"It feels so unjust. You own a property, you let it to someone on the promise of a fair rent, and they don't pay up. More often than not, you will have a mortgage to pay, and the lender expects its monthly installments. It feels like the property owner takes all the risks. Surely my insurance broker will be able to find a way to mitigate the risk of arrears with insurance."

As you are thinking about purchasing commercial real estate, it's important to know that there are things that you can do to enhance and increase the value of your investment. As such, when you search for a commercial property, look at the property's potential in addition to its historical data.

Many clients who rent out their property ask about other effective ways to properly protect themselves. Aside from having a copy of the written lease, there are some factors that they have to consider.

Property owners and managers have a right to establish reasonable rules and policies for behavior in their rental communities. Fair housing laws require owners and managers to set rules that do not target any particular “protected class” and to apply the rules equally among residents. Here are some situations to help you determine whether fair housing applies.

Residents have complained about loud noises coming from the Hansen apartment. When the landlord talks with them, they say their developmentally disabled son made the noise, so he can’t do anything about it. Is that true?

Can a person’s behavior and values really determine if they will be a future SuperStar for your property management company? If you knew the formula for hiring SuperStars and could cut your recruiting costs in half, would you start today? This article outlines three simple but critical steps for adding structure to your hiring process and raising your level of success.

Strengthening the interview process:

Commercial and residential property requires management in one form or another. A RI property management company, deals with the same issues and concerns as, for example, a Los Angeles property management. In property management RI, MD, VA or TX, many of the ordinances and legalities may vary, but the basic concerns are the same. Visit any city in the country and there will be renters with horror stories, and landlords with nightmares. The basis of most of these problems isn't the property itself, but the human element.

The Seattle City Council recently approved (7-0, Rasmussen and O'Brien disqualified) legislation to better protect renters from sub-standard rental housing conditions. The three pieces of legislation create a framework to improve sub-standard housing via administrative warrants and a rental housing licensing and inspection program as early as 2012.

According to a recent article in the Insurance Journal, more than 40 states now have enforcing privacy and security breach notification laws. Underwriters are working hard to provide the needed coverage, while also tweaking their policy forms to provide the broadest and most comprehensive program design.