New Article by Coach Credit Today in the AJC!

Coach Credit in the AJC newspaper today! Check your holiday and post-holiday budget and be prepared for the next Christmas season! Also, to really work out the bugaboos in your credit go see Coach Credit at www.buyerscreditcoach.com
Have a successful day!

Wanted: New Owners for Fresh PM Company

Here are a few suggestions for finding new clients for your property management business that you may not have used. Give one a try, you may be surprised at the results.

Local County Records

Buy the eviction list from your local county civil records office. Direct mail the owners of the properties and tell them about your services. It’s a good idea to emphasis your tenant screening capabilities. Owners who are in the middle of an eviction are often very receptive.

HOA’s

Foreclosures are as prevalent in the condo sector as they are in the rest of the real estate market. HOA’s are foreclosing on properties and in need of property management providers to manage them. Contact your local associations and let them know you want to work with them.

Google Pay Per Click

Almost everyone starts their search online and the best way to get noticed is to be on the first page of search results. Getting there organically through good SEO on your site can be a struggle and takes hard work.

You can jump to the top of the page with pay per click, or PPC, advertising with Google Adwords.

Whenever a search is done on one of your specified keyword phrases, for example “property management in Los Angeles,” your site is at the top.

You only pay when they click to visit your site and you can adjust the spend budget every month.

This may sound expensive but can be much less than the fees associated with lead generating services. If the PPC ad campaign results in one or two good leads the cost will be covered.

What are your favorite prospecting methods? Do you have any unusual ones to share?

1099-MISC filing Reminders for Property Managers

The END OF THE YEAR is just around the corner...(where does all that time go?)
I wanted to direct your attention - again - to my post from December 2010 to clarify laws and record keeping advice for 2011 1099Misc filings and for upcoming 2012. Let me know what you think about this comprehensive guide. There were many new and complicated changes to the 1099-MISC last year and I think some accounting managers at Property Management companies may just get caught up in a whole lotta nonsense without this guide.

4 Most Common Mistakes in Property Management

http://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/blog/2011/07/28/the-4-most-common-landlord-legal-mistakes/

Great Article!
...and of course if you read through that and decide you may need help with that, proceed to http://www.karibunch.com/contact_us.html adn let me know how I may help you!!

Sincerely,
Kari

Dodd-Frank Act Requires New Action For Property Managers

http://allthingspropertymanagement.com/2011/07/27/dodd-frank-bill-requires-adverse-action-letters/
A NEW article for Property Managers...
Enjoy!
If you have Buildium or Appfolio - you can get your letter templates together there to send out to applicants who have been declined or require higher deposits because of their credit reports. It's now the Law as of July 21 2011 to send letters to those who are being turned down for a rental, if a credit screening is done.

Need Help With Your Bookkeeping??

CLICK THE LOGO ABOVE ^^^^^ TO CONTACT ME

• I specialize in business transitions: growth, staff, procedural, software …Hitting the Moving Target is my specialty! Let’s streamline your business procedures to get the most out of your software investment, especially Tenant Pro 7™, Appfolio™ or Buildium™.
• Converting manually to one of these software programs? Moving from Tenant Pro or Quickbooks™ or even paper records to the new web-based Appfolio™ or Buildium™ Software? – Let me help! Highly skilled on all aspects of manual and automated PM software migrations.
• I have a strong accounting/bookkeeping background using standard Cash or Accrual accounting methods. Let’s get those trust accounting balances right! Work out those Security Deposit issues. Avoid errors in paying Owners, vendors. Track Tenants charges and payments correctly.
• Can Assist and Advise on Disaster Recovery – I can help re-create accurate accounting records after computer meltdown, personnel loss, or office fire?
• Enthusiastic, Insightful Training tailored for you and your employees! Training provided on-site and/or online on all Monthly Processes including Tenant / Lease recurring charges / Late Fees / Tenant Payment receipts / accounts payables / all reports / bank reconciliation / Section 8 & HUD / Multiple Management fees/Work Orders/Maintenance Billing
• Will work with all additional add-on products like CAM, Utility Billing and the e-Pay Plus module which enables tenants to pay rents online with TP7. Also assist with ACH setup.
• I can perform all Tenant Pro 7 software installations (Standalone or Client/Server), set up all pc’s at your location on-site or via Secure GOTO Assist™ or LogMeIn™ pc connections remotely.
• Have over 18 years of computer software consulting experience and 7+ years of bookkeeping, Project and Document Management experience. Additional experiences in teaching/training a variety of software solutions and documentation management and property management.
• Formerly employed at Domin-8 Enterprise Solutions (Formerly known as Property Automation) as Application Analyst and Mentor from 2006-2008. Responsibilities consisted of Level 3 Technical Support, Software Testing, Development and training all customers on all new versions of Tenant Pro software. I am a former Property Manager in the Storage Rental Industry.

