Filed under: Property Management | Tags: Chris Hermanski, Home Maintenance, Portland OR, Property Management, property management services, rental property maintenance, rentals, tenants
The Annual Mainlander Property Management Vendor Appreciation Luncheon was held on Thursday, February 17th. It was another huge success! The festivities took place at Mainlander’s office in Lake Oswego and was attended by over 45 vendors. 
They came from all over to enjoy some great food that was either prepared by a Mainlander staff member or brought in from local restaurants like Busters BBQ! Many even found room to enjoy a piece of the giant Tres Leche cake for dessert!
The food, conversation and networking opportunities were much appreciated by all. Over the course of the lunch, everyone had a chance to relax, enjoy conversation and network with each other while the Mainlander staff gave out exciting door prizes to some very lucky winners.
Some prizes and winners included a Portland City Grill Gift Certificate to Willamette Spa, a Nel Centro Restaurant Certificate to Pro Drain, a 2 night stay at Hotel Modera in Portland to Coho Electric and a 1 night stay at Hotel Andra in Seattle to Norm Jensen!!!
Mainlander Property Management appreciates their vendors and looks forward to this event each and every year. It’s a time to give back and say thank you for all the hard work that is put into by these individuals to help make Mainlander the great property management company it has grown to be!
Filed under: appfolio, Goal Setting, Property Management, rentals, rentbits.com | Tags: appfolio, Chris Hermanski, Portland OR, rentals, tenants
From the rentBits Blog:
Chris Hermanski, who owns and operates Mainlander Property Management, places a strong emphasis on setting goals. When asking Chris to name a few things that have helped him remain one of the most successful property management companies in the industry, Chris responded by listing several of the themes that will be outlined in this book:
Prepare for change and have one, three, and five year goals
Surround yourself with good, talented people
NARPM – Learn from others
Be consistent and fair with all
Embrace technology
Filed under: General, Property Management, rentals | Tags: Chris Hermanski, Portland OR, Property Management, rentals, tenants
A common question that Property Managers often hear is, “What is the single family home rental market like?” As you might anticipate, not very well!
The Renter Has Many Choices
There are many factors that contribute to this, including a dismal sales market, a sluggish economy, Oregon’s high unemployment, and LOTS of rental choices. A quick check on Craig’s List revealed over 1750 properties available for rent posted from midnight to 4 pm today. This included all types of housing; apartments, plexes, and single family homes.
Nevertheless, this means the prospective renter has a plethora of choices and in my opinion, probably more choices than ever before. With online marketing, renters can shop and compare like they never have before.
What is a landlord to do?
You must be competitive and resourceful. Unless you are experienced, always available and creative; you’ll want a professional property manager to assist you. Critical details are going to be:
- Is the property in its best possible condition?
- Is it clean and tidy?
- Does the home show pride of ownership?
- Is the yard mowed, edged, green and free of debris?
Renting a Home in this Market Can Be as Tough as Selling the Home
A lot of landlords don’t realize that renting a home in this market is similar to selling a home; it’s all about attention to detail. Pricing is a very critical factor. Homes that are overpriced will sit, sometimes for months.
What a property rented for in the past has little relevance in today’s market. You must compare what similar properties are renting for, how desirable is the property, what are the amenities and does the home have a “cute” factor? All of these conditions have a bearing on how much you can anticipate receiving.
Holding Out for What You Want May Hurt You in the Long Run
Once a rental is priced, be prepared to reduce the rent if it’s not generating activity, usually every two to three weeks. The amount of reduction in rent depends on what price point you are in, more expensive homes will need a larger price reduction than less expensive rentals.
Plan on reducing rent in $100 increments to have a positive impact in this saturated market! In this market, marketing times can vary. If the home is in ‘move-in’ condition (it shows well), a home should rent within two to six weeks. Holidays, adverse weather and other issues can extend this time frame.
All properties must have an online presence in today’s world.
This means you need to capture the property with great pictures, lots of great pictures! They should be:
- Accurate, light and bright and free of distractions.
- Be user friendly; place a link for mapping the location and an option for specific directions.
- Schools are important to many families and this information needs to be accurate. Call and verify to double check on school boundaries, etc.
