Category Archives: Review

What To Look For In A Property Maintenance Company

by

An old saying goes: “People who represent themselves in court have fools for clients.” Like jurisprudence, certain aspects of residential property maintenance are also best left to those who have a particular understanding of the nuances. Anyone who claims to do it all is probably leaving something undone. For this reason, smart landlords outsource. To help you find the right people to care for your investments, here’s what to look for in a property maintenance company.

Reputation

Once you’re convinced the range of services a company offers will cover your needs, do some digging into their background to get an idea of the nature of its reputation. Run an internet search for the company’s name. Odds are they’ll come up on business review sites like Yelp and Angie’s List. You should also check with the Better Business Bureau to see if the company is prone to attracting complaints.

Verifiable References

Any company bidding for the contract to maintain your property should be capable of providing references so you can talk to people who have worked with them previously. Some of the key details you need to explore are timeliness, adherence to budget and the professionalism of their appearance, conduct and services.

You also want to ascertain how well they integrate themselves into the fabric of the property. Do they fit with the character of the environment, or is their presence a disruption? Emergencies tend to ignore the clock — will you get amiable service 24/7/365? Good residential property management companies who also offer maintenance services like Onerent understand the importance of flexibility.

Do they provide regular status reports? Do you learn of maintenance needs right away? The maintenance team should inform you of developing problems long before your tenants notice them.

With due respect to all of the above, perhaps the single most important factor is the quality of the company’s work. Does the company  keep to a preventive maintenance schedule? Does it get repairs right the first time, or do workers have to make several trips — resulting in multiple inconveniences for your tenants?

Cost

How does the company’s management fee compare to other companies you’re considering? Is it higher or way lower? If it’s at either of those extremes, you’ll probably want to consider a different organization. Because costs are largely the same, most quotes should be within dollars of one another. Too low means the company will likely cut corners to live with the bid. Too high means it’s overcharging clients.

Insurance/Licenses/Bonding

Ask for proof of insurance. The contract should specify that adequate insurance coverage is to be maintained for the duration of the contract. The company should have liability insurance to cover any property damage they might inflict during the course of providing their services. It should also carry worker’s compensation insurance for its employees. If the company fails to provide coverage and someone is injured, you could be left liable.

Licensing requirements for your city and/or state should also be met and all required licenses should be current. Because licensing and training go hand-in-hand, if the company is licensed, its employees are also likely to be well trained.

In many cases, maintenance people will be in your tenants’ homes unsupervised. Insisting upon bonded personnel adds a layer of protection should tenants claim valuables go missing after a service call.

While these are among the primary factors when considering what to look for in a property maintenance company, a number of other factors will vary according to the specific needs of your property. Still though, if you cover these basics, you’ll be well on your way toward hiring a solid property maintenance company.

Hope you enjoyed this,

Chase

Four Steps to Take Care of Business Early This Year

by

New Year, Old Business: Tying Up Loose Ends

In the time it has taken to run your business and get it going, you have learned that keeping it on track doesn’t stop Friday at 5 o’ clock, it’s a 24/7 process, unlike what some other people think.

Though 2016 has come to an end, you probably still have 2016 business to settle, and before the new year’s business gets too crazy busy, you will need to take time out to tie up last year’s loose ends.

 

Doing It Right: How to Get Your Business in Order

When you’re hit with new business in your inbox every morning, it’s understandable that you would think that should take priority, so you put other, smaller projects on the back burner. Doing things this way however can come back to bite you. If you aren’t consistent in your communication, document filings, or finance books, you’re more likely to make a costly mistake, one so big that it could put your business in jeopardy.

 

Here are four tips to follow to keep your business from falling behind, or worse, shutting down.

