As an individual landlord, as opposed to a property owner with apartment buildings and an on-site manger, you have unique challenges in maximizing the money you earn on your rental property. I work with and teach many small-scale landlords — plus I am one myself — and some common themes come up about how to make the most money with the least hassle. And all real estate has issues and hassles, so reducing them should be your top priority.

Aim for long-term tenants

First, treat your tenants like they are the most important people in your life. In fact, since they are likely paying for your retirement, they really are the most important people in your life. Acting and conducting yourself in a respectful manner will usually make your life a lot easier and your properties more profitable. It doesn’t work every time, but hopefully if you choose this strategy it will be successful.

Treating your tenants well helps you keep them in your property longer. Every time your rental unit turns over, even if you have a new tenant ready to move in the next day, you will probably spend a month’s worth of rent fixing and repairing normal wear-and-tear items, not to mention countless hours completing the whole leasing process — advertising, taking phone calls, interviewing, showing the property, getting credit reports, drafting the leases, discussing the lease, move in day, etc. It’s a lot of work.

So why not just try to keep your tenants as long as possible by treating them really well? And that starts by acting toward them the way you would like to be treated.

Remember the basics

Additionally, in order to keep tenants a long time, maintain your cash flow and avoid angry tenants or having to re-lease the unit:

• Keep your properties well maintained and fix any issues in a reasonable period of time.
• Don’t try to charge your tenants for items like plumbing or repairs — I’ve never had a tenant intentionally damage one of my properties — just pay for it.
• Ask reasonable rents, maybe even a bit under market, so that you have a large pool of applicants and can select the best credit quality group that you think will be good tenants.
• If there are problems, like a broken water pipe, deal fairly with your tenants and compensate them a reasonable amount if it ends up being a big hassle for them. That way they are happy, they stay and they keep paying rent.
• If they pay on time, take care of your property and are good tenants, reward them with minimal rent increases.

Keeping these tips in mind should help you minimize vacancy and costs, plus have reasonable people in your property who will take care of it. And you’ll learn over time why treating your tenants well — the ones who are paying for your golden years — is just a good idea!

Currently home values nationwide hover around $149,300, and this week we’re looking at homes priced above that. Here’s a rundown of what you can get for $350,000 across the country.

Cincinnati

1119 Salisbury Dr, Cincinnati OH
For sale: $350,000

This Cincinnati house for sale is filled with Depression-era charm: stone exterior, gabled peaks and mature landscaping. The 3-bed, 2.5-bath home measures 1,870 square feet.

Hartford, CT

43 Fern St, Hartford CT
For sale: $349,900

How about a colorful Victorian for $350,000? This brightly-hued Hartford home for sale has 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and nearly 3,000 square feet of living space.

Fort Worth, TX

1604 Elizabeth Blvd, Fort Worth TX
For sale: $350,000

Red tile and a white-washed stucco exterior make this historic Fort Worth home stand out. The 2,866-square-foot house has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a full, finished basement.

Sioux Falls, SD

7508 W President St, Sioux Falls SD
For sale: $349,900

At 3,557 square feet, this Sioux Falls home is quite a bit of bang for your buck! The 5-bed, 4-bath home was built in 2006 and has hardwood floors, upgraded carpet and granite countertops in the kitchen.

Chicago

5824 N Manton Ave, Chicago IL
For sale: $349,900

This octagon bungalow in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago just got a price cut of $30,000. The 1,707-square-foot home has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths and plenty of updates, including a newer roof, furnace and range.

These reminders are via the Town of Bedford:

Beginning August 20th for three weeks (depending on weather), paving will take place on the following roads:

• Harris Road from Beaver Dam Road to Bedford Center Road
• Baldwin, Darlington (paved sections)
• Middle Patent, Parking Lot #3 (At Woods Bridge Road)
• Park Ave and School Street (section off of Route 117)
• Crescent Terrace
• Robin Hood
• Friar’s Close
• Matthew’s Mill
• Greenville

Commuters could experience temporary disruptions to traffic and access as paving operations commence. Parking Lot 3 will remain open but will be paved in sections requiring portions of the lot to be temporarily blocked off.

Residents are also asked to refrain from parking on these streets as paving proceeds. The precise scheduling of work depends upon weather conditions and the proper operation of paving equipment.  Therefore, your patience and understanding are appreciated.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact Bedford Public Works Department at 914-666-7669.

In addition, Bedford Hills Memorial Park Basketball Courts will be undergoing maintenance and will be closed by the Recreation and Parks Department starting Monday August 20 through Sunday August 26 in order to perform maintenance work, weather permitting, on the courts.

Contractors will be sealing the court surface, re-color coating and re-lining the courts. No use of the courts will be permitted while the courts are being resurfaced.

2012  rentals                      38

2011  rentals                      38

Chappaqua NY rental market was flat this year compared to the same siz month period in 2011.

