March 2012 - Rocket Lease Blog

Archive for March 28, 2012

4 Weird Tenants You Wouldn’t Want In Your House

March 28, 2012 rocketlease No comments

There are a lot of ways to avoid the worst kind of tenants (like those that don’t pay their rent on time or who have a history of being loud or otherwise problematic) but some human behavior is well beyond the realm of something that could be predicted by a credit check. Take a gander at some of these weird houses and thank your lucky stars these aren’t your tenants.*

1. The Bunny Museum

Most homes become museums of sorts for those things that the occupant holds near and dear whether it’s a ticket stub from a Bon Jovi concert or a plasma screen tv that they saved up for. But for Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski, their home has become a very literal museum for all of the bunny memorabilia they’ve collected over the years to create The Bunny Museum. Out of the kindness of their hearts, they let the public traipse through their home regularly to look at all of their bunnies, including the real ones that live there. I can only imagine the difficulty a landlord might have inspecting a house fully of rabbits! Check out the video below for an informative explanation of what admission costs (it’s veggies for the bun buns):

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k6CbxurxR8?feature=player_embedded]

2. The Hobbit House

In another case of extreme fandom, an English family built their house to look like it came right out of Middle Earth. Check with a lawyer before you decide to put a “No Hobbits” clause in your lease agreement!

3. The Hello Kitty Obsessed

Pretty much everyone has got some secret affinity for something from their childhood whether it’s a Transformers collection under the bed or a ratty stuffed animal from the State Fair, but the owners of this house in Shanghai have taken that obsession in the very adult world of homeownership. They completely renovated this home in a Hello Kitty theme from the inside out. At least pastel pink is easy to paint over…

4. Weird Steve

We’re not passing any judgments on Steve, he actually seems completely fine being referred to as weird and once you see what he keep in his Seattle home, you’ll be able to see why. From hundreds of antique toasters to a chill-inducing collection of literally two-faced animals, some people have called his home a Real Life Addams Family house. All we know is if you found out tenant had a 13’ high minotaur bust in the backyard, you might think twice about renewing their lease!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3phrYmOpEU&w=640&h=360]

If you’re reading this blog, let us know if you’ve ever had any wacky tenants or weird neighbors with crazy collections and how you dealt with them in the comments!

*Most of these people probably own their own homes. This is just for fun.

Share and Enjoy

Just for Fun, Landlords, Weird Tenants bunny museum, crazy collections, hello kitty house, hobbit house, weird collections, weird houses, weird tenants

Property Managers: How to Convince Your Property Owner to Switch to Online Applications

March 20, 2012 rocketlease No comments

There are so many difficult situations that a property manager has to deal with in the course of a single day that it would be overwhelming to try to list all of them here. But perhaps one of the biggest challenges faced by a property manager is dealing with the property owner or landlord that owns your building. Ideally, you have a good relationship with the property owner who is your boss and that lets you make suggestions to him or her about how the property is handled. Still, we know that it can sometimes be difficult to convince a property owner to change their ways, which includes getting them to switch to an online rental application process. Luckily, we here at Rocket Lease have some suggestions for how to deal with the questions and concerns that the property owner might have when you bring up the idea.

What He Says: Won’t it be hard for me to learn a new system?

Particularly if a landlord has been in the business for a long time, he will probably be concerned about the effort it will take to learn any kind of new system. If he is in the habit of reviewing paper applications when a vacancy comes up, he may be very hesitant to switch to an online system, lest he not be able to judge prospective tenants so easily.

What You Say: The Rocket Lease system is extremely easy to use. The streamlined dashboard actually means it’s easier to review applications – with the added benefit that you can do it from anywhere without having drop by the property or have them faxed over. You can even review applications from your smart phone. (At this point, you can feel free to show them the simple and oh-so-easy walkthrough on our site, which you’ll find here.)

What He Says: Why would we change? Our system works fine.

It’s true that people have been renting apartments using paper applications for decades and it hasn’t started any nuclear wars (that we know of). But just because a system works “ok” doesn’t mean it’s the best system. If that were true, I’d be typing this on an Apple IIe and faxing it to you, right?

