News

How Many Christmas Lights Do You Need to Light Up the Holidays? Well,  it is now December and Christmas will be here before you know it!  Our friends at The Home Depot put together this handy Christmas lights reference chart so you can have the brightest house on the block!  Happy Friday!!!! Hat tip to […]

Airbnb to allow Tenants to Host Apartments on their Platform Last week, we posted about how Airbnb rolled out new software to screen & prevent parties.  Now, CNBC’s Diana Olick says Airbnb has a new program that allows tenants to host their apartments on the Airbnb platform.  In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal,

Now that we are in the 4th quarter of 2022, it’s a good time to start looking at ways to reduce your 2022 tax liability. Even though you might not know your tax liability until you file your tax return in April (or October) of 2023, in order to take advantage of some key tax-saving

Rentals and Smoke Detectors Rentals and Smoke Detectors by M. Jane Garvey Over many years, I have observed that some residents in my rental properties will disable or remove smoke detectors. I install them in all the required places and make sure that any battery-operated units have new batteries, and the residents have instructions. I

Rising Rents? NMHC Says Blame Short Supply The National Multifamily Housing Council says “Econ 101” is the real reason rental rates have been rising in recent months and not price gouging, as many have been quick to say.  Their data show that double-digit rent growth recorded in late 2021 & early 2022 coincided with record

Building Materials See Price Declines for 2nd Consecutive Month Prices for Building materials have been decreasing the past few months, according to recent data analyzed by the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.  In fact, they say prices for softwood lumber fell 1.7% in October following 5.5% in August and 3.1% in September.  However they do point

Rentcafe says over the last two years, apartment conversions have jumped by 25% compared to the two years prior, bringing a total of 28k new rentals in 2020-2021.  In addition, they point out that adaptive reuse has picked up speed in America’s largest cities.  Indeed… “The residential market needs significantly more density in the areas

What to do with those Thanksgiving Leftovers As always, we hope you & yours had a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving this year.  And, if you’re like many Americans you may have not only eaten more than your fair share, but you might also have oodles of leftovers that will be calling your name in the

Statistics Show Tenant Criminal History Affects Ability to Pay Rent On a recent episode of the Rent Perfect podcast David Pickron says there is a direct correlation between a tenant applicant’s criminal history and their credit scores, which ultimately affects their ability to pay rent.  Indeed… “If government takes away your ability to view the

HUD Increases Flood Insurance Options for FHA Mortgages The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently announced that effective December 21, 2022, it will allow homeowners with FHA-insured mortgage financing to obtain flood insurance policies that conform to FHA requirements from private insurance providers. The change was