  1. Organize Your Paper and Electronic Files. According to a study conducted by the National Association of Professional Organizations, it takes the average employee over four hours a week to find the document they need to aid them in a meeting, project or other work. That is equal to half a work day. This can affect your work with your staff and clients, ultimately leading to terminated contracts and lost business.Keep organized paper files (filed by topic and color) in a file cabinet accessible to employees who need to reference the information regularly. For your company’s electronic files, set up a cloud storage account to save electronic documents and share easily with staff. This will cut down on confusing email chains and lost attachments.
  1. Meet with a Tax Advisor Before the Filing Deadline. Tax season is largely forgotten until it arrives again in the new year, sending you into a frenzy to tally your books, look over your receipts and double and triple-check that all of your employees’ addresses are current.Set up an annual appointment early in the year with a tax advisor to discuss your company’s finances and where you qualify for breaks. If you’re company is expanding, Small Business Trends suggests protecting your personal assets through a formal business structure.
  1. Send Personalized and Detailed Employee and Client Newsletters. Sending emails back and forth and having regularly scheduled meetings with clients and staff isn’t enough; things can get lost in translation.So that each employee and client knows their standing, such as with project deadlines, pricing agreements and pending action plans, write a newsletter detailing where you and the client or employee are at in each stage of the process. By keeping all parties involved up-to-date there is less chance of something falling in the cracks.
  1. Update the Company’s Insurance Account. State law requires that small businesses carry a certain amount of insurance. Speak with your small business insurance agent to make sure your policy meets your state’s requirements and protects your business if a client should sue, and employee get hurt or your equipment stolen or damaged. Updating your insurance account will also help you to see if the underwriting has changed, affecting the premium. If you think your current insurance company is price gauging you, visit comparison websites like CoverHound to find affordable business insurance quotes that will protect your company and keep money in the bank.To keep your business thriving, your employees and clients need to be happy. When you take care of business, you are giving them reason to trust you. There is no better business than one with a loyal staff and customer base.

Start off the beginning of the year with all options considered!

Chase

5 laws that can help protect your UK start up

by

5 laws that can help protect your start up

When you’re starting up a new business, it’s vital that you understand business law in the UK, as it’s your responsibility to ensure you do everything possible to limit risks. Read on to learn about five laws that will help protect your start up and make sure your business runs smoothly. It’s worth noting that The law can be a potential minefield for the inexperienced and it’s best to seek legal advice from a specialist small business website like Lawbite.

1. Be careful what you say

An important step is to avoid saying or doing anything that could leave you open to being sued for libelous statements against the opposition. If you’re advertising on your own website, or sending out mailing shots, you might be tempted to criticize the opposition in an attempt to draw more business your way. However, under the Defamation Act 2013, you could be sued for writing potentially damaging statements about business rivals  so it’s best to stick to positive publicity about your own services and make sure your own ethics are above reproach.

2. Make sure you understand UK tax laws

It’s probably a good idea to hire a competent accountant if you’re unfamiliar with running the financial side of your own business. The moment you start working for yourself, you’re already classed as self-employed, even if you haven’t informed HM Revenue and Customs. It’s also mandatory that you register for VAT if you’re expecting to make more than £82,000 a year. Understanding the Corporation Taxes Act 1988 will ensure you don’t fall foul of the tax man and end up in court owing money, with your business’s good name tarnished.

3. Ensure your goods and services are of a high quality

When you start up your own business, you are required by law to provide goods or services that are of a satisfactory quality. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 stipulates that the goods you sell must be as described. They must be of a satisfactory quality, matching your promises of performance. Similarly, the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 requires that you undertake any services that you offer with reasonable skill, care and time, at a reasonable cost. Failure to adhere to this could see you fined. The Consumer Protection Act 1987 holds you responsible if you supply a sub-standard product that causes damage or injury.

4. Insure yourself properly

By law, you’re required to have insurance for a small business. There are various types of business insurance, some compulsory and others advisable. You will require professional indemnity insurance and employers’ liability insurance – you can find more info on this in startups.co.uk. It’s useful to also insure yourself against liability if an act of nature, or some uncontrollable act, prevents you from fulfilling a contract. This could leave you open to legal action, so you need to stipulate that you’re not liable for unfinished work if it’s due to these factors.

5. Should you be a sole trader or a limited company?

The laws relating to how you should run your business can seem complicated, with various pros and cons to registering as a sole trader or a limited company. It seems attractive that as a sole trader, you retain complete control of your company, but less inviting that you’re also responsible for debts. A limited company offers more financial security and potential tax benefits, such as company shareholders being liable for a debt according to only the level of their own investment.

