The Lizard Eye

We're Giving Away Free Advertising!

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:23:00 +0500

That’s right! As a way of introducing our new targeted banner advertising program, RentLizard.com is offering businesses the ability to post free 30-day banner ads on our site, no strings attached! This is a very limited offer and we expect key U.S. markets to go fast, so act quickly. If you're a business owner looking for some great exposure for your business, read on!

RentLizard.com is one of the fast growing rental property listing sites in the U.S, with approximately 2 million active rental listings at any given time. Our new banner advertising program willl provide businesses the unique opportunity to receive exposure from a demographic that is actively seeking to relocate to their target market. During our promotion, for no charge, your ad will appear on all key entry points on our site. For example, let’s say that one of the market areas your business serves is Cleveland, Ohio and you decide to advertise to that city.

Users of our site will see your ad if:

They search for rental listings located in Cleveland
They peruse through individual RentLizard.com-originated rental listings that are located in Cleveland
They enter our site through our Cleveland City page (we host city pages for over 20,000 U.S. towns and cities)
They enter our site through a Cleveland zip code page (we host pages for all zip codes in the country)

Here’s what you receive at absolutely no cost:

One 2x2 banner ad that will run for 30 days, beginning March 1, 2011
Your ad will appear in four locations on our site
Your ad will be displayed on our site pages and rental listing pages for your target city
Your ad will be linked to your website or MerchantCircle page – your choice

In an effort to keep our site pages clean and useful for our users, we limit ads to three spots per city. This unique promotional offer expires at 12:00 midnight, Monday, February 28th, 2011.

Contact our Advertising Director, Jill Ladrick at 740-927-3772 to participate, or email her at: jaladrick@rentlizard.com.

More detailed information on our banner advertising program and our company’s media kit can be found here: http://www.rentlizard.com/AdvertiseWithUs.aspx.

Hope to hear from you!

Top 5 Super Bowl 2011 Commercials

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:53:00 +0500

So, what's your take on this year's crop of Super Bowl commercials? In our opinion, the best commercials this year all appeared before the second half of the game got underway. With that said, here's RentLizard.com's take on the top 5 Super Bowl 2011 commercials...

# 1. Volkswagen - The Force

# 2. Dorito's - House Sitting

# 3. Dorito's - Pug Attack

# 4. Bud Light - Dog Sitter

# 5. House M.D.

The RentLizard.com Super Bowl Pick Contest

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:45:00 +0500

Here's your easy chance to win a free gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar. YOU control the gift card value! Simply "Like" us on Facebook and announce who you think will win today's Super Bowl (Green Bay or Pittsburgh) under this post on the RentLizard.com Facebook Page. A winner will randomly be chosen from the correct picks and announced at 12:00 noon EST, Monday February 6th. Dollar amount of the gift card will be based on the number of "Likes" on the RentLizard.com Facebook page at the announcement of the winner:

<200 Likes = $25

200-499 Likes = $50

500-999 Likes = $100

1,000+ Likes = $250

Spread the word and crank up that value! Don't forget to pick your Super Bowl 2011 winner! Good luck!

Your friends at RentLizard.com.

Renters Guide to Tucson, Arizona

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 04:03:00 +0500

Tucson forms the heart of a thriving medical community with 12 hospitals and medical centers in the Tucson metro area. Home to a population of over 500,000 and one of the fastest growing cities in Arizona, Tucson’s warm climate is a welcome change from the seasonal winters endured by many in other parts of the country. It's the second-largest city in Arizona and is located in the southeast part of the state on the Santa Cruz River. Tucson is also the seat of Pima County. The Tucson area was originally settled by the prehistoric Hohokam Indians from about 300 to 1400 A.D. The area is a popular vacation and health resort due to its sunny, mild, dry climate and unique desert location. The city averages 350 sunny days per year.

Popular Tucson area destinations include the T Rex Museum, Arizona Historical Society Museum, the Center for Creative Photography, and the University of Arizona Museum of Art. If visiting Tuscon during winter months, watch for the Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase. It's an annual event that draws international crowds looking to buy and sell gem and mineral related items. Stop by the Tucson Visitor Center to peruse free information and be sure to purchase the Tucson Attractions Passport. It's a booklet of two-for-one offers and discounts at Southern Arizona attractions.

