Trouble Finding Renters for your Apartments?

By Jeannine Richardson – Landlord Connection, Inc.

Don’t limit your ads to Craigslist. There are many other avenues to explore. Here are some ideas to increase the number of people seeing your ads.

Location, location, location!

·Post a sign on your property in a visible location. Try to include as much information as possible so you only get calls from people who are serious and already know basic information (i.e. price, number of bedrooms, utilities included? are pets allowed?)

·Is your rental within walking distance to shopping or restaurants? Speak with the employees and see if they know anyone looking to move closer to work.

·Near public transportation? Add this convenience to your ad.

· Are your apartments located near a college campus, hospital or large business? Contact their Human Resource Depts. and see if they have a bulletin board system where you can post your rentals.

Get the Word Out
Send out an email to co-workers, neighbors, friends and relatives letting them know you have a rental available. Also post on Facebook or Twitter.

Offer something that no one else is offering
· Free High-Speed Internet (cable/DSL)
· First month of rent for free
· Washer/Dryer Unit in the unit
· Paying moving expenses or moving truck fees
· Discounting first month’s rent
· Paying utilities, etc.
· Free renters insurance.
· Free Wi-Fi

While others may believe that “keep‘em happy” gifts are a waste, I think it's always a nice gesture of goodwill. If a great tenant is considering leaving, perhaps offering one of these incentives will work to keep them. One of the most important things to remember is that landlords are in business, and must treat it as so. What tenants basically want is a landlord who takes care of things and leaves them alone.

The main reason to use these incentives is to get people in the door and to occupy your vacant units. If you’re unable to attract tenants because of a slow rental market, maybe these ideas can help you to either bring in people who weren’t considering the unit in the first place or attract people deciding between someone else’s apartment and yours.

Widen Your Audience AreaWeekly papers are a good way to increase the number of people seeing your ads. Their advertising rates are typically much lower than the daily newspapers. Here are several other avenues to explore.

Local Weekly NH Newspapers
More people read the weeklies than you realize. Here’s a link to NH weekly newspapers:
http://www.nhliving.com/newspapers/weeklies.shtml

NH Daily Newspapers
Newspapers are still read although usually online.
http://www.nhliving.com/newspapers/index.shtml

Property Management Companies

http://www.allpropertymanagement.com

http://www.peloquinrealty.com/

http://www.realpropertynh.com/

http://www.metropolispmg.com

More Websites
The following websites also offer free posting of your ads:

http://craigslist.com

http://rent.com

http://rentalads.com

http://findmyroof.com

http://rentals.com

http://forrentbyowner.com

http://rentalhousehunter.com

Finding someone to rent your property is only the beginning. When you finally locate renters interested in your property, don’t forget to screen your potential tenants. If you think you can screen them on your own – think again. The only information you have about them is what they have chosen to tell you. Landlord Connection’s Decision Report can fill in the gaps. Visit our website at http://landlordconnection.com for information.

Attracting Tenants with Incentives or Gifts

Attracting Tenants with Incentives or Gifts
Author: Joshua Dorkin • URL: http://www.biggerpockets.com/

Sometimes landlords need to use incentives to keep their tenants happy, or in the case of a bad rental market, to attract new tenants. A few of the ideas I’ve read about in our forums are:

Keep ‘em happy ideas:

- New A/C Units
- New Fans
- Upgraded hardware like towel bars and knobs
- Starbucks/Blockbuster gift cards
- Small gifts on the holidays

Ideas for attracting new tenants:

- Free High-Speed Internet (cable/dsl)
- First month of rent for free
- Washer/Dryer Unit in the unit
- Paying moving expenses or moving truck fees
- Discounting first month’s rent
- Paying utilities, etc.
- Free renters insurance.
- Free Wi-Fi

While others may believe that “keep ‘em happy” gifts are a waste, I think it's always a nice gesture of goodwill. If a great tenant is considering leaving, perhaps offering one of these incentives will work to keep them. One of the most important things to remember is that landlords are in business, and must treat it as so. What tenants basically want is a landlord who takes care of things and leaves them alone.

