It could be for fun, or for work, or school, but for some reason you want to move to Eugene. Maybe you’ve visited briefly, or used to live here, or have never even heard of it, but soon you’ll be a Eugenian and don’t know what to expect, but fear not! Thats why I’m writing this. To tell you a bit about our crazy little emerald city.
    Eugene is a unique place. Its just about bursting with plant life of all kinds due to an abundance of rain, but just because it rains a lot doesn’t mean you can’t have fun outdoors. In fact, many Eugenians love hiking, biking, and playing in the rain. People here are very active regardless of the weather. That being said, the first sunny days of spring are still seen as a reason to celebrate, and local parks become filled with people trying to catch those first rays.
    If the outdoors isn’t really your scene don’t worry. There’s plenty of other things to do. Eugene is home to at least four popular musical venues, and there are concerts happening weekly. Celebrations, festivals, and street fairs of all kinds are another regular occurrence. Bad at keeping yourself entertained? Don’t worry! There’s always something going on.
    If there were one thing I’d say is the greatest part of living in Eugene, its that it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, or where you came from. Here, you can be anyone you want and people are ok with it. Eugenians are fun, happy, accepting people who take pride in standing out and being unique, so be who you want! Whether that means being a businessman or a hippie. A musician or a farmer. A street performer or a famous actor. I’ve seen them all right here in the Willamette Valley, so if you’re moving here don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding exactly what you’re looking for.

Looking at the possibility of a job change or other move? Is it possible that you are in a situation where you know that selling your home is not an option? Maybe you are considering putting your house up for rent and becoming a landlord and or hiring a property manager?

Consider these items before you make a decision:

1. Do you live in a rental community? Are there enough individuals and families that are moving in and out of the area on a regular basis? Maybe you live near a university or military base that has people transitioning in and out of the area.

2. Are you prepared to handle tenant and maintenance related issues. Even if you have a newer home there are many factors and costs that will come up. Some of those items you have been dealing with as a home owner, may not be able to be put off when looking for or having tenants in your home.

3. Do you have funds set aside? Maintenance? Non Payment of rent by the tenants? At a minimum you need to have a month to six weeks of funds set aside for turn overs or If your tenant stops paying the rent.

Keep in mind that you may also want to turn to a property manager for help. While just about everything is tax deductible on a rental home, including property management fees, insurance, mortgage interest and repairs, you need to be sure that you are doing it right and have an exit strategy in place down the road.

Spring is my favorite time of year in Eugene. The sun finally comes out, the plants all start to bloom, and everyone is outside to enjoy it.  Around this time we at Pioneer Property Management like to drive around and make sure our properties are being taken care of, so remember to mow your lawn and pull those weeds! Now is also the ideal time to start a garden. You’ll be surprised how much fun you can have when you spend a day working in the yard, so get outside and enjoy these next few months, because it’ll be raining again before you know it.

Finding a house isn’t just about convenience. It doesn’t mean looking for something that’s “good enough”. It means looking for a home. Somewhere to bring your friends or raise a family. A place to play with your dog on let out your cat without worry. You may want a home close to work, or a place near a park for your kids. A home isn’t just where you live, but a place you enjoy living in. Here at Pioneer Property Management we take all of this into account to help you find a place to call home.

When you are shopping for a new home, choosing the right neighborhood can be tricky.  Fortunately for renters, your home location does not necessarily have to be long term.  Why not error on the side of caution and do your homework before signing that lease for that new property?  Why not figure out where you can be happy even if it is just a short term lease?  Doing some research on a neighborhood, or at least going to a minimum of figuring out what your top housing priorities are, prior to moving in to a new space can pay off in many ways in the long-run.  As an example, if you are a young, married couple that has children or are planning on starting a family soon, do you really want to be living close to a college campus with partying students living next door keeping late, loud hours?

For advice and more detailed information on how to choose the right neighborhood, check out the following link on Trulia’s website: http://www.trulia.com/guide/rentals/before_you_rent/how_to_choose_the_right_neighborhood/.  Also, be sure not to miss Trulia’s Stats & Trends for information on market trends, background on schools and parks, and crime statistics.  It’s a great resource!

No one likes to pay a large amount towards outrageous energy bills. Tenants, Landlords and Management alike can save both energy and money by trying a few simple things. Most require little or no monetary investment, participants will see lowered utility bills almost immediately. Here are some ideas that you might want to consider.

1. Be sure to change air filters on a monthly basis. Dirty, clogged air filters make units work harder, they will consume more energy, equals higher bills.
2. Turn off you lights when you are not in the room?
3. Minimize the number of times you hold the refrigerator door open.
4. Taking a vacation?  Take the time to unplug those electrical devices that will not be used.
5. Turning down the thermostat on the water heater is also a good idea.
6. Set your thermostat higher during the summer months and lower during the winter months. This will help conserve energy and lower utility bills.
7. Watering in the early morning or evening during the summer really do work. It conserves water, and is much efficient, as more water is absorbed into the soil when it is cooler.
8. Report any water leaks to management. Even a barely noticeable drip can waste gallons of water and raise your water bill significantly.
9. Cleaning lint traps are just some little things that can be done that require little effort.

Manager’s can also set examples by keeping the thermostat down in the office, use non disposable items, ask yourself  “do I really need to print this, can I save this document on my computer?”, utilize all the electronic measures you can to communicate.

Landlords looking to save on advertising cost and costly printing in newspapers, flyers and signs can list their vacancies for $1 per listing on rentmyhome.org

Visit Pioneerpm.com

All are welcome to come by our open house today at 4621 Souza Eugene Oregon between 2-4 PM Friday April 8th 2011. See listing info here. http://pioneer.appfolio.com/listings/d0ef4097-8d94-448f-9f70-8caaa2b04b6e.

I love new tech items, probably a little more than I should.  I know my wife would prefer that I stop changing things on our personal computer but I am always looking to the newest, fastest, more secure thing.  You name it and I would like to implement it into our property management business.  One major thing to consider is that no matter what it is, if you want your customers to use it, it has to work.  It has to be easy and it should take a lot of searching around to try and figure it out.  Or no matter what it is, or how great it is, no one will use it and you have spent time and money setting this thing up.

One thing I really like right now is being able to e sign documents.  Its green, no paper waist and streamlines contract signing. We use a service provider that makes it really easy and so for so good.  Its easy, it works and there are no hassles to it.

One thing I don’t like is companies who send out secure emails and expect that you should be able to or have to be able to log into their system, if it works, to be able to communicate with them. Argh!!

If we ever do something tech wise or not so wise that its not working for you, please let me know and I’ll fix it.

Pioneer Property Management is now able to offer a new service to our valued vendors. While Pioneer has always made it a point to be “Pioneers in Property Management” as our slogan on our website so boldly states. Some items take certain technology that hasn’t been available in the past.

Direct deposit is nothing new and has been utilized by many companies for many different banking transfers. Pioneer has been doing direct deposits to property owners for years and over the last couple of years, we have been able to offer to our tenants a way to do user directed rental payments, via direct deposit. the goal here is to become a more “Green Office” through paper reduction, speed of payments and security.

What’s in the future for Pioneer and property management in general? Who knows, further automation for sure.

Having trouble finding carbon monoxide alarms? It might be because Oregon has recently made it a requirement to have them in your home. Many property managers and landlords are making a last minute push to meet the deadline of April 1 2011. So it’s possible that you may see some shortages. Our experience, is that the stores have generally stocked up, but if you are looking for a specific model or type you may have to do some driving around.