While it may be tempting to leave some of your personal items at your rental property so you can take advantage of available storage space, it’s not a good idea. You do not want to continue keeping any personal belongings at the property when you have a tenant living there.

Lots of property owners are always asking me if they should buy a home warranty. To answer that question, I have a personal example to share with you. Last year, we had a house in Green Valley that one of our investors owned, where the air conditioning condenser popped in the middle of August. It was about 115 degrees when the tenants called to report the problem. We checked our records and noticed the owner had purchased a home warranty, so we called the warranty company. They sent a vendor out to inspect the problem, then they sent another vendor out to confirm t hat the condenser needed to be replaced. These were vendors we did not have established relationships with. So, the warranty company eventually informed us that our new air conditioning unit would be installed within 7 to 10 business days. When it’s as hot as it is in Las Vegas during August, you can’t leave a tenant in a home without air conditioning for that long. It’s a habitability issue. So, the owner ended up paying thousands of dollars out of pocket to get a new condenser so the tenants could continue living in the home.

Home warranties come with a different way of doing things. The companies are not always customer service driven. Because we do not have a relationship with their vendors and we cannot use our own vendors, we are at a distinct disadvantage.

Another question property owners often ask me is: can I do my own maintenance? If you own rental homes and live close by, you might think it’s appropriate for you to run out and fix the dishwasher or install a new garbage disposal all by yourself because you tend to be pretty handy around the house and you think you can handle it. We always discourage this. Again – I can tell you from personal experience, it’s not a good idea. I own a few rental properties in the area and even though I’m a professional property manager, I ask other professionals to manage those properties for me. It’s a good idea to keep a little distance between yourself and your tenants. Your tenants want some privacy, and owners can occasionally get emotionalabout what may be happening at his or her property. We are able to stay business like when it comes to how we approach service requests and repairs.

If you have any questions about warranties and the challenges of trying to do home repairs yourself, please contact us at Ravago Group Property Management.

A question we get asked all the time is – what kinds of fees and costs are associated with property management? Fees can vary. In the Las Vegas and Henderson area, we have seen them as low as six percent and as high as 10 percent a month, on either collected rent or projected rent. Some companies charge only on the rents they collect, meaning the rent made on occupied homes. There are a lot of companies who will also charge for vacant properties as well. When it comes to start up costs, those vary as well. Fees can be as little as zero and as high as a full month’s rent. It really depends on the property management company you choose.

One thing that I think is important to point out is that your property management fees are usually tax deductible. As an investor, you can write off what you spend on property management services at tax time. There are other tax credits you can take, but make sure you talk to your accountant before you do that. Property management is similar to an insurance policy. As you have heard us say in other blogs, we spend a lot of time protecting owners from liability. The property management fee you pay up front can actually save you a lot of money in the long term, particularly when you think about the potential lawsuits that can arise if you decide to try and manage the property yourself. We keep very strict systems in place, and many times those systems that we implement require us to do everything the same way and treat every tenant the same way. This helps us avoid any issues of favoritism or potential discriminatory practices.

Finally, it’s important for you to think about how valuable your time is. A good property manager costs about as much as a steak dinner. Your time is probably worth that. Whatever profession you’re in, do you want to spend your time managing your investment property, or doing what you do best?

Your time is valuable. As professional property managers, this is what we do best. We do it efficiently and effectively, and it ends up saving you a lot of money and a lot of time.

If you have any questions about the costs and fees involved in property management, or you’d like to know how we charge for services at Ravago Group Property Management, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

In our first blog on property management in Las Vegas, we discussed the benefits of having a professional property manager take care of things so you don’t have to. One of the elements we mentioned was proximity to the property. It’s a great benefit to have a local property manager who can respond to emergencies. This is an important asset, and we want to talk a little bit more about that today.

At Ravago Group Property Management, we have longstanding relationships with local vendors, trades people and repair companies who can mobilize quickly and take care of whatever problem is occurring at your property. This is extremely important for our owners. Whether it’s a problem with the air conditioning unit, a leak that is growing more serious, water damage or any kind of issue, the timeliness of response is crucial. You can’t have an emergency occur and then ignore it until you’re able to find someone to help. That will only result in additional damage and more expensive problems.