Chappaqua NY real estate sales are up.

The number of rentals in Pound Ridge NY dropped 17% this year compared to the same six month period in 2011.

19                             2012  Pound Ridge  rentals

23                             2011  Pound Ridge rentals

Sales are up.

According to the upcoming July REALTORS® Confidence Index report (RCI), time on the market when a property is sold has been declining. Approximately a third of REALTORS® noted that recently sold properties were on the market for less than a month when sold, and 59 percent were sold within 3 months. The proportion of REALTORS who responded that the house had been on the market for 6 months or more when sold fell to 21 percent from 30 percent a year ago.

The full July RCI report will be available on August 23, here.

In each Economic Update, the Research staff analyzes recently released economic indicators and addresses what these indicators mean for REALTORS® and their clients. Today’s update discusses consumer prices.

• Consumer prices in July held steady from the month prior, neither increasing nor decreasing.  Compared to one year ago, prices rose 1.4 percent—the smallest advance since November 2010.
• Core prices, a measure that excludes food and energy, rose 0.1 percent in July and were up 2.1 percent from one year ago.
• While overall prices were steady and core prices advanced moderately, rents rose in a sharper fashion.
• Rent of primary residences rose 0.3 percent in July and was 2.8 percent higher than one year ago.  This was the steepest rise in rents since May 2009.  Owner’s equivalent rent, an estimate of the rental value of owner-occupied houses, rose 0.2 percent in July and 2.0 percent in the year, the fifth consecutive month of a near 2 percent gain.
• Because overall price growth is low and core price growth is near the Fed’s target[1] of 2 percent, the Fed has room to continue the current policy stance of keeping interest rates low.  Coupled with rising incomes, low price growth means more purchasing power for consumers, but the threat of higher taxes if Congress cannot reach a deal to avert the fiscal cliff could derail what may otherwise be a positive future for consumers.

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[1] The Fed’s target actually applies to growth in the price index of Personal Consumption Expenditures, a separate inflation measure, but that measure is highly correlated to movements in the Consumer Price Index.

• The following table shows the top 10 metro areas with more than 1 million households [1] that require the least amount of income to purchase a typically priced home [2].
• Detroit is number one on the list, while Chicago rounds out the bottom of the top 10.
• While most of the metro areas on the list are from the middle of the country, Tampa, FL and Riverside, CA are currently affordable enough to be found in the top 10.
• Homeownership and vacancy rates for these metros fall around the US average of 66 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
• Find out how qualifying incomes compare in your metro area.

[1] 23 metro areas and divisions covered in NAR’s initial review of 149 metro areas met the 1 million household threshold according to Census 2010 data.
[2] Qualifying income calculated by limiting the monthly principle and interest payment to 25 percent of income. The mortgage payment is calculated for a median priced home in the metro area assuming the given down payment and a 4 percent mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage.

According to the upcoming July REALTORS® Confidence Index report (RCI), buyer and seller traffic indexes continue to indicate an imbalance between demand and supply. The buyer traffic index declined slightly. However, the seller traffic index has remained relatively constant. Potential sellers appear to be holding back from listing their properties, possibly still recovering from the housing market of the Great Recession. Meanwhile, buyer traffic is likely adversely affected by the stringent lending and appraisal environment, as well as a continued slow economy and concerns over job availability and insecurity (one REALTOR® reported having 4 clients who lost their jobs!).

The full July RCI report will be available on August 23, here.

In each Economic Update, the Research staff analyzes recently released economic indicators and addresses what these indicators mean for REALTORS® and their clients. Today’s update discusses housing starts.

• New home construction activity eased a bit in July, but still remains comfortably higher compared to last year’s activity.  Total housing starts of 746,000 in July are 21.5 percent above last July’s figure.
• Multifamily units are experiencing a faster recovery with a31 percent gain from one year ago, while single-family units are up by 17 percent.  A strong rise in rental household demand combined with tight mortgage credit is leading to faster construction of apartment buildings.
• Even with the increases in the past year, housing starts remain woefully below the long-term average of 1.5 million new units that are built each year.  Today’s data is only half that.  It looks increasingly that America could encounter a housing shortage in the next year or two if housing starts do not ramp up significantly.  Already, the continuing declines in apartment vacancy rates and the steady fall in the inventory of homes for sale are hinting that there are fewer and fewer housing units to go around in a country that is adding about 3 million more people each year.
• The inventory of newly constructed homes is at a 50-year-low and the median price of new homes has been rising.
• Many small local homebuilders are very eager to break ground and build homes, but are constrained by the lack of construction loans.  Only the large homebuilders, who have the ability to tap Wall Street funds, are the ones getting into action.  The homebuilding industry, just as in the banking industry, is transforming into an unhealthy development of large homebuilders getting larger and smaller ones getting shut out.