Why I Also Wanted to Be a Licensed Home Inspector
Reading Time: 2 minutesBecoming a licensed home inspector means putting in the hours to get certified. But even if it means more work, I also get to be more qualified as a property manager. Today, I’m sharing with you why I also got a home inspector certification. Becoming a Licensed Home Inspector A home…
A Way to Improve Your Property for Free!
Reading Time: 2 minutes Having to improve your property doesn’t always mean additional cost! Luckily, we at Green Ocean Property Management can avail of some free stuff for our landlords and tenants, just like these smart thermostats. State Initiatives on Energy Efficiency Massachusetts has been a consistent frontrunner in the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s…
Why We Need Space Heaters
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winter in Boston can be very brutal. And even if your heating systems are in place, it may not be warm enough for all your residents. Good thing we have these space heaters to keep your units warm even when it’s is freezing cold outside. When Heat Is Not Working Boston…
Legal Fees When Moving In
Reading Time: 2 minutes Landlords and property managers should abide by local landlord-tenant laws to ensure nothing is overcharged. Learn more as we explain the legal fees you can collect from tenants when they are moving in. State laws on move-in fees State laws on move-in fees vary. Some states have no limit on the amount…
How We Deal With Fallen Trees
Reading Time: 2 minutes Fallen trees are a hazard and should be dealt with the soonest as possible. In this article, we explain how we act quickly and thoroughly on fallen trees before they cause further damage to your property. Fallen Trees in Massachusetts It is very, very dangerous to be around fallen trees in Massachusetts. We…
Dealing With Security Deposit Deductions
Reading Time: 4 minutes We have handled more security deposit deductions than we can count. In today’s article, we explain how we sorted it out with one of our residents. Move-out Inspections and Security Deposit Deductions At the end of every single lease term, a tenant will move out. It is then our job to do a…
Acquire, Renovate, and On-Ramp your Property With Us!
Reading Time: 2 minutes At Green Ocean Property Management, we help you before and beyond renovating your property. Here’s how we help you acquire, renovate, and on-ramp your property. Acquiring and Renovating Your New Property We help out a ton of clients purchase new properties. Now sometimes, these properties are vacant, and we need to…
Tips for a Successful Property Turnover
Reading Time: 12 minutes Property turnovers are probably one of the most exciting aspects of owning or renting a property. To make the transition smooth and hassle-free, here’s what you should do to achieve a successful property turnover. What is a turnover? A property turnover is the time frame from when your tenant who currently lives in…
Why We Do Flat Fee Pricing
Reading Time: 2 minutes Property managers do more than just collect rent and pay bills. We also help you accomplish your profit goals. In this article, our CEO Jarrett Lau explains why our flat fee pricing is a win-win deal for you, especially in the long run. Why Flat Fee Pricing Probably the most common question that…
How We Save Money on Water
Reading Time: 2 minutes Water is precious, and conserving it is good for the environment. But saving money on water bills benefits your wallet as well. Today, we are excited to share with you yet another way that we at Green Ocean Property Management can help you save more money with your investment property. Our Water Bill…
How We Use Drone to Manage Properties
Reading Time: 2 minutes We are taking things to new heights! Today we are introducing the latest addition to our inventory – a drone that we use to manage properties and go beyond regular property management. What is a Drone? Drones are formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is a flying machine that can…
How We Handle Late Payments
Reading Time: 3 minutes At Green Ocean Property Management, we implement a system for collecting rent online. And if rent still isn’t paid on time, landlords don’t need to worry as here are the steps we take to handle late payments. #1 We have a tenant portal First and foremost, we don’t want any late rent…
How We Use CompanyCam
Reading Time: 2 minutesReading Time: 2 minutes A huge part of what we do is act quickly on any issues with your property. So today, we are excited to share another technology that we use to ensure that landlords and building trustees have full oversight and transparency when it comes to your property. We are talking about…
Achieve Zero Vacancy Rate
Reading Time: 3 minutes Your investment property should be maintained, whether rented or not. Across hundreds of properties that we manage, we typically have zero vacancies. But that rate is not something that happens overnight or happens magically. Rather, it takes day-to-day processes of follow-ups and making sure that you are staying on top of everything. So in…
3 Best Ways to Get Tenants to Renew
Reading Time: 11 minutes Getting your current tenants to renew their lease is an important task for any property manager. That is why in today’s article, we share with you the three best ways to get tenants to renew. What Is Tenant Retention? Tenant retention is simply the art of encouraging your current tenants to stick around…
How to Navigate zInspector
Reading Time: 3 minutes We use zInspector to track inspections and repairs. Although it is user-friendly, there will always be clients who are new to it. So we made this tutorial for clients to know how to navigate zInspector. What is zInspector zInspector is a mobile app that we use to track our findings during property…
