A good management company’s fees and cost structure should be transparent and straightforward, which can be hard to decipher. There should be no hidden fees!
Let us jump right in with 5 fees you can expect to see.

The first and most common fee is the management fee. This can be a flat fee, or a percentage of income collected. A percentage can be a more motivating structure, however there is a lot that goes into managing a property, such as bookkeeping, rent collection, and compliance. So, keep that in mind. Do not make the mistake of undervaluing this fee.

The Lease fee is to find a new tenant for your property. Standard marketing and necessary legal paperwork to secure a lease is generally included with this fee, which is usually between 50% to 100% of one month’s rent.

The renewal fee is to extend your current tenants lease for another term. Current market rate vs. rent being paid, payment history, repair requests, and quality of tenant are all evaluated to maximize your cash flow.

Inspections are important and require a lot of time and effort to insure you the investor are being well informed. Periodically walking through the property will ensure compliance by the tenants.

The best managers require timeliness, competitive rates, and quality work from maintenance vendors. This will maximize your cash flow but is the most time-consuming job of a manager and well-earned service.

It is important to remember that a good manager will save you more than their cost.

For more info on PM fees that you can expect, give us a call for visit us online, and remember to GET MANAGED!

OFFICE INFORMATION

Asset Hero Property Management

1580 Copperfield Pkwy

College Station, TX 77845

(979) 353-2567

Number 1:

Do I have the time?  We’re all busy, and if you’re working a full time job and you’ve got a busy lifestyle and you’re also going to self manage a property you need to think very very hard about that.   When you’re advertising the property and a prospect calls with interest in it, and you’re at your job and you can’t pick up the phone immediately and give that potential client information of the property, that’s going to impact you negatively.  You need to be able to respond quickly to applicants as they come in, and to your current tenants once they’re in place, but time is a huge part of why people typically will hire a property management company because sometimes it can be easy but sometimes it does take a lot of time, because when that 3:00 a.m. call comes in and the hot water heater just blew up because for some reason hot water heaters only go out between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on the weekends, other than that they work perfectly, that’s what we find, but are you going to take that call? Are you going to keep your phone by the bed?  If so, maybe do it, but think through the time aspect.

Number 2: 

Do I know the law?  This is a big deal nowadays when it comes to property management. Think of fair housing, do you know how many protected classes there are?  Do you know what those classes are? Did you know that Texas has specific additional protected classes of individuals beyond the federal guidelines?  Did you know that Bryan/College Station has additional classes of protected people? You need to know this and not only what they are, but specifically how you navigate that.  What are you going to do if a prospect calls or your tenant calls and says can I bring a service animal? If you answer wrong in that 1 question, you just found yourself potentially in violation of HUD.  There will be an investigation and you don’t want to mess with HUD as their penalties are very very steep so you need to be cautious with that. 

How about security deposit returns?  Do you know how long you have legally to return your security deposit to your tenant in a state of Texas?   The law has a very very set clear time, its 30 days, but what happens if you miss that? What happens if you hit day 31?  Guess what you just lost all rights to retain any of that security deposit and by the way you’re also going be liable to return 3 times the amount of the security deposit that you are holding because you missed it by a day.  You don’t want to mess with the stuff!  

Did you know that you have to have a Smoke detector installed in your property?  Did you know that it has to be in each bedroom? Do you know what the penalties are if you don’t have that done?   You have to know the law if you are going to self manage! 

Number 3:

Do you have the temperament?  A lot of folks who hire us have been self managing for a period of time, and they call me and say “I just can’t do this anymore!  My tenants are driving me nuts and I don’t have a temperament for it. I get too upset at them and it’s just turning combative.”

You need to be able to ensure that you have that proper temperament to deal with your tenants. You’ve got to be fair, you’ve got to be firm, which is hard to do as the landlord when you self manage your own property, because you want to be the nice guy, but sometimes we find that tenants will push as far as we let them push us so, make sure that you’re being firm but fair and don’t get emotionally attached to your property. 

