RESIDENTIALResource

RESIDENTIALResource
THE OFFICIAL MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY MANAGERS
Introducing Vermont
April 2006
the 2006 Annual Convention Location
This issue features...
April is Fair Housing Month
Avoiding Hobby Loss or Not-for-Profit Classification
Building a Better Management Portfolio
How to Hire Property Management Superstars
One Cool Tool: The Virtual Tour
Solving Rental Problems with Software
SUPPORTING THE PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL PRACTICES OF RENTAL HOME MANAGEMENT THROUGH NETWORKING, EDUCATION, AND CERTIFICATION
April is Fair Housing Month
1
In This Issue
April 2006
Feature Articles
5 April is Fair Housing Month
It’s that time of year again, are you up-to-date on the latest housing
regulations and legislation?
6 Building a Better Management Portfolio
Increase the quality of your property management portfolio
by being professional and proactive.
9 How to Hire Property Management Superstars
The Coach is back with great tips on hiring the right type of person
for your company.
10 One Cool Tool: The Virtual Tour
A technological marvel: the EGG Photo 360 Lens. An excellent
feature that can be added to your website, making property tours
available 24-7!
13 Federal Trade Commission Helps Renters Improve Credit Reports
The FTC informs consumers about identity theft, rental application
evaluations, and the importance of an error-free credit report.
15 Courageous Leaders Need to ATTACK!
The path to courageous leadership has six components. Improve
your skills and learn to ATTACK!
19 Why Burlington?
Discover all there is to see and do in the captivating city selected
for this year’s annual convention location!
20 Solving Rental Problems with Software
Find out how the latest software can help you organize all that
pesky paperwork and file overflow.
22 Avoiding Hobby Loss or Not-for-Profit Classification
Are you claiming all the right tax deductions? A.J. Cataldo, Ph.D.,
CPA, CMA, teaches us not to live in fear of those IRS audits.
Monthly Columns
12 Legislative Source
14 Inquiring Minds
16 Knowlege is Power Reading Corner
23 Maintenance 101
NARPM HEADQUARTERS
Executive Director: Gail Phillips
184 Business Park Drive, Suite 200-P
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Editor: Betty Fletcher, MPM®
Tel: 800-782-3452 toll free
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.narpm.org
The Residential Resource is a publication of the National Association of Residential Property Managers, 184 Business Park Drive, Suite 200-P, Virginia Beach, VA 23462; 800-782-3452. ©2006. All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is allowed only upon permission from the publisher. Opinions of the authors are not necessarily those of NARPM. Any legal matters or advice mentioned
herein should be discussed with an attorney, accountant, or other professional before use in a particular state or situation. NARPM and its staff assume no responsibility for ads or statements in
the publication. NARPM does not endorse any advertising in this publication. All readers are responsible for their own investigation and use of any products advertised in the Residential Resource.
NARPM members receive the Residential Resource as part of the annual dues; subscriptions are available for $195. Items for publication cannot be returned. Articles can be submitted by sending a
Word attachment to [email protected]. Address changes may be forwarded to NARPM Headquarters at the address listed above. The publisher and editor reserve the right to edit or refuse
all publications for content and selection.
2
April 2006 Residential Resource
OFFICERS
From the President
Rose Thomas, MPM®
President
[email protected]
301-694-6900 x1001
Recently I made a quick, overnight trip to Burlington, VT, as part of the 2006 preconvention site visit. Upon my arrival, I was warmly welcomed by the staff of the
Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center. They could not have been any
nicer and they are so excited about our group’s visit. The hotel is in the final stages of
a major remodel and by the time we arrive in late September everything will be ready.
With 300+ rooms and suites, NARPM will take over the entire hotel. Be sure to make
your reservations early!
NARPM is arriving in Vermont, the Green Mountain State, at the perfect time of year.
The last week of September and the first week of October are when the trees reach
their full color and the hills are bathed in majestic reds and yellows. Check out the
great article on page 19 from the Convention Committee for more details.
I am really proud of the work performed by our Convention Committee, as they have compiled an outstanding
array of professional speakers, educational programs, and workshops that promise to provide both inspiration and
knowledge. Events are planned to help you network with residential property managers from around the country,
while allowing plenty of free time to nurture friendships. Attending the 2006 Convention and Trade Show, which will
feature several of our Affiliate Members, is a unique way to learn about the many products and services that can help
you work more effectively and efficiently every day.
Not only do NARPM’s Affiliate Members appear at the Trade Show and advertise in the Residential Resource, but they
also assist many of us in our day-to-day operations. They are an important element of overall member support. They
help us keep pace with changes in the markets and technology. We work more effectively because they are with us.
Therefore, we urge our members to support their own best interests by supporting NARPM Affiliates. Next time you
are in search of a product or service, visit our website www.narpm.org and if possible, choose an Affiliate provider.
NARPM is truly blessed to have a number of state and regional conferences each year. The Southwest Regional held
theirs in conjunction with the Leadership Symposium in January, Colorado held theirs in February, Northwest Regional
was held in March, California is this month, and Hawaii will be in May.
Attending a state or regional conference is an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and glean information that is
specific to the laws and practices of the region. Many of the sessions are led by our industry’s best and brightest. An
extra bonus is the opportunity, during the Trade Show, to visit with regional Affiliates that have a professional presence
in the area.
One thing has really stood out and impressed me at each of the state and regional conferences: the quality of our volunteers. Our members are producing mini-conventions and doing it extremely well. They have some great programs
and sessions. We are fortunate to have so many wonderful NARPM volunteers who work tirelessly for the betterment
of our profession.
You will notice that I just used the word volunteers. It is important to remember that at every level NARPM is run by
its members, who graciously and unselfishly volunteer their time. In exchange, these members gain priceless experience that leads them to higher levels of achievement. One of your member benefits is the option of working to help
run a national organization, of doing work that nurtures professional and personal growth. Perhaps this is the most
valuable of all the member benefits.
If you do not believe you are accomplished enough or skilled enough to volunteer, you are mistaken. Every member
has something to offer. Volunteering may lead you to develop talents you never knew you had. And, a nice plus is
that volunteer hours count toward earning your NARPM designations.
We must continue to involve as many members as possible in the operation of our association. I urge you to help
keep our association working for you and for those to follow, become an integral part of the force that lifts us all.
Spread the Knowledge,
Rose Thomas, MPM®
President
Sylvia Hill, CPM® MPM®
President-Elect
Bylaws Chair
Finance Chair
Strategic Plan Oversight Chair
[email protected]
408-997-7100 x104
Erika K. Green, MPM®
Secretary
[email protected]
817-763-9696 x101
Betty Fletcher, MPM®
Treasurer
Editorial Chair
[email protected]
501-907-7091 x101
Marc Banner, MPM®
Past President
Nominations Chair
[email protected]
208-377-8889
DIRECTORS
Greg Fedro, MPM®
Certification Chair
[email protected]
512-345-9886
Harold Kalles, MPM®
Website Chair
[email protected]
253-848-9393
Mary M. Love, MPM®
[email protected]
808-329-4813
Peter C. Meer, MPM®
Education Chair
[email protected]
303-332-1550
Fred Thompson, RMP®
[email protected]
407-571-3650
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Susan Albern, MPM®
Membership Committee
[email protected]
970-669-0842
Eddie Davis, MPM®
2006 Leadership Symposium Committee
[email protected]
214-956-8888
Wendell Davis, MPM®
Convention Committee
[email protected]
904-899-6800
Christopher Hermanski, MPM®
Long Range Committee
[email protected]
503-343-0141
Mark Kreditor, MPM®
Professional Standards Committee
[email protected]
214-522-5700
Kandy Meehan, RMP®
Affiliate Committee
[email protected]
913-469-6633
Jim Reimer, MPM®
Legislative Committee
[email protected]
208-375-3400
Robert Winger, MPM®
Marketing Committee
[email protected]
916-446-6663 x103
April is Fair Housing Month
3
April is here and things are taking shape at your Headquarters in re-structuring NARPM.
I hope you enjoy the new look of the Residential Resource. Your management company
has an outstanding Graphics and Communications Department and thanks to Kristi Lombardo with OMG and Editorial Chair Betty Fletcher, MPM®, this new look has come to
fruition.
The re-structuring of NARPM is under the direction of President Rose Thomas, MPM®.
She has been diligent in forming task-forces to look at the entire foundation of NARPM:
from how the organization services its chapters to the committee structure. I personally
thank all of the volunteers who put in countless hours to NARPM to make this a strong
organization. Once the re-structuring is completed, NARPM will be set to move into the
future by being a stronger association that truly serves its members.
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Be sure to check out Burlington, VT, the site of this year’s 2006 Fall Conference
and Trade Show. I understand there are many great sites in Burlington so bring
your family and enjoy the fall in wonderful Vermont. Watch the website at
www.narpm.org as details unfold. You will not want to miss this great event!
By the time this newsletter arrives in your mailbox, we hope to have our Internet Member Services (IMS) section of the website up and running. The updates
that are made to your membership records on this site are changed at Headquarters as soon as they are submitted. The same applies for registering for
events. The NARPM Store will also be moved to the IMS area. Remember,
the information you submit through this site will be real time so it happens as
soon as you click submit. Log on now and check out this great new feature!
We thank everyone who assisted in educating the management staff during our first six (6)
months with NARPM. Cher Leadbeater, NARPM’s administrative assistant, is working very
closely with the education segment of NARPM. She takes care of the chapters and ensuring the information arrives well before the seminar. If you should need anything you can
reach Cher at [email protected].
I hope that everyone has a great spring and thanks again for all you do for the property
management profession.
Gail S. Phillips, CAE
Executive Director
Help in Building the
Future of NARPM!
“Fly The Friendly Skies” -United Airlines
“When You Care Enough To Send The Very Best” -Hallmark
“The Voice For Real Estate” -National Assciation of REALTORS®
NARPM needs a tag line and we want YOU to submit ideas!
Come up with a broad theme that excites and works for multiple audiences (landlords, tenants, property managers, etc.) This
is not a mission statement so be creative! The tag lines will be judged by a committee and the winning tag line will be presented at the 2006 Convention in Burlington, Vermont. The winner will receive 500 NARPM dollars to be used any way they choose:
on classes, merchandise, conventions, membership dues, etc.
All entries MUST BE received by June 1, 2006. There is no limit to the number of entries per person so send in as many as you
like to [email protected].
4
April 2006 Residential Resource
April is Fair Housing Month
by Rose Thomas, MPM®
religion, national origin, disability, familial
status, marital status, age, sexual orientation,
source of income, or for any other arbitrary
reason.
Each year, in the United States, April is designated as Fair Housing Month.
In 1968, Congress signed into legislation
the Federal Fair Housing Act, which made
it illegal to discriminate against people in
the sale or rental of housing based on their
color, religion, race, or national origin. In the
early 1970’s, the act was amended to add
gender as a protected class. In 1988, the Fair
Housing Amendments Act expanded these
protections to include familial status and
disability. The Fair Housing Amendments
Act also established design and construction
guidelines for new housing built after March
13, 1991, in order to ensure accessibility to
persons with disabilities.
