H.M.S. is giving back this Holiday Season as a Thank You to our Property Owner's

Happy Holidays from the

H.M.S. Property Management Staff!

We would like to thank you for another year of your continued business. We know this year has been a tough one for many of us and we take pride in striving to make your experience as a landlord a positive one.

For this Holiday Season we have chosen to “Adopt A Family”. On your behalf we will provide a plentiful meal & gifts for a family in need. We hope that in doing this we can provide for a family what they cannot provide for themselves in these difficult times.

We make this donation as a thank you for your continued business throughout the year. We look forward to 2011 and making it a great year.

We wish you and yours a Happy Holiday and a prosperous New Year!

High Cost of Maintenance

Seen in the William Zimmer Gallery in Mendocino, CA
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." John Ruskin

We often get calls from property owners that only want to know what the new carpet or the repair to the appliance is going to cost; but do not ask about the licensing, experience, and the track record of fixing it right the first time.

In today's economy, several people out of work are available to do work cheap. Before trusting someone to do work on your home, there are a few questions you can ask that will prevent frustration in the future.
- Ask to see their business license. If they aren't licensed, that is a red flag.
- Are they covered with liability insurance? If they aren't, and they get hurt on the job, you could end up paying their medical bills.
- If they have workers; ask to see the Worker's Compensation Policy. In CA, unless the worker is related, the owner/contractor must carry Worker's Comp --- if they don't, you are responsible for the premiums.
- How long have they been in business? What is their experience with......?

A shoddy plumbing job can end up being a huge repair when that pipe leaks and now there is carpet, sheet rock, and furniture damage as a result. Oops, you just paid more than you would have for an experienced, licensed plumber to begin with.

A great place for consumer's to get information is
http://www.cslb.ca.gov/GeneralInformation/Library/GuidesAndPamphlets.asp

At H.M.S. we have a vendor's package that all our vendor's have to fill out before we will send them on a job. Ask your friends and associates for referrals --- and pass on to your friends the names of workers that you have used successfully.

Revealing Statistics on Home Mortgages

Today's Headlines (11/11/2010):


"%'age of Homeowners Underwater Reaches New Peak"
"Loan Applications Jump 21% Last Week"
"Home purchase Mortgage Applications Last Week Plummet"
"Home purchase Mortgage Applications increase for 3rd consecutive week"


Huh??? Confused??? It's all in the numbers!


Headlines do not tell the story. The last article reporting an increase for the 3rd consecutive week chose to use a Ratio instead of actual numbers - a little deceptive. The writer quoted an index measuring the volume of loan applications for a home purchase as compared to total loan applications received.
Example:
Week 1: 100 applications - 5 were for purchasing a home instead of a refinance
Week 2: 90 applications - 4 for purchasing a home
Week 3: 75 applications - 3 for purchasing a home
The rations are:
Week 1: 5:95
Week 2: 4:90
Week 3: 3:75
Even though the number of applications received plummeted and the number of home purchase applications declined each week --- there is an increase in the ratio for 3 weeks in a row!

So, all the articles are correct - they just know how to find the statistics to slant a story in their direction...this is nothing new; reporters do this all the time. It is Reader Beware!


I scan these articles every day - what is missing from all of these is a report of the 'approved' applications...does that tell a different story???


Ah well - so glad I'm in Property Management where the rents are holding steady and the residents are happy to be paying rent instead of a mortgage!

Caveat Emptor - Buyer Beware

I'm taking courses to renew my Broker's License --- yes, we are required to continually keep ourselves educated --- which is a GOOD thing!

I remember when we bought our first house - it was 'Buyer Beware'. Now, mainly because of lawsuits, there are laws and forms dictating what has to be disclosed to buyers and renters.

Did you know that you MUST have Smoke Detectors in the hall outside sleeping rooms? And if you do any work over $1,000; then smoke detectors also must go inside every sleeping room as well. For landlords, that $1,000 minimum is met fast - i.e. new carpet! We recommend always updating your rental property to the current code; rather than face a situation where you have to prove that you didn't put in $1,000 of work ---- how do you prove that?

Any property where someone has died within the last 3 years has to be disclosed...but if they died of AIDS, the law prevents us from saying that - even if asked!

If you have questions about your property - just contact us!

Something Always Happens

On Thursday November 4, 2010 our Exchange server quit accepting emails. Most of the emails were just delayed but if you have not gotten a response that you expected please resend your email. Email was not delivered from Thursday around 4:oo pm 11-4-2010 until we came back up around 02:30 am on 11-8-2010, Monday morning. When we arrived at work on Monday morning and brought up our outlook there were emails delivered from that time frame. We have corrected the settings that caused the outage and are confident that it will not happen in the future.

After the Move

We have completed the Move. As we stated our new address is 5589 Winfield Blve #130, San Jose Ca.95123. We kept all of our phone number. It did take a while to get our fax 408-997-9260 ported over but it is up and working now. We have had some computer problems on an individual basis but have been rebuilding them to Windows 7 software. The new facilites are a big improvement for access and time savings.

Since it is the start of the rainy season we should all be checking our ceilings for any new spots that would indicate a leak in the roof. The furnace filters should be replaced for efficient heating. Daylignt saving time goes off next Sunday morning at 2:00 am and with standard time it is a good reminder to replace those smoke detector batteries.

Posted by Gil Hill

WE'RE MOVING!!

After a few decades of being in the same office H.M.S. Property Management is excited to announce that we are moving!! The new location will be at 5589 Winfield Blvd, Suite 130, San Jose, CA 95123. We will be directly across from Oakridge Mall and right by the light rail! We plan to be moved in by October 5th, 2010.

We have high hopes that this move will be more convenient for our Owner's and Tenant's to access our office so that we can better serve you!

Let us know what you think & follow our blog for future updates!

The H.M.S. Property Management Staff