Number 4:

Do you have the knowledge?  You’ve got to know a lot about this industry. Do you know how you can advertise your property? Do you know what questions you need to ask to pre qualify the applicant before you even allow them to fill out an application?  How are you going to process that application? Are you going to just look at the credit report? Are you going to do a background check? How about their criminal check? How about a sexual predator check? How are you going to do that?  Where are you going to get your lease agreement? How are you going to explain that lease agreement to the tenant? What are you going to say to them when they call and ask if they can pay late? You’ve got to have the knowledge on the front end because you don’t want to learn on your own property. You want to hire someone that has learned previously and that you can glean their knowledge. So that’s really what it comes down to.  If you can manage your property and run it like a business, that maybe you do when you manage. If you can’t run it like a business and you aren’t confident in your own abilities to have the time to know the law, to have the temperament, and to have the knowledge, then you want to seriously consider hiring a professional property management company.

Combining our STANDARD MARKETING SERVICES and ADDITIONAL MARKETING SERVICES is key!

At Asset Hero Property Management we offer a proven advertising and marketing campaign we are proud to offer you to market your most valuable asset! Regardless of what package you choose, we want you to know that we have your back.

Below is a list of what we include to market and advertise your property when looking for potential tenants:

• Yard signage
• Social media websites including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, LinkedIN and Instagram
• A strong website presence – www.AssetHeroPM.com
• Multiple Listing Service (MLS) – Posting on MLS gives your listing full access to every licensed REALTOR® in the Brazos County area. In addition, we put SUPRA boxes on each property to give all REALTORS® access after verifying and scheduling a showing. This box makes it convenient for the REALTOR® which increases the amount showings they are willing to do!

ONLINE RENTAL PLATFORMS WE USE

• Zillow Group (Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads) Make sure your properties are posted where renters are looking. The Zillow Rental Network is composed of the millions of rental shoppers on Zillow.com, Trulia, and HotPads. In addition, Zillow rental listings are available through Zillow’s popular suite of mobile apps and Zillow partners including AOL® Real Estate, MSN Real Estate and HGTV®’s FrontDoor®
• Lovely creates a faster, easier, and more transparent rental process. Lovely, along with the Lovely for iPhone app, displays real-time listings on a map and sends alerts as soon as new listings hit the market. Renters can save their most important search criteria and apply for listings in one click.
• Apartment List is a leading marketplace for rentals, exposing over a million unique renters a month to hundreds of thousands of high-quality listings through desktop, mobile web, or App-based search. By focusing solely on rentals, Apartment List is closely attuned to the needs of both renters and professionals – Apartment List is continually innovating new ways to make the rental process more efficient and enjoyable.
• Apartments.com is the most trafficked apartment listing network with millions of prospective renters visiting each month to one of our sites. The Apartments.com Network simplifies the process of finding a new home by offering renters the most comprehensive database, including millions of detailed and accurate rental listings across the United States.

ADDITIONAL MARKETING SERVICES

We offer an additional marketing service that offers a 4 point marketing plan which includes the following:

• Professional photos
• 3D Virtual Walk Through
• Promotional Video
• Schematic Floor Plan

We showcase your property on our website which is yet one more avenue for prospective tenants to find your home.  Here are some of  the properties we manage that are taking advantage of this incredible service!  Showcase Properties.

It’s a competitive market and we pride ourselves in staying current with the latest cutting edge technology.  Give us a call for more details or simply contact us online!

OFFICE INFORMATION

Asset Hero Property Management

1580 Copperfield Pkwy

College Station, TX 77845

(979) 353-2567

Property maintenance is the strategy and tasks involved in keeping your rental properties in good condition. There are routine property maintenance tasks, such as ensuring fire detectors are in working order, pool services (if applicable), ensuring lighting is functional, and so on. There are also larger, less frequent maintenance projects such as roofing, parking lot or walkway paving, etc.

Property management and maintenance services may seem like the same thing, even though they’re both essential for preserving and enhancing your property’s income and value, they are very different. Asset Hero Property Management manages with property maintenance services using activities that are involved in the upkeep of your property which includes all the tasks included in property operations, such as collecting rent, property marketing, accounting, and handling leases. While managing properties requires more than maintaining them, no property owner or manager wants to simply leave such a critical aspect of building management to chance. Here are the various aspects of building maintenance services that Asset Hero practices to handle most efficiently.

Why Are Property Maintenance Services So Important?