Yes, switching to an online system will doubtless make your job easier and that’s why you want to do it. But when you’re talking to your boss, don’t focus on that part, focus on how it will actually help them.

What You Say: Switching to an online rental application will save you money because it will save me time. When I’m not wading through paper applications or fussing with the fax machine, I can be doing the other, more important tasks that come with my job, like checking facebook. NO! Don’t say that, like fixing things.

You Can Also Say: It will find you better tenants because you can accept applications from people around the world and also set up a pre-screening application saving everyone time and energy. Our current system works “ok” but this system works BETTER.

What He Says: Won’t a fancy online application cost me money?

This is an easy one, because it won’t.

What You Say: Rocket Lease is free for landlords. They even do tenant screening with the screening fees going to the prospective tenants.

If by this point in the conversation you haven’t convinced your property owner to switch to online rental application, you could always try begging.

Share and Enjoy

Landlords, Property Managers, Rental Applications, Rocket Lease landlords, online rental application, online rental applications, property management, property manager tips, property managers, rocket lease, rocketlease

How the Economy Has Affected the U.S. Rental Market

March 16, 2012 rocketlease 2 comments

The economy of any entity, be it a college, a family or a city, is a complicated thing. So you can imagine how much more complicated it gets when you start to consider the economy of an entire country or even the whole planet. I’m not going to aim for an economics lesson here for a lot of reasons (mainly I’m totally unqualified) but there are a few tidbits, facts and predictions that are particular relevant to our customers, namely landlords who are renting property in the United States, about the current economy and its affects on the rental market in this country that you may find interesting and helpful. These are the tastes of information that I’m going to focus on because let’s face it, if I’d studied economics I probably wouldn’t be blogging right now. But I digress.

When the housing bubble first burst a few years ago, the entire country suffered its consequences in many ways. One of the truly devastating effects was the skyrocketing foreclosure rate among American homeowners. Putting aside the emotional nature of that particular economic event, let’s look at how that astronomical foreclosure rate affected the U.S. rental market. Some experts believed that it would have a generally positive effect on U.S. rental properties because the homeowners that were forced to leave their houses would find themselves new additions to the renter pool.

However, that actually did not end up being the case, as the Atlantic pointed out in 2009. Instead, many of those former homeowners ended up moving in with friends or family rather than entering the rental market. Conversely, those condos and homes that agents or banks were now unable to sell, did enter the rental market as rentable properties. Unfortunately for landlords, the housing market collapse actually had a negative effect on the rental market as well because there was more rentable property but no additional renters, which of course means that rents go down.

Today, slowly but surely, we find that the U.S. economy is improving, which is certainly great news all around as unemployment drops and different sectors recover at their own rates. Fortunately for property owners and landlords, this recovery is beginning to include the U.S. rental market. Indeed, real estate research site Zillow found that in January 2012, the median rental rates rose by 3% since that same time last year, which is certainly good news if you are a landlord with property to rent. Although during that same period, home values actually fell, experts expect that will not be a continuing trend. Instead, it may be an indication that this is a good time to invest in a rental property before home values begin to increase again, while the rental market recovers first. As the economy continues to grow more stable and robust, we can expect that rental rates will do the same.

This trend of rising rents and dropping home values has some analysts concerned that we are in the midst of a “rent bubble,” but as we look at the data further, that does not seem to be quite the right term. Of course, as you plan your rental property investments, you will want to keep in mind that there isn’t an upward trend that lasts forever. However, it is unlikely that the bottom will fall out of the rental market in exactly the same way it did for so many homeowners. As more first time landlords invest in homes at these low prices, the number of rental homes will increase which naturally means the rise of rents will slow. At some point, it is likely that these two trajectories, rents up and home values down, will reach some kind of equilibrium but how exactly that will shake out remains to be seen and is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Still, it is important to not get lazy with your property ownership as the rental market improves. Instead, stay ahead of the curve by investing in or trying out new technologies like online rental applications and efficient background checks to make sure that you attracting the best tenants, no matter what the economy looks like.

