5 things Millennials look for in housing that landlords need to know

1. They prefer to live near employment and activities. One large reason they finally moved out from    the parents’ home is to cut the time or expense of commuting.

2. They grew up with gadgets so they seek out the latest amenities. They can afford them and are willing to pay for them. Even my daughter, during a recent move, inquired as to whether the apartment’s floor plan was open enough to allow for a good Wi-Fi signal.

3. Social space is important, and so is a single-family home or an apartment that offers community space for entertaining guests.

4. Safety and security such as double locks on doors. Plus, they like apartments in a gated community. (This gated community requirement was a hot button for my daughter and the deciding factor that prompted her to rent.)

5. Nice kitchens are important. This group tends to eat out less and dine in more, so nice kitchens with nice amenities are a requirement.

Moving with Toddlers

Moving isn’t just a stressful experience for adults, but for their toddlers too. Adults are usually stressed about the practicalities of a move, from selling the house to packing and unpacking, while toddlers, who thrive on having predictable routines, have their lives disrupted by a huge change they can’t understand. Toddlers don’t have the emotional capacity or the vocabulary to express their angst or unhappiness at this huge change in their lives, so they start acting out in several ways.

Here are ways to ease the transition for young kids when moving:

-Keep explanations clear and simple.

-Use a story to explain the move, or use toy trucks and furniture to act it out.

-When you pack your toddler's toys in boxes, make sure to explain that you aren't

  throwing them away.

Advantages of Relocating

Generally, the buzz you get from moving into a new home is exceeded only by a marriage or the birth of your children. You’re in new surroundings, meeting new neighbors, starting from scratch, and able to build any type of life you want. It’s a chance to slough off the old and expand your social network.
A Focus on Family. Though there’s an excitement to this fresh start, it’s often tempered by fears of the unknown: You don’t know the people, the places, the shortcuts, or the ins and outs of your new area. But during this period of adjustment, families often benefit by retreating into the comfort of known relationships and shared interests. This hunkering down could prove to be the nexus for new traditions that last for generations. The sale and purchase of houses are well-worn practices, with multiple sources of professional assistance available at every turn. A real estate agent handles all the details for the sale of your home, the search and purchase of a new house, and solicitations and negotiations with interested parties. A mortgage lender generally coordinates the legal transfer of the property, including title searches and insurance, tax filings, and legal work, in addition to providing the funds to buy the new home. In short, you’re in familiar territory here, daunting though it may be. There are numerous tax laws that affect the calculation of taxes upon the sale of one’s home and the repurchase of its replacement. A married couple can exclude up to $500,000 in gain from the sale of the initial house if they meet certain conditions. And tax credits may be available, depending on when you buy property. Definitely seek professional advice to understand the tax implications of selling your home and buying a new one.

Moving With Your Pet

So, you’re moving to a new home. Congratulations! Whether you’re traveling across town or across the country, here are some tips for making moving day as easy and stress-free as possible for the entire family, including your beloved pets. Prior to moving day, make sure your pets are fitted with collars and ID tags with your name and current cell-phone number. Microchipping is also recommended and will serve as a backup if your pet loses its collar. If your pet is prone to car sickness, make sure you visit your veterinarian a few weeks prior to your move to get any prescribed medications and feeding recommendations. For long-distance moves, be sure to identify pet-friendly hotels along your route and reserve rooms ahead of time. For a list of pet-friendly hotels, see www.petswelcome.com or www.pet-friendly-hotels.net. On moving day, make sure your pets are secured in a crate or closed room of your house or apartment until you are ready to load them into your car. The activities and sounds of moving day will be frightening to your pets, so it is important that they be kept in a secure area to reduce their stress as much as possible and to prevent an accidental escape. Always transport cats, small dogs and other small animals in a secure, well-ventilated pet carrier. Keep larger dogs leashed and under control at all times. The stress of a move can cause even the most obedient dog to run away in unfamiliar surroundings. NEVER transport any pet in an open truck bed, trunk of a car or storage area of a moving van. For long-distance moves, make sure you give your pet potty breaks and fresh water whenever you stop for a break yourself. Make sure pets are leashed at all times during potty breaks.

Moving TIp: Give away, sell or throw away as many things as you can

The silver lining of a move is stumbling on things that have been tucked in the back of a closet for ages (that you forgot you have and probably don't need) and then getting the opportunity to never move it again. Look through your furniture, clothes, kitchen supplies. Give stuff away to friends or sell the good stuff. Don't part with things you love and want to use in the new place, but consider saying goodbye to the items that only elicit a "meh" response from you so you make room for more fun in the next place.

Moving Tips: Make a master plan

This will be your moving-out bible, and it will have lists of everything you need to do, need to move, need to clean and when it all needs to be done. Basic questions you're going to want to have answers to as soon as possible are: When do I have to be out officially? What can I live without (and get rid of before I move)? What other errands have to be done before the move is over with (getting boxes, canceling utilities, setting Internet up in the new place, renting a storage unit etc.)? Repairs that need to be made (or apartments that need to be cleaned) before I hand in/over the keys? Make a list of what order the things in your home need to be packed (start with stuff you can totally live without and make sure you have a list of stuff you need to set aside because you need it every day). Sit down on a quiet day and go over everything, and add to when you need. Don't skip this part. Don't think that you've moved a lot and can wing it. It might seem like a lot of overkill, but this list could save your mind!

Landlord Services

 If you own rental property, ask yourself these questions:

• Are you forced to keep up with the ever-changing fair housing laws and other legislation regarding tenancy, including lead-based paint and toxic mold policies?
• Are you concerned about the possibility of a tenant suing you …and winning?
• Do you have to deal with the collection of rents, late payments, and bounced checks?
• Do you dread confrontation with tenants, trying to convince them to take care of the property better or start paying their rent on time?
• Do you cross your fingers, hoping that’ you won’t have to deal with the move-in, and move-out process and deposits?
• Do you struggle with the process of advertising and showing your vacant home, interviewing tenants, taking applications, and running credit and background checks?
• Do you sometimes feel that you spend all of your time collecting checks, paying vendors, and performing all of the accounting necessary on your rental?

