The federally-funded Housing Choice Voucher Program provides monthly rental assistance to very low income tenants provided through the local county or city Housing Authority. Known as Section 8, there are common misconceptions about this program and tenants that prevent property owners from taking advantage of the financial incentives and support programs available. For example, did you know most Section 8 tenants live in the same unit for an average of 7-8 years? These tenants come from all walks of life, are often elderly or disabled, and 33% are wage earners!

As property owner or manager, financial security is deeply connected to a tenant’s personal and economic well-being. Partnering with a local Housing Authority provides tenants with valuable
rental subsidies to help protect them from adverse life events such as job loss, divorce, health problems, etc.  

Did you know property owners and managers have developed long-lasting, highly successful and rewarding relationships with local Housing Authorities. They’ve discovered that making Housing
Authorities part of their business plan directly benefits their businesses.   For example, they appreciate the regular inspections, helping with facilitating smoother leasing and renewals, guaranteed rent deposit programs, support of the Housing Authority staff when tenants fall behind on rent, and monetary incentives.  

By Karla Dennis, E.A.

With the real estate market being better than it has been in a long time, many of you may be considering selling your real estate, doing a 1031 exchange or converting a rental to a primary residence.  Whichever decision you make, here is an outline of some of the key considerations to think about when pondering the idea.   Buying , operating and selling a rental property can have profound tax ramifications.

DRAMATICALLY REDUCE MAINTENANCE COSTS BY USING MEGAMICROBES!

A common challenge for multi-resident, multi-story buildings is the frequency of plumbing repairs needed to keep waste water flowing freely out through drains, pipes, and outflow stacks. This problem can be especially acute in residential complexes where fats, oil and grease from in-home cooking accumulate all the way from kitchen drain traps to the common ground level drains.

Additional deposits of soap, hair, and other waste residue from bathroom showers, tubs, sinks and toilets add to the ongoing problem. Typically, this issue is dealt with as a maintenance budget line item for both plumber snaking at the unit level and the much more expensive jetting service applied to the inside of the common vertical outflow pipes, known as stacks. The annual cost for these services can easily top $10,000 or more, even in a modest-sized building with less than 100 units.

THERE’S A BETTER WAY!

PASADENA (July 17) — Property owners, managers and maintenance professionals are invited to see what’s new in strategies, solutions and building technologies at the Los Angeles Buildings Expo at Pasadena Convention Center on Wednesday, September 27th from 9:00 am-4:00 pm. ADMISSION IS FREE.

By Becky Bower | ApplyConnect

The National Consumer Assistance Plan (NCAP) is now in effect! As of July 1, 2017, all new and existing public record data used by Experian®, Equifax®, and TransUnion® will be held to the new NCAP standards. While the implementation of these standards will occur over a three year period (with full implementation expected by March 2018), the three major credit bureaus have begun to take steps to improve data accuracy and quality.

What is the National Consumer Assistance Plan (NCAP)?

By Chris Visser

Asbestos needs little or no introduction nowadays. Ever since its implication in asbestos-related cancers, it has received a worldwide spread of recognition. Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring silicate minerals that are popularly known for it’s unique properties as being durable, flexible, and extremely resistant to heat and fire.

The mining and utilization of asbestos has been going on for hundreds of years, but in the 1950s, the use of asbestos greatly increased as it was used in the production of all sorts of materials and a lot of these were used in houses, apartments, & condos.

Asbestos was commonly used roofing materials, cement, pipes, insulation, gaskets, and even it was even made into a thin sheets as a “protective” covering fabric.  In the late 90s, it was officially and scientifically linked to be the primary cause of asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma.  These are deadly cancers, and ever since then, stories have continued to pile up on the topic, with the hope of ensuring public sensitization.

By Design Everest

Although design-bid-build has been the traditional method for delivering projects to clients, the popularity of the design-build project delivery method has been growing steadily. The design-build delivery method typically shortens the time needed to complete a project since there is a single entity working on the project, but this also entails that all responsibility for the project is held by a single designer/builder.(1) This leads to a unique set of legal issues that apply to the design-build project delivery method. These legal issues can be categorized under the following six divisions:

By Ruben Walker | CAM Construction

Construction is more important than you think

If you own a commercial building or complex, you are either managing it yourself or have a property manager. So you know there are many responsibilities and tasks associated with managing your property. But you may have never thought about the role of construction in property management. This post takes a look and gets you up to speed on what you need to know about this important aspect of the job.