Benefits of Spring Cleaning Your Boston Rental Property

The Boston winter with its snow, ice and frost is over and done with. Now is the time to clean up the mess!

As soon as you, a Boston landlord, see daffodils blooming, it’s time to think about what damage the winter may have caused to your rental property.

In this article, learn why it's to your benefit to pay attention to spring maintenance and cleaning both outdoors and indoors.

While you are paying attention to the common areas of your building, also learn how to encourage your tenants to report any problems in their individual apartments so that these can be taken care of in a timely fashion.

Why Spring Cleaning Will Benefit Your Property

Implementing sound inspection and cleaning practices each spring keeps your tenants safe and happy and increases the value of your property. Why? Happy tenants are less likely to seek alternative accommodation.

A Boston spring is the beginning of the turnover season in Boston apartments, so by encouraging your residents to stay, you will reduce the wear and tear on your building caused by people moving in and out.

And, don’t forget about curb appeal. Well kept outdoor landscaping and a clean, well-maintained building are what prospective new tenants will immediately notice. An attractive exterior appearance will help to keep your units fully rented.

Tips For Landlords In Boston and Other Cities

Spring Cleaning Exterior Checklist

• Inspect your building’s roof and look for any signs of damage.
• Remove debris from gutters - water damage can result from clogs. Repair any breaks.
• Remove tree branches that have grown too close to the roof.
• Inspect your building’s walls and patch any cracks.
• Check your exterior paintwork. Make any necessary repairs and maybe go for a new look to increase curb appeal.
• Note any damage to windows and doors. Seals may have cracked in extreme cold and caused water damage and drafts. Clean the window panes.
• Repair broken or rusty hinges, ensure that doors latch, and replace old locks that might cause security risks.
• Check swimming pools for damage and give them a thorough cleaning.
• Clean up common spaces like garbage and picnic areas.
• Examine driveways, fences, decks and patios then thoroughly spray to get rid of salt, sand, and de-icer residues. Fill any holes, cracks, or gaps.
• Trim bushes and replant flower beds.
• If you have lawn areas, check that your mower and weed cutter are clean, gassed up and ready for the first spring cut.

Spring Cleaning Interior Checklist

• Inspect interior paintwork. Make any necessary repairs or try a fresh new color.
• Steam-clean all floors and carpets.
• Hire a professional to clean and service your HVAC system to ensure that it’s running efficiently and that you are saving on energy costs.
• Replace burnt-out light bulbs
• Inspect electrical breaker boxes and replace smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries.
• Look for drainage blockages in laundry areas and check that coin-operated washers and dryers are operating normally.
• Search for signs of rodents, termites, fleas, and other insect infestations.

Involve Your Tenants

Of course, while you are spring cleaning your Boston property, you would also like to remind your tenants that spring cleaning season is here and maybe provide them with an incentive to spring clean their individual apartments.

For instance, you could offer to pay half the cost of a cleaning service. This will help to ensure that your rental property apartments stay free of dust, mold, and bugs. One problem you don't want is bedbugs.

Before the cleaning service arrives, you might even send tenants a helpful checklist. Some ideas for this are:

• Vacuum underneath and behind the refrigerator. Give the interior of the refrigerator a thorough cleaning and toss out expired foods or foods that have been in the freezer for more than a year.
• Go through closets and set aside clothes that haven’t been worn for several years. These items can be collected for a building wide garage sale, the proceeds from which will go to a local charity.

Need Help With Your Annual Spring Cleaning?

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the work involved in spring cleaning and maintenance, the best property management company in Boston is here to help you before the hot Boston Summer arrives and year round.

Contact us to see how we can assist you to beautify and manage your property year round.

How to Conserve Water in Boston Apartments

No matter who pays the water bills in an apartment it benefits everyone when less water is consumed.

Conserving water in apartment buildings protects one of the Earth's most precious natural resources, but it can also save money in the long run for both tenants and landlords.

Along with reducing water waste and expenses, water conservation steps can also help to keep the planet healthy and safe. Below are a few eco-friendly property management solutions to help landlords and tenants work together to conserve water.

Water Saving Tips for Apartment Tenants 

Even though apartment dwellers usually consume less water than stand-alone homes, there are many things renters can do to consume less water.

The following eco-friendly and sustainable property management steps are easy to take and can make a significant difference in the amount of water consumed on a daily basis.

