If you really want to do something
you will always find a way.
But if you don't want to do it,
you will find execuses.
The easiest way to combat fear is by not using excuses.
Instead, you need to look for positive approaches to
accomplish your goal. If you want to start a business,
attend a meeting at the Better Business Bureau. Read some
national magazines like "Income Opportunities" or "Spare
Time." Start reading the business section of your
newspaper. Gather some ideas and do a little reading before
actually jumping into a business. Surely you can find some
spare time to read.
Also, begin associating yourself with people who are in
their own business already. If you're afraid to go out and
make new friends, attend local business-related seminars in
your community. Start watching television shows that are
related to business. You'll eventually find people to
associate with who know others and you'll be the part of a
new crowd - the motivating ones!
FEAR is always your enemy. Look at it this way: If you
never try, FEAR wins by 100%. However, if you do try, FEAR
only has a chance of winning by 50%. If you needed a place
to live and only had $10 to your name would you allow FEAR
to win and make you homeless? No, most of us would find a
job or borrow the money to have a roof over our heads! FEAR
is the root of failure, depression and lifelong problems.
Are you going to let FEAR ruin your life?
FEAR also will cause you to lose out on many other things
in life. If you FEAR the boss at work is going to fire you
_ it will naturally be on your mind day in and day out. It
will eventually wear you down and you will begin making
mistakes on the job. You will also get depressed
and build up resentments that may have never been there in
the first place.
Facing FEAR head on is the best way to combat it. If you
think the boss is going to fire you _ go up and ask him. It
takes guts, but isn't it better than putting yourself
through many months of agonizing torture? Are you full of
so much FEAR to even ask him because you think it will
trigger him to say "yes" when he might not have been
considering it at all? Believe me _ asking a boss "if" they
are thinking about firing you will put you in no different
position than you are now. In fact _ it will have the
opposite effect. The boss will more than likely respect you
for your candidness and ability to face FEAR head-on.
Is FEAR holding you back from a lot of things? Are you
afraid to confront people and tell them how you really
feel? Do you smile in their face and talk about them behind
their back? What's so hard about being truthful but using
tact? Doesn't it get rid of FEAR and solve many problems?
Complaining is also an act that emotionally drains you and
goes hand-in-hand with FEAR. In fact, FEAR is normally the
root of any complaint.
People don't want to admit their FEAR so they will complain
to release some tension. This is a crazy merry-go-round!
Instead of complaining, try to find ways to solve the
problem.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Part Time Profits With Your Own Rental Agency
Represent apartment, condo, business building and/or home owners.
Advertise, show, rent and manage properties and accounts for
absentee (or busy) owners for a percentage (usually, 10%) of the
rents.
This is the kind of business that can be started with a very
minimal investment and slowly built into a full fledged, well
paying operation. It is also one that is open to most any person
of legal age and normally involves very flexible hours.
Once the house/apartment, etc.,is rented, agents often have very
little to do except collect the rents once a month, up date the
records and send the owner their share. A good tenant may stay
for years and provide the rental agent with a sizable income. For
example, $50 per month for 30 minutes "work." With ten of these,
that's $500 a month for five hours, or $100 per hour! This sounds
great, but unfortunately it doesn't always work out quite as
ideal.
The main reason property owners use rental agents is to receive
more income with one than they would without one. If the owner
lives out of town, an agent is there to keep an eye on the
property, to represent a local authority to renters, place ads,
show property and the like.
Other reasons are having someone nearby in case of an emergency
and to see what repairs are actually needed and that are
efficiently made as necessary to protect their investment.
And, many people who own rental property either don't have the
time or are good at managing their property (some are reluctant
to collect rents or become emotional too often). As a result,
there are many openings for rental property managers.
The average rental agent works with or through a Real Estate
agency or broker. In some cases the management fees are extra
income for fledgling real estate agent and/or the broker, but
sometimes the broker works with an independent rental agency.
The broker is interested in potential listings from owners who
want to sell and renters interested in buying, buy may not want
the day to day responsibility of property management. Most real
estate agencies receive calls for rentals even if they do not
advertise them, so it is wise to work with them if for that
reason alone.
To determine the need ( therefor, opportunity) for rental agents
in your area, research the newspapers to see who is advertising
what. If the agent market does not appear to be saturated, check
with a couple of real estate agent brokers ( who do not advertise
rentals) on the possibility of cooperating. They refer rentals to
you; you recommended them to owners who want to sell and renters
who want to buy.
Small fees are sometimes also involved in these agreements
(incentives). TIP: Make sure reciprocate whenever a broker or
real estate agent sends you a customer. If you haven't done them
a favor lately, send them a bottle of something or take them to
lunch. Make it worth their while to help you. Once you decide to
start a rental agency, you will need to check on license
requirements in your area, and at least two contract forms. The
first is for an agreement between you and your property owner
client; the other is a renter or lease agreement with the
tenants.
