Management One Property Management

Foreign and Domestic Investors Confirm the Value of U.S. Properties

The rental real estate market is hot! Home prices are down, and inventory of homes for sale or in foreclosure is high. Now is the perfect time for buying into the single-family-home rental market — and that market is seeing enthusiastic takers both at home and abroad.

The Los Angeles Times reports that foreign investors are moving away from mortgage-backed securities and instead purchasing single-family homes. In addition to homes purchased by people immigrating to the U.S., international investors are purchasing homes to rent out. The article notes that in 2011 "a total of $82 billion worth of U.S. residential real estate was taken off the market by international buyers, up from $66 billion the year before." The demand is so large that the National Association of Realtors has launched an international listing website.

But domestic investors are also recognizing the opportunities that rental market conditions present. The New York Times reports that in the U.S., large investors are looking to buy thousands of investment properties and rent them. This is good news for the real estate market, as it reduces the backlog of foreclosed and underwater properties on the market.

But one of the big concerns for foreign and domestic investors is how they will manage their properties. Regardless of their location, investors will need local property managers, and the greater the number of homes the investor owns, the greater the need for professional management.

In addition, investors don’t want to rely on just any property management company. Because they may be located far from their properties, they require top-notch managers who have specific capabilities:

• browser-based systems that provide visibility for owners into the state of each rental


• turnkey systems for managing every aspect of rentals, from home maintenance to tenant screening to rent payments


• the ability to handle large volumes of individual rentals

Real estate investment: The complete solution
If you're a real estate agent or broker, you already know how tremendous the opportunity is for investors. But individual investors may be overwhelmed by the details of acquiring and managing multiple properties.

Management One can help. Our Real Estate Investment Counseling (REIC) program is a turnkey solution that lets you offer your clients and potential clients a clear, understandable way to invest in rental properties. The REIC program includes all the tools you need to help clients build a valuable real estate portfolio that will provide a reliable income for their retirement years.

As a real estate professional and a Management One REIC program provider, you offer your client exceptional value:

• You know the local markets and can help clients find exceptional values.


• Through Management One’s REIC program, you have the technology and tools to help investors build a solid, high-value portfolio for long-term returns.


• With Management One to manage their properties, investors can enjoy their returns and keep track of their properties, without the stress of managing each one individually.

With continued high foreclosure rates and a struggling economy, the number of people who rent instead of buying continues to increase. Couple that with low real estate prices and interest rates, and the time is ripe for the rental property market.

By offering your clients the benefits of Management One's REIC program, you'll cultivate ongoing investor relationships and satisfied real estate clients who return to you again and again.

Manage Your Properties in Real Time

Owning your own business is exciting but time consuming, and it can be difficult to stay on top of the details. But Management One’s proprietary M1 software system puts all the information you need at your fingertips. You can access any information you need — and you can do it in real time.

Do it yourself — or not?
Accounting and business information management are areas in which many independent property managers struggle with multiple problems.

• Expertise — Property management business owners need to be able to focus their energy on running the business. They may not be experts in accounting, bookkeeping, or information and document management.

• Time — Business owners don’t have time to develop and maintain business management systems.

• Expense — Because of problems 1 and 2, many small business owners outsource day-to-day bookkeeping and business management systems, incurring a high cost for running their businesses.

Offload the headaches
As a Management One franchisee, you have 24/7 access to our M1 proprietary property management software. The software is a complete property management system that you can access anytime, anywhere through a Web browser.

The turnkey system automates all the tasks associated with running a property management business. Because the software was designed by property managers, for property managers, it includes all the functionality you need — in the format you need to use it effectively.

With M1 software, you see immediate benefits:

• The system is easy to use. It tracks and expedites rent payments. Residents can pay their rent online, and rent payments are automatically deposited in the owner's bank account.

• The system is transparent. Your staff scans and uploads invoices, work orders and other documents so that they are available electronically. Owners and residents who have questions about their accounts can access that information immediately, without having to call your office.

• The software reduces overhead. Employees won’t spend time looking for documentation in order to resolve disputes or answer questions. If an owner or resident calls with a problem, a staff member can quickly access the required receipt, invoice or document and immediately send an electronic copy to the caller.

• The system saves money. All parts of the M1 management system (e.g., leasing, marketing, maintenance) are integrated with the accounting system, so information is readily available. All reports reflect current balances and information — in real time.

• The software can improve morale. Employees field fewer complaints and trivial requests. And when they do receive complaints or requests, they can be resolved quickly and easily.

Don’t continue to struggle with the accounting and information management aspects of your property management business. M1 software is built around your business so that you can spend less time buried in the details of your business — and more time growing it.

In Business for Yourself, Not by Yourself

When you are a property management professional, you know how hard it can be to manage all the details of your business AND maintain your properties. A Management One franchise can relieve you from many of those details. Even so, you may still be worried about having to learn the new processes, systems and technologies that come with starting a new business.

