Property Management Blog

There is a lot going on regarding housing: affordable housing, rental rates climbing, corporate landlords, off the charts home sale prices, bidding wars—all on a national, regional, state and local level. Take a listen as Michael Hodges MPM, National Government Affairs Chair for NARPM talked with State Representative Clay Yarborough about some of these pressing issues here in our North Florida area….

Representative Yarborough has served in the Florida House of Representatives from the 12th district since 2016. He previously served on the Jacksonville City Council from the 1st district from 2007 to 2015.^[1][2]

In our world, they want to know what to expect and where the housing market is going. Tough to say with any certainty…but we’re doing what we can to educate and inform.

Mike just returned from San Antonio where he spent the week with approximately 600 brokers and owners from across the country. Here’s a bit of what is on their collective minds and what issues remain on the horizon:

• Housing Availability and Affordability 
• Inflation/Regulation
• Delivering Owner Value & Advocacy 
• Holding Investment Property

There will be challenges ahead—labor and materials costs have and are escalating, inventory is tight and legislation is always percolating. 

The good news? It is widely held that there will continue to be a good percentage of the population comprising “Renter Nation” so demand will not likely wane.

The upside is investment property, well managed, still delivers an average return of nineteen to as high as thirty five percent. How many other types of investment can deliver that?

At FPM Properties, we’re working with owners to evaluate and identify investment property acquisition or how to best leverage current investment property. We’re taking the time to assess all possible actions and outcomes as holding investment property can deliver infinite return and doesn’t generate the same tax implications as a sale. 

We’re focusing on more ways we can deliver value, including our very active involvement in advocacy and legislative activity. We’re tracking evolving issues and actively responding on a local, state and national level. 

We’re staying in tune with “Renter Nation” to anticipate and address their issues when and where we can as they are an important part of the equation. 

We’re investment property owners too—so we live this daily and face the same dynamics as our clients. We truly have a vested interest in addressing owner’s challenges because they are ours as well. 

February was a busy month for our Owner/Broker, traveling to Tallahassee three times with three different groups to meet with representatives regarding property owner’s interests:

FCAA (Florida Apartment Association)  

NEFAR (Florida Realtors)

Northeast Florida NARPM (NARPM Florida)

Each group had its own specific issues to discuss with our representatives but there are some common elements….

FCAA

• Permit affordable and workforce housing by counties and cities to set up programs to reduce property taxes for developers with so much of the property being designated for affordable homes.  
• Tenant safety by advocating key access best practices.  

NEFAR

• Eliminate business rent tax: Florida the only state in the union that assesses sales tax on commercial leases.
• Condominium reform to increase safety and transparency. 
• Advocating to reduce property insurance costs. 
• Vacation rental – advocating to have all short-term platforms pay the tourism tax and to follow hotel & restaurants safety guidelines. 

NARPM Florida

• Advocate for tenant safety by requiring a 24-hour notice to enter a property instead of 12 hours.
• Advocate for private property rights and reducing cost by eliminating permits and fees to prune, cut or remove a tree as long as it has been certified by an arborist. 
• Advocate that we do not need a statue for fee in lieu of security deposit; this will help tenants gain some affordability when renting a home.
• Advocate to streamline the HUD Section 8 program to help with affordability of homes and make it more attractive for Housing Providers to participate. 
• Advocate that Air conditioning also be an emergency in the state of Florida such as heat and no hot water.

There are a handful of bills that this combination of groups are monitoring as well which are likely to be the subject of future posts! In the meantime, we welcome questions about any of these issues as advocacy on behalf of property owners is in our DNA!

Whether a homeowner, a remote property owner or a rental resident, you most likely love your home.

Of course, there is a lot you can do to show your home love on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. It’s the effort you choose to put in to make your abode the safest and most enjoyable it can be.

If you have investment property, the best way to show love for your investment is to engage a professional property manager. We’re in the “love your property” business! We make sure it is well loved and that, in the process, your rental resident has the safest and most enjoyable abode possible!

That is not only a daily, weekly, monthly and annual endeavor---it is frequently an hourly exercise! Many owners simply do not have the time or flexibility to respond to situations hour by hour, regardless of capability.

• We love your property by handling complicated situations like broken leases or evictions and adhering to often complex applicable laws, fair housing, Florida statutes, city ordinances, and military laws.
• We love your property by securing proper attorney documents for non-payment, lease violations, damages, etc.
• We love your property by providing guidance to avoid unnecessary taxation or code violations; ensuring HOA rules and regulations for leasing are met
• We love your property by ensuring that in the process, your resident’s interests are honored and protected for their quiet enjoyment of their rental home.

We love your property because we     what we do!

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

2021 is behind us so we all have to keep moving forward. 

A new year is typically a time of hope and aspirations; a time to course correct if need be. 

Whether it be health or spending habits, work/life dynamics or intellectual/emotional habits; whatever it is, a new year traditionally is the time we reflect and decide to move forward into change.

