Co-founder & CEO

Co-Founder & Head of Product

How do you choose a property manager that will make your life easier, without nickel and diming you for every service? Here are 3 research steps when hiring.

How To Choose a Property Manager: 3 Research Steps

Between open homes and tenant background checks to handling maintenance and last-minute emergencies, you've realised that making 'passive income' from managing a rental property isn't very passive without some outsourcing. The next question is  how to choose a property manager that will work to achieve the best possible outcomes for you financially, as well as making life easier. 

If it's passive income you're after, choosing the right property manager will pay off enormously in terms of how much time and effort is required. But how do you choose a property manager when there's so many options and even new-wave alternatives on the market? It all starts with research. Here are three ways to research property management companies effectively to find the right one for your home. 

Choosing a property manager step #1: Look past page 1 of Google

Like anything these days, most searches start online. Although it's important to note, the names that pop up first aren't always the best. Generally these companies will be the ones who invest the most in marketing and therefore are easier to find. So it's important to dig deeper with questions such as:

Are customers raving about them on Google, Yelp and Zillow? Are they rated 4.5 stars or above? How many reviews do they have? Over 100 positive reviews is going to say more than a company who has 20 reviews in total. Do the negative comments seem like personal gripes or serious complaints? When you're compiling a short list, take a moment to scan through some of the reviews to look for consistent themes around helpfulness and potential deal-breakers. 

Do they have a good reputation in the industry?

Every state has its own laws regarding the certification of property managers: for more information on the requirements specific to your state check the links collated here. There is a handful of national trade associations that you should consult with, too. The most prominent association by far is the National Association of Residential Property Managers. 

You don’t have to be a member of these groups to do business as a property manager, so it shouldn’t necessarily disqualify a candidate if they aren’t. But that being said, if they are completely unaffiliated, it’s something of a red flag.

There are also databases online that you can check to see how a company stands within the industry, such as the Better Business Bureau.

Take a look at the company's website and find out what they're about. What do they believe in, what is their company culture, history or presence like in your neighborhood? Is it easy to find the information you need? There are occasionally some excellent old-school property management companies who don’t have the strongest online presence, but a nicely designed site that is user-friendly is never a bad sign that they're considering the experience of their customers.

Finally, do you believe in their mission and trust the people working for them? Are they growing, with a happy customer base? For instance, Belong's mission is to connect people who own and love a house, to people who want a place they can live in and love. This ethos is why we're growing so fast and making people happy in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, Orange County, and Miami - with many more to come. You can even take a look at the careers section of our website to give you the confidence that anyone who is involved with your home is someone that approached their job with passion and respect. 

Choosing a property manager step #2: Ask around

Do you know any other landlords in the local area? Or renters, for that matter. Both will have a great perspective on the quality of service provided by the company that manages the building or home they live in. They can give you some lived experience on what to be wary of too, or what makes a positive/negative experience. With a few good recommendations in your pocket, you can add these to your online research list to start vetting. 

Choosing a property manager step #3: Prepare some questions

It's all well and good to get the warm-fuzzies from a mission statement or flashy website, but how does your chosen property manager perform? Here are some questions to consider for research or to ask any property manager you decide to interview:

How many properties does the average manager have assigned to them?

What are the property managers average vacancy periods?

What is the average lease term? Do many tenants stay on long-term?

What is the fee structure? What services are included?

How does the property manager screen for applicants?

How does the property manager handle evictions if things don't work out? 

How does the company manage and charge for maintenance requests? i.e what kind of contractor network do they have and do they mark up those services?

The fees and charges is a big one. The average rate is between 6 and 10 percent, but some property managers will charge extra for a whole range of services from marketing and staging to generating leases and evicting tenants. 

Researching Belong as a property management alternative

While researching how to choose a property manager, consider an alternative to the traditional agencies: Belong. Belong manages everything about rental homes, so you won't have to lift a finger. 

And to answer some of the research questions upfront, Belong homes are leased in 19 days on average, has 66% less vacancy and 71% of Belong residents renew their 1-year lease. Oh and we never upcharge for marketing and advertising (including photos and virtual tours!), call outs, moving in/out, lease renewal, evictions, or market price analysis. It's all covered by the low management rate of 6%. Plus, all maintenance expenses, management and placement fees are tax deductible.

