Author: CCM LLC

31 Jan 2023
rental property

5 Tips to Make Your Rental Property More Appealing

rental property

Owning an investment property can be a lucrative business. But to make the most of your rental property, it’s important to make sure that your rental appears inviting and attractive to potential renters. Here are five tips from Complete Care Maintenance for making your rental more appealing so you can attract the best possible tenants, along with some next steps to help you pursue your real estate dreams.

1. Add Popular Amenities

Adding popular amenities such as in-unit washers/dryers, modern appliances, and hardwood floors will help make a rental more attractive. Installing these features can also increase the value of the property significantly.

2. Update Outdated Fixtures

Updating outdated fixtures and finishes is a great way to add value to an investment property while also increasing its appeal. This may include replacing old carpets with modern hardwood flooring or updating kitchen and bathroom cabinets and countertops. Westpark Loans explains that by making their rental more modern, landlords can attract better tenants and increase their returns on investment.

3. Deep Clean The Property

It’s important for landlords to deep clean their rentals before showing them off to potential tenants. Deep cleaning involves going beyond regular cleaning tasks such as vacuuming and dusting by sanitizing surfaces, steam cleaning carpets, and scrubbing tile grout in bathrooms and kitchens. Doing this will ensure that the rental looks spotless before prospective renters view it. Complete Care Maintenance can manage the deep cleaning of your flooring and grout so it will shine for your new tenants.

4. Install Home Security System

Installing home security systems like motion sensors, video cameras, alarm systems, window locks, etc., is a great way to both protect your investment property from break-ins and make it more appealing to potential tenants. Renters want peace of mind knowing that their home is safe from intruders or burglars; having a security system installed at the rental will give them that peace of mind they desire.

5. Upgrade your Home with Curb Appeal

Making sure that the outside of your investment property looks attractive is essential when trying to attract quality tenants. Investing in landscaping services or adding outdoor lighting can instantly make a rental look more appealing from the outside while also increasing its value significantly over time.

Secure Your Investment With An LLC Designation

At this point, you have put a lot of work into your property, which means it’s time to make an important decision: will you continue on your path to rent out the home or consider it a house flip that you will sell for a profit? Each choice has its advantages and disadvantages. Selling puts money into your pocket more immediately and, depending on the market and the cost of your upgrades, can yield a tidy profit. But renting the property will give you a steady stream of income for a longer period of time. Both are good options, so you should weigh them carefully before you proceed.

Regardless of which option you choose, you should protect your investment by choosing an LLC (Limited Liability Company ) designation for your business. This type of business entity protects personal assets from being used in case there are any legal disputes involving their investments. This type of protection shields investors from any financial losses due to lawsuits or other claims made against them.

Choose If You Want To Hire A Property Manager

If you’ve decided to continue on your rental property path, hiring a property manager may be beneficial, especially if you have – or plan to have – multiple properties. A property manager will handle all tenant inquiries, maintenance issues, rent collection, etc. for you, but for a fee. Property managers are knowledgeable about all aspects of running a successful rental business, so having one on board could help take some stress off of landlords.

Advertise Your Rental

According to Avail, advertising your rental online through sites like Zillow is one of the best ways to get qualified prospects into your unit quickly. Social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc . are also great places to advertise rentals since they have large user bases which allow landlords access to wide ranges of audiences.

In addition, print advertising via newspapers or magazines might also be useful depending on where you live. An infographic is a great way to advertise in both print and digital media. Plus, you can use free templates to design an attractive and informative visual aid to show potential tenants the upgrades you’ve made and the positives you want to highlight about the property. Just decide on your content, choose a template, make your changes, and it’s ready to share!

Prioritize Your Property’s Appeal

Making sure that your investment property looks appealing should be one of your top priorities as a landlord if you want quality tenants who pay their rent on time every month without any problems arising during the tenancy period. Make some strategic improvements and hire Complete Care Maintenance to detail your restrooms, kitchen and floors before taking pictures and showing the property. In no time, you’ll have great tenants knocking on your door to rent.

15 Nov 2021
disinfecting retail space

Ways Your Small Business Can Compete Against Big-Box Stores

disinfecting retail space

The retail world is a cutthroat industry, and business owners are constantly looking for new ways to get a leg up on their competitors. It’s hard enough competing against major brands like Amazon and Walmart. While it may seem impossible, your small business has a few significant advantages over these retail giants. Here are some tips to help you compete, presented by Complete Care Maintenance.