Bathrooms

• Take showers instead of baths, since bathtubs usually require about 50 gallons of water to fill.
• Reduce shower times by one or two minutes to save up to 700 gallons per month.
• Turn off water when brushing your teeth or shaving to save about 3 gallons of water per day.
• Never place trash in the toilet, since each flush uses about 1.6 for a water-saving toilet to 7 gallons of water for a conventional toilet

Kitchens

• Scrape dishes with a spatula or a used napkin to limit pre-rinsing.
• Wash dishes in a full dishwasher instead of by hand.
• Fill containers with soap and rinse water for hand washables instead of running water.
• Use sprayers and vegetable brushes to clean food.
• Do not use your garbage disposal to get rid of food.
• Defrost foods in a refrigerator, microwave, or cold water bowl instead of running water.

Laundry

• Wash only full loads of laundry to use less water and to reduce energy costs in Boston.
• Avoid washing clothes and other types of laundry unless truly needed. For example, use or wear bath towels and clothing at least two times unless they smell bad or are stained.

Outdoor Areas 

• Collect water used for boiling eggs, steaming vegetables or while waiting for it to heat up in the kitchen or shower to water grass, plants, flowers and trees on your patio or balcony. 
• Save rainwater in a cistern, rain barrel or other type of container to water greenery.
• Choose drought-friendly plants so that you will not need to water very often.

Touch Base With Your Landlord

• Report any type of leak to your landlord, including dripping faucets, seeping plumping joints or running toilets. Also contact your landlord right away if you notice broken sprinklers, washing machines or pipes.
• Notify your landlord if you observe any type of water waste. For example, let your landlord know if gardeners use water to clean pathways rather than sweeping with a broom.

Water-saving Tips for Landlords

Promoting eco-friendly property management practices can help landlords streamline their operations and save water and money for everyone.

In addition, renters are more likely to consume less water if landlords take the steps below.

Promote Conservation Habits

Make sure tenants understand that you support water-saving measures and other earth-friendly conservation efforts so they feel comfortable contacting you with their water conservation issues and suggestions. Preventative maintenance to mitigate common HVAC problems or burst pipes can help to keep everyone safe from issues.

Encourage tenant water conservation efforts by posting the above tips in a common area.

Plumbing and Water-Saving Appliances

• Fix any reported leaks, seeps or drips as soon as possible.
• Install low-flow shower heads and water-saving faucet aerators.
• Place low-flow toilet, since they use only 1.6 gallons for each flush and can save thousands of gallons of water per year.
• Install water-saving dishwashers.

Landscaping

• Design outdoor landscaping with drought-friendly plants, flowers and grass to reduce overall water consumption and include automatic shut-off devices on irrigation systems to prevent water systems from operating during inclement weather.
• Make sure gardeners use hoses with shut-off nozzles and incorporate efficient outdoor watering schedules to prevent water runoff and water waste. 
• Advise gardeners to keep mower blade settings high so that longer grass to prevent water loss and protect roots from harsh weather.
• Mulch any plants, trees or flowers to reduce water evaporation and weeds. 

Eco-Friendly Property Management

Premier Property Management is an eco-friendly and sustainable property management company that can help keep your investments solvent. Whether you decide to save money on new water heater efficiency standards or take steps to reduce water waste, green habits like these can help you earn the respect of the community, reduce your impact on the environment and preserve your working capital.

Importance of Cleaning Your Condo Building

January 1st marks new beginning for all who are looking to update their lifestyle & business operations. We all set ourselves out to have resolutions because we know old habits die hard. 

 A New Year's Resolution for Property Owners

Property management and condo cleaning fall into this category. It's essential to add value and keep tenants feeling secure about the fact they have a reliable property management team that always prepares for the coming months to start the year.

To discuss the importance of condo cleaning to start 2016, we compiled a short bucket list to get landlords and property owners what they need to do to make their building and its tenants feel refreshed for a successful 2016.

5 Ways to Improve Your Business Operations

Cleaning does not only mean to wipe down windows and mopping hallways floors in your building. It also means to have quality information updated in your business records, and online human engagement.

Not all property owners are expected to be tech savvy. 

Understand that consumers need a sense of tangibility in order to feel like they are involved in their purchases. In the case of rental operations and real estate, this applies to tenants who have made the decision to set up their living quarters within your condo building.

Effective communication methods is the crux of our suggested resolutions for 2016.

