Colorado Rental Housing Journal - July 2015

Page 1

Rental Housing Journal Colorado

August 2015 - Vol. 7 Issue 8

2. Changes to the Treatment of Depreciation Effective With Your 2014 Tax Return 3. Why Work-Life Balance is the Wrong Idea 4. To Social Media Relevance

www.rentalhousingjournal.com • Professional Publishing, Inc

DENVER • COLORADO SPRINGS • BOULDER

Monthly Circulation To More Than 7,000 Apartment Owners, Property Managers, On-Site & Maintenance Personnel

T

The Value of Renters Insurance

his question has been kicked around a lot in recent years: Should you require your tenants to obtain renters insurance? While some property management companies require their residents to purchase renters insurance, the vast majority continue to merely suggest that renters insurance be purchased. Unfortunately, this method of persuasion has done little to convince residents to do so. In fact, according to a survey by InsuranceQuotes.com, six in 10 current home or apartment renters do not have renters insurance. Why not? Lack of knowledge. Many renters simply don’t realize that property insurance obtained by the owner will not cover the loss of their valuables in the event of a disaster (adverse weather, fire, theft, etc.). It will also not cover any loss from an accident that may happen in their home or apartment. Perceived cost. Many people assume that renters insurance is expensive, when in fact, it’s very affordable. Current yearly premiums average between $200.00 and $300.00 annually—that’s less than 70 cents a day. Short of requiring residents to obtain renters insurance, here are ways to persuade your residents to purchase renters insurance:

PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Sound Publishing Inc 98204

continued on page 7

Today’s Online Renter National Study Sheds Light on Changing Prospect Behaviors and Preferences

By Doug Miller

W

e just conducted a 2015 revisit of our landmark 2011 “Today’s Online Renter” study. The study addressed questions about how today’s online prospects shop, what drives rental decisions, what impact reviews have, the importance of social media and more. Big picture, transparency and the basics are more important than ever. • Shopping, Rental Decisions, Brand, Trust • 0.1% of apartment shoppers used a smart phone or tablet in their search (26.3% in 2011) and 78.3% visited a property’s website before contacting the office. continued on page 5

Real Estate: What’s In It For Me? Pt. 2 Refer to the July Edition of Rental Housing journal Colorado for Pt. 1

Wholesaling Description: • As a wholesaler, your job is to find a motivated seller who has a pressing need to sell his or her property. You negotiate with the seller and enter into a purchase agreement. Then you find a buyer who will pay a little more than you have contracted for, and you keep the “spread.” There are various valid techniques for doing this, including “buy-don’t fix-sell, buy make minimal or only urgent changes and sell, etc.” The other techniques are beyond the scope of this report.

Professional Publishing, Inc., PO Box 6244 Beaverton, OR 97007

Pros: • Minimal money needed – Wholesaling requires very little money, unless you choose to pay for advertising in the hopes of

getting motivated sellers to call you. • Income – This varies, but there is no limit to the number of properties you can wholesale. • No ownership responsibility – Using some techniques, you never actually purchase the real estate, but transfer your purchase rights to the end buyer. • Minimal liability – Your liability is minimal assuming you have a properly written purchase agreement. ** Remember that as a wholesaler you are focused on the CONTRACT, not the real estate itself when you are selling the property. As you have not taken possession you cannot sell the property. Cons:

• Wholesaling is highly regulated in most states – You must know the law in your state and act accordingly. • Time intensive – Since you are a “deal finder,” when you stop working to find deals, you stop making money! • Business not investing – This is a way to make money. You are in the business of being a wholesaler; you are not “investing” in real estate. • No tax advantages – Since you aren’t holding the property and renting it out, you do not get any of the tax advantages of buying and holding rental property. Furthermore, the money you make wholesaling is considered “earned income” and will be taxed by the IRS as such. continued on page 6

Advertise in Rental Housing Journal Colorado Circulated to over 6,000 Apartment owners, On-site, and Maintenance personnel monthly. www. rentalho using jo urnal.co m

Call 503-221-1260 for more info.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.