Once again Arizona is in the grip of Summer’s unrelenting heat, with temperatures throughout our state easily surpassing 100°F. It just wouldn’t be right to let the season pass without another article from us about swimming pools. This one, however, isn’t your normal column about pool safety or maintenance. While those are worthy and important topics (and both Scott and I have addressed them in the pages of the AMA News in the past), there is another topic that needs to be covered: reasonable accommodations and pools.

Complying with fair housing laws sounds simple – don’t discriminate and treat people equally. Despite this, a litany of fair housing complaints are made every year regarding actions that landlords may or may not have taken. This year, I have taught several seminars on fair housing, and when I begin by asking questions, participants are always very good at naming the protected classes and identifying common handicaps. However, once we get past the black letter law, and actually put the laws to practice, confusion always arises.

One of the more perplexing situations involves animals left at the rental property by tenants who are either evicted or skip out on the lease. The law is some what gray in this area, but some light has been shed on this issue by the Maricopa County Constables and the Sheriff’s Office.

Losses associated with Chinese drywall are affecting thousands of contractors, property owners and property managers, as well as their lenders worldwide. In 2009 the US Consumer Products Safety Commission received more than 3,000 reports of health symptoms from drywall produced in China. An estimated 36,000 to over 100,000 homes in 37 states may now contain the imported product. According to ARMA Network, the problem stems from Chinese drywall sulfide gas which combines with water vapor to create sulfuric acid vapor within the built environment.

Vacant rental properties can certainly be compared to a migraine headache, a pounding headache that will only be cured by one remedy- a paying tenant. Hazard insurance, mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities, break-ins, vandalism, maintenance, and landscaping are many of the costs associated with vacant rental properties. Reducing your vacancy rates to a bare minimum is extremely important, if you intend to have a successful real estate investing career.
We hope the following eight steps will help you avoid or reduce your rental property vacancies!

Successful marketing means one thing and one thing only, the consumer was compelled to take action. That will happen in one of three ways, in person, via phone or via the Internet.
What happens after an anonymous web shopper has found information compelling enough to justify connecting or simply a great call to action. Let’s look at the 3 different possible paths and explore how this could play out… The possible outcomes are exactly the same as with any other marketing strategy; in person, via phone or via the internet. (Athos, Porthos and Aramis… Uhm… Where is d’Artagnan?)

Through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), building owners and developers often receive tax credits from their state government in exchange for providing a percentage of their multi-family housing units to low-income renters. Though this decision is made while the units are still being built or rehabbed, it is up to the property manager to ensure the building stays in compliance with LIHTC requirements.

Condoleezza Rice Headlines 2011 Education Conference Speakers