But when you partner with Management One, you're not alone. You're truly "in business for yourself, but not by yourself." We provide all the systems, materials, expert training and ongoing support for handling every aspect of your business.

Starting you on the right foot, and with you at every step
We provide franchise owners with all of the information you need to be successful in a variety of formats.

• A hands-on, six-day initial training at our main offices. You receive expert instruction in how to use all the modules in our proprietary M1 software (e.g., marketing, maintenance, accounting), plus, all the tools and resources you need to get your property management business up and running.


• Live and recorded webinars. We provide ongoing training that covers topics you need to know to ensure your business runs smoothly and efficiently.


• Training videos and answers to Help questions embedded in our software systems. You don't have to wait to ask a question or learn a new task. You can access our online training when you need it.

Not only can you use our program to learn how to run your franchise, you can also use it to train new employees. And we also provide materials that you can use to educate real estate professionals in your community about your property management business and build relationships with them.

When you partner with Management One Property Management, you’re not just getting a business — you’re getting a relationship with a partner who will be there for you.

Quality Residents = Consistent ROI

Rental property owners naturally want the best possible residents in their properties. Not only do they want to reduce the likelihood of property damage or missed rent payments, but they also prefer to avoid an expensive eviction process. When resident turnover is high, owners have to find and qualify new residents frequently, which can be time-consuming. And during that period, they are not receiving monthly rent payments.

However, resident qualification and background checks can be one of the biggest headaches and most time-consuming tasks in running a property management business. Management One provides a systematic, step-by-step qualifying process that will ensure clear, complete information and fair treatment for all candidates.

Start with a system
The process that Management One has developed helps ensure the qualifications of potential residents. We do this through culture and consistency.

• Culture. The atmosphere of professionalism and efficiency in a Management One office can actually be the first qualifier. Potential residents who are likely to be unqualified often decide they don't want to rent from us, saving us the trouble of a check.
  
  Why? Because they know we’ll do a thorough background check on them. In contrast, a well-qualified resident will be attracted to our culture and the technologies we use because he or she will expect to be treated in a fair and professional manner.

• Consistency. Property management companies or individual owners who don’t have a formal qualification process end up with fragmented rents, security deposits and lease terms. However, Management One applies a consistent process to qualifying residents. Our established and standard system ensures quality residents are in the properties we rent.

Qualification steps
Management One complies with the Fair Housing Act, which means our requirements are the same for everyone. We also prescreen each call to make sure the prospective residents and the staff don't waste valuable time. Our process always includes many key elements to ensure success:

• Process applications on a first come, first served basis
• Complete applicant screening within 48 hours
• Verify that gross household income is at least three times the rent rate
• Analyze applicants’ credit histories for delinquencies and payment patterns
• Check court records for evictions, bankruptcies, foreclosures and judgments
• Contact current and previous landlords
• Verify current employment
• Calculate debt-to-income ratio (must not exceed 65 percent)

Rental qualification is not an area you can afford to ignore. With our system, you get reliable results, highly qualified residents and a more reliable income from your rental property.

Help Clients Invest in the Future

If I had a way to buy up a couple hundred thousand single-family homes AND had a way to manage them, I would."

That ringing endorsement of single-family home investment came from none other than Warren Buffett in a recent interview on CNBC. Buffett says that with low housing prices and low mortgage rates, houses are a better investment than stocks.

Buffett is not alone in his beliefs. Reports confirm that single-family homes are a good investment right now. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes were up in December 2011. That's the third gain in four months, the highest level in 20 months, and a 0.7 percent increase over January 2011.

You might think that increase would also lead to an increase in home prices, but economists say home prices will likely remain low for the near future. High foreclosure rates and the existing inventory of homes continue to keep prices low.

Rising rents benefit property owners
At the same time, rental vacancies are down and rents are rising. Competition for available properties to rent has increased because of the collapse of the housing market and high foreclosure rates. In response, the rental market has swung in favor of landlords.

That means higher rents and fewer concessions and incentives for renters. According to apartment market analysis firm MFP Research, only about one-quarter of apartments nationwide offered some form of incentive in the fourth quarter of 2011. By comparison, 53 percent of apartments offered concessions or incentives in the first quarter of 2010.

Opportunities for investor clients
Low property values and interest rates, low rental vacancies and high rents — these market conditions will understandably make investors eager to become property owners. However, investors who jump into the market without guidance can easily get burned.

Real estate professionals are in a perfect position to help investors make sound choices. You know the local markets, so you can provide sound advice about which opportunities are good and which ones to avoid. And you can help them take advantage of good opportunities quickly.

Another way you can offer investment help is through Management One’s Real Estate Investment Counseling (REIC) program. The REIC program is a complete system that helps you guide rental property investors in planning an investment strategy based on their specific needs. You can cultivate new clients and help them make wise choices and realize a substantial ROI that can provide them with ongoing income for retirement.

With fully developed software systems and expert support, you and your investor clients have everything to gain during this time of golden opportunity in the rental market