RentWise Property Management

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(208) 949-3083

      

Five Decorating Hacks For Renters!

Happy New Year! Whether you just moved into your dream rental home, or you just cleared out all the holiday decor- we know that decorating as a renter can be a challenge. Starting off the new year with some fresh, new decor can brighten the mood in the winter months and even make your space feel more open and light! We have compiled a shortlist of our landlord-friendly decorating tips to make your house feel like home!

Temporary Wallpaper

Wallpaper? YES! Wallpaper is making a comeback! Peel and stick removable wallpaper is one of the easiest ways to add a pop of color to your rental home! Since you are likely unable to paint the walls, this is a quick and affordable way to make your space stylish! Websites like Amazon have hundreds of options and are filled with inspiration! When you are ready to remove, just peel the design and be sure to wipe the walls down!

Area Rugs

When you are renting a space, you do not get to choose the floor coverings and they may not completely match your taste. Your landlord is very unlikely to change the flooring if it is still in good condition, so the renter will need to improvise. Area rugs are a great way to make a space come together with very little effort. The hardest part will be choosing the perfect design! Area rugs will also keep flooring in tip-top shape & prevent wear and tear of the flooring in your rental.

Photo Tiles

Nothing says “home” like personal photos! Your landlord may have strict restrictions on nail holes which can limit your decorating options. Websites like Snapfish and Mixtiles and many other photo sites have helped to solve this problem! While we have no affiliation to any specific provider, we have used these ourselves! You can upload your favorite photos, and they come printed on a lightweight surface and are ready to hang with double-sided photo tape. Photo tiles also create a clean, uniform look that solves the issue of mixing and matching photo frames.

House Plants

Whether you have a green thumb, or just prefer the look of an artificial plant, house plants are a stress-free decorating option for renters! If you opt for artificial plants, you do not have to worry about watering them or getting dirt anywhere. If you prefer live plants, be sure to keep a watch for bugs or leaks in the pots to ensure no damage occurs in the property.

Battery Operated Flameless Candles

Relaxing at home almost always includes lighting a candle. When you are a renter, you have to be especially conscious about fire hazards and your lease may even have specific terms against candles. Thankfully, there are many options out there to create the same ambiance of candles, but without the risk! Some flameless candles come scented and even have lifelike flickering flames. Battery Operated Flameless Candles usually come with timers so you can even set a daily timer so your candles are lit each night at dark! Pretty cool, right? You can find flameless candles almost anywhere that sells traditional candles. A side note, flameless candles are a huge bonus if the power goes out!

We hope you loved these easy-to-manage tips on how to beautify your rental home as well as keep your landlord happy! Want to learn more about our services or how to become one of our happy tenants? Contact us at 208-949-3083 or check out our website at www.rentwisepm.com. Less Hassle. More Happy.

Rental Listing Scams: How To Spot Them and How to Avoid Them

Rental Listing Scams happen more often than we’d like to think about. The world is at our fingertips on the internet, and scammers will use this to their advantage. Scammers know that finding the right apartment or home is hard work, and that good deals may be hard to pass up!

Whether you are moving to a new city or just shopping around for a new home, you will be considering the costs associated and the location of the property. Also, consider that the listing that you may be viewing could be a scam.

How To Spot Rental Scams

They want a security deposit or rent paid before you’ve met or signed any documents

Our world has changed a lot over the last few years. It is not uncommon to do business strictly over the phone or through email these days. If you are out of town or unable to do a drive-by of the rental listing, ask someone you trust to view the home and ensure it matches the listing. In addition, at the very least, set up a virtual meeting to meet the owner or property manager.

The advertised price is much lower than comparable properties in the area

One of the surefire ways to spot a scam is that the price will be significantly lower than other homes for rent in the area. Scammers know that in today’s world, everyone is seeking out a good deal. Do some research on the surrounding areas and the average rental cost.

There is a charge to view the home

A property manager, property owner, or agent will never charge you to view a home. There are instances where a management team could vet the potential residents prior to viewing a home with a few questions to ensure that they are qualified residents. This protects the listing parties from scams as well.

The owner or agent uses very high-pressure sales tactics and pushes you to rent the property right away

The rental market is very competitive today. But, not so competitive that you should ever feel pressured to sign a lease without the ability to view the home whether virtually or in person. Listing agents understand that the market has shifted and rentals go quickly. Agents also understand that future residents are entitled to viewing a home prior to signing any documentation or paying anything.

They hijack ads

Scammers are sneaky. Another tactic used may be that they will find a legitimate real estate listing and change the email address or other contact information. The altered ad could include the correct name of the listing agent, but with incorrect contact information. Scammers have even gone as far as hijacking the correct email addresses on rental sites.