When you get hungry, think Mexican! Tucson is home to some fantastic Mexican restaurants - some of the best in the country. If you like Mexican flare, try these: Anthony's in the Catalina's, Hacienda Del Sol, and the Ventana Room.

Some of the larger Tuscon employers include Raytheon, Wal-Mart, Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold, TMC Healthcare, and Carondelet Health Network. The city is also home to the University of Arizona, another large employer.

Homes in southern Arizona tend to favor the Mission and Old Pueblo architectural styles that reflect the culture and history of the area. The cost of housing index in the Tucson area tends to run below the average in the western U.S. Average rental prices for one bedroom apartments run approximately $550-$625, while two-bedrooom units generally range between $790-$815 per month (for the 2010-2011 time period).

Other cities near Tucson include South Tucson, AZ, Drexel-Alvernon, AZ, Catalina Foothills, AZ, Littletown, AZ, Flowing Wells, AZ, Drexel Heights, AZ, Tanque Verde, AZ, and Summit, AZ.

Hospitals near Tucson include Carondelet Saint Josephs Hospital, Carondelet St Marys, El Dorado Hospital, Healthsouth Rehab Institute Of Tucson, Kindred Hospital, Northwest Medical Center, Sonora Behavioral Health, Summit Hospital Of Southeast Az and Tucson Heart Hospital.

Anatomy of a Rental Property Ad Scam

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:33:00 +0500

Just yesterday our company received an email from a young man in the Orlando, Florida area, questioning the legitimacy of a rental property posting. In his email he stated the following..."I found this ad online and drove by the house to have a look. The house and information seems to be correct and in line with the owner. I've been trying to research to see if this is a possible scam. Any help with this will be greatly appreciated." The following is a snapshot of the ad he was inquiring about....

Take a look at this ad. It looks pretty legitimate doesn't it? Notice the grabbing headline. Who wouldn't want to go after this? Wow! This huge 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath two-story for only $600/month??!! Sign me up! The headline title offers a hint that something doesn't add up. "First Offer!!!" No reasonable landlord or property manager will ever post that they'll rent a place to the "first offer". Many times fraud ads like this will have a number of spelling errors and strange-sounding, gramatically incorrect sentences in the rental description. This particular ad does not, and the perpetrator did a pretty good job of making this listing look legit.

What the fraudster has done is copy pictures and details from a valid ad and reposted them in this bogus ad. He has changed contact information to reflect his email address. The other thing he has done is drop the rent rate on this property significantly...by more than half of the "real" rate as a matter of fact. Always follow the concept "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is." At a minimum, your radar should be activated. That's the case here. The rent rate for this nice-looking home looks just too good to be true at first blush.

In a quick 2 minutes, we determined that this ad was in fact posted fraudulently. Here's what we did and what YOU can do if you ever question the legitimacy of the owner of any rental property that you may be inquiring about:

The first thing we did was Google the address of the property. Posted above are the results that we got. Note the highlighted listing that's been called out. This link is to the legitimate rental listing for this property. Do you see what the rent rate is for the property? It might be difficult to see in this screen shot, but it's actually $1,700/month. That's more realistic. If you live in the Orlando area, you're probably more aware of the going rent rates for various types of properties in and around Orlando. Unfortunately, those looking to relocate from one area of the country to another, may not. And it's primarily these folks that get sucked into scams like this.

Clicking on that called-out link, we're taken to this listing which is displayed below. This is actually the legitimate ad that was "ripped off". Let's take a look at the full details of the legitimate ad to call out a few additional items. Looks very similar to the scam ad doesn't it? Pictures are the same, as is the rental description. Take note of the contact person's name. In the fraud ad above, the contact's name is "Gabby May". In the legitimate ad below, it's "Carla May". Instant tip right there that one of these ads is bogus.

In nearly every case of fraud like this, if you see nearly identical listings for the same property address, the bogus ad will be the one with the significantly lower rent rate. They're trying to offer a home that's priced way under the area's going rent rate to draw in as many suckers as possible.

