By Steve Boudreault, Buildium, Boston, MA

Here in Boston, one doesn’t even need to set foot outside to know that the first Arctic blast of the season is upon us. Twitter hashtags like #brrrr and #cantfeelmytoes tell a frigid story. Facebook posts like “It’s colder than a tin toilet seat on the shady side of an iceberg!” really paint a picture. It’s cold.

Well, like it or not, winter is well and truly here, and for property managers and landlords that means winterizing the property to avoid the headaches and expenses that this harsh season can bring with it. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you through until the forsythia blooms once again.

Heating the Empty Spaces

The idea of keeping the heat on in a unit that isn’t even occupied may chafe you to no end, but the bill for the destruction that frozen pipes can cause will be even worse. You don’t need to set the thermostat to Florida, but make sure it’s at least North Carolina.

Sealing the Deal

Speaking of heat, did you know that windows, doors, and even wire entry points that aren’t caulked or stripped properly can cost you 10% more on annual heating costs? That’s just burning money, honey. A $5 tube of caulk can save you big over the long haul.

Keeping the Fire Burning

Because they tend to be tucked away in service closets or spooky basements, heaters can tend to be out of sight, out of mind. But heaters need love too. Be sure to get them serviced at least once a year to make sure they’re running at peak efficiency and to stave off any problems. They’ve got a long season ahead too.

Storming the Castle

If you’ve got storm windows on your property, now’s the time to drop them into place. You can either send out a request to your tenants, asking them to swap screens for storms, or let them know that a maintenance person will be coming by to do so. Either way, batten down the hatches.

Laying it Flat

The jump from the heating bill in August to the heating bill in January can be a little jarring. Some utility companies will bill you at a flat rate — that is, they’ll take all 12 months of the year and average them out, and then charge you the same amount every month. If you’re in a seasonal climate and you can get in on this deal, it will likely spare lots of cursing when the cold rolls in.

Here in New England, there’s not much more we can do in the winter than hunker down and wait it out. Hopefully these ideas will help you do just that. Anyone else got some cold-surviving tips they’d like to share?

• Follow professional organizer John Trosko for some tweeted tips on office organization.
• Have you had the same furniture for the past twenty years? Probably time for an upgrade. Ikea offers inexpensive, modern office furnishings.
• Did you know correct office lighting is one of the keys to a productive work place?
• Need a simple, systematic plan to organize your office? Check out eHow’s 6 simple steps for organizing your office.
• Stay green, stay clean. Use green office cleaners to keep your  company presentable and eco-friendly.

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Time is of the essence in the property management business. Let’s face it, there are just never enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished. So, for many, the notion of taking time out for training and other sorts of continued education (whether it be about real estate rules and regulations or maintenance tasks) seems like a nice idea, but also completely unrealistic.

When considering such matters, though, it’s important to apply a bit of foresight to the decision-making process. Following are just a few examples of common property management scenarios where spending time up front might just save you a whole lot of time (and sometimes money) in the long-run.

Computer and Software Training
Incorporating financial and record-keeping software into your property management program can save you a ton of time in the long run, whittling formerly drawn-out tasks such as rent collection, payment recording, and maintenance tracking down to just a few clicks of the mouse. But installing new property management software and learning how to navigate it can be a daunting prospect. Taking time to learn the ins and outs of navigating office software that automates tasks and keeps electronic records is always time well spent. You’ll literally save yourself hundreds of hours down the line.

Learning Basic DIY Tasks
Having a stable of good repairmen to call when the need arises is crucial to keeping your tenants happy. And, certainly, you should always call in the experts when it comes to major or complex repairs. But the truth of the matter is, there are just some things you can do on your own. And, in some cases, it’s quicker and cheaper to take care of minor glitches and quick-fixes on your own. Consider investing your time in learning some basic DIY tricks of the trade so that when small repairs come up you can take care of your tenants quickly and inexpensively.

Organizing Your Office
No one works well in a cluttered environment. And even if you think you do, chances are you’ll save yourself a whole lot of time in the long run if you know exactly where to locate a file or document when you’re looking for it. Investing a bit of time into office organization is one of those things a lot of us think about, but few of us rarely do. Setting aside a half-day every quarter to really get things organized will make everything run smoother in the long-run. And the truth is, most of us are more likely to keep things organized once they’re already tidy. The more diligent you are about organizing on a regular basis, the smoother everything will run and the less you’ll actually have to do once that next organization day rolls around.

