Property Management Software

Choosing a strong and diverse evaluation team to help choose the best tools to run your hotel is also the first step to having buy-in from your hotel team. It is important to have everyone on-board when a new property management system is selected for your Hotel, Resort or Inn. Everyone involved in your organization from the owner, hotel management company and senior management to the front desk, reservations, sales and housekeeping department needs to be invested and committed to the project.

Prior to beginning the evaluation process, it is important to designate a project manager that will be accountable and see the project through from start to finish. The purchase of the property management system will signal that the the evaluation process has officially ended.

The Project Manager is the first person to be selected. This selection may already be determined and possibly a consultant has been hired for the job, a manager at head office, a manager at the hotel, someone in operations or someone in the information technology department.

At this time it is important begin to think about the next project, this will be the property management system training and implementation which is likely to occur several months to a year after the evaluation process begins. This time line depends on how complex your business needs are and how much time can be dedicated to the evaluation and purchase process not to mention the schedule of the property management system vendor.

Evaluation team members may consist of operational managers that may use functionality that is geared to their management role as well as front line staff that would use the property management software on a daily basis and for the majority of their day. Staff in various positions such as Front Desk Clerk, Reservations Clerk, Housekeeping Managers or Supervisors, Sales Staff, Accounting Staff, Concierge Staff and staff in the Information Technology Department would be able to offer different perspectives. Consider representatives from these departments to be included in the evaluation process. Their experience with past systems as well as their department processes and their insight into what functionality they need to best serve the hotel guests will be very valuable when building your requirements list.

The Project Manager should set expectations and objectives of what is to be accomplished during the evaluation process and provide this information in writing to the team. Setting expectations and objectives will help to keep the evaluation process on track. The team needs to understand that although comments and suggestions are appreciated and necessary, not everyone’s wants will be fulfilled. The goal is to choose the best system to meet your specific business needs while providing the best overall tool for all departments and the business as a whole. There will be some areas and functionality that will require compromise. Sorting out items that are needs as opposed to those that are wants is essential during this process. Items that are determined to be needs should be qualified as such.

Now it’s time to start building your team!

Jeff Sefton



By: Jeff Sefton

Collecting unpaid rent is part of the property management process. The trick is to not let the situation get out of hand, says Massachusetts’s collections attorney Phil A. Taylor. The first month a tenant falls behind in the rent, you need to take action.

While it’s important to respond quickly, Phil says you want to avoid face-to-face contact because it could lead to confrontation. The better alternative is to send a letter to the tenant, and because it’s not one of the legal forms in your library, it doesn’t have to be sent certified mail. Any letter that has the correct address and postage is considered received once it is mailed. The body of the letter should instruct the tenant to call you so that the matter can be resolved.

If the tenant offers you a partial payment, Phil recommends that you accept it. However, it is important that you give the tenant a receipt that clearly states that what you received is only a partial payment, and that you still have the legal right to collect the rest of the unpaid rent.

You may also feel that effective property management techniques require you to investigate how serious your tenant’s financial crisis is. That means checking to see if they’re still employed, and how much other debt they’re carrying. Phil says that if your original rental agreement doesn’t prevent you from calling the employer listed, you can do so to see your tenant is still working for the company.

Also, as long as you maintain a debtor-creditor relationship with your tenant, the Fair Credit Reporting Act allows you can to get a copy of the tenant’s credit report. Legal forms like your rental application usually have a release allowing this.

Although you can get this information, Phil says it really won’t do you much good. Even if the tenant is unemployed and is carrying a huge debt, if they pay the rent they can’t be evicted. The only value that information might have in terms of property management is if you use it to decide how much leeway you are willing to give them.

The real problems start when you’ve put off collecting back rent and the tenant is still in the apartment. Your only choice is to start eviction.

You begin by sending your tenant a Notice To Quit, which IS one of the legal forms in your library you have to use specifically. The letter tells your tenant how much time they have to pay the back rent, typically 3 to 14 days according to state law. If the tenant pays, they can stay, but if they don’t, they must vacate.

Should your tenant leave still owing you back money, you’re going to have to collect the debt some other way.

The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), which protects consumers from abuse from debt collectors, says that a landlord acting on their own behalf isn’t subject to the provisions of the law because they aren’t considered a debt collector. However, even though you aren’t subject to the law, you can’t engage in any of the abusive practices the law prohibits.

Employees of property management companies aren’t considered debt collectors under the FDCPA either because the rental payments aren’t owed to another individual or entity. But if at any time during the collection process the landlord/property manager mentions any name other than their own, that means that a third person is collecting the debt, and the landlord/property manager becomes a debt collector subject to the FDCPA.

