expertvillage asked:

Uninstalling a dishwasher requires turning off the electricity and the use of a pair of pliers. Shut off the water supply to a dishwasher and take off the wire nuts when uninstalling a dishwasher with tips from an experienced carpenter and construction specialist in this free video series on home repair and maintenance. Expert: Oscar Moreno Contact: www.morenohomevisions.com Bio: Oscar Moreno is the owner of Moreno Custom Home Visions in Austin, Texas. Filmmaker: Todd Green

expertvillage asked:

Locate wall studs using a stud finder or by measuring the space between the studs at 16 inches. Learn how to locate wall studs using the home repair tips in this free video. Expert: Ryan Parker Contact: www.ParkerHomeRenovations.com Bio: Ryan Parker is the owner of Parker Home Renovations in New Braunfels, TX. Filmmaker: Todd Green

Sam Ness asked:




It’s a year 2007, and you’re planning to build a new house for you, and your family.

Let’s assume, that the question of where, has already been answered. Yes, the location is where your design ideas should originate from.

Providing you’ve done your research correctly, the only place you’d come up with would be somewhere in the middle of the rural America. Kansas? Wyoming? Both are good places to move your family to, and put your house plans to reality.

Designing your home will entail two distinctive parts: architectural and that encompassing construction and materials. Both are equally important. Your enjoyment of living in a nice looking house is hard to overestimate. Also, your standard of living will depend on how functional the house is. However, the quality of construction materials and the process itself, will determine the comfort level, and how healthy your dwelling is. Each of those critical parts will be examined below.

Architectural aspects of creating house plans.

Choose design concept that all people who will live there, do like. Compromise may be hard to achieve, but it’s worth the effort. After all, you don’t want anybody who would say: “I hate this place.”

Knowing how difficult it is to combine beauty with functionality, tell your architect the main elements that your new house should incorporate: useable area, how many levels, number of rooms and their purpose, position of entry doors, etc. Any special requirements imposed by the fact that a handicapped, or senior persons will be living there, should be stated at the outset as well.

It’s recommended, that you show your building block to the architect, so that he can better blend the design to the surroundings. This will benefit your future gardening and landscaping works, as well as the Nature left virtually intact.

Final word of advice: try to avoid “ground breaking” designs. You wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig, testing it for others.

After the draughtsman put your architect’s vision on paper, time to contact the builder who will carry on the construction phase.

Before even your first load of building materials arrives at the home site, make sure that your builder clearly understands your preferences. Yes, I’m talking about using, wherever possible, ecologically friendly materials. All timber should be free of preservatives – choose cypress with its natural insect repelling properties. Instead of chemicals-oozing carpets, choose slate or pine floors. Don’t use Besser blocks; mud bricks or stone blocks are much healthier. Try to reduce use of cement as much as possible, due to its high energy use during the manufacturing process, and residual harmful substances. Instead of rendering, leave walls to show the natural beauty of stone, clay, or timber. Try to limit use of paints, as much as possible. If necessary, use odorless and chemicals-free kinds. There are many harmless pigments available, that when combined with water and lime will deliver stunning color finishes, free of harmful solvents. In place of glues, use mechanical methods during the construction process.

House plan, no matter how detailed, in the reality is never possible to adhere to a 100%. Be prepared to make “on the run” changes, still keeping the initial vision of your ideal home intact.

Kevin Kiene asked:




What do property management companies do, anyway? What don’t they do? How much do they charge? Are they worth it?

Whoa there, tiger. We’ll answer your questions about property management, and succinctly, at that.

Landlords and rental building owners hire property management companies to assume all of the headaches involved with managing properties and tenants, allowing the landlord to spend their time in other ways. Typical responsibilities of a property management company include screening tenants, fielding phone calls from them, taking care of all repairs and maintenance, complying with rental laws (such as lead paint tests and disclosures), signing rental agreements and rental disclosures, etc. As an added bonus, they keep track of all the money that’s spent on each property, making your accounting a LOT easier. In a word, they do the everyday management.

What they usually DON’T do is pay your bills, such as your mortgage payment or property taxes (word to the wise: have your mortgage lender escrow for property taxes & insurance, ground rents, and any other recurring bills to save time). Property management firms typically don’t register your rental properties with local municipalities, either.

What do they charge? Property management companies generally charge in the 7-10% range, as a commission of all rental income collected (e.g. if the rent is $1,000, the management fee may be $70-100). This is no small fee every month, and constitutes a major disadvantage to using a management firm, especially when so many landlords only break even or have a small cash flow from their rental properties.

So now the hard part: are property management companies worth the expense?