Why A Property Manager Should Process Leases Everyday
Reading Time: 2 minutes When it comes to leasing your property, our top priority is to minimize the chance of vacancy. In this article, we emphasize why it is important to process leases every day of the week. That way, you can close deals with prospective renters and ensure that your property is always filled. Here are…
Managing Parking Lots with Drone
Reading Time: 2 minutes When it comes to visualizing any space, a different angle can make an absolute difference. We share the wonders that a drone brings to managing your parking lots. In addition to managing apartments, we also manage quite a few parking lots. And parking lots can actually make quite a bit of…
Questions to Ask When Qualifying a Vendor
Reading Time: 3 minutes Property managers and landlords should know who to trust when it comes to property maintenance. Here are some questions to ask when qualifying a vendor. Who are vendors? Vendors are the people that go into your house and provide service. These can be plumbers, electricians, handymen, or appliance technicians. We need to make…
Mistakes to Avoid during Lease Renewal
Reading Time: 4 minutesReading Time: 3 minutes Lease renewals go wrong in predictable ways: late notice, no rent review, unclear terms carried over from the last lease. Here’s what to check before you renew. #1: Not releasing the renewal notice in time When you own an investment property and you have a tenant in a lease,…
How To Avoid Locking Yourself Out
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe situation that landlords as well as probably tenants hate the most is being locked out of a property. It is definitely not fun getting locked out of your property. Good thing we can help you avoid locking yourself out with these tips to make sure it never happens ever again. #1 We put…
Dealing with Flood
Reading Time: 2 minutes So one of the most unfortunate things that can happen to our property is a flood. Floods can cause serious damage to any property, and dealing with them incorrectly can lead to further issues. Today, we give a rundown of how Green Ocean Property Management handles floods on your property while also preventing molds…
Quick and Efficient Property Maintenance Using Property Meld
Reading Time: 4 minutesLooking to log in? Green Ocean residents: use the Tenant Portal to submit and track maintenance requests. Property Meld itself doesn’t have a public login page — once you submit a request, you’ll get a link by email or text to follow its progress. Property Meld questions owners & tenants ask What is Property Meld?…
Managing Properties With iPads
Reading Time: 2 minutes As property managers, our work is usually on the field – onsite the properties under our care. But that doesn’t mean that we leave the office stuff behind and just come back to it later. In this article, we share how we use iPads to manage properties: making our field managers’ work more accessible,…
What is a 1040 Schedule E
Reading Time: 6 minutes Real estate comes with a lot of technicalities, especially tax forms. In today’s article, we go into detail about the 1040 Schedule E and how Green Ocean Property Management can guide you through tax forms such as this. Quick Answer: What Schedule E Is For Schedule E (Form 1040) is the IRS form landlords…
Avoid these Common Landlord Mistakes
Reading Time: 3 minutes Mistakes after mistakes after mistakes can be done. A property manager’s job is to help you minimize common landlord mistakes and more importantly, avoid them before they even happen. Here are three of those common mistakes and why you should prevent them. #1 Not recognizing the importance of planning First and foremost, prior…
What makes a Property Manager VALUABLE?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Hiring a property manager proves to be valuable to any landlord as it allows you to take care of your properties and tenants, especially if you have several properties. Property managers deal with the tenants and their concerns so landlords don’t have to.s been in the industry for over four decades. One of the…
Signs to Hire a Property Manager
Reading Time: 3 minutes Managing properties is not a job for just anyone. And even the most organized landlords need all the help they can get, hopefully from experienced and qualified property managers. Here are five signs it is time to hire a property manager to help you. #1 You don’t know your books When we…
Achieving a Smooth Lease Management Transition
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are different ways a property management company handles transition in lease management. Here at Green Ocean Property Management, we make it as smooth and as efficient as possible. In this article, we share with you how we ensure a smooth transition of the management of properties and tenants during the duration of…
Benefits of Having a Property Manager who is a General Contractor
Reading Time: 3 minutes Property managers and general contractors play different roles in real estate. But if you have a multi-serving property manager who is also a general contractor, like here in Green Ocean Property Management consider yourself lucky as you can experience these perks. Here are the benefits of having a general contractor as your property manager. …
How We Pay our Landlords
Reading Time: 2 minutes There are different ways in which landlords or property managers collect rent from their tenants. In today’s article, we share with you the most effective strategy we use to pay our landlords here at Green Ocean Property Management. Many landlords who have been managing their properties themselves are very used to either getting checks,…