They tell you that you have to wire money

The most certain way to tell a rental scam is that the listing requires you to wire money. Wiring money is the same as sending cash, and once you send it, there is usually no way to get it back. Property owners, managers, and agents are typically flexible in how they will accept funds for security deposits, fees, first month’s rent, etc. Scammers will only accept wire-transferred funds.

How to avoid rental scams

  1. Get the terms of the rental in writing, including fees, rent, and maintenance.
  2. Do some homework on the owner, property management company, and listing. If the names are different, or there is no contact information, this is likely a scam.
  3. Ask to view a copy of the lease that is to be signed by the property manager and/or owner.
  4. Check out other listings in the area and see how they are worded and how the photos look. If there are big discrepancies, this is a red flag.

Reporting Scams

Rental Scams are a huge deal. Don’t feel bad if you fell for one, it can happen to anyone! Stopping scammers is so important and there are many resources available. The Federal Trade Commission asks that you report any scams to them at ReportFraud.ftc.gov

You never have to worry about being scammed here at RentWise Property Management. Honesty, Integrity, and Transparency are our core values. We build great relationships with all of our property owners and our residents to ensure that everyone is having the best experience. To learn more about how we do business, visit us at rentwisepm.com/rentwise-property-management/

 

Taskmasters: Who Are They and Why Do We Use Them?

 

Property management is a multifaceted industry. Between onboarding new clients, resident applications, inspections, maintenance requests, and more- our days are busy! Have you ever wondered how we get it all done? I’ll share one of our secrets with you: utilizing a preferred vendor, Taskmasters. Our mission is to provide excellent service and do it with the highest quality of tools and technology. We strive to be the best. And using a specialized service such as Taskmasters allows us to focus on our property owners and residents and meet their needs in record time. 

So, who are they? Taskmasters Idaho provides additional expertise to our arsenal of professionalism and efficiency. RentWise manages many types of properties. We believe our vendors are the best in the business and take our service to the next level. Furthermore, Taskmasters specializes and assists with a wide variety of property management services, here are a few that we may utilize: 

Sign/Lockbox placement or drop off

Notice services such as placing 24-Hour and 3-Day Notices to enter the property with the resident

Move-out condition report

A final move-out condition report is indisputably one of the most important functions of a property manager. An unrushed, thorough condition report after a tenant vacates a property is in the best interest of all parties involved. Not only does the report include a floor-to-ceiling inspection with a written survey, but it also includes photos of any notations made. This allows us to compare the initial move-in condition report to the final move-out documentation. 

Exterior Surveys

Visual surveying of a property needs to be completed from time to time. This helps us to address any compliance issues and allows us to act quickly to remedy the situation.  Exterior surveys include a photo of each property and a compliance form sent to us if there are any issues spotted. Additionally, while this survey is being completed, there is no disturbance to the resident or owner and it is a quick and efficient way to confirm that the property is kept in great condition. 

Pet Checks

We love pets! However, sometimes pets can cause damage. A pet check includes a photo of the pet as well as a visual survey of the property for any damage. This protects our residents as well as the property owner. 

Vacant Property Checks

Keeping an unoccupied home safe and secure between showings is imperative! Conducting vacant property checks helps to provide our property owners with peace of mind that their investment remains in tip-top shape for the next resident.  The checklist includes: plumbing checks and testing functionality, ensuring that the home is secure and locked, confirms that utilities are on and functioning, removing any flyers or debris from the front entry, verifying signage, visually inspecting for pests. 

Our motto here at RentWise is “Less Hassle, More Happy”. We believe that you should love what you do and have fun doing it! Not only do we love our clients and our residents, but we also love our team of vendors too! Let us show you how hiring the right property manager can be a game-changer for your investment! We can’t wait to connect with you! Read more about our property management services, and give us a call at (208) 949-3083!

Benefits of having a Virtual Property Management Company

One trend that you may have heard a lot about recently is having a “Virtual Office.” As your property manager, we strive everyday to ensure that we are providing outstanding, convenient, unmatched service to our clients and residents. We are able to continue to do this by being a virtual business.
There are many reasons why going virtual is beneficial, here are 5 reasons below:

The ability to manage properties
anytime, anywhere

Being virtual affords us the ability to assist and manage our properties from anywhere in the world. The market is always changing. We are able to update property metrics and listing information instantaneously. We are able to market properties quickly and update our social media information. This is a surefire way to know that the business can continue running smoothly no matter what is going on in the world around us. 

