We had a great staff Holiday Party at our office in Greenville! (See pictures below) We have a contest each year to see who can wear the most outlandish Chirstmas hat or socks etc.. This year a couple of people went a bit off script (See pictures of the grinch below) Its a crazy, busy time! The New Year is upon us and we are ready for great things! Thank you for your business this past year we appreciate all of you so much!

Our staff, vendors and clients are giving back this time of year with their time and funds! The last 2 years we have partnered with Seacoast Church and Miracle Hill to fill up “Journey Bags” for kids in the foster system! (See pictures below) This is a backpack that has essentials and fun items for the kids as they travel the hard road through the system. This year 130 bags are going out to those in need! Awesome!

We hope that you had a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

Be kind to those in need through the charities we support. (From the HTSI Credo)

To your success!

Thank you for your business and your referrals! Call us today about renting or selling your property!
Robert

These days everything seems to be a moving target!  This holds true for navigating “The Covid and Evictions”.   Almost daily clients ask me how the presence of Covid 19 or in this case Covid 21 is affecting their rental investments.  Fortunately we continue to move forward with both “in person” showings (using Covid protocols) and evictions if needed.  The courts have opened up and are operating either on Zoom or in person.  And appear to be doing business as usual.  This is a positive sign that we are getting back to some semblance of order in this area.

The CDC’s Eviction Ban is no longer in place due to a case brought before the Supreme Court.  However, there are still areas of the country where local bans are in place but fortunately not in South Carolina.  And for those customers that are suffering through this horrible disease there is rental assistance available through various agencies in the area, see this link- https://www.schousing.com/Home/Resources-for-Renters.

We hope and pray that all of your tenant/customers pay and stay!  And that all stay safe as we all live in this new reality.  Please feel free to reach out to us if you need help acquiring more rental properties and or taking care of the ones you already have!

***NOTE*** – This year we are giving back for Christmas and helping Seacoast Church gather items for “Journey Bags” for children arriving into the foster care system! The intent is to help a child be able to have dignity in carrying their belongings with a backpack (instead of a trash bag) and provide them with items that they can use to make their journey a little easier.  If you are interested in helping us with this email us at; property.htsi@gmail.com or call our office at 864-395-6538!  Thank you in advance for your participation!

To your success!

Thank you for your business and your referrals! Call us today about renting or selling your property!
Robert

Recently one of our clients suffered a fire in one of their rental houses. As a landlord myself I have also been through this and it’s tough. You lose the rental income, the use of your house and sometimes you have to return the customers deposit and put them up somewhere else until they can find suitable housing. It’s a mess!  It takes up a lot of time and energy to deal with:

• The tenant/customer, is everybody OK? Where do they go and what do they do?
• The fire department (make sure you get the complete fire report from the fire chief).
• The insurance company – the claim, the deductible $, the time, the details and the rehabilitation of the unit.  *Note you should be on a high deductible if you can afford it.

 
Remember your “claim record” is a bit like your “driving record” so if it’s a small claim you may want to think twice before making it. And using just any insurance company and any value can get you in trouble! So be prepared! Use a reputable insurance company that will pay their claims. If you are ready to quit reading by now because this is a boring subject just remember:

• Have a good agent that you can call! (See below)
• How much is your dwelling coverage (replacement costs)**? With values and construction costs going up quickly do you have enough coverage?
• Loss of rents? Fair Rental Value?
• Landlord Liability, 300K? More?

 
*Note these are only a few things that you need to be looking for in a Landlord Insurance Policy OR a Owner Occupant Policy. Disclaimer, I am not an insurance specialist. and I didn’t even sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night! 🙂 But if you want to be sure you are properly insured check in with your insurance agent today!
 
Two of our preferred insurance vendors are:
Stephen Piper – Piper Insurance – stephen@piperinsurancegroup.com  – 864-564-1654
Vic Morgano – Morgano Insurance – vic@morganoagency.com – 864-609-5285
 
PS – Make sure your tenant/customers are carrying renters insurance. This will help if something happens to their belongings. It’s good for them and good for you!
If you need help navigating this topic or any others that home ownership requires, please give us a call!  864-395-6538

To your success!
Thank you for your business! Call us today about renting or selling your property!
Robert