This improves the tenant-to-property owner relationship feel trustworthy and prompt, not having to wait numerous days or weeks before problems get resolved.

Whether they are renting or bought the condo outright, their sense of tangibility comes in the form of these resolutions:

• Frequent Website Updates - You will need to update your website at least once a week or whenever their is a change in your operation and regulations for your tenants to take note of. This not only connects the tenant and landlord faster via mobile devices. A great way to stand out to your tenants is how progressive your service is by using an online community builder. 

Visit our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, pages to see our strategy.

• Cleaning and Decorating With Seasonal Appeal - Make sure that if the Holidays are over, don't wait until March to take down your Christmas decor in the building. Send out information  about live Christmas tree collections for recycling, and take down Holiday lighting and ornaments down as January 1st comes. Update each se

• Enact a No-Smoking Plan - If you are the type of landlord who is lenient towards having pets in your rental units, you should implement a non-smoking environment. This will help keep the walls in your units from yellowing with nasty nicotine stains on them. Especially if you have carpets, just like your lungs, they will suffer and smell tremendously from the second-hand smoke. This also reduces the chance of halloween disaster stories and other holidays in the building or on the property grounds.

• Reward Tenants For Their Compliance - If a higher condo fee is assessed for the new year, or if your tenants have collectively helped you receive a government-subsidized rebate check for reducing your energy costs with sustainable property management, reward them for being a tenant. The best ways to carry this rewarding out is to promote prizes to them like flowers on each tenant's birthday, or hold a toy drive for the children in the building, or picnics in the spring and summer months. 

• Fire Safety - There were many stories of fires happening in condos the past few years in the Boston area in Allston, Brighton, Cambridge, and the Back Bay Area. Make sure that the fire safety regulations are either printed and given to the tenants every time they begin a new lease, and/or sent to them via email.

Final Thoughts on Cleaning your Condo Building

New Years resolutions can be hard to maintain once you make them. But with the right property management team, you can stay motivated to uphold your promise for updating your images, business, and character online and offline.

Have you created your own list of New Years resolutions? Do they match up to our list?

Tell us how you have used New Years resolutions and cleaning to push your tenant's lifestyle and condo building's image forward.

Why Emerging Technologies Always Win For Property Management

Why "Property Management" Rhymes With "Technology" Today

Cyber Monday is a day for great discount deals on tech products. But we should observe the impact of technology in the property management industry as well. In an ever-changing industry like property management, the means for advancement will be based on the rate at which information can be compiled with great customer service.

Information is the most prized possession in all industries. Accessibility with top quality software tools to attain data and the right personnel for a property management company will give them an edge over their competition in the real estate market. You will make life easier for yourself and your tenants by using web-based applications, research software, and messaging systems that help them stay updated as well as resolve issues including water heater installations, new parking requirements, fire emergencies, moving days, illegal tenants warnings, repair updates, board member voting meetings, and new lighting in the building.

With social media and other web-based applications that can manage live chats, there is no excuse for a property management to not regulate their operations with higher results of success.

Marketing via Social Media: Technically Fast, Less Furious Tenants

Technology increases the response rate and efficient communication methods for tenants to know what is coming from the residential property management team. Without it, your tenants will be trapped feeling like prisoners in your building from potential problems that arise. Do you want them to wait for a crew to get to their problem with a delayed response? The matter could be urgent and need immediate attention. If not, it could potentially cost lives and more money than you can afford to fix. 

Here are some examples of those problems:

• Broken thermostats- Nobody likes to deal with Boston winters with just a blanket, sweats, and seeing their own breath inside the house. A quick fix to thermostats can make a big difference for tenants who don't know how to fix a thermostat. But if you have social media and someone on a 24-hour call from the property management crew, you can address this issue immediately, instead of having to wait a day or two. With technology, you can also track the heating systems in all your units in a centralized database so you know which ones have recurring issues.

• Trash days- Tenants tend to forget what days the trash goes out after their September 1st move-in to their unit. Being connected with your tenants, you send them a reminder about the trash day and help make the garbage in your place go away for the week.

• Flood watches- If you have a basement floor that is below the ground level, it's good to let your tenants know that there is a pending flood watch. You can help them take precautions by sending a text message alert sent to their mobile devices. If the property management is connected online via social media with their tenants, they can let them know immediately by that means.

