Cleanin' Up Our Act, 5 Tips To Organize the Paper

It's time to clean up our act. Time to get organized. It's frustrating when you're so busy and the one thing that is holding you back in getting the mess in your office cleaned up. In Paul's video blog (see YouTube video below) he shares this frustration. We had read an article in Business 2.0 magazine on David Allen. According to the article, David is a "management guru who has learned to relax, go with the flow and market his mysterious elixir of success." This article content has encouraged us to clean up our act.

5 Tips to Cleaning Up Your Paper Files On Your Desk:

1) Start by sorting thru your giant paper pile making it into 3 smaller temporary piles labeled "To Read/Process", "To File", "Throw Away". Once the pile is sorted, throw away the third "throw away" pile. It feels good to do so.

2) Make file folders to avoid collecting piles of paper on your desk.

3) Use a file sorter to orgazine your file folders so that they aren't "piled" back onto your desk.

4) Wipe down the clean desk space with a surface cleaner.

5) Sit back and relax. Put your feet up on your clean desk and admire your hard work. :)

Time to Buy a Home in a Buyer's Market Video Blog

Here in Springfield, it is a Buyer's Market. There are numerous houses on the market that are for sale. So in my video blog, I have put together a few tips for the typical home buyer out there looking for a house.

Tip #1: Stay organized. Keep a short list of homes and look at no more than 3-4 houses at a time. This is so you can keep all of them straight in your head.

Tip #2: Make a list of both pros AND cons of each home you see.

Tip #3: View the home that you intend to buy at least twice.

Tip #4: Negotiate hard and be patient.

Tip #5: However, don't be ridiculous! Don't make obnoxiously low offers on houses that Sellers wouldn't even consider.

If you need assistance with purchasing a home for sale, contact me (Paul Dizmang) at (417) 887-0501 or via e-mail. I can answer any questions you may have and offer you so much more in depth information if you'd like.

Web 2.0 Seminar for REALTORS on a Shoestring Budget

Whew! My big debut as a seminar speaker last Tuesday night went off without a hitch and in my opinion was a big success. I spoke to REALTORS in our local board association about the power of Web 2.0 technology and how it can greatly improve their Google ratings, their online presence as a whole, and how to do it all on a "shoestring budget".

I'm a small company and I have a tight budget. (And it's not just because I'm cheap!) I starting video blogging about my real estate career and property management for just under 2 years. When something works for me, I want to share that information with others in my field. REALTORS are professionals, this is a tough business to stay in and if I can help another colleague, then so be it. And that is why I did the seminar called "Web 2.0 Technology for REALTORS on a Shoestring Budget". I got a great response from the other agents I talked to and now I am in the process of getting together an all day seminar to discuss this Web 2.0 technology. Are you interested in being part of this seminar? Please comment or e-mail me and I will let you know of the dates/times etc.

I'll load some of the videos from the seminar as I get them produced. Things have just been a little crazy around the office and we haven't had too much time to load the videos. Afterall, my first love...my real estate/property management business...still takes priority and as you know, work doesn't ever stop.

I'll keep you posted! :)

Paul Dizmang
www.getpaul.com

Paul's First Rental Property

After spending a weekend with my family in my hometown of Bartlesville, OK, I couldn't help but reminise about all the fun past times and back to when I purchased my first rental property. I currently still own 15 single family houses in Bartlesville alone and I went back to the very first one and decided to podcast directly from there.



I know it can be scary investing in your first rental property, but I want to help you.

GSBOR Video Blog Seminar for REALTORS

Paul Dizmang of Dizmang Properties is conducting a FREE seminar for Springfield REALTORS on June 12, 2007 from 6-8pm at The Board. He will be going over videos, blogging, podcasting, and all of the particulars of Web 2.0 Technology and how it will benefit real estate agents. Call Linda at (417) 883-1226 to sign up or visit www.getpaul.com for more info.

VIDEO LISTING: 5 Bedroom Copper Mill Beauty in Springfield!

For more info, call Paul Dizmang at (417) 887-0501 or see more details at www.getpaul.com.

Burning Down The House (Demolition Day!)

Demolition Day was one that came with many mixed emotions. It was a relief to see it come down and move forward. But it was also sad to see one of our beloved houses that we built 2 years ago, in Grand Place Addition, come down. Of course, we documented the demolition with video, it was a pretty interesting thing to see how quick the house came down.

