Good news for landlords, bad news for renters as U.S. Census Department and Rent.com agree that double digit rent hikes are on the way across America. Traditional news outlets point to this as a sign of economic recovery, we point to it as a sign of the opposite.

via AgentGenius.

Zillow launches Rent Zestimates under a cloud of secrecy, avoids scrutiny, and gets a fairy tale send off from those it sponsors, but is less likely to get a pass from those in the property management arena.

via agentgenius.

As foreclosures and falling home values continue to slam the local housing market, the forecast for rentals is improving

via MiamiHerald.com.

While vacant homes seem to stacking up all around us, apartment vacancy is in decline.

via biggerpockets.

It worked until February 2009, when a seemingly down-on-her-luck single-mother and law student moved into Cook’s converted red barn and quickly became Cook’s tenant from hell.

via PressDemocrat.com.

In my last post, I made the bold claim that every time a resident chooses not to renew his or her lease, it costs the property an average of $4300. One reader asked me to break down the $4300 cost, and I thought that was an excellent opportunity for all of us to compare some notes. I have just updated all our figures, and the economic landscape has improved… a bit. Based on national average rent and concession data from Axiometrics, turnover costs have dropped to just over $4000 per move out – still quite painful! Heres the breakdown:

via Multifamily Insiders

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It would be easy if you could set up your Qui’ja board and ask what was going to be the best for both now and in the future. Unfortuantely, it doesn’t work that way. This question is one property managers have struggled with for decades, and will continue to debate. Technology and our prospects change consistently, as are distribution points as publishers vie for market share.

via Multifamily Insiders

12%: The increase in the cost of renting one’s home since April 2006 when home prices peaked.

via WSJ.

When Shawnetta Newburn left her drug-infested St. Louis neighborhood in search of a better life for her family in Las Vegas, she didn’t expect to live in a house with frills worthy of a McMansion.

But Paradise awaited.

That’s the name of the gated community where Ms. Newburn, a single mother who makes $10.50 an hour as a pawn-shop cashier, rents a three-bedroom townhouse with soaring ceilings, a gas-fueled fireplace and an oversize walk-in closet in the largest bedroom. The master bath even includes an enclosed toilet room, a feature popular in mini-mansions.

via WSJ.com.

I have a client that is very green in the rental business. He signed a lease with a tenant for 6 months.  The tenant moved in but hasn’t paid him a dime.  No month in advance, deposit, rent etc.  What can be done to get this person out?

via Investment Property Blog.