• Water shutoffs- Sometimes the Department of Public Works may be doing some street work that affects the water in the units of your building. That could affect a tenant who showers in the morning and make them late for work because they either forgot or didn't see the postings in the lobby or the hallway about the date and time. Of course, your tenant didn't plan accordingly, but they could have if they had gotten a reminder message about it the day prior to the shutoff via email, text, or on their social media channels from the management.

• Fire Emergencies- We have all heard crazy stories that will make you scream of people getting trapped inside their apartment unit or condo during a fire because they didn't get the message in time to evacuate the building. When it comes to these situations, you should make sure that all of your tenants get a message on their mobile devices for points of egress in the building. Implementing a centralized contact database of your tenants and units into an emergency alert SMS chain that can be made similar to an AMBER ALERT message can be a life saver.

These are just ideas of what can be dire situations that can be avoided by being connected as much as possible via Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, or whatever can give you an instant message. Also, social media can market your units to potential new tenants, and showcase the luxury or image that you are putting forth on a site like Pinterest and Instagram for them to leave comments and share your posts.

Recordkeeping and Reducing Error In Management

Recordkeeping is the means of knowing what someone needs and to track their history. When you have the right property management system in place, you can reduce the double entry of information after uploading reports from exported data. This is how you can track percentage increases and decreases in various areas of the business; accounting and rent collection, work orders, hiring personnel, screening tenants, and retention versus new leases signed to fill the units. 

Convenience of Payments

Having people pay their rent online via your property management software can help automate payments from your tenants. Direct debits to their accounts can save you the hassle of chasing a tenant down for a check. Especially if the check is mailed one to an away address, if the owner or landlord of the building does not live there.

Final Thoughts

What type of experiences have you had as a tenant or landlord that either saved yourself a headache, your money, or your life when dealing with issues that come forth by usage of technology? Has this added expense made a difference in your operations?

Tell us some of your examples that made life easier and faster for you and your tenants. 

Why There Should Be No Airbnbs in Condos

Traveling to new cities is great for expanding one's horizons and it should be done with much research.

Not only for the city that is being visited, but also for the laws of the land that you are bound to tread on.

But did you know hosts are renting your properties extra space in their unit for as much as $300 per night in untaxed dollars and running a "non-licensed bed-and-breakfast" with Airbnb could lead to big fines in the ballpark of at least $10,000.

Airbnb has been a great resource for tourists who can't afford the price of expensive hotels in their destination city, but is not the perfect solution it may be touted up to be.

In All Fairness: Airbnb Is Bad For The Boston Real Estate Market

The model for Airbnb is suitable for people who can neither find rental space, nor be approved for their own apartment due to a subprime credit rating in a tight rental market like Boston.

But this negatively impacts the local real estate market, Boston property managers and owners because it is still a fairly new unregulated industry that is void of taxation.

This article is in support of the effort to minimize Airbnb hosts and their short-term tenancy advantages on your property.

It not only affects the local lodging business, but it also has added to the bottle-necked market where renters can't find affordable housing in Boston. The windfall comes from the following reasons explained to understand the concept of  Airbnb.

Un-Licensed to Chill: Short-Term Rentals Are Detrimental To Your Property

The short-term home Boston rentals industry is catering to the "sharing economy," where renters and homeowners alike make money renting out their homes, cars, and personal time.

Online rental websites where people bid for beds in rental units by using software such as Airbnb, Homeaway and it's subsidiary VRBO, and Uber has made home-sharing into a billion-dollar industry.

According to Forbes, Airbnb is valued at $25 billion. Since it's emergence in the tech industry haven in the Bay Area, Airbnb has made its presence stretch into 194 countries.

As a new industry looking for altering it's model upon state and federal legislation, what makes sharing an extra space so bad for the local real estate economy?

Hosts that are renting on your property are posting their extra space in their rental unit for as much as $300 per night in untaxed dollars they are keeping for themselves.

Airbnb is making condo owners into their own real estate agents, without the condo association getting a cut of that short-term rental revenue. This affects the property management company because this leaves the condo association out of pocket from paying for the contract renewals to the service via condo fees.

Issues Resulting From Using Airbnb:

• Security is a major concern where owners are seeing an increase in people they do not know access their home with travelers who are typically in a vacation mode which could lead to rowdy activity and inviting even more strangers back for parties. Building keys could also be copied by an airbnb guest leaving unauthorized access

• Landlords and investors seeking more profits by changing traditional housing into short-term units, reducing the housing supply. 