The reason maintenance is so important is to avoid the unexpected maintenance issues that can arise if the upkeep is ignored. Asset Hero really can’t overstate the importance of property maintenance services. Other potential and more common hazards include injuries from falling building materials, fires, or poorly kept walkways. No property manager or owner wants to face claims of negligence in court, deal with rising insurance premiums, or experience a bad reputation and negative reviews.
To avoid serious problems, Asset Hero considers maintenance one of the most important parts of their job. Besides reducing the risk of property injuries for realtors, our employees, and our tenants, we need to have a good property building maintenance system in place for plenty of other reasons too. Consider just a few examples:

• Increased property value: A maintained property will hold value or increase in value. The lack of repairs will detract from the property’s market value and rental prices.
• Satisfied tenants: Poor maintenance of buildings, property, and appliances will generate dissatisfied tenants and may break the terms of your own lease.
• Reduced costs: An efficient property management program can help save money by minimizing risks, extending the life of appliances and equipment, satisfying tenants, and decreasing manual effort.
• Less work: Property managers have plenty of work to do. By having a building maintenance system in place, you can reduce the time you spend contacting tenants and owners, tracking work orders, manually entering data in other software, paying invoices, and dealing with emergencies.

Asset Hero keeps your property maintained to maximize its value. In turn, this can give us a chance to maximize rental prices and even be more selective about tenants. When we satisfy tenants, you should also enjoy lower turnover and lower the risk of charges that have broken your end of the lease agreement through negligence.

Asset Hero maintains a good building maintenance program that will help improve profits, preserve a good reputation, save time, and reduce hassles. It’s critical to invest in property maintenance services.

Superior Property Maintenance Services include:

• A property management preventative maintenance checklist: Kyle Dwyer, Broker of Asset Hero Property Management insists on using a checklist of routine maintenance, that is performed on a monthly, seasonal, and yearly basis. A simple example could include having the HVAC system serviced twice a year or making sure the roof has been cleared of debris before winter. Scheduled maintenance can prolong the useful life of valuable assets and minimize the chance of expensive, urgent repairs.
• On-call maintenance services: Obviously, tenants will call in with problems that occur within their own units or common areas. Asset Hero property managers also notice maintenance problems that needs to be address immediately. They need a way to communicate, handle, and track maintenance issues to keep the property safe and renters satisfied.

Great building maintenance will provide lots of benefits. By offering both tenants and owners the benefits of outstanding maintenance, Asset Hero property managers can personally benefit by increasing productivity and value to the relationship with renters.

Still, achieving these benefits requires an ability to communicate with tenants and owners, manage work orders, budget for work and supplies. This is effective property management, but it also requires the main activities to get handled which assures proper property maintenance.

Respond to Requests from Tenants

Tenants may call in at any time with maintenance requests that may range from routine to urgent. Some examples could include anything from routine requests to change light bulbs to urgent problems with leaky or clogged plumbing. You might field requests by phone or email, and obviously, some of these requests will occur after typical working hours. Asset Hero automates this process as much as possible by using a maintenance management system which allows tenants to be satisfied by providing a convenient way to communicate. Tenants need assurance that somebody is getting the message and addressing their issue.

Property Meld is the app of choice for Asset Hero Property Management. This app allows tenants to submit requests and even track their status online. We have discovered that customers prefer to serve themselves by using automated self-serve options. Dealing with maintenance problems is easier when the property manager, owners, maintenance vendors and tenants are notified and kept in the loop of all maintenance issues.

Schedule Routine Maintenance

Asset Hero property managers schedule certain maintenance tasks. Some examples may include routine maintenance like cleaning leaves off the roof in the fall or making sure HVAC filters are changed every few months. To maintain the property, keep expensive systems running, ensure nothing falls through the cracks, and reduce risks, Asset Hero utilizes another app which is used for periodic property inspections to make sure these periodic tasks have been completed on schedule.

Without maintenance tracking software, the property manager must spend time following up and, in some cases, a constant communication with tenants and owners that is difficult to coordinate with busy schedules. Luckily, these same apps that manage requests from tenants also have calendar features that allow property managers to schedule tasks with a calendar. This kind of building maintenance scheduling software will make sure that important deadlines don’t fall through the cracks. They can even automatically send messages and reminders to all interested parties.