If you work with a broker, they can provide you with sample forms
of both (real estate people have supplies of these types of
standard forms).You will probably want to have your printer or
copy service ( or desktop publisher) revise your forms, however,
to reflect your company name.
Later on, you will probably want to revise or add conditions in
both to better reflect your desires (they are your forms, so make
them read the way YOU want). When you revise these forms, have
legal council review them (review, not write -- there is a BIG
DIFFERENCE in cost), just to be safe.
Your contact with the owners should stipulate the desired rent
(or minimum) and any conditions the owner insists upon such as
minimum lease terms, deposits (additional tenants, kids or pets)
and the like.
Naturally, the more the owner leaves to your judgement, the
better for both him and you because it is impossible to foresee
every eventuality. The contract should also authorize you to
collect all rents and deposits, order and pay for maintenance out
of funds received, advertise and show the property, and take
necessary eviction actions.
It also should state your fee (for example: 10% of rents
collected, not income after expenses) and cover such things as
cleanup and yard maintenance between tenants.
Finally, the contract with the owner should make it clear what
happens to the deposits. Normally, the agent keeps them on
deposit and uses them to make up rent shortages and/or cleanup
and repair when the tenants leave. Any deposit funds that are not
utilized or refunded to the tenant are transferred to the owner
(where they are considered income).
The above method for handling rent money is certainly open to
discussion, but are illustrative of things that should be
prearranged in an agent/owner agreement.
Eventually, you will develop a solid set of procedures for these
and other eventualities and will simply inform the owners how you
operate. In the vast majority of cases, they will cooperate
because of their confidence in you and your reputation.
The bottom line in dealing with property owners is to keep them
informed. This does not mean detailing which faucet leaked last
month, but it does mean letting them know when you think the
tenant is getting ready to move out.
It means keeping them informed about the overall condition of
their property -- things than may affect their income or income
potential. As a rental agent for absentee owners, you are
expected to LOOK AT each property regularly (e.g., monthly) and
let them know of any possible problems. It would be nice (and
very much appreciated) to simply tell them the place is looking
good once in a while -- but it is IMPERATIVE to forewarn them of
possible bad news!
The second important contract is your contract with the tenants
-- a rental or lease agreement. again, you will probably start
with a standard form and just fill in your company name. But
later on, when you become more familiar with the business and
have experienced some problems that contract wording might
alleviate, you may want more revisions.
In some areas leases are more difficult to obtain, so you might
need both lease and rental forms. You may want special provisions
for varied deposits for more than one or two adults, young
children or pets that could damage the house or yard. Some agents
use a discount system, where the tenant receives a 5% to 10%
rebate for months the rent is paid on time and there are no
repairs. A tenant can fix a leaky faucet for 10, while the same
repair could cost the owner as much as $50 for a plumber's
service call. In this case, the discounted rent payment is
acceptable to the owner.
In this business, you need to keep an ad in the paper -- all the
papers that cover your area. the ad not only attracts people
looking for a place to rent, it also will catch the eye of
property owners looking for an agent.
Get business cards,have signs made with your company name on them
to display on properties for rent (much like those used by real
estate companies). Visit property owners where possible to
explain your services and call those who advertise their property
for rent -- especially when the address or phone number is from
out-of-town.
Always use letterhead stationery when writing to owners so they
can tell you are a "real business."
Perhaps the biggest potential problem area in this business is
renting to the wrong people! It is very difficult to tell who
will be good tenants and who will wreck the place or skip out (or
both). About the only defense against the latter is the security
deposit, references and/or eviction.
Although the majority of renters ( and property owners) are
honest people who just want to get by, there are those who can be
real headaches. If a renter is well versed in the law and
malicious, he can often occupy ( and often virtually destroy)
rented property for months without paying any rent at all!
Fortunately, there are few of these extreme case renters -- just
there are few really mean landlords. In most cases renters will
cooperate and have no desire to cause problems for anyone.
As a rental agent, you should be careful to check potential
renter references and get adequate deposits. It is much better to
avoid problems than to have to solve them. Also,it might be wise
to know a debt collector, credit bureau and inexpensive mover in
the area.
TIP: When dealing with renters, never appear to be condescending
-- always be "strictly business." If the renter gets the idea
that you are lax or don't really care if the rent is paid on
time, it will probably not ever be paid on time! The time to
impress them with the requirements is before they move in -- let
them know about late payments and what it will cost if they lose
the key or break a window. Also do let them know what to do when
the sink stops up -- and be prepared to take prompt remedial
action.
