The Easy Rent Editor

Landlord to blame in carbon monoxide deaths?

2011-03-26T12:13:00.004-05:00

Here in Toledo, Ohio, our community suffered a great and needless tragedy this past week when four innocent lives were lost due to carbon monoxide poisoning in their rented home.

If you read the Toledo Blade story linked above, you'll find out that the family of four had recently moved into the rental home, and that the current landlord has owned the property himself only a short time. You'll also find out that the home had no water, electric or gas utility services, and that the landlord supplied the family with a gas-powered generator only hours before that same generator running indoors emitted toxic carbon monoxide fumes so powerful that they killed the entire family as they slept.

It turns out that the utilities were turned off before this particular landlord owned the property -- the electric, when a former tenant moved out; and the gas, at the request of a tenant, possibly due to an inability to pay a $200 bill balance. I've not seen any information about the property's water service.

Is the landlord culpable in these four tragic deaths?

I'm going to say yes, he is.

Any health department inspector would've found the property to be unfit for habitation. No water, no heat. As a landlord, you ought not rent out any property that's not fit for habitation. I'm sure this guy, the current landlord, wasn't thrilled to find out that at least one utility bill needed to be paid before service could be restored to the address, but that's one of those things you suck up and deal with when you're an investment property owner.

Expect a lawsuit to be filed by surviving family members, if not formal charges levied by authorities, in this case.

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There's still time to lower your heating bills this winter (for FREE)

2011-02-12T08:29:00.006-05:00

If we cross our fingers and wish real hard, maybe spring will come as soon as Punxsutawney Phil predicted earlier this month.

What's certain is that we're not done paying winter heating bills quite yet -- at least we're not done here in Ohio, where it can snow right through April.

There's still time to lower your heating bills, though, even if you didn't do a complete weather-proofing sweep of your home in the fall.

I know what many of you tenants are thinking:

"I'm a renter! I can't replace my windows or install a new furnace even if I had the money to do it."

Well, true.

That's why I put together this list of Four Fast, Free Ways to Lower Your Heating Bills. Check 'em out. Even if you're a renter, you probably can access everything you need to access right inside your apartment to make these four quick changes. They won't cost you a dime and might even save you one and then some!

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Tenant retention strategies for landlords

2011-02-01T21:15:00.004-05:00

In my last post, I linked landlords to an article about types of unsavory rental applicants -- the kind you want to decline and thereby save yourself many headaches.

On the flip side of that coin are the wonderful tenants landlords want to keep around for years and years. If you're a landlord reading my blog, you might want to read How Landlords Can Retain Their Best Tenants for a 4-step plan for tenant retention.

Great tenants do exist! And, in fact, they're not that hard to keep. Check out the linked article for tips.

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New landlords: Avoid these five tenant types

2011-01-25T18:06:00.004-05:00

One thing I learned from being a property manager is that landlording is not for nice guys. That's not to say that I didn't like most of my tenants or try to be nice to them; I did.

But I also learned, at my boss's urging, that sometimes you have to say "no." No to unnecessary repairs or upgrades, no to extraordinary lease provisions and even, sometimes, no to prospective tenants who had applied to rent with us.

My latest article is targeted at landlords, particularly new ones. It's "Five Tenant Types Unfit for Your Investment Property."

Some rental applicants just are too risky to rent to or are too likely to bring headaches with them to your property. Learn who they are by clicking on the article title above.

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Should you rent a duplex apartment? Compare the pros and cons.

2011-01-22T17:38:00.003-05:00

In a follow-up to two of my most popular articles for prospective tenants, I've published "Pros and Cons of Renting a Duplex Apartment."

Like its predecessors, "Pros and Cons of Top Floor Apartments" and "Pros and Cons of First Floor Apartments," my duplex pro-and-con write-up offers you an insider's view on the advantages and disadvantages of living in one particular type of apartment.

Want a sneak preview of what I have to say about these two-residence rental homes? Here you go:

Pro: Big Brother is Across Town

Lots of apartment complexes house a property manager on site or at the very least there is a leasing office on the premises. Not so when you rent a duplex. Read the cons of this arrangement below, but first think about why this might be a good thing.

If you value your privacy and don't like the idea of management keeping tabs on your comings and goings, or those of your visitors, you'll be glad there is no arm of the landlord there to observe you on a daily basis. Maybe you keep late hours, or maybe your boyfriend/girlfriend frequently stays over. Whatever the case may be, it's none of your landlord's business.

Con: The Maintenance Man is Across Town, Too

Of course you might find yourself wishing there was a property manager, leasing office or maintenance staff on the premises when your air conditioning stops working, when ants take over your bathroom, when you lock yourself out of your apartment, or when you've forgotten to pay rent and it's currently 4:57 p.m. on the first of the month.

Privacy concerns aside, it really can be more convenient to live where you have easier access to your property manager. ...

Want to read more? Go here!

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Should you stop renting in 2011?

2011-01-14T18:15:00.003-05:00

While this is a blog for renters and landlords, I have to wonder how many of my renting readers are considering taking the plunge in 2011 and buying a home?

"Should You Stop Renting and Buy a Home in 2011?" is directed at anyone surveying the real estate market and thinking this year is the year to stop paying rent forever. It includes links to several experts' predictions for the real estate market for the coming year.

Hint: If you're going to stop renting and buy a home in 2011, do it before June!

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Happy holidays + a new rental blog for you to check out

2010-12-29T18:35:00.003-05:00

No posts at all this month so far! Sorry, readers.

I do have two rent-related articles written and awaiting publication, but it seems the holiday is slowing things down. Once they are published, I'll link to them from here. One details the pros and cons of living in duplex apartments and the other is a how-to guide for landlords. Stay tuned!

Speaking of duplex apartments, I stumbled upon another blog you might find interesting. Check out http://www.iboughtaduplex.com/. I love to be a fly on the wall -- or in this case, the reader of a blog -- as landlords and property managers discuss the ins and outs of rentals from their perspective.

Meanwhile, happy holidays to the readers of the Easy Rent Editor blog! See you in 2011!

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Best buys for better apartment living

2010-11-30T17:00:00.003-05:00

"Thin walls, limited space and little control over maintenance. When you live in an apartment, these are just a few of the inconveniences that come with the territory. However, you can make your rented home a little more livable with these Top 10 Best Buys for Better Apartment Living."

Check out the article linked above for a Top 10 List of good purchases to deal with some of the nonsense that comes with apartment life and make your home-sweet-rented-home a little more comfortable.

The article cites portable heaters, houseplants, area rugs and white noise machines among its suggestions.

(Perfect reading, too, if you have a renter on your Christmas shopping list this year!)

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Should you get a payday loan to pay rent?

2010-11-23T16:59:00.004-05:00

In my last blog post, I linked you to an article about alternative ways to pay rent when you're just a little short on cash and the rent is due. But if none of those ideas applied to you, you're still stuck and can't pay rent on time.

You might next consider a payday loan to pay rent. Before you do, read this list of payday loan pros and cons at "Should You Pay Rent With a Payday Loan?"

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Short on rent money? Suggestions for getting the rent paid on time

2010-11-17T20:59:00.005-05:00

Having a bad month that finds you just a bit short on funds when it comes time to pay rent?

You're not the first and you won't be the last. Paying rent late, though, is one sure way to get on the landlord's bad side. It's also a sure way to incur extra fees on your tenant account.

If you're determined to pay rent on time but you're just a bit short on cash, check out "Can't Pay Your Rent on Time? Three Alternative Ways to Pay." The article, just published today, offers a few ideas you might want to try in order to pay rent on time and stay on the landlord's good side.

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Reduce winter utility bills with these cheapskate window insulation tips

2010-10-29T15:33:00.004-05:00

Is your apartment freezing cold due to drafty windows? Paying outrageous heating bills because your furnace never stops running?

Check out "The Cheapskate's Guide to Drafty Apartment Windows" for both traditional techniques to insulate your apartment windows, as well as cheapie DIY alternative ways to cut down drafts and stay warm in your apartment.

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One for the parents: To co-sign or not to co-sign, that is the question!

2010-10-25T16:11:00.005-05:00

Has your child asked you to co-sign an apartment lease for him or her?

It's not uncommon for a landlord to require a co-signer for young tenants who don't have much of a rental history. And usually parents are the most apt to sign on. But before you co-sign the lease, make sure to read "Should I Co-Sign an Apartment Lease for My Child?"

The article lets you know what your obligations will be as an apartment lease co-signer and what pitfalls you'll have to avoid.

Autumn tree care for your rental property

2010-09-28T16:41:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I asked my renter-readers what apartment maintenance tasks their leases require them to be responsible for.

To follow up: If you're responsible for yard maintenance, you might find this article about fall tree maintenance helpful.

Tree maintenance isn't normally something renters are too concerned about; thankfully, that's usually a landlord's job. So we'll just consider this a "bonus" blog post amongst friends -- unless you, yourself, are a property manager like I used to be. In that case, you'll be more inclined to check it out.

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How to view an apartment -- one room at a time

2010-09-28T16:24:00.005-05:00

We're going back to the basics for this blog post, and it's aimed squarely at newbie apartment hunters or those of you who haven't looked for a new apartment in a long time.

Here are some tips on what to look for when you're looking for an apartment. Check out the article's room-by-room apartment-viewing tips written especially for first-time apartment hunters.

"How to View an Apartment: A Guide for New Apartment Hunters" also links to a printable apartment-hunting checklist for your convenience. I think you'll find it useful if you're searching for a new apartment -- Good luck, and happy hunting!

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What apartment maintenance tasks are you responsible for?

2010-09-16T12:00:00.003-05:00

Some leases -- particularly if you're renting a house or a duplex -- make certain home maintenance tasks the responsibility of the tenant rather than the landlord.

For example, duplex and single-family home renters sometimes must shovel their own sidewalks in the wintertime and mow their own lawns in the summer. Aside from that, almost every tenant must occasionally change a light bulb or replace the batteries in their smoke detectors. And, unfortunately, some tenants take on more of their fair share of rental home maintenance tasks simply because they have landlords who aren't prompt about doing it or outright refuse.

For tenants who fit the descriptions above, check out the Top 10 Best Buys for Easier Home Maintenance. If you're looking to get the most bang out of your buck when purchasing home maintenance tools or supplies, this Top 10 list is a good guide for choosing essential home maintenance products that will make tasks easier and faster and, in some cases, will save you money.

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Rent-to-own homes, the pros and cons

2010-09-02T22:18:00.004-05:00

You've seen the ads, long-time renters, for homes for rent that come with an option to buy later.

But is renting-to-own your home really the way to go? Check out the pros and cons of lease options, and learn how they work, in Leasing a Home to Buy: Good Idea or Scam?

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Tips for filling out your apartment inventory checklist when you move into a new place

2010-08-25T12:14:00.004-05:00

When you first take possession of a new apartment, your landlord will likely give you an apartment inventory checklist to fill out. It'll look something like this or like this.

You'll want to fill out the inventory checklist -- noting the condition of each item listed -- as thoroughly as possible. Taking the time now, when you first move in, to note all pre-existing damages in your apartment will save you money later, when your landlord adds up your security deposit deductions for damages as you move out.