To learn more about why Belong isn't your garden-variety property manager, check out our dedicated homeowners page or use the calculator below to do some back-of-the-napkin math.  

You might not realize it, but you have all the information a hacker would need to steal your tenants’ identity. Are you doing enough to keep it safe?

What Every Landlord Should Know About Cyber Security

If you're a landlord who self-manages their rental home, you have all the information a hacker would need to steal your tenants’ identity. Are you doing enough to keep them safe?

At first blush, the relationship between property management and cyber security might seem tenuous at best. “I’m self-managing one (or two) properties by email. I’m worried about finding a decent plumber, not getting hacked.” 

But think for a second about all the information you have on your tenants. You have their social security numbers. You know their previous addresses and their current address. You know their birthdays, their bank account information, and their credit card number. 

If a hacker got their hands on all that data, they’d have a field day. They could have enough information to steal two identities – yours, and your tenants. So not only would you have a big mess on your hands, but you might even have some legal liability if you didn’t take reasonable precautions. All this makes it doubly incumbent on landlords and property managers alike to closely guard the reams of personal data they have on hand.

Be prepared to safeguard tenant information

The first thing to stop and think about is whether you are literate enough yourself about how to protect your computer and mobile phone from attackers. Think of it as “data hygiene” and “data health” – you need to understand it, and put in the work to stay healthy, just like you do when it comes to personal wellness.

Start with making sure none of your passwords have already been hacked. Search your email address on HaveIBeenPwned.com to see if any of your personal information is already out there and if any of your passwords have been compromised.

Even if you’re the rare individual who’s never been hacked – and has never given a password or your personal data to a company that’s been hacked – we still recommend having 2-step authentication in place (in fact, anywhere it’s offered, we recommend turning it on). Also make sure that you’re using a strong password that includes symbols, numbers, and capital and lowercase letters. 

Most breaches are the equivalent of leaving the front door open. The most significant risk is from schemes like “phishing” emails – where an email seems legitimate, you download it, and through that you allow a virus to enter your computer and potentially steal whatever data it holds.

When it comes to defending against such an attack is you: be vigilant, skeptical, and hesitant before opening any attachment you receive via email, even if it’s from someone you know – maybe they fell victim to a phishing attack, and hackers are using their address book and contacts to find their next victim.  

Another method of preventing phishing attacks – and any attack that uses malware – is antivirus software. Programs like Norton and Avast will scan these attachments before allowing your computer to download them to see if they contain any malicious code. 

Even if you do your best to protect your data, we live in an interconnected age. Every app and software program you use – Microsoft Word, WhatsApp, Dropbox – is vulnerable. In fact, every second of every day, hackers are doing their best to compromise those platforms. These companies spend billions to protect themselves, but we have all seen the headlines about breaches involving millions.

Sometimes, a breach of one of these platforms gets patched – so stay alert, and if there is an update available that patches a breach, do it immediately. For instance, Apple and Microsoft regularly release security patches and updates to address vulnerabilities. In some cases – like when Equifax was breached – the company offered free identity protection. 

Of course, in defending yourself against hackers and data breaches, you’re also defending your residents – not to mention the people who might have submitted an application that included a wealth of personal information but who, for whatever reason, didn’t get the house or apartment. 

There are things you can and should do, though, to further defend those people.

The first step in protecting people’s personal information is getting rid of it – especially if you no longer need it. So once a lease is signed and a new resident is moving in, delete all the other rental applications you received for your home. Get it off your computer and out of your email account. That way, if you get hacked, there will be less information for bad actors to exploit. 

We also recommend encrypting any files you need to hold onto – for instance, the rental application you received from your current residents and their lease agreement. If they’re PDFs or Word documents, it’s surprisingly simple to encrypt them and password-protect them

The next step is to restrict access to the information you do need to hold onto. This shouldn’t be a huge problem if you’re self-managing your own property, but if there are other people intimately involved with the process – if, say, you have a handyman you use all the time to help with smaller maintenance requests – limit their access to only the documents and information they need. 

We’ve written before about how IoT devices like smart locks and thermostats can make life easier for landlords and homeowners. But those too are exploitable points of access for hackers.

The stakes are different in this case; if your smart lock is hacked, that isn’t going to make your tenants’ identities vulnerable to theft.