Will travel anywhere in the world…
Rates vary from $50-100 per hour for online work.
Onsite $500-800 per day plus travel expenses. Site visits negotiable, depends on # Units and type of job.
Initial setup projects, and data-entry available/month-end/year-end/bank reconciliation services.
References can be provided upon request.
Please inquire via email!

Draconian 1099 Laws for 2011 and 2012!

This is some real news. I heard from an anxious Property Management Broker in New Mexico today that he believed that 1099s would have to filed for and copied to, his tenants! But I did not find anything official that said you would need to provide a 1099 to your tenants, though I did see one NH blog that interpreted it that way. The preparer of the 1099 is issued from the payer for services/goods. I’m checking on that.

I think for 2011 it’s simply this: Get a W9 for all of your vendors, period. If they receive more than $600 from you in a year, they get a 1099, period. Which is already doable in all property management software applications that I know. Simply mark that vendor to received a 1099 and put in his TAX ID.

I’ve attached the IRS-authored Notice 2010-51 which was their explanation of the new laws. Also attached is the NAR (National Association of Realtors) informational broadsheet.

However, I did read up on this here: http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/21/smallbusiness/1099_deluge/index.htm

And here: http://www.dfwrealestate.com/news/new-irs-1099-requirements-landlords

And here: http://blog.pappastax.com/index.php/2010/11/12/new-1099-misc-rules-for-landlords/ - which had a great quote:

“There is something very smelly about the federal government forcing its citizens to provide information to the IRS about the nature of their relations with other citizens. This last is more evidence that the IRS, at least under this administration, fully intends to draft ordinary Americans to help it do its job.”

And here: http://www.release-news.com/index.php/business/43860-orlando-cpa-explains-irs-1099-requirements-for-landlords-coming-in-2011.html - This article says that

there may be exemptions for those property owners who can prove undue hardship.

BOTTOM LINE FOR REAL ESTATE

• Current Law: Information reporting requirements apply only to businesses.

• 2011 Rule: ALL persons who receive rental payments must provide Form 1099. This affects ALL owners (both individuals and businesses) of rental properties, both residential and commercial. Thus, “mom and pop” investors and those who invest in real estate for their personal portfolios are subject to the new reporting requirement. Only aggregate annual payments of $600 or more for services (but not goods) must be reported.

So – if I’m reading this right – As an Agent for your Owners…You the Property Manager will be obligated to send a 1099MiSC to the tenant for Rents received?... Nah, we’ll need to check on that. But I don’t think that’s how it really is interpreted…I think it’s ONLY for services you pay for on rental properties that generate more than $600/yr in income. Which, really, was already true for any non-incorporated vendor. Now it’s true for any vendor in 2011. Like me, the vendor which has received 1099s for services rendered. - kari

• Additional 1099 Reporting Requirement for 2011 -- Landlords - The recently-enacted small business legislation (HR 5297) included an expansion of the 1099 reporting related to a trade or business. To date, only those real estate professionals engaged in property management-type businesses have been required to file Forms 1099. Congress has extended the Form 1099 requirement to any person who receives rental income. This requirement would apply to any landlord (including a small investor), rather than only those who are in the business of managing property.

• Starting in 2011, any person who receives rental income must provide a Form 1099 for all payments of $600 or more made to service providers such as plumbers, carpenters, yard services and repair people. The purchase of goods is not included within the reporting requirement. The Form 1099 is provided to the IRS and to the service provider. The new requirement applies to both residential and commercial property.

• 2012 Rule: All businesses, including real estate businesses, self-employed individuals and independent contractors will be required to make a 1099 report of any aggregate annual payment of $600 or more to any person from whom they acquired goods and services.

And wow – OMG – that is just ridiculous!
I think (personally) everyone should just proceed as if this “law” never took place and see how much the IRS (the Federal government) is willing to spend to track down and punish those who disobey a completely nutty law. And the 2012 version with all goods included, means if you buy a PC over $600 – you are responsible for getting a W-9 (taxID) for Dell and sending the form to Dell? NUCKING FUTZ with a capital “N”!!!

The quote I saw in the CNN article was the best: "Just with business travel it would include hotels, rental cars," Henschke says. "Phone service: 1099. Computer service: 1099. Whoever does your postage meter: 1099. You do a little advertising, Yellow Pages: 1099. Your landlord: 1099. You might as well just keep them in your pocket and hand them out as you go around every day." - like candy...

Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know if you find any other interpretation of this law.


Kari Bunch
972-220-9580 (voicemail)
817.977.6630 (fax)
"Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it" - P.J. O'Rourke
http://www.karibunch.com