In its simplest form, housing discrimination
occurs when a tenant, a potential tenant, or
buyer of a house is treated differently than
others because of his or her race, color, sex,
Housing discrimination comes in various
forms and fashions including refusing to rent
or sell to someone, but also making tenants
and buyers follow rules that no one else
has to follow. Or it could be we treat them
worse than others are treated because they
belong to a protected class. Discrimination also occurs when a landlord refuses to
accommodate a disabled tenant’s reasonable request for special treatment, which is
needed due to a disability. This special treatment could involve changing or waiving a
rule (such as a no-pets policy, if the disabled
tenant needs a service animal) or requiring
physical changes to the dwelling (such as
building a wheelchair ramp or changing the
doorknob to an easy-open handle).
Today, it is illegal to discriminate against a
prospective tenant or an in-place tenant
based on his or her race, national origin,
color, gender, disability, and familial status.
California also prohibits discrimination based
NEW HOUSING RULES AFFECT PROPERTY MANAGERS
Phoenix Section 8 housing rules have recently changed and are affecting property managers. The rules now state that a tenant may
only occupy a dwelling which contains the number of bedrooms
listed on their voucher or certificate. Even though a tenant may be
able to find a residence within the financial guidelines of the voucher/
certificate, if the dwelling has more (or less) bedrooms than what is
listed on their voucher/certificate, they may not apply to rent that
unit. They also may not be eligible to remain in the unit in which
they already reside.
Very recently, this scenario had a significant impact on our company,
Bennett Property Management. At the time of lease renewal our tenant, “Regina,” applied to renew her rental with the city housing authority and our company. Her request was denied because the unit
is a three bedroom and her certificate is for a two bedroom. Even
though the rent is within the two bedroom financial limit, she was
told that she has to move. This affects Regina in many ways – she
and her family have been in this unit for many years. Now her family
will be uprooted and the kids might have to change schools. Regina
is a single mom with three kids, one of whom has a disability. Moving
costs like utility deposits and security deposits will be prohibitive. It
may take a couple of months to find a suitable rental that will accept
the new Section 8 changes.
on a person’s sexual orientation, source of
income, age, marital status, or any other
arbitrary reason.
There are legal forms of housing discrimination that are not protected by the fair housing
laws. They include discrimination due to bad
credit, bad tenancy history, low income, and
felony conviction, to name a few. Landlords
and property managers do have the right to
deny housing to people who do not qualify
based on these criteria.
It all boils down to a basic rule: treat everybody the same, but allow for the special
needs of persons with disabilities. For more
information visit www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/
index.cfm.
Rose Thomas, MPM® is president of
Property Management People, Inc.,
of Frederick, MD. She is currently
the 2006 NARPM president, is a past
president of the Maryland Suburban
Chapter, and since 1999 has served on the Board
of Directors as secretary, treasurer, vice president,
and president-elect.
taking calls, having showings, and screening applications. If a major
re-hab is needed due to the length of the tenant’s residency, the
property manager will have to get bids so the owner can authorize
the expenses. The owner is also greatly affected because he or she
now has a vacancy, lost rents, and re-hab costs.
In my opinion, this is a case of “the law of unintended consequences.” Typically, Section 8 tenants have a difficult time finding
units for rent already. Like it or not, there is a stigma on government
subsidized housing and the tenants who use and abuse it. There is
a mountain of paperwork and annual inspections that are very time
consuming for the property manager. The rule change was created
because of funding issues. The certificates are for the same amounts,
saving no money!
So, in review, we save no tax money, we cost tenants family disruption, managers time, and owners money for unnecessary rent-readies.
It does not seem beneficial or fair to any of those involved.
Anne McCawley, RMP® is an owner and designated broker of Bennett Property
Management in Mesa, AZ. She is the 2005 past president of the Phoenix Chapter, a member of the national Marketing Committee, and has been an active
NARPM member since 1997.
Our property manager and office administrative staff is also affected.
Marketing and re-renting the unit means placing the advertising,
April is Fair Housing Month
5
Building a Better Management Portfolio
by Bart H. Sturzl
While having a “honking” great time at the
2006 Leadership Symposium in Dallas, TX, I
was afforded the opportunity to speak with
other NARPM professionals about “Those
Crazy California Investors.” This article
written by Sylvia Hill, MPM®, which ran in
the December 2005 issue of the Residential
Resource, talked about how the California investor does not understand the local
markets in other areas of the country. From
all the talk in Dallas, it occurred to me that
I am not the only property manager in the
country dealing with the onslaught of investors flooding local markets with a supply
curve that is off the charts. However, from
my own experience with investors and by
listening to many of the NARPM members
in attendance, the problem of misinformation (or lack thereof) is not just the investor’s
fault. Their agents, who do not specialize
in property management, bear some of the
blame as well.
Last year, I received a cold call from an
agent asking if I could help out their client
with management and leasing needs. I was
thrilled to have a new agent in my referral
contact list. The agent put their client in
touch with me and I went right to work on a
current market analysis for the property they
were purchasing. Can you see this coming? After viewing the property, doing the
research, and compiling all the data I told
the investor exactly what they did not want
to hear. The rent was much lower than the
investor expected and the estimate for the
average number of days on the market was
too high. I explained to the investor that the
price was a recommendation based on current days on market for similar properties in
the area. I also advised them to call on other
6
property managers to make comparisons
as to my recommendation. I informed the
investor about NARPM and told them they
could find a list of local property managers
on the local and national website. The investor soon called back and told me she had
spoken to other property managers and those
managers had given her prices that were
right in line with what my data supported.
She just did not understand how the price
quoted by professional property managers
was so different from the potential price
presented to her by her agent. The inves-
“be professional,
be proactive!”
tor explained there was no way this would
work and wished me a nice day. My next
call came from one upset agent, “How could
you have run my client off? How could you
have upset them so much? You cost me a
sale!” As the phone slammed in my ear, I
thought to myself, “Gee…does this mean I
don’t get any more referrals from you?” At
that moment, I vowed to never allow this to
happen again. The solution to this problem is
to be proactive.
In order to prevent similar scenarios from
reoccurring, I decided to become involved in
the investment-buying process from the get
go. I started calling the agents on my referral
list and met with each of them individually.
I explained to each agent that by getting a
property management specialist involved
early in the purchase process, we could help
the client understand current market trends
and rent tendencies in our local market. If
April 2006 Residential Resource
investors are given the information up front,
they can make informed purchases in areas
that lease faster at better prices. There will
no longer be a discrepancy between the
rental price quoted by the agent and the reality of the local market. And, by involving us
from day one, agents’ sales would increase.
So, how does a property manager increase
an agent’s sales? When clients are happy
with the process, they refer all other investors
in their group to the agent and the property
manager. The client is happy, the agent is
happy, and you just added a property to your
portfolio that is better than the property you
may have gotten if the investor was not correctly informed.
This process has increased the quality of our
company’s management portfolio. We are
now providing a valuable service to agents
and their clients while increasing the quality
and value of properties that we are managing. The goal is to get the agent’s clients to
become our clients. This is much easier to
do if everyone in the transaction is on the
same page and happy about the service they
are receiving. Being proactive can streamline the transaction, improve the quality of
service, and increase professionalism in our
industry. There is only one clear choice that
stands above the rest for the investor, the
agent, and the property manager: be professional, be proactive!
Bart H. Sturzl is an RMP® candidate. He has served as secretary
and is currently the president of the
Austin Chapter of NARPM. Bart also
serves on the Texas Association of
REALTORS® Property Management
Committee and is one of the owner/brokers of Bella
Real Estate, Inc. in Austin, TX.
Do Not Call Registry Update
As of September 1, 2005, the cost
to access the national Do Not Call
Registry rose from $40 per area code to
$56 per area code. The maximum
amount to access all area codes will
rise from $11,000 to $15,400. Firm
s
can still obtain the first five area cod
es at no cost. Apartment firms who
use the telephone in their marketing
efforts must renew their subscription
s
to the registry once a year. The Fed
eral Trade Commission (FTC) has created a website, https://telemarketing
.donotcall.gov to inform telemarketers when their subscriptions expire
and to offer renewal instructions.
Upcoming Events
April 19-20, 2006
CA State Conference
Sonoma, CA
How Can 411 Be Free?
May 12, 2006
HI State Conference
(Oahu)
Honolulu, HI
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including short ad messages from local businesses. Give it a try next
time you need a phone number and buy yourself a treat with the money
saved!
May 18, 2006
HI State Conference
(Big Island)
Kailua-Kona, HI
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Keep a blank copy of co
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desk. With a big ,
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Anytime you have an ide
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When it is time to re-pri
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changes you wanted to
make!
Do you have a Quick Tip
? E-mail it to Jennifer Kellogg at jennifer@
kelloggagency.com.
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April is Fair Housing Month
7
Are YOU Aware of Flood Zone Risks?
All property owners are urged to take a moment during the new year to evaluate the flood risk of their homes and buildings, correct the flood
zone classifiction if it is wrong, and adjust flood insurance coverage to meet respective needs and budgets. Doing so creates educated flood
insurance customers, improves the value of properties, and saves money - always a top ten resolution.
In communities across the country, many residential and commercial property owners are forced to buy high-risk flood insurance when, in fact,
90% or more of them are low-risk and should be able to choose a level of coverage that best meets their needs. Federal regulations require
lenders to impose flood insurance coverage as part of loan agreements for structures located in flood zones, zones often depicted on outdated
maps. The mortgage companies do not evaluate all of the flood risk characteristics of a structure before determining whether or not it is in or
out of a flood zone.
“There is a significance inherent to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA). Whether intentional or not, the program misleads millions of property owners into thinking that their homes and buildings
are at high-risk of flooding when NFIP regulations ensure that they are not,” states Dan Freudenthal, president of Flood Zone Correction, Inc.
Freudenthal continues, “The NFIP mandates communities to adopt floodplain regulations in exchange for making flood insurance available
to the communities’ property owners. This is a fair trade, and it forces local communitites to be proactive in mitigating losses resulting from
floods. As a result, millions of low-risk property owners pay premiums that subsidize the premiums and claims of policyholders who truly have
high-risk homes and buildings.”
As consumers and companies embark on 2006 with a list of goals, high hopes, and anticipate another active storm season, Flood Zone Correction, Inc. issues a reminder to add “flood risk analysis,” a process that reveals whether or not the home or building is at high-risk or low-risk of
flooding in accordance with FEMA standards.
Flood Zone Correction, Inc., headquartered in West Palm Beach, FL, is an advocate for accuracy in the evaluation of flood risk and fairness in the imposition of
flood insurance requirements. Since its founding in 2001, Flood Zone Correction, Inc. has successfully reclassified over 90% of the residential and commercial
properties evaluated, saving clients millions of dollars and adding tens of millions of dollars to property values. For a free flood risk analysis or more information,
visit the company’s website at www.floodzonecorrection.com or call 877-FLOODZONE (877-356-6396).
Don’t you have enough to do? We can make it easier.
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No wonder we’re growing so fast.
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Your future tenants are living in the 21st Century. So are we.