The main reason to use these incentives is to get people in the door and to occupy your vacant units. If you’re unable to attract tenants because of a slow rental market, maybe these ideas can help you to either bring in people who weren’t considering the unit in the first place or attract people deciding between someone else’s apartment and yours.

The EPA recently fined a painting contractor in Maine $150,000.

The EPA recently fined a painting contractor in Maine $150,000.
Are you next?
Not if you Get EPA/HUD Lead Certified NOW!

Contractors, Renovators, Painters, Landlords . .If you are working for compensation on a residential or child occupied facility that was built before 1978 you are required by the EPA to have this certification

Wednesday, June 15, 2011
8:30-5:30
HBRANH
119 Airport Road
Concord, NH
Members $200
Non-Members $250
Registration and payment required
Call to register 603-228-0351

Solving The Mystery of Building Green Homes
Tuesday June 21, 2011
3:00
HBRANH
Build Green NH Council Members-FREE
$25 for ALL others.

A fast paced, fact filled session on how to get certified, market these homes and make money on them.

Accredited Verifier for Nathional Green Building Standard,Philip LaRocque will be the presenter.
Call for more information and registration.

Appeals Court Upholds OSHA's Fall Protection Directive
All residential construction employers must comply with new Federal Regulations
Are You Prepared?
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently announced a new directive withdrawing a former one that allowed residential builders to bypass fall protection requirements. The directive being replaced, issued in 1995, initially was intended as a temporary policy and was the result of concerns about the feasibility of fall protection in residential building construction. However, there continues to be a high number of fall-related deaths in construction, and industry experts now feel that feasibility is no longer an issue or concern.

OSHA's action rescinds the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction, Standard 03-00-001. Prior to the issuance of this new directive, Standard 03-00-001 allowed employers engaged in certain residential construction activities to use specified alternative methods of fall protection rather than the conventional fall protection required by the residential construction fall protection standard. With the issuance of today's new directive, all residential construction employers must comply with 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1926.501(b)(13). Where residential builders find that traditional fall protection is not feasible in residential environments, 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13) still allows for alternative means of providing protection.

Construction and roofing companies will have up to six months to comply with the new directive.

Attend this class to receive the latest training and information on how to comply.

To view the directive and for more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/doc/residential_fall_protection.html.

June 16, 2011
HBRANH
119 Airport Road
Concord, NH
$40 for HBRANH Members-$50 for non-members
Registration by calling 603-228-0351.

POTENTIAL CHANGES TO LANDLORD PROPERTY STORAGE AND MUNICIPAL FILING REQUIREMENTS (SB 70)

Courtesy of the NH Board of Realtors

POTENTIAL CHANGES TO LANDLORD PROPERTY STORAGE AND MUNICIPAL FILING REQUIREMENTS (SB 70)

Please note emphasis on the words POTENTIAL CHANGES.

The House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend passage of SB 70, which lowers the time in which a landlord must store tenant’s belongings after they have vacated the property. Currently, a landlord must store the belongings for 28 days.

Under this bill, the landlord would need to store the tenant’s belongings for just seven days after the tenant vacates. The bill also states that if a landlord violates the statute, he or she will only be subject only to an award of actual damages, plus costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

The Judiciary Committee also inserted an important amendment to SB 70. The amendment removes the requirement that landlords must file, with the municipality in which the property is located, a statement that includes the name of an individual residing in New Hampshire who is authorized to accept service of process for any legal proceeding brought against the owner relating to the restricted property.

This requirement went into effect on Jan. 30 of this year. The original intent of the legislation was to make legal service on out-of-state landlords easier for municipalities but ended up compelling all landlords in the state to comply.

If signed by the Governor, this bill will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

Landlord Connection Announces new Report Options

New Prices and Report Options Effective July 1st 2011

NEW – TENANT DECISION REPORT –

Here's what's included in our New Tenant Decision Report:

Identity Verification including SSN & DOB
Past & Present Addresses
Landlord Reports
Names of landlords w/phone numbers (when available)
Eviction history (all 50 states)
Registered Sex Offender Search
Inmate Roster since 1997 (NH only)
Credit Evaluation which includes a Credit Score/ Risk Factor/Delinquency Rate/ Recommendation
Criminal Search – 46 states plus DC (does not include DE, MA, SD or WY)
Terrorist
Most Wanted
OFAC/US Treasury Dept

Cost: $27.95 for Standard Plan customers and $29.95 for Limited Plan Customers

Note: Additional charge of $30.00 applies for MA and NH County searches which may take up to 5 business days.