In case you're just hearing about this, one of our rental properties had a fire back on January 5, 2007. Dizmang Properties has documented the process each and every step of the way, from the day of the fire all the way to today. And now we're going to go thru the re-building process. Here are some of the highlights since the fire.

Is your home ready?

Is your home ready? Ready for what? Spring? To list for sale on the market?

Hard to believe that spring is finally here. The trees are just now starting to bud and finally, finally we are starting to see warmer temperatures. I was almost wondering if we would ever get out of all the ice, snow, and below 0 temperatures. But one thing that spring brings is the realization that now is the best time to get your home ready to show, even if you are not planning on selling it.

Deferred maintenance is one of those things that most all of us hate to admit, but we have it. Yes, it plagues all of us especially in the spring since we realize that all of those little things that we meant to do but were to cold to do are starting to build up. I hate working in the cold. Therefore, as I look around, everything needs to be cleaned from all that dirty icy mess. Windows, carpets, even the dust seems to be thicker in the spring. As I look closer, the paint is starting to peel in places, the garage is full of clutter, oh my there's a leak under the sink!

So how do we get all this stuff done that has piled up in the winter and yet still have time to go play in the park, go to the lake, or a round of golf? The tasks can be quite challenging looking at the long list that you, or your spouse has compiled. But if you break it down into segments it can become a little more manageable. Create a checklist. Or get a copy of mine by e-mailing me.

I don't do windows. I hate it. Don't know why really, maybe the squeaking of the glass just gives me the creeps. So, as I was breaking down my list, I decided to delegate some of those tasks like cleaning the windows to a pro. What I found was that for about $4 to $6 per window, a pro will come out and make them shine like they were new. No falling off a ladder, no streaks, and I don't have to listen to that annoying squeaking of glass. Now I know it costs a little bit, but clearly worth it.

There are so many services available to do all kinds of things if you just look for it. Break down what you don't mind doing and find someone to do the more daunting tasks. I just found a service guy in town who will clean and organize your garage. In a matter of hours they will transform that mess into a neat and organized haven. Everything labeled, sorted, and put in its proper place. Wow, now that is a service. It's not cheap though, a 2 car garage can cost $500 and up depending on how much clutter one has collected. But hey, when you come home from playing golf at least you can park you car in the garage.

A cheaper route that also can be effective is hiring the 16 year old down the street that needs gas money. He/she may not be quite as fast as a pro, not quite as reliable, but it is still just a garage.

It doesn't just start here in your own home. You know me...I do property management too. See my video podcast on how to check up on your rental properties and make sure that they are in a good condition too.

HANG IN THERE

Almost everyone in Southwest Missouri was effected by the recent ice storm and most are tired of even talking about it. Obviously some were hit harder than others and there are still people trying to recover from the damage, financial hardship, and displacement suffered. The emergency management agencies, police and fire departments, utility companies, road crews, volunteers and neighbors have performed exceptionally and are to be commended for their efforts.

Without prolonging this subject any further, I just want to say HANG IN THERE and don't lose heart. We will have the scars on the landscape for a long time but we will all recover sooner or later. If you know a neighbor who needs help, give that neighbor a hand. Maybe you can remove the debris in your lawn and help one or two other households with theirs.

If you live in the Sprinfield area and still need assistance of some kind, here are a few of the numbers you might want:

The American Red Cross Disaster Services (417) 832-9500

City Utilities of Springfield (417) 863-9000

Greene County Office of Emergency Management (417) 869-6040

Polk County Emergency Management Agency (417) 326-6610

Sticking Together Like Ice

A really bad ice storm hit Springfield late Friday night January 12 and we survived (barely) 3 waves of the storm. The roads are fine, just a little wet, but the ice that has accumulated on the trees has caused huge problems. Downed trees and power lines has put this city at a standstill. At one point almost 90% of Springfield was completely without power and/or heat. And there are still over 65,000 residents that are still out of power and are going on Day 5 of no power now.

As a property management firm, we not only had our own homes and families to worry about, but we also had approximately 140 other rental homes to take care of. We're not out of the woods yet, but we banded together as a team and we went out in the storms and cut down tree limbs out of power lines and checked on our Tenants. Afterall, that's what our Owners pay us for, right?