Visit or call now: www.rentalhouses.com
8
April 2006 Residential Resource
1-866-822-RENT (7368)
How to Hire Property Management
Superstars
Can a person’s behavior and values really determine if they will be
a future superstar for your property management company? If you
knew the formula for hiring superstars and could cut your recruiting
costs in half, would you start today? This article outlines three simple
but critical steps for adding structure to your hiring process and raising
your level of success.
STRENGTHENING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
Prepare a consistent written interview game plan, to be used by each
person conducting the interviewing for your property management
company. Prior to the first interview, carefully review each resume
looking for any gaps or red flags that need to be resolved in the
interview. Then, identify the values and behaviors of the superstars
currently employed by your company and use this important data to
develop your interview questions to probe for these special attributes.
Next, prepare a list of questions to be asked by each person in the
interview process, as these questions should focus on the key success factors at your property management company. For example, if
your company is “performance driven”, then the behaviors or critical
success factors you want to listen for must be consistent with these
characteristics. Lastly, make sure your interview plan includes how to
do effective reference checks.
Tip From The Coach: Remember, the single best predictor of
future behavior is past behavior and what people have done can be
more important than who they are. Be certain to conduct multiple
interviews as few people reveal enough about themselves in one
session. In addition, spend only 20% of the interview talking, so you
can spend the rest of the interview listening for behavior and critical
success factors.
by Ernest F. Oriente, The Coach
current superstars and numerically be able to compare any variances
before you finalize your hiring decisions.
Tip From The Coach: Once a benchmark has been developed for
your company, the accuracy of your hiring will greatly improve. This
benchmark will also help to reduce employee turnover, increase morale, and solidify your company’s position as a market leader. While
there are many types of assessments, it is critical to use validated
instruments in your hiring process.
Want to learn more about using assessment tools in the hiring process? Email [email protected] and he will send you a two-page
behavior and values assessment form. Complete both pages and fax
your assessment forms back to his office at 435-615-8670. In return,
you will be confidentially sent an 18 page assessment (a $200 value)
outlining your unique leadership and communication styles and
values.
Ernest F. Oriente, The Coach, is the founder of PowerHour®,
a professional business coaching/recruiting service, and the
author of SmartMatch Alliances™. He has spent 18,300 hours
(since 1988) delivering customized training, by telephone, in
leadership, tradition/Internet marketing and sales for property
management companies, apartment locator/corporate housing services, and
multi-housing sales/service companies worldwide. PowerHour® is based in
Park City, UT, at 435-615-8486, by email [email protected], or visit their
TeleForum website at www.powerhour.com.
RECRUITING CLOSE TO HOME
It takes a special kind of person to thrive in the property management field and the people who do tend to spend time (personally
and professionally) with people like them. So, consider your current
employees as your best recruiting source, as they understand the
soul and spirit of your property management company. Some of our
clients hire 50% of all new employees from employee referrals and it
makes for very cost effective recruiting.
Tip From The Coach: Consider some form of cash incentive or
special award to those who refer new employees to your property
management company. Your appreciation will go a long way in helping to find future superstars and will enhance team spirit. However,
just because a current employee recommends a person, it does not
change your employment process.
USING POWERFUL ASSESSMENT TOOLS
In addition to the traditional interview steps, use written assessments
to validate your interview process. This kind of tool can be custombuilt for your company and will “benchmark” the behavior and
values of your current superstars for each key position within your
property management company. By using this benchmark you will
be able to compare the behavior and values of each new hire to your
April is Fair Housing Month
9
One Cool Tool: The Virtual Tour
by Dave Fletcher, RMP®
Marketing is a toolbox used to convert empty
properties into rented ones, so the more
tools available in the toolbox the better.
One basic tool needed is a digital camera to
produce interior and exterior photos of each
vacant unit. The photos should be available
for viewing both in the office and on the web
site. After all, a picture is worth a thousand
words!
Now advance to the next level and offer a
virtual tour of each property on your website.
Here at Fletcher Property Management,
Inc., CRMC®, we have found this to be One
Cool Tool for prospective tenants and owners alike. Prospective owners are impressed
when they discover that we show their
vacant property twenty-four hours a day,
seven days a week. Often times we are told
this feature was the deciding factor for them
to call us instead of another management
company.
Our first contact with this cool tool was during a visit to the website of Get There First
Realty, CRMC® in Dallas, TX, who offer a virtual tour of every vacancy regardless of price.
Mark Kreditor, MPM®, willingly shared
information on their EGG Photo 360 Lens.
He also mentioned finding this lens more
reasonably priced on eBay. My broker,
and wife of twenty-six years, Betty Fletcher,
MPM®, saw the potential and so we followed
Mark’s wise advice and got a great deal on a
new EGG Photo 360 Lens.
The EGG Lens itself weighs less than 12.4
ounces, is 7 ¾ inches from top to bottom, 5
inches across at the top, and about 2 inches
across at the bottom. It also comes with its
own carrying case.
“we show their
vacant property
twenty-four hours
a day, seven days
a week.”
While newer cameras may not be tested yet,
you can find a list of tested and compatible
cameras at www.eggsolution.com. Click the
link for ‘Support’ at the bottom of the home
page. Select your product (EGG Photo 360)
under “Useful Support Information” at the
bottom right corner of this page and click
“Go.” Click the “Full Compatible Equipment
List” under “Useful Support Information”
(again in the bottom right corner of the
page). Choose a brand from the drop
down list. Then choose a specific
camera and click ‘Get Settings’ to
see a list of adapters, rings, and
settings to create your virtual
tour with this particular
camera. Our current
camera is an 8-megapixel Sony DSC-F828.
You do not need 8megapixels to produce a good
virtual tour.
GTF Realty, in Dallas, TX, uses the 4.1-megapixel Sony Cybershot DSC-S85 and Wayne
Jones of Watson Realty in Jacksonville, FL is
using a 5-megapixel Kodak Z730.
Our first camera required an adapter,
which we found awkward since it had to be
removed to change the camera’s batteries.
Companies with several different people
using the equipment have had problems with
the adapters being stripped, so leave the lens
attached to the camera permanently. Be
warned to be careful!
One main criteria for compatibility of the
EGG Lens to most digital camera is the
availability of lens adapters, which must be
bought separately. It is important to confirm
that you can acquire an adapter to work with
your camera before purchasing the EGG
Lens. The lens adapters serve two purposes:
•
•
Allowing the camera lens to expand
even when it is connected to an accessory; and
Providing the necessary threads to attach
the EGG Lens to the camera.
Cameras with existing threads to connect filters and other lenses do not need lens adapters. They will probably need adapter rings to
accommodate the differing diameters in the
lens and the camera. The EGG Lens comes
with a set of seven common adapter rings.
You may need a combination of rings or even
need to order a special ring for your camera.
My Sony DSC-F828 camera uses two adapter
rings to go from the camera’s M58 diameter
to the M46 diameter of the EGG Lens.
You also need a good tripod. Mount the
camera on the tripod and then attach the
EGG Lens onto the camera. Place the tripod
in about the center of the room. You want
the EGG Lens to be about head high. To
insure the setup is level you can eyeball it
or place a small leveler on top of the lens.
Once set up to shoot a virtual tour, you will
notice a distorted unrecognizable round
picture in the camera’s viewfinder. For this
reason, the camera you choose must allow
for manual focus. Your goal with the manual
focus is just to fill the viewfinder with the
picture.
It may take some trial and error to get the
light settings correct for the many different
conditions you will be shooting in. While
10
April 2006 Residential Resource
you need plenty of light for a good picture,
too much light can cause problems. If you
are doing an exterior shot on a sunny day,
make sure the camera is not in direct sun.
Inside, you may need to adjust blinds or
drapes to minimize the intensity of the direct
light.
TIP: You cannot use the camera’s flash with
your virtual tour.
The end result will be a 360 degree photo of
the room. Look around carefully, because
whatever you see (the camera case on the
counter, the bag of trash by the door, and
yes, even you) will be in the virtual tour. Use
the camera’s self-timer, set up the shot, and
then retreat outside the shot. If you can still
see the camera, then the camera can still see
you.
TIP: Find the starting point of the virtual tour
and mark the spot on the top of the lens.
This will allow you to position the camera to
control the starting image of each shot in the
virtual tour.
We have found it helpful to use different
settings of the same shots to ensure a good
set of pictures. It is better to take additional
pictures than to drive back to the property
and do it all over again. This is a good time
to refer back to the settings obtained from
www.eggsolutions.com for your specific
camera.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Windows® 95/NT4/98/
Me/or 2000
Pentium® 2.00 Mhz
processor
(Pentium II 500 Mhz
recommended)
64 MB of RAM
(128 MB of RAM
recommended)
800 x 600 screen area
65,000 colors
(16 million recommended)
16 MB of available
hard disk space
Internet Explorer 4.0 or
Netscape Navigator 4.0
With this user-friendly software you can create a virtual tour simulating a physical tour of
the property. Start your virtual tour with the
front exterior of the home. Then, progress
through the front door and go systematically room-by-room ending with the hot tub
on the covered rear deck. Leave the closet
doors open in the bedrooms, allowing the
prospective tenant to better gauge available
closet space. Arrange shots of each room
before saving the final perfect virtual tour.
There is also an option within the software to
prepare a virtual tour for emailing.
If you will be using the virtual tours on your
website then you need to contact your computer tech directly to ensure success. The
virtual tour itself needs to reside in an accessible location
with a static IP
address. For a
fee, the EGG
Solution folks
will store them
for you. Some
online listing
services also offer this without
the additional fee, so check with your online
listing service of choice before investing
in this technology. For those that do, you
upload your virtual tour the same way you
upload pictures.
“this One Cool Tool sets us apart from
others in the market, both in the eyes of
owners looking for a management company and tenants looking for a new home.”
The next step is to download the pictures
onto your computer. We have a folder on
our hard drive for each property. We create a file named ‘Temp VTour’ within that
property’s folder. Saving the original pictures
allows us to recreate a virtual tour at anytime
without another visit to the property.
The software needed to create the virtual
tour comes with the EGG Lens and its minimum configuration requirements are:
take numerous static photos.
But that is ok, I would use hand puppets if it
would help me to rent properties faster.
How many hours a day can people look
through your properties? How many days of
the week are you available to show properties? In this respect, thanks to the EGG Lens
Virtual Tour, we are open when you are
closed.
Not everyone will advance to this level in
their marketing. However, we have found
that this One Cool Tool sets us apart from
others in the market, both in the eyes of
owners looking for a management company
and tenants looking for a new home.
Dave Fletcher, RMP® of Fletcher Property Management, Inc., CRMC® uses
this cool tool in the Central Little Rock,
AR, area. Dave is immediate past president of the Central Arkansas Chapter
of NARPM (the 2005 Chapter of the Year). On the
national level, Dave serves on the Membership and
Certification Committees. Contact Dave at (501)
907-7091 x102 with any cool tool questions.