We next pulled up the Orange County Appraiser site (Orlando is located in Orange County) to verify the owner of the property highlighted in this article. The data we found confirmed our suspicions. Carla May is listed as the owner. The ad our emailer inquired about was in fact a scam.

To confirm the property owner for a specific address, try checking online property records. We've taken the time to compile a valuable resource by linking to over 2,500 nationwide country recorder, auditor, tax assessor, and property appraiser websites. Most properties in the U.S. are now online, though not all. Additionally, the data available for viewing can vary significantly. Use this resource to help you determine property ownership.

Click the screen shot of our page above to access property record information. All data is public information and free to access.

One last important detail to take note of. The majority of the scams like the one outlined in this article originate overseas. Fraudlent posters will thus conduct most of their communication with you via email, and promise you the keys to the rental in exchange for your deposit. Never send money overseas, and make it a point to never send someone deposit monies on a place that you've personally not seen the inside of. If you find that you're communicating with someone that claims to be out of the country and unavailable to show you their property, move on to other prospective rentals and save yourself from being scammed.

There is next to nothing our legal authorities can do to stop and/or prosecute frauds that are originating outside of the U.S., and in particular, Nigeria. The best thing that you can do to protect yourself from falling victim is to educate yourself on how these schemes work.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Bed Bugs!

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:42:00 +0500

Remember the common phrase your parents would say to you when you went to bed at night, “Don’t let the bed bugs bite”? Well, they weren’t kidding! Have you seen any yet? Hang in there, you likely will before too long! Despite being very small (they’re only about 1/5 of an inch long), bed bugs are visible to the naked eye. They somewhat resemble a miniature tick in that they’re a reddish-brown color with flat bodies. You’ll generally not see them actively crawling around during the day. Instead, they go on their little blood-sucking missions during the cover of darkness.

If you find yourself awaken at night by what feels like a slight little sting or bite on your body, it could just be one of these buggers. They love human blood! If bitten, you’ll likely tend to notice a reddish splotchy area on your skin with some minor swelling that itches. Luckily they don’t carry any diseases, so no worries there.

Bed bugs were actually very common in the United States up until the 40’s. With the advent of DDT, the populations were reduced significantly and have not posed a real problem until recent years. However, as a result of restrictions on pesticides, and influxes of populations from other countries with bed bugs, they’ve made a roaring comeback in the past few years. One generally thinks that bed bugs are only found in dirty, unkept areas. That’s not the case. Bed bugs are found anywhere humans are found, pretty much regardless of the cleanliness of the environment and the socio-economic class.

When taking a trip and staying overnight in a rental, it might be well worth your time to check the beds where you’ll be staying before unloading any luggage. The last thing you want is to be pestered by bed bugs on your trip. And that’s not to mention the possibility of these things getting into your clothing and luggage and traveling back home with you. Use sites like TripAdvisor.com to see if any past guests to hotels or rentals you plan on utilizing have registered any concerns or problems with bed bugs.

So how can you determine if you have bed bugs? Start first with your bedding. Pull up your sheets and mattress cover and inspect between the seams of your mattress and around the box spring. Pull up your box spring and check your bed frame. Look for dark-reddish spots or streaks of dried blood and/or carcasses of the little critters. Also look for smaller crumb-sized particles that are darker in color. Particles and streaking represent fecal matter and molted skins from the bugs. Be sure and check your sheets, pillows, and pillow cases as well. Other common nesting grounds include drapes and curtains, along walls near edges of carpet, crevices in wall paper, corners of drawers and in upholstery of furniture.

If you happen to find what you may think are bed bugs, have an expert come out and confirm that you do. If you live in an apartment complex or community, contact your property manager. Getting rid of bed bugs is no easy matter and can prove to be quite costly. These things can live for months without eating and that’s what makes it so hard to get rid of them. Depending on the severity of the case, it’s not uncommon for an exterminator to recommend you throw out mattresses, couches, bedding and clothing.

There are several things you can do to help keep bed bugs at bay, including the following:

Maintain a clean and clutter-free living environment. If you do happen to experience an infestation of bed bugs, and you happen to have a cluttered home, you’ll be more likely to have to throw out all kinds of furnishings, clothing and drapes in order to rectify your problem. A cleaner home will make it easier to detect and eradicate bed bugs.