If you are an out of state property owner, or a foreign investor, having a professional property manager close to your property is even more critical. You might think you can have a friend or a family member keep an eye on things while you are not in town, but that person may not have the tools and resources that professionals do. Property managers are equipped and they have relationships in place already. Scrambling to find a repair person online or in the phone book will waste valuable time, and you might end up picking the wrong person. You want to protect your property, and when a problem arises, you want to make sure a qualified and experienced professional is taking care of that problem.

A good property manager will know exactly who to call and how fast the help will arrive. If it’s a minor repair, the vendor will be able to make a report in a matter of minutes. If it’s a major repair or serious damage, a local property manager can be there, on site, directing the people who are working on the 

problem and taking care of the tenants on the owner’s behalf.

If you have any questions about the value of having a property manager close to the area your property is located, or you’d like to discuss any other property management topics, please contact us at Ravago Group Property Management. We’d be happy to help.

As an owner of rental or investment property, property management is a good way to outsource the work you don’t want to do yourself. By hiring a professional property manager, you can eliminate the day to day headaches and the trials and tribulations involved in taking care of that property. When you’re managing the property on your own, you can expect calls in the middle of the night about a leaky faucet at the property or a sprinkler head that bursts. There are a number of things that can go wrong with tenants in your property. As an owner, you might not want to handle those things yourself. For the cost of an average dinner out, you can outsource these tasks to a professional property manager.  

Today we are talking about property rehabs and remodels to rentals in the Las Vegas area. Before you undertake any kind of renovation or remodeling project on your investment property, we always suggest that you call a property manager. Property managers will have a good idea of what potential renters are looking for in a home, and we’ll be able to tell you what makes sense and what doesn’t when it comes to investing money on upgrades and remodels.

I have a story of my own which proves the point that going ahead with what you think is a great idea might not be the best plan for the rental market. An owner called me to come and look at a house he had just finished rehabbing. When I walked in, I was stunned. The first thing I noticed was that the front room was painted pink. The kitchen was painted purple and had some very strange countertops. To make a long story short, he had painted every single room in the house a different color. He had also laid different types of tile on the floors in every room. There was even a purple sink. It looked like a Las Vegas club you might walk into on The Strip. It might be a great look for a club or a casino, but it just doesn’t translate well when you have a rental property you’re trying to market to tenants.

There are places where it’s better to spend your time and money on upgrades. We always recommend starting with the exterior of the house. Pay attention to your landscaping. That’s one upgrade we always think is a good idea. Make sure the outside looks clean, nice and requires a low level of maintenance. If it’s in the budget, we always suggest an artificial grass.

On the inside of the house, we always suggest nice, neutral floors instead of carpet. If you have a carpet that is worn or dirty, instead of putting down new carpet, look for flooring with a nice big 18-inch tile. That’s better for renters. Granite countertops are always appreciated and will give your property an attractive and upscale look and feel. Make sure you use fresh, neutral paint colors. Many of our venders and builders are now using Swiss Coffee and Eggshell bases on the walls. This is resistant to stains, which is great. We also suggest semi-gloss finishes, particularly in the bathrooms.

Finally, make sure you use a licensed contractor or handyman so you can be sure you are getting the highest quality of work for your money. If you have any questions about remodels, please contact us at Ravago Group Property Management. We can help you make some good decisions on how to make your home more appealing to the tenants in the rental market.

When you consider vendors to take care of your property maintenance, it’s always important to ensure they are licensed, insured and bonded. I recently heard a story from another property manager in Las Vegas that illustrates that point perfectly. Against his advice, a property owner hired an unlicensed painter to perform work on the house he was rehabbing to put on the rental market. The painter fell off his ladder and sued the property owner. He was injured, so it turned into a big legal dispute. At Ravago Group Property Management, we always recommend using professionals who are licensed, insured and bonded. We only work with vendors who are.

We also have the benefit of long term relationships with our vendors and contractors. When we interview new vendors, we want to make sure they are a good fit for our property management company. It’s important to us that we work with professionals who will prove to be assets to our homes and owners.