We also use static photos of the properties
for those online listing services where we
cannot utilize virtual tours and for the viewer
whose computer may be slow to bring them
up. Obviously this takes more time at the
property to change the camera settings and
April is Fair Housing Month
11
NARPM FAX
Legislative Source
by Jim Reimer, MPM®
Junk Fax Act Overrides
Do-Not-Fax Regulation
from the December 2005 Tax Credit
Housing Management Insider
On July 9, 2005, President Bush
signed into law the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 (Junk Fax Act),
which overrides key provisions of the Do-Not-Fax regulation that
was enacted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
in July 2003. The Do-Not-Fax regulation required all businesses
wanting to send commercial faxes to get prior written permission
to do so from each intended recipient. There was a temporary
exemption to this requirement, though: prior written permission
was not needed to send faxes to recipients with whom a business had an existing business relationship (EBR). But the EBR
exemption was set to expire on January 1, 2006.
“The Junk Fax Act makes the EBR exemption permanent and
adds new requirements with which businesses that want to
send commercial faxes must comply,” says Jeanne Delgado, vice
president of property management for the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC).
The following will tell you more about the Junk Fax Act, what
you need to do to comply with it, and what the penalties are if
you fail to do so.
WHAT THE JUNK FAX ACT MEANS FOR YOU
The Junk Fax Act is good news for owners and managers who
market their tax credit website, or who communicate with prospects, residents, or suppliers through faxes. The Junk Fax Act
still bans you from sending commercial faxes—that is, faxes that
contain information about the “commercial availability or quality
of any property, goods, or services”—to people with whom you
do not have an EBR, “unless you get prior written permission
from these people to do so,” explains Delgado. “But it makes
the EBR exemption permanent, which means you can continue
to send commercial faxes to people with whom you have an
EBR without getting prior written consent from them to do so,”
she explains.
The law defines EBR as a relationship “based on a two-way
communication regarding the fax recipient’s inquiry, application,
purchase, or transaction.” “So you probably have an EBR with
prospects with whom you have had prior contact, existing and
prior residents, and vendors or suppliers you have dealt with or
are currently dealing with,” she explains.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS SET BY ACT
In addition to making the EBR exemption permanent, the Junk
12
April 2006 Residential Resource
Fax Act sets the following additional requirements that you must
comply with when sending permitted commercial faxes:
Conspicuous “opt-out” language must be included on faxes.
“You must include conspicuous “opt-out” language—that is,
language explaining how fax recipients can refuse future faxes
from you—on the first page of all commercial faxes,” says Delgado. You will have to choose a method for accepting opt-out
requests, such as via phone or e-mail, and then include in your
faxes language explaining how recipients can opt-out of getting
future faxes from you.
Opt-out must be available at no charge and at any time. “You
must allow recipients to opt-out of future faxes at no charge and
at any time—24 hours a day, 7 days a week, says Delgado. Setting up a toll-free phone number that has an attached answering
machine or an e-mail address to accept opt-out requests should
be sufficient,” she says.
Only fax numbers obtained from certain sources can be used.
“As of July 9, 2005, you can send faxes only to people whose
fax number you got directly from them or from a published
source to which they gave their fax number, such as a website
or directory, and to people whose fax number you had before
the Junk Fax Act went into effect,” says Delgado. “You can not
send faxes to people whose fax numbers you got from, say, a list
of fax numbers that was not supposed to be sold or distributed,”
she says.
The FCC is required to issue rules implementing the Junk Fax
Act’s requirements within 270 days of the July 9, 2005 enactment date. These rules will most likely spell out, among other
things, what needs to be included in your opt-out language and
what opt-out mechanisms the FCC will consider to be sufficient.
STIFF PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS
If you violate the Junk Fax Act, you will face stiff penalties. “The
FCC could fine you up to $11,000 per violation,” says Delgado.
“Also, recipients of faxes you sent in violation of the Junk Fax Act
can sue you for actual damages of up to $500 per violation,” she
adds.
Jim Reimer, MPM® is president of Management One, Inc.
His company has been specializing in managing single-family
homes for over seventeen years. He is a past president and
active member of the Southwest Idaho Chapter. He was
NARPM national affiliate chair in 2004 and is currently serving as legislative chair for 2005-2006. Jim can be contacted
at [email protected].
Federal Trade Commission
Helps Renters Improve Credit Reports
by Colleen P. Tressler
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the
nation’s consumer protection agency, helps
educate consumers about issues that affect
their financial well being. The FTC not only
enforces laws that protect consumers’ rights
to get, use, and maintain credit, it also translates often complex laws into practical, plain
language guidance that consumers can use to
make wise decisions in the marketplace.
Many consumers may know that the information in their credit report affects their ability
to get a loan, and how much they will have
to pay to borrow money. But consumers
may not know that residential property managers and landlords use credit reports to help
them evaluate rental applications. That is
why it is important for potential applicants to
review their credit report before they look for
a place to live, and make sure the information it contains is accurate, complete, and
up-to-date.
Consumers should also consider ordering
their credit report to help guard against identity theft. That is when someone uses their
personal information – like their name, Social
Security number, or credit card number – to
commit fraud. Identity thieves may use the
consumer’s information to open a new credit
card account in their name. Then, when the
identity thief does not pay the bills, the delin-
quent account is reported on the consumer’s
credit report. This inaccurate information
could affect the consumer’s ability to rent a
home, get credit, insurance, or a job.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires
each of the nationwide consumer reporting
companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to provide consumers with a free
copy of their credit report, at their request,
once every twelve (12) months. Consumers can order their free annual credit report
online at www.annualcreditreport.com;
by phone, toll free 1-877-322-8228; or by
completing the Annual Credit Report Request
Form and mailing it to Annual Credit Report
Request Service, PO Box 105281, Atlanta,
GA 30348 5281. Consumers can learn more
about free credit reports and print the form
at www.ftc.gov/credit.
Consumers who find errors in their reports
should dispute the information. Under the
FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider (that is,
the person, company, or organization that
provides information to the consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting
inaccurate or incomplete information in the
reports. To take advantage of all their rights
under this law, consumers should contact the
consumer reporting company and the infor-
mation provider. The FTC publication, How
to Dispute Credit Report Errors, explains how
to dispute and correct inaccurate information in a credit report, and includes a sample
dispute letter.
Other FTC publications that may be of special interest to residential property managers, include: Building a Better Credit Report,
which explains how consumers can legally
improve their credit report, deal with debt,
and spot credit related scams; and Fiscal
Fitness: Choosing a Credit Counselor, which
explains the differences between secured
and unsecured debt, defines debt repayment plans, and offers questions to ask credit
counseling agencies for consumers who may
be seeking their services.
These publications are just a sample from
the FTC’s extensive library of credit-related
materials at www.ftc.gov/credit. Many
also are available in Spanish. To order free
publications from the FTC, please visit www.
ftc.gov/order. You also may print copies from
www.ftc.gov/credit.
Colleen P. Tressler is a senior consumer education
specialist with the Federal Trade Commission’s
Bureau of Consumer Protection.
April is Fair Housing Month
13
Inquiring Minds
Question Key Systems
by Betty Fletcher, MPM®
While working our way through the CRMC®
checklist last year, the item relating to property key control made me wonder about the
methods used by other NARPM members.
So my inquiring mind asked: Do you label
the keys with the property address or do you
use key codes? Do you re-key locks for each
new tenant? What is your procedure for a
tenant lockout? Do you have a key cutting
machine in your office? Do you have tools
to pick a lock? Do your owners retain keys
to their properties? Do you have a procedure for vendors and employees to check out
keys?
Linda Holzer, RMP® with Rental Network in
El Paso, TX uses key codes. They have two
locking key boxes in their office and keys are
numbered by property. In addition, the keys
are batched by owner or apartment property.
Batch A would contain keys for all of Owner
A’s properties, regardless of their location
in the city. Within each batch, the keys are
numbered. Each batch, number, and corresponding address is listed in the computer
system. Locks are rekeyed within five days of
a new tenant’s possession of the property. If
a tenant finds themselves on the wrong side
of their locked door during business hours,
Linda will unlock the door without charge
(the first time) or the tenant can borrow a
key from the office and will be charged a
fee if that key is not returned. For lockouts
after hours or during a holiday, the tenant
is instructed to contact a locksmith. With a
larger office increasing the opportunity for
someone to have a key or access when they
should not, Linda chose not to have a key
cutting machine or tools to pick a lock. Also,
because of liability concerns, their owners do
not have keys to the property.
Beverly Browning, MPM® of BrowningGordon & Company in Nashville, TN keeps
property keys in a locked closet furnished
with pegboard walls. With most keys at eye
14
level, it is quick work to find the key in question. Keys are divided by property teams
A or B. So when Team A obtains a new
property listing at 1112 Longview Drive, the
key tag would read A and the next sequential number available. The code is kept in
the unit profile in the property management
software. If you set up a category titled
‘Key Code’ and assign the code to each unit
profile, you could also print a paper list of
codes. Browning-Gordon’s lease clearly
states that tenant lockouts due to lost keys or
tenant forgetfulness are the responsibility of
the tenant. Locked out tenants may contact
a locksmith or the on-call vendor, who will
expect cash payment in full after the property
is unlocked. With the proper picture ID,
a tenant may borrow a key during normal
business hours. Vendors are required to sign
when checking keys in and out.
Susan Albern, MPM® of Rocky Mountain
Property Management, CRMC® in Loveland,
CO finds it most effective to use metal key
caddies designed to fit a standard hanging
file drawer in either a desk or cabinet. Keys
are easily accessible and locked up when
unattended. Each caddy holds 50 keys and
are lettered A, B, C, etc. so the key codes
become A1, B12, etc. A key code log, kept
separate from the desk or cabinet, makes
finding the property an easy task. A combination lockbox is hung on vacant properties for maintenance access. All lockbox
combinations are scheduled to be changed
every three months to insure continued key
security. Both in-house and independent
repair technicians sign keys in and out.
We have used several techniques here at
Fletcher Property Management, Inc., CRMC®
in Little Rock, AR. We used to list the address on each key tag. After all, other local
property managers were doing the same
without incident. Then after two of the
upstairs units in our office building were
burglarized within the same week, we realized that a burglar would certainly discover a
gold mine in our office. Sets of keys, clearly
labeled to 200 different homes around the
county. They probably could not even be
charged with breaking and entering on anything other than our office!
Thus, our current key code system was
April 2006 Residential Resource
created. Each owner is assigned a two or
three-digit code. Use of a three-digit owner
code alerts us that the property’s locks are
mastered. The next two digits are part of the
street number and are followed by the name
of the street. So the key code for 123 Main
and 1708 Lewis, for the same owner, would
be 20.23 Main and 20.08 Lewis. Vendors
are happy because they can easily match the
key to the property. We are happy because
someone finding a dropped key will not be
able to use it to access a home at 2023 Main.
Also, dropped keys find their way back to us
since our key tags have our company name,
address, and phone number pre-printed on
the back.
We purchased a key-duplicating machine
for about $400 from a locksmith who was
upgrading to a newer model. This saves us
many trips to the hardware store to have
duplicate keys cut. Our locksmith sells us
blanks for about 10 cents each and we then
charge a fee for each key cut. Over a short
period of time, this machine has more than
paid for itself in convenience, time saved,
and the profit from each key cut. Tenants
are offered the opportunity to purchase key
copies from other sources. However, unlike
them, we guarantee our keys to work and
will replace any that do not!