For more tips, read "How to Fill Out Your Apartment Inventory Checklist," published today alongside all my previously published landlord-tenant articles at Associated Content.

Congrats on your new apartment!

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Outrageous security deposit deductions for cleaning? Here's where to turn for help.

2010-08-24T10:27:00.005-05:00

Rent apartments long enough and chances are good you'll eventually run into a landlord who nickle-and-dimes you out of your security deposit with outrageous, exorbitant cleaning fees after you've moved out.

Sure, sometimes security deposit cleaning deductions are justified. If you didn't return your apartment to move-in condition when you moved out, expect your landlord to recoup his cleaning costs for the next tenant out of your security deposit. However, if you think your landlord charged you in excess of what it actually cost him or her to clean your apartment, you may have options to recoup some of the money.

Read "How to Dispute Outrageous Security Deposit Cleaning Deductions" for some advice on where to turn for help.

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Were your move-out cleaning charges kosher?

2010-08-23T15:19:00.007-05:00

How does a landlord decide the price of security deposit deductions for cleaning when you move out of an apartment?

Read "How Does a Landlord Decide Cleaning Charges at the End of a Lease?" if you want to know what deductions to expect in 30 days when your landlord returns the balance of your security deposit to you, or if you've been charged for cleaning upon move-out and wonder whether or not your security deposit cleaning deductions were reasonable or "normal."

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Are Bed Bugs Lurking in Your Apartment?

2010-08-02T19:35:00.004-05:00

You may have seen bed bugs crawling all over the news in recent weeks, thanks to a recent study that reported a dramatic increase in the U.S. bed bug population.

Ew, right?

If you're like me, every time you read or hear a story about bed bugs, you worry that you have them. Here's how to know if you do, in "Are Bed Bugs Lurking in Your Apartment?"

The article links you to a "bed bug registry" that collects reports of bed bugs in hotels and apartment buildings. It also provides helpful info for identifying bed bug bites and how to look for signs that your apartment might be harboring the nocturnal pests.

Sleep tight, ha.

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"Normal wear and tear" -- just what the heck IS it?

2010-07-28T21:33:00.005-05:00

These last couple of blog posts about security deposits and deductions or forfeitures for "excessive cleaning" might have tenants just like you looking at their leases and trying to figure out just what exactly is "excessive dirtiness" and how it differs from "normal wear and tear."

Seek and ye shall find, by reading "What Is Normal Wear and Tear in an Apartment?"

The article cites a few standard definitions of normal wear and tear, and gives examples of normal wear and tear as opposed to actual damages such as excessive cleaning required upon move-out.

I think you'll find the article helpful. Another thing you can do is talk to your apartment manager a few weeks before moving out and invite him or her to do a walk-though of your apartment. The apartment manager should be able to pinpoint apartment areas that past tenants have commonly forgotten to clean, as well as areas of your apartment that need some extra TLC before you hand in the keys. He or she may also be able to alleviate some of your worries. For example: Yes, a closet bifold door that has come off track is usually considered normal wear and tear. So is a loose cabinet handle, or sun-faded blinds.

For more examples, click on the article linked above.

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Moving out soon? Make sure you clean the floors!

2010-07-26T22:09:00.004-05:00

My last blog post led you to some pictures of apartments that departing tenants left stunningly (and some, disgustingly) dirty.

If you're soon moving out of your own apartment and you don't want to be one of "those people," here's a little cleaning advice: How to Clean Your Floors as You Move Out of an Apartment.

Can dirty floors cause you to lose some of your security deposit when you move out of an apartment? Can you prevent the forfeiture of security deposit funds for dirty floors?

Yes and yes!

Check it out.

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The inside dirt on security deposit cleaning deductions

2010-07-18T14:49:00.008-05:00

What good is reading this blog, you might ask, if you never get any inside scoop?

Good question.

So to reward you for your patience and loyalty, take a look here for some inside "dirt" on security deposit deductions that tenants might incur if they leave apartments excessively dirty upon move-out.

Leaving Your Apartment This Dirty? Say Bye to Security Deposit Money is a slide show featuring never-before-seen (i.e. from my private collection) actual photos of some rather dirty conditions outgoing tenants left behind in apartments when they moved out.

Each photo is accompanied by an explanation of cleaning charges that were deducted from a tenant's security deposit or some tips to tackle those impossible-to-clean apartment areas and avoid incurring excessive cleaning charges yourself.

Enjoy! But be warned: A few of the photos are pretty gross.

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Three essential tools of successful apartment hunting

2010-06-30T13:00:00.006-05:00

Here, in Three Things to Bring to Your Apartment Viewing Appointment, are the three essential tools of successful apartment hunting and how to use them to compare and contrast the features of the different apartments you'll view when looking for your new rental home.

Happy apartment hunting and good luck finding your perfect home sweet apartment home!

Is it your landlord's responsibility to exterminate for ants in your apartment?

2010-06-25T14:51:00.003-05:00

Ants! Homeowners and renters alike often encounter these common, unwelcome visitors, especially during the summertime. Whether you've noticed a stray ant or two or you're battling a full-scale sudden infestation of ants, here is some advice for ridding your apartment of these ordinary household pests -- starting with informing your landlord about the problem.

Should My Landlord Exterminate My Apartment for Ants? takes you through the steps of informing your landlord about your ant problem, battling these pests inexpensively all on your own and following up with your landlord if an ant infestation is severe enough to make your apartment "unfit and uninhabitable," at which point it would, certainly, be your landlord's responsibility to address. See the article, too, for some options you have if you have a severe ant infestation in your apartment and your landlord refuses to act.

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Your first apartment -- can you afford it?

2010-06-21T16:05:00.007-05:00

Are you financially ready to leave home and rent your very first apartment?

You'll need a good job, good credit and some cash on hand in order to be able to prove to a prospective landlord that you can afford to pay rent. To find out what else you need, and what questions you should ask yourself before taking this big step, read Can I Afford My First Apartment? Self Assessment.

For other good advice related to your first apartment, visit http://www.myfirstapartment.com/.

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Looking for a pet-friendly apartment?

2010-06-17T21:03:00.003-05:00

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association there are around 72 million pet dogs and 82 million pet cats in the United States. And they all need a place to sleep at night! Even those who belong to apartment renters.

Unfortunately, it's not always easy to find a nice apartment where Fido or Fluffy are allowed to stay.

If you're apartment searching for a pet-friendly place, you might find some help in Tips and Resources for Finding Pet-Friendly Apartments. It gives you some ideas on where to look -- and where not to look -- to find just the right new home for you and your furry friend.

Meow, Woof and Happy Apartment Hunting!

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Should you find a subleaser instead of breaking your lease?

2010-05-28T14:06:00.005-05:00

I see it time and time again on various rental Q&A sites, in chat rooms and on discussion boards: Tenants are shocked to discover that if they want to move out of their apartments before a lease's natural expiration date, landlords can indeed hold them financially responsible for rent payments through the original lease period.

"Can the landlord really charge me rent if I'm not living there?"

Yes, he can.

If you need to move out of your apartment before your lease is up, one alternative to the expensive dilemma of lease-breaking is subletting, or subleasing. Read about subletting out your apartment, including working with your landlord to find a suitable sublessee and the importance of collecting a security deposit and signing a sublease agreement, in Is Subletting a Good Alternative to Breaking Your Apartment Lease?

In the article is a link to a free sample sublease agreement from the Tenant Resource Center, based in Madison, Wisc.

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Impress the landlord if you want to be approved for the apartment of your dreams

2010-05-26T16:13:00.004-05:00

Lots of experienced apartment hunters have, at one time or another, applied for the apartment of their dreams only to find out they were too late -- the apartment was already rented to someone else.

There are a few strategies you can employ to avoid this happening to you, even in a competitive apartment market with low vacancy rates. One strategy is to impress the landlord or leasing agent. But how?

The trick is in appearing as the ideal tenant. But you need to do this in very real, concrete ways. Landlords are bound by ethical guidelines that don't allow them to rent an apartment to one tenant over another simply because one tenant is more likeable. So, really, you need to actually BE an ideal tenant, not just act like one.

For a leg up on the competition, read "Competitive Apartment Hunting: How to Impress the Landlord." It includes credit, application and apartment viewing tips designed to make you stand apart from other apartment hunters.

Happy hunting and good luck out there!

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Apartment amenities: What features are on your apartment shopping list?

2010-05-19T14:50:00.002-05:00

Maybe it's a community pool you can't do without; maybe it's a balcony. Can you live without air conditioning? Without a dishwasher?

Savvy apartment hunters make a shopping list of "wants" and "needs" when they start their apartment search. If you want to make sure you haven't forgotten to include something on your own list, or if you're just curious about which amenities are the most sought-after by other apartment hunters, check out the Top 10 Best Apartment Unit Amenities for 2010 and the Top 10 Best Apartment Community Amenities for 2010.

These articles count down today's most important apartment features and apartment community amenities, from covered parking to on-site laundry to green space allotted for dog-walking. They also take a look at what developers of new apartment buildings are including in their site plans in order to attract tomorrow's tenants.

Enjoy!

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In a competitive apartment search, when should you start looking?

2010-05-07T01:47:00.005-05:00

When I managed apartments, I was always astounded when someone called about our little 16-unit complex and asked if we had any vacancies because they wanted to move, like, this weekend.

Unfortunately, I was never able to help those apartment seekers because, trust me, if I had a vacant apartment, you can bet that I'd been trying for at least 30 days to fill it -- meaning I probably already had someone lined up and they just hadn't moved in yet.

The lesson to be learned from this is: Start your apartment search early. Read how to conduct your apartment search up to three months in advance of your anticipated move here, at Competitive Apartment Hunting: When to Search for an Apartment.

And don't skip over the part about getting on an apartment building's waiting list!

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Beware Toledo's slumlords! They're out there.

2010-04-26T14:27:00.004-05:00

Every city of a certain size has them: Slumlords. Toledo's no exception.

WTOL-11 earlier this month recounted the story of one East Toledo man who encountered a slumlord when he rented an apartment on Greenwood in a story here. The piece also advised apartment hunters on how to inspect an apartment before you sign a lease and move in.

It's a short read, so give it a click.

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Denied an apartment due to poor credit?

2010-04-24T14:02:00.003-05:00

If you've recently applied to rent an apartment but were turned down due to blemishes on your credit report, here are some tips on what you should fix first: Denied an Apartment Due to Poor Credit? Best Credit Fixes for Renters.

Some fixes can get you back on track so you'll qualify for an apartment in as little as 30 to 60 days. Priority No. 1? Check your credit report for errors. Some creditors are lightning-quick to report late payments or unpaid bills to the credit reporting agencies but notoriously slow -- or even negligent -- about reporting that the debts finally did, in fact, get paid. Get those old, erroneous debts off your credit report and you'll have much better success getting approved for an apartment.

For more tips and info, read the article here.

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This one's for harassed on-site apartment managers!

2010-04-19T14:28:00.003-05:00

Sure, you're SUPPOSED to be off-duty but that never seems to stop tenants from knocking on your door, does it?

I battled for my off-duty time a lot when I worked as an on-site apartment manager. An emergency? OK, no problem. That's why I was there. That was part of my job.