Top 3 Proactive Maintenance Tips for Every Home
Reading Time: 4 minutes In today’s article, we share the top three proactive maintenance tips that have been proven and tested to save us money on repairs. We at Green Ocean Property Management do these for every single multi-family unit we manage. Generally, it is our job as property managers to be proactive about these things. We…
5 Benefits of Hiring a LOCAL Property Manager
Reading Time: 3 minutesReading Time: 3 minutes When choosing your property managers, there are some factors to consider. Hiring a property manager who is based within close proximity of your investment property proves to have more benefits than one who is 45-50 minutes away from you. Sure, their rates might be cheaper – because everything outside the…
Our Simpler, Easier, Flat-Fee Pricing
Reading Time: 2 minutes What is flat-fee pricing, and does it make property management easier? In this article, we explain why we do flat fee management pricing versus much of our competition that implements percentage-based management fees. Flat fee pricing explained Flat fee pricing, also called flat-rate pricing, refers to charging a single, predetermined fee for…
Keeping Things Organized in Property Management
Reading Time: 2 minutes Here at Green Ocean Property Management, we are asked all the time how we keep things organized. Well, nothing beats learning it through years of experience. And in our four decades of managing hundreds of properties, we have come to know what works and what doesn’t. So, how do we make sure that…
How to handle a lease break
Reading Time: 3 minutesReading Time: 3 minutes A lease break is when a tenant or property manager/owner ends a fixed-term agreement before its end date without sufficient grounds. It can happen for a multitude of reasons. Maybe the tenant gets a new job out of state and they have to leave. Maybe a relationship has gone bad,…
Reasons to Conduct Property Inspections
Reading Time: 3 minutes Your property is an investment, and the more you take care of it, the more you can expect it to give you higher returns. Conducting regular inspections allows landlords to keep their property in tip-top shape and maintain – if not improve – its value. In today’s article, we explain why property inspections are…
How We Do Water Mitigation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Nobody likes waterfloods. Unfortunately, if that happens, you don’t know which is more annoying: cleaning up and drying out everything that got wet or dealing with the insurance company to justify the work that needs to get done. Here, we talk all about those and how we do water mitigation at Green Ocean Property…
Understanding Tenant Move-in Fees
Reading Time: 25 minutes Landlords usually charge a specific rate when a tenant signs a new lease. The tenant move-in fees typically cover the costs of accommodating and processing new tenants, including touch-ups and minor changes such as changing directories and reprogramming security systems. But what exactly do these move-in fees encompass, and how do…
3 Ways to Make More Money with a Property Manager
Reading Time: 2 minutes You might be wondering about whether or not you need a property manager. And we get it: it’s a lot to think about, and more importantly, it will incur additional expenses. Of course, management and everything in this world has a cost but what do you get in return for it? To ease…
Warning Signs That Your Property Manager Will Cost You More Money
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you want to grow your real estate business, you need to have the right property manager on your side. Property managers play a huge role in any landlord or real estate investor’s life. They are so essential in the sense that they can make or break your business. They either help you…
How to Sight a Good Property Manager
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat does a property manager do? You won’t have to worry about anything in your investment property if you’ve got someone doing it right. Here is a quick explainer on property management and how to sight a good property manager. What Do Property Managers Do? Property managers can handle a wide range of…
How Real Estate Analytics Gets Done
Reading Time: 2 minutes Analytics enables businesses to make sound decisions based on facts and trends. It often means a lot of spreadsheets: a lot of numbers, a lot of reading. But when it comes to an investment property, it’s important to use this data. Read on to know how real estate analytics gets done. Our…
5 Situations Where You Need A Locksmith
Reading Time: 2 minutes5 Situations Where You Need A Locksmith The safety of one’s family and loved ones is very imperative. From old locks to modern smart security systems, people worldwide are investing in security like never before, giving rise to modern locksmiths that will help you crack into your home safely in case you lock yourself…
Best Practices for both Landlords and Property Managers
Reading Time: 2 minutesReading Time: 2 minutes Property managers and landlords play a huge role in the real estate industry. Both are key players in making sure that the property and the tenants are well taken care of. These two require two important things: transparency and communication. Both are dealing with a property worth hundreds of…
Difference between Real Estate Agent and Property Manager
Reading Time: 6 minutesDifference between Real Estate Agent and Property Manager In this article, we are going to discuss the difference between a real estate agent and a property manager. Too many times we have heard a landlord say, “I got someone that helps me out with my property.” So we ask them, “What do they do…
When do you need a property inspection?
