Keep Your Tenants Happy With These 5 Tips And Increase Your Profits

In difficult financial periods as an investment property owner you want to try and find the best, most loyal tenants and keep them as long as possible to maximise your profits. The next 5 tips will help you along the way:

Tip 1 ? Meet your tenant

Even though the property was bought as an investment property, you are still in the people business and going out of your way to meet up with potential leasers can lead to longer, more meaningful relationships between you and your tenant which long term could mean lower vacancy rates and more money in your pocket.

Tip 2 ? Give tenants additional benefits

Penalties are really not effective as they punish bad behaviour, another way to get what you want and achieving your goal as a landlord is to reward behaviour you require from your tenant. For example when you sign the lease contract with your new tenant, you clearly want to get them to agree to your terms like having the rental paid on or before the last day of the month or bi monthly inspections. If they agree to your terms you will reimburse a certain amount of their rental back onto their key deposit. They may not reduce their rental payment but over the length of their rental agreement they can build up an extra sum of money that they will get when they vacate your property on your conditions. Another action that could be used to receive a bonus for the tenant is if their rental is paid via debit order. Debit orders are a bit of a bother to set up at the bank but once done they are well worth the effort as you are pretty sure of when your rental will be in your account. Another idea is to give your tenant a small gift when they first move in, for example a dvd player. It may be small but it is a gesture that will cost you a little bit of money at the outset but they will soon realise you are not an ordinary landlord. After they have rented from you for a year you may decide to give them a small television, on the second anniversary something else. This way your tenant remains loyal to you and you get to keep a tenant for a longer period which once again means a lower vacancy rate and cash on your bottom line. The best part of doing this is when they do decide to leave there is an above average chance that they will source the next tenant for you!

Tip 3 ? Furnish your unit

In today's day and age you can purchase just about anything on the internet and used furniture can be bought for next to nothing. By offering your rental unit as furnished or semi furnished you can ask for a higher rental and it is one of the cleverest ways to make more money with your investment property.

Tip 4 ? Upgrade your property

Another great way to increase your rental is to speak to your tenant and find out what would make the environment better to live in. Many times it may be something really small that could make the world of difference, it might for instance be a heater that would not cost the earth but would improve the tenants living conditions. If the item is bigger it may be beneficial to split the cost with the tenant and tenants you have in the future will also benefit from the purchase.

Tip 5 ? Cleaning service

One more way to keep tenants is to offer a weekly cleaning service. There are many advantages of offering this service. Firstly and obviously the benefit to the tenant, secondly and probably the most important benefit, it gives you direct access into your rental property. You are able to keep an eye on your tenant so to speak and are able to pick up if there is any maintenance that needs to be carried out so that it can be done in good time before it turns into a big problem.

Try these 5 tips out in your investment units and you are bound to have happier tenants that are paying more rent over a longer period.

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How Currency Calculators Benefit Forex Investors

The foreign exchange market, commonly referred to as forex, is a type of market where investors stand to make and trade vast sums of money each day. The foreign exchange market isn't without its intricacies, however, and learning the system can be tough. But those who are armed with proper knowledge, experience, and a handy currency converter- breaking the market is simple.

The foreign exchange market revolves around the simple fact that converting a currency from one type to another. For instance, we might want to exchange a United States dollar for the equivalent in Mexican pesos. By doing so, we essentially just made an investment in the new currency. In this case, we use the forex calculator to determine which currency would be good for a return on investment.

The investment in another currency is simple: as soon as the currency from raises in value, the investor can make the switch again. Only this time around, the investor is making a large sum of money off each and every monetary unit they invested in. This procedure can be a risky one, however, and should only be attempted by experts in investing topics.

One handy feature that investors should look for in a foreign exchange market calculator is an option to compare one monetary unit of a country to multiple other countries. This helps in the brainstorming process, in which an investor marks down possibilities of investment. In this phase of the investment process, investors should take note of any possible opportunities is foreign exchange they wish to investigate.

The next stage in the process is to track all currencies that an investor is watching. After all, if a currency increases in value over time, isn't it safe to say it will continue to do so in the near future? This isn't always true, but more often than not, this simple rule makes investors quite a bit of money. Foreign exchange calculators should be able to track several different currencies for investors in this case, which usually requires a user registration for tracking purposes.

Lastly, there comes a need for foreign exchange market calculators to make use of current trends in technology. Technologies such as Java, Javascript. Macromedia Flash, or even AJAX should be used to make the experience of an investor quicker and more simple. This is in comparison to technologies such as PHP, where the page must be refreshed before results can be displayed- which can dramatically slow down the process.

Closing Comments

In the end, there is a lot to benefit or lose from the forex market. Only those experienced in the market should try their luck. After all, there's nothing worse than losing thousands in investments just because of the constantly changing trends in global economies. But with the help of calculators, experts who aren't afraid to give out advice, and brokers- the process can be quite a profitable one indeed.

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Elvira's Quest

Elvira's Paradise has come to a temporary standstill, construction wise, until we find an investor, we have had a number of enquiries resulting from our search, but none have actually come up with the money.

So to keep myself occupied I agreed to run in the Mrs. KFAANT, which stands for the Katherine Filipino Australian Association of the Northern Territory. It is a quest run every second year to raise funds for the KFAANT. I was approached by the President, Mrs. Rose Hewitt, Marichu Rawson and probably my best friend Mrs. Judy Payne and asked if I would enter the quest.

The winner of the quest is determined purely on the amount of funds raised by each contestant. This is the major fundraising venture by the Association, therefore a successful quest is most important to the Association, it needs the funds to pay for the rates, electricity, maintenance and if there is any money left in the bank, some capital works programs.