Share and Enjoy

Landlords, News housing bubble, housing market, landlord advice, landlords, recession, rental market, US economy

When Tenants Break a Lease

March 13, 2012 rocketlease No comments

There are many good reasons that you have a tenant sign a lease before allowing them to move in to your rental property. Surely you have invested a great deal of time and money into your property and you want to protect that investment. Having a lease with your tenants means making sure you are protected financially in the case of damage to your property but it also means that you are protected if your tenant decides to move out early, leaving you with a vacancy before their lease is up.

Have a tenant break a lease can be frustrating. You expended effort in finding the right tenant for your vacancy, possibly even turning people away before choosing who you would allow to move in and then that person or family moves out before the term of their lease is up, leaving you back at square one! The situation can be made even more frustrating since you may actually feel a great deal of sympathy for the tenant who needs to move out. He or she may have managed to purchase property of their own or may have found a job in another state or may find themselves getting married and moving in with their new spouse. All of these are joyous occasions and you may feel happy for them even though you are the one facing the consequences of their choices.

But rest assured, as a landlord, you have rights when your tenants break their lease in this manner and you should absolutely exercise them without apology. When a tenant signs a lease, usually for a year long term, he is entering into a legally binding contract that says he will pay an agreed upon rent in exchange for permission to occupy your property for that entire term. Just because a tenant decides or is forced to move out before that term is up does not mean the lease simply vanishes and is unenforceable. Instead, you have the right to insist that your tenant either continue to pay rent for the remainder of the lease, or continue to pay rent until which point he finds a suitable subletter to finish out the duration of the lease.

As a landlord, you may also choose to offer the option of a buyout, which means agreeing on a price for which you will release your tenant from his or her lease agreement. Be sure to have the document in writing so that there is no confusion in the future.

Making these demands for payment does not make you mean or unreasonable. These are your rights as a property owner. If you do plan to demand payment from your tenants who are breaking their lease, be sure to have an attorney on hand in case there is any refusal or difficulties in obtaining your payments.

The messy situation that is a messy lease is a great reason to have a clear and understandable lease signed by each and every tenant that lays out these terms without question. Since you may need to consult the lease when your tenants tell you they are moving out, it is helpful to always have a copy at the ready. There’s no easier way to do this then to use an online apartment lease, through a system like Rocket Lease. Since the entire lease process is online, including an online signature feature, you won’t have to go searching through overstuffed files or risk a deadly papercut. Just click into your Rocket Lease dashboard and find out exactly what your tenants agreed to with no questions.

Share and Enjoy

Landlord/Tenant Law, Landlords, Rocket Lease, Tips for Landlords breaking a lease, broken lease, landlord/tenant law, online apartment lease, real estate law, rental property law, rocket lease, rocketlease, tips for landlords

5 Reasons to Screen Your Tenants

March 9, 2012 rocketlease No comments

It's okay to be a little suspicious of new tenants.

If you’re a landlord, you know that in order to succeed at your job, you have to wear many different hats. Though renters may think of you as a modern day land barons who does nothing more than sit back and collect rent checks, you know that the truth is very far from that. In fact, there are usually a hundred different things on a landlord’s To Do List on any given day. Whether it’s dealing with contractors, making minor fixes yourself or even hiring and managing property managers, the job is certainly no cake walk. But even though the extra step of running background checks and credit screens on your potential tenants may seem like just another straw on your weakening camel’s back, the truth is that there is no doubt that screening your tenants will save you time, energy and potentially a whole lot of money in the long run. Here are five good reasons to never forget to screen your tenants:

1. Make Sure They’ll Pay Rent On Time & In Full
I don’t know anything about you (except for that you have great taste in blogs!) but I feel confident in saying that you didn’t become a landlord for your health. In all likelihood, you thought that owning rental property was a smart investment and hoped that in the end it would pay off. All of this is to say that your number one concern with new tenants, as a landlord, is that they pay their rent. Running a credit check on potential tenants, although not foolproof, is a good way to find out if an applicant for your vacancy has a history of not paying back money they owe. A credit check is the simplest screening tool and will tell you about accounts that have gone into collections, late payments and other debts. A tenant with a clean credit check is much more likely to pay the rent on time every month which will save you the hassle of having to threaten eviction or even go through with the eviction process.