But a drippy bathroom faucet is not an emergency. Call me about it tomorrow during office hours.

You suspect your neighbor is violating her lease because her boyfriend has moved in and now your favorite parking spot is always taken? Not an emergency. Stop by tomorrow during office hours.

You are bothered by the cigarette butts and beer cans in the courtyard? So am I. But I'm not dealing with it at 9 p.m. because I already worked a 10-hour day today and I will deal with it tomorrow.

If you're an on-site, live-in apartment manager who is often bothered by tenants during your scheduled off hours, you might find my advice helpful. Read it here: Apartment Managers - Live On Site? You Can Still Go Off Duty. It's all about the strategies I successfully used to train my tenants to respect my free time. A worthwhile read!

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Spring Apartment Hunting Advice

2010-04-17T18:36:00.005-05:00

Spring has sprung! And although my sinuses protest (yours, too?), spring is a time of action for many of us, including those who are in search of a new apartment.

Many apartment leases end in spring and early summer, so right now is when a lot of tenants are choosing whether to renew their leases or find new digs. If you choose the latter, you may want to read Spring Apartment Hunting Reveals an Apartment's Secrets: Beware the Subtle Signs of a Bad Apartment, published just this week.

You'll discover how to assess an apartment's landscaping, how to look at the gutters for signs of poor building maintenance and how to survey the common areas for signs of inconsiderate neighbors. Don't view any apartments this spring until you've read this article and learned how to sleuth out the secrets of your prospective new place.

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A new Renter's Repair Guide for newbie tenants: What to do when the power goes out in your apartment

2010-03-25T22:21:00.004-05:00

When the power goes out in your apartment, there's a good chance that you've simply overloaded a circuit and tripped a breaker. Most experienced apartment dwellers have probably come up against this room-darkening, appliance-quieting nuisance a time or two before, and they know exactly how to locate their circuit breaker panels and flip a tripped breaker back on.

But if you've never done it, it can be a little intimidating. Even worse: You know it's supposed to be easy, so you might feel a little silly asking for help.

So I've written a new Renter's Repair Guide how-to especially for newbie tenants. "Help! My Power Went Out" features step-by-step guidance on fixing an isolated electrical outage for those who have never done it before.

It also includes tips on how to decide if your power outage really is something you can handle or if you'll need to call your apartment manager and schedule maintenance to come take a look.

Good luck! Follow the link above to my latest Renter's Repair Guide and I promise you'll do fine.

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Garbage disposal on the fritz?

2010-03-17T11:19:00.003-05:00

Before you call the landlord or apartment manager to address the clank, buzz or total dead silence of your garbage disposal, follow these Renter's Repair Guide tips for a few easy fixes to try.

Note: It may be worth your while! Some landlords will charge you a maintenance fee if they have to send maintenance to fish a bottle cap, dish rag or children's toy out of your disposal. When I worked as an apartment manager, the No. 1 reason a tenant's garbage disposal would be "broken" was due to something that went down the sink that wasn't supposed to go there.

So roll up your sleeves and good luck!

It's spring, and lots of apartment leases are coming up for renewal

2010-03-13T16:34:00.004-05:00

... is yours?

If you're content with your apartment, you may be wondering if you should renew your lease for another year or go month-to-month.

From my latest article:

"Make the wrong choice and you could find yourself later going through the hassle and financial difficulty of breaking your apartment lease or, even worse, you could at some point find yourself scrambling for a new place to live."

Read more: Renewing Your Apartment Lease: Month-to-Month vs. 12-Month Leases

Ode to a career in property managment

2010-03-02T17:52:00.002-05:00

Hey, good news for me: I've been named a featured real estate contributor at Associated Content. View my library of articles for landlords, tenants and apartment hunters here!

I just knew that job would be good for something eventually.

Cold-weather apartment hunting can give away a landlord's secrets

2010-03-02T17:41:00.004-05:00

Time is running out for cold-weather apartment hunting!

Generally, the arrival of spring is all-around a good thing, true. But if you're apartment hunting, the shortcut to finding out all you really want to know about a prospective apartment is to view it in the wintertime.

Figure out how you'll be treated as a tenant year-round and what the building's condition really is, by reading my tips for super-savvy apartment hunters here.

Landlords: Who is managing your apartments' online reputation? Part Two

2010-02-26T04:39:00.004-05:00

In Part Two of this series I just published for landlords and apartment managers, learn how to respond to anonymous negative feedback about your apartments and how to proactively manage your apartments' online reputation rather than relying on tenants to do it for you. Read More

Landlords: Who is managing your apartments' online reputation? Part One

2010-02-26T04:37:00.007-05:00

In Part One of this series I just published for landlords and property managers, discover what is being said online about your apartments and how anonymous Internet reviews can damage your rental company's reputation. Read More

Two great property management blogs -- hilarious and keepin' it real

2010-02-24T18:35:00.004-05:00

As a former rental property manager, I am so thoroughly entertained by two fellow bloggers' property management blogs that I have to recommend them both here:

Check out both Apartment Manager Kaos and Stories from Apartment Managers. Especially if you yourself work in the apartment management industry.

These two blogs make me giggle, nod in agreement and, to be honest with you, make me feel a little relieved to know I WASN'T crazy after all when I was doing the job, though it sure felt that way sometimes.

When I was managing apartments I was always so worried that it would be unprofessional to blog about the daily goings-on in my buildings and among my tenants. Of course I write under my real name -- right there in the upper right hand corner (oh hey, hi there) -- so that was probably a valid concern.

Not so for "TxAptMgr" (Kaos) and "Apartment Manager" (Stories), who were both smart enough to stay anonymous so they can give you the uncensored lowdown on crazy tenants, scammy landlords and all the reasons that property managers might sometimes come across as anal, evil, uncaring b*tches when really they're mostly pretty normal, nice people doing a hard job in which you can never make everyone happy.

Highly recommended reading for others in the apartment industry!

No pay stubs to prove income on your rental application?

2010-02-24T18:22:00.005-05:00

It's pretty standard for apartment managers and landlords to require proof of income before they'll rent an apartment to you. Generally, they'll ask to see several of your most recent pay stubs.

But what if you don't work a traditional job?

Fortunately, there are other acceptable ways to prove your income and qualify to rent an apartment. Read about them here.

Thinking of a career in property management?

2010-02-18T21:47:00.003-05:00

What's the skinny on working as a property manager? Is the pay as good as recently reported by CNN Money? What are the hours like?

If you're thinking about getting into property management, you'll want to read this.

What's the best time of year to find good apartment deals?

2010-02-05T19:36:00.005-05:00

"If you're an experienced apartment searcher, you may have realized that many apartment communities advertise move-in specials and reduced security deposits year-round, no matter what time of year you've looked for an apartment. What you may not know, however, is that there is one particular time of year when apartment-seekers have the most power to negotiate the very best apartment deals.

That time of year? ... "

Go here to read my latest advice article for apartment-seekers and find out!

Landlords, do you use YouTube?

2010-02-05T19:15:00.002-05:00

If you have a high-speed Internet connection and a digital camera, using YouTube to advertise your rental properties makes (dollars and) sense.

You can use stills to make a slide show video, like this one:

... or, use video to showcase a virtual tour, like this:

(Although, you might want to refrain from narrating your virtual tour with, "Crap ... I just broke the door handle." You'll also want to refrain from pointing out any community-wide problems that you apparently have no plan to fix.)

Prospective tenants like to see as much information as possible about your available rental units prior to their actual visit. Digital cameras are very reasonably priced now, many come with video-shooting capabilities, and it costs nothing to upload videos or slide shows to YouTube. So have you thought about using these resources that are free or that you already own, to advertise? Would love to hear some first-person stories about landlords' or property managers' YouTube advertising and whether or not YouTube has helped your bottom line.

tenantswanted.com

2010-01-26T20:51:00.002-05:00

Search the Web for answers to all your landlord-tenant questions. For example:

- What makes a good tenant?

- Where can I screen tenants?

- What makes a good landlord?

- What are my rights as a tenant?

- Where can I find sample leases and other landlord-tenant forms?

www.tenantswanted.com

"2BR apt avail w/ EIK, A/C, DW, W/D." Huh? What?

2010-01-18T17:41:00.003-05:00

Trouble deciphering the For Rent classified ads? If so, you're not alone.

Here's a handy guide to the most commonly used abbreviations and acronyms you'll encounter when browsing the local apartment rental ads.

Bookmark this baby if you're on the hunt for a new apartment!

To Rent or Not to Rent -- On the Top Floor

2010-01-14T00:44:00.002-05:00

Published this week, an article on the advantages and disadvantages of top-floor apartments. Check it out:

Pros and Cons of Top Floor Apartments

Pro: No Footsteps Overhead
A top-floor apartment can be the quietest one in your building. At the very least you will be spared the sounds of children and pets running around above you, early risers stumbling from their beds and waking you up at 5 a.m., and clueless aerobics enthusiasts working out above your living room.

Con: Watch Your Step!
You know all those insanity inducing sounds from above that you'll avoid by living on the top floor? Well, that will be you making those sounds now. You'll need to be a little more conscientious with your noise-making in an upstairs apartment. You'd be surprised at some of the things downstairs neighbors will complain about, especially if your building is not particularly well constructed. ... Read more here.

Considering a first-floor apartment?

2010-01-12T22:46:00.003-05:00

I'm currently writing some pieces elsewhere on the Web, and this one is a great fit for the subject matter of the Easy Rent Editor blog:

Pros and Cons of First Floor Apartments

Pro: Stomp Around as Much as You Want
First-floor apartments can be ideal for people with kids or pets, or for those who keep odd hours, because there is no one downstairs to complain about footsteps when they are trying to sleep or relax.

This perk to ground-floor living will allow you to be far less self-conscious of your every move than you'd be living above someone. This is no small factor to consider. First-floor living gives you more leeway in your everyday activities than any other floor in an apartment building.

Con: Neighbors Upstairs
Meanwhile, a first-floor tenant's peace and quiet is at the mercy of his or her upstairs neighbors and their lifestyles. You may live below hard-partying college students, a family with rambunctious children, treadmill-addicted workout freaks or, if you're lucky, a quiet single person who is never home except to sleep. ... Read more

SEO boost?

2009-11-05T00:20:00.004-05:00

You, too, can rent an apartment. You must first search for an apartment to rent. Find the perfect apartment by going on a lot of apartment tours. Eventually, you will find the apartment you like and once you sign a lease with a landlord, you will officially become a tenant, i.e. one who is renting an apartment. Call your landlord when you have problems, but remember: Your landlord is not your friend. He merely rents you an apartment.

(Take THAT, Adfreakinsense.)

OK, that is very immature of me. It's not Adfreakinsense's fault that I allowed my blog to go dead. But hey, I was busy, you know, managing apartments.

That is no longer the case, so we'll see what happens next. Stay tuned!

My keyboard's encrusted with little bits of exploded brain

2009-05-22T01:16:00.001-05:00

So.

As it turns out, actually DOING property management takes up a whole lot more time than simply writing about it.

Who knew?

The property manager's lament

2007-08-14T21:03:00.000-05:00

Ho ho ho, the contractor dance --
I’m ready to work, please give me a chance!
What? What? You want it done tomorrow?
Well, I’m busy then, to my great sorrow.