Reading Time: 4 minutesProperty inspections can be nerve-wracking for people who have recently acquired property or are trying to sell or rent it out. There are multiple reasons why a property is up for inspection. In this article, we will explore these reasons and the types of property inspections involved. The type of inspection will depend on the…
5 Key Responsibilities of a Property Manager
Reading Time: 7 minutes One of the most important roles of a property manager is being responsible for all tenants within the property. A property management company is known as a third party explicitly hired to handle daily operations of real estate investment. Services offered by a property management company/manager are genuinely essential. It can also help…
Do you need a property manager or attorney for court?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Court cases are not new in property management. It could be because of an eviction, an appeal from previous tenants because of discrepancies, or just a simple misunderstanding. There is a lot of reasons why property managers can be part of a court case. But at the end of the day, the welfare of…
Section 8 Rental Applications
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn today’s session, we will be talking about Section 8 tenants. The Section 8 program and how it works The Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as Section 8, is the US government’s housing choice assistance program. It authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords for low and very low-income…
Benefits of Having One Designated Property Manager
Reading Time: 2 minutes A property management company that handles different properties needs one designated property manager because he/she has a lot of responsibilities. Those are: handling of maintenance and coordination with vendors handling of leases handling of rental applications marketing of property …and many more. With these tasks at hand, some property management…
How to Do Landscaping in a Multi-family Property
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you have a condo, you probably don’t have to take care of it. It is taken care of by your condo association. However, if you have a multi-family home and have any type of front or backyard as well as bushes or trees, you need to make sure that you have a good…
Heat and AC Zones Guide: Why Having Multiple Zones Benefit the Tenants
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn a rental property with multiple rooms, a zoned home is a must as different family members have different comfort levels. Here’s Green Ocean’s Heat and AC Zone Guide to familiarize yourself with the benefits of having multiple zones. What is a zone? A zone is a different section of the actual building that…
How We Take Care of Clients and their Properties
Reading Time: 2 minutes We manage hundreds of properties, but we have been on it for decades so you can trust that we know what we are doing. In this video, our CEO Jarrett Lau cites how we assign and train our property managers to take care of our clients and their properties so they can be confident…
5 Factors to Assess When Investing in a Rental Property
Reading Time: 10 minutesBecoming a landlord and achieving financial stability is a goal many are dreaming about. A great property investment may open up the opportunity for you to reach your financial goals. If you are considering investing in a rental property, you have to make your own research first and not just buy an investment rental property…
How to Remove Satellite Mount Marks
Reading Time: 2 minutes From time to time, we deal with different problems as property managers. One example of which is mount marks from illegally installed satellites. In this article, you will get some ideas on how to remove satellite mount marks. In all of our leases, we state that they’re not allowed to install satellites. …
Why Should You Put Your Property into an LLC?
Reading Time: 3 minutesYou’re ready to invest in a property, but you are concerned about the liabilities that come with renting it out. Should put your property into an LLC? Here are some Having as much protection as possible is incredibly important, but it comes at a cost. So many individual landlords might start with one property,…
Refinance: What is it and How Does it Work?
