tenant – Page 2

June 26, 2012

Information Systems Planning for Letting Agents Part Two

Continuing on from last weeks post where we discussed the placement that software programs may have in an agencies overall strategy today we begin to look at the five steps of the IS (Information Systems) plan which is adapted from Gabrielle Piccoli book on Information Systems for Managers.

Step One: Know who you are, strategic business planning.

Always ensure there is a long term plan for the overall direction of the agency before developing your IS plan. Software is an enabler of such plans, for example as an agency you may want to grow the business to a stage where you will require more offices/branches. In this case you may pursue a software package that is going to help catch tenants and landlords attention and improve the value you provide to your customer. On the flip side your costs may be badly affecting profits so you may be in pursuit of a system which will significantly reduce administration costs such as printing and accounts management. So you have an idea of why you need the software now its time for step two.

Step two: Know where you start: Information Systems Assessment

Once the agency has a clear grasp on the role of software in the organisation we must assess the current situation your letting agent is in. So there is a few key things we do here, firstly note the different types of software or hardware you use to manage data. Is Microsoft excel your one stop shop for accounts? Is all written communication with landlords done via you E-mail account etc? How are sales calls and service calls recorded and managed? Where are invoices stored and managed and so on? Basically you want to access the role systems even as basic as Microsoft word are working for your agency and especially to access if they’re effective in terms of the business strategy.

Thats the technical side of the assessment but don’t forget the people. Planning for the use of IS or software programs always involves four things people,technology,process and structure, each interlinked for ensuring efficient use of IS or software programs. Question your staff members or in the case of an individual running an agency on the use of such systems and what they may lack or require to help you. For example you may have the latest accounts management system for dealing with all your inbound and outbound payments but if the staff are struggling to use the system then it may not be effective for the business. I have often heard of payments being missed by an agent or landlord due to basic mismanagement of information where the software didn’t ensure payments are received etc, there is numerous other things you may notice at this point. All of this then leads to the main step which is creating the vision for IS in the agency, that will be discussed in the next blog 🙂 Please comment with your thoughts and share if you found this useful or interesting.

Information systems planning for letting agents part one

by Rentview

June 25, 2012

How to read your electricity / gas bill with Electric Ireland

“How come my bill is so high?” As a letting agent or landlord a common question you may get from a tenant is exactly that. In most cases its not that the bill is so high its about understanding the bill. For some tenants they may not be familiar with how the utility companies work. This can be the case for first time tenants and foreign tenants renting in Ireland for the first time more so. They may not be familiar with deposits or how the billing system works.

Through this useful link provided by Electric Ireland you can now see what exactly everything means. Now the next time you get a call from a tenant asking “How Come my energy bills are so high” you can go through the bill and help them understand what everything means.

From my own experience a lot of the times I got asked this question was based on 2 points.

1. Reading was an estimate. A bill can be estimated when the meter reader employed by the utility company to visit a property and read residential readings could not gain access to the meter. (Meters can be located inside a property and sometimes locked away in communal meter rooms) If this is the case the utility company estimates the readings based on previous consumption.

2. Security Deposit. When you open a new utility account the provider in most cases will seek a security deposit against the account. This has been brought out over the last few years to help protect the utility company against tenants absconding with a large unpaid bill.

You may also find our previous Blog on: Opening an account with an energy provider useful

Click through here to view the interactive bill Reading your electricity / gas bill with Electric Ireland

As always we would be happy to hear your feedback on this topic.

Please feel free to comment, share , tweet etc.

by Andreas Riha

May 21, 2012

Cloud Computing for Property Letting /Management

Cloud computing is very much in vogue at the moment. It’s one of the latest “buzz” phrases in business today. But what is it? How can it help you as a property manager?

Simply put, cloud computing is the applications and services offered over the internet. Resources, software, information are shared and delivered as a service. All data and documents are stored on a server. It is not locked to any one device or operating system; it can be accessed by any device that has an internet connection.

Some benefits include:

It’s cheap – no hardware/software upgrades, installation fees etc., all you need is an internet connection
Great Storage capacity
Maintenance is provided by the seller
Flexible – accessible anywhere at any time

There are a vast amount of vendors to choose from for property management applications, Rentview being one of them. With Rentview, a single click of the mouse can inform both the landlord and tenant that rent has been received, send the latter a receipt and update the accounts. All records can be accessed instantly, there’s no need to frantically search the filing cabinet for the relevant document. There’s also an inventory facility, allowing pictures to be uploaded and text to be entered which can go a long way in solving a dispute at the end of the tenancy. It reduces the stress and hassle that comes with managing a property by storing the data in an easily accessible place. Visit the website rentview.com to find out more.