- You’ll need a well flowing description and explanation of all the features and amenities, along with a description outlining what’s included in the rent.
You Must Carefully amd Consistently Screen Prospective Renters
Properly screening and checking the background of all prospective renters is critical, especially in this market. Proper screening includes a credit check, criminal background check and eviction history. You’ll also want to ensure their employment is verified along with previous rental history. All of these details are standard operating procedure for a seasoned professional manger.
Chris Hermanski, MPM Mainlander Property Management, Inc. CRMC
Filed under: General, Internet Rental Scam Alerts, NARPM, Property Management, rentals | Tags: NARPM, Property Management, rentals, tenants
The National Association of Rental Property Managers (NARPM) Governmental Affairs Committee wants to warn you about an internet rental scam that has been making its way around the country.
Scammers are copying information, photos and text, from legitimate online rental ads and then posting that information on Craig’s List. It is listed with a significantly reduced rent and the property manager’s contact information has been replaced by the scammer’s.
In some ads the text is full of misspelled words and bad grammar but not always. This is because many of the scammers are operating outside the country, typically Nigeria, but many cases have also involved local scammers who are able to meet potential tenants in person.
With international scams, the potential tenants are usually required to send the deposit and first month’s rent through Western Union and are promised that the keys will then be over-nighted to them. Local scammers are often able to copy a key or simply break into a vacant property and replace the door lock with their own so they can actually provide the new tenant with a legitimate key.
In one situation an unsuspecting tenant was actually able to completely move into an apartment without the knowledge of the legitimate property manager. The property manager was only alerted to the problem when the tenant called the office to request that the “For Rent” sign be removed from their front yard.
These scammers are often very sophisticated and can play the part of a legitimate property manager well enough to fool potential renters. Make sure you are checking your vacant properties and Craig’s List on a regular basis. If you find an unauthorized ad flag it so that others will know that it may be fraudulent and contact Craig’s List to request that they remove it from their website.
Some property managers have even posted an additional listing with the same name but included, “THIS IS A SCAM” or similar language at the end of the post to help warn people. This way it will come up in the listing right after the fraudulent post and give the property manager an opportunity to provide the correct information.
The FBI has received countless complaints about this and other rental scams but they explained that this type of crime is low on their list of investigative priorities. If one of your properties gets caught in this scam, we recommend you visit www.IC3.gov and report the crime.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). IC3′s mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of cyber crime.
If you encounter a potential tenant who has been scammed and made the mistake of providing sensitive personal information such as their social security number, it is highly recommended that they go ahead and put a freeze on their credit.
NARPM.ORG 638 Independence Parkway, Suite 100, Chesapeake, VA 23320 P: (800) 782-3452 | F: (866) 466-2776 | info@narpm.org
Filed under: appfolio, General, NARPM, Property Management, rentals | Tags: Chris Hermanski, NARPM, Portland OR, Property Management, rentals, tenants
12:15 PM – Former NARPM past presidents Chris Hermanski of Mainlander Property Management in Portland, OR and Bob Machado, owner of Homepointe in Sacramento, arrive fashionably late for lunch. On Tuesday, the two presidents squared off in golf. Bob, never shy, tweeted the world that he won the two man tournament on an 18th hole par. Sensitive to his friend Chris, Bob did mention that Chris came in a competitive second.
Past Presidents Chris Hermanski and Bob Machado at NARPM Annual Convention – Oct 22, 2009
Filed under: appfolio, General, Property Management, rentals | Tags: appfolio, Portland OR, Property Management, rentals, tenants
We’re excited to share the new face of Mainlander Property Management! We recently revamped our identity, website, and collateral materials.
Our new website will be a great tool to help our owners, tenants, and staff stay connected with one another, and will make it easier to access information about Mainlander’s services.
Please let us know what you think of the new website, and anything else that might help us to better serve you.
Also debuting right now, is our Bi-Monthly Newsletter will offer useful tips, information, and resources. If you’re an owner, we’ll send you suggestions on how to make your properties more energy-efficient and how to foster relationships with your tenants. Tenants: We’ll send you tips for making your home more enjoyable, such as weatherization ideas and thoughts on how to move cost-effectively.