If you can’t collect on your own, you will probably have to sue for the amount owed under breech of contract. An attorney familiar with your state’s collection laws and the necessary legal forms required to sue should be contacted.



By: Maria Esposito

Executive Summary
We design and deliver the systems, software
and services that drive next-generation communications
networks. Backed by Bell Labs
research and development, we use our
strengths in mobility, optical, access, data and
voice networking technologies, as well as
services, to create new revenue-generating
opportunities for our customers, while
enabling them to quickly deploy and better
manage their networks. Our customer base
includes communications service providers,
governments and enterprises worldwide.
We have three segments organized
around the products and services we sell.
The reportable segments are Integrated Network
Solutions (“INS”), Mobility Solutions
(“Mobility”) and Lucent Worldwide Services
(“Services”). INS provides a broad range
of software and wireline equipment related
to voice networking (primarily consisting
of switching products, which we sometimes
refer to as convergence solutions, and voice
messaging products), data and network
management (primarily consisting of access
and related data networking equipment
and operating support software) and optical
networking. Mobility provides software and
wireless equipment to support radio access
and core networks. Services provides deployment,
maintenance, professional and managed
services in support of both our product
offerings as well as multi-vendor networks.
Beginning in fiscal 2001, the global
telecommunications market deteriorated,
resulting from a decrease in the competitive
local exchange carrier market and a significant
reduction in capital spending by established
service providers.This trend intensified
during fiscal 2002 and continued into fiscal
2003. Reasons for the market deterioration
included general economic slowdown, network
overcapacity, customer bankruptcies,
network build-out delays and limited availability
of capital.
We believe that the market for telecommunications
equipment has stabilized
and is starting to grow in certain areas. The
growing demands of enterprises and consumers
for additional services tailored to
their needs is creating the need for a new
convergence of networks, technologies and
applications.
Required
1. Using the Consolidated Balance
Sheets for Lucent Technologies for
September 30, 2004 and 2003, prepare
a common-size balance sheet.
2. Evaluate the asset, debt, and equity
structure of Lucent Technologies, as
well as trends and changes found on
the common-size balance sheet.
3. What concerns would investors and
creditors have based on only this
information?
4. What additional financial and nonfinancial
information would investors
and creditors need to make investing
and lending decisions for Lucent
Technologies?

LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in Millions, Except per Share Amounts)
September 30, September 30,
2004 2003
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 3,379 $ 3,821
Marketable securities 858 686
Receivables 1,359 1,511
Inventories 822 632
Other current assets 1,813 1,213
Total current assets 8,231 7,863
Marketable securities 636 —
Property, plant, and equipment, net 1,376 1,593
Prepaid pension costs 5,358 4,659
Goodwill and other acquired intangibles, net 434 188
Other assets 928 1,608
Total assets $ 16,963 $ 15,911
Liabilities
Accounts payable $ 872 $ 1,072
Payroll and benefit-related liabilities 1,232 1,080
Debt maturing within one year 1 389
Other current liabilities 2,361 2,393
Total current liabilities 4,466 4,934
Postretirement and postemployment benefit liabilities 4,881 4,669
Pension liabilities 1,874 2,494
Long-term debt 4,837 4,439
Liability to subsidiary trust issuing preferred securities 1,152 1,152
Other liabilities 1,132 1,594
Total liabilities 18,342 19,282
Commitments and contingencies
8.00% redeemable convertible preferred stock — 868
Shareowners’ Deficit
Preferred stock—par value $1.00 per share; authorized shares:
250; issued and outstanding: none — —
Common stock—par value $.01 per share;Authorized shares:
10,000; 4,396 issued and 4,395 outstanding shares as of
September 30, 2004,and 4,170 issued and 4,169
outstanding shares as of September 30, 2003 44 42
Additional paid-in capital 23,005 22,252
Accumulated deficit (20,793) (22,795)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (3,635) (3,738)
Total shareowners’ deficit (1,379) (4,239)
Total liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock
and shareowners’ deficit $ 16,963 $ 15911

If you are a real estate appraiser, then you are fully aware of the new stipulations posed within the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). Now that you are faced with the assignment of finding a reputable appraisal management company (AMC), it is vital to your business to conduct a great deal of research to select the best company possible.

With so many options available online, what should you look for as an appraiser? By using the following two principles, you will be able to sort out the responsible appraisal management companies from the ones solely looking to make money due to new regulations.

