Rental

Best Places To Advertise Apartment Rentals Free

Rental blogger

You have an apartment to rent but you’re limited when it comes to your advertising budget. Don’t worry, there are plenty of ways you can advertise apartment rentals for absolutely nothing. The first thing to consider is that there are many people out there who need an apartment. These people don’t care where the advertisement comes from. They only care that the place is affordable and it’s clean and presentable. Now you have to get that advertisement out there so someone will see it.

Craigslist.org

Craigslist is a great way to advertise an apartment. It’s completely free and you have the freedom to say whatever you want. However, when you advertise apartment rentals on craigslist, your ad is almost immediately buried under all the new ads coming in. You can set your ad apart by posting pictures and by reposting every few hours or so. Make sure your ad is different each time or else Craigslist will flag it as spam.

Free Classified Sites

There are plenty of free classified websites available, offering you the opportunity to add your apartment rental listing. You simply write your listing into the forms provided on the site and your apartment is advertised for your chosen areas.

Many free classified sites network with other sites, so your ad could potentially be shown to many more people than you expect.

Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites, like Facebook or Twitter, can be an excellent way to let people know you have an apartment for rent. You simply link your ad for your apartment rental onto your social networking site and your immediate circle of friends will be able to see it.

The benefit to this approach is that your friends also have circles of their own friends. If they know someone who is looking to rent an apartment, they’ll share your link with their own networks and the word will spread very quickly.

The Side of the Road

There’s nothing wrong with posting a sign on the side of the road, say at an intersection. Include the size of the apartment, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and the price. And don’t forget your phone number. You’d be surprised how effective this technique is at advertising apartment rentals. Do this and you’ll likely get several phone calls from interested renters.

Word of Mouth

Don’t forget word of mouth. Let everyone you know you’re trying to advertise apartment rentals. And then have them tell everyone they know. This word of mouth advertising is just as effective as posting an ad in the local newspaper, or maybe even better.

Latest Rental Apartments in South End Boston

Rental blogger

The article talks about the developments of the latest expansion project scheduled to take place in the South End Boston area itself.

According to the latest new reports, Boston South End area residents are planning to push forward a proposal regarding the multimillion-dollar redevelopment of the Boston Herald building. When interviewed by the media at a Boston Redevelopment Authority meeting about the “Ink Block” project one resident remarked that it was a fantastic idea.

With the intention of revamping the entire landscape of the area, a Newton-based developing firm plans to construct a 6.2-acre retail-and-residential project on the existing Harrison Avenue where the current building has been since the 1950s. Through the latest expansion project, the developer hopes to turn the former industrial site into four buildings that would potentially house 85,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurants and shops, 471 apartments and a parking deck. Out of the 471 apartments, more than a quarter of that number will be set aside as Apartments for Rent Boston as the firm looks to capitalize on the growing number of apartment rentals.

The development firm had originally envisioned a smaller project of some 260 apartments and 65,000 square feet of shops. However, the firm decided to increase the expansion project after residents near the area voiced their discontent and slammed the proposal for being too small rather than too big. This led to a swift response from the firm who then proposed a total of four buildings with different architectural styles and heights, hoping to give the project more of a unique “urban” look. As the project architect remarked, the entire expansion will not only revamp the area, but will also encompass the idea of constructing an urban block to brighten up the entire citys landscape.

At the end of the meeting, the response towards the project was varied. There were a myriad of opinions offered by the residents when they were interviewed by the media. Out of the three dozen residents who attended the meeting, the majority of the people who were interviewed had voiced their support for the revised plan, thinking that the idea of project is an excellent one and would no doubt serve to thrust the South End of Boston into the limelight. However, there were a few residents who opined that there should be more public sidewalks and greenery included in the project so as to give it a more accessible, South End feel. There was a minority who remarked that the project is not desirable as it does not fit what is currently situated at the area.

Tips And Tools To Avoiding Holiday Home And Vacation Rental Scams

Rental blogger

It is a rare occurrence in the world of luxury villa rentals when a guest gets scammed. But it can and does happen occasionally. Here are tools and tips to avoid these scams and cheaters who offer fake homes, take deposits and run, or other tricks used by criminals who want to steal your money and time without giving you a villa holiday in return.

Finding The Home

Is the luxury villa owner advertising the home on only one site? Or, is the home on a number of vacation rental websites where owners will typically seek publicity and marketing to increase bookings? The more places the home is being marketed, the more likely it is a legitimate rental. The number of complaints about a fraudulent rental would soon get the home deleted from multiple sites, leaving the scammer with few options to find new victims.