Track and Handle Expenses

Of course, property managers also must make sure contractors get paid and expenses get tracked. Without integrated maintenance software programs, the property manager may have to handle all these tasks manually. This kind of manual effort always wastes time and allows for errors. Asset Hero uses a building maintenance software that integrates with our accounting programs and other software. There’s no reason to have to manually take information from the property management app and enter it by hand in other software. Automation and integration are key to offer the best property management services possible.

Managing Building Maintenance is Only One Part of the Job

Asset Hero’s experienced property managers know how much work handling property management property requires. Once you realize all the tasks involved in property management, you will also see that offering property maintenance service is only one task out of many. Besides maintenance, Asset Hero property managers are also responsible for collecting rent, screening tenants, marketing, setting budgets, managing leases, coordinating activities, and much more.

Asset Hero Property Management uses cutting edge technology to provide excellent property maintenance. An investment in the right tools saves money and generates higher profits. It’s a win-win for the owners, property managers, vendors and tenants by reducing the workload and any chance of errors or overlooked maintenance issues. When work is done more efficiently, everybody involved benefits.

OFFICE INFORMATION

Asset Hero Property Management

1580 Copperfield Pkwy

College Station, TX 77845

(979) 353-2567

Developing an investor mindset comes with many advantages as compared to the consumer mindset. And I don’t like to waste time, so let’s cut to the biggest advantage — opportunity. Remember, this is what you should walk in knowing. By using the money to invest in assets with a potential ROI (Return On Investment) is giving yourself the opportunity. If you invest money in the stock market, then you will have the opportunity to grow your money. If you invest money to pay down debt, you will save money on interest. If you invest money into your education, you will have the opportunity to demand a larger salary. If you invest money into rental property, you have the opportunity to create a second stream of income. However, if you use money to purchase a phone, for example, you only have the opportunity to stay exactly where you stand.

Bottom Line

A consumer will always remain a consumer until they evolve into the mindset of an investor. Simply put — if you want to grow, you need to think like an investor in the majority of financial purchasing transactions. Let’s all grow together and share the knowledge!

OFFICE INFORMATION

Asset Hero Property Management

1580 Copperfield Pkwy

College Station, TX 77845

(979) 353-2567

When you own an investment property, there are a lot of factors that come into play when you’re looking to maximizing your overall cash flow. After all, that is the reason you acquired the property in the first place. Other than choosing the right investment to purchase, the single most important decision you need to make is “Who will manage the property? Yourself or a Property Manager?”

It you go down the self-management road, you may be thinking that you will save money. Think again! Here are a few things to consider before you self-manage an investment property.

TIME

Your time is probably your most valuable asset, aside from the investment itself. The amount of time you spend managing can fluxuate, but when the property and tenants require your attention, it can be all-consuming, taking you away from your day job, your family and your social life.

A good property manager will take this stress away, allowing you to focus on your life, family and friends while keeping you in the loop on how your property is doing.

MAINTENANCE

Maintenance can be a bear. The biggest complaint from tenants is lack of communication and follow-through on maintenance. It is the single biggest reason they move out. Also, not having a good list of reliable vendors almost certainly ensures that your cash flow will be flushed down the toilet — literally!

The best property managers have an extensive and exclusive list of the best vendors in the area. Not only that, they can get discounted pricing from the vendors in most cases, which saves you money!

They can also take on the stress of emergency maintenance so you can sleep easy, knowing that your investment is being well-maintained.

PAPERWORK

Having proper documentation is extremely important to protect both you and the tenants. Not just the lease but applications, guarantors, rules and regulations, pet addendums…the list goes on and on. If you don’t have this on hand, you will pay the price in legal fees and lawsuits.

A quality property manager has all the necessary paperwork to keep your liability at a minimum. A conscientious manager will make certain that you’re covered legally with the proper documentation and ensure that your property is kept up to code to avoid those nasty lawsuits. Let the manager be a wall between you and the legal liabilities of owning a investment.

Although hiring a property manager comes at a cost, the overall savings you will realize by having a quality manager is far more beneficial than self-managing. But do your research — not all managers are the same. Make sure that they truly care about your investment and your success, and have the resources to protect it the way they should!

