Rental Property Management Primedia

Apr 29, 2010: PRIMEDIA Inc. a leading provider of online, print and mobile platforms that provide consumers with tools and information they need to find a place to live, today reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

“In our Apartments businesses, we grew our consumer audience, client count and the number of quality leads we provide to our clients. Our Apartments/Rentals Family of Sites was ranked #1 among its competitors in both unique visitors and visits in March 2010, and has maintained a top two ranking since May 2009. We also reinforced our position at the forefront of mobile innovation by launching our Apartment Guide iPad app in early April. We continued to produce more leads for our clients on a quarterly and year-over-year basis, and leads from our Internet and mobile platforms now represent more than 75 percent of the total leads we deliver to our advertiser clients.

“PRIMEDIA has a strong financial foundation, and we will continue to permanently streamline our cost structure, while investing in innovative growth opportunities to enhance long-term shareholder value,” added Mr. Stubbs.

First Quarter Revenue and Operations

Apartments — Apartment Guide, ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com and RentalHouses.com

The Apartments division, representing approximately 93% of first quarter 2010 advertising revenue, declined by 5.5% to $49.1 million from $52.0 million in first quarter 2009.

Apartment Guide, including ApartmentGuide.com, increased client count and grew the number of apartment community listings, while revenue declined 5.6%, primarily due to a decline in revenue per community served. The Company anticipates continuing declines in revenue per community served as it increases the number of communities served, at least in the shorter term, as lower effective rents continued to pressure pricing in many markets.

Rentals.com and RentalHouses.com revenue, the Company’s online single-unit real estate rental product line, decreased by 4.1% compared to first quarter 2009, primarily due to a decrease in paid listings through the self-provisioning feature of its websites, partially offset by an increase in the number of listings generated from property managers.

New Homes — NewHomeGuide.com, AmericanHomeGuides.com

Revenue from New Homes, representing approximately 7% of first quarter 2010 advertising revenue, declined by 40.0% to $3.6 million from $6.0 million in first quarter 2009. The Company anticipates continued pressure on this business for the foreseeable future and remains focused on reducing costs to offset expected revenue declines and maintaining close relationships with its advertising clients to best position this business for opportunities as macroeconomic conditions improve.

DistribuTech

DistribuTech, the Company’s distribution function, generated revenue of $6.6 million, compared to $10.4 million in first quarter 2009, a 37.1% decline. This decline was primarily due to the planned reduction of retail locations serviced and the impact of lost business from third-party customers. The Company’s overall distribution strategy is to reduce print distribution costs and eliminate less effective locations, while focusing efforts on retaining and servicing locations that produce the best results for PRIMEDIA advertisers.

Business Trends and Outlook

As measured by leads, the greater proportion of the value the Company now delivers to its clients on a national basis has shifted to its digital products and services, and the Company expects its advertiser clients to increasingly favor more digital products and services in their advertising budgets. In addition, the Company is aggressively pursuing enhancements to its product portfolio to provide more flexibility to its clients, based on specific markets and market segments, to purchase more customized mixes of products, product features and services on a stand-alone and package basis. These enhancements are intended to maximize clients’ advertising ROI and provide an opportunity for the Company to grow revenue as it continues to grow client count.

Given general economic and market conditions, the Company has limited visibility around 2010 revenue. For Apartments, the Company currently expects to see a 5.5% – 6.5% year-over-year decline in second quarter 2010 revenue. The Company also expects year-over-year declines in second quarter 2010 revenue of approximately $1.5 million for New Homes and $2.5 million for DistribuTech.

About PRIMEDIA Inc.

PRIMEDIA Inc. helps millions of consumers nationwide find a place to live through its innovative online, print and mobile solutions. From publishing its flagship advertising-supported Apartment Guide since 1975 to launching industry-leading online real estate destinations such as ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com and NewHomeGuide.com, PRIMEDIA continues to simplify the consumer home search and drive leads that result in occupancy for property managers, landlords, new home builders and real estate professionals.

SOURCE PRIMEDIA Inc.

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Short Sale or Foreclosure Tax Tips

If your mortgage debt is partly or entirely forgiven during tax years 2007 through 2012 due to short sale or foreclosure, you may be able to claim special tax relief and exclude the debt forgiven from your income. Here are 10 facts the IRS wants you to know about Mortgage Debt Forgiveness due to short sale or foreclosure.

1. Normally, debt forgiveness due to short sale or foreclosure results in taxable income. However, under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, you may be able to exclude up to $2 million of debt forgiven on your principal residence.