Next month’s topic is tenant leases. Do you
use separate addendums in your lease or do
you combine it all into one document? You
have rented the property to two roommates
and now a third wants to move in. What do
you do? Do you charge tenants for notices
served? Do you accept rent paid in cash or
via credit card? What is your favorite tenant
excuse for not paying rent?
Share your knowledge with your fellow NARPM members by e-mailing your
responses to [email protected]. Be
sure to include your name and the name of
your company.
Betty Fletcher, MPM® is owner and
principal broker of Fletcher Property Management, Inc., CRMC® in
Little Rock, AR. She is the founding
president and an active member of
the Central Arkansas Chapter, the 2005 Chapter
of the Year. On the national level, Betty serves as
treasurer and editorial chair.
Courageous Leaders
Need to ATTACK!
Reprinted with permission from www.rismedia.com
What is the most important leadership trait for surviving our tough-asnails economy? You might guess intuition (for knowing where to take
your company next) or persuasiveness (for getting others to go along
with you) or resourcefulness (for getting more bang from very limited
bucks). But according to Mike Staver, you would be wrong. The
most critical leadership trait, the one without which none of the others matter, is something you are more likely to associate with four-star
generals or firefighters than with managers: courage.
“Here’s the thing about operating in a harsh business environment:
there are serious consequences for making the wrong move,” says
Staver, advisor and author of the new booklet Leadership Isn’t for
Cowards—How to Lead Courageously in a Turbulent Age.
“The safety net just isn’t there,” he says. “And because competition
is so fierce and customers are so savvy, you may have to make some
pretty risky choices to differentiate yourself. Otherwise, you’re a nonentity--and your career and maybe even your company may fail.”
Fortunately, there is some good news. Courage is not a quality that
you are born with or without. It can be developed and nurtured.
And if you commit to leading with courage, and consciously work
toward that goal every day in every decision you make and every
action you take, acting courageously will soon become an automatic
response.
In Leadership Isn’t for Cowards, Staver explores what courage really is,
why it matters so much, and what you can do to bring it out in yourself and the others in your company. He says the path to courageous
leadership has six components and they can be summed up using the
acronym ATTACK:
A: Accept Your Current Circumstances.
I have found that most leaders either overestimate or underestimate
the health of their current culture. Very few people have a realistic
grasp on it. You, as a leader, need to look reality in the face and
accept it. By the way, this does not mean you should settle. Accepting that you have a less-than-ideal corporate culture is the first step
toward changing that culture for the better. Ask yourself this question: what are you pretending not to know?
T: Take Responsibility.
A courageous leader is willing to own the results of his or her choices.
Do not blame the market or interest rates or any other outside conditions for circumstances inside your culture. As a leader, they are your
responsibility. That does not mean every problem your company has
is your fault of course, but if you fail to do anything about it, that is
your fault. Responsibility is not about blame; it is about response.
Own what is yours.
T: Take Action.
You are never going to have all the data necessary to make the kinds
of decisions you need to make as a leader. You have to act in spite of
that fact. And even if you do have the data, you must be courageous
enough not to feel that you have to have every “t” crossed and every
“i” dotted before you pull the trigger. Just make sure every action
you take is in line with where your heart is, where your values are,
and where your culture is—or more accurately, where you want your
culture to be in the future. Analyze the pitfalls and act quickly.
A: Acknowledge Progress.
Many leaders are so goal-oriented that they cannot really see the
individual steps of the process. Determine the desirable results,
determine the benchmarks, and be certain that those benchmarks are
acknowledged and celebrated when they are achieved. Celebrate
them with the same energy and enthusiasm as you would if the goal
were already accomplished.
C: Commit to Lifelong Learning.
If you are leading, you are learning. If you are not learning, you are
not leading, regardless of your title. So many executives get into a
leadership role and have the sense that they have “arrived.” That
is the death knell for leadership success. You must commit yourself
to learning on three levels: learn about yourself first, your people
second, and your industry third. The extent to which you do these
things, in that order, is the extent to which you are going to exhibit
courage.
K: Kindle Relationships.
Courageous leaders are constantly developing people, engaging
people, caring about people’s progress. This does not mean you
should gather your employees around in a circle, have them put their
arms around each other, and lead them all in singing “Kum Ba Yah.”
Nothing could be further from the truth! Courageous leadership does
not mean softening your approach with people. It actually means
toughening your approach. It means confronting people, challenging
people, not letting them get away with being less than you know they
can be.
Interested in more information about the ATTACK method and other helpful
tips on leadership? Visit www.thestavergroup.com. The booklet, Leadership
Isn’t for Cowards—How to Lead Courageously in a Turbulent Age, is also available for free download.
April is Fair Housing Month
15
Knowlege is Power
Reading Corner
by Suzanne Cameron, MPM®
DOES CONFLICT END IN
DISSOLUTION OR RESOLUTION?
In my opinion, conflict is one of the most
stressful parts of our life. We face it in our
relationships with the people in our office,
with property owners, tenants, vendors, and
business associates. Our personal relationships with family and friends are not free
from it either.
Conflict can be a vehicle for taking you down
the road to understanding, peace, joy, and
love or down the dark paths to frustration,
anger, confusion, and negative emotions.
Conflict is a necessary part of relationships
and one of our most worthy challenges in
life. It challenges our values, ethics, and
integrity.
Webster’s dictionary describes conflict
as “being in opposition, to fight, quarrel,
struggle, do battle, to have discord of action, feeling or effect, and have conflicting
emotions.” That does not sound or feel like
much fun. It certainly does not make me
want to volunteer to go first to start the process. Conflict is a process that starts with one
person and is continued by another. There
is a goal and purpose within it. Without it,
relationships are not vibrant and healthy.
What if we asked Webster to change the
meaning of conflict to “dealing or bargaining with another to bring about, by discussion, a settlement of terms that eliminates
opposition, struggle, conflicting emotions,
and the need to battle?” Wouldn’t we all be
a lot more willing to embrace conflict and
participate? Why couldn’t something with
a positive action, like negotiate, be synonymous with conflict?
There is a book that turns conflict into negotiation and is called Crucial Conversations by
Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. This book provides
tools for being prepared to turn conflict into
positive actions and results by learning how
to turn valuable ideas into lasting habits. By
following its steps for better understanding
and enhancing communication, most of your
relationships will become worthwhile and
rewarding experiences.
The tools in this book are clear enough that
one will easily be able to learn how to monitor one’s self and the results. It helps the
reader know how to stay focused on what
he or she really wants and how to notice
when safety is at risk. There is a section that
explores the importance of feeling safe and
making others safe. It helps us know how
to effectively stay in dialogue even when we
are angry, scared, or hurt. It provides helpful
ways to recognize when someone is not feeling safe and how to reestablish and maintain
safety. It shares ways to speak persuasively,
16
April 2006 Residential Resource
not abrasively, so that what we say and how
we say it is more accepting. It also offers
ways to listen when others blow up or clam
up.
When faced with conflict, we can avoid it,
face it and handle it poorly, or face it and
handle it well. Before I read this book, I often dreaded conflict. I knew avoiding it was
unhealthy and detrimental for my relationships but sometimes struggled with all of the
emotion it caused. Now that I understand
the need for feeling safe and have learned effective ways to measure safety and maintain
it, I am not so overwhelmed by entering into
conflict because it feels more manageable.
There is a short, easy-to-read book called
How to Make People Like You in 90 seconds
or Less by Nicholas Boothman, that offers
ways to build rapport quickly and help make
people feel safe. It talks about how to read
body language and synchronize behavior
for warm, meaningful connections. It shares
ways for making face-to-face communication
comfortable on the first contact and explains
why attitude is everything, actions speak
louder than words, and it is more about
listening than talking. There is helpful advice
on how to tune in on our senses so we can
more effectively communicate in ways that
make sense to others.
This people-power book has only ten chapters, each between seven to fifteen pages and
has a short self-test to see how you tune-in
to the world. It was a great book to pass
around to the office staff and ask each one
to pick a chapter and take turns sharing the
information with us at office meetings. We
got to learn about the whole book while only
having to read one chapter.
We all know to err is human, but do we all
agree that to apologize is powerful? The
short, easy to read parable The One Minute Apology by Ken Blanchard and Margret
McBride, claims apologies may be the most
overlooked communication tool around.
By this book’s definition, an apology is “a
communication tool used as a way to make a
needed change for overcoming conflict.”
Admitting mistakes and apologizing is about
being honest and truthful with one’s self and
others. When sincere, it ends with integrity.
The book, however, points out that a one
minute apology is incomplete without a
sincere attempt to make things right because
without a change in behavior, just saying “I’m
sorry” is not enough.
When we admit to a mistake, it is not about
feeling guilt or shame or placing blame.
When we stay out of judgment, we make it
safe for everyone to accept responsibility
for errors and work through conflict while
maintaining a genuine sense of integrity.
When one apologizes and offers to change
whatever action caused the problem, it helps
to restore confidence and rebuild trust. Both
are important elements for restoring and
maintaining safety during crucial conversations. To openly admit a mistake is empowering because it allows others to feel safe
enough to also admit mistakes and apologize.
It sets a positive example for others and is a
true sign of strength.
This book helps one realize the toughest part
of apologizing is admitting we are wrong and
the best part is that an apology is deeper than
words. At the core of most conflict is a truth
someone does not want to face, but if we are
willing to begin with surrender and not have
an attachment to the outcome, it will end
with integrity. The book reminds us that the
legacy you leave is the one you live.
If one waits too long to apologize, it will
be perceived as weakness and wickedness.
People with self-doubt and false pride both
have trouble apologizing because their selfappreciation is external. They think who
they are is a function of their performance
and that the opinion of others and the world
revolves around them. Simply put, it shows
a lack of humility. This is something we can
all relate to because of what sometimes happens in the large corporate world and on the
political scene.
This book is a must read for anyone who
feels threatened and uncomfortable apologizing. Apology can be a powerful tool that
turns the corner when in conflict and heads
everyone down the road towards resolution.
The tools in these books provide powerful ways for turning conflict into resolution
through safe negotiation to reach a mutual
agreement. The definition of negotiating
sounds and feels a lot better to me than conflict does. Maybe after reading this, Webster
would be willing to add it to his dictionary’s
definition of conflict so it does not sound or
feel all negative.
If you have read a book that you enjoyed
learning from and was inspired by, I would
like to hear about it. Please e-mail the name
and author of the book, along with a brief
description of its contents and how it helped
you, to [email protected]
Suzanne Cameron, MPM® is a
founding member and past president of the King County Chapter
of NARPM, served as a NARPM
national director from 1995-98,
chaired the Legislative, Publications,
Midyear Conference, and Certification Committees,
and is a national designation instructor. She began
her real estate career in 1978 and has been the
president/broker of Around The Clock, Inc. CRMC®
in Kent, Washington since 1990.
Interested in buying the books?
affiliate program
The books described above are available for purchase online at Amazon.com
through NARPM’s Affiliate Book Program.
The three books mentioned in the January
2006 issue column are also available for
purchase. Visit the NARPM website at:
www.narpm.org/members/residential-resource.html. Do not forget to log in first!