• Airbnb homeowners and renters are at risk for being hosts because the city can fine them for running a non-licensed bed-and-breakfast. This could lead to big fines in the ballpark of at least $10,000.

• Those who come for short stays are taking the risk of neglecting their property value from frequent guests who don't respect the property because they are not signed to the lease. Read more property damage control tips

• The amount of foot traffic that neighbors must deal with from the frequent exchange of new guests on the premises moving in an out of the building. Also how is maintenance and emergency support resolved with short term rentals?

• Increased janitorial costs where guests have no vested interest in taking care of hallways, railings, doorways, roof decks, etc. 

Neighborhood Watch: Avoid Clustering in Your Property

The condo craze in Boston has steadily risen since the start of this decade.

The shortage of home supply, influx of transient college kids, and tourists has made the caused the local groundswell of over 300 Airbnb hosts to register on their site.

For someone like an empty-nester or a tenant who does not have kids, marketing their extra room to some international guests going to explore America for the first time makes for good business. This home-sharing model helps the owner or renter pay their bills and profit.

On the flip side,  clustering of random people could lead to true nightmares for owners who don't have a registered "neighborhood-use permit." You can see the consequences in this video here of this San Diego woman who learned her lesson from using Airbnb.

 

Final Thoughts

Airbnbs in condos may seem generous from the owners, but they are a violation to the condo association and the city of Boston if they are not registered properly.

Have you had any bad experiences dealing with neighbors who are Airbnb hosts with multiple guests every month? Or are you a homeowner in support of home-sharing?

Tell us your thoughts in the comments why Airbnb is good or bad for the community. 

 

Why Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Property Management Matters

During the past decade, there is much to be said regarding sustainability for home energy usage.

So what steps have you made to be more environmentally efficient?

The United Nations officially declared 2012 to be "The Year of Sustainable Energy For All," primarily third-world countries, across the globe.

How Energy Efficiency Can Benefit Your Community

This article is an examination on the legislative and residential aspects so that you know about the best property management company to hire that can provide these types of environmentally conservative services, plus help you save money and energy in your building.

On the home front in the U.S. There has been more hot summers and rough winters that have come forth from drastic climate changes. Plus, California residents are currently facing a water crisis due to a lengthy drought that has caused more home fires than we can recount in our recent memories.

The demand for natural energy resources has increased, and the U.S. government and Environmental Protection Agency have collectively moved forward to reduce emissions of carbon for the sake of public health. 

It's essential homeowners, property managers, and HOAs to have the knowledge of these energy alternatives for their property to adhere to the upcoming changes in the state regulations regarding energy usage to combat climate change and increase sustainability. 

Eco-Friendly Property Management Solutions

There are many ways to minimize your expenditures versus your residual income from your tenants paying their rental costs and/or condo fees to keep your financial balance sheet in the black with great energy solutions to keep in mind during the rest of the summer. But for all times of the year, these following landscape construction techniques can help you reduce energy usage for your community and save you money:

• Recycled Mulch - When you put this on your property's soil around hedges or other plants, the use of recycled mulch can help improve irrigation and water evaporation. If you have use city-supplied water, this could help reduce monthly water bill costs. Also, make sure that you are following the fire-safety regulations for mulch to reduce the chance of burning down your house and land.

• Don't Send Scrap Items To The Landfill Right Away - Some stuff could be put in storage instead of dumping it in the trash. Waste management costs are very high nowadays, so you can minimize the amount of your tenants trash heaps by telling them to save items like cardboard, old china plates, or paper. If you have a common room in your building, or a multi-family house with children, set up an "Arts & Crafts" event to recycle these items for them to create something new for their home. Also, this can help your tenants get to know some of their neighbors.

• Solar Panels - There are two sets of phrases "tax credit" or "tax exemption" that will make you really like this idea. The costs of solar-powered energy from the installation of panels on roofs and on the property to give greater photosynthetic effects to the grass or other horticulture on your property can come back to you basically as an account receivable. This can save you lots of money for your real estate investment. In Massachusetts, owners of residential businesses are eligible for these tax write-offs annually.

  

• Use Natural and Organic Pesticides for Landscape Maintenance - "Organic" is still the craze in 2015 as Americans look to become healthier in what they consume or live around. Items such as fertilizers and pesticides can certainly make a difference for you and for tenant's pets.