Reading Time: < 1 minute What is refinance A refinance is when you’re going to work with either your bank or a mortgage loan originator. When you originally get a loan, they’re going to be able to borrow money. And what they’ll do is give you $100,000 and then they might charge you an interest rate. That…
How Do We Make Sure that You Work with Reliable Vendors
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the most valuable things that we have access to as a property management company is reliable vendors. Having reliable vendors did not happen overnight. We, just like every other landlord had to go through tons and tons of different vendors that gave us issues. Vendors not showing up on time, trying…
Lower your Liabilities with Proactive Maintenance Planning
Reading Time: 4 minutes As a landlord, planning ways on how to reduce your liability and preventing any accidents and injuries to your tenants are necessary. You need to learn how to lower your liabilities with Proactive Maintenance Planning. Here’s how. Think Proactive The best solution for every landlord is to have a proactive approach…
Should we allow tenants to leave personal belongings in the basement
Reading Time: 2 minutes We manage hundreds of multifamily properties across greater Boston and what that means is lots of basements that must be cleaned, organized, and secured. In relation to that, we often get this question: “Should we allow our tenants to leave personal belongings in the basements of the houses that we manage?” The answer is…
Where to Place Fire and Carbon Detectors
Reading Time: 10 minutes Safety is the utmost concern when it comes to both your property and our residents. One of the biggest things that we have to make sure is that we take care of it. And we comply with the smoking carbon detector requirements in the city. What we’re going to do is we will…
Benefits of Installing a Coin Laundry
Reading Time: 3 minutes One of the most common questions that we get asked as a landlord is, “I don’t have laundry in my building or I have normal laundry that isn’t coin-op, should I switch or install coin-op laundry?” In every single building that we manage, we always switch to coin-op laundry and we’ll tell you why.…
Who Should Pay the Public Utilities?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Paying of public utilities such as water and electricity can cause confusion to some landlords. In this article, we’re going to be covering whether you can have tenants pay the public utilities. Can they pay for public utilities? The answer is NO. Typically, what will end up happening is that each…
How to Certify Fire Escapes in Boston
Reading Time: 5 minutes Last year, the Department of Fire Services tracks fires across the state every year, and residential fires remain a leading cause of civilian injury, death, and property damage in Massachusetts. The top three causes of fires are smoking, electricity malfunction, and unattended cooking of food. As property managers, we highly advise our clients to…
Is Rent Collection Possible When Tenants Don’t Have a Bank Account?
Reading Time: 4 minutes We want to be very conscious that some tenants are unable to open up bank accounts and they may request to pay in cash. That sounds very tempting because it gives landlords more flexibility of saving what they earn. Yet, that’s not the right way to do things. Can property managers accept cash? …
Is Emergency Light Testing Required?
Reading Time: < 1 minute With every single commercial building, whether it’s in a condo association, bigger commercial buildings, or even on multi-family homes, there is emergency lighting. Did you know that emergency lighting has batteries? Sometimes, they are also hardwired but there are batteries within the lights and they have to be tested all the time. When…
How to Handle Rental Properties with Oil Heat
Reading Time: 3 minutes Most people in Massachusetts prefer to use oil heating system to keep their places warm. If you have an oil tank in a property that you plan to rent out to tenants, you need to be clear about who is responsible for the maintenance and refilling of the oil tanks. We know, it sounds…
5 Most Affordable Ways to Increase Curb Appeal
Reading Time: 2 minutes In today’s article, we’re going to be talking about the best and easiest and most affordable ways to increase the curb appeal of your property. Prospective renters or even your current renters come to the property and they feel like they’re at home and they want to pay more money and more rent…
Process of Getting Curb Cut and Driveway Explained
Reading Time: 10 minutes Key Terms to Know: Curb Cuts and Driveway Approaches To help make sense of the ins and outs of curb cuts and driveway installations, let’s break down some of the essential terminology you’ll come across during the process: Business Driveway Curb Cut & Apron This refers to the specially designed opening in the…
We Fix Chimneys too!