La la la, the contractor song --
I promise to never do anything wrong.
This painted carpet? This leaky new pipe?
My work’s just fine (for a certain type).

Hee hee hee, the contractor air --
I suppose you want a price that is fair?
I’m the best, I tell you, I’m in my prime!
Just don’t ask me to show up on time.

Rah rah rah, the contractor cheer --
Just let me make one little thing clear.
I can get the job done, if that’s what you seek
I’ll quote you a price, sometime next week.

Copyright © 2007 the Easy Rent Editor

Escrow explained, with a side of caution

2007-07-31T23:34:00.000-05:00

The faucet's dripping, the window won't open and the air conditioner has just plumb ol' quit. You've requested in writing that your landlord make the necessary repairs, but he hasn't complied.

What do you do?

Well, one of your options is to temporarily stop paying rent to your landlord until the repairs are made.

But hold on, eager beavers, as it's not entirely that simple. Before you start looking around your apartment for something to complain about, be aware that you still do have to pay your rent -- otherwise you become a sure-fire target for eviction. However, you can pay your monthly rent into an escrow account.

Northwest Ohio personal injury lawyer Charles Boyk recently tackled the subjects of landlord-tenant disputes and escrow accounts in his blog at injuryboard.com and in a column for the Toledo Blade.

Because the Blade column provides such valuable information, and because I know eventually it will be archived and not viewable without paying a fee, I'd like to quote Boyk's advice here:

Under state law, landlords have to meet a number of obligations, such as following all applicable health and safety codes keeping the property in a fit and habitable condition, and maintaining the heating, plumbing, and electrical systems.

Once a tenant notifies the landlord of a problem, the landlord has to make repairs within a reasonable period of time. Generally, repairs made within 30 days are deemed timely, unless the problem is something that needs immediate attention, such as a furnace going out in the winter or plumbing troubles.

Tenants can do more than just complain to a landlord about the lack of attention to repairs. They have a powerful weapon at their disposal: the right to deposit their rent into escrow. The tenant must deposit the rental payment with the clerk of the municipal or county court where the rental property is located and ask the court for an order directing that the repairs be made.

At the Toledo Municipal Housing Court, cases in which there are no housing or health-code violations are sent to the Citizens Dispute Settlement Program. Program officials schedule a mediation to see if the issue can be resolved. If an agreement can’t be reached, the matter proceeds before a housing court magistrate.

Though withholding rent will get the landlord’s attention, it needs to be done in accordance with the law through the proper court. Refusing to pay rent without going through the proper procedure gives the landlord the right to initiate an
eviction proceeding.

I must reiterate Boyk's last paragraph there. If you find it necessary to withhold rent from your landlord, please do make sure you've done it the proper way.

You may also want to think twice about going the escrow route. Make sure that the repairs you seek are necessary repairs, and make sure you've given your landlord reasonable time in which to make them.

When it comes to the end of your lease agreement and you're wondering how much of your, say, $600 security deposit might be withheld, or when you realize you need your past landlord as a reference when you apply for a new apartment, you might regret making such a big deal about something small like a missing sink stopper or a chipped kitchen cabinet -- neither of which are likely worth $600 in "damages" some less scrupulous landlords can find if they look hard enough when you vacate your apartment.

Myth-busting

2007-07-15T23:48:00.000-05:00

Note: Just because you wipe something, that doesn't mean it's clean.

Advertising opportunity for Toledo area landlords

2007-06-26T10:37:00.000-05:00

The Toledo Free Press will begin publishing a weekly apartment guide July 15. Listings will include an exterior full-color picture of your apartment building as well as standard information such as address, rent price range and amenities offered.

The recurring insert is being produced by Noneman Real Estate, and if you contact them at 419-531-4020 prior to July 1, they'll include your property for FREE in all three Free Press editions scheduled in July.

Listings will then cost $39 a week for a small ad, and $69 a week for a large ad. Advertising contracts will month-to-month, so you'll have to pay for an entire month in advance. Deadlines for inclusion will be the 15th of the month prior to publication.

For more information, contact Kelly at Noneman Real Estate at the phone number noted above.

Thank you for your service, veterans

2007-05-25T02:41:00.000-05:00

Just in time for Memorial Day comes this nice little brief of a story out of the Cincinnati area:

WHIO-TV reported yesterday that Cornerstone Realty in Blue Ash, Ohio is offering free 12-month leases to servicemen and women returning from tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The leases are for two-bedroom apartments in the company's Kettering and Centerville apartment buildings.

The Easy Rent Editor salutes you, Cornerstone Realty!

2007 National Apartment Report now available

2007-05-18T01:55:00.000-05:00

Marcus and Millichap, a leading national real estate investment brokerage company, has released its 2007 National Apartment Report, available as a .pdf here.

Highlights include:

◆ The slowdown in the housing market has led to the return of condos to the rental pool, but a temporary increase in competitive stock is not expected to have a significant impact on apartment vacancy. By year-end 2007, overall vacancy is projected to improve 20 basis points to 5.1 percent, compared with a 40 basis point decline in 2006.
◆ Approximately 92,000 units are expected to be completed in 2007, up from 90,000 apartments last year. While this year’s total could come in above expectations if a large number of condo projects come online as rentals, completions would nonetheless fall below levels reported in the 1990s through 2003.
◆ Asking rents are forecast to rise 4.3 percent, while effective rents advance 4.8 percent. Concessions have declined dramatically in many markets over the past two years, leaving less room for improvement in 2007.

The report also includes market outlooks for individual cities, but unfortunately no Northwest Ohio cities are big enough to make the study's cut. Closest cities profiled are Cleveland, Columbus and Detroit.

Rental News Roundup

2007-05-03T19:54:00.000-05:00

The Easy Rent Editor has had her hands full!

I've been doing some other writing, and also some part-time assistant property management -- yay! gigs! -- great for me, but not so great for the blog.

So, here, a round-up of recent stories that may interest Northwest Ohio landlords and tenants:

Searching for an apartment for the first time or need a refresher course on the finer points of landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities? Check out UWeekly's Make Yourself a Home: Renter's Guide, published this week.

If you like your apartment-hunting advice in shorter, bulleted form, see Yahoo Finance's Eight Tips for Finding Deals in a Tight Apartment Market.

Via PR Newswire, Tip-Mart Inc. has announced a new landlord and tenant online screening tool, RenterQ. Registration is free. The site does not complete background or credit checks, but is instead a rating system for both landlords and tenants. Registered users can access other users' records, eliminating the need for tenant history faxes between landlords and allowing prospective tenants to see the feedback past tenants have left for their landlords.

New loft-style apartments just a hop, skip and a jump to our north in Monroe, Michigan, earned themselves a nice writeup at Monroenews.com. The article states the apartments "seem more suited to big-city Chicago than to Monroe." Well, then!

Online apartment hunting can be hazardous to your wallet -- and your pride

2007-03-27T05:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's Norwalk Citizen-News -- no, not OUR Norwalk, Connecticut's Norwalk -- warned online apartment hunters about the costly ride they'll take if they get duped by an unscrupulous Internet scammer.

In A Cautionary Tale, writer Lauren Garrison relates her experience dealing with a shady character who advertised an "available apartment" online.

Excerpted from the story:

I e-mailed Maria at the America Online address she provided in the posting, and she responded promptly. She referred me to a blog she had set up, where she had more information and photographs of the apartment. She replied to each of my e-mails in broken English, always polite, but never exactly answering the questions I posed.

At one point, I concluded that the $1,300 would be too large a burden and told Maria I would be unable to rent the apartment. She immediately lowered her offer to $1000.

I asked to tour the apartment.

Maria offered to mail me the key, as she was in San Francisco and wouldn't be back in Stamford for several months. Apparently realizing that this would be risky for her to do, she wrote again asking for a sort of safety deposit wired not to her but to a friend or relative of mine.

Clues here?

1. The broken English. By itself, not altogether alarming.
2. The immediate reduction in price. Hmmm, suspicious.

3. Oh wait, you mean she's not local? Danger, Will Robinson.

4. The scammer's tool of trade: a wired sum of money. Ding, Ding, Ding! If this isn't a scam, I'll eat my hat!

Of course, "Maria" did turn out to be a scammer, and she nearly got away with Garrison's $1,000.

The story, linked above, is a lengthy one but well worth your time if you use the Internet to look for apartments.

As always, the Easy Rent Editor advises both prospective tenants and property owners alike to only do business with locals, and to only accept payments via American-issued checks and money orders. Payments should be for the exact amount charged; do not let someone issue you a check for more than that amount if they require you to send them back the excess.

The Easy Rent Editor loves the Internet and its global reach, and I wholly advocate going online to do just about everything -- including apartment searches. Just be wise. The Interent is rife with fraudsters; learn how to identify them and you'll be OK.

Public foreclosure, eviction records widely distributed among rental property owners

2007-03-15T13:14:00.000-05:00

Homeowners who have succumbed to foreclosures and tenants who have been evicted should be aware that these mistakes and misdeeds are public record, and real estate investors in Ohio are not shy about sharing the information they've collected about potential renters with one another.

Rental property owners in Ohio are becoming an increasingly well-organized force and, within the private confines of their various associations and clubs, they frequently disseminate these public records.

Sure, it has always been easy for a landlord to visit the local courthouse and search for a potential renter's name within public records. In some cases, one can even access the information online via county government websites or newspaper archives. But the dissemination of these records, which one Ashtabula County association, for example, calls its "Caution List," eliminates even this minor hassle and effortlessly puts a potential tenant's public records right in the hands of rental property owners.

Due to my past affiliation with one Northwest Ohio real estate investment association, yesterday I received in the mail a list of two months worth of area foreclosures and evictions, complete with the names, and in some cases the addresses, of evicted renters and homeowners in foreclosure.

My place on the association's private mailing list, either because I have "former paid member" or "friend of" status, makes my receipt of this information perfectly legal.

Associations which participate in the distribution of similar lists, however, would be wise to keep the information from circulating publicly under their sponsorship, as a potential tenant with a good lawyer may be able to bring a case of defamation against the associations should he or she be refused housing based on one of these lists. Although the fact that the information on the disseminated lists is factual and public record would likely guarantee a court victory for an association, the association would probably do best to avoid lawsuits altogether.

Interestingly, I once raised the subject of potential defamation in objection to such lists at an area association's membership meeting and was told that the kind of person who is evicted is not the kind of person who can afford a lawyer.

Associations that want to protect their members from potential lawsuits may want to follow the aforementioned Ashtabula County organization's lead, if they aren't already taking precautionary steps. The Ashtabula group has posted a statement on their website indicating that "due to liability issues," its Caution List is no longer available online.

One presumes the list is still available to association members.

It may sound as if I'm overly criticizing real estate investors' and rental property owners' associations, but on the contrary this blog entry may in fact make such associations more attractive to non-members: An annual association membership fee may be well worth the easy access to the names of people who have been locally evicted. Foreclosure information, too, is valuable information for real estate investors looking to pick up new properties.

What tenants need to know is that just as a bankruptcy or conviction will follow a person for years and affect job, housing and financial opportunities, so may an eviction or a foreclosure.

