean that each price is drastically different by $100 or so, but the difference of $10, $15, or $20 can add up over the terms of a 12 month lease.  Just an extra $10 for new carpet is an extra $120 in a year, and an extra $25 for a great view is $300 more.  Start with your base price.  If you two bedroom units are $675 start there and consider each unit to see if you can raise that rent just a little bit.

And never fear if tenants ask about the differences (She’s paying $25 dollars less for the same unit I have) because you can explain the features that cause the price difference (She doesn’t have the updated stainless appliances in her unit, you have an extra perk so it costs a bit more).  You may not please everyone but than you weren’t going to do that anyway, and over all you will increase your bottom line.

Pricing each unit based on its own merits and features allows you to keep your pricing dynamic and bringing in as much rent as you can.  Not all units are the same so don’t treat them as such.  Evaluate each unit and determine if it is worth a little extra, or if a new coat of paint is worth a little more.

What sort of pricing do you have at your complex?  Does it change with each new tenant or is it static?

Also see our other Tips for Managers for articles about managing rental property!

There are a few things that you can do to try to remedy this situation:

1) Recognize that someone who is up hours different to yours is not out to get you, but has a different lifestyle. It may be that they work hours other than 9-5 or may be going to school and taking night classes so that they are up later into the night. So be respectful of that lifestyle choice in your efforts.

2) Your best bet is to talk to the person about their hours. This may be uncomfortable for one or both parties, but it is a good step in communicating your concerns. Your night owl neighbor may not realize that the walls are thin and will be willing to be more careful.

3) Next try talking to the manager/landlord about your concerns. They may be able to communicate your issue to the neighbor in question without a direct confrontation. The manager may also be able to suggest options to dampen the noise, a modification to limit it, or even provide some sound-proofing to help everybody live together better.

4) Finally your may need to look at moving. If there is no resolution to be had with the neighbor you may try moving to a different unit in the building or a different building in the complex (depending on the options available) this is something your landlord can help with. Or, it may be time to decide the apartment lifestyle is not for you any more, and you may want to find a single family house to rent or buy depending on your needs.

Keep in mind that living in an apartment is not for everyone. Even in smaller buildings there are a lot of people in a small area, and even with sound proofing you may hear the neighbors a bit. How you set up your furniture, white noise machines and certain units will make a difference but if you are sensitive to noise, especially at night, keep that in mind when finding a place to live.

Let us know what other things you have done to deal with night owls and noisy neighbors, are there things we have overlooked? Comment below.

For more information on apartment living and noise issues specifically check out our article on Noise Complaints, Tips to Being a Good Neighbor and our other Tips for Renters.

All rental properties have rules and regulations. They have to for legal and liability purposes as well as to add stability to the business. Rules about credit and background checks for new residents help ensure that the property is getting the right tenants. Routine unit inspections ensure that the physical property is being taken care of and in good repair.

However, on occasion, rules can get in the way of progress. Rules that require useless paper work or waiting periods can frustrate potential tenants and send them somewhere else. Rules that dictate maintenance calls during certain hours or phone calls at dinner times can become a nuisance.

This does not mean you should do away with your rules. It means you need to trust your staff to know when and how to bend them so that the property can remain successful and a happy place to live. Consider this story from shankman.com.

http://shankman.com/when-you-should-bend-the-rules-or-how-to-blow-a-7-year-business-relationship-in-a-day/

Sometimes rules need to be bent/broken the trick is to hire and work with people who are intelligent and trustworthy, that will make the right decisions for the business even if it occasionally means looking the other way for unnecessary paperwork. It also means training your staff properly so they know what rules can be bent and which ones need to be held fast.

What situations have you encountered that required bending the rules? Or when you didn’t and it caused even more trouble? Comment Below!

One activity that you may not have thought of, or even known about is Geocaching. Geochaching is a treasure hunting game for all ages, and with only a few supplies, most of which you will already have, some research, and web access you can Geocach right along with the best of them.

What exactly is Geocaching you may ask. The “exact” definition of Geocaching is the combination of “geo” meaning “earth,” and “cache” meaning “hiding place” so that you have a hiding place on Earth. More specifically though, Geocaching is a large scale scavenger hunt that is taking place all around the world. People all over have had the same problem you do, trying to entertain themselves, and they’ve starting hiding things in public places and leaving GPS (Global Positioning System) clues for others to find.