Another benefit worth mentioning is the price breaks we get. During the summer, we might call our air conditioning technician 10 or 20 – even 30 times. Then, in the winter we might use the same tech 10 times to check on furnaces or heating systems. We work closely enough that we can negotiate lower prices based on an economy of scale. Owners who just pick someone out of the phone book or off the Internet do not have that benefit. Our pricing is lower because of the volume of work we give our vendors overall.

Appearance is also important to us. We look for vendors who present themselves professionally. We expect clean trucks and polite treatment when it comes to dealing with our tenants. How a vendor presents himself reflects on us, and we have very high standards.

Your licensed, insured and bonded vendors can also provide another set of eyes for the property. When the work is complete, we ask for pictures and a full report. We usually ask how the property looks. Vendors who are on site can report seeing dogs or cars or additional people who don’t belong there. 

They can report back to us if anything seems out of the ordinary. Many of our vendors will volunteer information because they know and respect our standards.

Hiring the best vendors is important in keeping your rental property maintained well. If you have any questions or need any help, please contact us at Ravago Group Property Management.

Today, I wanted to talk a bit about the state of the current rental market in Las Vegas and Henderson. There are three important statistics that I will share with you, which can give you an overall idea of where we are when it comes to rental properties in this area.

Average Days on Market

The average days on market valley-wide, in Clark County as a whole, is around 44 days. That’s about the same average days on market as the 2012 average, so the amount of time it takes to rent out your property has not changed much in the last year. Different properties of course spend varying amounts of time on the market, but the average you can use is that 44 day mark. At Ravago Group, we pride ourselves on maintaining a lower average of days vacant on the market. Our own average is around 29 days.

Average Rent

The average rent for a three bedroom, two bathroom house that does not have a pool is around $1,058 per month. That rental amount has increased by about $10 from the 2012 average. This average captures the entire Clark County area.

Henderson

There are a few things to consider about the Henderson area specifically. We are talking regionally about Henderson, Anthem, Seven Hills and Green Valley. These are areas that we specialize in at Ravago Group. This specific area has a lower average days on market than the valley as a whole. Inthe Henderson area, the average days on market is 31. So, you can compare this to the 44 days average in all of Clark County. Also, you can expect your home in this area to earn about 20 cents more per square foot of space. You’ll get about 91 cents per 

square foot as compared to the 71 cents you will get per square foot valley-wide. This is the average for a three bedroom, two bathroom house without a pool. Hopefully, this information has helped you better understand the rental market in Henderson and Las Vegas. If you have any questions about the rental market or property management, please contact us at Ravago Group Property Management.

We’re talking today about how to market your property in Las Vegas to lower your vacancy. You don’t want to leave your rental property vacant for too long, and there two components to ensuring your home rents quickly to good tenants. The first is price and the second is condition.

Price

A good statistic to keep in mind is that 80 percent of marketing is price. At Ravago Group, we are constantly doing comps, meaning we are comparing the properties we have on the market to other similar properties in the area to get a good idea of what kind of price the rental market will bear. We analyze the market constantly. This is important because even the best looking house in the greatest location will sit vacant if it’s overpriced. Pricing your rental home is like fishing; you have to set the right bait. Make sure you are pricing your home ideally so that the marketing efforts reach the right tenants. You want to accumulate as many qualified applications as you can for your property.

Condition

You can do a great job of marketing your property, but if the condition is not rent ready, you will be wasting your time. Make sure the property looks good. It has to be clean, and the landscaping has to look manicured. You don’t want anything inside to be broken, stained or in need of updates. Your home has to be ready for move in, or you won’t get any tenants seriously interested in it.

These are the two most important marketing components that will ensure your rental home does not spend a lot of time sitting vacant, on the market. If you can price it right and ensure it’s in great condition, you’ll have no problem getting a great tenant.

Don’t forget – you cannot skimp on the screening process. Sometimes, in a hurry to get their place rented quickly, landlords and property owners will move through the screening and application process quickly, and not do a good job of checking out a potential tenant’s background. You don’t want to 

rent out your property to someone with a history of evictions, derogatory credit or bad references. Take the time to do a solid background check and a thorough screening. You want to find a good tenant who stays and pays for a long time to come.