So pay those bills, and pay them promptly.

Spring cleaning is for renters, too

2007-03-14T14:14:00.000-05:00

I couldn't have been the only person in Northwest Ohio yesterday who unsealed the corners of winter's heavy plastic window coverings to invite the sun and fresh air into my apartment for the first time in months.

After all, it was 73 degrees outside. Who could resist opening the windows?

I might be one of few people who actually took down her blinds and soaked them in the tub with a bit of dish soap, though.

I'm no fastidious freak, believe me. The crumbs and dust hiding in my keyboard are evidence of that. But the fresh air was inspiring and my thoughts turned to spring cleaning.

Why, you might ask, would a renter bother to do spring cleaning? You don't own the property so why do you care?

Well, aside from the obvious reason of personal pride in your living space -- which I realize might not, you know, "do it" for you -- there are practical reasons, too.

At some point, you will move out of your rental apartment or house and hope to get all or part of your security deposit back. And take it from me, four years worth of baked-on oven drippings does not a fun cleaning task make. Neither do the two inches of vacuum-resistant dust that suddenly appear on your carpet from behind your couch, desk and bookshelves when you remove them and other furniture on move-out day.

And about that dust -- if you're allergy-prone, like me, allowing it to accumulate does nothing good for sneezing and watery eyes. The mold in your bathroom and kitchen isn't helping either. Nor is the cat hair stuck to your couch cushions.

But enough of making my case.

Ready to take on the task of spring cleaning, I went searching online for a project list to plan this season's attack on household grime and clutter. The thought of cleaning one's house or apartment top-to-bottom is a bit overwhelming, and it's hard to stay motivated if you try to do it all in one swipe.

What I found was a very well organized checklist for a Complete Spring Cleaning at About.com. The checklist is divided by rooms, which will allow you spread your spring cleaning out over several weeks if you choose. It also includes time-saving tricks and tips to get your family (or roommates) on board.

Some of my other thoughts on spring cleaning:

- Rubber gloves are for wussies.
- The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, manufactured by Proctor & Gamble, should get its own holiday.
- You don't necessarily need a lot of special formula and pricey products to clean your house or apartment. Vinegar, baking soda and bleach are inexpensive deodorizers and stain-fighters.

Happy cleaning, fellow renters.

Spring forward: A good time to check credit reports

2007-03-12T15:29:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you've spent the last couple of days shuffling around your house or apartment changing your clocks one-by-one to reflect Daylight Savings Time. By now, even your microwave should be displaying the correct time.

Public safety officials have for years also run a successful awareness campaign which urges residents to also choose bi-annual time changes as an opportunity to test smoke detectors.

Prompted by an editorial in today's Cincinnati Enquirer, the Easy Rent Editor also proposes that fall and spring time changes are a great time to check your credit reports. May and June are popular months for Ohio's tenants to begin new rental leases, and an unexpected glitch or error on your credit report can make the process even more troublesome than apartment-hunting already is. Better to have advance notice now in March, and begin taking measures to correct erroneous information -- or pay off any debts in collection that you've forgotten.

Since the inception of the Easy Rent Editor blog, I've included in my links section a referral to www.annualcreditreport.com, which is the only online source authorized by the Federal Trade Commission to provide free credit reports. The service allows you to check your credit with each of three major credit reporting companies -- Experion, Equifax and TransUnion -- once per year.

Spending a few minutes today to verify the accuracy of the information on your credit reports can save you hassles and headaches the next time you apply to rent a new apartment, buy a car or house, or even look for a new job.

Flipping foreclosures 101

2007-03-08T05:26:00.000-05:00

What have the Internet, late-night infomercials and the A&E network done to our collective conscience?

Well, they've gone and made everybody think they're potential real estate investors, that's what.

You, yes you, for the low, low price of $49.99 can order this top-rated brochure, "How to Make a Million Bucks by Investing in Real Estate."

It's a scam. They're all scams.

And you don't need no stinkin' scams.

If you're interested in breaking into real estate investment and in particular, flipping houses, How a First Time House Flip Went Bad is a quick and easy read that will help prime you for what to really expect.

Undaunted? OK, I refer you next to a very well-informed article in this week's Toledo Blade, Foreclosures open doors for investors, by Gary T. Pakulski.

And that didn't cost you a penny.

Give those landlords a badge

2007-02-27T05:14:00.000-05:00

Meanwhile ... to our east, in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, city officials have proposed a law which would make property owners responsible for any criminal acts conducted by tenants within 1,000 feet of their rented residences.

Landlords whose tenants break the law in close proximity to their dwellings could be ordered to pay for police investigation work, and they could also lose their rental permits.

Story here, from Newsnet5.com.

Can't a cold tenant get a break?

2007-02-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

One Lucas County apartment tenant The Editor knows quite well recently opened her February Toledo Edison bill, which I -- I mean, she -- expected to be around $50 or $60, and was so stunned she immediately suspected the amount due was a typo.

The bill was for $191.15 -- for a small, one-bedroom basement unit that isn't even occupied on weekends. Even in August when this tenant was running central air conditioning, her electricity bill was $42, based on an actual reading.

Granted, the $191.15 amount due was to reconcile previously paid electricity bills for November, December and January which had each been based on "estimated" electric use. But even so, the current amount due, if accurate, meant that the tenant's heating costs had more than doubled her monthly kwh usage each and every month since October.

Curious as to whether this was even possible, considering Northwest Ohio's mild winter season prior to mid-January, the tenant called Toledo Edison. Toledo Edison assured the tenant that in fact the bill was correct, and the customer service representative proceeded to school the tenant on basic arithmetic. The tenant was puzzled, because her question was not at all related to the arithmetic of the matter.

Uhhh, I have the bill right in front of me, and I can see the numbers, and yes, I know how to add.

Oh, Toledo Edison.

But I digress. The point of this post is that in the 17 days since she -- oh, hell with it -- since I called Toledo Edison and requested a re-reading of my meter, I've taken a little time to research what, if anything, an Ohio resident can do about surprisingly high and unexpected heating bills in the winter time.

The first thing I found out, via the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), is that utility companies are supposed to make attempts to resolve customer disputes within 10 days. Psssst, Toledo Edison, are you listening?

The second thing I found out, also via PUCO, is that Ohio utility customers have the right to request up to two meter re-readings per year, at no charge.

PUCO's website also provides information about energy assistance programs here. Note there are several references to "community action agencies" as the administrators of some of the assistance programs. PUCO website visitors are given vague instructions to "contact your local community action agency," but there is no contact information on the PUCO site.

To identify your local community action agency, and to obtain contact information for agencies, visit the Ohio Department of Development's website here and click on your county's name as shown on the map of Ohio.

Meanwhile, I'll be sitting here shivering with my thermostat set at 64 degrees. Because apparently 68 degrees is indulgent and expensive.

Sandusky County foreclosures rise 202 percent -- could it happen to you?

2007-02-02T16:42:00.000-05:00

Northwest Ohio renters thinking of making the leap to home ownership may want to heed idiomatic advice and look first.

The Toledo Blade today reported that local foreclosures sky-rocketed in 2006. Citing RealtyTrac figures, the Blade revealed that Sandusky County's homeowners fared the worst among area residents trying to hang onto their houses. The county's 2006 foreclosure rates jumped 202 percent from 2005.

Foreclosure rates in the same period also were up in Lucas County by 59 percent, and in Wood County, by 45 percent. Statewide, foreclosures rose 64 percent.

In simple terms, foreclosures happen because homeowners cannot pay their mortgages. And in Ohio's soft real estate market, even homeowners who attempt to sell -- sometimes at dramatically reduced prices -- before foreclosures befall them are having little luck.

The market, then, looks primed for buyers: Reduced! No money down!

But beware. If foreclosure rates have climbed so high, could it happen to you?

The answer is yes.

One common mistake that can lead an inexperienced home buyer to foreclosure down the road is using a pre-qualification loan figure too liberally. Don't rely on your mortgage lender to tell you how much home you can afford; frequently these pre-qualification figures don't factor in the costs of insurance, taxes, maintenance and repair, and how these costs will affect your budget. Or, rather, the home buyer himself doesn't factor these costs into the loan figure.

Just because you're approved for, say, a $110,000 mortgage loan doesn't necessarily mean you should actually borrow $110,000. Your lender's pre-loan figures indicate the maximum amount you can reasonably be expected to pay back.

Paying the maximum amount you possibly can for something doesn't make much financial sense and it's one reason people get into financial trouble.

Think of it this way: If there are two gas stations in your neighborhood, and one is selling gas for $2.15 a gallon and the other is selling gas for $2.09 a gallon, it doesn't make any sense to pay the extra six cents per gallon just because you have that option. One might argue that the more expensive gas station sells a better cup of coffee, or has friendlier employees, but the fact remains that if you patronize that station, you will may more for gas than is necessary.

So, view your pre-qualification loan figures similarly and be conservative when shopping for a home. A full tank of gas is a one-time small purchase, but your mortgage is likely to be the biggest single payment you make every single month for the next 30 years.

For other tips and advice on home-buying and avoiding foreclosure, visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Development's website here.

On hiatus and expecting changes ... .

2007-01-20T15:58:00.000-05:00

"The Editor" has been on hiatus! The company which spawned this blog is in the process of being dissolved, and the Editor is in the process of looking for a "real job!" Stay tuned.

Also, Blogger has asked me to switch to their "new" Blogger interface. I understand there have been transitional problems for other bloggers when attempting to switch. So if the Easy Rent Editor disappears for a few days, or looks wacky the next time you visit, suspect that I am in transition.

Last, there is one bit of news to report regarding a story we've been following here on the Easy Rent Editor: Gov. Ted Strickland, upon being sworn into office earlier this month, chose as one of his first acts to strike down the bill former Gov. Bob Taft signed into law which would have protected manufacturers of lead paint from lawsuits. There was some debate as to whether or not Strickland was actually allowed to do this, but the last I heard his decision stands.

Party hosts, resolve to check your insurance policies

2006-12-28T12:56:00.000-05:00

It's party season, and with New Year's Eve looming large on the calendar the Insurance Journal today advises renters and homeowners alike to check their insurance policies if they are among the nation's 28.5 million holiday party hosts.

The Journal cites a Trusted Choice study which found that most party hosts are underinsured and therefore open to financial ruin should the worst happen.

The article quotes Madelyn Flannagan of Trusted Choice: "If you host a party and your over-served guest drives away and gets in an accident, you can be held responsible."

Adding a personal umbrella policy to standard homeowner's or renter's insurance, which can provide a policy-holder with an extra $1 million or more in liability coverage, may be something to consider. Umbrella policies are typically priced at around $150 a year.

Flannagan says, "People don't buy umbrella policies because they think they have enough coverage from their homeowner and auto policies -- but they don't. The high dollar value of jury awards coupled with skyrocketing health care costs means one lawsuit can easily exceed the liability limits on the average policy."

Meanwhile, if you are a renter who doesn't have an insurance policy at all, Kiplinger's Personal Finance urges renters to take that step and protect themselves and their belongings. The magazine includes obtaining renter's insurance as one of its Five Financial Resolutions for Young Adults, published today.