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April is Fair Housing Month
17
Spread the Knowledge at
NARPM’s 18th Annual
Convention & Trade Show
September 27 – 30, 2006
Burlington, Vermont
Featuring:
Professional Guest Speakers
General Sessions
Workshop Breakout Sessions
Various Educational Tracks
RMP® and MPM® Designation Classes
Networking and a whole lot more!
Convention Brochures Coming in June 2006
Early Bird Registration Fee of ONLY $395.00
Hotel: Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center, 870 Williston Road, South Burlington, Vermont 05403,
www.sheratonburlington.com. Discount convention rate $139 (single/double/triple/quad). Call 800-325-3535, to
book reservations prior to September 1, 2006. Mention NARPM to receive the discounted hotel rate.
The Sheraton Burlington is the most highly awarded Sheraton in North America. Conveniently located in one of
the most beautiful locales in America, Burlington, Vermont, the hotel is just 5 minutes from Burlington International
Airport, 15 minutes from the Amtrak station and a scenic drive from many cities in the northeast corridor.
For additional information contact NARPM at 800-782-3452.
18
April 2006 Residential Resource
WHY BURLINGTON?
NARPM’s 2006 Annual Convention and Trade Show location
Get ready to be inspired by the beauty of the lakes, mountains, rivers,
and forests in Burlington, Vermont. Whether you like to hike, ski,
fish, bike, golf, watch wildlife, or ice climb, the possibilities of outdoor
activities are endless. In June 1999, Outdoor Explorer Magazine
declared it to be “the number one place for families that love outdoor
sports.”
Located on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, Burlington is
Vermont’s largest city and has also been called one of America’s
most livable cities with many attractions and events year round. The
average temperature for September is 63 degrees, with a low of 53
degrees, and a high of 74 degrees. The fall foliage typically hits its
peak in early October, so the convention will be held a week later
than usual.
The setting for the convention will be at the Sheraton Burlington
Hotel and Conference Center, the largest hotel and conference
center in the state of Vermont, located near downtown businesses
and shopping, the University of Vermont, and Lake Champlain. The
hotel has an indoor heated swimming pool, whirlpool, and fitness
center. There are five ski areas within an hour’s drive of the hotel.
Other attractions in the area include Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory,
Cold Hollow Cider Mill, Ethan Allen’s Homestead, Shelburne Farms,
Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, Otter Creek Brewery, and the Shelburne
Museum. There is also glass blowing, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and sport fishing. So plan to come early, stay late, or both!
There
will be
plenty
to do!
If you
prefer
to
travel by
air, check rates with Jet
Blue, US Airways, United, Continental,
Delta, and Northwest Airlines. The Burlington International Airport (BTV) is located only two miles from the hotel. However, if
you prefer to travel by rail, there is an Amtrak Station within minutes
of the hotel.
Make your plans now, to join us this year in Burlington, Vermont,
September 27-30, 2006 for NARPM’s 19th Annual Convention and
Trade Show. Your Convention Committee is working hard to make
this event one of the best in NARPM history! Sign up now and get
the early bird registration fee of only $395 to enjoy professional
general session speakers, informative workshop sessions, take a class
to complete your designation, network with friends both old and
new, then plan to extend your stay to see some of the sights in this
beautiful city. View the convention flyer on the opposite page for
more details.
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April is Fair Housing Month
19
Solving Rental Problems
with Software
by Jeff Zimmerman
It seems like a good idea at first
– invest in a rental property, sit
back, and watch that extra income
start rolling in. Sounds easy,
right? Well, while that might be
the case for some, most landlords
find themselves lost in a pile of
overstuffed file folders, endless
receipts, and stacks of homegrown
accounting spreadsheets. Unfortunately, for the 15 million landlords
who annually file a Schedule E,
the infamous IRS tax form, there is
more to owning rental properties
than just collecting a tenant’s check
each month.
Juggling mounds of paperwork
is hard enough, especially while
wearing other landlord hats such
as plumber, roofer, or electrician. And these tasks can become
especially daunting for “accidental
landlords” who are property owners as a result of an inheritance
or by unexpected circumstances.
But, whether by accident or design, most real estate investors are
concerned with the bottom line
– cash flow and filing taxes come
April 15th.
ORGANIZED CHAOS
“I used to keep all my receipts in
a box and just dump them on the
accountant’s desk,” said Melody
Takami, owner of one rental
property in Lake Jackson, Texas.
“I’d walk through his doors without
any idea what my true taxable
income was. I had no idea what
my true expenses were. I thought
I was making a profit on my rental
property, but the truth was I was
only averaging about $125. My
expenses were much bigger then I
realized,” she said. “The overhead
was eating me alive and I had to
raise the rent for the first time in
five years.”
For many property investors,
finding the time and gaining the
expertise to keep accurate records
for tax time proves to be nearly impossible without the proper tools.
“I was using the pen and paper
method,” said B.J. Cowan, a REALTOR® who also manages six rental
properties in Denver, Colorado.
“It was difficult keeping track of
where the different expenses went
and not being able to locate the
information easily. I also had to be
really careful with pen and paper,
since there’s a greater chance of
making mistakes and losing information.”
THERE IS AN ANSWER
Whether you hire an accountant,
own just a few properties, or invest
in commercial real estate, there are
software solutions on the market
that are right for you. Some key
benefits include organizing the
overwhelming amount of data, and
eliminating some of the stress and
paperwork associated with preparing for the dreaded April 15th
deadline.
20
April 2006 Residential Resource
When looking for the right kind of
software, it is important to consider
a couple things. One is that most
software solutions on the market
today are designed for professional commercial investors or
property management companies.
These solutions can cost hundreds
or thousands of dollars and are
feature-rich programs necessary for
inventory tracking, lease administration, resident screening, and
contact management. While great
for some, this may be way too
complicated for the small guy.
The second thing to consider is
that if you are a small landlord, it
is not necessary to spend hundreds
of dollars on software that boast
features you will never use. Most
small property owners simply need
a fast and easy way to organize
their tenant information, track their
income and expenses, and simplify
tax time. And fortunately, the
rental property software landscape
has recently changed, now offering
inexpensive software for landlords
that own and manage fewer than
ten (10) rental properties or up to
about twenty-five (25) units.
Using the right rental property software to manage your investments
can certainly help boost your
bottom line. And your personal
life may get a boost as well. During this tax season, you might find
yourself enjoying a weekend at the
slopes instead of a weekend sorting
through mounds of file folders.
Jeff Zimmerman joined
Intuit Inc. in 2000 and
currently serves as
product manager for
Quicken Rental Property
Manager Software. Jeff received an A.B.
in Economics from Harvard University in
1994 and an M.B.A. from the Stanford
Graduate School of Business in 2000.
Did You Know?
by Lynda Farren, CCIM
out for the next three weeks. Plan
ahead for unexpected obstacles.
Stay focused on the result rather
than the process. Once you have
achieved your goal, set a new goal
for the next 21 days and keep
moving!
On a personal level, I work hard to
do things the “right” way. Spending
time thinking about the best way
to do something and then planning
my course of how to accomplish
my objective. Sometimes there
are hidden obstacles along the way
and then my plans must change to
accommodate the obstacle.
Studies have shown it takes 21 days
to establish a habit - any kind of a
habit, good or bad. Want to lose
weight? Become more focused at
work? Find time for regular staff
meetings? Learn to operate that
new PDA phone? Then plan on 21
days - in a row! When you get to
day 17 and mess up, you must start
all over again. Until you pass go,
you do not collect $200. You must
persevere.
As I plan my course, I use every
tool available to make it as easy as
possible for me. My Treo 650 PDA
phone with my calendar and contacts has been a terrific tool in my
efforts to lose weight. At 10:30am
and 4:30pm it beeps to remind me
to have a snack. It also beeps to
remind me 15 minutes before any
of my appointments. It is helping
me to establish a habit. Once my
habit is established, I will no longer
need the beep. Follow these steps
to reach your objective:
Make the decision to change.
Set a specific goal of what you
want to change.
Make a plan of just how you
will accomplish it.
Set a time frame for completion.
Create alternatives to handle
unexpected obstacles.
It is easy to ask, “Why can’t they
change their habits” when we can
not change our own habits without
a great deal of effort. We humans
are creatures of habit, as are most
animals. We go to bed at the same
time. We eat at the same time.
We do what is comfortable – what
we know. Change can be difficult.
1.
2.
Convincing yourself of the need for
change is often the hardest part.
There are many excuses for not
changing such as not having the
time to exercise or prepare healthy
meals. How can you focus at work
when there are so many interruptions? How can you possibly take
time out for staff meetings when
there is so much work to do? Did
you see the manual for that new
PDA phone? How can you possibly find time to learn all of that?
These steps will apply regardless of
whether the decision is to increase
your business or to lose weight. As
for me, I look forward to the day
when I am beepless.
Set your goal and keep it realistic!
Write it down and then carry it
3.
4.
5.
Lynda Farren is president
and owner of Mountain
Manager and Associates in
Hiawassee, Georgia. She
has been in real estate for
28 years with experience in residential,
commercial, and investment sales. She
earned her CCIM designation in 1992
and will complete her requirements for
her RMP® just in time for the convention
in Vermont.
6
April is Fair Housing Month
21
Avoiding Hobby Loss or
Not-for-Profit Classification
by A.J. Cataldo, Ph.D., CPA, CMA
INTRODUCTION
This article provides guidance to those concerned that their profit-motivated trade or
business activities remain deductible, particularly in those cases where losses have been
generated in the past and/or are expected to
continue to be generated in the future.
THE 3-OUT-OF-5 YEAR RULE AND
TAXPAYER MISCONCEPTIONS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has established an administrative rule regarding their
presumption of profit:
“An activity is presumed to have a profit motive if it produces a profit in at least 3 of the
past 5 tax years including the current year.”
-Publication 535: Business Expenses, IRS, p.6
This is merely an administrative rule used
internally by the IRS. It does not have the
effect of statutory law and it does not follow
that an activity failing to produce a profit in
at least 3-out-of-5 years will be presumed to
be a not-for-profit activity. Yet many taxpayers have this misconception. No single
factor constitutes evidence of profit-motive, although some have evolved from
case law and have been adopted by the
IRS.
Are losses due to circumstances beyond
taxpayer control?
5. Has the taxpayer modified operating
methods to improve profitability?
6. Does the taxpayer (or advisors) possess
expertise sufficient for success?
7. Has the taxpayer experienced success/
profits in similar past activities?
8. Has the activity generated a profit (and
how much) in past years?
9. Can the taxpayer anticipate appreciation
of assets used in the activity?
10. Does the activity have elements of personal pleasure or recreation?
4.
EVOLUTION OF THE
HOBBY LOSS CLASSIFICATION
The above are factors that have evolved from
tax court cases and the need to ascertain
the motives of taxpayers who were self-employed and using small business losses to
offset high income from other sources. This
offsetting strategy results in lower taxable
income and tax rates or brackets. The classic
example is that of the highly compensated
operation, may provide sufficient evidence of
profit motive.
Credentials, publications, previous successes
in similar or related activities, or other evidence of expertise (or the hiring of experts)
provides strong evidence of profit motive.
Generally, the more time and effort put into
the activity, the greater the perception and presumption of profit-motive.