Here are some of the things we do for you:

• Keep on top of all landlord/tenant law and legislative issues facing property owners and tenants.
• Track vacancy trends, vacancy factors, length of time property on market, and rent values for the area, and effectively market your home with all available avenues at our disposal.
• Create and maintain relationships with qualified vendors, including painters, roofers, electricians, plumbers, appliance repairmen, handymen, and more.
• Provide appropriate rental applications and forms that, along with a consistent screening process, ensure the highest quality tenants while conforming to all applicable laws.
• Provide a lease agreement that covers your property well, collect and account for rents, and confront tenants to enforce the terms of the lease.
• Perform complete accounting for your property, to ensure a maximum return on your investment and optimum tax benefit.

This sets us apart from other property management companies:

• Personalized, attentive service with thorough communication.
• Expert knowledge of the industry and the local and surrounding area real estate market.
• Experience dealing with all kinds of property and tenancy issues.
• Established relationships with local service providers of all types.
• Constant on-going training and updates in the Rental Market to all staff members.
• Active member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers.

Ways to get Kids Excited for the Move

Children feel powerless when you tell them you're moving. They usually don't have any input in the decision. So involve them in as many other decisions as you can.

Make a Family Wish List
This will help you reach a consensus on some of the things you all want from your new home: a bigger backyard, a basement playroom, separate rooms for the kids.

House-Hunt Together
If it's practical, take your children to see prospective houses with you. If you're searching online, bookmark your favorites so your kids can take a look.

Let Your Child Design Their New Room
Bring home paint swatches so that your child can choose a color. Then make it an art project: Have her paste snapshots of her bed and furniture onto a sheet of construction paper.
 
Pack a Treasure Box
Give your child his own packing box that he can decorate with stickers and use for his favorite things. Take it in the car with you so he can keep it close.

Throw a Goodbye Party
It will bring closure to the friendships you're leaving behind. Keep it simple: a basic chips-and-dips affair or a potluck.

Tour Your Old Haunts
Visit special neighborhood spots one last time before you move. If your children have become close with their babysitter, before you move arrange for the sitters to spend time with your children and take them to say goodbye to their favorite places.

Make a Memory Book
Your child can fill it with photos of your home and her friends, along with their e-mail addresses.

Say Goodbye to Your Home
During a family meal ask each kid to recall a favorite memory in the old house.

Property Maintenance

 Property Maintenance and Repair

Constant supervision, inspection and regularly scheduled maintenance combine to keep major repairs to a minimum. When maintenance or repairs are necessary, our goal is to provide prompt, quality service at a reasonable price. We handle all maintenance requests from tenants and are on call for emergencies 24 hours a day. There is a nominal fee for coordination of major repairs, Turn overs, renovations or multiple bidding. We closely control and supervise the vendor and contractor work, we know what repairs should cost and how long they should take to complete.

Repair Requests:
Tenants contact our office with all repair requests and we provide timely response to each repair requests.
Pre Screen Vendors:
Maintain relationships with experienced, qualified and reasonably priced vendors who are licensed and insured.
Handle Emergencies:
24 hour emergency service for tenants.
Spending Limits:
Owner notified prior to any non-emergency repair over $250.00. Competitive bidding on major repairs requiring owner approval before authorizing.
Tenant Reimbursement:
Vendors document directly on their bill if the repair is tenant related due to negligence or abuse so that we can charge the tenants for reimbursement.
Maintenance Support:
Our maintenance coordinator provides many solutions and options to our owners and tenants to minimize many maintenance issues that can be corrected without having to contact a service person.
Documentation:
We monitor all contracted labor and accurately document all expenditures.

Preventive Maintenance

Acting proactively can prevent many of the maintenance problems we many times encounter. If an owner wishes we can place the property on maintenance for the following services – we will recommend regularly scheduled services which can include none or all of the following most common types. HVAC Maintenance, Fireplace cleaning/inspection, dryer vent cleaning, gutter cleaning, fall and spring landscaping including such things as fertilizer, aeration, termite inspection.

Save Energy At Home

 Cover all bare floors. Carpeting or rugs add to comfort and heat retention, especially if there is little or no floor insulation.

Raise the temperature slowly to keep your bill lower. Quickly raising your heat pump's temperature activates the heat strip, which uses tons of energy.

Lower your thermostat temperature to the lowest temperature that is comfortable to your family. You may save as much as 3 percent on your energy bill for each degree you lower your thermostat. Reduce your thermostat setting at night and/or when you are away.

Close the flue in your fireplace and install glass doors to keep in the warm air.

Limit your use of portable heaters. They’re great for "spot" heating, but running a 1,500-watt heater 24/7 can be expensive.

Keep your thermostat close to the outside temperature – it’s cheaper to keep your home at 70°F when it’s 50°F outside than when it’s 30°F.

Don’t block air vents with drapes and furniture.

Get an energy-efficient heat pump and you could cut your heating costs in half. Duke Energy Progress offers rebates up to $300 to help you upgrade.

Change the filters in your heating system every month for optimum efficiency.

Give your air compressor space to work efficiently. Never stack anything against your HVAC or drape anything over it.

Set your thermostat to 60 degrees if going on vacation during the winter months, but don’t turn it off.

Heat your home with the sun's help. Leave window shades or blinds open during the daytime. And consider using solar heat to supplement your normal heating source.

Lower your thermostat every time you leave the house.