Wall Street Journal says renters are gloating

2006-12-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the Wall Street Journal this week, an article ran today in the Ventura County Star (California) claiming, "Amid a slump, renters gloating."

The article, which can be accessed at either website although the WSJ requires subscription registration, admits that home ownership still comes with notable advantages over renting -- including tax deductions, increased valuation long-term, and housing security.

But it also declares, "Now, with the housing market in a slump, renters who sat out the boom are finally getting some satisfaction."

It features the stories of American professionals who have decided to rent, rather than buy, their homes, including a software engineer, an economist, an information technology specialist, and an architect.

Landlords targeted by overpayment scammers

2006-12-27T01:24:00.000-05:00

Watching the NBC-24 Toledo 11:00 newscast last night, a segment on the waning year's most widely perpetrated scams definitely caught my ear.

That's because apparently the 10th most popular scam of 2006 was one that may continue to target the property owners who offer their listings for prospective tenants to browse at www.easyrentcheck.com -- or at any other online rental vacancy search site for that matter.

Because NBC-24 doesn't yet have the story on their website, I went looking for a similar recent story from another news outlet. Sure enough Alberta, Canada's Business Edge News didn't let me down and writer Brock Ketcham details the scam and others like it here in an article published last week.

The scam begins with an e-mail to a property owner advertising an available apartment or house for rent. The person e-mailing the property owner claims to be interested in the unit but there are a few catches.

The "prospective tenant" discloses that he or she is currently living outside of the United States, and will be transferred by his or her company to the city in which the apartment or house is available. Scammers say the company will issue one large international check or money order meant to cover all the "prospective tenant's" moving expenses and housing costs. What scammers will want you to do is cash the check or money order and wire back to them the excess beyond what is needed for rent and application fees.

This might sound like a good deal at first, particularly if the person inquiring about a rental unit offers to pay for an entire year's rent up front, which many do.

But I'm going to go out on a limb -- though I feel confident that it's a pretty structurally sound one -- and state that in 100 percent of these cases, the check or money order is a fraud.

Should you actually cash a fraudulent check or money order and wire any overpayment back to the sender, you'll be out thousands of dollars. Most bank tellers, and even their supervisors, cannot tell right away that a check or money order, particularly one not printed or authorized in the United States, is a fraud. It can take days or even several weeks for the document to be declared fraudulent and bounce in your account; and by that time, the original sender will be long gone and virtually untrackable. Any money you deposited into your own account from the fraudulent check or money order will be summarily reclaimed by the bank, as it never actually existed in the first place -- and you'll owe your bank in the amount of whatever the "overpayment" was that you wired back to the original sender.

Any website and its users are open targets for scammers. Scammers are a crafty lot, and there is really no way to entirely stop them. Website administrators and Internet users can, however, take precautions.

When we first went live with www.easyrentcheck.com more than a year ago, our company e-mail addresses were almost immediately targeted by exactly the type of scam described above, and since then we've tried to take steps to discourage scammers from targeting our users.

The first, and most important, thing we wanted to do was educate our site visitors about Internet scams. While this blog post is a timely reminder, we did many months ago begin to run a series of banner ads on our site which aimed to make our users more savvy about scams. We also hoped that the appearance of ads on our site would let scammers trolling the site for victims know they weren't dealing with uninformed property owners.

You can see our most current ad here; clicking it links to here, where there are descriptions of different varieties of fake check scams. (I tried to post the image, but Blogger for some reason will not let me do it, perhaps because it is an animated .gif.)

The second thing we did was to geographically tailor our site advertising with Google, to make it just a bit less likely that international web users would find our site. Of course, anyone anywhere can find any site online if they know where to look for it, but we have elected not to make it any easier by configuring our Google-based advertising to only show up for Internet users in and around Northwest Ohio.

We at www.easyrentcheck.com are always looking for new and affordable ways to protect our users from falling victims to scammers. But we can't do it alone! When you advertise your property on our site, please be savvy about it. We advise all our landlords to only accept queries from local applicants and rental payments only in American currency, preferably only U.S.-issued money orders or checks from local banks.

Blade condemns city's lead paint lawsuit

2006-12-22T15:36:00.000-05:00

A week ago, we reported on state legislators blocking lawsuits against former lead paint manufacturers. As anticipated, Columbus city officials rushed to file such a suit before the law could go into effect.

Columbus joins other Ohio cities that are pursuing these types of lawsuits, including Lancaster, East Cleveland and -- right here in Northwest Ohio -- Toledo.

The editorial board at the Toledo Blade today came down hard on city governments that are aiming to hold the former manufacturers of paint containing lead -- outlawed in 1978 -- responsible for the clean-up of properties still harboring the substance. You can read the Blade's editorial here.

Attracting tenants, subleasers with "photo marketing"

2006-12-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

Whether you're a property owner seeking a tenant or a tenant yourself seeking a subleaser, today's vacancy advertising methods have largely moved to the Internet, where marketing advantages abound.

Most online listing services, in contrast to traditional newspaper classified advertising, allow you unlimited space to describe your property. No more counting words, relying on weird abbreviations or deciding if it's more important to mention the unit's brand new hardwood floors or that cats are permitted with an additional security deposit.

Additionally, most online listing services now allow advertisers to include pictures with their listings. At www.easyrentcheck.com, for example, we allow up to five photos with each listing.

Few listing services will come to your property and take photos for you (although at www.easyrentcheck.com, we will) so an advertiser is often charged with the task of photo-taking himself. And make so mistake! These photos aren't like snapping pictures of your kids at the beach or catching Grandma opening her Christmas sweater; the photos you take of your rental units are bona fide marketing tools which can make the difference between a potential tenant calling you for a viewing appointment or calling someone else. And in a competitive rental market such as we see in Ohio cities like Toledo and Fremont, you need to run photo ads that get attention instead of getting overlooked.

So says Steve Burns, real estate professional and author of the real estate investment blog Cash Flow Treasures. Burns also happens to be a professional photographer, and he shares some excellent photo tips in a recent blog post titled, "Photo Marketing Tips to Say 'Attention Buyers!'"

Burns writes, "Your ability to control light, align perspectives and create an effective composition will drastically improve the power of your photographs." To read his tips on how to do just that, click here.

It's a coup! "Time" names you person of the year

2006-12-17T20:01:00.000-05:00

No, you're not Bill or Melinda Gates, or George Bush, or Rudy Giuliani.

But you, yes you, have something in common with them.

If you're stopping by this blog before moving on to write in your own, or if you're planning to visit YouTube or update your Myspace profile later today, or if you regularly contribute to your favorite online forum or advertise your goods and services online -- you've just been named Time magazine's 2006 Person of the Year.

Time has chosen ordinary citizens who are revolutionizing the Internet, and at the same time the concept of a global community, to wear its annually appointed badge of honor and join the likes of Giuliani, Bush and others who've earned the nod in recent years.

In last week's edition Time's editors wrote, " ... for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, Time's Person of the Year for 2006 is you."

Read the entire article and related stories at Time's website here.

And then give yourself a pat on the back.

Lawmakers block suits against lead-paint manufacturers

2006-12-15T10:09:00.000-05:00

From Columbus Dispatch reporter Jim Siegel this morning, reporting on Ohio House and Senate votes that critics charge will weaken state consumer protection laws:

Ignoring a last-minute warning from the current and future state attorneys general that they were about to "undermine" consumer protections, the House and Senate yesterday approved a bill to cap damages available under the Consumer Sales Practices Act.

The bill, amended and passed in about 26 hours, also will effectively block anyone, including cities, from suing lead-pigment manufacturers to get them to assist with the cleanup of houses where the poisonous paint still poses a danger, especially to children.

The move is expected to prompt Columbus city officials to move quickly to file a lawsuit before the law could take effect. Gov. Bob Taft has not said whether he will veto the bill.

Before the votes, lawmakers saw a first-ever joint news release from Republican Attorney General Jim Petro and Democratic Attorney General-elect Marc Dann. It said if the bill passed, "one of the nation's best consumer protection laws will be gutted and consumers will have little protection against unscrupulous businesses who have little incentive to comply with the weakened law."

Petro and Dann said the bill would adversely affect Ohio's anti-predatory lending law, set to take effect in two weeks, which puts much of the home lending industry under the Consumer Sales Practices Act.

The bill says noneconomic damages, often awarded for pain, embarrassment or other suffering with no monetary value, are capped at $5,000 under the Consumer Sales Practices Act. It still allows for economic damages, which in a number of cases can be tripled by the court.

Republicans said that still leaves potentially big court damages.

"We have not gutted it," said Sen. David Goodman, R-New Albany. "We've done what it was originally intended to do."

An animated Speaker Jon A. Husted, R-Kettering, insisted that when they passed the predatory-lending law this spring, noneconomic damages had not been awarded before, so lawmakers did not think they were available under the Consumer Sales Practices Act.

That changed, he said, when the Ohio Supreme Court said in November that such damages were available. So the legislature felt compelled to react.

"To say we are doing anything that messes with the intent of predatory lending is false," Husted said, adding that lawmakers are adding noneconomic damages where he didn't think they existed before. "So as far as statute goes, this helps people with predatory lending more than it hurts them."

Sen. Joy Padgett, R-Coshocton, who sponsored the predatory-lending law, voted against the damage limits yesterday, saying "the changes took a few steps backwards."
Petro called the bill "a step backward that will leave Ohioans vulnerable."

Asked about Petro's statement, Husted said, "He wasn't part of the debate on the bill. He wasn't here and he didn't sit through all of this, so he doesn't know what he's talking about."

With lead paint, legislative Republicans said they were acting to stop trial lawyers from filing nuisance cases that are actually product-liability cases.

"What the plaintiffs' lawyers are doing now in the paint context is akin to trying to hold the fertilizer manufacturer responsible because the hogs stink," Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, said, adding that lead-based paint has been outlawed in the United States since 1978.

"Anybody should have painted their walls between 1978 and now," he said.

Most agree that cities could not win a product-liability lawsuit against paint companies, because they cannot prove who made the paint on every wall, and the statute of limitations would run out.

Rep. Mike Foley, a Cleveland Democrat and former director of the Cleveland Tenants Organization, said because the older dwellings where lead-based paint is most prevalent are often in low-rent areas, the landlord community can not afford to properly clean up the paint.

That, he and others argued, leaves local taxpayers stuck with the bill.

"Basically, we're letting the lead-paint industry off the hook for the harm they caused our children," he said.

Article here.

Ohio rent costs pinch working class families

2006-12-14T11:19:00.000-05:00

A housing advocacy group released findings this week which show Ohioans on average must earn $12.31 an hour to afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition's annual Out of Reach study concludes that even when Ohio's hourly minimum wage hikes to $6.85 in January, many Ohioans will still find themselves struggling to pay rent, particularly single residents living alone and families dependent on one wage-earner.

According to the study, the average Ohio renter makes $10.81 an hour. At that wage, a renter would have to work 46 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, in order to afford the state's average, fair market-priced, two-bedroom apartment which was calculated at $640 a month.

That's not entirely un-doable, but what about Ohioans making less than the average renter's $10.81 hourly wage?

The study found that based on Ohio's current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour a renter would have to work 96 hours a week, year-round, to afford the same two-bedroom apartment. Or, a household must include 2.4 minimum wage earners working 40 hours per week in order to make the average two-bedroom apartment affordable.