When a taxpayer is employed in a
non-related activity as well, it is useful to
maintain some form of written evidence
of the dates and hours spent on the
activity (such logs need not be terribly
detailed). Dependence or reliance
on income from the activity implies
an absence of hobby or recreational
involvement, particularly when other
taxable income items (e.g., salaries) are not
significantly offset.
“Taxpayers should not be dissuaded from deducting their legitimate,
ordinary, and necessary trade or
business losses simply out of fear
of an IRS audit.”
WHAT IS A HOBBY?
A hobby is an activity not engaged in for
profit. The term hobby suggests an activity that is personal and recreational in
nature. It is unlikely that an electrician
would be concerned about having his/her
business classified as a hobby. Alternatively, a
skydiving instructor, who also engages in this
sport for personal pleasure or recreation, may
be a more likely candidate for IRS scrutiny
and hobby loss classification.
TEN DETERMINING FACTORS
FOR PROFIT MOTIVE
The following ten factors are used to determine profit motive:
1.
2.
3.
22
Is the activity carried on in a businesslike manner?
Does the time and effort expended on
the activity suggest profit-motive?
Does the taxpayer depend on the activity for his/her livelihood?
business executive. He wants a second
home/ranch in the country, but would like
to (inappropriately) deduct all or a portion
of this second home in the form of interest,
depreciation, stables, horses, utilities, maintenance, etc. The objective is to reduce the
after-tax cost of this second residence.
Losses that are excessive and unreasonable,
but which offset income from other sources,
are immediately suspected as recreational
or hobby-related. The continuation of such
unprofitable activities (when they have not
proven successful in reducing losses or generating profits in the past) provides very strong
evidence of the absence of profit motive.
However, increasing gross profits, even
when combined with increasing expenses
April 2006 Residential Resource
The purchase of activity-related assets
expected to appreciate implies investment.
Investment expenses do not warrant the generation of allowable trade or business losses,
but require capitalization or the accumulation of costs to eventually calculate the gain
or loss from the investment when the sale of
the asset takes place. Reclassification of the
activity as investment-related will result in the
disallowance of (interim) operating losses.
A CHECKLIST APPROACH
Use the above ten factors, as a hobby loss
checklist to review your exposure to hobby
loss or not-for-profit classification. Generally,
a “yes” response on all or most of the ten
factors contained in this article would suggest
clear compliance with a factor and overall
support for the evidentially supporting position of profit-motive. A “no” response on
a factor identifies a weakness. Weaknesses
should be pursued, if possible, to upgrade
the response to an “uncertain” or “yes”
response. Finally, an “uncertain” response
should pursued by the taxpayer, with the
objective of upgrading or strengthening the
evidentiary requirements for this factor to
a “yes” response. Of course, if your selfemployment trade or business results in net
earnings or contributes to increased taxable
profits, you need not be concerned with this
checklist.
SUMMARY
These factors are only relevant to the selfemployed taxpayer with a tax loss from selfemployment endeavors and only become
critical if audited by the IRS. However, to
the extent practicable, all factors should be
pursued with the intention of strengthening your position in the event of a loss from
self-employment or an IRS audit. Taxpayers
should not be dissuaded from deducting their
legitimate, ordinary, and necessary trade or
business losses simply out of fear of an IRS
audit.
A.J. Cataldo earned his bachelors (1980; finance
and accounting) and masters (1985; accounting)
degrees at the University of Arizona in Tucson,
Arizona. He completed his Ph.D. (1996; accounting) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University in Blacksburg, Virginia. He became a
certified public accountant in 1983, in Arizona,
and a certified management accountant in 1987.
Articles and excerpts from his books on tax planning
strategies for independent contractors, REALTORS®,
and other tax-related matters have appeared in a
broad variety of state, national and international
publications. He resides in Rochester Hills, MI, and
can be reached at [email protected] or (248)
375-9437.
Maintenance 101
by Sally Goss, RMP®
Major manufacturers are not making it
well known, but warranties on appliances
are now only covering parts for one year
from purchase. If a part breaks after the
one year period, you will have to be covered under an extended warranty, which
costs in the neighborhood of $200 for
three years of coverage.
Is this coverage necessary? “Probably
not,” says Jim Fulbright with Fulbright
Service Company in Beebe, Arkansas. In
fact, there might be several reasons not to
have a warranty:
1.
2.
3.
The cost to fix a part is usually less
than a warranty would cost you.
If something major goes out, oftentimes the appliance will have to
be carried to the shop because the
repair company does not want the
liability for fixing it in the home. An
example of this might be scraping the
kitchen vinyl and having to replace a
whole kitchen floor. Removing the
appliance puts the property manager in the position of having to put
something in the unit temporarily or
deal with the wrath of the tenant for
the inconvenience.
Most importantly, the majority of
major appliances do not break
within the first three years. Therefore, the money you would spend
on a warranty could be better spent
elsewhere.
can last a long time, and a tenant will not
be so inclined to walk off with it when
they vacate. In our state, there is a 30
day warranty on used appliances but the
companies we buy in volume from are
always willing to stretch this to keep us
coming back.
Finally, always buy a major brand appliance so parts are readily available. The
obscure brand names may be a good
bargain but watch out when something
goes wrong.
Sally Goss, RMP® is the owner and
principal broker of Goss Management and Realty in Little Rock,
Arkansas. She is a member of the
National Association of Women
Business Owners, an active member and past
president of the NARPM Central Arkansas
Chapter and currently serves on the Editorial
Committee.
Other suggestions are to look at used
appliances which are far less expensive,
Write an Article for
the Residential Resource!
Help us keep our members informed by
writing an article that shares your story,
experience, or expertise. It is easy to
submit! Just e-mail your submission for
review to [email protected] in
Microsoft Word or text format.
Issue
June
July
August
Deadline
April 15
May 15
June 15
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April is Fair Housing Month
23
Welcome New Members!
Members that joined NARPM from February 1 to February 28, 2006
John Dickson
All Service RE & Management
217 Jamestown Park Road, #4
Brentwood, TN 37027
NEW
MEMBERS
Bradley Abernathy
Coldwell Banker, Snow, and Wall
1980 Old Fort Parkway
Murfreesboro, TN 37130
Travis Beckstead
Irey & Co. Property Services, Inc.
12191 West 64th Avenue, #210
Arvada, CO 80004
303-424-4170
James Brooks
RE/MAX Commonwealth
2226 West Main Street
Richmond, VA 23220
Lacey Canan
Spencer Realty
31 Hoffman Drive
Gulf Breeze, FL 32561
Susan Carlos
Realty Unlimited Inc./GMAC RE
4330 NW Federal Highway
Stuart, FL 34957
Patrick Chapman
Chapman Properties
2702 North 31st
Boise, ID 83703
208-887-7818
Ron Conti
Coastal View Property Mgmt.
3140 Telegraph Road, Suite F
Ventura, CA 93003
Thomas Croft
Old South Property Mgmt, LLC
PO Box 2222
Cartersville, GA 30120
Chandler Daw
Rooftop Real Estate Management
618 Eagle Way
Blackfoot, ID 83221
24
Marissa McCracken
Bella Real Estate, Inc.
2111 Dickson Drive, #18
Austin, TX 78704
Carolyn Wiegman
Century 21 REP
965 Chauncey Court
Ocoee, FL 34761
Amy Drew
Executive Realty Group, SW FL
17080 Safety Street, #108
Fort Myers, FL 33919
Angela Meyer
RE/MAX Realty Associates
3119 Commercial Avenue
Anacortes, WA 98221
Delmas Williams
C & D Property Manager
3107 Spring Glen Road, #207
Jacksonville, FL 32207
Michael Gillen
Prudential/WCI
206 Gloucester Boulevard
Sun City Center, FL 33573
813-588-0314
T.J. Miller
Investors Property Management
PO Box 140358
Boise, ID 83714
Deidre Wishard
Burbank Rentals
504 Sebastopol Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Kathleen O’Neal
Premier Management Group
2510 Meadowview Circle
Windermere, FL 34786
Mary Worton
RE/MAX Hallmark Realty
404 Main Street, #4
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
Todd Reid
Reid Property Mgmt., LLC
44 Monument Drive
Stafford, VA 22554
Lorrie Zimmerman
Prince Properties, Inc.
75-5706 Hanama Place, #208
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Jayci Grana
Watson Realty Property Mgmt.
7601 Conroy Windemere Rd.
Suite #200
Orlando, FL 32835
407-258-8578
Lee Halyard
Lee S. Halyard & Associates
1133 North Battlefield Blvd.
Chesapeake, VA 22320
757-228-5052
Dorothy Hamilton
Palm Beach First National
PO Box 500
Palm Beach QLD, Australia 4221
Greg Howard
Boise Valley Property Mgmt., LLC
9548 Chadwick Drive
Boise, ID 83704
208-484-2410
Barbara Rylands
Alpha Realty & Assoc., Inc.
1 East Colonial Drive
Orlando, FL 32801
Cynthia Scott
Front Gate Realty, Inc.
1013 Jeater Bend
Kissimmee, FL 34747
Robb Spearmann
Real Estate Concepts
3125 Douglas Avenue, #205
Des Moines, IA 50310
James Jordan
RE/MAX Specialist Prop. Mgmt.
1008 Park Avenue
Jacksonville, FL 32073
Carmen Steinmetz
Residential Property Mgmt.
8310 W. Ustick Road, #100
Boise, ID 83704
P. Terri Malia
Tyler Property Management LLC
721 Ridgewood Avenue, 12A
Holly Hill, FL 32117
LaTrease Stevenson-Hall
Baars Realty
221 South Baylen Street
Pensacola, FL 32502
Jonathan Mallinson
Premier Management Group
7640 Rio Pinar Lakes Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32822
Alison Wheatley
Classic Homes International
15639 Graeter Groves Blvd.
Clermont, FL 34714
April 2006 Residential Resource
NEW AFFILIATES
Ron Bailey
Real Screening
5525 N. Tacoma Avenue, 2A
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317-722-3521
Kiley J. Brenneman
Kiley J. Brenneman Agency
American Family Insurance
5105 DTC Parkway, #305
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303-771-6990
Ram Choragudi
Scuba LLC/dba Residency Guide
810 Milton
Alpharetta, GA 30022
770-361-6969
Diana Gaddis
Real Screening
5525 N. Tacoma Avenue, 2A
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317-722-3521
Stacey Lindley
Peachtree Business Products
1755 West Oak Parkway
Marietta, GA 30062
770-420-1978
MPM® CANDIDACY
Lambert Munz, RMP®
David McDaniel
All Animal and Bat Control
PO Box 581
Eagle, CO 81631
970-328-2449
Stephanie Orlando
Rental Property Management
296 W. Sunset Avenue, #11
Coeur D’ Alene, ID 83815
208-765-5600
Lauren Mooney
Rent.net
30700 Russell Ranch Road
Westlake Village, CA 91362
800-736-8638
Janis Thompson
Rental Property Management
296 W. Sunset Avenue, #11
Coeur D’ Alene, ID 83815
208-765-5600
NEW SUPPORT STAFF
Shirley Harden
Apollo Associates Realty
1077 Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd.
