First Rate Property Management Blog

Property Management Insurances

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

Idaho is often criticized (or lauded) as being the "Wild Wild West." We have fewer laws and requirements than most states. With fewer barriers to business, such as property management, we see greater competition. Greater competition puts an emphasis on quality and price...

Read More

Legislation, Lead Based Paint, and Vacancy

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

Our vacancy dropped a tad bit to 2.56%. Below is a graph that we will publish every so often so that you can see the trends. As I stated before, February was a great month for us. We leased a lot of properties up. Our system creates a report of all properties on notice and vacant...

Read More

More on Legislation and Lead Base Paint

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

First Rate Property Management becomes a Certified Lead Based Paint RenovatorLead based paint was banned from residential use in 1978 due to the known health issues it can cause, especially to children under the age of 6 years old. A new law was passed by the EPA and will take ef...

Read More

How Credit Scores Are Calculated

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

I receive updates from about five different lenders. Some of these are daily updates, while others are weekly, and they almost always include current rate information. But sometimes they include other information that I like to pass on. Below is a link to an update from Eric...

Read More

NARPM Travels

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

Last week I was in Concord California attending a property management training conference. I learned a lot of things, but the advantages and uses of social media was the most intriguing. So, I’ll be studying it and if it can benefit us in renting up properties and communica...

Read More

Don't Complain or Else

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

A Florida Property Manager posted the article below (Huffington Post) about an Apartment complex that required tenants to sign a "Social Media Addendum."Florida Apartment Complex Threatens Tenants With $10,000 Fine For Bad Reviews OnlineThey might be the landlords from ...

Read More

Summer Is Here!

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

Tenant Turnover to IncreaseIn the past, I have described the seasonal cycle that we tend to see in the rental market. Typically the slowest month is December and January. Things then pick up each month from February thru May, with an explosion in June and July. Then in August it ...

Read More

WSJ: New Housing Headwind Looms as Fewer Renters Can Afford to Own

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

First Rate Property Management has been agreeing that the demand to rent has increased over the past few years. Contrary to the attached WSJ article, we've been saying that we're seeing people who have the funds for a down payment, and the income to buy a home, choosing t...

Read More

Where Did They All Come From?

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

Below is a link to a recent Idaho Statesman article titled, "Living and working in Idaho: Where did you come from, where did you go?" I don't have a lot to comment as I think the graphic I chose to post on this blog says a lot. However, there is some interesting inf...

Read More

17 Things Only Someone Who's Been to Idaho Will Understand

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

The below was forwarded to me and I thought it was neat and would be of interest to everyone.Source: Matador Network by Hailey Hirst May 15, 2015 1. Idaho is more than just potatoes.Idaho's combined public lands total 12 million acres, including 2.4 million wilderness acres a...

Read More