BUSINESS SOURCES
NATIONAL COLLEGE OF APPRAISAL, 2245 Perimeter Park, Atlanta, GA
30341. Offers a correspondence course in property management and
real estate appraisal. Fee info.
DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC., 31 East 2nd St.,Mineola, NY 11051.
Discount books, clip art, stencils, etc.
QUILL CORPORATION, 100 Schelter Rd., Lincolnshire, Il 60917-4700,
312/634-4800. Office supplies.
IVEY PRINTING, Box 761, Meridan, TX 76665. Letterhead: 400 sheets
plus 200 envelopes - $18.
SWEDCO, Box 29, Mooresville, NC 28115. 3 line rubber stamps - $3;
business cards - $13 per thousand.
ZPS, Box 581, Libertyville, IL 60048-25556. Business cards
(raised print - $11.50 per K) and letterhead stationery. Will
print your copy ready logo or design, even whole card.
WALTER DRAKE & Sons, Inc.,4119 Drake Bldg.,Colorado Springs, CO
80940. Short run business cards, stationery, etc. Good quality
but little choice of style or color. Can be difficult to deal
with (they are a "short-run" mail order house).
USA PRINTING, 160 Washington SE, Ste 30, Albuquerque, NM 87108.
Low-cost mail order printer. Write for price list.
Advertise, show, rent and manage properties and accounts for
absentee (or busy) owners for a percentage (usually, 10%) of the
rents.
This is the kind of business that can be started with a very
minimal investment and slowly built into a full fledged, well
paying operation. It is also one that is open to most any person
of legal age and normally involves very flexible hours.
Once the house/apartment, etc.,is rented, agents often have very
little to do except collect the rents once a month, up date the
records and send the owner their share. A good tenant may stay
for years and provide the rental agent with a sizable income. For
example, $50 per month for 30 minutes "work." With ten of these,
that's $500 a month for five hours, or $100 per hour! This sounds
great, but unfortunately it doesn't always work out quite as
ideal.
The main reason property owners use rental agents is to receive
more income with one than they would without one. If the owner
lives out of town, an agent is there to keep an eye on the
property, to represent a local authority to renters, place ads,
show property and the like.
Other reasons are having someone nearby in case of an emergency
and to see what repairs are actually needed and that are
efficiently made as necessary to protect their investment.
And, many people who own rental property either don't have the
time or are good at managing their property (some are reluctant
to collect rents or become emotional too often). As a result,
there are many openings for rental property managers.
The average rental agent works with or through a Real Estate
agency or broker. In some cases the management fees are extra
income for fledgling real estate agent and/or the broker, but
sometimes the broker works with an independent rental agency.
The broker is interested in potential listings from owners who
want to sell and renters interested in buying, buy may not want
the day to day responsibility of property management. Most real
estate agencies receive calls for rentals even if they do not
advertise them, so it is wise to work with them if for that
reason alone.
To determine the need ( therefor, opportunity) for rental agents
in your area, research the newspapers to see who is advertising
what. If the agent market does not appear to be saturated, check
with a couple of real estate agent brokers ( who do not advertise
rentals) on the possibility of cooperating. They refer rentals to
you; you recommended them to owners who want to sell and renters
who want to buy.
Small fees are sometimes also involved in these agreements
(incentives). TIP: Make sure reciprocate whenever a broker or
real estate agent sends you a customer. If you haven't done them
a favor lately, send them a bottle of something or take them to
lunch. Make it worth their while to help you. Once you decide to
start a rental agency, you will need to check on license
requirements in your area, and at least two contract forms. The
first is for an agreement between you and your property owner
client; the other is a renter or lease agreement with the
tenants.
If you work with a broker, they can provide you with sample forms
of both (real estate people have supplies of these types of
standard forms).You will probably want to have your printer or
copy service ( or desktop publisher) revise your forms, however,
to reflect your company name.
Later on, you will probably want to revise or add conditions in
both to better reflect your desires (they are your forms, so make
them read the way YOU want). When you revise these forms, have
legal council review them (review, not write -- there is a BIG
DIFFERENCE in cost), just to be safe.
Your contact with the owners should stipulate the desired rent
(or minimum) and any conditions the owner insists upon such as
minimum lease terms, deposits (additional tenants, kids or pets)
and the like.
Naturally, the more the owner leaves to your judgement, the
better for both him and you because it is impossible to foresee
every eventuality. The contract should also authorize you to
collect all rents and deposits, order and pay for maintenance out
of funds received, advertise and show the property, and take
necessary eviction actions.
It also should state your fee (for example: 10% of rents
collected, not income after expenses) and cover such things as
cleanup and yard maintenance between tenants.