Recently I had several people ask; Do you think people will wait until after the New Year to move? Should we wait and see what happens with the new regime in Washington? – Hmm…I really think we give these things waaay too much credit. Not that elections are not important, they are. But most people are not going to put their lives on hold just because a change in government is coming up….. It’s always a good day to move if your life requires it!
The same applies to the question; should I wait until after the Holidays to put my house for sale or rent?  People who are renting or buying still want to move for many reasons! Reasons include; job transfers, change in marital status, school changes, cost of living increases, military etc.. And in 2020 a litany of other reasons.  Even the politicians are moving this time of year, good or bad, happy or sad!  So sell/buy or rent now!  Don’t wait.  The more time you have on the market and in the marketplace the better.
People move all of the time. And in our experience we have seen them move Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve you name it. They have more time off, their workplace might be slow or even closed for the Holidays. So moving is a year round sport!  If your property smells good, feels good, everything works, in good shape and it is fairly priced it will move!     Thank you all for your business, your referrals and your friendship this year! Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  

Houses & Then Some Rentals & Realty

**Note** Thank you to all of those who participated in our drive to provide backpacks for foster home children! We were able to assemble 42 back packs for children ages 2 to 6!  With items like; toothbrushes, combs, toothpaste, toys and blankets!  Thank you HTSI staff, clients and friends! Blessings to all of you for your generosity!
To your success!

Thank you for your business!
Robert

As a young man I first heard this saying from a used car salesman! I was a little confused as to what it meant at the time. But it sounded like something I “should” know.. He explained it to me this way; He would rather make $500 every day on a negotiated sale, than $1000 on a sale once a week and be proud that he stuck to his price!  As I look back he was really talking about cash flow!  So how does that fit into rental real estate? Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and the Cash Flow Quadrant) said that the investor is looking for a place that his/her money can work in a profitable way!  So is your vacant property (your money) working to create cash flow or are you stuck on a rental rate that you believe in?   If so, You are costing yourself money!  Your property is sitting vacant waiting on the tenant/customer, that is willing to pay what you think it is worth, rather than what the market will bear.  Remember prospective tenants are consumers!  Most know value and like you, are looking to make the best purchase for their money.  

If you are looking for a rental rate analysis and consistent multi-media marketing plus a proven placement system, give us a call!  We would like to earn your business.

Our services include; Multi Media Marketing, Tenant Screening, Agent Assisted Showings, Rent Collection, 24 Hr. Maintenance Monitoring, Property and Project Management, Eviction Services, Financial Reporting, Free Lease Renewal, Six Month Lease Guarantee, Realty Listing Services and Buyer Agent Representation.


Houses & Then Some Rentals & Realty

***NOTE*** – This year we are giving back for Christmas and helping Seacoast Church gather items for “Journey Bags” for children arriving into the foster care system! The intent is to help a child be able to have dignity in carrying their belongings with a back pack (instead of a trash bag) and provide then with items that they can use to make their journey a little easier.  If you are interested in helping us with this email us at; property.htsi@gmail.com or call our office at 864-395-6538!  Thank you in advance for your participation!
To your success!

Thank you for your business!
Robert

Where is the Upstate Real Estate market going?

At least once a day someone ask where do you think this real estate market is going?  First off, we live in a blessed part of the country!  Greenville and the surrounding areas have been experiencing a real estate boom for several years and predictions are that housing values will go up (year over year) another 10% ! That’s good news!
However if you are a real estate investor investing in single family, small multi-family there are some headwinds;
1. High material costs and an uncertain supply availability
2. Contractor and labor volatility
3. Inflation issues – Fed spending etc.
4. Eviction moratorium and rental issues
5. Foreclosures on hold

We can look at all of these and point to the ever present Covid as the cause. We are all living with it, and trying daily to dodge it. But here is the good news, you can do something about it. (Compare list below to the list above)
1. Work with your subs and source different materials if needed. Some Old School methods may apply here like reusing wood and repurposing other used items!

2. If you are flipping right now and have existing relationships with contractors push through the challenges and become more involved than ever before. Keep those relationships strong!

3. Inflation can be good for holding an asset like rental real estate long term! Things cost more but your rental rates could go up to cover some or all of these additional costs.

4. Eviction issues are sticky right now but the good news is most renters are paying their rent. Our client portfolios have been holding at a 1.5% default rate for the last few months. And nationwide the default rates even in states like New York are in the 7 to 12% range.

5. Banks were the cause of the last downturn so as long as the banks continue to use stimulus money and other methods to ensure their balance sheets stay solvent we should be good.   However the proverbial can, cannot be kicked too far down the road on both eviction and foreclosure delays before we begin to have larger issues.

So if the market is still going up it’s a good time to invest!  Money is still cheap!  Find the opportunity and the “deal” where and when you can! Strike while the iron is hot!  “One person’s headache is another’s fortune”.  Make sure YOU keep one eye open to the issues above but don’t let them get you down!
(Disclaimer, I am not a financial advisor and I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night!)
To your success!
Thank you for your business! Call us today about renting or selling your property!
Robert