Thanks,

Chase

IRS Audit and Audit Representation – How to Handle an Audit

by

With changes to federal regulations in tax law every few years, it can become difficult to keep track of the details of your taxes. Perhaps you made a mistake when you filled out your W2 form, or maybe the details of your life have changed and you forgot to file the necessary changes with the IRS. Whatever the reason behind your audit, it can be a stressful and worrisome experience if you aren’t familiar with tax law. Fortunately this guide is available to help you through the difficult experience of facing an IRS audit, and audit representation is easier to come across than you might have thought. So here are some tips, tools, and guidelines to help you through your audit.

BusyOfficeMan

Background Information on the IRS

To begin, let’s explore the background of the IRS and its authority as a regulatory entity presiding over taxation in the US. The IRS is acronym for the Internal Revenue Service, and it is a branch of the federal government’s Department of the Treasury. From its headquarters in Washington DC, the IRS consists of almost 90,000 employees who collect taxes from US citizens and transfer those funds to the Treasury Department to keep the government and its municipal functions running efficiently in service of those tax paying citizens. While this system sounds fairly straightforward on a superficial level, the actual operations of the government agency are much more complex and constantly changing to reflect the shifting economic landscape of the country. As most working professionals are busy enough with their daily jobs, taking the time to familiarize themselves with every change in tax law can be exhausting. As such, the initial piece of advice for handling an IRS audit is to avoid getting the audit in the first place. While young people in the fledgling stage of their careers might think of outside tax accounting services as a superfluous expense, those further along in their careers are familiar with the necessity to delegate tax compliance to an outside agent.

1040Tax

Type of Audit

There are three distinct ways in which the IRS can notify an individual or business of its audit. The type of audit to which one might be subjected roughly corresponds with the severity of the audit. These three types of audits include a correspondence audit, an office audit, as well as an in-home audit.

  • Correspondence Audit: As the least severe type of audit that could arise, the correspondence audit is likely indicative of a missing file, form or report from one’s annual tax filing. Because these sorts of clerical errors happen frequently, there is usually no cause for concern. You audit may be resolved with as simple a solution as sending in the missing file so that the IRS agent can ensure everything is in order for your taxes.
  • Office Audit: While not quite as simple as the correspondence audit, an office audit is not necessarily something to be worried about. The IRS issues randomly selected inquiries into business and individuals in an effort to ensure the best possible compliance with tax regulations. You could potentially just be one of those randomly selected individuals chosen for an audit, in which case there is no need to worry. However, because an office audit is more thorough and involved than a correspondence audit, you should take greater care in handling the situation, perhaps seeking outside assistance and legal representation from a company like 800Tax.com.
  • Home Audit: Generally the most severe of the three types of audits, the home audit should be taken seriously as an inquiry into one’s personal financial and taxation history looking for instances of tax fraud such as under-reported income or excessive and illegitimate business write-offs. The IRS is likely to request a large volume of records ranging in anything from bank account records to tax filings from previous years.

 

Tools for Audit Recourse

When you are facing an audit, it’s understandable to be concerned about the penalties to which you might be subjected. However, there are certain tools available to everyone that you can use as recourse to an IRS audit and audit representation can make a huge difference. The two that you will likely find the most useful in such a situation are audit reconsideration and the audit appeals court.

  • Audit Reconsideration: One of the most powerful tools available to an individual facing an audit of any kind is an audit reconsideration. The IRS will reconsider an audit if it arises that the audit was filed after the statute of limitations has run out for the individuals past tax mistake. If the audit determined that an individual needed to pay more than he or she was legally obligated to pay, the audit may be reconsidered as well.
  • Audit Appeals Court: If the IRS proves unwilling to reconsider your audit, you may still be able to avoid paying penalties. If you are undergoing an IRS audit and audit representation you’ve hired finds that you have been incorrectly taxed, you are eligible to appeal your case and have it reexamined with the proper information presented.

Hopefully, you’ll never have to go through an IRS Audit, but if you do, now you know steps to take,

Bests,

Chase