What is a Credit Evaluation? Landlord Connection will look at an applicant’s last 24 months for collections, court judgments, bankruptcies and late payments as well as their credit scores. We will provide you with a credit score range, the percentage of risk, reasons for their credit credit score and a recommendation (when applicable). Here is a sample:

Credit Evaluation
Credit Score: 550-600 Grade: C Risk Level: Elevated
Odds of Delinquency: 51% Reason: Collection Accounts
Recommendations: Credit worthiness has not been established. Request explanation from applicant regarding unpaid accounts.

Beagle being used by Pest Service to detect Bedbugs

WESTBROOK, Maine — “Find your B’s,” says Anthony Silva to Sherlock, a young beagle he’s leading through a home they’re inspecting.

Silva and Sherlock aren’t looking for drugs, explosives or other things normally associated with dog searches. Rather, the “B’s” they’re sniffing out are bedbugs.

As Sherlock scans the living room, he stops and scratches at a couch cushion, alerting on the scent of the pervasive parasite. Upstairs, in a bedroom, he hits on the edge of a mattress, too.

There’s bedbugs upstairs and down.

Luckily, Silva and Sherlock are on a training run, in the home of a fellow employee with Brunswick-based Modern Pest Services. The B’s Sherlock hit on were in vials that Silva had planted earlier.

Modern Pest Services, which has offices in Bangor, Augusta, Westbrook, Manchester, N.H., and Woburn, Mass., brought Silva and Sherlock on board earlier this month. The company spent roughly $15,000 on the dog and training for both canine and human.

Richard Stevenson, chief technical officer of the family-owned business, said the company invested in the dog because of the value in early detection of bedbugs. Roughly 40 percent of the dog’s brain is related to its nose. It can take a human a full day to inspect an average single-family home for bedbugs, costing about $300. And if the infestation is early, not widespread, there’s a decent chance the humans won’t detect anything.

On the other hand, Sherlock can inspect a home in 15 to 20 minutes, costing about half as much, and with a much greater chance of detection – no matter how small the bedbug presence.

Jim Dill, a professor with the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension and a bedbug expert, said dogs have been used to detect bedbugs for about four years, and he knows of three other companies in Maine making use of canines.

He estimates dogs are about 85 to 90 percent effective in bedbug detection. One of the problems is they are limited in where they can sniff; they can’t check out ceilings, for example.

“The flip side is if you’ve got a bedbug on the ceiling, you’ve probably got a lot more bedbugs in the house and he’s going to find them anyhow,” said Dill.

And overall they are much more effective than human inspectors, agreed Dill, particularly in small infestations. Dill knows about inspections; he recently produced a video that demonstrates how to inspect a hotel room for bedbugs — before settling in and allowing them to catch a ride home with you in your luggage.

There’s demand for dog handlers to deal with the growing problem of bedbugs. Silva is a professional handler and had been working for the last year in Afghanistan for a security contractor, working with explosives-sniffing dogs. When he came back to the United States, he had four job offers to work in bedbug detection, all along the East Coast.

His new line of work isn’t as dangerous as bomb sniffing, said Silva, but is generally similar.

“At the end of the day, scent work is scent work,” said Silva.

Stevenson, who’s worked for 30 years in pest control, remembers going on his first bedbug job with his father in 1980. For decades, bedbugs were rare. Modern Pest would do three or four bedbug jobs a year, said Stevenson.

In the early 1990s, they showed up on the national scene in bigger numbers, particularly in large cities like Dallas, San Francisco and New York City. In 2003 or 2004, they began showing up in Maine.

Today, Modern Pest teams do bedbug work every day, said Stevenson. Dill said he’s seen bedbug cases mostly from Bangor south. Modern Pest has clients that include hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, private homes and the like, said Stevenson.

