Debbie Mitchell

Do you own a home in the Dallas/Ft Worth area, but have moved out of state? Does managing your own property take up too much of your time? Maybe you just don't want to deal with your tenant(s) directly? Or perhaps you are not familar with the legalities of a lease or how to enforce the Lease.

I am always asked why hire a property manager if I can manage myself? I am upfront and honest in answering that question and my response is: "If you can handle the property yourself then you do not need a property manager."

However, it is difficult for homeowners who are out of state to properly manage their properties in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. They find it difficult to set-up the necessary repairs to their home or even finding good quality tenants when their property becomes vacant. When a tenant moves out landlords should do a walk through of the property before a tenant moves in and a secuity deposit is returned to the vacating tenant. Landlords want to ensure that their properties are being kept in good condtion and any and all necesary repairs are being kept up as each tenant moves out. If repairs are needed then finding a qualified professional to complete the repairs also may become a task most landlords do not want to deal with.

A Property Management Company is not for everyone, but if landlords are looking to reap the benefits of their investment without the time and hassle to manage there is another option. Hire a Property Manager.

This home is adorable having approximately 1600 +/- square feet. Master bedroom downstairs with remodeled master bathroom with jetted tub, and tons of closet space! Upstairs has 2 more bedrooms and a full bath with an area for the kids to do their homework, or set-up their computer. Has formal dining room and eat-in kitchen with ceramic tile floors. Good sized living room with laminate wood floors! This one won't last long at $1450.00 per month - immediate vacancy!! Drive by this listing and see for yourself 1203 Laurel Lane, Grapevine, Texas! Great Location!

As human beings, we crave certainty, consistency, something we can really count on or believe in. It's comforting, it's consoling, and it's completely natural. But it's also extremely fragile, and always the first casualty of turmoil, especially in the financial markets.

In 2008, one could argue that the biggest market movers were not just the credit crunch or a pending global recession. It was fear, a sweeping lack of confidence that suddenly gripped everyone, from major financial companies and individual investors, to consumers and governments alike. The result was not only the unprecedented financial turmoil that we're not going to discuss in this article, but also an amazing opportunity for those who aren't afraid to face that fear as the real estate and mortgage markets begin to turn - and they will turn. Perhaps they already have.

For instance, mortgage rates are currently the lowest they've been in a generation, and home prices have dropped significantly in many areas. For new buyers and homeowners looking to save on monthly payments, this is great news. Homes you might not have been able to afford just 2 or 3 years ago are now well within your reach at a rate that makes much more sense than renting, in many instances. What's more, the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, and even the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are using all of their tools to address the ailing economy, which many experts believe could lead to even lower rates in the near future.

For homeowners with enough equity, this means now may be the time to lock in a low rate. At the time of the writing of this article, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications jumped 2.9 percent in one week in December, 77% of which were refinances with an average interest rate of 5.18% for a 30-year fixed and an average rate of 4.93% for a 15-year fixed mortgage.

If the experts are wrong and rates increase, you made a great deal. If the experts are right and rates continue to drop, just ask your mortgage professional about a "no closing cost loan". This type of loan allows borrowers to lock in today's low rate and to refinance again if the rates fall further. Just make sure there's no prepayment penalty if you're not going to stay in the home long enough to recoup your investment.

Friends... This is one of the greatest responses to the requests for bailout money I have seen thus far. As a supplier for the Big 3 this man received a letter from the President of GM North America requesting support for the bail out program. His response is classic, and has to make you proud of a local guy who tells it like it is. He and "Joe the Plumber" would make a great team.

Both letters are below. Its lengthy so if you are in a hurry don't delete it, just keep it until you have time.

Dear Employees & Suppliers,

Congress and the current Administration will soon determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis.

As an employee or supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.

Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

Troy Clarke

President General Motors North America

Response from:

Gregory Knox, Pres.

Knox Machinery Company

Franklin, Ohio

Gentlemen:

In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a bailout for the Big Three automakers please consider the following, and please pass my thoughts on to Troy Clark, President of General Motors North America.

Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this nation, awaiting our new "messiah", Pres-elect Obama, to wave his magic wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream"... Believe me folks, The dream is over!

This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities...this dream where you still think the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.

Don't even think about telling me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's throughout the Midwest during the past 30 years and what I've seen over those years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: "There is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, and especially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management which it certainly is not."

You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management...how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass...so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time...for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week. How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics...for putting out too many parts on a shift...and for being too productive

(We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)

Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: "over the last few years ...we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors." What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? What a joke!

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades. It's time to pay for your sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research, surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". "Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems," but despite what people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day... and the following very important thing would happen...where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up...that is how a free market system works...it does work...if we would only let it work..."

But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government to step in and "save us"...Save us my ass, Hell - we're nationalizing...and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's citizens don't even have a clue that this is what is really happening...But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams...yeah - THAT'S really important, isn't it...

Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country?... How can that be??? Let's see... Fuel efficient... Listening to customers... Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul...

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through quality and intelligent planning... Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy"... Efficient front and back offices... Non union environment...

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know down deep in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into - my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) - I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it. Radical concept, huh... Am I there for them in the wings? Of course - but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news people - it's coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away." I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied..."we really might not do it in a year...or in four..." Where the Hell was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office.

Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks ... That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000... People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits... That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year... We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe...

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home... Let the market correct itself folks - it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna' be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has...and doesn't live beyond its means...and gets back to basics...and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world...and probably* turns back to God.

(*and I would add HOPEFULLY "j")

Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news". I hope you take it to heart.

Gregory J. Knox, President

Knox Machinery, Inc.

Franklin, Ohio 45005

LEASE NEGOTIATIONS

You can work it one of two ways in retail/commercial lease negotiations - hire an attorney or handle the negotiations yourself.

There is a third alternate however - hiring a Real Estate Paralegal who has worked in retail negotiations for eight (8) years for a large retailer.

If you are an owner of a retail/commercial center and have been negotiating the leases of your tenants on your own - below are a few items that you should think about in your negotiations:

•· Common Area Rules & Regulations for all Tenants - do you have fines if tenants do not conform to the rules and regulations;

•· What about "go dark" language - you don't not want your tenants to be able to close - your center will look like it is vacant even thought rent is still being paid - if it is still being paid;

•· Do you have conforming sign criteria for the entire center;

•· What is the centers hold harmless language - are you actually covered if something happens;

•· Do you as a Landlord have the right after completion of new space to recalculate the floor area of the Leased Premises so that the rent can be adjusted to reflect a larger space;

•· Does your lease specify how the space is to be turned over at expiration of lease;

•· Do you hold the right to approve tenants plans;

•· Do you hold the right of contractor approval;

•· Do you reserve the right to have tenant refresh the interior if they have been in the space for five years or more;

•· Are you specific in your Tenants default language

This list goes on ...

Feel free to contact me - I work on a contract per lease fee basis.