First, is there a private website for the vacation rental? Most scammers are “on the go” and don’t want to go through the trouble of building a good one. Some may be more technologically sophisticated, however, so it’s a good idea to follow through on your other verification steps.

Check the ownership and age of the domain name. Whois.net can provide this data, however some totally honest owners have opted for private registrations of their domains, in which case you will need to use other methods to find out more.

Web tools such as “The Way Back Machine” can help show the history of any given URL. If you are able to see the history of the property website going back several years, and see that it has only undergone normal and legitimate changes (i.e. text and descriptions but the home for rent remains the same) it’s probably a safe bet.

Check the IP address (“internet protocol”) details within the emails sent directly from the owner. Look in the email’s “header” for IP Addresses that might indicate the physical location of the sender, i.e. the header may show that the email came from Nigeria but the home is in Orlando. There are many free IP Lookup tools on the internet. While not always an exact indication, if the header reveals a location not in line with where the owner states that he/she is living/contacting you from, exercise a bit of caution.

Look for comments about the home that might have been made on the internet, either in other ads, or by guests that stayed there. However, this is not foolproof. If a property is a “fake” the criminals will certainly change the name or other details of the “property” each time they run a scam, so this method is not the most reliable. Sometimes owners innocently enough title the home by different names for different advertising and marketing purposes.

If the home was found on a property listing site, look to see in the profile if there is information about the age of the ad. Any listing site worth its salt will have suspended an ad for a home that has received multiple complaints. Look for a long track record of successful rentals. But don’t alienate newcomers if you think their home may be your perfect vacation rental. Just make a few more checks to make sure you’re comfortable. And, bear in mind that if an owner is new to luxury vacation property renting, you may be in their learning curve with regard to contracts, deposit procedures, housekeeping, and the like. Be prepared to be patient, but if the property really intrigues you, give it a go.

Make an independent verification of the owner and the property. The first step might be to actually ask the owner to provide a reference from their local Chamber of Commerce, a licensing board, tourism bureau, or their attorney or accountant. If they aren’t willing and able to provide something concrete to make you more likely to book the home, reconsider the rental. Contact the organization or person given, but try to verify their contact info through outside means.

Use Google to research the property owners’ name, phone, rental address, and email address. If this address has any record of unhappy customers or truly criminal activity, most likely someone has mentioned it in a public forum (click on Blogs or Groups when doing a Google search; don’t rely solely on normal search). Make sure the property exists by using Google to verify the location in Satellite view (if available), or other mapping techniques.

Making Initial Contact

Your first interaction with a villa owner or agent may be through email, but why not call or request a return call from them? It could be under the excuse of getting to know a little more about the villa or to ask a question. Use your chat to confirm for yourself that you are comfortable with the owner or agent that you are working with to rent the vacation home. They should be more than willing to accommodate you.

When you call, does the vacation rental owner answer the phone, return calls, or do they only respond to emails? Make sure they are are willing to communicate by telephone and don’t rush or brush you off back to emails.

Ask for references and call the references. If someone is a criminal, they can certainly set up fake references for you to call, so do not rely on this as your only verification.

If something doesn’t feel right to you, back off. Property owners and agents should be polite about answering your questions so you will be comfortable and happy renting the home. If they are rude, seem put out by your questions, or not service-oriented, think twice before sending them a deposit check, and consider choosing another property.

Booking The Home

Always work with written booking contracts for your reservation. Before committing, read through all the terms and conditions of renting the home, including payment details, extra charges and cancellation policy. If you would like something altered or amended, don’t hesitate to ask, as the owner may be quite amenable in order to get the booking.

Avoid paying by anonymous/untraceable methods like Western Union or Moneygram or Money orders. Pay the owner or the villa rental agent directly by personal check, credit card, or other method requested.

Beware of someone who claims not to have received your first deposit, and asks for another one. Consider sending your deposit via a trackable method like Federal Express or UPS.

Only pay by trackable means so you could put a trace on the funds if there is a problem later on. Ideally book the home with a credit card as it can offer a good layer of protection. Credit card companies hate chargebacks. Scammers who have a lot of chargebacks won’t be accepting credit cards for long.

Paying

Scammers will always push to be paid by cashier’s checks or money wired. When you hear this, either drop out or take more action to find out if the owner and rental are on the up-and-up.

Please note, the term “money wired” here refers to payments via Western Union or Moneygram, etc. Bank-to-Bank wires are something different and may be acceptable, but it is up to you to feel secure first with the owner and also the reputation of the banking institutions involved.