You may also enjoyreading – Landlords accounts and maintaining them

by Andreas Riha

May 11, 2012

Managing property, rentals and landlord deductions through Rentview.com

You’ve advertised the property and found the perfect tenants; all that’s left is the administrative tasks. One of these tasks is collecting the security deposit. The main purpose of a security deposit is protection from costs associated with damages that go beyond normal wear and tear e.g. broken windows, appliances, smoke stains etc. or the non-payment of rent. The deposit is taken at the very start of the tenancy, when all the paperwork is being taken care of. It usually amounts to one month’s rent, although some landlords might ask for six weeks’ worth. A separate document should be prepared when taking the deposit, (preferably on company headed paper) stating the tenants’ name, landlord’s name, agent dealing with the property, the property itself, the amount and the date. The tenant should also receive a receipt for the payment, again on headed paper.

Similar to a previous blog on rent payment issues, landlords can also cause some hassle when they owe money for invoices. You’ve organised for the plumber or the electrician to go to the property to fix whatever the problem is, they’ve done a good job and now they’re waiting to be paid. And waiting. And waiting. This can have severely negative effects on the contacts you’ve built, possibly as bad as ending the relationship. Like tenants, landlords may just need a gentle reminder in the form of a phone call. If that doesn’t work, try moving to an email and if they still haven’t paid then a formal letter. In extreme situations, the pressure that a solicitor can bring might be needed. But take a positive outlook and hope that it won’t come to that!

A solution to this problem would be to offer property management and a rent collection service. Offering a property management service without the collection of the rental payments can result in far more headaches then the additional work in the collection of the rents. Your agency will be able to increase revenues by offering full management and rent collection. Not only will this increase your offering but now you will have happy tenants who are getting issues relating to a problem rectified earlier. Happy tenants = Longer tenancies.

Through Rentview your landlords can see the deductions that will be made in advance of the rental payments being made. This way when the rent comes in you as a rent collection agent can make the deductions and pay your service men on time. Your landlord is kept informed in advance of deductions through his own login to his accounts, your landlord can view the invoice relating to the property and have his end of year accounts only a click of a button away. Your workmen are happy to continue to work for your agency on credit. Its a win, win.

As always please feel free to comment, share, tweet or follow us

You may also enjoy reading – Landlords accounts and maintaining them

by Andreas Riha

April 26, 2012

Rent Arrears Notice

The rent is late; there’s no sign of it being paid and you can’t get in contact with the tenant. What can you do? Depending on the relationship with the tenant, a gentle written reminder stating that it is late and providing contact details may be enough. Unfortunately, many times this won’t be the case and you may have to go down the route of issuing a 14 day rent arrears notice.

Residential Tenancies Act

Under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, this notice must be in written form, specify the date the notice is served, the amount of rent due that has not been paid and if the amount isn’t paid with 14 days of the date of receiving the notice, a 28 day notice of termination may be issued. The safest way to issue this is through registered post, but there is an easier alternative. Rentview will automatically generate this notice for you and sent it to the tenant at the appropriate time, taking the hassle out of drafting the document and sending it. Visit the website for this and many other services.

Here is an example of a rent arrears notice

You also might be interested in –

PRTB Adjudication process & Rent payment issues and tenants

Please feel free to comment, share, tweet or follow us.

Thanks for reading!

by Andreas Riha

April 23, 2012

Parking in apartments

Parking Permits

Parking permits are the norm for parking in apartment complexes nowadays. The introduction of parking permits in apartments was necessary to reduce the possibility of people parking in the wrong space or a space that is reserved for someone else.

Property management companies

Property management companies benefit from parking permits in apartments in a couple of ways, below are the main ones.

Collecting management fees

If a property’s management fees were not paid, a parking permit would not be issued by the property management company. If the property was a let property, the tenant faced the possibility of clamping and as a result the pressure was placed on the landlord to pay the fee or face an empty rental property.

Managing Illegal parking

If parking within some complexes is not enforced, it can lead to illegal parking which is both dangerous and a problem. Think of cars parked on paths and corners which block pedestrians’ view of crossing. One of the serious pet hates amongst many drivers is double space parkers such as below.

No permit

For an apartment complex with a greater number of car parking spaces, for a number of properties an agent could be tempted to not organise a permit. Before an agent does this they should consider this situation – the agent lets the apartment and the tenant moves in happily. The next day the agent receives a phone call from the tenants saying they have been clamped, and there’s a fine waiting to be paid. The tenant could potentially leave the agency liable for the clamping fine, or the tenant could argue that the landlord should pay. Sounds like quite a mess, doesn’t it?

Here are a few of solutions. Firstly, don’t move the tenants in until you are sure that there’s a fully paid permit in place. Or if the tenants are eager to move in and there is no permit available as yet, explicitly state in the contract that this is the case and give the date one is expected to be received. Also include who should pay the fine if the tenant is clamped in the interim.

