Property Management Company - New Clients

Property management company, Rampart Properties, an Associa company, is pleased to announce the addition of three new communities to its St. Petersburg client portfolio.

Rampart will now provide full management services, including financial, property management, communications, record-keeping and administrative management services to Hotel Detroit Condominium Association, The Preserve Community Association and Bayou Grande Townhome Community Association.

“We are excited to begin our new partnership with these three unique associations,” said Kelly Moran, Rampart Properties’ President and CEO. “The communities were impressed with our superior services and natural resources, and we look forward to serving them for years to come.”

Hotel Detroit Condominium Association, Inc. is a 29-unit mixed use condominium community located in the historic Detroit Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg. Twenty-four units are condominiums and five units are for commercial use. Rampart’s Vicci Frederick is the Director of Management Services assigned to this community.

The Preserve Community Association, Inc. features 257 single-family homes located in Manatee County. Rampart’s Dorian Danys is the Senior Management Director assigned to this community.

Bayou Grande Townhome Community Association, Inc. is a community of 39 townhomes located in Seminole. Rampart’s Janet Hollingshead is the Director of Management Services assigned to this community.

Property management company, Rampart Properties, Inc. was formed in 1975 to provide professional community association management and consulting services to the Tampa Bay area. Rampart provides quality and innovation in community management to many local communities including condominium associations, homeowner associations, cooperatives and developers.

Building successful communities for more than 30 years, Associa is the nation’s largest community association management firm and serves its clients with local knowledge, national resources and comprehensive expertise. Based in Dallas, Associa and its 8,000 employees operate more than 100 branch offices in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

SOURCE: Associa, January 04, 2012

Check out these related posts!

• Property Management Company Adds To Jacksonville Client Portfolio
• Property Management Company Adds To Las Vegas Portfolio
• Morris Property Management Announces New CMCA Designations

Real Estate - Worst US Markets

Real estate -  The worst annual real estate markets have been announced by Housing Predictor for 2012, with more than 230 US city forecasts.

The worst real estate markets forecast for 2012 have been issued by Housing Predictor, which selects the 25 best and 25 worst markets annually. Cities are chosen that have the highest probability of reaching their forecasts.

Despite the troubled economy, and the struggling real estate market more than 15 states are projected to experience housing inflation in 2012, indicating that after more than five years of hard times in many areas of the country stabilizing factors are projected to impact much of the U.S. in the New Year.

However, there’s no shortage of real estate markets that will experience housing deflation as the nation struggles to recover from the worst downturn in real estate in decades. Housing Predictor issues more than 230 local housing market forecasts in all 50 U.S. states, and updates them throughout the year as local market conditions warrant.

Consumers, real estate companies, home builders, Wall Street bankers, investors, homeowners and many of the country’s largest retailers trust Housing Predictor, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Housing Predictor also regularly surveys visitors on real estate related issues and keeps visitors up to date on mortgage rates of real estate.

Source: Housing Predictor, January 02, 2012

Check out these related posts!

• Landlords – Survey Results – More Than 50% Lose Investing In Real Estate
• Best and worst real estate markets in USA
• 10 Worst Real Estate Markets Where Prices Have Fallen. Is it Time to Buy?

Property Management Companies - Landlords - Tenants Injury Compensation

Property management companies, Landlords – For the people of the Midwest, the change of seasons, from fall to winter, means the return of snow and outdoor activities such as snowshoeing, sledding and skiing. And, while snow can be picturesque and conjure images of hot chocolate and fireplaces, it also can have a dangerous side — not all images of winter are idyllic.

Along with snow, the return of winter also brings ice and the potential for slippery conditions. The risk of injuries from slips and falls increases as snow and ice accumulate on or near sidewalks, parking lots or other outdoor areas where people walk. When people are injured after slipping and falling on icy conditions present on the property of a place of business or a homeowner, personal injury lawsuits may be filed to seek compensation for the injuries suffered. This is what happened in the case of Hornacek v. 5th Avenue Property Management.