2007 has certainly started off with a bang for us. First with the major house fire on the 5th of January, and now this major ice problem on the 15th of January. I'm starting to think that we have had our fill for the year. :) As it has been said before, "that which does not kill us only makes us stronger" and that has been the case for the employees of Dizmang Properties. We want to reassure our Owners/Investors that we are taking care of your properties as if they were our own.

So here we are in "crisis mode" trying our best to make sure that all of our Tenants homes are secure and safe. We really appreciate the Tenants that have pulled their weight in assisting us in removing tree limbs from their properties. More than that, we appreciate your patience as we have been really backed up with calls. The biggest thing is the electrical mast poles on top of the houses. We understand that many are bent or broken due to tree limbs coming down on top of them. We must have an electrician fix those before City Utilities will turn the power back on. Like everyone else, our electrician is back logged big time and we are getting to each one as quick as we can. Again, thank you for your patience.

I'll keep this blog updated with details and pictures. Did you see the video podcast? It gives you a great look at how things really are around here.

Careless Smoking by Tenants Causes Fire

It's rare that an unfortunate event such as a fire consumes a property.

On January 5, 2007 around 4am, it happened to us.

Working in the property management business for over 20 years, this is the first fire we've had to deal with.

The local tv stations were on the scene and reported the fire very early in the morning. We figured that the first phone call we should make is to the owner of the property before they saw it on the news and wondered why we hadn't yet called them.

Our other top priority was to find the 2 Tenants that were living in the property and make sure that they were okay.

As we sifted thru the bystanders in awe of the burning building, we sorted out the details of how this happened. The fire had obviously started in the garage and we have now figured out it was because one of the young college students living in the property had a party where everyone was smoking in the garage. Someone's cigarette started the garage on fire. The fire consumed the entire garage and most of the house after everyone had left. To make matters worse...the Tenants had also dismantled their smoke detectors a few months prior because they didn't want to have to deal with the annoying "beeping" noise coming from the low battery signal. So they dismantled ALL 4 smoke detectors to stop the annoyance.

This story does have a hero involved. Our hero, Mike Blake, usually works until 7:00am every day about a mile down the street from where this house was located. Ironically on the morning of January 5th, he had got off work a little over 2 hours early. As he was driving home, he saw and smelled the smoke from over 3 blocks away. He drove down the street where he saw the house engulfed in flames. He immediately called 911 and then barged in the front door and pulled one of the Tenants to the curb. Tenant #1 told Mike that his roommate and dog were still in the house. By now, the flames were too hot for Mike to go back into the house. Hear Mike's story first hand by watching our video podcast. (Be patient, it may take a few minutes to load). Fortunately, the fireman showed up at that point and rescued Tenant #2 and the dog from the house. Tenant #2 had to go to the hospital for smoke inhalation. He later told us that he didn't even realize what was going on until the gurney dropped on the ambulance floor to take him to the hospital. In addition to many other lessons learned here, this should be obvious to students who party and drink too much. Things got out of hand really fast and serious damage has occurred.

The Tenant's dog was rescued from the house, but had to be resussitated. The fireman worked on the black lab dog for 15 minutes and finally revived the animal. It's amazing how the fireman went above and beyond to make sure that everyone survived.

Have you ever dealt with a house fire? If you haven't would you know what to do?

We are documenting each and every step we take as we proceed to clean up this very big mess. We want to share with each of you out there in this blogosphere the importance of smoke detectors and how to deal with this unfortunate situation as a Property Manager.

As you may already know, Dizmang Properties, which consists of myself (Paul Dizmang), my office/property manager, Jessica Hickok; our Maintenance Guru, Nathan and our Buyer's Agent, Jay Reasor. We are all going to blog about this as it has made a big impact on our lives. We care very deeply for our Owner/Investors, our Tenants and the general welfare of people in general. Stay with us as we continue to blog and video podcast our experiences.

Have you got some suggestions on how to deal with this? If so, speak up. We need all of the help we can get.

RETRACTION: Dizmang Properties would like to retract any statement that was said or made regarding the Tenants being careless. At the time that the article was written, not all of the facts were presented properly to the authors of this article. The original article should have stated that only one of the Tenants was intoxicated at the time. We apologize to anyone that this has negatively impacted.