If you have any questions on marketing your rental property or ensuring it does not stay vacant for too long, please contact us at Ravago Group Property Management, and we’d be happy to help.

Today we are talking about property maintenance on new rental properties in the Henderson and Las Vegas areas. There are four specific things that I like to pay attention to when I’m doing an intake or an initial inspection of a property. These are things that you can do even before you call a property manager for help. These simple steps will ensure your property is ready for the rental market.

Go to your air returns and check those filters. Make sure they are clean. If they’re not clean, you must obviously replace them. While you’re at it, take note of the property size you need and buy a few extra filters. You can leave those at the property so the tenant has them ready to replace. Keeping those return filters maintained goes a long way with keeping your air conditioning unit in good shape for a long time. Air conditioning repairs are very expensive, and if you leave a few filters behind, your tenants will be encouraged to change them as necessary.

Have a qualified HVAC technician check out your condenser and unit. For around $55 or $60, one of our techs can go out to your property and do a maintenance inspection on your air conditioning system. It’s worth the money. You should also do the same thing with your water heater and other major systems on the property.

Look around the house and wrap up all of the outside plumbing. In Las Vegas and Henderson, it’s very hot, but in the winter temperatures can drop to the low teens. An anti siphon or PVC valve is located on the outside of pretty much every home in this area. Make sure it’s wrapped with a thermal blanket or some kind of rock. That $20 to $30 investment can save you a far more expensive repair in the future. Take care of smoke detectors. We are always encouraging our landlords and property owners to minimize liability. Check the batteries in your smoke alarms and make sure they are working properly. In addition to smoke alarms, buy some carbon monoxide detectors and put them in your property. This is a small investment that 

cannot only protect you and your home, but save a life as well. A property manager in Idaho was recently telling us about a tenant who dies from carbon monoxide poisoning. You don’t ever want to be in a situation like that.

If you have any questions about how to maintain your rental property or get it ready for the market, please contact us at Ravago Group Property Management, and we’d be happy to help.

When you are selecting a property management company, there are four key things you want to ask about how your finances will be handled. Make sure you are ready to discuss these important issues during the course of your interviews, because knowing how you will receive your rent and pay for expenses before you sign a contract will save you a lot of time and frustration down the road.

Rent. The most important thing you will need to know is when you can expect to be paid your rent. Find out from the property manager when rent is due from the tenant, and how long it will take for that money to hit your account. Most property managers understand that you have a mortgage to pay and expenses to handle. Ask if you can expect to get paid in the middle of the month, or towards the end. Assuming the tenant pays on time, you should expect to receive your rent from your property manager between the 10th and the 15th of every month. Another good question to ask is how the tenant pays rent. Is there a direct deposit system set up, or does the tenant drop it off?

Deposits. Always ask the property management company you are interviewing how security deposits are held. You’ll want to make sure there is a trust account or some kind of bank account separate from the business account that holds deposits.

Reserves. Ask your property management company if they require a reserve, and if so how that money is kept. Some property management companies do not require reserves. At Ravago Group Property Management, our vendors work with us on a net-30 basis. This means that if there are any expenses we need to pay for on your property, we can take that payment out of the next month’s rent. Therefore, we always recommend having a little money in your reserves for unexpected expenses, but we don’t require it.

Maintenance. You’ll need to know how your maintenance and repairs are paid for. At Ravago, we always communicate with our owners on everything, even the smallest expenses. We will text or email you to let you know there has been a repair request or a small maintenance item has been taken care of, such as a new garbage disposal or a replaced sprinkler head. If a repair is over $200, we will have a more in depth conversation. For example, if an air conditioning unit has to be replaced, we’ll talk to you about how many bids we are comfortable getting, what the scope of 

work should be and other details that affect the price and the work. Ask your property manager how much input you will have in these financial decisions.

If you have any questions about how your money should be handled by your property management company, please contact us at Ravago Group Property Management, and we’d be happy to provide more information.