Premises Liability in Illinois

Jennifer Hornacek claims that in January 2007, she was injured after she fell on black ice that had accumulated on the parking lot at her place of employment as she was walking to her vehicle. Ms. Hornacek filed a personal injury lawsuit against the owners of the building where her work was located and against the company contracted to remove snow and ice from the building’s parking lot. She alleges that she fell and sustained injuries because both parties were negligent.

In order for Ms. Hornacek to recover compensation for her injuries, she must prove the elements of a premises liability claim based on negligence. In general, the elements of this type of claim are:

- Duty — Does the defendant have a duty of care to others? The Illinois Court of Appeals states this is “an obligation of reasonable conduct for the benefit of the plaintiff.” There are several factors that the court can use to determine if there is a duty owed, including “reasonable foreseeability” of injuries, likelihood of injuries, and the “burden against guarding against” injuries.

- Breach — Did the defendant’s fail to uphold the duty of care?

- Causation — Was the defendant’s breach of the duty of care the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries?

- Injuries — Did the plaintiff suffer actual injuries or damages?

Unnatural Accumulation

In Illinois, property owners are not responsible for injuries suffered when people slip and fall on snow or ice that has naturally accumulated or ice that has been left undisturbed. This means that when people fall during or right after a snow or ice storm, property owners cannot be held liable for the injuries if they have yet to shovel or plow.

However, people who are injured during slips and falls on unnatural accumulations of snow and ice can seek compensation for their injuries. In other words, if property owners are negligent or fail to use ordinary care when removing snow and ice, they can be held liable for any slip and fall injuries that occur. According to the court of appeals, the presence of “piles of snow” indicates “an unnatural accumulation.”

Actual or Constructive Knowledge

Further, for property owners to be held liable for unnatural accumulations of snow and ice, the court has held that they must also have had “actual or constructive knowledge of the condition.” The court of appeals says that constructive notice can be proven by the plaintiff by showing that the “hazardous condition existed for a sufficient amount of time” or through exercising reasonable care the defendant “should have discovered the dangerous condition.”

Ms. Hornacek claims that the owners of the building and the snow removal company negligently plowed the parking lot in a way that allowed for black ice to accumulate unnaturally and that the property owners knew of or should have discovered the dangerous condition. It is alleged in the lawsuit that there have been slips and falls and complaints about the icy condition of the parking lot prior to Ms. Hornacek’s fall.

The outcome of Ms. Hornacek’s case is yet to be decided — initially, the defendants received a summary judgment, but that decision was appealed and the case was remanded for trial — but one thing is clear: slip and fall cases involving snow and ice are complex to landlords and property management companies.

If you are injured after slipping and falling on a plowed or shoveled walkway this winter, speak with an experienced Illinois personal injury attorney about your legal rights and options.

Source: Johnston Law Offices, P.C, January 01, 2011

Check out these related posts!

• Landlords Property Management Companies and Rental Property Owners What Is Your Premises Liability?
• Property Managers and Property Management Companies – 5 Tips for Choosing a Reliable Snow-Removal Contractor
• Safety: The Duty of New Jersey Residential and Commercial Landlords

Property Management Software - For Vacation Rentals Insurance

Property management software – Leaders in property management insurance, web-based insurance software, and customer and asset management systems, today jointly announced their creation of Rental Guardian, LLC. The new company unifies the unique and extensive experience and expertise of its co-founders and will serve the property management and vacation rentals markets with its web-based insurance applications and unique line of insurance products that in include travel insurance, accidental damage insurance, bed bug insurance and renter insurance.

“Combining our strong relationships with vacation rental software providers and insurance underwriters with the robust technology acumen and insurance relationships of our co-founders will provide a valuable set of solutions for our vacation rentals management clients,” said Brady Stump, co-founder.

“With our years of experience in web-based software development and our extensive knowledge of customer service delivery and support systems, Rental Guardian is a true synergy of best-of-breed expertise that will help make our clients successful and very satisfied,” said Donn Gore, co-founder.