A MUCH BETTER VALUE WITHOUT SPENDING ONE EXTRA DIME

Most people, other than surgical specialists, would have a hard time performing a liver transplant. Most of us, with the exception of trained & experienced CPA's, would be at a loss in auditing the accounting books of a major business. Very few brave souls, save the elite of all basketball players, could keep pace with NBA players for an entire season. Relatively speaking, just a very tiny percent of the population could actually perform any of these tasks. Only those with some natural attributes, training, determination, and perserverance make it to the big stage of surgery, financial analysis of mega-companies, and even the National Basketball Association.

It is true that a considerable percentage of the population could attempt one or more of the skillful activities mentioned, but that is not the topic on which I want to write. Believe it or not, I am trying to make a point about the unknown value of a Realtor when you buy a house, condo, commercial property, or whatever. I think you will be glad you read this blog post.

Most Realtors fit in the following category: can't do the transplant thing, can't do the high stakes accounting deal, and the NBA is out of the question. However, those are not the talents that can benefit you in a real estate transaction. I know that I can reveal some added value that a Realtor brings to a real estate transaction WITHOUT giving old information a retread and selling it as a new tire (in the past a common practice of tire repair shops was putting a new tread on a used tire and sending the customer on her way. Hence the expression "re-tread"). If you keep reading the same old thing in Realtor articles on the net and in magazines, you might suspect that Realtors are stale, non-innovative, resting on their laurels, or something even worse: they take the public for granted. OF COURSE, THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Most are very knowledgeable about what they do and are willing to go the extra mile, if that's what it takes.

I want to list a few of the ways a Realtor can add value and, in turn, give you a tangible benefit, namely: savings in time (your time) and hopefully a savings in real dollars. Here we go. . .

1. Realtors add the crucial element of effective third party assistance. When brother and sister are fighting it takes a third party, in the form of a parent, to assess the situation and settle the differences. When a customer and the cashier are at odds about the expiration date of the 45 cent coupon, a store manager can save the day as a third party participant seeking one of those win-wins. With skillful care applied to a real estate sale, most impasses are negotiated to everyone's relative satisfaction with the help of a qualified third party, a Realtor.

2. Realtors add value by imparting wisdom with regard to inspections. Many home buyers experience the euphoria of getting a contract then are soon after deflated when the talk of inspections arises. Would you rather try to navigate through these waters with only your limited experience and your brother-in-law's advice or partner with a seasoned professional who is pulling for you to make it to closing but only if you understand and are comfortable with issues on the house's structure, systems, and the lot on which it is located. No good Realtor wants to proceed to closing unless you are well informed about the house that you are buying. Many times you discover that the house is imperfect, but not defective, and the Realtor can help you sort through those issues. The help offered by your Realtor at this point in the transaction is invaluable.

3. Value is greatly increased when you get more out of the transaction by expending less energy & time. Consider what your time is worth. Figure it some time. You may be worth more than you think! A Realtor knows the whole buying process from beginning to end and is aware of where you can save the most time. If representing a homebuyer, the Realtor can do a pile of the footwork for you (laws about Realtors responsibilities vary from state to state ) and add hours to your week. Just think, what if I approached you today and informed you that I would provide for you 20 hrs. of free time over the next 8 weeks. I could do some of the chores that you think only you can do and run some errands that you would normally handle. This is what a Realtor can do for most buyers. While pride prevents some from asking for help, you would be better served by letting a pro do what he or she does best and save you some valuable time. The Realtor can research data about school district boundaries, history of property appreciation in the area, zoning changes, the pricing history of a particular home, and many other time saving facts that literally give hours & hours back to you. Your Realtor can also save you time by offering lists of service providers who sell homeowner's insurance, paint, repair plumbing, have climate controlled storage units, re-pave driveways, and I could go on and on. The point is: the time invested in compiling lists of reputable vendors has already taken place so you don't have to spend hours trying to find individuals and companies to help you with your new home.