2. The limit is $1 million for a married person filing a separate return.

3. You may exclude debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in a foreclosure.

4. To qualify, the debt must have been used to buy, build or substantially improve your principal residence and be secured by that residence.

5. Refinanced debt proceeds used for the purpose of substantially improving your principal residence also qualify for the exclusion.

6. Proceeds of refinanced debt used for other purposes – for example, to pay off credit card debt – do not qualify for the exclusion.

7. If you qualify, claim the special exclusion by filling out Form 982, Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness, and attach it to your federal income tax return for the tax year in which the qualified debt was forgiven.

8. Debt forgiven on second homes, rental property, business property, credit cards or car loans does not qualify for the tax relief provision. In some cases, however, other tax relief provisions – such as insolvency – may be applicable. IRS Form 982 provides more details about these provisions.

9. If your debt is reduced or eliminated you normally will receive a year-end statement, Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt, from your lender. By law, this form must show the amount of debt forgiven and the fair market value of any property foreclosed.

10. Examine the Form 1099-C carefully. Notify the lender immediately if any of the information shown is incorrect. You should pay particular attention to the amount of debt forgiven in Box 2 as well as the value listed for your home in Box 7.

Homeowners who participated in short sale or had their real estate property foreclosed, take full advantage of the tax benefits available to you and pay no taxes on forgiven debt.

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Rental Property Management

Rental Property Management includes negotiating contracts for janitorial, security, landscaping, trash removal, and other services. Rental Property Management responsibility includes monitoring the performance of contractors, investigating and resolving complaints from residents and tenants when services are not property provided. Property managers doing rental property management purchase supplies and equipment for the property and make arrangements with professionals for repairs that cannot be handled by regular property maintenance staff.

Property managers responsible for rental property management need to understand and comply with pertinent legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Federal Fair Housing Amendment Act, and local fair housing laws. Rental property management entails ensure that renting and advertising practices are not discriminatory and that the residential rental property itself acts in accordance with the local, State, and Federal regulatory and building codes.

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Income Tax Deduction

Be sure to check out the list of common income tax deductions that can be taken by real estate investors and landlords who have residential rental income and expenses.

These deductions reduce the amount of net income generated from rental income and in some cases help rental property owners stay in lower income tax brackets. Save thousands of dollars and put more money in your pocket by taking full advantage of income tax deductions.

 For more information on income tax deductions CLICK HERE

This blog post for Real Estate Professionals, Investors, Landlord, Property Manager, and Property Management Companies is brought to you by SimplifyEm Pay Rent Online and Property Management Software

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Healthy Home Tips & Green Alternatives for Homeowners

The home buying process is an exciting time, but one that may bring additional responsibilities into your life. Many homes may need renovations or inspections, especially in areas that are susceptible to natural disasters. Having the assistance of an experienced and honest real estate agent will make this process smooth and stress free.

Some older homes may still contain obsolete building materials. Citizens of this great state are striving to move to a green lifestyle, advocating environmentally sustainable methods to be used throughout the state. Building or remodeling your homes with eco-friendly materials can lower utility and water bills, higher real estate value, purer air quality, reduced waste sent to landfills and conservation of natural resources.

Asbestos + Healthy Tips

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that was used in construction applications for the greater part of the 20^th century. Often appearing as insulation, piping, roofing and flooring, homes and buildings could still contain asbestos materials if they were built prior to 1980.

If you locate any suspected asbestos in the home, most experts suggest leaving it un-disturbed until a home inspector can examine your property, take evaluations and determine the safest course of action. Sometimes the best action is no action at all. Disturbing asbestos in good condition may cause its fibers to be released into the air. The removal of asbestos must be undertaken by a professional abatement contractor who is trained in handling dangerous materials.

Exposure to this material can lead to the development of mesothelioma, a lung ailment associated with asbestos exposure. Though a cure does not exist, mesothelioma treatment options such as radiation, chemotherapy and surgery may be available to patients to battle the disease. Mesothelioma compensation has become tough to predict for victims and their families because diagnosis can take 20-50 years. For this reason, many people refer to it as a silent killer.

Removal of asbestos in public facilities, workplaces and homes should be performed by licensed abatement contractors as long as the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) are not violated. They must wear protective equipment such as masks and gloves to avoid any exposure. The materials should be removed in as large pieces as possible and places in disposable bags.

Green Building Benefits

Each and every human being would like clean air to breathe and crisp water to drink. It takes a lot of effort and political advocacy to achieve this on a macro level. The implementation of eco-construction, green energy solutions will play an important role in the transformation to a healthier and sustainable world. Many locations throughout Alabama are swiftly changing their construction practices to suit the environment and the health of human beings.