• Use Rain Barrels To Irrigate Your Plants - Instead of buying or using city-supplied water by the boatload that can run up your water bill, you should try using rain barrels to store some natural water for later usage on your plants. In Boston, we have more than enough rain that comes throughout the year, so use that to your advantage by use of water collection as it comes. You might also want to think about getting flood insurance for the rainy weather.

• Use Electric Lawn Mowers - Lawnmowers are a necessity for any type of lawn care if you do not have an eco-friendly landscape construction company. Yet it's the type of lawnmower that can help you save money and on gas to power them if you use an electric battery-powered lawnmower instead. Also, it's non-polluting and efficient just much as gas-powered lawnmowers. This will keep your property "greener" than ever in terms of its look, the energy sustainability involved, and in terms of your wallet in the long run.

Breakdown of the U.S. Government's "Eco-nomic" Plans for 2030

The U.S. government looks towards the long-term needs for its citizen's health, and budget their economic plans accordingly. This is considerable for your long-term home value plan because a major part of your expenses will be from the various levels of energy usage of your tenants in your rental units.

One example of this is how they went into experimental measures in 2005 by increasing the start date for Standard Time in the fall season to increase solar light usage and lower heating and electricity usage in home nationwide. Another example came recently this month when the Obama administration announced their Clean Power Plan, a two-year plan to combat climate change and boosting the U.S. economy. The crux of the plan is to lower of renewable energy costs, creating a plethora of jobs, with a benchmark of 30 percent more renewable energy by the year 2030. 

This will be state-regulated on weather natural gas or renewable energy sources, but the plan will affect landlords and tenants inevitably. Under this plan, the biggest takeaways are the following:

• Saving the average American family about $85 per year on their energy bills in 2030
• Save enough money to power 30 million homes
• State and federal government initiatives are to save consumers $155 billion between the years 2020 and 2030

Eco-Friendly Final Thoughts

Do you have any experiences with creating sustainable or "greener pastures" for your property?

Or is there something that you learned that can be valuable towards your knowledge and bank account in this blog? Energy usage is a complex topic, but it can be made simple if you continue to do your research and not be too caught behind before it's too late when your investment is in the red.

What other ideas do you have for creating renewable energy? Tell us your thoughts.

How To Manage Loud Parties In Boston

This article will help define how property managers can help turn a negative situation into a positive opportunity to communicate with student residents. 

How To Deal With House Parties At Your Property

The spring season in Boston is a special time of year for many reasons:

1. The weather temperatures finally begin to warming up after a harsh cold winter
2. The Boston faithful get to see their beloved Red Sox take the field again at Fenway Park. 
3. The clock's change to Daylight Savings Time positively affects your mood from seeing sunlight and less grey skies. 
4. College kids are begin to leave the city towards their permanent out-of-town residents for the summer. 

As you would expect, students in your Boston property management will be celebrating the last of their final exams for the academic year with a party to remember just how sweet it is to live away from their parent's house.

In this article we will explain how to effectively communicate with your college-aged tenants. As students prepare for the end of their lease, get ready to talk with your young tenants about the consequences of having a party with their friends on your property. 

Building A Positive Relationship With Young Tenants

Open communication is important for everyone involved. 

Chances are that you were once a kid looking for fun and enjoying life by not having to answer to your parents as well. Be approachable and understanding of their situation and remember that when you tell a kid to not do something, they are likely going push the risk to the limit and see how far they can go.

It's best to meet your college-aged tenants half way by letting them have their fun to an extent. Here are a few suggested communication methods to effectively notify your tenants about the parameters of living in your property:

• Detail The Guest Policy In The Lease- Make sure that upon the beginning of their lease that each tenants knows how many people are allowed at once within their rented unit. When you keep it in writing, and quantify the amount of people that are allowed at once, they can never say they never knew beforehand about how many people they should have as guests. 

• Ramifications for Damage To The Property- The security deposit is a coveted check amount that both landlords and tenants use for coverring any future mishaps within their rental unit. If there is any damage to the rental property, the security deposit is subject to being decreased upon the return to the tenant at the end of the lease. Or if the cost of the damage exceeds the amount of the security deposit when they come in, let the tenants know that they will not get it back at the end of their lease. Also, let the tenant(s) know they are responsible for their guest's damage to the property or injuries from being inebriated in the party make them liable as well.