Purchase zippered covers for your mattress and box spring sets. Before encasing them, vacuum your mattresses and box springs. Any that end up trapped inside will eventually die. The zippered covers will also take away a favorite nesting area for these critters.

Vacuum your home or apartment frequently. If you don’t have the zippered covers for your bed sets, vacuum your mattress crevice areas periodically. This will also act as a way to check on the status of any possible bed bug activity.

Inspect your living area frequently! Make it a point to go around your living area once a month to ensure that you don’t have any bed bug issues. Especially do this after any recent vacations, trips or extended stays at other locations.

Take this new bed bug knowledge and share with others. Sleep tight…Don’t let the bed bugs bite!

Renter's Guide to San Antonio, Texas

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:17:00 +0500

With a population of approximately 1.2 million, San Antonio is one of the larger cities in the state of Texas. It's actually the third-largest city, with a thriving business community and business-friendly services and amenities. It also happens to be the most visited city in Texas. Designed with over 1 million square feet of meeting and exhibition space, San Antonio is a very pro-business city. San Antonio also happens to be considered on the of top "high-tech" cities in the country.

The city is the seat of Bexar County and is located in the south-central part of the state on the San Antonio River. San Antonio was initially named San Antonio de Padua, in honor of a Franciscan friar that visited in 1691. It's a leading livestock center and one of the largest produce exchange markets.

The city has a number of popular tourist spots, including River Walk, Alamo, San Antonio Sea World, the San Antonio Zoo, and McNay Art Museum. Be sure and stop by the Visitor Information Center to pick up maps, guides, brochures,and advice on what to see and do in the area. The Visitor Information Center is located in the Crockett building, not too far from the famous River Walk.

River Walk is one of the more popular stops. It's a public park lined with restaurants, attractions, and hotels. During the Christmas season River Walk is beautifully decorated with thousands of lights that hang over the waterway.

Featuring over 3,500 animals, and one of the largest zoo's in the nation, the San Antonio Zoo is a great place to take the family.

Located on beautiful grounds, the McNay Art Museum allows the public to picnic. The museum originated as a 24-room Spanish Colonial Revival house.

If you're simply in the city to visit, don't miss stopping by to see the Alamo. It's actually Texas' top visitor attraction. Besides, it's free to visit. The Alamo is located near the hear of the city.

There are numerous festivals celebrating culture, music, wine, and the arts throughout the year. While in San Antonio, be sure and check the entertainment schedules in the paper. Events are held on the beautiful grounds that you'll find throughout the city, and will give you the chance to take in the culture.

Top employers in the city include Valero Energy, Toyota Manufacturing, USAA, Southwest Research Institute, and Tesoro Petroleum.

Hospitals in the area include Baptist Health System, Christus Santa Rosa Childrens Hospital, Christus Santa Rosa Hospital, Compass Hospital, Healthsouth Rehab Institute, IHS Hospital, Kindred Hospital, Laurel Ridge A Brown Schools Psy Hospital, and Mission Vista Hospital.

Approximately 42% of San Antonio's population are renters.
Average rent rates on
apartments in San Antonio include (2010-2011 timeframe):
1 bedroom: $620-$640
2 bedrooms: $815-$890

Renter's Guide to Boise, Idaho

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 01:09:00 +0500

Boise is the capital of Idaho, and by far, the largest city in the state. Located on the Boise River, this city is about 40 miles from the Oregon border. It's home to the growing Boise State University with an enrollment of over 12,000 students.

The city of Boise has experienced quite a bit of growth in recent years, and that recent growth is reflected in the age of the housing stock. Over 60% of Boise's homes have been built since 1960, and 35% of those just since 1980.

Idaho is home to numerous hot springs and Boise is no exception. In fact, the Statehouse and dozens of other buildings in the city are heated from underground hot springs.

Some of the largest Boise employers include: Washing Group International, IdaCorp, Albertson's, Idaho Power Co, Micron Technology, and Extended Systems.

Other neighboring cities to Boise include Orchard, Nampa, Meridian, Garden City, Eagle, and Boise Hills.

Some of the more popular attractions in Boise include:

The Boise River Greenbelt
This is a paved pathway that runs over 20 miles through downtown Boise and along the Boise River. Restaurants are located along the path.