Sean Miller, co-founder, added “with offices on both the East and West coasts, and in the Mountain West, we are uniquely positioned to fulfill the travel insurance and damage insurance needs of the vacation rentals industry nationwide.” Added Stump, “With these core solutions coupled with our new bed bug coverage and renters insurance, our value proposition to property managers is a very compelling one.”

Property management software for web based vacation rentals, Rental Guardian is unifying the expertise of over one hundred years of experience of its founders, Rental Guardian serves vacation rental property managers with a unique portfolio of insurance products on an innovative web-based service platform. Its product line include travel insurance, accidental damage insurance, renters insurance, bed bug insurance and other products. Rental Guardian’s insurance products are underwritten by (A) rated underwriters (as determined by AM Best Insurance Ratings). Its web-based service platform has been created so that property managers, vacation rental software providers, and travel portals can easily integrate these insurance products into their service and management processes and platforms.

Source: Rental Guardian, December 30, 2011

Check out these related posts!

• Property Management Software – Vacation Rental Owners Renting Out Their Properties In One Click
• Property Managers and Landlords – Joining Hands With Travel Agents For Commissions On Vacation Rentals
• Property Management – Promotion Of Vacation Rentals Made Easier

Property Management Companies - Rising Demand For Rentals

Property management companies – The Fall 2011 Sunrise Multifamily Rental Market Report finds average rental rates throughout the Northeast to be at or above rental rate levels from the Fall of 2008, having mostly recovered from the economic downturn. These findings are driven by rising demand for rentals amid constrained inventory throughout the region.

New York generally has recovered from the downturn: (Report does not include NY City)

–  Most of NY has had slow steady growth throughout downturn
–  Hudson Valley and Capital Region lead NY with good growth over Fall
2010
–  NY Southern Tier has recovered to levels of Fall 2008
–  NY Western Region flat throughout downturn, down $6.06 from Fall 2010

New England results are mixed:

–  CT, NH, and ME have recovered to Fall 2008 levels
–  MA Eastern Region has seen steady growth, while Western Region is flat
to Fall 2008
–  VT has seen steady growth throughout downturn
–  RI has been trending down over 4 periods, down -$74.31 in average rent
from Fall 2010

The sluggish economic recovery, high unemployment, and difficulty in funding new home purchases are keeping demand for multifamily rentals rising in the surveyed markets. With the single-family home market still depressed, people are looking for the economies and flexibility of renting.

“Another factor on rental growth found in several markets was that of unsold condo developments being converted to high-end rental inventory, driving significant rental rate increases,” said Jesse Holland, Sunrise Management & Consulting president. “Developers found it easier to rent than sell, and with funding difficulties and economic conditions discouraging home purchases, families found it conducive to rent at the high end.”

The Sunrise Multifamily Rental Market Report includes the entire Northeast except New York City. The states surveyed and reported on include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. It details average asking rents by unit mix and by square footage, and tracks historical trends on a county, regional and state basis. Sunrise Management & Consulting will prepare customized reports to meet any user’s specific needs.

Sunrise is the creator of the The Property Gauge(TM), a real estate research and analysis service specializing in accurate up-to-date information on multifamily markets throughout the United States and the Property Coach(TM) system for maximizing property investments. Headquartered in Albany, NY, Sunrise Management & Consulting AMO is an innovative property management company providing property management services, market research, and consulting to property owners, investors and homeowner associations throughout the United States. The company is one of the leading firms among United States property management companies.

SOURCE: Sunrise Management & Consulting , December 30, 2011

Check out these related posts!

• Spring 2010 Sunrise Multifamily Rental Market Report Finds Average Rental Rates Recovering in Northeast Markets
• Sunrise Management And Consulting Forms The Property Gauge LLC
• Property Management Company Sunrise Management ‘Reverse Condo’ Strategy Successful at The Mill

Property Managers, Landlords, Property Owners - Rent Insurance

Property Managers, Landlords, Property Owners – Aon Risk Solutions and QBE Insurance Group have partnered to offer a new insurance product in the United States that will reimburse landlords when tenants skip out on rent payments.