Some vacation rental owners shun credit cards as a form of payment. Personal checks are their preferred method of payment. Once again, anyone asking for money to be wired may be a red flag that the property is no good.

Go the Extra Mile for Friends, Family, and Guests

When renting a large “destination property” such as a supervilla, a yacht charter, or other luxury vacation experience where a lot of money is at stake (or even a little), pay extra attention to the details. It pays to do your research when multiple friends or family members will be taking time off from work and booking plane reservations to the home, so why not take a little extra time and money to double check on the vacation home? Invest in paying a certified local realtor or reputable real estate agent in that area a modest consulting fee just to help verify that the property and owner is “for real.”

Before you opt to hire a local realtor on your behalf (see above), first ask the owner if an appointment can be made so the home can be viewed inside and out before payment is made. If they refuse, you know you should just move on to someone else.

It is a truly rare occurrence for anyone to be scammed in the world of luxury vacation rentals, but we hope a bit of extra caution and research can result in a great vacation in a beautiful villa rental or luxury holiday home.

St Lawrence Houseboat Rentals

Rental blogger

St Lawrence houseboat rentals will offer you a vacation afloat. Be the master of your helm with houseboat rentals. Experience the mystery amidst the 1000 Islands of the St Lawrence River on your own houseboat vacation.

Explore the international waters of the St Lawrence, from Lake Ontario to upstate New York. St Lawrence houseboat rentals offer the most unique vacations ever. Its crystal clear waters offer the best scuba diving outside the Caribbean. From Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean is a 1200 mile journey. Along the way you cruise through the Thousand Islands, where there is an estimated 1800 plus islands.

Want a fishing vacation! You can on a St Lawrence houseboat. The St Lawrence is great for fishing. A wide variety of warm water fish species including muskellunge, walleye, smallmouth, largemouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, crappies, and bullheads, are at home in this seaway home. Imagine sliding along on your houseboat with your line already in the water and landing a large mouth bass or a big northern pike. You decide your catch of the day. This is way better than a few hours fishing charter to do some trophy fishing. On your rented houseboat you can fish for days or weeks and eat your catch right on the boat. Just be sure you have the right fishing licenses, depending on what country waterway you are on at the time. This can be explained when you get your houseboat rental.

St Lawrence houseboat rentals are almost like having a floating condo. Houseboats come fully equipped with every amenity imaginable, even hot tubs. Some of the better houseboat rentals are even offering gas credits to off set the rising cost of gasoline.

Houseboats are designed to either have a romantic vacation for two or large enough to take the whole family. You could be the Robinson Caruso family exploring the Thousand Islands on the St Lawrence River, swimming in the water, mooring in a hidden cove, scuba diving or just cruising and fishing.

With St Lawrence houseboat rentals, you decide your destiny. These vacations are at a premium and are hard to secure after the winter season. You need to book early to get a houseboat rental. The Thousand Islands are a single vacation alone. There is so much to see and do along the St Lawrence it is almost impossible to grasp all there is to see and do in one single vacation. Quite often the same people rent these houseboats over and over from year to year.

Ways To Keep Good Records Managing Your Rental Property

Rental blogger

When it comes to real estate property you must know how to keep good records and managing your rental property at all times. If you purchase one property, you might be able to get by with stuffing receipts and cancelled checks, but if you own multiple properties, you’ll need a better way to organize your finances or you will lost a lot of accounting.

No matter how little money you earn through rental income, you need to keep track of it for tax purposes. If you have only a handful of rental properties, you could probably track your rental income using a computer program.

If you have dozens of properties, you’ll probably be better off hiring an accountant. An accountant can not only free your time but also advise you on the best way to save on taxes and keep track of rental expenses.

Create a rent roll, listing the name of each tenant, the amount of rent paid , and the date when it was received. A rent roll enables you to track your monthly rental income.

Set up a folder for each rental apartment or house you own. In this folder, put leases, correspondence with your tenants, and a maintenance log that shows when repairs were made, how much they cost, and when they were completed.

By keeping such a setup, you can quickly track down documents as evidence in case you need to settle a dispute in court between you and a tenant.

Set up a separate checking account strictly related to your rental properties. When you receive your rental checks, deposit them in this checking account. When you pay the repair or maintenance bills related to the rental property, write a check from your rental checking account.

Now when you pay yourself, write a check to yourself from this checking account. By using a separate checking account, you can easily track the cash coming in and expenses coming out. Then you can see how much money you’re making from your rental property. A separate checking account tracks your income and expenses for tax purposes.