Experience: One of the easiest things to do, especially on the Internet, is to discover how many years of experience the AMC has within the real estate industry. Sure, brand new companies can and do offer the same services as well-established ones, but it is comforting to know that you will be in a working relationship with an entity that has labored through the favorable ups and fierce downs of real estate.

Similarly, another positive aspect of experience is reputation. If a company has managed to stay in business for 10, 15, or more years, then that longevity could equate to having success with myriad relationships. A company in the real estate industry doesn’t stay in business too long if it doesn’t employ people that can demonstrate a knack for connections. Having an affirmative working relationship is something you can’t put a dollar amount on.

Technology: As each day passes, technology on every front improves-tools within the real estate industry are no exception. You will want to select an AMC that has utilized the advent of web-based tools, real estate computer software, etc., in order to help streamline the appraisal process and manage accounts and business effectively.

In order to maximize profitability and make the best use of your resources (i.e., time), it is wise to employ an AMC that has developed a mechanism to automate much of the appraisal process. A company that simply has a website is not enough.

Of course, there are many other qualities that are necessary to predetermine before signing on with any particular AMC, including their current network of appraisers as well as lenders, their geographic service area, and their associated costs, to name a few. However, starting your search by filtering appraisal management companies by their collective experience within the real estate industry and their application of associated technologies will prove to be advantageous in your efforts.



By: Eamon Arnett

It seems that everyone and their dog has found a way to take advantage of the new rush on the Real Estate market. One area that has seen an unusual increase in competition is the field of property management tools for Landlords. Specifically, Landlord property management software tools. There are so many different products out there but why do you need this stuff in the first place? 

As a Landlord you already know that your are concerned with the MTP (money, time and problems). Choose the right Landlord software and you should be able to save money, have more time and manage those unexpected problems with ease. Lets look at the MTP more closely. 

Landlord Software Can Save You Money

The main reason that you are in business at all is to make money. As the saying goes, money saved is money earned. A good Landlord software package should be able to save you money in a variety of ways:

1)       Track rental income and expenses

2)       Keep all your bank accounts in one place

3)       Create budgets to estimate property income and expenses

4)       Screen out deadbeat tenants by running tenant credit and criminal background checks

5)       Handle rental payments electronically over the Internet

6)       Integrate with tax software like Quickbooks

7)       Print and mail 1099 recipient copies to your owners and vendors

8)       Provide full Accounting support and spread sheets across all units

9)       Track repairs and contractor costs

10)   Automatically calculate late fees and refund

11)   Print cheques and receipts 

Landlord Software Can Save You Time.

Your time is valuable. The more time you can free up the more time you will have to focus on what is important to you like expanding your business or spending less time working. Good Landlord software can save you time by:

1)       Running key financial reports on demand

2)       Automatically manage leases and up coming vacancies

3)       Advertise vacancies on your own online website/portal

4)       Allow you to communicate with your tenants online

5)       Give you access to your data from anywhere you may be

6)       Speed up your accounting with automated tools and notification

7)       Manage to do list, repairs and service calls

8)       Manage documents like contracts, leases and correspondence

9)       Generate bulk emails to tenants

10)   Give your tenants online access to their accounts and a communal website

11)   Centralise income and expense tracking for tax purposes 

Landlord Software Can Help You To Manage Problems Better.

Part of being a Landlord is managing the everyday problems that will inevitably arise. Landlord software can help you in this regard too if it performs the following:

1)       Manage and track property up keep, repairs and service calls

2)       Maintains a list of contractors and emergency numbers

3)       Allow tenants to submit maintenance requests online

4)       Notify you and/or the appropriate employee instantly when new requests arrive

5)       Keep tenants informed with periodic updates

6)       Pay bills from vendors online 

Landlord Software Can Help You To Grow Your Business.

If you employ the full power that is available from today’s Landlord software you will be in a much better position to handle more tenants (units) and still maintain a high standard of quality. You will look more professional and organised to your tenants. As a result you should have a lower rate of turn-over in your leases. Again, this will allow you to take on more units. 

Most of these things sound fairly basic but most Landlords start out doing most these different tasks with many different and scattered tools. Many get frustrated and just do the bare minimum.



By: Jim Wilkson

Real estate management companies can offer you the skills and services you need to maximize your investment properties. These companies are professionals who can market your properties, screen potential tenants, conduct all maintenance repairs and keep your properties running smoothly.