Atlanta, GA 30310
404-753-7374
RMP® CANDIDACY
Tammy Billington
Ruby Gonzalez
Drudi Johnston
Elizabeth Loop
Kirk McGary
Affiliate Members
LISTED BY SERVICE
BUSINESS PRODUCTS
AND SERVICES
Armaninn McKenna, LLP
Austin Landmark Properties
Black Ink Insurance Services, Inc.
Career Look, Inc.
Company Gear
Division Access Control
Eli Research
First Horizon Home Loans
HRA Solutions
Ian H. Graham Insurance
Oliphant Financial Corporation
Paychex, Inc.
Paylease, Inc.
Peachtree Business Products
Professional Office Services of Idaho
Rekey.com Locksmith Services
RE Manuals/Landlord Source
RG America
Roper Lock Box, LLC
Runzheimer International Ltd.
Southwest Recovery Services
Starker Services, Inc.
Team Real Estate, Inc.
The Bain Group, Inc.
The Real Estate Board
Top Answer Communications
Unibind
Vairo and Associates, Inc.
INTERNET TOOLS
123RentAHome.com
1SourceRents.com
All Property Management
AudioVu.com
HomeRentals.net
Info on the Web
Innercircuit, Inc.
InteloQuence
Lease Place, Inc.
Payment Solutions, LLC
Property Bridge, LLC
PropertyPlatform.com
Rental Alliance, LLC
RentalHouses.com
RentalSource.com
RentClicks
Rent.com
Rent Marketer
Rent One Online
RentSurfing.com
MARKETING
Elite Occasions
Home Management Network, LLC
HomeRentalAds.com
HotPads.com
ImagePro On-Hold
MetroLeases.com
On-Hold Concepts, Inc.
Red Door Christian Investments
Rental Home Investor, LLC
RentalHomesPlus.com
RentBlurb.com
The Original On-Hold Company
REAL ESTATE EDUCATION
Americas Best Real Estate Education
Auto Pilot Complete
SOFTWARE
Escapia, Inc.
Logicbuilt, Inc.
London Computer Systems, Inc.
PROMAS Landlord Software Center
Property Automation Software
Property Boss Solutions, LLC
Tracker Systems, Inc.
Winning Edge Software, Inc.
Yardi Systems
TENANT SCREENING
LEGAL SERVICES
Law Offices of Davis, Rothwell, Mullin,
Earle & Xóchihua, P.C.
Law Offices of Demartini & Walker
Law Offices of Heist, Weisse & Lucrezi
MAINTENANCE
Cutting Edge Painting, Inc.
Demi Murphy Design
EnviroCare, Inc.
Glass Works, Inc.
Gutter Love It!
Handyman Matters of Central Kentucky
Handyman Matters of Colorado
Hild Renovation Company
Home Services of America
Humidex Atlantic
KMH Technologies, Inc.
Mr. Electric of Tarrant and Park
Mr. Goodbar
Onsite Pro, Inc.
Power Lift Foundation Repair
Royal Plumbing Company
Servpro of Arvada
Servpro of Gilbert
Sherwin Williams Company
Southwest Catastrophe and Restoration
Tankless Hot Water
Water Damage Solutions
1800HomeRepair.com
A All Animal Control
Air Temperature Control
American Environmental Group, Inc.
Blusky Restoration Contractors
Building Specs, Inc.
Christian Nissen Landscaping
Citrusolution Carpet Cleaning
Clear Screening
Contemporary Information Corporation
Credit Retriever
National Tenant Network
Reliable Background Screening
RentGrow, Inc.
ScreeningOne
Securint
Tenant Check, Inc.
Tenant Plus Corporation
United Screening Services Corporation
VeriQuest Screening Solutions
April is Fair Housing Month
25
Ambassador Program February 2006
The Ambassador Program was first designed in 2000 to reward our current members for referring new members to
our organization. Who better to spread the word of the benefits of NARPM than its members? If you refer five new
members in one year, you will receive an award certificate that may be used toward your next year’s dues or for events
for the coming year. When you achieve ambassador status and receive your $195 NARPM credit, it can be used toward
your annual dues or registration at a NARPM National Convention. It is flexible! A member can earn multiple Award
Certificates in the 12-month period.
New Member
• Call NARPM Headquarters at 800-782-3452 to request member
application forms. Headquarters, upon request, will mail the
application directly to the prospective member but will not fill in
the “referred by” line.
• The 12-month period to obtain the five new members starts
the day the first new membership application is processed by
Headquarters.
• When Headquarters receives the fifth new membership
application, an Award Certificate will be issued and dated.
• A recognition certificate will also be issued, and you, the
“Ambassador,” will be recognized in the Residential Resource.
James Jordan
Stephanie Orlando
Janis Thompson
Marissa McCracken
Michael Gillen
Jayci Grana
Greg Howard
Cynthia Scott
Deidre Wishard
Lorrie Zimmerman
Travis Beckstead
Lee Halyard
T.J. Miller
Bradley Abernathy
Lacey Menke
John Dickson
Jonathan Mallinson
Kathleen O’Neal
Barbara Rylands
Ambassador Member
Wanda Franklin, RMP®
Nanci Clark Hawkins
Nanci Clark Hawkins
Bart Sturzl
Michael Dike
Wendell Davis, MPM®
Tony Drost, RMP®
Donna Beavers
Keith Becker
Mary Love, MPM®
Paul Irey, RMP®
Tina Bradley
Mark Smith
Beverly Browning, MPM®
Lori Menke
Beverly Browning, MPM®
Peter Darby
Peter Darby
Donna Beavers
NARPM Anti-Trust Policy
To minimize the possibility of anti-trust problems at association gatherings, the following guidelines should be followed at all meetings of the
Board of Directors and committees, as well as all association-sponsored conventions, trade shows, training seminars, conferences, and task
force and working group sessions.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
26
DO NOT discuss your prices or competitors’ prices with a competitor (except when buying from or selling to that competitor) or anything,
which might affect prices such as costs, discounts, terms of sale, or profit margins.
DO NOT agree with competitors to uniform terms of sale, warranties, or contract provisions.
DO NOT agree with competitors to divide customers or territories.
DO NOT act jointly with one or more competitors to put another competitor at a disadvantage.
DO NOT try to prevent your supplier from selling to your competitor.
DO NOT discuss your future pricing, marketing, or policy plans with competitors.
DO NOT discuss your customers with your competitors.
DO NOT make statements about your future plans regarding pricing, expansion, or other policies with competitive overtones. Do not
participate in discussions where other members do.
DO NOT propose or agree to any standardization, which will injure your competitor.
DO NOT attend or stay at any informal meeting where there is no agenda, no minutes are taken, and no association staff member is present.
DO NOT do anything before or after association meetings, or at social events, which would be improper at a formal association meeting.
DO alert association staff and legal counsel to anything improper.
DO send copies to an association staff member of any communications or documents sent, received, or developed by you when acting
for the association.
DO alert every employee in your company who deals with the association to these guidelines.
DO be conservative. If you feel an activity might be improper, ask for guidance from association staff or legal counsel in advance.
April 2006 Residential Resource
RMP®/MPM® Certification Classes
Location
Class
Instructor
Apr. 13, 2006
Pt. St. Lucie, FL
RMP® Operations
Peter Meer, MPM®
Apr. 17 - 18, 2006
Sonoma, CA
MPM® Risk Management
Dave Holt, MPM®
Apr. 21, 2006
Sonoma, CA
RMP Operations
Ray Scarabosio, MPM
May 11, 2006
Honolulu, HI
RMP® Habitability Standards
Sylvia Hill, MPM®
Date
®
Interested in Sponsoring
Certification Classes?
®
FEEDBACK WANTED!
The Education Committee wants to improve the quality of your classes and instructors. In order to do that, we
need YOUR feedback. When you attend a NARPM education course, please let us know which areas of the
course were good and which we may need to improve on. Not able to attend a NARPM education course? Let
us know why so that we can try to address those challenges too. Send an e-mail to [email protected].
Your responses will be kept confidential.
To register for classes, complete the registration form below and mail or fax with payment to NARPM Headquarters. This form below is not applicable for Ethics class. For more additional information or to receive the Ethics
class registration form, contact Headquarters at 800/782-3452 or [email protected].
Opportunities are available
to chapters that would like to
further member education,
promote certification, and
increase their chapter funds by
sponsoring a certification class.
However, it takes time to plan a
class - so give your chapter five
to six month’s lead-time if you
wish to sponsor one of these
events.
Find out more by calling
Headquarters, at 800/782-3452
or e-mailing [email protected].
We can provide you with the
details you need to make a
certification class a successful
venture.
RMP®/MPM® Class Registration
(Please print or type)
RMP® Classes
Member
Nonmember
Retake
RMP®/MPM®
Early
Registration*
$195.00
$250.00
$100.00
$97.50
Registration*
$225.00
$280.00
$130.00
$127.50
MPM® Classes
Member
Nonmember
Retake
MPM®
$395.00
$450.00
$300.00
$197.50
$450.00
$505.00
$355.00
$252.50
FEES
*to receive the early registration price, payment must be postmarked,
Name ___________________________________________________________________________________
Company ________________________________________________________________________________
Address __________________________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip _____________________________________________________________________________
Telephone ______________________________________ Fax _____________________________________
E-mail ___________________________________________________________________________________
List Classes
faxed, or e-mailed 30 days prior to the class.
Name of Class
Class Date
Cost
___________________________________________________________________________ $ ___________
CLASS INFORMATION
___________________________________________________________________________ $ ___________
• On-site registration begins at 8:00 a.m. Class hours are
8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• RMP® classes qualify for 6 hours of NARPM certification.
• MPM® classes qualify for 12 hours of NARPM
certification.
• All materials will be given to students on the day of the
class.
• All attendees are required to make their individual hotel
reservations.
CANCELLATION POLICY
___________________________________________________________________________ $ ___________
Total $ ___________
Method of Payment
I have enclosed a check for $ ___________ Ck/M.O. # ___________ Date ___________
Please charge my credit card in the amount of $ ___________ as follows:
Visa
MasterCard
Discover
American Express
Card Number _____________________________________________________ Exp. Date ______________
Cancellations must be received in writing. If cancellation
Name of Cardholder _______________________________________________________________________
notice is received at least 30 days prior to the class, a
full refund will be issued less a $25 processing fee. If
Billing Address ____________________________________________________________________________
cancellation notice is received less than 30 days before the
class, a 50% refund will be issued. No refunds will be made Signature ________________________________________________________________________________
I authorize NARPM to charge my credit card.
on the day of the class; however, the registration fee can be
applied to a later class with a $25 transfer fee.
Two Easy Ways to Register
Due to low registration, a class may be cancelled with 15
days prior notice. If NARPM cancels a class, registration fee 1. MAIL your form with payment to NARPM,
could be credited to a future class or fully refunded upon
184 Business Park Drive, Suite 200-P
request.
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
2. FAX your form with credit card payment to
866-466-2776. Please do not mail the original.
April is Fair Housing Month
27
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April 2006 Residential Resource
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184 Business Park Drive, Suite 200-P
Virginia Beach, VA 23462