Keep operating costs down

We do not have a brick and mortar office. This allows us to source the funds elsewhere that we would otherwise be spending on building upkeep; such as maintaining reasonable property management fees.  We invest in the highest quality of applications and technology to provide a seamless experience for our investors and residents. This includes a revolutionary owner and tenant portal to pay rent, submit requests and view importation documentation. 

Communication

Communication is one of the largest components of successful property management. Being virtual allows us to take this to another level. We have the ability to reach all of our clients and tenants at once.  We are able to send out financial reports and updates to our investors in real-time. This makes it easier for property managers to make recommendations and maximize your earning potential based on market trends. We always keep your bottom line in mind. Being virtual cuts back on vacancy times due to the effectiveness of electronic screening and leasing. 

Documentation

Our property management team has the ability to access all documents and records from their own workstation. This keeps our service consistent and efficient.  Any announcement, request, or interaction comes with a time stamp. As a result, we are able to keep thorough records and document each interaction as it happens, to avoid any misunderstanding.  Through our state of the art software, we track maintenance requests and send out status information quickly. Additionally, we are able to send out digital invoicing and collect rent digitally for accurate record keeping. All of this is done to maintain consistency and continuity for our clients. 

Health and Safety

Nothing is more important to us than keeping our clients safe and secure. The past few years have proven challenging for every industry. Here at RentWise, we were already running as a virtual property management company prior to COVID-19,  so there were no adjustments needed to continue our daily responsibilities. Running a virtual office minimizes daily staff, walk-in, and vendor contact. This is exponentially important as we are all able to maintain a healthy work environment by keeping our distance. Keeping ourselves as well as our residents, investors, and vendors healthy is a guarantee that we can continue providing consistent service without delay. Our virtual dynamic also affords us the opportunity to conduct training on a more frequent basis. 

 

It is our ultimate goal here at RentWise to be the best in the business. We take pride in our team and the properties that we manage. If you would like more information on how we can help make owning an investment property “Less Hassle, More Happy”- we would love to speak with you! Give us a call at 208-949-3083 or email courtney@rentwisepm.com

Paying Rent Online

Paying rent online has become the norm across the board these days however; the convenience of doing so comes at a cost for most tenants. While we here at Rentwise can’t control what the credit card companies and banks charge we do our best to mitigate any expenses we can. We do not upcharge these fees or charge any other fees related to paying rent online so having options is just one way we try to serve our tenants.

3 Ways to pay rent online:

Pay your rent with a checking account:

This is the most cost effective way to pay rent because it’s FREE! Simply log in to your tenant portal, plug in your checking account and routing numbers and you are all set! You can even set up auto pay if you don’t want to worry about paying your rent on time each month.

Pay your rent with a credit card:

This method comes with a 2.99% fee of the transaction amount. So if you rent is $1500 per month you would pay a fee of $44.85. We know some of our tenants like to rack up those air miles or maybe they are just short on cash one month, so this option is great for those satiations.

Pay your rent with your debit card:

This is a new feature that Appfolio just rolled out that enables a tenant to pay rent with a debit card, any amount, for a flat fee of $9.99. This is much more affordable than paying with a credit card so we are super happy about this change for our tenants.

If you would like to know more about how we can help make renting LESS HASSLE, MORE HAPPY please reach out to us! We are here to help! Call 208-949-3083 or email us at office@rentwisepm.com.

 

What will my property rent for?

What will my property rent for? The most asked question of any property manager I would venture to guess. (It’s either this or how much do you charge? That is an entirely different blog) Every investment transaction hinges on this factor so you can imagine how important it is to have the most accurate information as possible. We know there are a plethora of resources on the internet to assist any investor in determining what rents could be however, we would caution against making an investment decision based solely on the internet numbers alone.

Here are the 3 resources we recommend:

Rentometer – this website offers a rental estimate based on percentile and requires very little information about the property making it a quick and easy referral point, it is free to use up to a certain number of inquiries. We are not directly affiliated with this site but we do utilize it via a subscription service as a professional property manager which allows us unlimited access.

Zillow – oh how we have a love/hate relationship with Zillow but they are the largest resource for available rentals so it is a necessary evil to take a look. We find that Zillow is usually $50 to $100 within range.

A Real Life Property Manager – this is ultimately the BEST way to determine what your property will rent for. We as property managers have the most accurate real time knowledge and expertise to determine what a property will rent for based on the location, age, size, upgrades and nearby amenities. While online resources can consider a limited amount of these criteria, a local property manager who knows the area you are investing in is the best resource by far.

If you want to know more about our services or how we can help you get the most out of your investment reach out to us at 208-949-3083 or courtney@rentwisepm.com. Less Hassle. More Happy.