When your investment properties are ready to be rented, you will find property management services are an invaluable resource. Your management company can help you establish a reasonable rent for the area, screen potential tenants, and maintain rental records. The management company will also help to recover rent that is past due, or even begin the legal process of eviction in the case of rent non-payment. The renting process is guaranteed to be smooth when you have a qualified real estate property management team on your side.

Real Estate Management companies are not all alike

Some management companies specialize in managing certain types of properties. You will want to make sure you hire one that specializes in your type of property. Types of properties include single-family houses, condos, apartment complexes, commercial and Community association properties. Some companies manage all types of properties while other may manage single-family houses up to small apartment complexes only. Make sure to ask, as each type of property can require different skill levels and qualifications to manage.

On-site and Off-site Property Management

Most of the time, you will use one of the off-site property management companies to help you maintain the rental of your properties. The off-site management companies can help you determine reasonable rents for the area, as well as screen any potential tenants. If you own apartment buildings, then you might prefer an on-site real estate manager take care of the rental process for you. An on-site manager hired through a management companies in your local area can help you maintain your apartment buildings, and keep them occupied to their full limit.

Benefits of Using Real Estate Management Companies

The main benefit of using real estate management companies is that you can save time. Time is especially valuable if you own several properties in a different state, and cannot easily oversee those properties. These companies are found throughout the nation, and can often oversee properties that are quite some distance from your local area. Also, using management companies to monitor your properties is useful when you do not have the expertise or the desire to perform these tasks yourself. You always want to screen your applicants carefully, but without professional knowledge you may have a hard time choosing the right tenants. You know that the wrong tenants can cause a lot of problems, and you may take longer and longer periods of time to find a tenant to fill your vacancy. This is when you need real estate management companies to step in. A professional company knows what you need to look for in a tenant, and can fill your vacancies quickly.

Another Perspective

A management company can also offer their professional opinion when you are considering making a new investment. Bringing a true professional with you to inspect your potential properties can help you by giving you another, more objective and professional opinion. These companies are trained to spot any potential problems with the property, such as when a property needs intensive repairs. Also they can make sure that you are paying the right price for the properties that you are interested in. Being prepared with your own real estate management professional can help you with all your management needs.

Business Aspects

In addition to knowing which properties make the best investments, real estate management companies also know all of the laws pertaining to real estate in your state. While the law may not seem important when you are just beginning to invest in real estate, all you need is one troublesome tenant to know the law is a vital aspect of renting property. Qualified management companies are dedicated to helping you receive the cash flow you need from your properties. All of your management needs can be met by one of the real estate management companies in your area, from buying real estate to renting your properties.



By: Karen McDaniel

I do not want my computer to shut down when the power button is held for five seconds in Windows XP/Vista. I know that if I change the power management options in the control panel, that I can set the computer to Do Nothing or to prompt me when the power button is pressed. However, holding the power button down for five seconds still hard resets the computer (shuts it down) regardless of what power settings I have selected through the Control Panel/Power Options Properties. Is there any way, via a program in C++ etc to stop this from happening on my laptop where I do not have access to the BIOS? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
venereal_madness’s – What are you reasons for believe that a hard reset is not disable-able? Is it only because if that could be disabled, then there would be no other way to shut down the computer? If this is the only grounds for your answer, did you consider that you could simply remove the power source to shut down the computer (i.e. the battery in a laptop or a power cord on a desktop)? Please expand your response if you don’t mind.

I have an existing HTML website which i created in photoshop for my new real estate company. I would now like to create some tables on my website containing properties and their details in rows….these need to be edited via a content management system i believe….I have tried joomla and many others…they do not allows integration into my existing website….i need a system where i can simply define the area where the tables can be placed and the software automatically adds data into tables based on the software…..for example i need to add a semi detached property with a garden,,,,in the software i would tick semi detached and garden and write some details and upload a picture and then it would automatically publish the data onto my website in a horizontal table stacked vertically….a search feature is critical….look at some real estate websites and you will see how i want it to display…
I am using apache webserver with php integrated….and a MySQL database….I am willing to use microsoft access database if this is helpfull……………………………..THE SOFTWARE MUST BE FREE TO USE

The assets business requires the managing professionals to interact with different types of clients. The owners, buyers and tenants constitute the first type. The prospective buyers and tenants constitute the second type. The construction professionals, material suppliers, contractors, law professionals and a number of people with whom the assets managing company does business constitute the third type of clients. The professionals belonging to the last category are called contacts and the assets managing professionals need to have an efficient real estate contact management system to maintain rapport with them. Contacts are different from prospective clients. A prospective client is one with whom an assets managing firm can expect to get business. Hence the firm needs to concentrate on providing good client satisfaction. They need to keep a record of all the prospective clients and keep informing them every now and then about any exciting facilities that the firm comes up with. Maintaining their goodwill is of prime importance.

