Questions To Ask When Interviewing a Potential Property Manager

Rental properties come with lots of responsibilities and it can be hard for you to handle everything especially if you have other things that you need to take care of such as running a business. Fortunately, you can be a hands-off kind of property owner, landlord or investor when you hire a property manager. Today there are professional property managers that you can fully trust in handling the property responsibilities as far as managing and leasing the property is concerned.

However, you should select the best and trustable manager to have peace of mind. To do this you can conduct an interview consisting of all relevant questions that make it easier for you to gauge the potential and suitability of the property manager.

What advertising strategies do you use? You want to have a property manager that is aggressive enough to make sure that your property does not remain vacant for long periods. A manager that uses extensive marketing strategies targeting both local and international markets can be an excellent manager for your property. Find out exactly what marketing channels they will use and skills they have around them.

How do you structure your rates? Most property managers charge for property maintenance and watch on a monthly basis and the fees can range depending on the size of the property and the services you want to enjoy from the manager. Choose a manager that offers more for less but still strives for quality service delivery.

What are your agreement termination terms? It is very normal to start a working relationship with a property manager only to realize that they are not what you expected. It makes it very important to find out beforehand what the contract terms are as far as termination goes so you can select a manager that gives you an easier time terminating the agreement. Ask about any penalties that could be attracted by a termination.

How do you conduct tenant applications? You might be desperate to have your property occupied but you also want it to be occupied by the best tenants possible. Find out what process the property manager puts in place to make sure that only the best tenants are given a chance to occupy the property. A vetting process that includes running of credit reports and checking of criminal records, current and past employment as well as proof of income can prove rewarding for you. You can at least have confidence in people renting your property.

How will you handle maintenance and repairs? To retain tenants you must have a property manager that acts swiftly in solving any issues that arise on the property. Find out whether the manager has maintenance crew or a handyman at hand and how they bill such services. Also find out what repairs the manager will be responsible for and how inspections will be done to make sure that tenants are responsible for damages they cause on the property during their tenancy.

Make the Most of Your Online Home Based Business

If you are one of the millions of people who have their own online home based business, then you have surely learned some of the benefits of that business. However, you may not have learned them all. Wouldn’t it be nice to find out some insider secrets that can help your life run smoother?Getting the Most from Tax DeductionsWhile you may be aware of the fact that owning a business offers the chance to take extra deductions, you may not be fully aware of exactly how many deductions there actually are that are available to the home based business owner. For example, while you may know that you can deduct the office space your business uses, did you know that you can usually deduct other expenses such as the office supplies that you use everyday?Given the fact that there are so many of these kinds of ‘hidden’ deductions that are associated with an online home based business, it is best to consult the expertise of a certified public accountant. While some business taxes can be done on your own, when dealing with dividing business expenses with household expenses, asking a CPA for advice will help to ensure that the government does not come knocking on your door asking for more money.Getting the Most from Your Free timeWhile most people take into account the possible increase of personal free time when they decide to pursue a business from home, they generally only think of the obvious uses for that time. While spending more time with a spouse or children is an extremely valuable use of free time, children go to school and spouses many times go to work. When they are gone, the new business is up and running and the house is clean. What productive use can the extra free time be used for?One idea is to volunteer. There are so many organizations that can use not only the personal time and involvement, but also the organizational skills, management skills and other skills that most successful work from home people possess. If you have a particular interest, there is probably a not for profit or charity that is involved in that interest and would love to welcome you on board.Making the Most of your New IncomeWhen starting an online home based business, thoughts of riches most likely lingered in your head (at least a little bit), maybe riches that didn’t come to fruition. If this is the case, you may need to rethink your personal idea of riches. While your income may or may not be exactly where you were hoping it to be, it’s often what you do with it that counts.Saving money is the key to making your money work for you. There are numerous money management options that are available, and working from home (as opposed to working for an employer) often makes the choice you make even more important. It is a good idea to talk to a professional regarding your money saving and investing needs

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.