Stevenson said his company has gone from doing a few bedbug jobs a year in 2002 to now more than 1,500 jobs annually, which does not include follow up and reoccurring services.

So what caused the resurgence? Stevenson said the biggest theory is the hitchhiking parasites came to the country as international travel increased. And many insecticides have been taken off the market, replaced by chemicals that are pest-specific – and not aimed at bedbugs.

“Society, in general, was unprepared for this pandemic,” said Stevenson.

Around the year 2000, many companies moved toward baiting of pests, rather than spraying, noted Dill. Bedbugs, he said, aren’t attracted to the baits. And there may be a resistance problem – some bedbugs may no longer be affected by some insecticides.

Stevenson said his company sees this as a problem that will last and, in fact, grow.

“Our feeling is it’s not going to go away – there’s no reason it would go away,” he said.

Last year, Modern Pest made even greater investments in the battle against bedbugs, spending $200,000 in equipping two “heat teams,” workers with portable thermal equipment that heats a home to more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit, killing both bedbugs and their eggs.

Stevenson is part of a nationwide panel of experts, with representation from regulators, pest control professionals and the scientific community. They’re looking at the best ways to treat for bedbugs, how to detect them and what sort of policies should be in place to deal with them.

In Maine, there’s a law that tenants must inform a landlord of bedbugs. The law also maintains that the landlord must do something about the bedbugs, Stevenson said.

The next challenge to be met, overall, is finding more effective and less expensive ways of dealing with an infestation, he said.

Dill said there’s no diseases associated with bedbugs – they aren’t known carriers of anything. Some people are allergic to bedbug bites, some get secondary infections with bites.

But, he said, if bedbugs are found to transmit a specific disease, that will ignite a lot more interest in finding ways to kill the parasites.

New Hampshire Healthy Homes & Lead Prevention

This is going to cause more problems for landlords.

New Hampshire HEALTHY HOMES & LEAD POISONING PREVENTION PROGRAM
May 2011

NH CHRONICLE WMUR CHANNEL 9 FEATURES HEALTHY HOMES - May 26th 7:30pm

Mark your calendars now as NH Healthy Homes is being featured on WMUR's NH Chronicle the evening of May 26th at 7:30pm. Watch and learn how health, energy and housing partner together to improve the lives of New Hampshire's most vulnerable residents. NH Chronicle website

45 PEOPLE ATTEND 2-DAY HEALTHY HOMES COURSE FUNDING PROVIDED BY USEPA WITH SUPPORT FROM NH HOUSING AUTHORITY LEAD GRANT PROGRAM

With funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Children's Health Protection and support from the NH Housing Authority Lead Grant program, 45 people recently participated in the 2-day Essentials for Healthy Homes Practitioners course. Ellen Tohn of Tohn Environmental Strategies engaged this diverse group of health professionals, energy auditors, property owners, refugee/cultural coodinators, real estate agents, health officers, code officials and housing representatives in the seven principles of healthy housing as outlined in the National Center for Healthy Housing cirriculum. [More Information]

SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER AWARDS FOUR GRANTS
Strategic Planning & One-Touch Initiatives Move Forward

The Southern NH Area Health Education Center (AHEC) recently awarded four organizations funding to complete strategic planning and healthy homes initiatives and interventions. Congratulations to the following:

CARING COMMUNITY NETWORK OF TWIN RIVERS - Strategic Planning & One-Touch Implementation

HEALTH & SAFETY COUNCIL OF STRAFFORD COUNTY - Home Sweet Healthy Homes Strategic Planning

BREATHE NEW HAMPSHIRE -Statewide Community Training to Reduce Secondhand Smoke Exposure in the Home

LAKES REGION PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC HEALTH - Lakes Region Healthy Home Strategic Planning

GRANTS AVAILABLE
HUD Lead Technical Studies Grant
HUD Healthy Homes Technical Studies Grant
Community Transformation Grant
EVERYONE Breath - Asthma Education Grant

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
DIVISION OF PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES
HEALTHY HOMES & LEAD POISONING PREVENTION PROGRAM
29 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03301
1-800-897-LEAD (5323)