Wallace S. Gibson CPM * GRI

I was not aware of this aspect of the real estate recession of the '70s; however, during this economy, there is a GREAT SELECTION of repair personnel in our area.

Although our area has had a location in Angie's List for almost a year, in the past 5 years, I have had to look for good, quick cleaning services, and some specialty repair services * now they are walking in through my office door.....LITERALLY!

The ones who are faxing me flyers or are calling me asking for my e-mail address or fax number so they can send me information on their services are of no interest to me. They are now starting to come to my office * there are 3 property management firms in 2 buildings in my office complex so this makes sense * and my being able to talk and discuss their services, prices and availability ARE worthwhile so I invite them in for a "chat".

The latest one came with a flyer in hand with their contact information including e-mail address and stressed that they could take work orders via e-mail.....I love them already!!! If they treat my residents with respect and give me good prices and prompt service, their visit will be worth more than taking the easy way out - for both of us.

This is the condition of the mulched beds in a beautiful home that tenants vacated in July, 2008. I arranged for the beds to be weeded and mulched and sent the tenants the remainder of their security deposit within the 45 day time limit allowed under VA law.

The tenants sued me for $1,200 and the general district court judge awarded them a $500 judgement against me (my corporation). I appealed that decision and the trial was Monday, August 3rd. The tenants presented 45 minutes of testimony and documents * I gave them a written reference and said they were OK tenants * I never told them they needed to mulch and weed (it's in their lease and resident handbook) * I did not give them a chance to come fix the yard (weed and mulch) * I failed to return their deposit within the 45 day period (I mailed and they received within the 45 days) * Yada Yada.....when they handed the judge my Move-Out Closing Statement the judge read the bottom of the statement and ruled in my favor - I was never sworn in and I never testified. My attorney will write the release to get my "bond" of $500 returned to me and vacate the $500 judgement.

This is the wording at the bottom of my Move-Out Closing Statement. By cashing the check for the remainder of their deposit, they agreed to the Offer in Compromise I was presenting to them.....HOORAY!!

This check/statement is tendered as an offer in compromise for the settlement and return of the security deposit held on the Tenant/Payee's tenancy. This offer does not waive, relinquish or diminish the right of the Agent or Property Owner to seek additional monies should the Tenant/Payee reject this offer in any way including but not limited to the filing any legal action with regard to Tenant/Payee's tenancy.

These people were originally represented by an attorney and then represented themselves at the appeal trial.

My suggestion is to have good policies and procedures in place; use a good attorney familiar with your state's landlord-tenant and contract laws; and to APPEAL any judgement when you know the lower court ruled inappropriately.

I've had occasion twice in the last two weeks to turn away property owners/property accounts because the property owners wanted me to treat tenants as SECOND CLASS CITIZENS.

The first property owner, after being rude and having discussions with her husband on her cel phone rather than having a 3-way discussion so we ALL could be on the same page, left me a voicemail that after packing her furniture she could not remove the sofa and if the new tenants did not want it, they could hack it up and remove it. They had built a master suite in the above-level basement and made a doorway too small to remove the sofa existing in the family room. I e-mailed the property owner that I did not think that was appropriate and returned her $500 owner contribution check.

The second property owner, while in discussions about management for her deceased father's house, kept bringing up the "worst case scenarios" of tenant situations * no rent, destroyed property, over-occupancy. The house she and I will be renting is beautiful and will rent to a family moving into the area who probably own a home elsewhere that they will be renting out themselves...these are not your typical "tenants" and often present different challenges for a property manager; however, just because they put RENT on the memo line of their check each month, does not mean they are stupid or that they do not deserve respect or courteous treatment. Providing a home that is not clean, that has dirty or soiled furniture in it, or that is not "move-in" ready will end up costing money as it will delay the renting of the property.

Owners who have not sold their home and are leaving the area SHOULD be looking at their new TENANTS as the "Saviors of their Financial Derriere"! The rent they pay will be assisting them in making their mortgage payment, keeping their homeowners insurance in effect, AND allow them to weather the current real estate downturn and save their home's equity.

The three major property managers who post on CL in Central Virginia are now using our Craigslist HTML export from our HomeRentals.net web sites property listings when posting our rental ads. These ads have watermarks on the photos and prospects just have to click to our website to view additional photos. I don't put in an e-mail so anyone interested contacts me through my website or my office phone #.

It works GREAT!! It is FASTER to post and SCAMMERS are not hijacking my listings anymore so I am not getting "do you know?" calls and having to spend my time to re-check local CL ads daily to see if my listings are being used in a SCAM so I can have them flagged for removal.

Unfortunately, many property owners who post individual ads may not know that their ads are being hijacked so they don't check and don't know how to respond to get them removed.

http://charlottesville.craigslist.org/apa/1115497266.html

I want to thank Bob Machado for his post on watermarking his listing photos....it started me thinking about how to build my "better mousetrap"!!

Wallet Pop has Virginia ranked 14th in their top 20 safest states....Having these types of figures in our frequently asked questions is excellent marketing for our properties, our area AND our state!!