The companies rolled out the program for individual property owners in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. on Nov. 1, but it should be available across the United States soon.

The insurance has been approved in 22 states and is awaiting approval in every other state except New York, Virginia and Maine, Kevin Morman, senior vice president of program, design and development for Aon Affinity in Hatboro, Pa., told Best’s News Service.

Called Aon Rent Protect, the insurance for individual property owners replaces rental income for up to six months and assists landlords with legal expenses, including attorney fees that may be needed for eviction. Premiums start at $250 a year for each rental unit.

The company also uses a referral program among organizations that have contact with landlords as a way to get the word out about the insurance.

The coverage is offered to individual property owners through Aon Affinity, the product sales, marketing and distribution business of Aon (NYSE: AON).

Large property investment firms that buy the insurance can cap their total liability and ensure their rent default losses don’t exceed a particular amount. This coverage is already available in all states and is being sold through Aon Risk Solutions, Aon’s global risk management business.

Tenant rent default coverage has been sold in countries overseas for years — Aon and QBE have sold it in Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand for the past 20 years — but it’s just now becoming available in the United States. Traditional property/casualty insurance covers lost rent when a fire or hurricane causes physical damage but doesn’t kick in if a tenant defaults on rent.

That may be because the insurance market in the United States is relatively conservative, Morman said.

“At face value, it’s seen as such a volatile risk,” he said. Insurance in the main market is made up of actuarial data on everything from fires to burglaries and injuries. But there’s no statistical data on rent default, he said.

Because Aon and QBE have experience with the insurance in other countries, they know the product works.

Another factor for launching the insurance was the economy, Morman said. A rising number of people have lost their homes and are in a position of having to rent. Landlords have to feel comfortable that they’re not taking a bad risk, and this insurance helps those Landlords, Property Managers, and Property Owners.

Aon calls the insurance a “game changer” because it can take months for a landlord to regain his or her property and find a new tenant when a renter stops paying — all the while having to pay mortgage and other expenses for the property.

“I don’t think the current economic environment has created a need for this product,” he said. “But the economic environment has put up a shining light … that this is a very real issue today.”

Source: A.M. Best Company, December 26, 2011

Check out these related posts!

• Property Management Companies Property Managers And Landlords – Management Liability Insurance
• Property Managers, Rental Property Owners Benefit From New Association Discounts
• Residential Property Management Association Offers Insurance Program for Landlords

Property Management Company - Executive Relocation Tips

Property Management Company – Jerry Garrity of First Statewide Realty, who was recently interviewed for a Wall Street Journal article for his expertise in San Jose property management, is offering executive relocation tips to companies relocating employees to the Silicon Valley.

Garrity says the experience of two decades in real estate spanning five recessions gives him some measure of wisdom he shares with clients, whether individual investors or companies using his services for executive relocation.

“Often, companies who are relocating an employee think they are saving money by managing the details of the move internally, such as scouting for rental properties, arranging rental contracts, coordinating moving companies, etc. Inevitably, they end up wasting valuable time and money in the process.”

He says that one of his first pieces of advice is that time is money, and having employees try to learn the ins and outs of real estate management consumes a lot of both.

“I highly recommend hiring an experienced property management company like First Statewide Realty to take care of the details of an employee relocation. We do this every day. There’s no learning curve, we took care of that 20 years ago.”

Garrity also advises companies to view executive relocation services as an investment in their employee’s productivity.

“When an employee arrives in a new home amidst the chaos of a move that wasn’t well planned, it’s our experience that work productivity suffers dramatically. Employees are a valuable human resource, and wasting their time and energy by imposing unnecessary stress on their home life just doesn’t make sense.”

Garrity says he’s available to provide a full range of expert advice on taking the hassles out of employee relocation to companies.