Clamping fines

Fines will vary from £20-£180 depending on the location and the clamping companies policy. Some other changes include banning clamping in hospitals, introducing a two-tier appeals process, providing more ways of paying the fine and having a register of clamping operators. These operators can be quite difficult to deal with, as your situation isn’t as important to them as getting the fine paid.

Image Credit EllBrown

On street parking

County councils offer parking permits to residents for on-street parking, enquire with your council to see if you qualify. As a landlord, tenant or managing agent you can apply to your county or town council for on-street parking permits. Each council differs in its requirements so contact your local council to see if you qualify.

You might also be interested in Keeping a tenant happy

by Andreas Riha

April 18, 2012

Preparing a rental property

Showings are a key part of the rental process, they allow potential tenants to get a good feel of the property, which goes a long way in helping them decide whether to rent or not. They can also be a handy tenant screening process to find out which potential tenants match the landlord’s requirements. Showings are generally easier when the property is currently vacant as it gives more time to prepare. Try to arrange all showings for the same day so no time is wasted, but make sure the times are staggered so there’ll be no overlap. If the property is occupied then this may be more difficult.

Preparing a rental property

Before the showing: Make sure the property is in tip top shape. This will mean notifying the landlord of any damages/repairs needed, possibly arranging carpenters, plumbers etc. to fix problem areas. The property will need to be cleaned from top to bottom which the landlord may be happy to do, or they may require the services of a professional cleaning company. Freshen up the walls and floors if they’re looking dull with some new paint or a proper cleaning. Repainting can have the wonderful effect of re-energising a room and making it look brand new. Again, this will all need the go ahead from the landlord. Don’t forget to mention any problems with the exterior of the property or the garden.

If needs be, get in a professional cleaning company. There are lots of cleaning companies specialising in end of tenancy cleaning which will help in preparing a rental property for showing.

On the day of the showing: Do a last minute check to make sure everything is satisfactory. If there are any unpleasant smells, eradicate them with an air freshener spray or some incense. Make sure the property is well-lit; open curtains and turn on lights if necessary. Prepare to answer all questions to the best of your ability. This will mean knowing the property and the area inside out, as potential tenants are bound to have many questions for you.

If there are tenants currently living in the property: If you have built a good relationship with the tenants then there should be no problem in asking them to do a bit of cleaning and tidying before the showing. There should also be no problem in asking them to vacate the property to allow the showing to take place. This is the ideal, and we all know that tenants can be problematic. If they are letting you down during showings then you must talk to them. Explain why the property needs to look a certain way and politely ask them to make sure it’s that way in future. If there’s no improvement, provide some sort of incentive for them, like a voucher for a restaurant or a reduction in the last month’s rent. If that doesn’t work, it may be time to get the PRTB involved.

You might also be interested in the following blog – Choosing the right tenant and managing your rental payments

Please feel free to comment or add on preparing a rental property, tweet or follow us.

by Andreas Riha

March 27, 2012

Tenancy Board

The PRTB in Ireland is also known as the “Tenancy Board”

Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB)

To avail of the PRTB dispute resolution service, tenancies must be registered with the PRTB. Disputes regarding deposits, lease terms, ending tenancies, rent arrears, market rents, complaints by neighbours, breaches of statutory obligations and any other matters related to the tenancy are covered by the service.

To get the process started, a dispute application form (available from prtb.ie) must be filled out and sent in. This costs €25 per dispute. After this, the landlord and tenants will be called for either mediation or adjudication. In mediation, a mediator discusses each side and facilitates each party reaching an understanding that both agree with. This is often more preferable than having a third party decide on the outcome. If the parties don’t want to use a mediator then an adjudicator is appointed, who examines the case in detail and decide on a resolution. This resolution may be binding.

Tenancy Tribunal

If the parties are not happy with the adjudicator’s decision, it can be appealed to a Tenancy Tribunal within 21 days. In some circumstances the Tenancy board may refer a dispute directly to the tribunal. The tribunal consists of three people with relevant knowledge and experience. While not entirely formal, basic court rules apply. Both parties can make their case and call upon witnesses if they feel it is necessary. The tribunal’s resolution comes in the form of a determination order of the PRTB and is binding, unless either party wishes to appeal it to the High Court within 21 days.

March 23, 2012

Property management:Retaining tenants in the longterm

2012 is Well under way how can Agencies work towards a successful year?

Hello and welcome to the weekly Rentview property blog, today I am going to look at the top priorities of company CEO’s and analyse or discuss these in relation to the lettings and management industry in Ireland. The idea for the blog came about after reading through a great report published by Oracle that I received from a lecturer in Strategic Information Systems for Business this week and it highlights some great areas in which managers and company CEO’s are looking to address and improve. The report is titled ‘The Best Defense Is a good offence’ and it immediately stood out to me as the lettings industry has become quite competitive recently with the fall in attractiveness of the market and influx of people renting.