 

Make the Right Real Estate Decisions

 

If you operate out of a brick-and-mortar store, the location of your storefront will play a crucial role in your ability to attract customers. The perfect location for your business includes a good balance of visibility and affordability. Try not to give up one for the other! Evaluating an area for retail space is a complex process, so if you’re not sure where to start, it’s best to seek advice from a professional who’s done this before, whether you’re looking to lease, buy, or build your store.

 

Streamline Order Fulfillment

 

Big-box companies have so many customers that they can afford to lose a few to service issues and shipping delays. You can’t. Keeping your customers happy should be your top priority! You might even be able to attract some dissatisfied customers from those major retailers by offering a better shopping experience and faster order fulfillment.

 

Ensure your customers receive their orders quickly by developing an effective order fulfillment system. Your fulfillment strategy should include the use of collaborative tools to stay in touch with your suppliers and a good inventory management system to ensure you have the right products when and where you need them.

 

Streamline Payroll

 

Payroll is another major operational task that must be taken early on. It’s one of the most time-consuming items to check off on a frequent basis. A smart move is to automate with time tracking software, which allows for employees to check their schedules and clock in and out with a click. This software may also allow you to create, change and approve scheduling and track employee times from your smartphone, laptop or desktop. Last but not least, payroll software can help you file your payroll taxes, which is something all business owners need to pay close attention to (if you’re new to the world of payroll and payroll taxes, Zenbusiness offers a comprehensive guide for new business owners).

 

Delegate to Free Up Time

 

There’s only so much time in the day, and as a small business owner, you have to make the most of it. As Crowdspring points out, delegating mundane and specialty tasks to freelancers is a great way to free up time so you can work on bigger projects — including those that will help you compete against big brands. You can hire freelancers or agencies to handle all kinds of tasks, from data entry to bookkeeping to administrative tasks. For example, you can find virtual receptionist agencies through online job boards and vet candidates based on their experience and qualifications and how much they charge.

 

Boost Your Online Presence

 

The online visibility of your business is just as important as the location of your brick-and-mortar store. If customers can’t find your business online, there’s a good chance they’ll buy from one of your bigger competitors instead. Work on boosting your web presence so your company appears at the top of local search results. Most importantly, make sure your customers can find the information they’re looking for online, including your store hours, product availability, location, and contact information.

 

Include attractive images on your site that tell a story about what your business is about. Use an online remove background tool that allows you to place your images into a completely new design or environment.

 

Look Professional and Provide Great Service

 

Major retailers fall victim to common customer service issues that cost them many customers every day. For example, big companies often take too long to respond to customers, offer cookie-cutter answers to inquiries, or transfer customers from rep to rep without providing a clear solution to their issues. Due to your smaller size, you can spend more time catering to your customers’ needs, offering a stellar customer service approach that goes above and beyond that of your competitors. Research cited by Help Scout shows that the number one reason customers switch brands is feeling underappreciated.

 

Of course, customer service also extends to the way your business looks to the public. If your business is dirty or disorganized, customers won’t walk away feeling very good about your products or services. To ensure your business stays clean, work with a commercial cleaning company like Complete Care Maintenance that can keep you looking professional.

 

Small business owners often feel like their growth is limited by the presence of big box stores and e-commerce giants, but this is far from true. There are several ways to thrive as a small business owner, even if those major brands seem to be getting bigger every day. Take advantage of your small business strengths — as well as the digital tools and services available to you — and you’ll have more than a fighting chance!

08 Nov 2021
Property management cleaning

5 Tips for Tracking Rental Property Expenses

If you own and oversee multiple investment properties, you are responsible for managing several income streams and allocating funds for various necessities. For instance, you might pay for cleaning services from Complete Care Maintenance, hire a handyman to handle repairs, and cover the costs to install new appliances. Failing to track your expenses properly can result in financial hardship down the road. Here’s how to stay on top of your investment property expenses to make the right financial decisions for your business.

 

Form an LLC

 

Forming a limited liability company for your rental property business will make it easier to manage your finances. Plus, this business structure will grant you all kinds of benefits. For instance, you can protect your personal assets from litigation with this status. In order to file for an LLC in New Jersey, you can work with a lawyer, but this requires considerable fees. Instead, you can file through an affordable online formation service in order to save money.

