James Engel KW Beverly Hills

Although most landlords would presume a long-term lease agreement would be preferred, there are cases where a month-to-month rental agreement can serve both tenant and property owner.

If you are a property owner needing to financially meet the demands of a monthly mortgage, a long-term lease will be your most secure option. If, however, that is not the case, a month-to-month agreement can give you the flexibility to terminate the rental agreement and move a tenant out within a month. Some landlords use this tool as a way to identify "problem tenants," and minimize the hassle that breaking a year-long lease may entail.

Many tenants prefer the security they feel with a month-to-month agreement. If a tenant has to relocate due to employment, changing family size, or for a myriad of other reasons, they know they have the flexibility to do so with 30 days notice.

To examine what type of lease agreements are right for you and your property, please contact James Engel at (888) 999-6575 for a consultation. You can also go to www.GoldenEstateManagement.com for a complete description of our property management services.

In this day and age of more healthful living, many people are choosing to live, work and play in smoke-free environments. Many states, lead by California's 1994 statewide smoking ban in all workplaces, have instituted smoking bans to protect workers, children, and citizens using public buildings and lands from being exposed to the dangers of second-hand smoke.

As a landlord, you may be wondering, "Can I restrict smoking in my rental units?" The answer is a resounding, "Yes!" Much as a landlord or management company can place restrictions on the usage of common areas such as laundry facilities, pools, etc., a ban on smoking in common areas is totally legal and permissible.

You may also ban smoking in individual units. It is legal and valid for a landlord to set such restrictions as a "no pet" clause, or a "no smoking" clause in any lease agreement. It is simply another way for a property owner to protect her property. This cannot legally be construed as discriminatory, or as an infringement on a smoker's rights.

For more information follow this link: http://www.law.capital.edu/tobacco/documents/TALC_rental_fact_sheet.pdf

Here's to your health!

The idea of luck is very seductive. Doesn't it sound great? When you have luck you can just show up and without any work or struggle or self doubt have your wishes granted. On the flip side, if your dreams don't come true you can rail against the unfair fates and simply say that luck was not on your side. But what is luck, really?

I love the quote "Luck is when opportunity meets preparation" To me this is great working model for luck. Opportunities will come and go, for all of us, but those of us who are prepared and knowledgeable will have the ability to use those opportunities to our advantage. People who have not done their homework will stand on the sidelines and think that we are lucky and wonder why they aren't so lucky.

Let go of your old ideas of luck. There is nothing random about luck; it arises out of many moments of preparedness. Instead of focusing on when we will be lucky let's shift our focus to being prepared and willing.

There is a popular way of thinking that espouses the phrase, "Change your mind; change your life." We could debate the validity of this idea until we are old and grey and unable to speak. I don't know about you but I have other things I would rather do with my time, like create meaningful wealth in my life. But let me just offer one example of the power of the mind to create success: top athletes. These are a group of people who train consistently both physically and mentally in order to perform at their peak. Ask any top athlete if they could perform at the their best if they didn't believe in their core that they were not only capable of winning but that they would in fact absolutely win. I'm quite sure that they have some days when they believe it a little more or less than other days, but the important thing is that they train themselves to be in a winning mindset.

The same is true for all of us. Unless you are willing to train your mind to believe in your eventual success it is unlikely that you will succeed. So right now before you waste any time you need to ask yourself, "Am I willing to believe that I can become financially successful investing in real estate?" Remember a few blogs back when I said that willingness was all that was required. This is your first big test. Are you willing?

If you aren't willing to believe in yourself and your ability to be successful you will need to accept that you are resigning yourself to struggle.

You might say, "Well, I'm willing to believe it, but I don't really believe it yet." That's okay, show up with your willingness and if you stay willing the belief will come. If it works for top athletes around the world it can work for you.

Fear is the single biggest reason that people don't invest in real estate. Sometimes fear is useful and warranted, sometimes it is simply debilitating. Fear can be a powerful tool if used properly. The question is how to know when it is useful and when it is just debilitating; knowledge is the key.

If you take the time to educate yourself on what your fears are you will frequently find that the fears will dissipate. Much like taking a flashlight and shining it under a fearful child's bed, knowledge acts as a beam of light to clarify what is and what is not.

In this age of media bombardment it is easy to take a television or radio report at face value. Haven't we all seen the countless reports on the housing market and the growing concerns over rampant foreclosures? Do these reports represent the entire truth? Of course not, they couldn't possibly. There isn't time in these short reports to inform the viewer that while foreclosures and bankruptcies are up in many places there are still a number of places relatively untouched by the subprime loan crisis.

If fear is stopping you from investing in your future, make sure that you arm yourself with facts that are relevant to your situation. Take the time to do your research or call a real estate professional in your area. You may find that your fears have nothing to do with reality. If you do find that your fears are justified you will react in an informed manner. Either way proceeding will be infinitely clearer and much less stressful.