Daytona Beach moved into second while Fort Myers took fifth. Orlando ranked fourth, Ft. Lauderdale number eight and Tampa at number nine. The other five cities in the top ten rankings were Las Vegas (No.1), Detroit (No.3), Warren, Mich. (No.4), Bakersfield, Calif., (No.7) and Rochester, N.Y. (No. 8).

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3. No Vacancy

Realtors help people buy and sell houses.  That is their job.  If they are working for a buyer, they need to sell them on buying a particular house.  If they are working for a seller, they need to sell a house to somebody.  Real Estate is essentially an ‘outside sales’ job, meaning 90% of the job is finding ‘prospects’  and the other 10% is actually selling.  The reason I point that out, is that compared to an ‘inside sales’ job, where you have leads and spend 90% of the time selling and 10% prospecting, the ‘inside salesperson’ will develop better sales skills faster. 

The result is we wind up with a lot of realtors who are in a sales position, with little actual selling experience and can come across as aggressive, desperate or just too ‘salesy’.   I know there are a lot of realtors who are great salespeople, but there is an old saying that 10% of the realtors close 90% of the business.   With experience as a property manager in Wesley Chapel and Tampa, FL,This saying is becoming a little clearer now. 

The point is that property management is a different animal than realty.  You have to think as a long term investor and how to maximize the return on investment.  You have to be able to negotiate with both tenants and owners and keep both happy.  You have to know the laws and have all your paperwork in order.  You have to make a lot of judgment calls on maintenance and tenant applications.   Mistakes can cost a lot of money.

A property manager is meant to be a partner in your real estate investment.  When it comes to your portfolio, don’t just go for a name brand or an amateur sales pitch.

For expert property management in Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida contact Sun Rock Property Management

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1. As Home Prices Decline, it is a Great Time to Invest in a Rental Property

The current rental market is Hot.  The recent record number of foreclosures have left families displaced, bank owned properties sit empty and mortgages are hard to come by.  Throw in unemployment  and depreciating properties and you get a high supply of prospective tenants.

Properties shouldn’t be sitting vacant long in this market.  Most of our clients have new leases started the day after their old tenant’s lease ends.  With 60 days notice and a hot rental market, how could you have vacancies?    Any good property manager should, on average be able to rent your property in 2 to 3 weeks, if not, something is wrong.

When I look at properties online I see some that have been vacant for 200 to 300 days??  Property management in Wesley Chapel. This is ridiculous and I believe it is mainly from realtors telling owners what they want to hear and not being responsive to prospective tenants.

This rental market will be hot for the foreseeable future, but won’t last forever.  Investors should be maximizing  their opportunities while they are there.

For Expert Property Management in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota Counties contact Sun Rock Property Management

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3. The Other Number

Finally the last day of summer, I walked into the gym and could smell the dank air.  I could tell immediately the air conditioner was broken again.  This was the second time it broke this summer and a different gym I was going to back in April had a broken air conditioner too.  I discovered a broken AC at a vacation property over the weekend and it seemed like every where I went I couldn’t escape the heat. 

The AC broke at my house one steamy August day, and recently the power was out for over 5 hours.  I drove around for two of those hours just to have air conditioning.  It felt like all I did was deal with air conditioners all summer as about 70% of our properties had AC problems and one needed to be replaced.  Invoices for repairs ranged from $70 to $700.  Although people said this summer just felt hotter because the winter was so cold, it sure was a long, hot summer.

I remember when I was first learning to structure real estate deals, they said you had to calculate cashflow by including rent, mortgage, taxes, insurance, homeowners dues, property management fees, vacancy and maintenance.  The money they set aside for maintenance seemed pretty high, and I really didn’t pay much attention to it.  I thought I wouldn’t have those type of problems.

The very first tenant call I got was for a  broken AC on the 4th of July right after I had bought the property.  Since it was a holiday, I couldn’t get anybody out there the same day.  The tenant was not happy, I ended up with a $400 invoice and I thought, ‘welcome to real estate investing’.

So when analyzing investment property in Florida, find out the age of the AC and factor in money to have it checked once a year for preventive maintenance.  Buy a year’s worth of air filters for the tenants, show them how to change them and remind them to change them out often.  Plan for the worst, and hope for the best.

Usually it is right around Halloween when the time changes and we get that first cool front.  Then we have six months of perfect weather.  Snowbirds do it right!

For pre-purchase consulting and expert property management in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, contact Sun Rock Property Management.

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Most property management companies are run by Realtors.  They can manage your property, or sell it, or whatever.  Too bad for you the Realtor can make a lot more money in a lot less time if they throw your property on the MLS, have a buyer come along,  and get a 4% commission instead of managing it.

 The mindset of a realtor is not the same as  a real estate investor.  Realtors are salespeople, helping people buy and sell their homes regardless of capital gain or loss.  Investors are seeking high returns on their money, generating cashflow and building wealth.  During the boom and bust of the mid 2000’s, many realtors got burned thinking they were investors just because they were in the real estate business.

Usually a Realtor will get into the property management business, thinking it is easy and will generate a little extra income. The result is a domination of Real Estate Agencies, who also do property management.  Would you hire an electrician who does a little plumbing on the side to fix your sink?  No, you would hire a plumber.

The lack of focus and priority among these companies makes finding a good property management company hard.  Sun Rock Property Management was developed by real estate investors to offer an alternative to the realtor/property management companies.  

Property Management is all we do.

For focused, efficient management with a personal commitment to you, contact Sun Rock Property Management.

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When you have record numbers of foreclosures like the United States has had over the last few years, you get record numbers of renters.

The most amount of people in history have been losing their homes to foreclosure, when this happens the person:

A. Doesn’t have a place to live

B. Has bad credit

C. Can’t qualify for another mortgage

So where do these people go?  Some may have to move in with family, but the majority will be looking for a place to rent.

This means that there are currently a record number of people that are interested in renting a property.  This is good news for our property management company, since it makes finding tenants very easy.

In some recent cases, we have had people bidding up properties over the advertised rental price.  Once properties are rented, we continue to get tons of phone calls and emails of people trying to find a place or see if we have anything similar.

Owners who can capitalize on this opportunity can increase their cashflow and limit vacancies on their properties.

For expert property management in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, contact Sun Rock Property Management.

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These numbers always skew in favor of purchasing a home instead of renting, which is what they want you to do anyway.  Buying a home and paying it off in 30 years does make sense financially, but who really does that anymore? 

To make an intelligent decision in times like these, you have to go outside the numbers.

Will I live in the property for 30 years?

What is the total cost of ownership of the property?

What if I get transferred or move?

What if I can’t find a tenant or a tenant doesn’t pay?

What if I lose my job?

What if property doesn’t appreciate for the next 15 years?

What repairs/renovations will I have to do?

What if my taxes, insurance and homeowners’ dues increase?

Ask yourself a few of these questions and see if renting might be the right choice for you, right now.

Sun Rock Property Management is a full-service property management company in Florida, with a portfolio of properties from Apollo Beach to Sarasota, Florida.

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1. The Effect of Record Foreclosures