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Real Estate Resources
Welcome to the AAOA Forum, where we discuss the the topics our members want to hear and want to talk about. We like to take an active roll in the online community to help our members learn and help educate landlords new and old. We encourage you to participate and join in our discussions. Thanks.
16 Cheap, Easy Ways to Save
by Jeff Adie
High heating, cooling, and water bills are not going away.
With this list of 16 cheap, easy-to-install upgrades, you owe it to yourself, and your tenants, to find a few that will work to lower your costs.
We are not talking major projects in this blog– just 16 low-cost improvements that you can easily accomplish that will help save our resources.
So, no more excuses! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 05.21.2009. 1 Comment »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Going Green
The Water Billing Nightmare
Rent it Right
by Janet Portman, Inman News
Q: I’ve lived in a 40-unit apartment building for the last five years. Until now, I have paid for water, as required by my lease, based on a submetered water system.
Recently, the landlord said the meters are broken and she has decided not to fix them, claiming that they are inaccessible. She is now billing us on an allocation system, based on square footage and number of people in the apartment. My water bill has doubled!
Can they bill us for water this way or are they required to use meters? –Leslie P.
A: Shifting the cost of water to tenants is becoming increasingly popular with landlords. Doing so reduces their costs of doing business, and though they could build in the cost of water when setting the rent, many hesitate to do so for fear that they will end up with a higher-than-market rent. Some will argue that when tenants pay for their specific usage, they tend to conserve more, which is important in drought-plagued parts of the country.
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 05.14.2009. 1 Comment »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Going Green
Landlord Quick Tip
Quick Tip #3: Stop Flushing Money Down the Drain
If you have older toilets in your home or rental property, say pre-1994, you are probably spending far more money on water than you need to.
Toilet flushing accounts for about 40% of household water costs, and with rates going up, this is a must-fix item.
Installing new energy efficient toilets is one way to eliminate the problem. But if new toilets are not in your immediate future, there are a few easy alternatives that will lower your water usage and costs:
Toilet Tummy. Invest $5.00 in one of the many products designed to make old toilets more efficient, like the Toilet Tummy, a water bottle especially shaped to hang in the tank of your toilet. The water displacement will cause your toilets to waste less.
Adjust the levels. The water level for many toilet tanks is adjustable. Click here to see how.
The old water jug in the tank trick. Fill a half gallon plastic jug with water, and place it in the tank. Before you go through the trouble, check to make sure there is room in the tank for the jug.
With any of these methods, test the toilet to make sure there is still enough pressure to flush the bowl. If the tenant has to flush multiple times, you haven’t saved anything!
For more information and a step-by-step guide to each of these techniques, visit the handyman at Dover Projects.
Unexpectedly high water bills? See what happened to one homeowner, just for fun.
See last week’s Landlord Quick Tip.
Let us know what you think by commenting below. For questions about our blog, contact our editor at kim@joinaaoa.org.
American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts for landlords on products and services related to your rental investment, including real estate forms, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.
To subscribe to our blog, click here.
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 05.04.2009. 1 Comment »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Going Green
Don`t Miss These Valuable Energy Tax Credits
In an effort to reward homeowners for energy efficient upgrades to their homes, the recent Stimulus Bills included some very valuable additional tax credits!Water Heater, Boiler, or A/C new Installations
A tankless water heater installation with a 90% + efficiency gets you a 30% federal tax credit up to $1,500.00. This may also qualify for a gas utility rebate of $300.00. Total job deduction $1,800.00.
Newly Installed Energy Efficient Certified Windows & Doors
Qualifying Windows and Doors purchased between February 17, 2009 and December 31, 2010 are eligible for a tax credit equal to 30 percent of the product cost up to a maximum credit of $1,500.
…I myself took advantage of this one and received a certified letter from the Window and Door company that I can submit to my accountant at tax time, and bingo! … $1,500 cash savings right back in my wallet!
These installations must be “placed in service” from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010, and must be for taxpayer’s principal residence, but if you were ever considering upgrading your home’s utilities or windows and doors for better Energy Efficiency, NOW is the time to do it, as you will get a portion of your cost paid for you in these specified cases.