The answer, of course, is that it depends. You may not be able to afford to pay a management company, if your rental only breaks even each month. But there is something to be said for being able to sleep at night without being woken up by obnoxious tenants calling to complain that the smoke detector needs a new battery, or having to spend your lunch break running out to show a rental property. The fact is that most landlords can handle the management of a few rental properties, but there is a critical mass at which point it no longer becomes feasible to perform property management duties for your rental properties AND do all of your other business tasks.

So my recommendation is to handle management yourself for your first few rental units, and get a crash course on managing rental properties. But when you can’t take it anymore, it’s time to pass the buck along to someone else, and get back to your primary business: making money.

expertvillage asked:

If plunging doesn’t fix a clogged sink, you may have to use a drain snake to clear the clog. Learn how in thisfree online home improvement video, with DIY home repair tips. Expert: Greg Lim Bio: Greg Lim is a professional handyman and residential property manager. In the seven years hes been a contractor, he has fully renovated two houses.

Karen McDaniel asked:




Apartment property management is considered the managing of a multi-unit rental property and the residents or tenants that occupy it. These properties can range from small multi-unit buildings to very large complexes housing hundred of residents. Residential property management is a more industry used term and could include the managing of single-family homes as well as apartment complexes.

As you can imagine the managing of these types of properties can become quite complex and time consuming in comparison to managing a single-family house. Many owners of apartment buildings do not have the time, expertise or the desire to manage such on their own. In these cases, it is recommended to hire a qualified property management company that specializes in apartment property management.

Responsibilities of an Apartment Property Manager

Here are just a few apartment property management responsibilities that could be required of anyone managing an apartment building:

Rent collection Showing available units to prospective tenants Credit and background checks Initiating lease contracts Monitoring and processing lease renewals Enforcing the rules of a lease contract Dealing with violators of a lease contract Handling an eviction from start to finish Mediator when feuds between tenants occur Utilities Grounds keeping Security and safety of premise All types of maintenance issues or repairs you could think of Knowledge of landlord/tenant law Knowledge of fair housing laws
Not ready to manage your Apartment Buildings Yourself

The good news is you can enjoy all the financial benefits of owning these types of properties but not have to deal with the managerial responsibilities of managing them. Some apartment building investors though may decide to take on certain responsibilities themselves. This is a great way to educate yourself, learn from real life experience the in’s and out’s of the real estate investing business and of course save some money. That being said, we highly recommend acquiring legal advice or counsel if you are unfamiliar with landlord/tenant and fair housing laws in your state and at the federal level.

Hiring an Apartment Property Management company

There are many apartment property management companies in your area who are well-qualified, licensed, and well versed in city, state and federal laws regarding the responsibilities between landlord and tenant. If you’re ready to delegate the management of your apartment building today, we recommend interviewing several apartment property management companies. Having an apartment property manager on site at your apartment complexes is a good idea, especially when you cannot oversee the maintenance and renting business that comes with owning larger properties. Often, on-site apartment property managers that maintain apartments will be given their own apartment as part of their compensation.

Things to ask before hiring an apartment property management company

Experience – How long in business. Does the Apartment Property Management team have a proven system in place to streamline operations such as maintenance repair, timely statements, rental deposits, and communication channels? More companies are giving owners access to their property account information via a web site portal. Here you can view your statements, any repair items or rent deposits..etc.

Credentials – Does the Apartment Property Management team possess all licenses or certification required by state law? Unfortunately every state licensing requirement is different. We always recommend using a licensed Property Manager for all your rental property needs whether state required or not.

What percentage of their management portfolio are apartment complexes. If 90% of their portfolio is managing single-family homes, you may want to consider hiring one with more experience in managing larger multi-units.

Get references – Always ask for a current list of properties they manage (do some drive-by’s) and talk to other property owners who are their clients.

We suggest hiring a local real estate lawyer to review the Manager/Owner contract and the Landlord/Tenant contract. And don’t be afraid to request changes be made if necessary.

And go over all the fees involved in the management of your property. Set up fees, lease renewal fees, do they impose a mark up fee for service/repair calls etc. Find out what their cancellation policy is too. Once you think you’ve got all your questions answer, then ask this one “Are there any other fees I should know about that we have not discuss that may affect me?”