“When an employee is being transferred to a new city, they are already dealing with enough upheaval in their life without adding extra burdens by having them deal with relocation details. We’ll take the burden of dealing with their move off of their hands and give them a much easier transition.”

Property management company, First Statewide Realty owner, Jerry Garrity is a seasoned expert in property management whose expertise has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and other publications. His Property Management Company, First Statewide Realty specializes in managing single family homes, condominiums, townhouses and other investment property in the greater San Jose metropolitan area. His Cupertino property management firm has been in business for over 21 years, and is a member of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, Tri-County Apartment Association and National Association of Residential Property Managers.

Source: First Statewide Realty, December 19, 2011

Check out these related posts!

• San Jose Property Manager Says Professional Property Management Reduces Risks in Employee Relocation
• Property Management Companies Property Manager and Landlords – Good Management Saves Money And Pays for Itself Study Shows
• Landlords – How Property Management Companies Can Save You Money

Property Management Software - Hotels - Payment Processing

Property management software – Frontdesk Anywhere, a leading web-based hotel management software company, today announced the introduction of an online payment interface to PayPal that provides their joint customers with simplified payment processing and collection. This new integration allows properties to charge their customers credit cards with a single click of a button from within the guest’s reservation and have the funds automatically transfer to the property’s bank account.

PayPal allows people to send money without sharing financial information, with the flexibility to pay using their account balances, bank accounts, credit cards or promotional financing. According to the PayPal website, they have 103 million active accounts in 190 markets and 25 currencies around the world.

Frontdesk Anywhere customers in Australia, Canada, The United States, New Zealand and Singapore will now be able to process payments from within their Frontdesk Anywhere account using the PayPal Payflow Pro Gateway.

“Frontdesk Anywhere is focused on providing easy-to-use web-based hotel management software solutions,” stated Frontdesk Anywhere co-founder, Thomas Lyle. “Integrating PayPal’s Payflow Pro Gateway into our service allows hotels to process credit card payments within the Frontdesk Anywhere PMS. Payments are processed and posted with a single click and without the double entry hassles that come with maintaining a separate payment processor.”

ABOUT FRONDESK ANYWHERE
Property management software leading provider for hotels, Frontdesk Anywhere provides an  innovative hotel management software for independent properties. To date, over 50,000 hotel guests have had their stay managed with Frontdesk Anywhere – from the initial online booking process through arrival, onsite operations and checkout. The company is focused on converging processes traditionally performed by separate systems into a single all-in-one productivity application. All modules are seamlessly integrated within the application and accessible from any computer and most mobile devices. The company is a privately held corporation based in San Francisco, California.

Source: FrontDesk Anywhere, December 20, 2011

Check out these related posts!

• Property Management Companies and Property Managers Guide To Online Payment Services
• Property Management Software Completes Central Reservations Integration
• Property Management Software Streamlines Booking For Hotels

Property Management - Home Builders

Property Management – During the holidays, many Americans pause to reflect on the year that is coming to an end. There was no relief in 2011 for the home building industry, which has been devastated by the economic downturn. Thousands of builders went out of business and many others continue to struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis. Yet home builders around the country are still putting aside their challenges to help less fortunate members of their communities.

“Home builders are making extraordinary sacrifices as they try to survive the ongoing economic downturn, and yet their generous spirit continues to shine in selfless acts of charity every day across the country,” said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Reno, Nev. “NAHB’s members are doing everything in their power to help others and preserve the American Dream of homeownership for those who are less fortunate.”

Despite Florida being extremely hard-hit by the downturn — it is among the states with the highest foreclosure rates in the country — home builder members of the Lee Building Industry Association in Fort Myers completed 33 charity projects in 2011. The projects included six major home renovations, four wheelchair ramps, six handicap accessibility bathroom renovations and other emergency construction services worth a total of more than $600,000.

“Home builders’ businesses have been suffering for years, but as long as we are physically able to help others who can’t help themselves, we will be out there giving back to this community,” said Bob Bassett, board president of Lee BIA Builders Care.