What sort of things will you find geochacing? Any number of things. A cache can be anything from as small as a film container to a large plastic container. The geocaching site you use will tell you what you are looking for.

Here are steps you will need to take to get the fun started:

1. Purchase, rent or borrow a GPS device or Smart Phone (Andrioid/iphone) and learn how the device works
2. Find the geocaching website you like and create an account, most offer free options as well as premium accounts for small fees. You can play the game with the free accounts until you decide to upgrade. (one option is www.geocaching.com)
3. Search the website to find caches close to where you live or where you’re headed on vacation (Caches are everywhere the odds are high you will find one conveniently located near you)
4. Pick the cache you like best, take notes on the details, hints and difficulty. (Keep the difficulty rate appropriate for the group you are caching with some age groups may need a lower difficulty rate than others)
5. Review the recommended Geocaching rules and follow them, this ensures the game continues to be fun for everyone.
6. Go hunting. Using your GPS/Smart Phone and hints from the website go find your geocache
7. When you find the cache take note on how it is hidden, you will need to place it back the same way you found it. Each cache will have a logbook of some kind be sure to fill in your information.
8. But the cache back as you found it.
9. Go home and share your fun with other goecachers from your account.

Once you have enjoyed some geocache treasure hunting you may want to step up the fun. You will notice, in your hunting, that some of the caches have items inside. This allows cachers to have real treasure hunting fun. When you are ready for the next level choose or buy some items of your own to be left at a cache. Make sure if you are taking an item that you leave an item of equal or greater value in its place. This ensures that everyone continues to have fun. Then move your items from cache to cache for others to find, keep in mind that many caches are smaller so keep your items reasonable to fit the cache.

And when you’re really good at it, you can buy specific geocaching trackables. Trackables are small objects with their own code so that you can register and track where your items go.

Be sure to take pictures and keep track of your adventures to share with the site!

Geocaching is a great way to have a little fun with groups of all ages. It can be a great way to spend some time with the family and family or get your kids moving and enjoying the outside. The best part – its FREE (unless you decide otherwise). Join the world wide treasure hunt today!

Then come back and share your stories with us. What sorts of things are you finding or leaving? We love to see the pictures.

My brother who worked for a moving company, his summers in college, told me this story about one of the jobs he went on.


A couple in their 40′s called his company to help them move across state lines.  They were a full service company who packed everything into boxes, loaded the truck, drove to the new residence and unloaded the truck at the other end.

>On the day scheduled for this particular move my brother and his co-workers showed up at the house, met the customer, and proceeded to pack and load the truck.  Things went smoothly all the way through with one small “incident.”  While working in the bedroom a couple of the moving crew guys began moving the bed.  They picked up the mattress and carried it out to the truck.  Returning to the bedroom they noticed some “intimate” objects that had been placed between the mattress and the box spring.  While they are a full service moving company they did not feel comfortable packing these objects on the box spring. They instead moved into another room and continued working.

After some time in another room the crew went back to the bedroom to find the “intimate” objects had been moved and they were able to finish their job.  The customers had been around making sure the house was ready for the new resident and that nothing was forgotten.  In one of their trips into the bedroom for something they noticed their things on the box spring and moved them to a personal bag that they had packed for their trip to the new house.  The moving crew was able to finish up and hit the road in good time and everything was moved successfully.

It is not a broken heir loom, or a lost family treasure but it is a part of your life now exposed to complete and utter strangers.  It did not hurt anything and the moving crew had a good laugh on their drive to the new house, but it does give you something to think about.  A full service moving company does everything from packing to unloading at the other end.  So on the day they are supposed to work be sure any of your delicate objects are safely tucked away in your own personal bag, or you will become another moving company anecdote to tell family and friends.

What types of moving stories do you have?  Comment below and help fellow movers out with things to do and not do.

So, why doesn’t everyone recycle?  Because it is more confusing than we would like.  Each city, state, county have different regulations and different options when it comes to recycling.  Some places only take cardboard, others only take glass, some require you to separate everything and others don’t.  It can be tricky to determine what you can recycle and what you need to do in order to have someone pick it up.  And, all of this confusion becomes even more complicated when you live in an apartment complex that doesn’t recycle.  If someone else controls garbage pick ups and dumpsters you may not have the ability to recycle even if you wanted to.