I will stop here for purposes of this blog post. Hopefully, you can see tangible benefits available to you when you employ the services of a Realtor for a real estate transaction, especially when buying a home. Will the Realtor get paid, and paid well for his or her efforts? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Setting Ground Rules for Hiring Sub-Contractors, Part 2

Since my last blog post, I've given a lot of thought to the hiring a sub-contractor. I know, I know...like I said in the first post on this subject...I've opened the can of worms. :)

Click here to see Part 2 Video Podcast!

I've thought about all of the ground rules that it takes in just getting started with hiring a sub-contractor to assist you in some of the maintenance of your rental properties. And I have found that things are much easier for my company if you have all of your forms in place. First you want to start with a "General Information" Form. Get a form filled out by the sub-contractor that has them fill out their name, address, phone number and tax ID or social security number. At the end of the year, you will have to file a 1099 IRS tax form which will require a tax ID or social security number of the sub-contractor. It's good to know what this 1099 IRS form is and be prepared for it by getting the information before you write the first paycheck to the sub so that you're not trying to track down the information at the end of the year. In addition to getting the "General Info" form, you'll also want to get a copy of their drivers license, verifying that they are who they say they are. You'll also want to give the sub-contractor an "Expectations" form that they can sign off on. Our "expectations" form is a bullet pointed list of what we expect from them and what they can expect from us. I happy to give you a copy of the forms I use, just shoot me an e-mail requesting the forms and I'll get them right to you.

To avoid opening the can of worms (problems) with a sub-contractor, start by getting organized and having all of your paper work in place and setting the ground rules up front.

TO DO Checklist to Complete
Before You Write the Sub-Contractors First Paycheck:

---------------------------------------------

aGet a "General Information" Form filled out by the sub-contractor.

aGet a copy of the sub-contractor's drivers license.

aHave sub-contractor sign off on an "Expectations" form

aGet references from sub-contractor and check references before they begin work.

Opening the "Hiring-A-Sub-Contractor" Can of Worms

The best way to prevent yourself from getting taken by a sub-contractor is to plan ahead and get it all in writing ahead of time. I'm not talking about just getting the bid of what the sub is going to charge you, but the date that they will complete the project by, and also get all of their personal info so that you can reach them. You'll also need that information to file your taxes at the end of the year...but let's stick to one can of worms at a time! :)

See the video podcast here!

We had a bad sub-contractor experience this last weekend. We had a Tenant scheduled to move in to one of our properties on December 1st and a couple days prior to her moving in, we realized that the carpet in the property needed to be changed. So we hired a sub-contractor to do the job. And yeah, it's embarassing to admit...but we got took. He didn't finish the job, and we had to put the very unhappy Tenant (who came from out of state with a big truck and lots of family to help unload it in their new home) in a hotel room on the weekend due to our sub-contractor not completing the job as he had verbally promised us. If we had it in writing, we could always have that documentation if the situation ever got real sticky. Oh well, I guess it is a lesson learned at this point.

Although our situation wasn't the worst we've heard of or seen, it was still frustrating. You can't always tell when a sub-contractor is lying to you, but you can take precaution against it. We called a local flooring company and as we had expected, all of their carpet installers were booked. However, they were nice enough to give us a site of where we can find sub-contractor flooring installers. That was most helpful. We suggest doing a little research of your own...such as directly asking a sub-contractor for some references or checking your area Better Business Bureau, it can possibly save you a a hassle in the long run.

Over the next few video podcasts, we are going to go further in depth about hiring and dealing with sub-contractors. Please check back with us or feel free to e-mail us your questions.

Until next time...

National Association of REALTORS Annual Convention

Paul, Jessica and Jay attended the National Association of REALTORS annual convention in New Orleans that was held November 9-13, 2006. Almost 20,000 REALTORS from around the world attended this conference and expo. There were so many things going...the General Session had the guest speakers of the former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. It was standing room only, so we didn't get as many pics (or videos) as we had wanted. But the session was still very good. We visited the tradeshow floor and took many pictures of the different exhibitors and such. If you want to find out more about the trip and the things that were seen, e-mail us at: 417Dwellings@gmail.com. Let's just 2007 is going to be an awesome year!

The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

Are we really that wonderful, and if so what makes us so wonderful? This may sound like we’re a little full of ourselves and that certainly isn’t my intention, but are we, as a company, really as wonderful as people claim we are?