But significant physical damage can be inflicted on your property such as a device being breached. A hacked smart lock could make it impossible for your tenants to gain entry, creating massive inconvenience. Even worse, it could allow intruders into your rental property, which could result in theft or assault.

Of course, these are unlikely possibilities – and the convenience factor offsets the rare risk – but it is worth understanding the full picture. 

Along similar lines, it’s important to control access to your WiFi systems: never use the default password the router and modem came with, and make sure you’re using a WPA2 network, and not a WEP. 

Find someone you can trust with your data

As a  modern, tech-forward property management company, backed by leading venture firms, Belong understands cybersecurity risks and works with best-in-class vendors to secure their platform. While threats are pervasive, as we indicated before, if you have any specific questions, we invite you to ask us. Similarly, you should ask the property manager you are dealing with now – and any you are considering – the same questions. The answers may surprise you!

California’s single family zoning laws have changed under SB-9, providing new financial opportunities for homeowners in CA through renting.

SB9 And The Financial Opportunities for Californian Homeowners

Single-family zoning laws have changed in California under Senate Bill 9 (SB-9), creating real financial opportunities for eligible homeowners.

For decades, California’s single family zoning laws saw incremental rather than tectonic shifts. But the housing shortage has changed that, and changed it profoundly.

The first revolution brought the phrase “ADUs” – or Accessory Dwelling Units – into the public consciousness. It gave homeowners greater latitude to convert under-utilized spaces within their homes (think garages, basements, and attics) into livable, rentable spaces, and also incentivized the construction of free-standing cottages and guesthouses on their property.

If you’re a homeowner looking to generate incremental rental revenue, building an ADU is a potential opportunity. Similarly, Senate Bill 9 offers a potential subdivision opportunity. Which means you could keep living in your current house, and build a new rentable structure alongside it.

This second revolution, which came into affect in January 2022 makes provisions for dividing properties, allowing homeowners to split a single-family lot into two lots, add a second home to their lot or split their lot into two and place duplexes on each. The last option would create a maximum of four housing units on a property currently limited to a single-family house.

That represents a dramatic change from current regulations, wherein a single-family lot is only permitted to contain a free-standing house and an accessory dwelling unit, plus an attached junior unit that is 500 square feet or less.

The goal of SB-9 or "the Califonia H.O.M.E Act" is to provide options for homeowners to build wealth while providing affordable rental opportunities to other families. Rather than targeting traditional real estate investors, the bill seeks to benefit homeowners and families, with an owner-occupancy requirement in place as a condition to receiving the lot split. 

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions on SB-9:

Can any homeowner or property owner take advantage of this new law?

Though the laws are fairly accommodating, you can only “upzone” your property if the resulting 2 lots are 1200 square feet or larger. You can’t destroy or alter a house that has been used for affordable or low-income housing in the past 3 years either.  And laws regarding historically landmarked buildings remain unchanged, so you can’t demolish or change one in order to take advantage of SB-9.

Other limitations are that you can’t use the new construction for short-term rentals (less than 30 days); and the owner of the property must occupy the main house on the lot for at least 3 years after construction has concluded. Also the new construction can’t be used as a commercial space.

How can the state predict if I am going to stay in my house for three years?

The folks in Sacramento don't have a crystal ball. But anyone looking to build an ADU must sign an affidavit which represents they will occupy one of the units as a primary residence after the split or the construction of an ADU.

Is it possible to subdivide a lot more than once? 

Nope! No more than four housing units can be created on a single lot. 

How are zoning laws applied to these new constructions?

Except for the fundamental change enacted by SB-9, zoning laws remain intact.

Get help creating a rental unit in California

Between SB-9 and the increased flexibility when it comes to constructing ADUs, it’s never been easier to build a rental unit in California. And with access to Belong and its teams of Pros, it’s never been easier to maintain one. Learn more about how Belong can help you navigate the rapidly changing landscape of California real estate. 

SB9 and Financial Opportunities for Californian Homeowners

See how owners of rental properties can use Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deductions to reduce their tax bill thanks to what’s called a 199A deduction.

What Are Qualified Business Income Deductions For Landlords?

Also known as the section 199A deduction, the Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction lets landlords potentially deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income (QBI). Let’s look at this in more detail.