Finally, the contract with the owner should make it clear what
happens to the deposits. Normally, the agent keeps them on
deposit and uses them to make up rent shortages and/or cleanup
and repair when the tenants leave. Any deposit funds that are not
utilized or refunded to the tenant are transferred to the owner
(where they are considered income).
The above method for handling rent money is certainly open to
discussion, but are illustrative of things that should be
prearranged in an agent/owner agreement.
Eventually, you will develop a solid set of procedures for these
and other eventualities and will simply inform the owners how you
operate. In the vast majority of cases, they will cooperate
because of their confidence in you and your reputation.
The bottom line in dealing with property owners is to keep them
informed. This does not mean detailing which faucet leaked last
month, but it does mean letting them know when you think the
tenant is getting ready to move out.
It means keeping them informed about the overall condition of
their property -- things than may affect their income or income
potential. As a rental agent for absentee owners, you are
expected to LOOK AT each property regularly (e.g., monthly) and
let them know of any possible problems. It would be nice (and
very much appreciated) to simply tell them the place is looking
good once in a while -- but it is IMPERATIVE to forewarn them of
possible bad news!
The second important contract is your contract with the tenants
-- a rental or lease agreement. again, you will probably start
with a standard form and just fill in your company name. But
later on, when you become more familiar with the business and
have experienced some problems that contract wording might
alleviate, you may want more revisions.
In some areas leases are more difficult to obtain, so you might
need both lease and rental forms. You may want special provisions
for varied deposits for more than one or two adults, young
children or pets that could damage the house or yard. Some agents
use a discount system, where the tenant receives a 5% to 10%
rebate for months the rent is paid on time and there are no
repairs. A tenant can fix a leaky faucet for 10, while the same
repair could cost the owner as much as $50 for a plumber's
service call. In this case, the discounted rent payment is
acceptable to the owner.
In this business, you need to keep an ad in the paper -- all the
papers that cover your area. the ad not only attracts people
looking for a place to rent, it also will catch the eye of
property owners looking for an agent.
Get business cards,have signs made with your company name on them
to display on properties for rent (much like those used by real
estate companies). Visit property owners where possible to
explain your services and call those who advertise their property
for rent -- especially when the address or phone number is from
out-of-town.
Always use letterhead stationery when writing to owners so they
can tell you are a "real business."
Perhaps the biggest potential problem area in this business is
renting to the wrong people! It is very difficult to tell who
will be good tenants and who will wreck the place or skip out (or
both). About the only defense against the latter is the security
deposit, references and/or eviction.
Although the majority of renters ( and property owners) are
honest people who just want to get by, there are those who can be
real headaches. If a renter is well versed in the law and
malicious, he can often occupy ( and often virtually destroy)
rented property for months without paying any rent at all!
Fortunately, there are few of these extreme case renters -- just
there are few really mean landlords. In most cases renters will
cooperate and have no desire to cause problems for anyone.
As a rental agent, you should be careful to check potential
renter references and get adequate deposits. It is much better to
avoid problems than to have to solve them. Also,it might be wise
to know a debt collector, credit bureau and inexpensive mover in
the area.
TIP: When dealing with renters, never appear to be condescending
-- always be "strictly business." If the renter gets the idea
that you are lax or don't really care if the rent is paid on
time, it will probably not ever be paid on time! The time to
impress them with the requirements is before they move in -- let
them know about late payments and what it will cost if they lose
the key or break a window. Also do let them know what to do when
the sink stops up -- and be prepared to take prompt remedial
action.
BUSINESS SOURCES
NATIONAL COLLEGE OF APPRAISAL, 2245 Perimeter Park, Atlanta, GA
30341. Offers a correspondence course in property management and
real estate appraisal. Fee info.
DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC., 31 East 2nd St.,Mineola, NY 11051.
Discount books, clip art, stencils, etc.
QUILL CORPORATION, 100 Schelter Rd., Lincolnshire, Il 60917-4700,
312/634-4800. Office supplies.
IVEY PRINTING, Box 761, Meridan, TX 76665. Letterhead: 400 sheets
plus 200 envelopes - $18.
SWEDCO, Box 29, Mooresville, NC 28115. 3 line rubber stamps - $3;
business cards - $13 per thousand.
ZPS, Box 581, Libertyville, IL 60048-25556. Business cards
(raised print - $11.50 per K) and letterhead stationery. Will
print your copy ready logo or design, even whole card.
WALTER DRAKE & Sons, Inc.,4119 Drake Bldg.,Colorado Springs, CO
80940. Short run business cards, stationery, etc. Good quality
but little choice of style or color. Can be difficult to deal
with (they are a "short-run" mail order house).
USA PRINTING, 160 Washington SE, Ste 30, Albuquerque, NM 87108.
Low-cost mail order printer. Write for price list.
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