The Old Idaho State Penitentiary

Built in 1870, this prison looks like a castle fortress. A new prison was built in the 1970's to replace this one. It now houses museums and visitors are able to take 90 minute tours through they system.

Middle Fork Wilderness Outfitters

How about a trip down the river? Middle Fork Wilderness Outfitters provides visitors the ability to explore Salmon River and experience the thrill of the rapids. The Salmon River is also known as the "River of No Return" because of its difficult passage, and is the nation's longest free-flowing river that heads and flows within a single state.

Discovery Center of Idaho

Discovery Center is a fun science museum that kids would especially enjoy. Visitors can see how various machines and devices work, and are given plenty of "hands-on" and interactive activities during the tour.

Boise has a rather low renter demographic. Approximately 36% of Boise's population are renters. Average rent rates on
apartments in Boise include (2010-2011 timeframe):
1 bedroom: $600-$630
2 bedrooms: $675-$750

Starting Off On The Right Foot With Your New Tenants

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 22:41:00 +0500

So you’ve just signed a lease with a new tenant. What are some things that you can do as a property manager to help ensure that your relationship with your new resident gets up and running on the right foot?

The Lease Signing

To start, take your time while going through the lease-signing with your new tenant. Don’t look at the lease signing as another “ho-hum” event, where you’re going through the boring process of reading through your lease with yet another new tenant so that you can focus your day on doing “more important” things. The lease signing is a very significant event, especially for your tenant. After all, they’re getting ready to up and move all of their belongings, and possibly their family, to a brand new place – your property! This is normally an extremely important and likely emotional event for your new tenant. It should be just as important to you! Read through your entire lease agreement with the tenant and take time to thoroughly answer any questions he or she may have. Welcome them aboard! If the tenant is moving into a apartment community, take the time to discuss the amenities of your complex or community after discussing the lease agreement.

Tenant Greeting & Walk-Thru

Personally meet with your new residents at their new living space and do a walk-through to make sure there aren’t any questions or concerns. Be sure and have a pad of paper and pen to write down anything that’s brought up for follow-up. Get on those follow-up items immediately! It wouldn't hurt to have a maintenance person at hand to immediately attend to outstanding concerns. Just as you’re scrutinizing your new resident to make sure you’ve done a good job on your application screening, the tenant will be scrutinizing you as their new landlord. They want to make sure they’ve not just moved in with some “dead-beat” landlord. How you handle any initial concerns will quickly lay the groundwork for the relationship you can expect to have with your new renter.

Welcome Gifts

Think of budgeting between $25-$50 for some sort of new tenant welcoming gift. This little thought will go a long way to getting you and your company some great word-of-mouth advertising from your new tenant. Think about it for a minute. Suppose you yourself are moving into a new place and are going through all of the hassles of that new move, including worrying if you’ve made the right decision. You walk into your new place, and there on the counter is an unexpected welcome gift. All of a sudden, those moving worries are out the window. You immediately feel at ease. You’ve made the right decision and have one hell of a landlord for taking the time to do such a thing. Budget monies for new tenant welcoming gifts! Those monies will come back to you many times over! Again, initial impressions will go a long way towards developing a strong relationship with your new tenants. How about these nice, yet inexpensive ideas for welcoming gifts?

Tenant toolbox (hammer, screwdrivers, tape measure, plunger, plyers)
Bottle of wine
Simple personally signed Welcome card and/or letter
Gift certificate to a local restaurant, grocery, or gas station
Toiletries

Move-In Kits

Along with your welcome gifts, include move-in kits that contain helpful information on the community and neighborhood in general. This could include area guides, area merchant discount coupons, and key contact numbers. Incorporate your move-in kit with your welcome gift.

If your leasing involves apartment communities (as opposed to single-family homes or other types of stand-alone rentals), try using some of the following tips to help build a solid relationship with your new residents:

Move-in checklist/survey – Within the first few weeks of the tenant’s move-in, provide them with a “new move checklist/survey”. Ask various questions about the move-in and housing units leaving room for open-ended answers. You may want to offer the residents the opportunity to complete the survey anonymously. This little tip will be beneficial to both you and your resident. The new resident again appreciates you taking an interest in his/her move. You obtain valuable information on the handling of your new-moves that can be acted upon and improved.