And why don’t all apartment complexes offer recycling services?  For the same reason that individuals don’t, it can be really confusing, as well as expensive.  If things need to be separated they need to offer separate bins for everything, they need bins labeled clearly so that recyclables and garbage stay separated, they need to inform everyone, old tenants and new alike, about the program and encourage it at every step.  All these things take time and money that not all apartments have.

So how do you encourage recycling at your apartment community?  www.Earth911.com offers some great insight into getting a recycling program at your apartment home.  check out the link below

http://earth911.com/news/2012/04/10/how-to-start-an-apartment-recycling-program/

What types of recycling stories do you have?  Does your apartment recycle?  Comment Below!

Whose turn is it to buy paper towels? Who was the last one to mop the floors? Who ate my last two slices of bread?!?! Is it my turn to collect rent money from my roommates and write the rent check?

Nick: We have to get the rent check in by today or we’ll have a late fee.

Pete: I have mine, but I don’t know about John. I haven’t talked to him lately.

Nick: OK, well I’ll go ahead and write the check but you guys owe me. You still owe me that $20 you borrowed last week.

If you have roommates you know what we’re talking about. How about this: We’ll let you worry about mopping, buying paper towels, sharing food and so on and WilliamPaid will handle the rent!

WilliamPaid offers online rent paying services so you don’t have to have those awkward conversations with your roomies about the rent anymore. Each person signs into their own account and pays their own way. WilliamPaid allows its users to pay with a debit card, credit card, bank account, or a combination of all three. The best part: It’s FREE*.

That extra $20 that Pete owes Nick? Well, Pete can pay an extra $20 in rent. WilliamPaid lets roommates check on if/when other roommates have paid and even offers customizable email alerts to remind them when the rent is due. Paying your rent has never been so easy.

How it works:

• You sign up at www.williampaid.com.
• Enter your bank account/debit card/credit card account information.
• Choose how you want to pay – manually every month or have it automatically taken out of your account during a desired time period.
• WilliamPaid will then mail the check to your landlord, and BOOM! – no more late fees and you’ve still got a place to live.

Sound good? We thought so. Sign up today!

*Please note: When paying with a credit card or a combo a 2.95% fee will be incurred. 

The benefits of controlling when your leases come up for renewal:
1. You can schedule the renewals during your high traffic times.  In this way your units come up for rental when you have the most lead traffic coming into the office.  This allows you to fill units quickly as new renters approach everyday.
2. You can determine how many leases come up for renewal in a month.  Based on the number of units you manage and the staff you have you know what sort of work load  you can handle.  This allows you to schedule the leases 5, 10, 15 in a month and control the work flow.
3. You can better schedule your staff and vendors based on the expected leases.  Maintenance, Leasing staff, vendors, all play a part in getting a unit ready for showings and leasing, and knowing when you need them specifically provides better efficiency.  If you know you have 10 units up for renewal in certain months you can schedule accordingly.
4. You can better predict and handle your budget knowing when the leases are coming to renewal, when you will need staff and vendors, and supplies, as well as limiting the amount of time that units sit vacant.
5. This concentrates the renewals so that you can focus our other tasks and duties in the off season.

In order to get your leases on your schedule you may have to go through a bit of a transition.

When offering new leases make sure they fit into the new renewal schedule.  This may mean offering unconventional leases.  If you are trying to arrange all your leases in the high traffic months you may have to offer either short or longer leases to reach the desired renewal.  For example: if you want leases to renew in June but someone comes to rent in November you may offer either a 7 month or 20 month lease.  In this way you get the new tenant to the June renewal and with certain incentives the 20 month lease ensures you revenue for longer.

By scheduling your leases as you like you gain a certain amount of control over your work, which allows you to better schedule the rest of your duties as well.  You will need to consider your unique business to determine what will work best for you.  Depending on where you live your heavy traffic months may vary, in the north it will be summer months while in the southwest it may be the winter months.  You will also want to consider the number of units you have and staff, both maintenance and leasing to make sure you are fully prepared as you would be if nothing were changing.

Every bit of control you can take over a hectic work environment is an advantage over your competitors and peace of mind for yourself.

What other tips do you have for scheduling work at rental property?  Do you have other tricks that might help?  Comment below.

Also consider the other Tips for Managers for great ideas on running a property!