Change can be hard but almost always goes hand in hand with “moving forward”. It is the only constant (besides taxes). 

So, what changes will you embrace and/or take control of in 2022?

Here’s something we found that may be helpful as you ponder that question….

https://hbr.org/2016/09/how-to-get-better-at-dealing-with-change

So, open the book of 2022… may you find the answers you need and move forward in grace in 2022!

If it involves investment property, property management or community management, we have the answers!

Supply chain woes…. Inflation……the Great Resignation……

Is this really the holiday season? There is so much angst circulating around right now (mostly trailing back to the above reference) and it’s supposed to be the season of joy!

We saw this recently and swiftly concluded this is the right approach this holiday season. We’re a little behind with advent but the time can easily be made up (or don’t’ even wait till Christmas eve—this could contribute to several households holiday dinners).

Embrace the true spirit of the season!

Yes, it’s that time again—the year is hurtling towards a conclusion at seeming warp speed and the holidays are soon upon us. Despite 2021 being only marginally better than 2020 there is still plenty to be grateful for and that’s how we like to center our thoughts and close out the year!

• Recovery seems underway—vaccinations are available for all that want them and seem to be helping.
• Relief has finally made its way to rental residents and ultimately property owners
• Many lucky individuals weathered this crisis with manageable disruption
• Travel has resumed which is a welcome respite for many!

More importantly, let’s be grateful for and patient with all those who are showing up and trying to be of service—many under less than ideal circumstances that they have little to no control over!

Let’s support our local and/or small businesses in every sector—and we’re including agents and property managers in that reference! They are our neighbors.

Let’s truly embrace the spirit of the coming season—focusing on thankfulness for what we have in our lives, investing time with our loved ones and living in empathy for those who have lost them.

In the last month a lot has transpired—some of it good, some of it not so much. If you’ve been following the news of late, we don’t need to explain. Heartbreak abounds. 

Additionally, the housing “crisis” and its many iterations continues on. As we indicated previously, relief does seem to be moving its way where it needs to be but property owners are still feeling the pain the most. The market itself continues to spiral upwards and create its own set of challenges.

Despite all that, Jacksonville is still one of the most affordable cities to live in and is being recognized for that and much more. We’ve included a couple of links to recent press about the virtues of our fine city. 

Let’s be grateful for our hometown blessings.

https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/jacksonville-ranked-4-best-places-to-live-in-florida/77-a94c87f2-1f25-43ce-8d88-768a70d30c49

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/entertainment/jacksonville-rated-top-25-best-places-live-us/QGMGLBATPZCC7OFKNRA6VAZOMI/

Answer: depends on the program. We’ve seen quite a few and recently successfully completed a local program (on behalf of the owner) that got the property owner reimbursed for approx. 2.5 months of unpaid rent (because the resident was able to pay except for 2.5 months of the qualifying time period).

The more accurate answer is: know the fine print. Every program we’ve seen comes with caveats of some kind. The process can be a bit tedious and time consuming but worth it in the end if the property owner recovers some lost rental income.

Many of the programs (if not all) are dependent on both parties making applications (resident and property owner). Most residents are willing to apply as they want to be relieved of as much of the unforeseen burden as possible. As for owners, we can assist them in that process as the property manager of said rental property. 

It’s a good amount of data gathering but once complete--as is the case with the newer Our Florida program (https://www.ourflorida.com/) could cover up to 12 months of unpaid past rent or 3 months of upcoming. All of this is predicated on criteria satisfaction/qualifying for both parties. 

Navigating the process on their behalf is just another way FPM Properties is proactively working to ease the angst for property owners whose residents have experienced a hardship and all are suffering as a result. 

For more details or to request assistance: marketing@fpmproperties.com

So, the moratorium was extended again, till July 31, 2021. 

This has created such a tangled web for both residents and property owners the likes of which we’ve never seen in our lifetimes.

While the moratorium has given residents some much needed breathing room, there is a huge amount of back rent coming due to all the property owners who were not receiving rent for their properties.

Both groups have suffered hardship but we would submit that for property owners, the burden has been greater as they have still been held accountable (without rental revenue) to pay property taxes and maintain insurance and property upkeep!

To compound this, the agencies handling the “relief” funds have done a less than admirable job disbursing funds and the property owners have been last in consideration. In some cases, the funds have gone into residents’ hands with no accountability to make current their back rent.

Our industry association, NARPM, was compelled to file lawsuits and write to members of Congress (some action taken in tandem with the National Apartment Association and Manufactured Home Association) to enact some action that gives immediate relief to property owners and attempt to address the housing shortage and administration of relief.

As the nation “opens back up” for business and vaccinations march on, we hope to see some positive trickles of resolution.

As we head into the Independence Day weekend, let’s all aspire to assert our independence from Covid 19 and government reliance. FREEDOM!