Property Management Companies: What Do They Do?

Millenials are shying away from home ownership in record numbers, opting instead for the flexibility and freedom that comes from renting. Now is the perfect time to be a property owner as the large demand for multi-family rental properties will continue to push rental rates up, especially in competitive markets. Many property owners, especially those who are new to multi-family real estate investment, can quickly become overwhelmed as needs continue to grow. As they obtain more properties, the task of overseeing them can start to feel like a full-time job in itself. For this reason, owners sometimes consider outsourcing some or all of their responsibilities to a property management company. Some of the services these companies provide include:

Tenant Support
Problems arise for tenants at any time of the day, even on weekends, so owners who want to avoid complaints and angry tenants will need to be available as close to 24/7 as possible. This can be difficult, especially for owners who still have day jobs or those who manage a large number of properties. Fortunately, property management firms can serve as a point of contact for tenants, any day of the week at any time of the day, should an emergency arise. These firms also help tackle day-to-day issues, serving as a liaison between the owner and tenant so that all complaints or disputes are addressed without straining the owner-tenant relationship.

Expense Reports
Expense reports are a valuable asset for owners as they help them recognize when their investment is actually costing them money. This only holds true when reports are prepared correctly, so owners who lack financial management experience might not be seeing the whole picture. When a property management company works on these expense reports, they will track bills the property manager paid, incoming cash, and other expenses occurred on a daily basis. Expenses might include lawn care, electrical work, routine inspections, preventative maintenance, and plumbing.

Collecting Rent
Most owners do not enjoy collecting rent as it puts them in a position to be disliked by their tenants if they are too aggressive. Additionally, owners usually lack the time to put in the effort it takes to go after delinquent payers. Property management firms are able to increase payments using payment plans and other unique alternatives for delinquent buyers.

Maintenance
Maintenance calls can come at any time of day and there are a lot of contractors to choose from. Property management firms use their established relationships with service providers to ensure a well-vetted, capable contractor is hired to address any problems. This not only saves owners time but also guarantees that the job is done right, leading to greater satisfaction among tenants.

These are just four of the many things a property management company can do to make an owner’s life easier while improving tenant satisfaction.

A Home Based Business – Is It For You?

Whether you start an online Home Based Business or a traditional offline business the requirements are much the same. You need to do market research, product development, product marketing, advertising, planning, time management, commitment, and have lots of patience.Regardless of what you read or hear you will not get rich overnight. There are lots of opportunities but there are also lots of competitors. Developing and applying the strategies that are required is almost a full time job in the beginning.The first thing you need is to have a goal.Why start a Home Based Business?What is your objective?How much time and money are you prepared to spend?Where will you run your business at home?When is the best time to work on your business?Having a Home Business gives you some flexibility of your working hours and eliminates the commute everyday. Many people dislike getting up at set times and traveling to work everyday. Although you will still need to work some long hours at first while you get your Home Business up and running.You are going to have to have some self control and avoid all of the distractions that keep you away from your business as you will not have a boss holding you accountable and supervising your work.A home based business is a business just like any other business and it will take some self discipline, patience, and commitment to be successful. There are several approaches that can make you money in your home based business.You can join affiliate programs or create your own affiliate program. The difference between the two being that you will be marketing and selling your own product versus selling someone else’s product.Developing your own product can be very daunting for some people and also keep in mind the competition.Affiliate programs are just one way to run a home based business. If you have professional skills you could do freelance work and work a

A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula

If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.

The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.

The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.

What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.

You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.

The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.

I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.

I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.

Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.

You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.

It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.