Paul had a prospective tenant call on Friday and tell him that she was interested in renting one of our properties. She already had seen the property and wanted to turn in her rental application to us on Saturday, but we are closed on Saturday. She did not want to leave her application in the mailbox over the weekend, due to the sensitive personal information required to complete our application, of which we don’t blame her. So Paul told her to call me when she was ready to leave her application in the box and we would go up to the office and pick it up so that it wasn’t left in the box over the weekend.

So on Saturday afternoon, I hadn’t heard from her but I had to go into the office. She hadn’t left her application in the box yet, so I got my work done and then left. Sure enough, she calls about 25 minutes after I had already the left the office and says that she is in town running some errands and will drop it off at the office later. Not wanting to fight Springfield traffic back to the office, I had asked her where she was in town and offered to meet her (thinking and hoping that it would be closer to where I was then for me to go back to the office!). We worked out the details and I met her where she was headed to her next errand. In the parking lot where I had met her, I stood there and talked to her for a few minutes about expediting her application to get her into the property quicker. She made an off-the-cuff comment to me about how we were so nice to deal with and that we were “wonderful” to take care of this for her. And she drove off happy and I drove off with a little more insight on someone who turned in an application and will make a great tenant.

So what makes us wonderful? I think it is our commitment to customer service. It is in black and white within our mission statement that we strive to make our client’s our number one priority.

Now we’re not perfect and we’ve made our fair share of mistakes. There may even be some people, tenants and clients alike, reading this blog that do not think that Dizmang Properties is such a great company. But we’re never going to get better without your help. We need to know you’re input, comments, suggestions and complaints. We always tell our Tenants at lease signings… “we can’t fix the things we don’t know about because you haven’t told us”.

We put our surveys online on our web site, you can post comments on this blog, or Paul’s blog or Jessica’s blog. Heck, we’ll even take your comments that aren’t related to our company in particular! What do you want in the ideal real estate agent or landlord?

In other words…what can we do that would make you think that our company is the best thing since sliced bread?

Real Estate Curve Ball

Video Taped on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 for Game 3 of Baseball World Series

This podcast has absolutely nothing to do with real estate or property management but all about the baseball world series. This is a very unbiased, neutral (go Cards!) video about how Paul is headed off to the world series with his good buddy. 10-4 Good Buddy on the tickets, nice work and truly appreciated! :)

NEW LISTING! 4BR, 2BA newer home in Nixa, MO

Paul Dizmang and Dizmang Associates has listed a newer home in Nixa, Missouri just south of Springfield. This beautiful 4 bedroom home is a rare find in this price range. Listed at $124,900, this home features a brick front, 2 car garage, 10' ceilings in the living room and a spacious kitchen/dining area. Click on the link to see more or go to www.getpaul.com for more information.

NEW LISTING! 3865 W. Ridgeway in Springfield, MO!

Paul Dizmang has done it again, listed another property. 3865 W. Ridgeway in Springfield, MO is a beautiful home with 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, 2 car garage, fenced backyard and many upgrades. You can always get more info by going to Paul's web site at www.getpaul.com.

Comparing Apples to Apples

It's amazing how often we see this logo and don't even think twice about it. Now do you know the difference between a REALTOR and a Real Estate Agent?

Let's compare apples to apples...REALTOR to Real Estate Agent...first of all REALTORS are associated with the National Association of REALTORS. This is a good thing because all REALTORS have to abide by a strict code of ethics. Therefore, you want a REALTOR to represent you in your real estate transaction because you know that they are held accountable to this code of ethics which includes how they should represent you, as their client.

So I'm sure you're thinking, how do I choose a REALTOR? Just because they are associated with the National Association of REALTORS, does that mean that they are a good REALTOR? No it does not necessarily mean that they will be a good agent for your real estate transaction. There are 9 Magical questions that you should ask when you are interviewing agents to assist you. Always ask these questions, whether you know the REALTOR really well (even if they're family) you should always ask them these 9 questions. If they don't answer these questions they way you want, then keep interviewing REALTORS until you find the one you want. If you'd like a hard copy of these 9 Magical questions e-mailed to you, then send me an e-mail request at 417Dwellings@gmail.com.

Click on the logo to see my video podcast on this. Or for more information you can always go to my web site at www.getpaul.com to see what I offer for you as your REALTOR.

Until next time...