 

Expenses to Track

 

Which expenses should you be tracking? Naturally, you’ll need to keep track of expenditures for maintenance, repairs, landscaping, and property management cleaning services. Regular maintenance and cleaning will keep your tenants happy! You will also need to record fixed costs, such as your mortgage, property taxes, and any insurance policies you have taken out on the property. Finally, if you pay for web hosting for your rental business or pay to place online ads for your properties, don’t forget to include figures for these costs. In real estate, even minor expenses can add up over time.

 

Helpful Software

 

You don’t need to track your expenses by jotting notes down with pen and paper. Instead, you can use different software programs to automatically record your income and expenses. For instance, you can purchase comprehensive property management software. Rentrax suggests looking for property management software that offers features like profit and expense tracking, document management support, tenant screenings, and maintenance scheduling. In addition, bookkeeping software that includes an invoicing function makes it easier to pay your contractors and prepare tax statements.

 

Financial Documents

 

Ideally, you’ll be able to find a software program that allows you to automatically create various financial statements. This can be very useful when it’s time to report your income and pay your taxes. Bigger Pockets recommends creating documents like rental owner statements, income expense reports, cash flow statements, and balance sheets.

 

Creating clear financial documents will help you determine how much money you’re actually making off of your investment properties. You’ll be able to see areas where you should reduce costs, and you can also figure out whether or not you have the funds available to renovate your current properties in order to increase rent or even invest in additional properties.

 

Paying Taxes

 

Filing your taxes on your own can be complicated. While it might be tempting to use software that allows you to file taxes by yourself, you might have complex questions that only a specialist will be able to answer. Therefore, it’s a good idea to work with an accountant who specializes in real estate businesses. You’ll enjoy peace of mind knowing that you’re working with an industry expert. You will need to report all of the income you received from your investment properties, and you may also be able to deduct certain expenses.

 

Real estate income from investment properties is anything but passive! In order to maximize the return on your investment, you need to be financially savvy. With these tips, you’ll be able to track every penny of your expenses so that you can budget accurately and maintain a sustainable source of income for years to come.

 

Need a cleaning service for your commercial or residential properties? Complete Care Maintenance can get the job done! Call us today at 609-275-8227 to book our services.

 

Photo via Pexels

 

04 Jun 2020
green cleaning

Going green and clean: Top eco-friendly commercial kitchen and office cleaning tips

Office and Commercial kitchen and cafeteria cleaning don’t need to be back-breaking, noxious-smelling activities to be feared. In this article, we’ll give you some advice on office cleaners, commercial green cleaning products, and go through some ways to save the environment at work.

disinfecting

We’ll look at:

  • Traditional office and kitchen cleaning supplies
  • Eco-friendly cleaning products
  • The power of steam cleaning
  • The pros and cons of the DIY eco cleaner
  • Deep kitchen cleaning checklist
  • Office cleaning tips
  • Other ways to go eco-friendly in the office

 

Read on to discover how to go green and join other eco-friendly businesses that are helping save the environment.

 

Keeping your kitchen and office clean and tidy is a basic business health and safety requirement. It’s necessary to help keep your employees and customers happy and healthy. There are expert teams out there who specialise in professional kitchen cleaning and office cleaning so you can be confident you’re meeting all the guidelines. But if you’re looking for ways to be green about your cleaning, it may be a good idea to talk to them about the chemicals and equipment they’re using in your workplace.

 

Traditional office and kitchen cleaning supplies

While effective and excellent at killing germs and viruses, a lot of the harsh chemicals used to clean professional workspaces are bad for the environment. Some even contain phosphates, which can be harmful to aquatic life. Others use hydrocarbons and compressed gas, which is terrible for air pollution and global warming. And that’s not even taking into account the single-use plastic and packaging that a lot of these come in.

 

Having a conversation with your kitchen and office cleaners about sourcing more environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies and methods is a simple way you can go green and clean.

 

Eco-friendly cleaning products

People can be sceptical about sanitising offices and cleaning kitchens with green products, but they’re just as effective at removing dirt, grime and bacteria. Swapping to eco cleaners is the first (and easiest) step you can take in your ‘how to be greener’ journey. And what’s great is that there are loads of products out there that fit the bill, such as degreasers, surface cleansers, and even washroom supplies.

 

Using more products like these is responsible, effective and good for the environment.

