POSTS ARCHIVE: UNCATEGORIZED

When our team notices a pest problem in a property under our care, this immediately indicates two things:

When we identify a pest problem within the first 10 days following our initial walkthrough, we ask the owner to handle the initial treatment. If a problem arises at any point after this window, though, the tenant is responsible.

At Hawaii Property Management, our pet deposits are an important part of how we make sure your property stays in good condition. What does that deposit look like?

Keep in mind that our pet deposits are for pet damage only. We can’t use them for anything other than pet damage assessment. Aside from our deposit, we also do four-month walkthroughs for any homes with pets. After the walkthrough is done, the property manager will send you a full report with pictures included.

Today we’re going to discuss yard service. Owners often ask us if they should include yard service in their, let’s say, $900,000 home. The answer is yes. For just $100 per month, you can guarantee that the yard will be in the exact same condition as it was when you bought the property.

Your yard has a lot to do with how your home looks from the outside. Why wouldn’t you preserve the yard? Why would you risk having the tenant take care of the yard? Tenants either love yard work or hate yard work. If you get a tenant that hates yard work, how would you deal with that? You can cancel the lease, but that process will take months. If you can afford to pay $100 to $150 a month for someone to come and take care of your yard, you should do it. They’ll cut the grass, trim the trees, and de-weed the beds and you won’t have to worry about it at all.

At Hawaii Property Management, we have a walkthrough policy in place to protect your rental property. Here’s how it works.

During these walkthroughs, we inspect the overall condition of the property—the roof, the flooring, the landscaping, etc. If we see a property that’s extremely dirty, we give that tenant a 10-day notice to clean it up. After those 10 days are up, we go back to the property and check it. We want to make sure the condition of the home is the same when a tenant moves out as it was when they moved in.

In Hawaii, we can have a second “Ohana” home on our property.

Potential issues need to be worked out before they arise and before we agree to rent out a shared home for you.

As you know, we recently had to deal with Hurricane Lane, and as of today, we have two more storms predicted to come through the islands back to back. Most of the time, these storms will just drop a lot of rain, but Hurricane Lane also brought 60 mph winds along with it.

If your property’s located in a low-lying area, I certainly recommend checking its flood-readiness because, again, Hurricane Lane dumped a lot of rain on us.

Landlords often ask me about when the right time to raise rent is. When I’m faced with this decision, I always look at the state of the market and the current market value of the property in question.

Many clients who we’ve managed properties for have seen their properties double in value in just 10 years. And with rental rates on the rise, real estate investing is a wise move right now.

When it comes to reflooring your property, you’re much better off installing hardwood instead of carpet in today’s market. There are a few important reasons why.

Hardwood, on the other hand, lasts much longer, whether it’s vinyl or tile. Vinyl lasts anywhere from 25 to 30 years, while tile typically lasts longer than that, although it’s usually more expensive to install. Any wear and tear on a hardwood floor won’t be nearly as noticeable as it would be with carpet, either. It’s also worth noting that hardwood floors are almost completely waterproof.

If a catastrophic event like a fire or flood causes damage to your rental property, are you prepared? If such an event renders your property uninhabitable and the tenant is forced to seek residence elsewhere, you will no longer be able to charge them for rent.

When unexpected disaster leaves rental properties uninhabitable, loss of rent insurance can help. This coverage compensates rental owners at face value of the lease amount. Your insurance agent will be able to elaborate on the specifics of this coverage and how it could be helpful for you.

At Hawaii Pacific, we do things a little differently. One example of this is that we guarantee your tenants warranty against eviction. 99% of the time, other property managers will place the cost of eviction back onto you, the owner. And with the average cost of an eviction being between $1,500 to $10,000, it’s clear why you should be careful with your choice of property manager.

Other property management companies may even try to tell you they can’t rent out your home to begin with, but not us. Our rent guarantee secures you against this. We guarantee that we will be able to rent out your property by looking at and implementing the competitive rates we observe in the market.