Sheldon Neal is a Realtor(R) with RE/MAX REAL ESTATE LTD, serving buyers and sellers in Bergen County, NJ. You can contact Sheldon for more info on these tax credits, or any other real estate questions at 201-481-2891, or email at SheldonNeal@remax.net.
American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts for landlords on products and services related to your rental investment, including real estate forms, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.
To subscribe to our blog, click here.
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 04.30.2009. 1 Comment »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Going Green
It`s Fix a Leak Week: Are You Doing Your Part?
Did you know that an American home can waste, on average, 11,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets, and other household leaks?Nationwide, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year.
Common types of leaks found in the home are leaking toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves.
To check for leaks in your home and rental property, first, determine whether you’re wasting water, and then identify the source of the leak:
Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you probably have a leak.
Identify toilet leaks by placing a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If any color shows up in the bowl before you flush, you have a leak. (Be sure to flush immediately after the experiment to avoid staining the tank.)
Examine faucet gaskets and pipe fittings for any water on the outside of the pipe to check for surface leaks.
on how to make additional repairs.Check out our Green Pages for information on money saving tips that help the environment. Once there, click on the Green Forum.
American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts for landlords on products and services related to your commercial housing investment, including real estate forms, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.
To subscribe to our blog, click here.
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 03.16.2009. CLICK to Leave a Comment »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Going Green
Three Years After Katrina, Brad Pitt Still Rallies in New Orleans
by Louisa May 
Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation is more than a catalyst for New Orleans’ neighborhood redevelopment. It’s a successful example of one individual’s determination to be responsible. Responsibility is defined as “ability to respond to the highest capacity.”
The Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005. Creating the MIR Foundation was Brad Pitt’s response to a community fearful that its neighborhood might not make a come back. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 02.02.2009. CLICK to Leave a Comment »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Going Green
Greening the White House-It`s Not Just About the Light Bulbs. It`s About Jobs
by Louisa May
Part of President Obama’s new job, according to media reports, is to make sure his new home is energy-efficient and environmentally correct. The White House has smart lawn sprinklers and energy efficient lighting, low-flush toilets and fuel- efficient minivans.
This sets a good example, but a lot of people I’ve talked to, even in middle class America, say they can’t afford to care. They’re out of work or afraid they will be.
When my sister, Diane, started her Lifestyles column in the Chicago Sun-Times with, “I’ve always thought going green was for rich people,” I was surprised. But the point of the article was that we can all do something.
She told her readers how she started by picking up the flimsy, little plastic bags that always seemed to be waving to her between the wires of a chain link fence or drifting ghostlike down the alley behind her house.
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 01.19.2009. CLICK to Leave a Comment »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Going Green
Federal Tax Credits Extended
This bill extended tax credits for energy efficient home improvements, including: - windows
- doors
- roofs
- insulation
- HVAC
- non-solar water heaters
American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services related to your commercial housing investment including REAL ESTATE FORMS, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.
To subscribe to our blog, click here.
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 01.15.2009. CLICK to Leave a Comment »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Going Green
Is An Energy Efficient Mortgage Right For You?
by Louisa May 
At first glance, an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) sounds great.
This loan is based on the premise that a home owner will be paying out less money on utility bills in an energy efficient home. The money saved on utilities is considered income, and this “income” qualifies said home owner for a bigger loan. Basically, the home’s energy efficiency is figured into the number crunching of the mortgage itself. The trouble is, this is a home owner’s “virtual” savings.
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 01.15.2009. CLICK to Leave a Comment »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing, Going Green
Five Ways to Cut Heating Costs
by Paul Bianchina
If you’re thinking it’s time to do something about your cold house and your high heating bills, here are five win-win suggestions that will help you do both.
1. REPLACE YOUR FURNACE FILTER
A clogged filter makes your furnace work harder to deliver the same amount of heat, which wastes energy by keeping the furnace on for a longer period in order to bring the house up to the requested temperature.
If you have a central heating system (used for heat only), replace the filter once a year, at the start of the heating season. If you have a heat pump or a furnace with central air conditioning, replace it twice a year, at the start of the heating season and at the start of the cooling season. While replacing the filter, always use a shop vacuum to clean up as much dust and debris within the filter cavity as you can reach.
Posted by Kim Ezzell on 01.08.2009. 2 Comments »
Filed under: AAOA Forum, Going Green