 

The power of steam cleaning

When it comes to kitchen cleaning and sanitizing, there are so many extra spaces you have to consider. Ceilings can become caked in grease, kitchen ducting can harbour dust, and grates, drains, and sinks can start to smell so much sooner thanks to the fat and food waste siphoned away.

 

There’s a lot of potential for bacteria in a kitchen, so regular deep cleans are necessary to help avoid customer illness and keep your business compliant with all regulations. But these deep cleans don’t need to be full of harsh chemicals and commercial green cleaning products – Steam cleaning is one of the best ways to be green and clean.

 

Steam Cleaners can reach temperatures between 66-149° C, so they’re certainly hot enough to kill germs, melt grease and remove a multitude of stains with zero scrubbing. And there’s not a chemical or cleaning agent in sight. You can steam clean your floors, surfaces, and appliances. They’re ideal for those out-of-reach places too. Just be careful not to use them on anything porous or prone to heat damage.

 

The pros and cons of the DIY eco cleaner

In your eco-friendly cleaner research, you’re sure to come across some do-it-yourself cleaning solution recipes. Vinegar sprays, lemon juice, bicarbonate of soda solutions – they’re all well-known for their home-cleaning prowess, but are they suitable for use in commercial kitchens and offices?

 

They’re certainly effective, but having overwhelming vinegar and lemony smells in a kitchen could be confusing for cooks. You need to take into account the time some of these take to work. Some bicarbonate of soda oven-cleaning hacks need overnight soaking to break down stains.

 

Using pantry staples may seem like a low-cost, eco-friendly option for cleaning your kitchen and office, but you’ve got to consider the time spent, any leftover scents, and overall effectiveness. Professionally-produced cleaning products are thoroughly checked for their efficiency – can you say the same for your homemade vinegar/bicarb solution?

 

Deep kitchen cleaning checklist

To help you stay on top of it and to keep those germs at bay – here’s a kitchen cleaning to-do list of things to consider and areas you shouldn’t forget:

  • Think about introducing rubber mats to trap dirt and runaway food – Brush and clean these daily
  • Sweep and mop the floors with eco cleaners, degreasers and disinfectants
  • Clean high-traffic touchpoints like door handles, switches, etc. daily
  • Don’t forget hard-to-reach and inaccessible areas such as ceilings, lighting, shelving, etc.
  • Keeping all your appliances clean will improve efficiency – don’t forget to scrub those seals and shelves
  • Clean the kitchen vents and kitchen ducting regularly.
  • Give the rubbish and recycling bins a clean to reduce smells

 

Office cleaning tips

Offices aren’t as high-maintenance as a commercial kitchen, but there are areas which need special attention as well:

  • Introducing rubber kitchen mats or rugs will trap dirt and spills – you can buy machine-washable ones for ease of use
  • Clean high traffic touchpoints like door handles, switches and desks daily
  • Vacuum regularly and thoroughly clean carpets at least once per year – consider a steam carpet cleaner as a green alternative
  • Keep the fridge and other communal appliances clean to improve efficiency and longevity
  • Clean the inside and outside of the bins to reduce unwelcome smells
  • Encourage staff to keep with workspaces clean. This includes keyboards, monitors, and other equipment.

 

Other ways to go eco-friendly in the office

As well as making your cleaning greener, there are other ways to help the environment at work. For example, adding some plants and greenery to office spaces – they’re great for increasing oxygen levels and they create a welcoming atmosphere. To reduce the use of energy and encourage natural light, keep your windows clean both inside and out. And you could get some recycling bins and only choose reusable cups and plates.

 

Banishing paper towels is another great option – microfibre towels are super absorbent and you can get loads of different kinds of low-energy hand-dryers these days. You should also consider smarter dispensers and sensor taps – they’re much more hygienic and reduce water consumption too.

 

There are so many different ways you can help the environment and keep your commercial kitchens and offices clean, all you need to do is take that first step.

15 Jul 2019
property management cleaning

What You Should Look for When Evaluating Property Management Cleaning Services

Finding the right cleaning service for your property management firm can seem overwhelming. There are a lot of different companies competing for your business. But, you can’t afford to do business with someone who is unreliable or inexperienced.

When you are evaluating your options, you need to consider the reputation of the cleaning service, what types of services they offer, and you need to know how they hire their employees. (more…)