Niman @TReXGlobal.com

Vacancy rates have mushroomed to a 23 year high, close to 8%. As inventory of vacant residential rental properties is increasing, rents are dropping. Even then, savvy do-it-yourself landlords and property managers are still able to attract high quality tenants and keep their residential rental properties occupied.

Are you able to attract high quality tenants or is one of your tenants leaving soon? Here are steps to take to have high quality tenant line up to rent from you making your experience as a landlord or a property manager enjoyable and profitable.

1. Approach your property from the eyes of the tenant and make sure that it has curb appeal. A property that is very attractive from the curb will rent itself.

2. Create an ad targeting your prospective tenants. Landlords or Property Managers can determine the target tenant based on the location and size of the property. Depending upon the features of your residential rental property a target tenant could be a student, couple or a family. In the ad, highlight the features of the property that would attract the target tenant.

3. Advertise your property in Craigslist, the most popular rental property listing site. If you are a do-it-yourself landlord, contact your local rental property management company and pay for their service to find and do tenant screening. You can also advertise on various rental sites on the internet like rent.com, etc.

4. Respond to emails, phone calls from prospective tenants to keep their interest high in the property and highlight the features of the property in your response.

Until you get into the habit of looking at your residential rental property from the eyes of the target tenant, pin these 4 tips where they stay in front and follow them rigorously. Make attracting high quality tenants a high priority for you and you will have target tenants lining up to rent your property.

The National Center for Healthy Housing released a study using Census Bureau data that states that 1 in 3 homes in metro areas have problems that could result in illness for the resident. Landlords, Property Managers, and residents can easily prevent some of these conditions that result in unhealthy homes.

Unhealthy homes have significant impact on residents. Americans spend more than 90% of their time indoors. It increases their chance of getting sick due to the health hazard that may exist in the property. For example, since 1980 asthma has tripled amongst children and the major factor driving this increase is poor ventilation and water leaks.

Landlords, Property Managers and homeowners should take quick action on these 2 major issues in properties. Most of the times an ounce of prevention is the best fix to these problems. Below you will find suggestions and tips on how to prevent these problems in the most economical way.

1. Mold: A plumbing leak, roof or windows that makes an area continuously wet leads to mold. Ask your tenants to inform about any leak so that it is stopped quickly. Check the roof once a year especially the attic ceiling for leaks. Seal any leaks around pipes that extend into exterior walls, ensure that the windows and doors are well caulked. Also always check the gutters and downspouts to make that they are draining water properly.

2. Rodents: Rodents are one of the toughest to fight and they can cause significant damage over time to property. They have been known to gnaw through pipes, wood paneling, and contaminate stored food. Many landlords and property managers find use of traps, glue strips and bait stations quite effective in getting rid of this problem. In order to prevent the problem, ask your tenants to keep food sealed and generally keep the property clean.

Due to high unemployment and the worst recession since the great depression, crime numbers have picked up across the nation. Landlords and property managers have a higher probability of crime occuring on their residential rental property. Obviously, any crime including vandalism will result in a negative impact on the value of the property.

The good news is that landlords and property managers can take steps to prevent and even stop crime on their properties. Again an ounce of prevention is better than pound of cure which can protect landlords and property managers from expensive lawsuits. The following tips can eliminate the risk of crime on residential rental properties at very little or no expense.

1. Rent To Quality Tenants: Landlords and Property Managers should not be too anxious to rent a property. Tenant Screening is one of the most important steps to prevent crime on a residential rental property. The cost of tenant screening can be covered by the application fee paid by the tenant. Read the blog on Tenant Screening for tips.

2. Maintain Property’s Interior and Exterior: By keeping residential rental property well maintained, landlords and property managers can prevent crime. If a property is well lit and shrubs and trees are kept trimmed it will result in clear visibility and no place to hide. One of the rules of thumb is “3 foot, 6 foot” rule for landscaping. The low ground coverage should be only 3 feet and all trees canopies should be 6 feet high. Lighting is the other element that deters crime on property.

3. Invoke Local Police Help: Most police departments have crime prevention programs and are willing to work with landlords, property managers and property management companies to prevent crime. A crime free multi-housing program offered by many police departments can be leveraged for other residential rental properties. Tap into this free service.

Follow these steps and prevent crime on your property saving yourself from any pain and agony of a lawsuit.

I haven't blogged in a while, but now ends right now! I am so excited I can't contain myself! Why?

I am finally going on vacation!

Now I know what you are thinking, Summer is just about over, what is this guy on, right?

Well, to tell you a little more about myself - it's been a long time since I've taken a break for vacation (over 3 years, when my journey at TReXGlobal first began!).

As the Director of Community Relations for TReXGlobal.com, the maker of super cool Property Management Software - there are quite a few things that I am involved with - like our amazingly awesome partner program, and the free monthly newsletter that real estate professionals use to keep in touch with their clients.

As the season comes to an end, I can't help but think about all the cool things that have happened over the last couple months. Our blog has grown a lot since we began in April. I finished my MBA in June and landed in the newspaper, that was nice! A few weeks later Inman News did a wonderful review of our products, that was really cool.

So what is the coolest thing about Summer? I haven't been away from a laptop more than a couple hours in the last three years, and now I am going to Fiji for a month! Ya, that's going to be nice... looking forward to beautiful sights and some wonderful R&R!

New U.S. home sales rose by the largest amount in more than eight years last month. The last time sales rose so dramatically was in December 2000. Is this a sign that the housing market is finally bouncing back from the worst downturn in decades?

Sales rose 11 percent in June to an adjusted annual rate of 384,000, from May's rate of 346,000.

There were 281,000 new homes for sale at the end of June, down more than 4 percent from May. At the current sales pace, that represents 8.8 months of supply — the lowest level since October 2007.

Here's the Yahoo article I read

PS: Do you know anyone who is cool enough to try the most amazing property management software in the world?