Ultimately, think of your time as an investment. Just as you sometimes have to spend a little money to increase the value of your property, sometimes you have to spend a little time to increase the value of your business.

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There are those of us that like making to-do lists, and those of us that don’t. It can be easy to chalk this up to a personal preference: Either you’re a list person or you’re not. But even if you don’t consider to-do lists to be your style, there are many reasons you should incorporate them into your work process.

We know, we know. With so much on your plate already, you simply don’t have the time or infrastructure to add one more task to your daily routine. But the beauty of to-do lists is, although they may represent another step in your workflow, they’re extremely easy to make and will save you tenfold when it comes to time and efficiency. And if you’re still not sold, here are five good reasons why you should consider using to-do lists on a daily basis.

1. Jog Your Memory
Property management is one of those fields where one day can differ drastically from the next. Also, because you’re dealing with a host of people including tenants, vendors, and property owners, you may well have dozens of small (but nonetheless important) tasks to do for a variety of people. No matter how professional and organized you are, it can be all too simple to let one of those tasks fall through the cracks. Writing down the phone calls you have to make and emails you need to reply to on a daily basis will go a long way toward guaranteeing you stay on the ball and keep all of your clients and tenants happy.

2. Manage Your Time
Nothing is more overwhelming than feeling like you have more tasks to do than there are hours in a day. When you complete tasks as they come to mind, they’re not necessarily being done in a logical order and, therefore, time is almost assuredly being wasted. If, for example, you know ahead of time that you have to return three phone calls and run across town to show a unit, you can plot out your day so that you are multi-tasking, making these calls while you make the cross-town drive. Without a to-do list, chances are you’ll complete tasks as they come to mind which can ultimately result in lost time.

3. Know Where You Stand
At the end of a long day, it can all too easily become a blur. You know that you worked hard all day but can hardly remember what happened that morning. Crossing items off of a to-do list will provide a black and white look at where you stand, what needs to be done, and what projects and tasks have been effectively resolved.

4. Build Your Reputation Through Reporting
One of the ways to-do lists can help better your business is by providing a clear means of demonstrating your efficacy to property owners. Again, it can be easy to forget exactly what you accomplished last week when you’re already looking ahead to what needs to be done next week. Task-tracking is the perfect way to keep track of what you’ve done, which can then be reported to bosses and higher-ups.

5. Maximum Results for Minimal Expenditure
When you think about it, if there was a product out there that offered you increased efficiency, productivity, and project tracking, you’d likely be willing to pay a significant amount of money for it. To-do lists are free and offer all of these results. Not only are they no-cost but even better, they require only the most minimum time expenditure on your part. All you have to do is build five minutes (or even less) into the beginning or end of your day to jot down all the tasks you have to accomplish and viola! You’re done. And if that sounds like too much, just keep a running tab of to-do items as they come up.

For more helpful information on creating effective to-do lists, be sure to check out the following links:

Expert Advice: To-Do Lists

Tada List

Ten Tips to Create a To-Do List Like a Pro

Google Calendar To-Do Tips

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For obvious reasons, most landlords dread evicting tenants. But for as stressful as evictions can be, there are a number of things you can do to increase your chances of a positive outcome. Following are some tips to keep in mind should you find yourself in a position where evicting a tenant becomes necessary.

1.    Have Sufficient Reason
First and foremost, it’s absolutely imperative to ensure that the law recognizes your reasons for eviction as valid (be sure to check your specific state and local laws before beginning any eviction). Despite the fact that it’s your property, tenants have rights too and any deviation from what is required by law may ultimately result in a lot of legal grief. Generally, valid reasons for eviction include continuous lack of payment (eviction does not usually result from a single month’s missed rent), the end of a lease term, or a broken lease clause.

2.    Know Your Eviction Time Lines
Although you may be tempted, it’s never okay to move a tenant’s belongings out of his apartment without serving the eviction through proper channels, all of which require a certain time frame that will be dictated by state or local law. Also, make sure that the grace period included in your rental agreement (the time the tenant is given to pay you in full) has passed.