Locally, 32 percent of Toledo metropolitan area residents rent their homes and the estimated mean hourly wage for Toledo renters is $9.97.

The study concluded that Toledo area hourly wages needed to afford local fair-market rent costs are $8.42 for a studio or efficiency apartment, fair-market priced at $438 a month; $9.37 for a one-bedroom apartment, priced at $487 a month; $11.60 for a two-bedroom apartment, priced at $603 a month; and $14.96 for a three-bedroom apartment, priced at $778 a month.

Toledo's minimum-wage earners, then, even after the wage hike in January, will still find themselves unable to afford even a modest efficiency apartment.

Figures compiled for each of Ohio's counties are also available online at the coalition's Ohio study search page.

A search for Sandusky County data, for example, shows that 25 percent of the county's residents are renters and the minimum hourly wage needed to afford an average-priced one-bedroom apartment is $9.19.

In Wood County, where 29 percent of the county's residents are renters, the hourly wage required to afford an average-priced one-bedroom apartment is $9.37.

The study based its calculations on the generally accepted rule of thumb which states that "affordable housing" should make up no more than 30 percent of a wage earner's income. Data from the United States Census Bureau, HUD and the Consumer Price Index contributed to the coalition's findings.

The Cincinnati Enquirer published a story on the findings yesterday and quoted the coalition's president Sheila Crowley as stating that even a federal minimum wage increase to $7.25 an hour, as proposed by Democrats, would still leave millions of minimum-wage earners across the nation struggling to afford housing.

Crowley told the Enquirer that Americans who spend more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing have to cut costs on basic needs like food and child care to make ends meet.

"You have to juggle," she said. "You have to make adjustments -- none of them good."

Exclusive offers for new Easy Rent Check users

2006-12-13T10:51:00.000-05:00

Did you get our holiday greeting in the mail?

We hand-picked an elite group of area landlords to receive our postcard, but if we overlooked you and you'd like to get on our mailing list, please leave your contact information in the comments section below; or, to protect your privacy, use the Contact Us form at Easy Rent Check.com.

Members of our mailing list receive occasional notices of money-saving deals and special promotions for services at Easy Rent Check.com. Members are not required to participate in these promotions, and our company does not share or sell our mailing list with anyone.

To our new users, we'd like to say: Welcome aboard! And Happy Holidays!

Dog abandoned after residents vacate

2006-12-13T09:33:00.000-05:00

Ohio media seems not to be reporting it yet, but West Virginia outlets including the State Journal are reporting the story of a deaf, elderly boxer left to starve to death in a Belmont County, Ohio home when his owners moved out.

According to video at the news outlet's site, the 12- to 14-year-old dog was found emaciated and near death when a neighbor noticed him through a window of the empty house and called the authorities. He had no food and very little water -- in which, a large dead rat floated. The home's back door was open and the heat had been turned off; and the dog was suffering a respiratory infection.

The news story does not divulge whether the dog's owners -- who have been identified and will be charged with animal neglect -- were renters or homeowners skipping out for whatever reason, but we include this story in the Easy Rent Editor blog because it may interest landlords who allow their tenants to keep pets.

This is not the first time such stories of animal abandonment have made news, and it probably won't be the last. Easy Rent Check.com urges landlords who allow pets on their property to visit their recently vacated units soon after tenants move out. It shouldn't be your responsibility to make sure your former tenants take their pets with them, of course, but since similar cases of animal abandonment aren't as rare as you might think, we guess it's less uncomfortable to deal with your local dog warden or humane society than it is to remove a dead animal from your property.

Auditors comply with new Ohio landlord law

2006-12-12T08:27:00.000-05:00

Local county auditors' offices are making it easier for landlords to comply with Substitute House Bill 294, enacted in September.

The law aims to make it easier for officials to contact landlords in the event of an emergency on their properties and it eliminates cases of "missing landlords" who cannot be found to address nuisance issues at their rental sites.

It requires all landlords to register their contact information with county auditors and, in the case of an out-of-state landlord, to appoint an in-state agent to serve as a contact person.

Local county auditors in many cases have made available printable versions of the HB 294 contact forms on their websites. Landlords who have not yet complied with the law may follow the links below to the appropriate county auditors' sites and print a form for mailing.

Lucas County Auditor's Office, form here.
Wood County Auditor's Office, form here.
Sandusky County Auditor's Office, please pick up a form at 100 N. Park Ave. Suite 228 in Fremont.
Seneca County Auditor's Office, form here.
Hancock County Auditor's Office, form here.

Meanwhile, the Youngstown-based Vindicator newspaper is reporting that legislators are already considering watering down the measure and revising it to require only landlords owning four or more rental units to submit the proper contact forms. Easy Rent Check.com, however, advises all landlords to comply with the law as it is currently stipulated.

Corp offers web-based property management

2006-12-12T07:55:00.000-05:00

Daily Business News reported today that DIY Real Estate Solutions, Inc., has unveiled a low-cost, web-based property management software program for landlords and property managers.

Managers and owners who take advantage of the software will be able to track vacancies, move-ins, delinquencies and financial data without having to buy or download expensive software program packages since the process is entirely web-based and available any time a user is online.

DIY is currently offering a free 30-day trial at its website, http://www.diyresolutions.com/.

Cuyahoga Falls investor buys 4 Toledo properties

2006-12-08T12:49:00.000-05:00

The Toledo Blade today reported that four local apartment complexes have been purchased by a Cuyahoga Falls real estate investor who plans to spend $4 million on improvements.

The article cites Lucas County Auditor's office records which show that Daniel E. Karam and his Karam Managed Properties purchased Miracle Manor, Sunny Dale Estates, Abbey Run and Hunter's Ridge earlier this month.

Toledoans may recall that Miracle Manor, at Laskey and Jackman roads, has been the site of two major fires in the past three years.

Karam stated to the Blade that he spent $19 million to acquire the complexes. The purchase adds nearly 1,000 individual units to his real estate portfolio, which includes 5,000 other units in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

BG students go to court over secuity deposits

2006-12-08T11:51:00.000-05:00

The BG News, campus paper for Bowling Green State University, today published an article revealing that in the past two years there have been 14 student lawsuits over security deposits filed against BG landlords, including five against the owners of Copper Beech Townhouses.

Students have claimed that their security deposits were withheld erroneously at the end of their leases.

At issue in at least one Copper Beech case was the company's requirement that tenants hire a professional carpet cleaner before vacating the property. The requirement seems to be at odds with Ohio law which, according to BG News writer Cassandra Shofar, states, "tenants are not responsible for normal 'wear and tear' on a residence. You cannot be held accountable for cleaning costs unless the cleaning required is excessive or constitutes some sort of damage. For example, you cannot be charged for carpet cleaning, unless you damaged the carpet."

The article cites a similar case against Winthrop Terrace, in which a security deposit was withheld from a student for carpet cleaning. The 2005 case, Shofar reports, was dismissed and Winthrop returned the student's full deposit.

Bowling Green students are offered two pieces of advice in order to avoid disagreements about their security deposits: Document all of the rental's flaws and items of disrepair upon moving in, and take advantage of the university's Student Legal Services both when signing a lease and again later, if disagreements arise.

The 10 best real estate books of 2006

2006-12-07T11:34:00.000-05:00

Pondering Christmas gifts for the real estate professional on your shopping list?

Consider the advice of Robert Bruss, real estate writer for the Naples News in Florida, who recently offered up his list of the 10 best real estate books of 2006.

Topping the list is a book which, not surprisingly, pays homage to Donald Trump.

"Trump-Style Negotiation," by George Ross, the mogul's own trusted advisor, reveals the real estate negotiation tactics which have made Trump one of the most successful real estate professionals ever. The book cites the details of actual Trump accquisitions and is published by John Wiley and Sons.

The rest of the list:

2. “The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner,” by David Bach (Broadway Books, New York).
3. “Buy Even Lower,” by Scott Frank and Andy Heller (Kaplan Publishing Co., Chicago).
4. “Real Estate Debt Can Make You Rich,” by Steve Dexter (McGraw-Hill, New York).
5. “Bubbles, Booms, and Busts; Make Money in Any Real Estate Market,” by Blanche Evans (McGraw-Hill, New York).
6. “Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies,” by Dirk Zeller (Wiley Publishing Co., Indianapolis, IN).
7. “Everything You Need to Know Before Buying a Co-Op, Condo, or Townhouse,” by Ken Roth (AMACOM Publishing, New York).
8. “Who Says You Can’t Buy a Home?” by David Reed (AMACOM Publishing, New York).
9. “Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur,” by James A. Randel (McGraw-Hill, New York).
10. “The Reverse Mortgage Advantage,” by Warren Boroson (McGraw-Hill, New York).

Honorable mentions in the Bruss column go to, among others, “Find it, Fix it, Flip it!” by Michael Corbett (Plume Books-Penguin Group) and “Landlording on Auto-Pilot,” by Mike Butler (John Wiley and Sons).

Visit your local bookseller to shop for these titles; or visit http://www.amazon.com or http://www.barnesandnoble.com for convenient online ordering.

Ohio's smoking ban exempts residences

2006-12-06T10:29:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, the statewide smoking ban voters approved in November will go into effect.

The Canton Repository has published a nice Q & A about the ban, and reminds us that smoking is still legally permitted in private residences, including rented homes and apartments.

Landlords, however, are not required to allow smoking in their units. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission does not consider "non-smoking" stipulations to be discriminatory.

The Editor's prediction: Expect before long an argument to be made that apartments in multi-unit buildings should not be exempt from the ban because smoke can travel from individual units into hallways, which can be reasonably described as public spaces.

Real estate and the Internet surge

2006-12-05T12:59:00.000-05:00

Never mind the fact that 99 percent of this Yahoo article is an advertisement for a Houston-based real estate developer.

After all, it was written by PR Newswire. That's what they do.

So, Northwest Ohioans, never mind that for a minute and instead note this little nugget:

The article cites research from the National Association of Realtors which reports that an estimated 77 percent of home buyers used the internet to search for a home in 2005, compared to only 2 percent just one decade ago.

This usage reflects a remarkable 3,750 percent increase in just 10 years.

While the association's 2006 report is specific to home buyers, it follows that prospective renters are also using the internet in large numbers to search for their next home.

The most recent research I have on renters' online search habits is from a May, 2005 Nielson NetRatings report which combined prospective renters and buyers into one sample group and concluded that in the six months prior to the study, 21.6 million web surfers visited a real estate or apartment search web site -- representing a 26-percent spike in just that short time period alone.

Interestingly, in that time period the greatest web traffic increase to real estate and apartment search web sites was at the keyboards of lower-income surfers earning not more than $25,000 a year. That group's internet-based home searching jumped 47 percent, according to the NetRatings report.

Whether you are selling or renting out property, the time has come to ask yourself: How many potential buyers or would-be tenants are you failing to reach if you're not advertising online?

December deals for Northwest Ohio landlords

2006-11-30T11:19:00.000-05:00

Landlords! Are you on http://www.easyrentcheck.com's mailing list?

Get on board and receive exclusive notice of our December listing promotions and specials by entering your name, mailing address, e-mail address and phone number on our contact page.