Reading Time: < 1 minute In the video above, you can see that Jarrett Lau is up on the roof. Last Saturday morning, we had a little issue with the chimney that deteriorated out. Masonry is really important to check it all the time so you can avoid these types of issues, especially if it looks worse than…
What Makes a Room a Bedroom
Reading Time: 2 minutes A room doesn’t always equate to a bedroom. Why? Certain aspects make a room a bedroom. Read on to find out. #1 A 7 ft. length or width You need a certain length or width of at least 7 feet. That’s not a very big size bedroom, but it is…
Why Two Means of Egresses is the Safest Way to Go
Reading Time: 4 minutesReading Time: 3 minutes Our founder, Jarrett Lau, walks through dozens of properties every month for his prospective clients to make sure each property is safe, secure, and most importantly legal in the city. We’ve seen a property that had both a basement and an attic built on it. The first thing we noticed…
The Truth About Hot Water Tank Warranties
Reading Time: 3 minutes When you purchase a hot water tank they’re going to give you options of 6, 10, 12 years, typically at 6 or 10, and the price incremental isn’t that big, $100 or maybe $250 most, but it is something to consider. A lot of our landlords go, “Wow, if I can get an additional…
The Pros and Cons of Multi-Year Lease
Reading Time: 7 minutes A lease is an agreement between, the landlord or the property manager, and the tenant. One of the most important aspects of it is the duration. Typically in Massachusetts, we have a 12-month lease, but we want to make sure that our leases will always end anywhere between June, July, August, or September. Sometimes,…
Increase Curb Appeal through Common Area Cleaning and Maintenance
Reading Time: 2 minutes In today’s article, we’re going to be covering common area cleaning, maintenance and upkeep. Of course, it’s a cost and we understand that since our founder, Jarrett Lau, is an investor and a landlord. Our job is to be able to maximize the actual income that you have coming into your property. More importantly…
What is The Best Way To Maintain Washer and Dryer
Reading Time: 2 minutes As property managers, we try to help our landlords and tenants in extending the life cycle of any type of appliance in their homes. Although it is used in most homes by many, some landlords switch to coin-op laundryin their apartments instead of individual washers and dryers. There are a lot of benefits that come…
How to Add a Dishwasher
Reading Time: < 1 minute Easy way of adding a dishwasher What we will do is work on the necessary electrical and plumbing behind the countertop. Once done, we will slide in a dishwasher then we will make sure that it looks good and looks like the rest of the cabinets. This is…
How to Maintain and Improve Your Cash Flow
Reading Time: 2 minutes Your investment property is probably one of the most expensive assets that you have. You may have bought it or kept it because you want to make money out of it. But managing an investment property requires a lot of planning and budgeting. At the end of the day, you need to know your…
How to Reglaze Backsplash Tiles and Tubs to SAVE Money
Reading Time: 2 minutes People are taking showers, washing their dirty bodies every day, resulting in tubs and tiles stains. It gets discolored, grimy, and dirty. This isn’t very interesting to most prospective renters or anybody who is living in the unit, so probably every 4 or 5 years, depending upon the usage, we’re going to go in…
Why I Created Green Ocean Property Management
Reading Time: 3 minutes Every single time Jarrett Lau, our founder, speaks to a new owner, he always goes through the whole spiel of why he created this business. In this article, we’re going to be explaining that very same thing because we want you to understand where we started. Our founder’s background As a…
How to Keep Things Organized when Owning a Multifamily Property
Reading Time: 2 minutes Multifamily properties, unlike single-family properties, need to be organized at all times because of the volume of tenants that this type of property has. Here are some efforts that Green Ocean Property Management does to make multifamily properties be organized. How does Green Ocean organize multifamily properties? We provide space for bicycle…
Top 5 Steps to Stop and Prevent Basement Leaks
Reading Time: 17 minutes With our buildings in Boston being hundreds of years old, it’s super common to get water in the basements, but as a general contractor and someone who manages hundreds of properties over decades, we’ve seen it all. So let us go through these steps to be able to prevent and stop basement leaks…
Leases VS. Tenant-at-Will: When Do You Use Both?