2. Make Sure They’ll Keep Paying Rent
Even a tenant with a clean credit check is not a great bet if they don’t have a job or some proven way to continue paying their rent each month. Running a check of your tenant’s employment history and verifying their current employment is key to making sure you get your check each month. Many landlords require a recent pay stub as well as a phone call to the current employer to verify their tenant’s position and salary. This is another good way to protect your property investment financially and avoid chasing tenants for the rent. A gainfully employed tenant is much more likely to be a good and reliable tenant.

3. Make Sure They’re the Right Fit
Getting rent on time every month is certainly a main concern, but it’s not the only thing to consider when you’re looking for tenants. You also want to make sure that your new tenants will fit in with the personality of your building. A good way to find this out is to screen their rental history and talk to past landlords about the kind of tenant they were. For instance, if you have a generally quiet property, you may not want someone with a history of throwing loud parties. The reverse is also true: if your property is laid back and home to many noisy people that live in harmony, your tenant may not be happy if they are a quieter and more solitary person.

4. Keep Your Property Safe
Of course, your obligation when it comes to tenant screening is not just to your new tenants, but also to your existing tenants and even to yourself and your property. This is why it’s important to run a criminal background check on all potential tenants. You will want to know if this person has a history of any violent crimes or crimes against property that will put you or your tenants at risk. An unsatisfactory criminal background is a perfectly legitimate reason to refuse to rent to an applicant. You have the right to keep yourself and your tenants safe.

5. Limit Your Legal Liabilities
Finally, running a thorough background check may actually limit your legal liability should anything go awry with the new tenant. You should always consult an experienced legal professional for advice when it comes legal issues (this blog is not a legal professional!) but if, for instance, a new tenant commits a crime against a current tenant and you did not run a thorough background check that would have shown criminal tendencies, then you may be civilly if not criminally liable. Yet another reason to spend the little bit of time and energy that it takes to run background checks on your tenants before signing a lease.

Obviously there are a number of good reasons to screen your tenants before renting to them. The good news is that with an online rental application service like Rocket Lease, the screening process is even easier. We already have your tenants’ information and an whole system in place to run checks on them as soon as you give the go ahead. The best part is that the cost is included in the application fee charged to the applicant, so it costs you nothing. Sign up for Rocket Lease today and let our screening services save you time and money on your very next rental.

Share and Enjoy

Rocket Lease, Tenant Screening background checks, credit checks, rocket lease, rocketlease, screen your tenants, tenant screening

Online Rental Applications and Security

March 6, 2012 rocketlease No comments

Although we live in a time where the internet has made many things exponentially more awesome, we also live in a time when the internet has made some things a little bit more scary, especially when it comes to you personal information and privacy. It seems like every time you visit a new site, they want more and more details about you before you even get a chance to decide if you trust them! At Rocket Lease, we understand how off-putting that is, which is why you should know that we take your personal security very seriously.

Since the rental application process requires a great deal of personal information, oftentimes even asking for your social security number, we know that you might find Rocket Lease a little bit scary itself, particularly if you have never availed yourself of our services before. But we know how important keeping your personal information is to you, whether you are a landlord or a tenant so we want to assure you that you are safe with us.

RocketLease uses sophisticated encryption technology to send your information through the internet. This includes bank level security on our site as well as SSL secure connections throughout rocketlease.com. When you use Rocket Lease either to provide your tenants with an easy and efficient way to apply for apartment online or whether you are submitting an application for your dream loft, your personal information will not be seen by anyone that you haven’t expressly granted permission to. Not even the Rocket Lease team will have access to unencrypted application data throughout the entire process.

What this level of security means for you is that the Rocket Lease online rental application is actually more secure than a paper application. Think about it this way: it would be much easier for a hard copy of an application to fall into the wrong hands than it would be for someone to gain access to your data through our system.

