• 3
• Maintenance Tips , Management Tips , Uncategorized ,
• 12 Jan

You have decided to enter the world of rental properties by purchasing your first home. But, do you know what it takes to have the home “rent-ready?” As a Sioux Falls property management company, we have laid out a few basic steps to help ensure your property is ready. The goal in preparing a home

• Maintenance Tips , Management Tips ,
• 18 Nov

If you haven’t spent much time on our website in a while, it may be time to look around a bit more.  We’ve added a complete library of landlord resources to help rental property owners with many aspects of the rental cycle.  Get answers to the most frequently asked questions, and also learn how to avoid

• Management Tips ,
• 14 May

Property managers and land lords commonly use security deposits to control the risks associated with renting out property. However, the handling of security deposits brings with it its own risk. Mismanagement of the security deposit can increase liability. South Dakota real estate law dictates how the security deposit must be handled. For example, within two

• 1
• Management Tips ,
• 14 May

By Josh Kattenberg Many times when a property is put up for rent, it requires a new coat of paint. Because tenants are in a hurry to move in, and because the landlord is out of time, an agreement is reached that the tenant will do the painting for something off the first month’s rent. 

• 2
• Management Tips ,
• 14 May

By Josh Kattenberg What is the true cost of vacancy in rental property and what can rental property owners do to minimize this cost? Vacancy cost is a function of time.  The more time a property sits vacant, the more it costs. Let’s look at an example of a single family home renting for $1,000

• 2
• Management Tips ,
• 14 May

By Josh Kattenberg Every rental property owner wants quality tenants to lease their property. One way to have the best chance of renting the property to a good tenant is to advertise aggressively. If you only have one or two people look at your vacant property, you will not have much to choose from. However,

• 4
• Management Tips ,
• 14 May

By Josh Kattenberg Gutters need to be cleaned in the fall because if they get plugged during the winter, ice dams can build up and cause water damage to the roof and even the interior of the home. We have seen water leaking into a house because of an ice dam. Water started leaking from

• 13
• Management Tips , Tenant Tips ,
• 14 May

By Josh Kattenberg Sioux Falls has adopted a “maximum number of occupants ordinance” for rental property.  The ordinance says that no more than three unrelated people can inhabit a rental property. “Unrelated people” mean’s people who are more distantly related than cousins. For example, according to the ordinance, a four college roommates could not live

• 8
• Management Tips ,
• 14 May

By Josh Kattenberg “Habitiability” refers to the idea that tenants have a right to basic services if they were included in the property they are renting. For example, the landlord does not have to pay for utilities, but he must make sure that the furnace and water heater function properly.  South Dakota law gives tenants

• 563
• Management Tips ,
• 14 May

By Josh Kattenberg In a previous blog post we dealt with the cost of vacancy. Another hidden cost of rental property that owners often do not consider is the cost of turn over. Whenever a tenant leaves a property making the property rent ready and finding another qualified tenant costs money. The national average cost