But once you’ve carefully ensured that you are following the proper procedures, do make sure that you stick to the time lines imposed on the tenant in question. Mike Brewer of the M Brewer Group explains that in the course of overseeing thousands of multi-family units in various parts of the country over the past 15 years, he has seen many landlords trip up by “not following through with the consequences put in place. For example, you agree to accept a promise to pay from a resident and when they fail to follow through, you make another arrangement … or worse, you do nothing. Given the length of time it takes to get through the eviction process, it is best to apply consequences in a timely fashion.”

3.    Be Prepared for Court Proceedings
Many eviction cases end up in court, so be sure that you are prepared. It’s important that you have all the background documentation necessary to prove the validity of your case. Remember, although your property is under question, the eviction process involves the removal of someone from their home so courts are sometimes sympathetic with the tenant.

4.    Record Keeping Pays Off
Unfortunately, it’s often impossible to predict when things are going to go sour with a tenant—if it were, evictions wouldn’t be necessary in the first place. Keeping meticulous records for all of your tenants by using property management software or a similar organizational tool is the best way to guarantee that if you do find yourself in a legal battle, your case will stand up in court. Recording payments, complaints, and maintenance and repairs made to all units ensures that you will be able to make your case. Brewer says, “The biggest hurdle I have seen time and time again is failure on the manager’s part to have the necessary paperwork in place. It sounds cliché but it’s true: dotting your Is and crossing your Ts during the move-in process is paramount when it comes to evicting a resident.”

5.    Keep Your Cool
This may sound like a peripheral point, but remaining calm and rational during the eviction process is critical. This is a legal matter and any emotional outbursts or actions may come back to haunt you down the line. If you feel that you are unable to do this, communicate with your tenant only through writing or through a third party. Brewer advises, “Many times our innate sense is to treat people we are evicting with a ting of selfish satisfaction. I think the main thing to keep in mind is that you are dealing with an emotionally-loaded situation and to the extent that you can preserve one’s dignity, you come out ahead.”

Of course, the best way to deal with evictions is to do everything in your power to make sure they never happen in the first place. Says Brewer, “Education at move-in is everything. I hesitate to overuse the term emotionally loaded but, at the same time, move-in day is laced with just that. We displace a lot of information on our new residents and eviction is usually not one of the topics. What I would suggest is to include some dialog along the lines of, ‘If you find yourself having a tough time paying rent, come and talk to us early about your options.’”

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Get ready for the last round of property management links of the year. Stay tuned for lots more to come in 2009!

• Save money by doing it yourself. This Old House’s website has some great ideas and step-by-step instructions on home repairs that will increase your property’s value.
• Harassing a tenant for failure to pay probably isn’t the smartest thing to do. And using your NASA computer to do the harassing for you may just be the dumbest thing ever.
• Ten money savings tips for property managers.
• If your tenants complain that you’re strict, tell them about this landlord. He’ll be lucky if he ever finds a renter!
• Ever wondered what a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is? Take a look here to get a better understanding of what REITs are and how they work.

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• Baby, it’s cold outside. Learn how to keep your units warm without breaking the bank.
• Visit Tenants Together to see what your tenants are talking about.
• The US Supreme Court recently handed down a decision about tenant-landlord law and the right to bear arms which all property managers should be aware of.
• Thinking about joining a local landlord association? Check out Landlord Groups to find your nearest landlord association.
• What are some common problems lessors encounter with their lessees? Check out these problems and tips on how to avoid them.

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• Many people are being displaced due to the current financial crisis. The Chicago Sheriff’s Department is doing something about it by suspending all foreclosure evictions.
• Have vacancies? Check out these 16 ways to market your properties.
• Here’s a shoutout to one of my favorite real estate blogs, the Real Estate Outpost. Be sure to check it out.
• NOLO is always a great resource for property managers and now they’re offering these 10 great tips to help us manage our properties.
• Does this sound familiar? “I can’t pay my rent because my daughter needs school supplies.” Are the excuses real or smoke screens? This landlord thinks they’re red flags … and here’s why.

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