OFFICE INFORMATION

Asset Hero Property Management

1580 Copperfield Pkwy

College Station, TX 77845

(979) 353-2567

A professional property manager can walk you through the decision-making process and provide you with the steps to offer tenants cash for keys. The end result is a vacant property, which you can quickly rent out to new tenants.

How Does Cash for Keys Avoid Eviction?

Cash for keys is a name that’s been given for a legally binding private agreement between a property owner and a tenant. In this situation, the owner offers a cash payment to the tenant as an incentive to vacate the property in a certain number of days. This avoids a lengthy and expensive formal eviction process. It can be an easy alternative.

Using Cash for Keys to Remove Squatters

Another scenario where cash for keys can work is when you’re vacating squatters. Sometimes, homes are vacant for long periods of time, and squatters set up house. According to Texas law, you have to go through the entire eviction process to remove squatters from your property, even though they don’t have a right to be there. This is expensive and lengthy, and cash for keys can save you money.

Avoid Eviction Outside the Courts

Asset Hero Property Management – Cash for Keys

Landlords will often ask us if this is legal. Yes, it’s legal. Cash for keys agreements are legal and permitted in all 50 states. Some people see making an offer like this as depriving tenants of their due process. But, that’s not the case. You’re settling a dispute outside of the court system.

Make sure your lease is legally compliant, and that it clearly explains the grounds for eviction.

If you have any questions about cash for keys programs, evictions, or anything pertaining to property management, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Asset Hero Property Management.

OFFICE INFORMATION

Asset Hero Property Management

1580 Copperfield Pkwy

College Station, TX 77845

(979) 353-2567

Real Estate Investing: Price versus Cost

Price is what you pay when you purchase something. Cost is the long term value amount you pay over the entire life of a product or a service.

Looking at it in this context implies that cost includes the amount of money involved in the production, marketing, and distribution of that product or service. It can also refer to the amount of money needed to maintain a cost or a service.

Both price and cost involve the element of money. But, the context is different. The difference between buying for cost and buying for price is subtle. But, it can have a tremendous effect on your rental property and the performance of your investments.

Professional Investment Property Management

Breaking down the difference between price and cost this way applies to professional property management services as well.

Do you want to hire a property manager based on price or cost?

Most landlords and investors pay attention to price. They will hire a property manager because of low fees and cheap services. But, hiring a management company based on low prices may set you up for a lifetime of high costs with your investment property. As professional property managers, we have learned a lot.

Our favorite saying always rings true, especially in this case. You can pick two of these things:

• Price
• Quality
• Service

You cannot have all three.

Asset Hero Property Management – Price vs Cost

If you have any questions about price versus cost or professional property management in general, please contact us at Asset Hero Property Management at any time. We’d be happy to help you.

OFFICE INFORMATION

Asset Hero Property Management

1580 Copperfield Pkwy

College Station, TX 77845

(979) 353-2567

Today, we’re talking about how to use a vacant property to your advantage, and what should be done with your investment when no one is living in it.

Rental Property Repairs and Remodeling Projects

When a property is vacant, doing repairs and remodels is easier. Take advantage of not having tenants in your unit, and you can do all the different things that you cannot do when it’s occupied.

If your property has the original 1980’s blue carpet, now is the time to replace it with durable flooring. Resurface the counters. That’s a cheap and effective way to attract new tenants.

Preparing Your Property versus Vacancy

You’re preparing your property to be leased. When you think of it as preparation and not a vacancy, things seem less worrisome.

But, vacancy and repair projects can get costly. Using a great property manager who knows what to do and who to use will help you save money. Property managers have relationships with many different vendors and contractors. With professional advice, you’ll get more bang for your buck, and high quality workmanship.

Given the way your property is marketed and the timing of its arrival on the market, vacancy should only happen rarely. Being prepared and using the vacancy to your advantage is smart. It will increase the overall value of your home and help you bring in higher rental rates.

To learn more about how to handle a vacancy or property management in general, please contact us at Asset Hero Property Management.

OFFICE INFORMATION

Asset Hero Property Management

1580 Copperfield Pkwy

College Station, TX 77845

(979) 353-2567