• Set A Benchmark For Neighbor Complaints, Or Else- Living in off-campus housing means that there will be neighbors next door, or in the apartment unit below the tenant holding the party. The best way to let those neighbors know that a party will take place on a certain date is to give them a couple days notice. Also make sure that you and the tenants give the neighbors your phone numbers to call or text you if it gets too loud. If the tenant doesn't adhere to multiple complaints, make sure that you get the Boston Police Department to come and tell everyone to leave. The purpose of this BPD Party Line is to give residents direct contact for reporting the occurrence of loud parties, and to have them come to calm down the noise.   

• Social Media - Be the "cool" landlord that is privy to social media to connect with your tenants. Some landlords are deemed as either "slumlords" for their lack of maintenance on call for any problems their tenants experience. And there are some other who are considered "helicopter" landlords that never go away, hovering over their property as much as they can. Or some seem out of touch with their tenants for a lack of communication skills. Certainly you want to ensure your return on investment, but being the "cool" landlord can help you keep your tenancy rate high, with great referrals from your current tenants to potential new ones via social media. That way there is a trail that can be tracked online about your property and landlord reputation.  When the landlord and tenant are in good standing with one another, this could lead to positive reviews in the future when the tenants decide to move to another rental apartment or condo, and require a positive review from the previous landlord. 

Final Thoughts: Have you dealt with a tenant who partied too much?

Have you dealt with any tenants that refuse to comply with the terms of your lease regarding guests or parties? Or if you are a tenant, how did you handle your relationship with your landlord to make sure that you can stay on an even keel with your landlord, roommates, and neighbors in your rental unit? Tell us your thoughts. 

The Mobile Office: How "City Hall To Go" Will Help Boston This Summer

High Complaints and Low Morale For Greater Boston Residents

Citizens of the Greater Boston area have a strong solidarity - about their complaints living here in the Hub.  Just a few of our top morale adversaries:

• Unpredictable bad weather 
• Lack of a late night MBTA services
• Trigger-happy parking meter maids 
• Plights at the Registry of Motor Vehicles with unexpected trips to City Hall
• Late buses and slow trains
• Continual spikes in toll and T fares 
• The honking, ohh the honking

The odds certainly seem stacked against anyone trying to navigate through the center of the City.  (Never mind the increasingly standard MBTA crashes due to driver sneezing.)  At least we have our professional sports teams who have championed our faithful City over the past twelve years and piqued our morale, right?  But even in an athletic dynasty we need a Bostonian chip on our shoulder, and City Hall is making some serious efforts to help Boston area dwellers lighten up in Spring 2014. 

Mayor Marty Walsh shakes hands with a Boston resident while in the City Hall To Go truck

Public Access: How "City Hall To Go" Positively Rolls Local Municipalities in a New Direction for Boston  

Last winter, there were a series of spin-doctoring ideas from the mayor's and governor's office, including a green-lit project to launch the MBTA late night service for all trains and main bus routes on Friday and Saturday nights.  Most visibly, the City Hall To Go truck is mobilizing services to those who live outside of the downtown area.  During the pilot program for the truck last December, Menino stated to the Boston Globe: "City Hall To Go builds on our mission to shake up the status quo in municipal services and offer a new way for Boston residents to get information and engage with the city on a whole host of services we offer."  Menino's offering of this new benefit was one of his last stands, and has helped his incumbent Marty Walsh ride in on a white horse (or rather in a red and blue truck) earlier this January.  The truck is modeled after the popular food service and ice cream trucks that have recently taken over the Hub.

The nation's pioneer municipal mobile truck services include:

• Handling parking ticket payments and disputes 
• Ordering meter cards
• Requests for birth, death, and marriage certificates 
• Voter registration 
• Registration for residential parking permits and dog licenses
• Paying property and excise taxes 

Program organizer Katharine Lusk from former mayor Thomas Menino's office stated: "It's another way of connecting with the community."  The truck follows a schedule travelling Allston, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Brighton, Charlestown, Chinatown, Dorchester, East Boston, Fenway, Hyde Park, Roxbury, South End, and South Boston anywhere between the hours of 9:00am and 7:30pm.  You can even follow the truck on Twitter for a direct connection with City Hall To Go. 