Be responsive – It’s very important that you and your company process renter maintenance calls in a timely manner. Landlords are gauged by tenants on how responsive he or she is to maintenance requests. Being responsive isn’t limited to your handling of maintenance calls. Be sure and return phone calls and/or emails you receive in a very quick fashion.

Resident interests – Get to know the interests of the residents in your rental community. You might have a simple questionnaire for your new residents to complete during your lease signing. Knowing the backgrounds and interests of your tenants will help you plan programs and services that will be enjoyed by the majority of your community.

Establish rewards – Provide your residents incentives for timely rent payments and extending leases. Rewards can include credits off of rent payments, gift cards, or upgrades to the tenants’ apartment for example. Why not question your tenant base on what they’d like to receive, or offer each tenant the opportunity to pick from an offering of rewards. If you’ve got some great paying tenants and can entice them to make payments on time and better yet, reward them for extending their leases, you’ll be rewarding yourself as well! Try these and other tips with your new renters. You'll both be happier for it!

Rental Applicant Screening Tips and Techniques

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:48:00 +0500

Technology has come a long way, especially the last couple of years. When it comes to running background checks, these advancements have now made it possible for the property manager to utilize free, easily-accessible resources to conduct preliminary checks on prospective renters before spending money on any formal background reporting. In many instances, these free resources hold information that is important in qualifying a tenant, and may ultimately save additional time and monetary resources for you or your company.

It's important to understand that a solid screening process is crucial to insuring the success of your rental portfolio. Just because you can go out and do some of this screening yourself without incurring any costs, doesn't mean you should abandon utilizing professional resources that provide these services for a fee. The tips provided below are simply recommendations that can help strengthen your current background checking procedures. Let's take a look at some of the ideas and free resources that you might take into account:

Email Address
Do you ask for the applicant's email address? If not, you should begin doing so immediately. It's surprising how many landlords still don't ask for an applicants' email. Email addresses are now so important, it's akin to asking for someone's phone number. The email address may not necessarily divulge much on an initial screening, but it could pose to be a very valuable piece of information, especially if you were to have to go after that person as a collection case at some point down the road. They're little gold nuggets for collectors. Email address information can be used to track down a person's social site activities - Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace for instance, and ultimately where the person lives and what they're up to if they were to skip out on you.

And don't forget the extra perk of being able to more effectively communicate with your tenants via email, or broadcast important news and information to your tenant base.

Google Away!
Using google or any other search engine, search on the applicant's additional personal information such as their full name, current address, email address or social security number. There are all kinds of public information and records that are posted electronically, and you may come across some key information in helping you determine whether or not to rent to the applicant.

Court Records
If the applicant hasn't been residing in the county where your rental is located, try and obtain the county where he or she resided or is currently residing. If you didn't pick up this information from the applicant, simply google to find what county a particular city is located in. A large portion of court records will be found at county court websites. Google "COUNTY NAME municipal court" where COUNTY NAME is the county that the applicant is coming from. Quite a number of court sites are now posting their records online electronically and at no charge as these are public records. Many times you'll be able to verify eviction and criminal activity and match that to what the applicant has listed on your rental application.

I should interject a personal opinion here. If I find that an applicant has lied on any part of the rental application, I disqualify them immediately. No exceptions. If an applicant can't be honest on an application, in my opinion, they're not worthy of renting from me.

Auditor/Assessor Sites. Check these county sites (over 2,500 listed) for information relating to ownership of personal property. I've caught many applicants lying about where they lived and/or who they rented from. It's worth taking a few minutes of your time to check out information like this, especially if you suspect that the applicant isn't being honest with you.

Sex Offender Records
FamilyWatchdog provides users free access to sex offender records. The site allows you to search by name and state. One can additionally search on multiple locations at one time if needed.

If you're not already doing so, try and incorporate some of the above recommendations into your tenant screening process. Depending on who you utilize to run your professional background checks, you may find that some of these key pieces of information are not currently included on those reports. This information will help insure that your applicant screening process is a well-rounded one.