Kelly Watson, owner of Bluestone Building in Birmingham, Ala., felt compelled to help a family whose home was destroyed by a tornado in April when he read in the local paper that the family was still trying to find a way to rebuild in August.

“When I read that the mother, who has multiple sclerosis, was going to have to be her own contractor, I thought it was another disaster just waiting to happen,” Watson said. He recruited volunteers and support from local and national organizations and provided the Burchfield family with a 1,600-square-foot three-bedroom accessible universal design home with a tornado-resistant safe room a few days before Thanksgiving.

When Dan Steurer and Kelly Stephens asked fellow members of the Southern Utah Home Builders Association to give what they could to help remodel and build a 2,200-square-foot expansion of the Doctors’ Volunteer Clinic in St. George, Utah, nearly 200 companies responded. The clinic, which was originally built by members of the SUHBA 10 years ago, provides medical care to low income and uninsured people in the community, and patients were being seen in storage closets and hallways due to overwhelming demand for services.

“For those in our industry to have given so much to build something that blesses so many at such a difficult time economically is an inspiration to us all,” said Steuer, a home builder and co-owner of Sunwest Development in St. George, Utah.

Home builders aren’t limiting their generosity to their own communities. Rutland, Mass., home builder Len Gengel has spent 22 weeks in Haiti this year building an orphanage that will house more than 60 children and staff to care for them.

Gengel and his wife founded “Be like Brit,” a 501(c)(3) charity (BeLikeBrit.org), after his daughter Britney and five others from Lynn University were killed during the January 2010 Haiti earthquake just one day after they arrived on a humanitarian mission. Due to the severely limited resources on the island, Gengel has to bring in even the simplest construction materials by ship or make them on site.

“On my last trip I checked eight hockey bags full of electrical supplies as luggage on the plane just so we could do the wiring,” said Gengel. “But two years after the earthquake there are still Haitians living in tents, so if we have to do it one cement block at a time, we will give these orphans an environment where they can grow, learn and thrive.”

Each year, the home building industry contributes millions of dollars in cash, building materials, supplies, and countless volunteer hours to community charities through local community service projects.

NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB’s builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year. The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 160,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential, light commercial construction and property management.

SOURCE: National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), December 19, 2011

Check out these related posts!

• Freeman Webb Named Finalist for Property Management Company of the Year
• Landlords, Real Estate Investors – 4 Social Media Ideas Home Builders Are Using
• Essex Property Trust Noted for Trend Setting Apartment Communities in Washington and California

Property Management - Commercial Lender

Property Management – Clopton Capital has recently purchased a multi-family property in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, IL. The property is still under construction and is the first step in the firm’s plan to expand their business model into the property management industry. They have no immediate plans to expand their real estate holdings, but if this property proves to be profitable their means to expand are in existence presently. “I have front row access to commercial lending conduits and can access working capital with more ease than 99% of the U.S. population. It would be a waste for me not to purchase rental properties”, said Jake Clopton, the founder of Clopton Capital.

The firm has also shown interest in various commercial properties that are largely for retail use, but no formal intent to purchase such property has been made yet. The only type of commercial property Clopton Capital has zero current interest in is industrial property as they believe it is too hard to convert into a viable profit generating mechanism. “We really are keeping our options open to owning real estate to supplement our business helping others finance commercial property. We feel that a great deal of working capital and long term wealth can be obtained from these properties”, said Matt Reed, an associate of Clopton Capital.

Property management portfolio addition as the firm’s future plans involve a steady publicity and commercial real estate proliferation plan which they hope will make them a dominant player in the world of commercial loans. Their current rental properties are expected to be on the market for rent within 2012.

Source: Clopton Capital, December 19, 2011

Check out these related posts!

• Landlords – New Mode Of Financing For Commercial Real Estate
• Real Estate – Company Obtains High Profile Client for Loan
• Real Estate – Connecting Buyers And Sellers To Appropriate Financing Programs