Archive for January, 2009

Selling Property for Profit

January 5th, 2009

This is definitely not the time to become a house flipper, in fact for some it?s difficult to just get rid of a property at cost. If you?re thinking about unloading your home or investment property, you?re obviously going to want to get the highest possible return on your investment. To do this you may have to adopt some house flipper strategies.

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Invest to make money. In every residential market there are things that people want in their homes and things they do not. It ranges from the most simple things in some properties, where they want to see a clean and freshly painted place to the most complex in others where marble, granite and amenities are highly desired. You have to know your market and know what the trends are in your area and then try to incorporate a few of them into your home so you can advertise them and make them a draw for prospective buyers. Don?t go into debt trying to make the sale, but take some steps to create highlights.

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Look at the property. You may have good feelings in a home but new visitors don?t know this so it?s your job to set the stage. Make the home feel inviting but not cluttered. If you have a highlight photo of the property, like a beautifully lit winter scene or blooming trees and flowers, put them up so guests can see what the place looks like in other seasons. But remove all personal photos and other effects that make the place yours.

Historic Sports Stadiums

January 2nd, 2009

shutterstock_1869830It’s not enough to say that when Yankee Stadium closed this year it was the end of an era. It was the end of history as we know it. It was the House the Ruth Built, the home of the 26 World Champion winning Bronx bombers and it really should have gone out in a blaze of post-season glory. But it was not to be.

The cathedral of baseball was built in 1922-23 after John McGraw, the owner of the New York Giants, kicked the Yankees out of the Polo Grounds. The relationship between the teams began deteriorating when the Yankees added Babe Ruth to their roster and the tenants started eclipsing the owners of the ball field. In 1920 Yankee attendance doubled to 1,289,422, 100,000 more than the Giants. Yankee co-owners Jacob Ruppert and TillinghastHuston set out to build a spectacular ballpark of their own, baseball’s first three-tiered structure. With an advertised capacity of 70,000, it would also be the first to be labeled a “stadium.” (more…)

How to Break a Lease

January 2nd, 2009

Change is a fact of life and quite often you can’t prepare for the change before it comes up and smacks you in the head. Some change is great and makes your life better and some change is for the worse but most often change has a little bit of each element. One bit of change that can be bad for both a tenant and a landlord is a lease that has to be broken because of a life change.

If you’re in the position where you have to break a lease take a look at the original lease you signed. A lot of leases have an early-release clause which will let you get out of the lease early with very little penalties. This is of course based on your reason for breaking the lease, you can’t break it just because you want to, but a divorce or a job transfer will most likely qualify.

Then go to your landlord or the property manager immediately and explain to them the situation which is causing you to break your lease. You’ll find that people are more understanding and flexible if you’re honest with them as soon as possible. They don’t want to be put in a bad situation and may be willing to let you find a subleaser to fill out your remaining lease, or they may let you go without any further obligation if they can find a replacement lessee.

When to Evict

January 1st, 2009

The process of evicting a tenant is difficult and can be tedious and although every state and city is different, it’s still not something to be taken lightly. An eviction means you will be losing tenants and have to go through the process of finding? new ones. It also may mean weeks or months or court visits and paperwork to get the current tenants out. And if you have a soft heart, it means you’re putting someone out of their home. But there are just situations where a landlord needs to stand up and take charge and evict tenants so that new and better ones can take their place. If the following situations occur take the steps necessary to evict your tenants.

If you’re not getting paid or you’re getting the rent late then this tenant is one you should think about removing. Not paying the rent is a leading cause for evictions and you shouldn’t have too much legal trouble removing this tenant as long as you’ve carefully documented your payments, late payments and the lack of payment.

Someone is breaking the lease. This is where you need to really have your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed. Check your governing laws to see if you have any special stipulations, like you have to give the tenants the right to cease and/or desist. There may be hoops you have to jump through for this sort of eviction, but it’s worth it.

The tenant is causing problems for other tenants, perhaps even forcing them to leave. This is even a stickier situation as you will have to document everything and get statements from other tenants, if the offending tenant is breaking the law you’ll also need proof of that. Follow any and all local laws for this sort of eviction as it’s a bit trickier than others, but well worth the process as it will improve the reputation of your property and make other tenants much happier.

Remember to check all of your local laws on evictions before you begin the proceedings, this will help you follow the correct steps and make the process smoother.