MacFarlane Real Estate, Inc. recently took over the management of a 16 unit apartment building in Brentwood called Westview Apartments.  It is a nice building!

There are a couple of vacancies that we are trying to fill quickly.  Any prospective tenants?

Although not necessary, grip tape can help if stairs are slippery from tree droppings, leaves, etc…

Believe it or not….  Copper theft is a problem these days.  Be careful letting units sit vacant for too long.  I have seen copper wire and plumbing stolen.  Best thing to do, FILL THE VACANCIES and keep the units occupied.

If vandalism or theft is BAD, you want to notify your insurance carrier right away and start a claim.  Delaying notification of the vandalism could cause your insurance carrier to deny coverage.  Also, check your policy.  Extended vacancies (over 30 days) could also cause your insurance claim to be denied.

I hate when they steal everything including the kitchen sink!

Just pull the trigger and make the landscaping decent.  I am always amazed how many apartment buildings have ZERO curb appeal.  Who wants to live in a place that looks like a dump from the curb?

Magnesite is the decking material used on stairs and second story walkways.  Many buildings in Los Angeles were built in the 1960s that were stucco framed with a magnesite stair case and landing.

For some reason, many landlords have tried to avoid using magnesite because it is a little more pricey than other materials.

Below are pictures of one landing that a landlord pored concrete on top.  This is heavy and so the deck started to droop.  So, the landlord propped up the deck with 4×4s.  It didn’t work and there was serious water intrusion.  So, we fixed it correctly with magnesite.

Here is another landlord’s attempt to go cheap and avoid having to replace the magnesite.  This landlord used brick and mortar.  It does not keep the water out!

So, my suggestion…  Do it right!  The magnesite lasted since the 1960s.  Thats pretty good.  New magnesite stairs & decks on a typical 6 unit building cost $6,000 - $10,000 depending on the number of stair cases and surface area.  Don’t go cheap or you will just be doing it again in a few years.

All the rent incentives in the world do not change the fact somebody is going to have to make the unit their home.  Well, would you want to live in a dingy place, even if the first months rent was free?

I have had great success with refinishing hardwood floors as opposed to putting that boring, brown carpet in the rental units.  Who wants boring & brown?  Prospective tenants walk into a unit that has shiny new hardwood floors and they flip.  WHERE DO I SIGN??!!??

But, hardwood floors are expensive to refinish!  Not really.  Only about $400-$600 more than putting boring apartment grade carpet.  But, the hardwood floors are ruined under the carpet!  Not really.  Most of the hardwood floors are fine.  Even if there are a few blemishes, it looks better than boring & brown!  But, tenants will ruin them!  Not really.  In fact….   Our hardwood floors hold up better!  You don’t refinish hardwood floors everytime a tenant moves out.  Then again, tenants don’t move out to boring & brown when they have beautiful hardwood floors!  But, noise will transmit to the lower units.  Probably slightly true.  But, usually a loud tenant above will disturb a lower tenant whether there is carpet or hardwood floors!

Apartment buildings often use 100 Gallon Commercial Grade water heater to provide hot water to the entire building.  It is cheaper than servicing individual water heaters.  You will need about one 100 Gallon Commercial Grade water heater for every 16 units.  They last about 10 years if no maintenance is done on them…  If you attach a hose and clean out the entire water heater once a year, they last another 3-5 years.  The rusty sediment on the bottom of the tank compounds the rusting.  So…  Do a little preventative maintenance and you save a few bucks!

Water heaters range in price.  But, currently water heaters are about $4,000 to $4,500 installed.

I’m not a tech geek…  But, I was driving a client to see prospective properties and he was pulling up information on his Ipad about the available properties.  As a Broker, its not good when your client has more information than you!

So, I bought an Ipad.  Wow, an Ipad is great for searching properties! Loopnet has a great app for commercial properties and Ziprealty and other MLS companies have apps for single family homes.   The apps allow me to drive around areas I recommend my investors to buy apartment buildings.  The map shows my current location and properties for sale & recent sales in the surrounding area.

I love when I’m driving an area with a client and they say…  What if I was willing to pay more?  Or, I only want 1960s or newer construction.  I can immediately change my search parameters on the fly.

The Ipad is a great tool for Brokers and investors.

Service animals are not considered pets!  Other than service animals, Landlords do not have to allow pets.  Apartment complexes will allow pets to entice more prospective tenants.  Barking is often a problem and so is cleaning up after pets when tenants fail to do so.

Landlords typically charge a pet deposit of $500+.

See the service animal language below: