Real estate brokers and property managers receive what are known as “trust funds” in the normal course of doing business. These are typically deposits and payments received and held on behalf of others, thereby creating a fiduciary responsibility to the funds owners. In our business as property managers, we must handle and acc...

The role of being a landlord comes with many financial, legal, and ethical obligations. As an owner of an investment property, time is money.  There are two ways to go, managing the property yourself or hiring a property manager. On this week's Five Minute Friday, Bob poses a question to real estate investors:  should you ma...

In this week's Five Minute Friday, Bob reviews and gives his position/endorsement for either a "yes" or a "no" on four California Ballot Measures in the upcoming election on November 3rd, that he believes to be  significant to landlords, real estate investors and owners of rental property. Bob provides his opi...

What is a "process" and why do we need it as a landlord or property management company? Webster’s defines process as a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. All you property managers out there, sound familiar? Our daily workflow in this business requires us to follow certain steps for sever...

We've been getting a lot of questions this month about the new eviction protection laws recently passed by the CDC and in California so we wanted to provide an overview to California landlords and property managers on this episode of Five Minute Friday. Full disclosure, Bob Preston, the host of the show, is NOT an attorney so this epi...

As the host of the show, Bob often gets asked about the name of his podcast, Property Management Brainstorm. That often leads to the question, is Property Management a creative business? is the business of being a landlord and managing rental properties an open landscape for brainstorming and innovation? If asked, many of our listeners wo...

A common question we get at North County Property Group is what type of rental should I have for my investment property, long-term rental or short-term rental? Long-term rentals involve annual leasing on a home that is normally unfurnished. Short-term rentals, sometimes called vacation rentals, are homes that are furnished with all utilit...

This episode is dedicated to property managers wanting to grown their business. Bob discusses hosting landlord seminars with Mike Connolly, Broker/Owner at East Bay Property Management of Freemont, CA. Mike's company has successfully hosted landlord seminars to bolster their business development efforts and grow their rental property ...

There are two times of the year when a functioning HVAC system is critical for a tenant in a rental property, winter time when in need of heating, and the middle of summer when cooling is necessary during hot temperatures. In this episode of Five Minute Friday, Bob explains why regular HVAC service is not only worth it, but how his compan...

When society emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, will there be a paradigm shift across industries, our economy, and even how we live our lives?  Might that shift create a need for us to make permanent adaptations to the way we run our property management businesses?  In this Five Minute Friday, Bob Preston ponders these question...