U TAH UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY • OGDEN • PROVO
Professional Publishing, Inc
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION
www.TheLandlordTimes.com
OF THE
January 2013
UTAH APARTMENT ASSOCIATION
Vol. 5 Issue 1
SALT LAKE CITY • OGDEN • PROVO
MONTHLY CIRCULATION TO MORE THAN 6,000 UTAH APARTMENT OWNERS, PROPERTY MANAGERS, ON-SITE & MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL
Steve Randall Installed as 2013 UAA President Steve Randall, owner of Welch Randall Real Estate, has been installed as the 2013 UAA President. A seasoned businessman, Steve has bought and sold many businesses over the years. One of his most successful was the Muzak franchise, where Steve was instrumental in working with Congress to pass legislation concerning business and limited fees. Steve sold that business in the late 90’s. After returning from serving as a Mission President in Japan, Steve bought a real estate company that managed rental properties for independent owners. He found he loved the real estate and property management business. “I wish I had invested in this business first because it’s my favorite,” says Steve.
Steve is a people person who has volunteered extensively in his life, both for his church and in the community. In addition to two missions to Japan, Steve has served as President of a regional church organization twice. He has been on many boards, including serving as President of the Multiple Listing Service board and 16 years on the UTA (Utah Transit Authority) Board of Directors, serving twice as President of UTA where he was involved in getting federal funding to build Trax and Frontrunner. “I love serving on boards and giving back. For so long I learned so much and benefited so much from the UAA and I am honored to be able to give back by serving as President,” Steve says.
Dealing with Abandoned Premises Adapted from “Guidelines for Owners and Managers of Rental Properties in Utah” by James M. Deans “Premises Abandonment” is assumed when the rent is 15 days past due, the renter has not notified you that he or she will be gone, and there is no evidence they are there except that their possessions are still there. It is best to check with neighbors to see if anyone has seen the te¬nant before declaring the premises abandoned. Also, if the renter has given you a place of employment or any other places to contact him, landlords should follow up there. Your goal is to find out where your tenant is before declaring the place abandoned. If you have tried everything and have no hope of contacting the renter you can post an Abandonment Notice—stating that in 24 hours the apartment will be considered abanProfessional Publishing, Inc PO Box 30327 Portland, OR 97294-3327
doned. You may also want to send copies of this notice to the last known address and any emergency contacts on the lease or application. If there is no response after the 24 hours, the owner may move and store the renter’s possessions, re-key the apartment, and attempt to re-rent the unit. When moving the renter’s possessions, be sure to document everything in the apartment. Renters may be charged the moving and storage costs. Items must be held for 30 days from the time Abandonment is Continued on page 3 Page 5
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Steve’s company currently manages almost 1,500 homes and apartments for rent. They also do real estate sales and help investors buy and sell properties, as well as manage HOA’s. His son Brad, who is involved in the business and is Steve’s broker and office manager, helps cover the business so Steve can spend an average of 8-10 hours a week attending meetings, visiting industry members, and helping fulfill the UAA’s mission and serve the rental housing industry.
UTAH
Increasing Community Reviews Online Should Be On The Top of Your Marketing "To Do List" for 2013
Here are few tips on how to increase the number of reviews you receive on Yelp and Google Places. These are very easy to use tips that can greatly improve the number of reviews. Why is this goal of increasing your online reviews so important? According to research by the Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), 84% of Americans say that their buying decisions are highly influenced by online reviews. Give this a minute of thought and you'll realize that you also read reviews make decisions based on what you have read. Also, the number of reviews the community has on Google Places, the rating, and frequency of those reviews is correlated with the visibility of your listing according to research and local search ranking factors. http:// www.davidmihm.com/local-searchranking-factors.shtml
Increase review today by adding calls to action: The testimonials page on your website is not only a great place to add great reviews about your apartment community and company, but is also a great page to add a call to action for residents to leave reviews. We made it easy by adding links to read and write reviews for Google, ApartmentRatings.com and Yelp. Make certain you and your teams are actively asking for reviews: Have call outs in your email signatures, on the leasing desks, and on all social media channels asking residents to leave reviews on the channels that are important to you. Link back to the resident reviews page on the website via social media posts so future residents can read great reviews and click to read or write reviews on the channel of their choice right from your website. We've seen great results for clients of whom we've added a reviews page linking to their resident's reContinued on page 3