Investing in apartments for cash flow

Investing in apartment buildings is a great way to build your real estate wealth. Typically these types of properties do well for cash flow to the investor versus single-family houses where you may see appreciation in value more common. When qualifying these types of properties for your portfolio you will want to take into account the passive income that will be generated along with the expense ratio. It’s all about the numbers. A good apartment property management company should be able to help you in your decision-making.

jen_the_dog_lover asked:


My mother needs to put in a new fence and it seems as if the previous neighbors put the old fence about a foot inside my mother’s property. Of course, if she will put in a new fence she wants to make sure it accurately covers her property. How can we determine where her property boundary lines are at, before seeking a land survey? What LA county office would house this information?

kweendoreee asked:


One of my friends owns a property in the city of Garden Grove, CA. This property has an unpermitted room addition, which the city has ordered him to demolish. He currently does not have enough money to remove the addition. Can he stall the process somehow or what are his options? How long does he have to remove the addition?

The property was purchased in its current condition. The city has ordered him to demolish the rooms and turn it into a carport because the property has no garage. The part of the home that used to be the garage was built into extra rooms by the previous owner who somehow obtained permits for that.

Chris Jenkinson asked:




Minimise your property management to-do list with the right letting property software. Instead of charting lease renewals, rent dues and maintenance tasks by hand, allow the software to do it for you. With the right tool, you can reduce errors while maximizing your time for the more important duties of your job.

Key Features to Look for

Rent payments are likely to differ from tenant to tenant, depending on the number of rooms they pay for, the location of the property, inclusion of utilities and a host of other items. The task of keeping up with the rent for all of your tenants, in light of these differences, can be quite cumbersome. With the right letting property software, you can streamline this process. Rent can be calculated for each tenant based on their particular lease requirements. Reports can be generated to show you those people in arrears. The software should also be able to produce letters to the tenants as well.

If you own a variety of different property types, the right software tools should allow you to incorporate them all. Commercial, industrial, residential and even agricultural properties can be integrated within one system, regardless of whether the rental or lease agreements are long-term or short-term. This means, your accounting and other recordkeeping becomes much simpler and you can even streamline your banking needs as well, even if you handle multiple bank accounts.

The software you choose for your property management needs should also allow for regular updates so you can always keep current with the latest accounting regulations and governmental policies regarding tenants and landlords. If you are the owner of the properties and employ several property managers, choose the software that allows for multiple logins. Each manager could freely enter the data pertaining to their properties while you can easily oversee and check up on their work and productivity.

Implementing a software package into your current business operations can take some time and money initially. However, view it as an investment because you can expect big dividends in the end. These dividends include a reduction in paperwork, greater organization in record-keeping, more time for client relations and marketing and a streamlined process which reduces duplicative efforts and other time hogs.

Choose a software option that can handle your current portfolio but will also grow with you should you want to expand your locations as well as the type of properties. Think of letting property software as the primary building block you need to provide a solid foundation for operations and management of your property portfolio.

Joe Hicks asked:




Renting a property is not just a sign and pay deal. Before the property can be rented, it is the right of the landlord or the hired property manager to check the tenants and their credentials. They are, after all, the ones who will occupy the property for a long period of time.

Checking on tenants credentials is necessary. The property management company is normally in charge of doing this. It is one of their responsibilities. It is also the right of the owner to do so. It is a way of assuring that the rental home will not only be paid for regularly but also to know if the property will be taken care of property.

So if you are one of those wanting to rent a property, expects these credentials to be checked before you will be given the go-ahead signal.

Income And Earnings.

Two of the headaches in property rentals are unpaid rent and late payments. These are what the landlords are dreading the most.

To make sure that these things will not happen, the tenants’ income is checked first and foremost. In the application, the income should be stated. The property manager then contacts the employer to verify if the information supplied is correct. There are cases where documents are even required to confirm the income status.

Credit Standing.

A tenant with good credit standing is what landlords sought for. This basically means that the person pays bills on time and probably is good with managing his or her finances. On the other hand, a tenant with bad credit standing is the opposite of the above.

From the credit score alone, the landlord will know if the tenant is reliable or not. Just like the income, credit score can be checked once all the details are given. A simple assessment is all it takes if the application will be approved or not.

Former Ownership or Rental.

The income or credit standing of a person is not enough for tenants to be approved or not. There is also the issue of past rent and ownership. Landlords prefer tenants with past rental history so they can check them out for feedback.

The landlord not only looks for a good report and referral, he or she also checks if the tenant actually rented the property in the past and is not merely using the info for rent approval. From past referrals, the owner will confirm if you will be a good tenant or not. The better the testimonial, the more chances it is for tenants’ application to quickly be approved.

Ratio in Terms of Debt.

Some of the more successful property owners assess the debt ratio of the tenant during the application. This is done by looking over the total debt amount in correlation with the amount the tenant is making.

This is how the company is assured that the tenant is not going overboard with his or her finances and to make sure that payments will definitely be made.

Verification and more verification. These are the steps that landlord or property managers take before a tenant is approved to rent a property.