You may rather spend your free time relaxing or enjoying a favorite activity and having fun than touring your rental properties, but if you want to earn the max return on your rental investments, be proactive and find problems while they’re small and cheap to fix, instead of catastrophes.

A walk-through and property inspection is essential to perform with your tenant before a new lease term begins and when that same lease ends. 

These are some reasons why landlords should make regular property inspections.

1. Tenant Compliance.  Tenant compliance is among the most important reasons to inspect properties regularly – catching problems early may mean correcting bad behavior without having to evict them.  And if they still refuse to comply with the lease provisions, at least you can evict them before they do too much damage to your investment.

2. Routine Maintenance.  It’s also critical to double check that routine maintenance is being done, whether the tenant or a third party is responsible for it.  Test the smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries.  Check the HVAC filter to make sure it’s been replaced within the last three months, and isn’t too dirty.  Is the landscaping and grass being maintained properly?  Are the floors scratched to shreds, or did the tenant comply with your proviso that all furniture have felt pads on the feet? 

3. Weather Wear & Tear.  Weather and human activity can wear on the exterior of any property.  You can find out if there are any structural or other problems with the home and façade by doing periodic inspections.

4.  Difficult Foundations.  Foundation inspections are important, if damage goes unrepaired for too long – the repair costs would be substantial.  Cracked foundations and holes invite insects, rodents, etc. and cause structural instability.  Water damage can also be a problem.

5. Appliances.  Appliances in your property should be checked to make sure that they are safe and in correct working order.  This can include the stove and oven, refrigerator, washer, dryer and any other appliances supplied by the landlord. 

6. Mechanical Systems.  There are normal wear and tear, but be sure to periodically check exposed plumbing lines and fixtures for sinks, toilets, tubs and dishwashers, including access panels and under sinks.  Also check electrical switches and outlets, making sure that no breakers are being overloaded. 

7. Good Tenant Retention.  Having trust between the landlord-tenant is important.  Periodic inspections give tenants peace of mind that they are in a safe place and know their landlord cares about them and their safety.

Use a Periodic Property Inspection Checklist.   Send or post a Notice of Entry in the legally-required timeframe and phone the renters in addition to giving them the notice, to arrange for a time to do the inspection.

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The average rent of a three bedroom on Oahu jumped 15 percent in just 12 months.  With that average of $2,675 per month, most people can qualify to buy a home for over $464,000.  Here are 3 reasons why buying a home makes sense.

Reason #1
Take advantage of appreciation.  Inflation which is one of the contributing factors of rising rents is a primary reason to buy a home.  With inflationary pressures a home that you buy now can be worth tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars more in a few years.

Monique and her mother Marva purchased a home in January for $360,000.  In less than 8 months homes similar to hers were selling for over $400,000.  What chance would they have had to save $40,000 to make up that difference in 8 months?  Inflation works on your behalf when you own a home.

Additionally, you avoid the risk of being priced out of the market.

Reason #2
Tax benefits.  One of the few tax shelters that exists is owning your own home.  Thankfully the government incentivizes home ownership by allowing very generous tax deductions.  This is money that would never see your pocket - yet by owning a home you can apply hundreds of dollars a month toward your home.

If you could have an extra $300 to $800 per month go toward your housing wouldn't you take it?

Reason #3
Lock in your payment.  If you rent over time the price will continue to go up.  That isn't the case when owning.  Your payments can consist of your mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, at times HOA and sometimes mortgage insurance.  The bulk of your payment comes from your mortgage payment and that payment can be fixed for 30 years!  You'll never having to worry about rent increasing.  The best thing is that if you don't go crazy an use your home as a credit card you will one day pay off your loan.  Owning a home with no loan is an easy way to retire without stress or take out a reverse mortgage and have your home pay you while you travel the world.

So does waiting work when buying a home?  Usually no.  If you are buying an investment timing matters more, but for home ownership you are already paying for someone else to own it and with the advantages of locking in a fixed payment and the tax benefits over time appreciation will fall in your favor as well.

Find a great agent and make it happen.  Happy house hunting.

Have you ever wondered why some people reach incredible levels of production, while most others fail in the business? Are these Top Producers born with some rare talent, or pre-destined to become successful? After years of studying and compiling the data, sales coaches have determined that all successful people share 4 traits.

While instinct plays a big role here, for the most part, there are a few ingredients that go into making someone a top producer.

Education

No one knows everything. That’s the beauty of the human race. It’s impossible to know everything. Top Producers understand that, and they seek the answers. They go and find it.

Top Producers “check their ego at the door” every day and realize there are lots of things to learn. They know there will always be others who have more experience than they do, and they’re not afraid to ask them for advice. There are several people I go to frequently when I don't know the answer or how to do something. One such friend is Google. He knows EVERYTHING. It’s a rare day that you can stump Google. Use this friend.

It this day of technology, there is an infinite amount of resources out there for pretty much everything you want to do-- especially when it comes to real estate. Top Producers are always leaning. They take  classes, read instead of watching TV, look things up. Can you name the largest search engine on the internet? If you said Google, you’re wrong. You may be surprised to know that YouTube is the most searched site on the internet. All of this education will come in handy and will further your success and knowledge base.

As important as education and knowledge may be, Top Producers know nothing substitutes hard work. In this business, you “eat what you kill” and there’s no short cut to the top. This brings me to my next point...

Hard Work

The second, and perhaps the most important trait of top producers is they have an abundance of hard work. Yes, there are ways to work smarter to cut corners and you might even be a little successful for a short while. But over time, your success will be directly related to how hard you worked. Top producers work hard, very hard. They go the extra mile and put in those hours, call those clients and leads, do their homework (like knowing the market), and do all of that on a consistent basis.

They market themselves well, successfully hold an active presence on social media, network like a pro, and know how to sell well. It all takes lots hard work and time. But nothing worthwhile is easy. So how bad do you want it? Top producers want it bad and work hard to get it. It’s not luck, it’s hard work and determination. Rarely do you not benefit from working hard and doing a good job.

That said, top producers have help to pull it off. It’s impossible to do everything yourself, and top producers all employ systems to make them more efficient.

Systems

All successful businesses know that the 3 P’s are the most important things in their business. People, Processes, and Product. Your career is your business. Top producers know they need the right People on their team to support them and have the right Processes (systems) in place to reach the top. The Product are the homes that they have little control over. The first two they do and they set up their teams to succeed.

Carefully selecting the right people to support you, and having the right CRM to manage leads and contacts are critical systems that top producers all employ.

The motto here is never take your eyes off of systems. It might be hard and challenging, but it will directly impact your bottom line.

One of the biggest qualities that makes agents shoot to the top is how well they can bounce back from adversity.

Adaptable

The only thing in life that’s constant is change. Change is inevitable, it’s a part of life. Count on it. Top producers are all adaptable. Adaptable is the ability to adjust to new conditions. Top producers embrace change and adapt to it. Flexibility is a key factor in survival. Because of that, I’ve adapted a mantra - “Fail faster.” Top producers aren’t afraid to adapt and fail. They implement, execute, and sometimes fail. Failing faster means leads to succeeding sooner. Sometime you have to learn the hard way, but I’d rather learn that sooner than later.

So there you have it. These are the 4 traits of the super successful. You now have several keys to be a top producer. Now go get it!