Some people have told me that I am crazy for entering the quest when I have so much on my plate. They tell me that I should concentrate on developing the Tourist Park, but if you can't contribute to your community and try to improve the lives of the people around you, why were we put on this earth?

The final counting of the funds raised is to be held on Wednesday 27/08/08 and the crowning of the Mrs. KFAANT is to be conducted at the Annual Bario Fiesta on Saturday 30/08/08. Some of the Stalwarts of the Association are providing the entertainment for the evening by way of a number of traditional Filipino dances, and each contestant is going to showcase their talent as well as joining in with the local Filipino dancers for one number.

The other 2 contestants will be performing dances from the provinces that they come from and I will be singing, I hope. My voice hasn't been up to scratch lately, due to a mild attack of the flu. Hopefully everyone will enjoy the evening of Filipino entertainment and food.

Meanwhile I am waiting for our first shipment of Cabins, Gazebos and Household and Garden furniture to arrive. It is scheduled to arrive in Australia by the end of September now, due to the cutback of ships coming to Darwin from Asia.

The hunt for one or more Investors continues as well. There is somebody out there in this big wonderful world of ours who can see the financial advantages of an investment in Elvira's Paradise, we just have to be patient and they will come. As it says in the Kevin Costner movie, "If you build it they will come".

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Key Levels For The Major Indices

Much has been made about the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) touching the key 7,500 level this week. Why is this level considered important from a historical and technical basis? And what are the other major indices, such as the S&P 500 Index (SPX), NASDAQ 100 Index (NDX), and NASDAQ Composite Index (COMP) showing on a long-term basis?

As you can see in the following chart, this area on DJIA marks the previous lows from November 2008 and 2002-2003 and was also an important technical level in 1997-1998, so it can be considered a strong support level. As you can see the following chart, if we do break sharply below 7,500, we are basically going back to mid-1990s levels in the Index.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) has breached the 800 level which was significant in the past, but the 750 area is perhaps more important, and we have not yet touched that level this month. We are currently about 5% above that level.

The NASDAQ 100 Index tracks the performance of the biggest NASDAQ stocks -- this Index almost touched the key 1000 level in November 2008, but currently is about 15% above that level, due to the recent general outperformance of NASDAQ stocks. Some of this is due to the lack of Financial and Energy weighting in NASDAQ Indices.

The NASDAQ Composite encompasses almost 3,000 NASDAQ listed stocks. The COMP is the Index that famously hit 5,000 in March 2000 at the height of the parabolic uptrend now known as the "Internet Bubble". This Index bottomed around 1,100 in 2002/2003, and thus far we have remained above that level, both currently and in the November 2008 plunge. We currently stand about 25% above 1,100 on the COMP.

The bottom line is that we are dangerously close to making 12 year+ lows on two of the most widely followed indices, the DJIA and the SPX. However, we do we established support around and just below the current levels which one would anticipate is likely to hold (at least for a trading range consolidation). The NASDAQ indices have withstood the 2008/2009 drop much better ... but from the bearish perspective, they indicate a potential 15% to 25% more downside to their key levels. Of course, these are very long-term charts -- within the big picture multi-year trends are many short-term great trading opportunities on both sides of the market for option traders.

Moby Waller,
BigTrends Portfolio Manager & Analyst

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Easy Ways To Stay Out Of Debt By Minimizing Expense

No one likes the idea of being in debt. But when consumers are on the verge of being in debt, there are little short term solutions that can be found. Instead, proper budgeting and helpful guidelines should be observed so as to minimize the prospect of being in debt.

The concept of debt is simple: consumers are likely making less money than what their expenses are demanding. If that's the case, it's a good idea to help cut down expenses by following several different methods. This will require a proper budget of course, which should outline one's expenses, income, and any present debts so an analysis can be made.

Out of all the causes of debt and unnecessary expenses, the characteristic of motivation is likely in short supply and adding fuel to the fire. Motivation is a necessary component to the debt situation, since it allows consumers to say no to unnecessary expenses and save money to pay off debts or to otherwise invest. This is made apparent in examples of where friends might want to go out and have fun for an expensive evening, in which case those on the verge of debt should decline and instead think of alternative forms of entertainment that are more thrifty.

Having a defensive lifestyle is a good way to stave off debt. An example might be with vehicles, which typically breakdown much less when they are driven in a defensive manner. This is also apparent in terms of gas prices, where driving slower and in a defensive manner will cost less money per mile on average.

As consumers will agree, one of the biggest expenses will always be food. Food doesn't always have to be expensive, but cheaper forms of food often taste less appealing or consumers start to tire of the limited selection. Regardless, buying food that isn't branded is a good way to save money on many varieties of food. Such off brands are usually the same quality of branded items, but just lack the colors or logos that more expensive brands use to appeal to consumers.

There are far too many ways to cut back in expenses for anyone in debt to not do so. Getting a proper budget composed is the first step in realizing which areas need to be cut back, and which areas can have a little more money. It's good to note that it shouldn't be bad to have fun and buy forms of entertainment- in fact, we need it as human beings! Just try to limit expensive forms of entertainment as much as possible so as to stay on track to saving money.

Closing Comments

It isn't easy getting out of debt, or trying to fend it off when it comes close to ruining a consumer's life. But cutting expenses is the easiest way to make the prospect of debt disappear. Keep in mind to do so, consumers will need proper motivation and a proper budget so as to be best equipped to handle any further debts that may try to come their way.

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