So what were the top needs and business improvement goals identified by the CEO’s interviewed by Oracle? See the table below!

Today I would like to briefly look at the top ranking priority on the list and over the coming weeks I will look to analyse and discuss the other top improvements that agencies may be able to make in accordance with those ranked here. If there is any that stand out, let me know in the comments!

Attracting and Retaining new customer?

A pretty obvious answer that we could have expected from managers and a goal any agency will have a major focus on, attracting tenant brings in the demand we can utilise for securing landlords properties and once we attract the landlord this can lead to long term income for an agency is they are retained successfully through management services. Today’s blog will solely focus on the tenant as the customer and next week we can look at the landlord as the customer for a better analysis or discussion.

There is obvious ways in attracting tenants to your agency with Daft.ie being the hotbed in which they browse the thousands of properties in Ireland but my opinion is that a lot of letting agents do not put enough focus on the retention of a tenant. Check out this recent theoretical model on customer service relationships , the majority of the points are relevant for Letting Agents.

Above-Building a relationship as a PM with your tenant can lead to retention.

If we view the tenant as a long term asset to the company like many other industries it can eliminate a lot of re-occurring issues such as minor disputes over often avoidable issues and the significant time spent in re-letting your properties at the end of lease terms if a tenant is lost. Ultimately an agency should aspire to provide such a high level of service to its tenants that they act as advocates for that agency and create a positive word of mouth marketing channel that really doesn’t exist with a lot of agencies in the Irish market yet.

You want the tenant to be so satisfied with the level of management received they wont go looking on Daft for new properties as the end of lease approaches, and if they are in a position where they need a new or improved property they contact you the agency! That’s all for this one, don’t forgot to comment with your opinions and share the content if you enjoyed the blog. You can follow me at @cormac_rentview and for information on Rentview check out the main site.

rent management software

February 29, 2012

Mould in rented accommodation

Mould

Mould is a type of fungi that occurs completely naturally in nature and its main function is to help with the decomposition of organic matter such as leaves. Not the type of thing anybody would want in their property. They reproduce through spores that float around in the air and only grow into visible colonies when they spend enough time on a suitable surface containing moisture and nutrients.

Mould Growth

Materials that are used in the building of most homes like plywood and carpets are perfect breeding grounds for growth so the key to prevention is reducing moisture. Excess moisture appears after flooding, plumbing leaks, buildings that are too airtight so moisture can’t escape, not enough ventilation near ovens and showers resulting in condensation and general high humidity levels. Condensation also occurs when air gets colder and it loses its ability to retain moisture. Add moisture to warmth and give it a bit of time and you’ve got a new addition to the household.

The most common cause in Irish homes is probably condensation. It’s an internal problem arising from moisture that can’t escape. To prevent condensation and in turn contribute largely to the prevention of mould you should:

Have a good ventilation system in place – extractor fans in bathrooms, exhaust fans in cooking and laundering areas and open windows
Dry windows and windowsills when you notice condensation forming
Insulate cold surfaces well in order to keep central heating low to stop build up on windows, walls and floors
Try to keep carpets and rugs away from water sources like sinks and showers
Dry washed clothes outside as much as possible
Air cupboards and wardrobes frequently

Choosing the right tenant for your property

Removing Mould

If mould is already a problem in the home, the best thing to do is get rid of what’s already there and then take preventative measures. Mould killing sprays can be bought in most local supermarkets and these are effective in removing small growths, although a mixture of water and bleach can also help. If on walls or skirting boards, fungicidal paint can be used after the clean-up to prevent a recurrence of the problem. When cleaning, don’t forget to protect yourself. Rubber gloves, protective goggles and a dust mask are a must for protection against spores, and stop and go outside to get some air if you develop a headache or become nauseous. For larger growths it is recommended to call a professional mould remover. Certain materials like insulation and carpets can’t just be treated, they need to be removed and replaced.

If you spot the beginnings of mould growth (black pinpricks) take action immediately. While not generally toxic, mould can be an irritant and can contribute to respiratory problems. It also causes stains and eventually rots and/or causes deterioration depending on the material it’s growing on.

Whose Responsibility is it?

The simple answer is it’s both the landlords’ and tenants’ responsibility. Before they let a property, landlords should ensure there isn’t any mould growing or remove what’s currently there. Tenants should be informed of how to prevent it, what to do if it starts to grow during their tenancy, and should notify the landlord in case structural changes need to be made.

Other blogs of interest Keeping a tenant happy &

Final inspection and return of a deposit

by Andreas Riha

Rent management software