There are many green, eco-friendly materials that replace the need for asbestos and can reduce energy costs annually. These include the use of cotton fiber, lcynene foam and cellulose. Cotton fiber is quickly becoming a favorite for home builders and renovators. Made from recycled batted material, it is also treated to be fireproof.  Research has demonstrated that the use of eco-friendly insulation alternatives can reduce annual energy costs by 25 percent.

Implementing green methods of building can have positive environmental, health and economic benefits. These include: Conservation of natural resources, enhancement of air quality, energy sustainability, increase property value, improve quality of life, improvement of pulmonary/cardiac health and reduction of waste.

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Residential Real Estate Foreclosure Loan Reduction

Homeowners can tap into Payment Reduction Plan (PRP) to get a temporary payment relief while working out the foreclosure prevention program with the lender.

The major key benefits of PRP for homeowners are:

1. PRP is available to homeowners who are already in default or at risk of default and do not quality for Home Affordability Modification Program (HAMP). A loan servicer is expected to offer PRP to a homeowner who is willing and has the ability to make reduced payments of at least 70% of their monthly payment. For example if a homeowner’s loan payment was $2000, the homeowner should be able to afford $1400 payment

2. PRP is designed to reduced the homeowners payments up to 30% of the homeowners loan payments of principal and interest (P&I)

3. During the period of reduced loan payment, the service should work with the borrower to come up with a foreclosure prevention plan. The servicer is expected to come up with a plan in first 3 months and then implement the foreclosure prevention plan by the 6^th month.

To get more information on Payment Reduction Plan, CLICK HERE

This blog post is brought to you by SimplifyEm Pay Rent Online and Property Management Software

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Investment Property Management

BusinessWeek editor Chris Palmeri acquired his first residential rental property in March and faced the usual challenges of property management. Many real estate investors especially the ones who own properties far away from where they live hire a property manager so that they sleep well at night.

Chris a new do-it-yourself landlord was anxious to rent his property quickly and skipped tenant screening. Once landlords are burnt by a tenant they never skip tenant screening. Read 5 tips for tenant screening in today’s market to make sure that you do not make this error.  He has managed to rent his property to new tenants. The best part is that he is looking to acquire another property.

Read his story on BusinessWeek by CLICKING HERE

This blog post is brought to you by SimplifyEm Pay Rent Online and Property Management Software

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Real Estate Investment Property

Foreclosures and REO’s are bringing many investors out of the woodwork. Some of the new investors who are novices are making many mistakes in selecting and purchasing of undervalued residential real estate.

RealtyTimes published an article that discusses a situation where a novice investor purchased a property and outsourced property management to a property manager. The property had lots of defects and improving the property to get it ready for rental proved expensive for this investor. The investor was blaming the property manager for the expenses.

Before becoming a Do-It-Yourself or absentee landlord, the 3 tips that investors should follow for success are:

1. Understand the market you are purchasing your investment property.

2. Be clear of your end goal and write it down

3. Calculate the costs of owning the investment property

These key rules will help you make good decisions when you are purchasing investment property.

This blog post is brought to you by SimplifyEm Pay Rent Online and Property Management Software

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Real Estate Foreclosure

RealtyTrac reports that $134 billion in adjustable rate mortages will be resetting to higher interest rates over the next two years. Foreclosure filings rose 23% nationwide in the quarter as compared to the same quarter a year ago. Sequentially the increase was 5% compared to second quarter of this year.

The top 5 states for foreclosure in 3rd quarter are:

1. Nevada

2. Arizona

3. California

4. Florida

5. Idaho

These foreclosures provide great opportunities for buyers of homes to live in or for investment purposes.  The people who should take advantage of this opportunity are long-term investors – the ones who are experienced landlords or outsource property management to property managers and can hold properties for 7, 8, or 10 years.

This blog post is brought to you by SimplifyEm Pay Rent Online and Property Management Software

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Property Management Software

Software as a Service (Saas) platforms are the fastest growing sector in software industry. Similarly online property management software is being adapted by many property managers and landlords. One of the major advantages of online property management software is lower upfront costs. Property managers and landlords pay monthly or annual software lease costs.

Besides lower predictable costs, online property management software like SimplifyEm Property Management Software provides a web hosted environment where the application can be accessed anytime, anywhere and anyplace. Property Managers and landlords using online property management software outsource their IT and do not worry about updates or backup of software and data. The data is secure and can be recovered more easily than data stored on desktop or a laptop.

Online SimplifyEm property management software is very easy to use, saves time for property managers, landlords and reduces their overall costs of property management.

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