Rocket Lease also utilizes an electronic signature, through the trusted and established third party Docusign software, which allows us to transmit legally binding signatures without the hassle and security risk of a printed copy. You can find more information about the legality of online signatures on our FAQ page.

If you have further questions about the Rocket Lease, don’t hesitate to visit rocketlease.com and get in touch with one of our trained professionals.

Share and Enjoy

Rental Applications, Rocket Lease, Security online application security, online rental application, online rental applications, online rental applications and security, online security, rocket lease, rocketlease

Why to Switch to an Online Rental Application

March 2, 2012 rocketlease No comments

If you’ve been following this blog at all, you have probably figured out by now that the main purpose of Rocket Lease is to streamline the apartment rental process for both landlords and applicants. (And if you haven’t been following, now you know!) Even though we know it sounds attractive to streamline and simplify, we also know that sometimes even good change is difficult and scary. This can be particularly true for those people who are set in their ways.

Whether you believe in it or not, there’s a reason that people claim you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Not that we mean to compare you to a dog, but if you’ve been a landlord for a long time, that means you’ve also been using paper rental applications for a long time. Until very recently, that was your only option. One way or another you have made due with paper applications: you’ve found potential tenants, collected their information and rented apartments over and over all without the benefit of an online rental application so why should you change your ways now? I bet you can see where this is going: turns out there are a lot of reasons to consider switching to an online application system for your property. And, you guessed it, I’m going to tell you what those reasons are!

You’ll Save Time & Time is Money

Plain and simple: collecting your rental applications online is faster and easier than using paper applications. Instead of fussing with fax machines or even waiting for the mail, you’ll have applications delivered to you instantly via the Rocket Lease dashboard. This means you can make decisions faster which will let you fill your vacancies faster. Every minute you save by being able to quickly scan applications, reject unsuitable applicants with one click and even run a credit check through RocketLease without expending any of your own resources, is a minute you can spend doing something else.

You’ll Find Better Tenants Because You’ll Find More Tenants

When you use an online rental application service like Rocket Lease, you’ll get more potential tenants applying for your vacancy, period. For our part, we suggest that landlords post a link to their RocketLease application in their initial vacancy listing as a way to screen applicants before they even come to the door, which saves time for both you and them. Taking the application process online also allows you to accept applications from renters who are in another city or even across an ocean. By broadening your tenant horizons, you’ll have a much better chance of finding the perfect tenant, and you’ll do it fast so that you won’t have any units sitting vacant.

Today’s Tenants Want It

Sometimes it probably seems like tenants are always asking for things: fix my garbage disposal, I have a leak, the neighbor’s dog won’t stop barking. But there is one thing that they want from you that will actually make your life easier, too: they want to be able to apply to apartments online. According to the National Apartment Association, a whopping 88% of tenants want the option to apply to an apartment online. And this is one instance where it’s so easy to give them exactly what they want!

Why RocketLease?

If I’ve done a sufficient job of convincing you that online rental applications are the way of the future that will actually simplify your business and your life, I have to suggest that you pop over to Rocket Lease and sign up for free. The Rocket Lease service is completely free to you. Rocket Lease is efficient, effective, and easy to use. Not to mention the additional tenant screening option we also offer, making our site a one stop shop for your online rental application needs.

If you’re still not convinced, head over to rocketlease.com anyway for more details about our services and to get all your questions answered.

Share and Enjoy

Rental Applications, Rocket Lease landlords, online rental application, online rental applications, rocket lease, rocketlease

Rocket Lease Blog

Archive for March 28, 2012

4 Weird Tenants You Wouldn’t Want In Your House

Share and Enjoy

Property Managers: How to Convince Your Property Owner to Switch to Online Applications

Share and Enjoy

How the Economy Has Affected the U.S. Rental Market

Share and Enjoy

When Tenants Break a Lease

Share and Enjoy

5 Reasons to Screen Your Tenants

Share and Enjoy

Online Rental Applications and Security

Share and Enjoy

Why to Switch to an Online Rental Application

Share and Enjoy

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta