Drew DeMasters

    Drew DeMasters's Articles

    • Free Apartment Marketing Tool For Real Estate Investors

      When you are advertising your apartment vacancies or rental property for lease – some time you have have to go the extra mile to make sure that a potential tenant chooses your property to rent over the next guy. One of my favorite apartment marketing tools is available to download. Here a FREE copy of ‘The Apartment Hunters Checklist’ to REIClub.com investors:The Apartment Hunters ChecklistWhat is it?An apartment marketing tool for landlords to print out and give to prospects who inquire about or get a tour of your property. You can send it as an attachment to email or print…

    • Rents Just Keep Rising – Invest In Rentals

      About a year ago I read a CNN Money article about the latest signs that rents continue to climb while home price remain stagnate in certain metro areas.  CNN Money article: http://cnnmon.ie/HkhXyTMy take?Great Time To Invest In RentalsWhat a great time to be a landlord these past few years.  I mean even in an average market with average rents and average home prices (whatever that means in your area) it is a good time to be a landlord.  But today?!  Are you kidding me?  It’s unbelievable.Let me just say this: I hope you’re at least thinking about buying more properties.  And if you are,…

    • Landlording & Rental Property Move-Out Reminder Form

      On a recent trip back home to Missouri, I got to see my latest triplex purchase.  And most importantly, I was able to meet and visit with each of the residents living there.  I learned that one resident plans to move out in a few months and also that we have a feral cat problem.Now that I know I will soon have a vacancy, I am putting specific steps in place to start finding great new residents to make the upstairs apartment their new home.  And the very first thing I did (after spraying for feral cats!) was give my…

    • 3 Lessons For Landlords And Property Owners

      Lesson #1: Give your customers what is most important to them.No more and no less.Why no more? Because if it’s not important to them, it won’t matter anyway.  And it won’t help keep your residents longer. If you are meeting their 2 or 3 biggest needs, that can be enough to set you apart from other landlords. Think about it; even if you have the best service and all kinds of incredible benefits for residents but your properties are in an undesirable part of town, it can still be difficult to fill vacancies.And no less? Well, obviously if you’re not…

    • In The Right Place At The Right Time

      Are you in the right place at the right time? To show prospects your apartments? To respond to maintenance needs? To motivate tenants to renew their lease or upgrade to a newer, nicer unit?Much of what we do in life and in business depends on where and when. Looking for a job. Asking for a date. Buying a car. Think about it. Retailers ramp up for Black Friday and online sites for Cyber Monday. Accountants prep for tax season. What are you doing?As landlords and property managers, we have our own busy season. U.S. Census data show that about 18%…

    • When What Used to Work Doesn’t Anymore

      Have you have ever had too many qualified applicants for your rental properties?  So many you had to turn them away and even stop advertising?  I mean what a happy problem, right?  A landlord’s dream.If this has ever happened to you, you probably wish for the good ol’ days to return.  More often we have units or homes available and few good applicants in sight.  So our properties sit empty.  Week after week.  Month after month.Step 1 – Put a “For Rent” sign on the buildingStep 2 – Run an ad in the newspaperStep 3 – Another ad in the…

    • Gone But Not Forgotten

      According to a 2009 NAHB Multifamily Preferences survey, the top three reasons why tenants move are for –Better quality placeSingle-family unitBetter locationBut what if you could offer your tenant a different property across town that is a single-family home with better amenities and closer to work? Give them a free moving truck for a day and take $500 off the first month’s rent. They just might take it, and you could save a customer!Did you know your wireless phone provider will bend over backwards to give away free unlimited texting and throw in a new phone just to keep you…

    • The American Dream Redefined

      A recent survey found that more than a quarter of Americans currently renting houses and apartments have no intention to ever buy a home.The survey, by real estate search site Trulia.com, found 27 percent of renters do not plan to ever buy a home.  Although 72 percent still expect to buy eventually, that proportion is down from 77 percent just six months ago.So, is the American Dream of owning a home fading away?No.  But it is being redefined.People are taking an extra hard look at the pros and cons of home ownership.  And for many, renting a place that really…

    • Is Turnover Killing Your Profits?

      You probably agree almost nothing is worse than having an empty rental property.  Two kinds of costs can hit hard: real costs (like utilities, taxes, maintenance, and cleaning) and opportunity costs (like lost rental income and a higher risk of crime).In this business, we call it the “vacancy rate”.  But that’s kind of an impersonal statistic.  We can’t really tackle the problem until we stop thinking at the property-unit level and start thinking at the customer level – each of your individual renters who occupy your properties.  Here’s a three-point plan to reduce tenant turnover.1) Customer satisfaction.Do you REALLY know…

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