Managing relationship with the contacts requires similar efforts. The real estate contact management team needs to record their details and interact with them as and when required. The assets managing firms spend lesser amount of time and resources on the contacts in comparison to those spent with the prospects because there is no guarantee that they will be getting any business from the contacts. Contacts turn into prospects if they find that association with the assets managing firm is proving beneficial for them.

A real estate contact management team needs to interact with a lot of contacts and managing their details takes a lot of time and effort. Hence, these days the system of managing the data of the contacts is being changed from a manual one to a computerized one. There is some really good software with a lot of features available in the market. Apart from buying software for assistance in managing the contacts, the assets managing team can tap the internet resources for expert advice related to the issues involved in working with contacts.

Using a computerized system gives the real estate contact management team the freedom to operate from any location. This comes in handy in a lot of situations that they encounter everyday in their work. For example, if an assets professional wants to give some vital information to his contacts at their locations, he can access the information then and there on his laptop. He need not ask his contacts to wait for a later time. Hence, virtual systems speed up the process and hence ensure greater work efficiency and eventually deliver the maximum satisfaction to the contacts.

Using an automated system also helps the real estate contact management professionals in making their work less bulky. They are saved the trouble of maintaining countless numbers of files with the details of the contacts. Making modifications on paper is a very cumbersome task. Computerized databases have the capacity to hold the data of thousands of contacts and also perform complex operations on this data. Changing from the manual to the computerized system can be quite cumbersome and time taking. The details have to be transferred from the old systems to the new systems accurately. If the system is already computerized then the data that is compatible to the old system needs to be transferred to a new compatible system. But given the benefits of computerization, this is worth giving a try.



By: Kamyar Shah

In the wake of the sub prime fiasco that has recently gripped the USA there are now several hundred thousand homes on the market at rock bottom prices with very motivated sellers. In this unusual market a new breed of investor has emerged. There are thousands of new owner, operator landlords who are willing to take on the risk and buy cheap real estate only to rent it out. These new landlords need cheap and easy to use tools and a company called Buildium has just the solution.

These new style Property Managers and Landlords are typically younger, middle income and very aggressive. Like with any other investment, there is the danger of failure and with a roughly 33% failure rate there are no guarantee of success. There is a little know dirty secret in the Property Management business that there are more failed landlords then people realise. To avoid the pitfalls these new, young Landlords have to be extremely savvy both in choosing their rental units and selecting the tools that they use to manage them. Many first time and seasoned Property Managers are turning to a complex array of software to handle invoicing, call sheets, customer mail outs, accounting and everything else related to running a property management business. Employing this multi application system can be cumbersome and time consuming.

Buildium has developed an online application suite that handles all key business concerns of the property manager from 1 unit to 10,000 units. Buildium can handle all of your needs. Buildium is a company based in Boston. Since 2003 they been providing Property Management solutions and tools for the Property Management industry and Condominium Association market.

Buildium offers three editions:

1) Landlord Edition for landlords and owner operators
2) Property Manager Edition for professional property managers
3) Association Edition for self-managed condos and homeowners associations

All of these version are available for a free 15 day trial and include:

Property Managers Edition

1) Maintain complete accounting records for each property
2) Track tenants, association owners, charges and payments
3) Give property owners and board members online access
4) Receive maintenance requests and generate work orders
5) Accept and issue electronic payments
6) Give residents online account access
7) Give online access to your property management team
Market and fill vacancies online

Buildium Association Edition

1) Maintain your association’s financial records
2) Track association owners, charges and payments
3) Create and maintain budgets
4) Accept and issue electronic payments
5) Track association issues and to-dos
6) Keep track of maintenance and repair records
7) Participate in community forums

So, no matter what your needs Buildium will have the right tool. Buildium’s pricing scheme is tiered on the number of units that you would like to manage and you can pay by the month or by one yearly price. You save a little with the yearly price so we just chose that option.

For example 0 to 5 units cost US $9.99 per month or US$99.00 per year.
Up to 25 units cost US $19.99 per month or US$215.00 per year.
There rates go up and up 650 units at only US$174.99 per month or US$1890.00 per year!
(Over 650 they ask you to call for a special quote)
The prices are the same for either the Property Managers Edition or the Association Edition.



By: Jim Wilkson