Section 8 landlords owe $400K in back-taxes

2006-11-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

An I-Team investigation for 13 ABC-WTVG has revealed that local landlords who continue to receive government money to provide low-income housing owe a combined $400,000 in real estate back-taxes to Lucas County.

During last night's 11:00 news broadcast, I-Team reporter Ronnie Dahl interviewed Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz who said that according to a department audit, nearly one in five local Section 8 landlords were behind on their property tax bills. Following 15 months of collection efforts, a combined $400,000 tax bill is still past due.

A representative of the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority, which administers Section 8 contracts with local landlords, told WTVG that the LMHA resists terminating contracts with landlords who owe back-taxes because administrators do not want to see Section 8 residents displaced from their homes.

Kapszukiewicz said that 52 county entities -- including the Toledo Zoo, Toledo Area Metroparks, TARTA and local public schools -- rely on property tax monies to fund their operations.

"If you're going to have your hand out to receive federal government money, HUD money, to be a Section 8 landlord," warned Kapszukiewicz, "you better made sure you're using your other hand to pay your real estate taxes."

WTVG currently does not have a text version of their report on their website; however as of this morning you can access the video report from the station's home page.

BG landlord's lawsuit against city will proceed

2006-11-22T04:56:00.000-05:00

A Wood County judge has refused to dismiss a Bowling Green landlord's lawsuit against city officials.

The suit, filed by the owner of Brentwood Estates LLC, claims that city officials conducted stealth searches of tenants' mailboxes in order to obtain information about occupancy in the rental units as part of the city's crackdown on Bowling Green's maximum occupancy law.

You can read about the ruling that the lawsuit will be allowed to proceed here in the Toledo Blade, which reports that Bowling Green's maximum occupancy law has been on the books since 1975, but has been more strictly enforced only in the past few years. The law states that a maximum of three unrelated persons may live together in one residential unit in neighborhoods that are zoned single-family residential.

And you thought YOUR roommate was bad ... .

2006-11-19T08:09:00.000-05:00

Sure, your roommate may have stiffed you on the phone bill last month, and maybe he or she mooches your food, but a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Akron has a roommate story that might beat out all other bad-roommate stories.

The University assigned him to a dorm room with a 45-year-old ex-con who served prison time in the 1990s for robbing an elderly woman with a pellet gun.

As reported in central Pennsylvania's Beacon Journal, the University is now reviewing its don't-ask, don't-tell policy regarding admission of felons to the school and its residence halls.

Must you accept pets to avoid being sued?

2006-11-15T04:33:00.000-05:00

Does a tenant's bipolar disease mandate that you allow him to own a cat?

How about a tenant's depression? If his doctor suggests to the tenant that he get a dog to alleviate his depression, are you required by law to allow the dog to live on your property, even if all your units are advertised as "No pets" units?

If you refuse to rent to a person claiming to need a pet for bipolar disease or depression, are you violating Ohio Civil Rights laws?

According to a recent discussion on WTAM 11 (Cleveland) radio host Bob Frantz's blog, "Frantz Rantz," the answer to all those questions might be yes.

What's more, Ohio rental property owners may be shocked to know that the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) allegedly is running sting operations to catch landlords discriminating against people who own therapy animals, in much the same way they investigate claims of discrimination against particular ethnicities or families with children.

The blog entry includes a letter from one of Mr. Frantz's listeners, a Lake County landlord. In it, he details being "stung" by an OCRC investigation which included being duped by Commission plants pretending to suffer, in one case, depression, and in another, bipolar disease. The plants claimed that having pets eased their conditions and inquired if the landlord would bend his "No Pets" policy to accommodate them. After considering their requests, which in one case involved a German Shepherd, the landlord chose not to rent to the depression-afflicted gentleman due to there being small children living on the property. He then turned away the bipolar tenant with cats, stating that since he had just refused to bend his policy for one potential tenant, he could not turn around and bend it for another one.

A full year after turning away these potential tenants, the landlord received notice that he was being sued for discrimination by the OCRC.

We at www.easyrentcheck.com advise all Northwest Ohio rental property owners to talk with their attorneys about their compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, and with the OCRC. If you are approached by a prospective tenant claiming to need a service or therapy animal, it may not be a bad idea to directly contact the OCRC and inquire about your obligations. Last, it is well within your rights to require a medical prescription or letter from a prospective tenant's medical doctor, to prove that indeed the service animal is necessary.

Surely in the case of a visually impaired person, or one who is wheelchair-bound, the necessity of a service animal is obvious and in most cases, the animals used to assist persons with these disabilities are rigorously trained, tested, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and certified as therapy dogs. But what about less evident disabilities, such as mental disorders, and what about classifying any ol' untrained, uncertified, unneutered, hair-shedding, fear-aggressive, barky, bitey Spot or Fido with an unknown veterinary history as a "therapy animal"?

Unfortunately, in the case of mental disorder-prescribed therapy animals, there is no certification or training program required to classify dogs or cats; and there is no legislated list that states for a fact which diseases, disorders and conditions medically require the assistance of animals and which ones do not.

This is where it gets confusing for rental property owners, who may find themselves -- like Mr. Frantz's listener -- unknowingly and unintentionally breaking the law.

easyrentcheck.com site news

2006-11-13T07:08:00.000-05:00

We at www.easyrentcheck.com are pleased to announce that we've contracted D.A. Wyatt, the creator of http://www.buckeye-classifieds.com, to make some changes and fix some of the quirks at our site.

We had been having a slight problem with our Search by ID feature in that our drop-down menu refused to put listing IDs in the correct numerical order, but thanks to Ms. Wyatt, it's working fine now.

Also, we now have separate Private Policy, Terms of Service and Equal Housing Opportunity pages on our website. Our web designer had previously put these items all on one page, but now they are more easily accessible to our site visitors.

But the most exciting changes are yet to come!

We've long been dissatisfied with the www.easyrentcheck.com sign-up process, which requires property owners with vacant rentals to pay for their listing space first and then create their User ID account second. This has always seemed a bit backwards to us, and we've asked Ms. Wyatt if she can re-write the process so that users will create their User ID account before being asked for any money. The new sign-up process idea seems much more ethical and it should be more comfortable for new users at our site. It will also allow property owners to create an account even if they do not currently have a rental vacancy to advertise; later, when a vacancy needs to be listed, they will easily be able to log in under their username and purchase a listing credit.

Additionally, we at www.easyrentcheck.com have been dissatisfied with our site's inability to allow users to renew their listings. Currently, if you as a property owner list your vacant rental unit for 30 days but then decide, as your 30 days are about to expire, that you'd like to extend your listing to 60 days, the database requires you to purchase an additional 30-day listing and re-enter all your property's information. We realize this is terribly inconvenient, and we've asked Ms. Wyatt to explore options for allowing users to self-renew or extend a listing beyond its initial listing period. We will keep you posted if it looks like this will be possible. In the meantime, if you'd like to extend your property's listing, please use the Contact Us link on our site and let us know. We will manually extend your listing at no cost to you! Make sure to let us know, though, before the listing expires. Once Day 31 hits on your 30-day listing, the information will have already been deleted from our system.

Last, we want to apologize to each of our users who have created a Notify Me alert at our site. It seems we have a bit of quirk with it; users are receiving multiple Notify Me e-mails when in fact they should only receive one each time a new rental listing matches their search preferences. It is never our intention at www.easyrentcheck.com to spam a user's e-mail account! We cannot apologize enough for this inconvenience, and rest assured that we are working on the problem.

Sincere thanks to our users for their patience as we upgrade www.easyrentcheck.com, Northwest Ohio's locally owned rental search site.

Landlords must now register with county auditor

2006-11-05T18:29:00.000-05:00

Here's something The Editor hadn't heard about until she read Friday's Toledo Blade.

The Blade reports that a new law requires the owners of rental properties to register their contact information with their respective county auditors.

According to the article, the law went into effect a month ago, although neither Lucas nor Fulton county auditors are yet prepared with the proper forms for registration.

From the article:

It isn't always easy for police, fire, and housing code enforcement officials to quickly find the owner of a rental unit in a crisis.

That is because property records sometimes list only the name of an obscure corporate owner without solid contact information.

But a new Ohio law aims to correct the problem.

It requires owners of rental housing - even one living unit - to register with the auditor of the county in which the dwelling is located. They must furnish the name of a company official along with an address and telephone number for the owner.

They are required to list and provide information about each property owned in the county. And out-of-state owners must identify a contact person who lives in Ohio.

The complete article, written by Gary T. Pakulski, is linked above.

Foreclosure and rental trends: Good news for landlords?

2006-10-31T16:54:00.000-05:00

Recent reports say foreclosure rates are up and rental vacancy rates are down, two national housing market trends that may bode well for landlords here in Ohio.

As reported by PR Newswire citing a third-quarter study by RealtyTrac (TM), national foreclosures are up by 17 percent since the second quarter of 2006.

The same study ranks Ohio fifth in the nation in foreclosure rates, up 23 percent in the third quarter with 19,748 foreclosure filings in July, August and September.

Meanwhile, New York-based real estate research firm Reis, Inc. has reported to the Associated Press that a study of 75 national markets reveals monthly rent prices are up 3.9 percent since 2004 while vacancy rates are down 1.3 percent, reaching a low nationwide average of 5.4 percent, in the same period.

Hang on to your shoes, folks, because The Editor is about to attempt a moment of statistical synthesis, and she's not really trained to do that sort of thing.

It would seem that the renting population -- traditionally students, recent grads, the elderly, the metropolitan upwardly mobile 20-something, and lower-income families -- is increasing, perhaps being joined by families who can't meet the demands of rising interest rates on their adjustable rate mortgages as well as families who can't afford the high prices of homes currently on the market.

It would follow that landlords are seeing a larger pool of candidates when they advertise their vacancies, and that they would have fewer vacancies to advertise. But is this true in Ohio? The Editor is interested in your thoughts; please leave her a comment if you'd like.

Using incentives to sell or rent out your property

2006-10-29T22:27:00.000-05:00

Owners who have recently placed their Ohio property on the market may find that merely listing it for sale isn't enough anymore.

Witness an emerging trend in Columbus, where sellers are having to get creative in their attempts to attract buyers and motivate their real estate agents.

As reported in the Columbus Dispatch this weekend, sellers are now offering bonus incentives to buyers and/or real estate agents. A Worthington couple profiled in the article is offering a pair of November 18 OSU-Michigan game tickets to the real estate agent who brings them a buyer. Other Columbus-area sellers have offered a Volkswagen covertible and vacation packages to entice buyers.

These enticements may be no big surprise to landlords who've long adopted incentive-based marketing to fill their vacant units. The Easy Rent Editor frequently browses "for rent" classifieds and has noted that especially in metro areas, it's not uncommon to find "first month free" or "utilities included" offers to attract tenants.

It's something to think about in this current buyer's market -- if you're hoping to attract responsible tenants who are increasingly likely to be swayed into forgoing rent altogether and deciding to buy a home, what incentives are you offering to keep them on board?

Well, heck!

2006-10-26T15:07:00.000-05:00

We got ourselves a brand spankin' new blog. The Editor is pleased! Stay tuned.