Mitigating the inconvenience of traveling downtown to City Hall during the work week, especially now that the Government Center T-stop is currently shut down until 2016, gives great relief to city commuters relying on the less than reliable public transit.  Hey, at least you don't have to use up a vacation day.  

Final Thoughts

The City Hall To Go truck adds to the growing new sense of city living: The current surge in condo development and sales across the Greater Boston area have been helping turn around the longtime stagnation of the local commercial and residential real estate markets. Boston tourists and residents can now share bicycles, stay out late (something the City's businesses have been pleased about too), and have coffee with the Mayor in the morning. The mobilization of municipalities in this truck could help add to the community's "Boston Strong" recovery sentiment from the bombings at the Boston Marathon in April 2013, as well as the Back Bay fire that took the lives of two firefighters this past March.

The truck also makes a great impact on residents who may not be Internet-savvy, have limited fluency in English, or may be clueless about going through the process to handle such issues that require a trip to City Hall.  So, what will we complain of next?

Do you think the City Hall To Go truck will be successful, or will have a short-term life rolling around town?

Quality of Condo vs House Lifestyles: You Get What You (Must) Pay For

This is a brief analysis of why tenants who demand repairs on their condo while withholding payments is a terrible idea not only for the maintenance of their condo unit, but also their relationship with their condo association. Surely, it is a pain to have to wait on someone else to do the work for you in your condo as opposed to a house, where the punctuality of the repairs is determined solely by the homeowner.

Withholding payments from condo fees from your HOA charged while waiting and complaining is just as ineffective to withholding payments for state taxes that fix potholes in the roads that you commute on daily.

The repercussions of payment refusal can land you with hefty fines for delinquent dues. In casino gaming terms, if tenants of the condo association are going to gamble in this way, just remember that the house, or HOA, always wins.

A Condo Tenant's Main Problem: Maintenance

For many homebuyers, the determining factor for their investment is the lifestyle choice. In the process of deciding your permanent residence to build home equity and a revocable trust, people may want to have a concierge and parking lot with security with a revocable trust that protects them in their investment. But as you know from our previous blog on condo costs involved in moving into a condo, make sure that you do your research because it may be more expensive for you than expected for things such as unexpected "special assessment" fees due to upgrades to the condo building.


Repairs in your home are a nuisance every time they change the way you live. The question is how long can the nuisance last? The owners of houses can pay on their own time when they want it upgraded. Condo owners are willing to pay for the convenience and risk in relying on property management  companies to handle the maintenance problems  in their home that require hard labor and hours that you find hard to spare to fix them yourself.

Most condo associations cover the maintenance of the common spaces, as well as the landscaping, trash, and snow removal. One of the main risks of the living in a condominium is reliance on property management company. They can schedule repairs, and can delay scheduled repairs as well. And you can't do anything about it, right? The frustrations may even make you want to withhold the condominium tax fees that you incur on from the homeowner association.

Courting Tenants

There is a lot of upkeep and time required that goes into living in a single-family home. But consider the fact that there is much more time required beyond one single condo unit owner's repairs needs. Living in a condo building among many neighbors above and below your respective place on a daily basis means there is a lot to account for time-wise for the property management company to tend to your maintenance. Refusing to pay affect other condo owners living, which could lead to costs on the HOA, which can land you a visit in court due to a lawsuit from the HOA. Withholding fees can also risk foreclosure on your home, even without protection from a revocable trust that you may have set up for your home.


So what is the best way to protect yourself in this situation? Make sure that you meeting the property managers to get on their good side. Also, check to see if the condo that you are buying does not have any outstanding liens or foreclosures in the building. If the rate is 15% of the units in a foreclosure status then that would be a bad place to place your bet or long-term investment. Lastly, it always helps to understand the HOA's by-laws or CC&Rs (covenants, conditions, and restrictions). You should hire a lawyer, or you can refer to another previous blog post of ours about condo insurance explained or how your condo is insured and policies of the HOA.

Final Thoughts

So how good has your property management company been to you? Have they made you want to refuse payments at any point? Or how well do you know your HOA by-laws and policies for refusing payments and monthly charge terms? Tell us your thoughts and we can give you some great input.

You can refer to the following links for reference of the statistics from this post

• http://www.oprah.com/money/Should-You-Buy-a-Condo-Condo-vs-House-Suze-Orman
• http://realestate.msn.com//article.aspx?cp-documentid=13107847
• http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-associations-20131215,0,3366613.story#axzz2nds1FX7R