First Rate Property Management Blog

Why So Quiet

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

Why so quietI am behind in my blog entrees. Long time clients let us use their condo in Maui and I did very little work while we were there, so I have been working hard to catch up. I learned that people love videos and that these videos help get your blog passed on and read. So ...

Read More

Who Is to Govern Property Managers

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

Four or five years ago, when the Idaho Real Estate Commission (IREC) came to Tony Drost, President of First Rate Property Management, looking for support in licensing of property managers, Tony was all for it and offered any assistance that he could provide. But based on a recent...

Read More

Secret of Our Success

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

FRPM tracks a number of metrics to evaluate our processes and services. Although a number of our metrics measure our business, most measure FRPM's performance for our property owners and tenants. I thought I would share some that I hope you find not only interesting, but also...

Read More

Meeting the Investor's Needs

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

Meeting the Investor's NeedsI’ve been doing property management since 1990. Since then, First Rate Property Management has been fired by 5 property owners. From what I understand, that is extremely rare. Well, last week, I spoke and taught a property management workshop...

Read More

Inherited Tenants

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

When taking over management of occupied units, a property manager is taking on the current rental agreement that the tenants contracted with either a previous owner or property manager. Each rental agreement can be unique with regard to fees, policies and individual clauses, whic...

Read More

Boise Vacancy in a Different View

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

Boise Vacancy in a Different View: I frequently post our company's vacancy rate. For 2011, we are looking at reporting it by category similar to what I have below. I would like to add rents and perhaps by area as well.Type of Property:Vacancy Rate:Single Family Homes0%Three B...

Read More

Coordinating Maintenance Contractors

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

A big part of property management is coordinating maintenance and repairs. Some management companies have in-house maintenance while others, like FRPM, use independent contractors. As a Certified Maintenance Coordinator, I am taught to understand the differences and to have polic...

Read More

The Progression of Tenant Screening

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

The Progression of Tenant ScreeningWhen I first started property management, all I did was run a credit report and check references. Then after a few criminal-related issues, we started searching the local court records to screen out criminals. Well, after a known arsonist burned...

Read More

How Are Rents Determined?

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

How are rents determined?Below is a link to an article talking about sophisticated software that landlords can use to somewhat forecast vacancy and rents so that rents and lease terms can be determined that day to maximize profits. This software is created by Real Page, who owns ...

Read More

Continuous Service Agreements

Blog Post

By Melissa S. Sunday, January 1, 2017

First Rate Property Management (First Rate) takes a lot of pride in managing investment properties and maintaining the high standards that we have set forth within our company. One tool and method that we employ to accomplish these goals and to maximize our client's investmen...

Read More