Reading Time: 7 minutes If you own a property and worked with a property manager before, you may have heard of these terms already: tenant-at-will and leases. Lease being the common has been used to outline the list of agreements between the tenant and the landlord. Why Written Agreements Matter No matter which arrangement you go with,…
Why Property Inspections and Walkthroughs are Important
Reading Time: 2 minutes The majority of our clients live either out of the state or out of the country. If they don’t live locally, they have other things to do with their time other than walking through their property. Some of them haven’t been in their properties in years, and that is where we help them. We…
Green Ocean’s Off-Ramp Process and Fees
Reading Time: 2 minutes We often receive questions from our clients and tenants about our off-ramp fees. In this article, we will discuss that thoroughly. Green Ocean’s Off-Ramp Process and Fees Our off-ramp fee is a one-time fee. The majority of our landlords stay with us for the duration that they own their property, but there…
Do Property Managers Need License in Massachusetts?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Do property managers really need license to manage properties in the state of Massachusetts? Read on to find out. They DO NOT need license Technically the answer is NO because there are no federal or state regulations that require a license. It is unlike real estate, in which we have to get either…
Joint Lease vs. Individual Lease
Reading Time: 11 minutes There are two methods of lease structures for multiple tenants: signing each tenant individually (or “by-the-bedroom”), or jointly (also called “one lease”). Depending on your preference, your rental property location, and your residents, one lease structure may be better than the other. Let’s take a moment to examine joint lease vs. individual lease…
Are Tenants Allowed to Have A Grill?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Around the spring and summer months, we get this question a lot: “Are Tenants Allowed to Have A Grill?” This is a very tricky question. So in this article, we’re going to be sharing with you how we handle it at Green Ocean Property Management. In all our leases, we don’t allow grills.…
How Nonresident Aliens Pay Their Taxes
Reading Time: 2 minutes According to Internal Revenue System, Nonresident aliens are individuals who are not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national and wasn’t able to pass the green card test or the substantial presence test. Nonresident aliens are international students who are currently studying in the United States, international students who need to obtain practical training that is…
How Does Space Heaters and Portable AC Units Work
Reading Time: 2 minutes Another way that we, as a property management company think ahead and avoid problems for our clients is having space heaters and portable airconditioners (ACs) for our clients. We will share more details about it here. Space Heater and Portable Airconditioner: A Must-Have Back-Up Strategy One of the implied warranty of habitability is…
Why we get the appliance model and serial numbers
Reading Time: 2 minutes In today’s article, we’re going to be covering another unique way that we do to save our landlords’ time and money and the things we do to be more efficient and effective in managing your property. Money-saving Tasks that We Do #1 We get the appliance model and serial numbers Whenever…
Why Pre Walkthrough is Necessary before Move-Ins
Reading Time: 2 minutes September 1 is Moving Day in Boston, Massachusetts. As this yearly tradition continues in the whole city, we, as a property management company, continue to be proactive by giving our clients’ renters a stress-free feeling before they move-in. One way to do it is by providing a pre-walkthrough. Why is pre-walkthrough necessary? …
How Important is 6D Forms in Real Estate?
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the obligations that we have in managing condo associations is to make sure that the documentation process is done smoothly. Any type of paperwork that’s necessary for the transaction of either purchased or refinanced, we have to handle its 6D forms. What is 6D? 6D is a form and it’s from…
How to Ensure Tenants’ Safety
Reading Time: 3 minutes The safety of your residents should be the utmost priority of any landlord or property manager. And with the apparent rise in burglary and criminal trespass cases in Massachusetts, it is imperative to keep the basics in check to prevent any unfortunate incident. We give you the three Ls to remember to ensure tenants’…
Effective Way to Maximize Profits with Parking
Reading Time: 2 minutes According to research conducted by GoCityWide, 95% of a car’s lifetime is spent being parked making a lot of landlords invest in parking spaces for their properties. Although not everyone has parking spaces, many landlords have big open spaces in their property that can be turned into one with our help. In today’s article, we…
The Difference between Local and Central Fire Alarm Systems
Reading Time: 12 minutes Our tenants’ protection should always be our #1 priority. Working fire alarms — whether local or centrally monitored — remain one of the biggest factors in surviving a residential fire, which is exactly why national fire-safety data consistently shows lower injury and fatality rates in properties with functioning, properly maintained alarm systems (see NFPA’s…
How Does Our Business Referral Program Works?
Reading Time: 3 minutes We know that there are a lot of fears when real estate agents refer their clients to anybody. Well, let us explain to you why that would never happen with Green Ocean Property Management and the benefits of working with us to help your clients out with more transactions. What we will do…
Top 5 Reasons Why Landlords GET SUED
Reading Time: 3 minutes We want to help you avoid getting brought into court and having to pay any type of fines that is why we are sharing with you the 5 top most common reasons why landlords get sued. Read on to know these reasons so you can avoid them. Reason #1: Not handling security deposits correctly …
How to Solve Tenants’ Issues on Weekends
Reading Time: 9 minutesReading Time: 9 minutes Table of Contents Toggle What Is a Property Manager? What Does a Typical Workweek Look Like? What to Expect as a Tenant The Many Hats of a Property Manager Are Weekend Leasing Office Hours the Norm? What Types of Properties Do Property Managers Oversee? Are Leasing Offices Open on Weekends? Our…
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