Can I get the QBI deduction on rental income?

The good news is that any non-corporate landlord should qualify for the deduction.

Rentals that are classified as trades or businesses under IRC § 162 are not considered passive. If the management of the rental property rises to the level of a trade or business as defined by § 162, then it qualifies for the deduction. 

Rental properties are typically treated as passive activities—these are excluded from the definition of a qualified trade or business. But it’s important to understand the following:

You might qualify for the QBI if you’re organized as an S-Corporation or a pass-through LLC, estate, or trust (If you’re a C-Corp, you’re out of luck.).

Rental income declared on a Schedule E or K-1 also qualifies.

If you pass hurdle #1, you might qualify if you meet a number of conditions.

If you spent more than 50% of your time during a tax year in your real estate business – and that represented more than 750 hours in the same year, you passed the next hurdle. Congratulations!

The QBI is a deduction that you take on top of the standard deduction if don’t itemize, or the itemized deduction if you do.

But you’re not there yet. Your QBI is subject to limitations based on your taxable income that include the following:

The amount of W-2 wages paid by the qualified trade or business; and

The unadjusted basis immediately after acquisition (UBIA) of qualified property held by the business, which is the basis of the qualified property on the placed-in-service date.


Note that only items included in a landlord’s taxable income can be counted toward the QBI deduction. Some of the most common income sources include rent, non-refundable and forfeited deposits, late payment fees, pet fees, and federal rent subsidies (HUD). This also generally includes, but isn’t limited to the deductible part of self-employment tax, self-employed health insurance, and deductions for contributions to qualified retirement plans.

The safe harbor rule comes into play when a landlord owns a handful of rentals but doesn’t qualify as a real estate professional. In this situation, he or she can still qualify for the QBI deduction, provide the rental activities constitute a trade or business.

The IRS published a notice in 2019 that provides a safe harbor for landlords to qualify for the IRC Section 199A deduction. In order to qualify the three requirements that must be satisfied:

Keep separate books and records to show income and expenses for each rental real estate enterprise;

Perform at least 250 rental services (Or other services, such as those provided by tradesmen and property managers) per year. Activities that satisfy the 250-hour requirement include landlord-related. The IRS says that rental services also include:

(i)         	Advertising to rent or lease the real estate;

(ii)       	Negotiating and executing leases;

(iii)     	Verifying information contained in prospective tenant applications;

(v)       	Daily operation, maintenance, and repair of the property;

(vi)      	Management of the real estate;

(vii)    	The purchase of materials; and

(viii)  	Supervision of employees and independent contractors.

3. Keep contemporaneous records of time reports, logs, or similar documents, such as hours of services performed; dates and descriptions of services performed; names of those performing such services.

Note that the safe harbor doesn’t apply to triple-net leases because the tenant is responsible for costs that would otherwise be the responsibility of the owner. As such, the IRS says that the rental income from a triple-net lease doesn’t qualify as trade or business income. It’s merely investment income.

If a landlord doesn’t qualify for the safe harbor, 20% of his or her rental income may still qualify as trade or business income, if they must meet some additional requirements

In 2021, real estate investors earning over $329,800 (if married and filing jointly) or $164,900 if filing as a single individual can claim the deduction as a percentage of wages paid with respect to the trade or business, or the combination of a percentage of wages paid, plus a percentage of the unadjusted basis of the property. These limitation thresholds are adjusted annually for inflation.

Landlords who own multiple rental properties should note that there are additional planning strategies that can maximize the IRC Section 199A deduction.

The Section 199A deduction is scheduled to automatically expire in at the end of 2025. In order to claim the current section 199A deduction, taxpayers who own real estate must be able to show that they’re operating a real estate business as a trade or business and not simply holding real estate for investment.

Keep in mind that, as helpful as this piece might be, we strongly advise that you speak to your accountant to get a firmer grasp on the implications and ramifications of the laws being discussed here. They will have a much firmer understanding of your individual circumstances and can clarify any questions this post might have raised.

Belong

Ale Resnik

Tyler Infelise

Jordan Newsom

Lucas Hanft

Melanie Kershaw

Ale Resnik

Tyler Infelise

Jordan Newsom

Lucas Hanft

Melanie Kershaw