This is a common question and misbelief that many people have, and it is a question that I get asked often. A Revocable Living Trust (“RLT”) is an essential part of an estate plan that any property owner should have in place (before dying). The main purpose of this kind of trust is to manage your…
After a unanimous vote [in December] by the CPUC, homeowners get smaller payments from utilities, which solar companies say will slow construction of new rooftop solar projects. But new state incentives will be available. The California Public Utilities Commission overhauled the state’s rooftop solar regulations, reducing payments to homeowners for excess power but providing nearly…
The Treasury Department tells us our national debt is over $31 trillion, the highest of any nation in the history of the world, even on an inflation-adjusted basis. There is no way the U.S. will ever pay off this gargantuan amount of debt. And it keeps growing exponentially. The question I will pose is whether…
How often do you find yourself saying, “I just don’t have enough hours in the day?” In this day and age, everyone wants things done instantly and many times our personal expectations create undue stress. We fill every waking hour with some sort of activity, job, or assignment with little to no time for ourselves. As technology advances,…
Naturally, I consider all my articles to be super-important, but this one – which discusses terminating resident managers (and when not to) – covers a topic I believe to be underappreciated and often not given sufficient thought. Let me introduce it with a sports analogy. Before each play in a football game, the coach tells…
In December, as expected, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point and signaled more tightening next year as it continues to battle high inflation. It’s a fight that’s expected to slow our economy and raise unemployment. The half-point increase brings the federal-funds rate up to a range of 4.25%…
As we have come to the end of another eventful year, it makes sense to take a moment and reflect on what we have accomplished and begin to set goals for the future. Part of this should include an overview of your fair housing practices. This article will share five quick steps to help you…
The Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations last year that provides a safe harbor under which a rental real estate enterprise will be treated as a trade or business solely for the purposes of Internal Revenue Code Section 199A, the qualified business income deduction. Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) Created Trade or Business under IRC…
From time to time, residents may want or need to notify you of maintenance requests. How, then, do landlords prefer that residents notify them when they have a request? That question and the responses were one of the hot topics on our Q&A Forum this week. The landlords who responded indicated that there is not…
Renting to students often poses specific problems that even experienced property managers may miss. Based on our experience, the five most common mistakes property pros make when working with students are: Underestimating the Value and Reliability of International Students International students are screened by the Department of Defense and typically need to be affluent to…