James Engel KW Beverly Hills

When, and how often is a landlord permitted to raise the rent?

Most lease agreements are a one-year agreement, during which time the rent cannot be raised. Some lease agreements automatically convert to a month-to-month agreement after the first year is up, at which time a landlord does have the option to raise the rent as frequently as every thirty days. This is not advisable in any circumstance, and certainly not in this economy. Even a modest increase in rent can be the impetus for a tenant to move if upped frequently. Some tenants are even currently re-negotiating their rents because of financial strain. Some landlords are choosing to offer a reduced rental rate rather than face the possibility of empty units.

It's customary to raise the rent on a yearly basis. A reasonable yearly increase can fall between 3 and 5 percent. If your city falls under the jurisdiction of rent control law, you'll need to check with you local rent control board to ascertain the legal limit of increase.

If your rental agreement has surpassed the one year mark, a good and reasonable time to increase the rent would also be when the tenant requests some sort of upgrade in the unit. If you agree to install new appliances or do other improvements that the tenant desires, that would be an appropriate time to ask for a rent increase.

Regardless of the reason or timing, you'll need to read the fine print of your lease agreement to see what is permitted in terms of rent increases.

It is after the dreaded April 15th and everyone now is going to be looking at a market with low interest rates and some astounding prices, pretty carefully. Those who have sat on the fences and have waited for the storm of the century are going to start getting restless, seeing the clouds spreading thin and the sunshine coming through.

We can all expect our business to pick up during the next couple of months due to various reasons, but one thing is for certain, this is a seasonal wind and you need to be sitting on the lake with the sails up to catch it. Otherwise by the time you rig others will be miles away.

So be prepared and get prepared to turn onlookers into buyers, indecisives into listings and doing some business. This might be the best wind we will catching in the near future so sail with it

In property as in life, you have one chance to make a first impression. When a tenant sees your property, the first impression will often determine whether or not they want to live there. Of course, the two major factors for a prospective tenants decision will be location and price. Beyond those basic facts, the first impression will have the most impact.

Here are some questions for you to ask in yourself in reviewing your property's attractiveness:

• Does the building look clean and tidy from the outside? Do you have a fresh coat of paint, and is the exterior in good repair?
• Is the landscaping kept up and tidy?
• Is there any outdoor space for your tenants to enjoy?
• What appliances/conveniences to you offer? Is there a refrigerator, range/oven, dishwasher, garbage disposal, washer/dryer?
• Are there window coverings already installed?
• Is the interior of the unit clean and freshly painted?

Some of these items above are probably covered in the basic maintenance of your building. Others may be a reminder that it's time to improve or update your building, or certain units, to make them more desirable.

If this list seems like more than you can or want to handle, maybe it's time to hire a property management company. Please see our website at www.GoldenEstateManagement.com for a comprehensive list of our services. We serve the greater Los Angeles, Fort Worth and Oklahoma City areas.

As a landlord, you may be wondering if it's a good idea, or even necessary, to use a Realtor to find tenants to fill your vacancies. Realtors are continually in contact with people who are in need of housing, and not all of those people are necessarily buyers. Some wish they could buy, but don't have the required down payment available and therefore, at least for the time being, continue to rent. Others have life changes come up quickly and need to rent before moving into the position to buy. Whatever the case may be, your Realtor's job is keeping contact with people with various housing needs.

If you already have a relationship with a Realtor, they may be able to spread the word or put you in contact with a prospective tenant with little work involved and therefore will be happy to give you the referral at no or little cost. If you ask your Realtor to actively advertise your property, to seek out tenants and schedule showings of units, you'll need to make an agreement with them regarding compensation prior to beginning the work. Before you speak to your Realtor, have in mind the scope of duties you'd like them to cover and structure your payment accordingly. Typically, a commission on a rental is equal to one month's rent.

Some property management companies, such as www.GoldenEstateManagement.com, take care of all steps of the advertising and rental process as part of their services. Contact us through our website above to view a complete description of what we have to offer.

Bankruptcy is an unfortunate reality becoming more and more common in today's trying economic times. As a landlord, what do you do if a tenant files for bankruptcy?

When the new bankruptcy laws took effect in October of 2005, one important change was that a tenant's claiming bankruptcy no longer means a stoppage or delay of eviction. If a landlord has already filed an eviction prior to a tenant's claim of bankruptcy and has been given a court order evicting the tenant, the filing of bankruptcy on the part of the tenant will not automatically delay eviction proceedings.

It is all in the timing, however, and if the tenant has filed for bankruptcy prior to receiving an eviction notice and court judgment, the law requires that the landlord get permission from the Bankruptcy Court before proceeding with the eviction. This situation may delay an eviction, but it cannot stop it.

The property management team at Golden Estate Management is expert in the handling of eviction proceedings. Please contact us with questions, and view the full spectrum of our services, at www.GoldenEstateManagement.com.