Real estate investing is a business, and like any business, real estate investors have to work at it. Once the income property is purchased, therefore, and the investor becomes a landlord, the goal (unless the investment property is land) must become getting the units full, and at the highest rent per square foot possible.

This is where property management comes in, and decisions made to handle issues like parking (which typically gets overlooked by landlords).

How you maintain your rental property parking area depends on whether you have open parking, garages, carports, or a subterranean parking structure. But aside from the maintenance, there are common-sense principals about rental property parking that real estate investors are advised to understand.

Foremost, paint numbers on the spots and assign them to your tenants (even if you have open parking). Feuds between tenants in a building erupt quickly when someone monopolizes all the parking, whereas assigning parking spots to tenants do help eliminate any potential conflicts.

Extra parking spaces in your rental property can be used for several things. For an extra monthly fee, they can be made available to tenants who need more parking. Or, they can (and probably should be) designated for guest parking. Unless there are specific governing rules to the contrary, one guest space for every four units is a good rule of thumb.

Moreover, your parking area should have a sign clearly posted that says you have the legal right to remove any non-tenant cars from tenant spots. In most cases, your tenants will appreciate this. Just be sure to check with your city regarding their policies because most cities require posting a sign that cites the corresponding vehicle code and a phone number to call if a car is towed.

Parking rules should be spelled out in your rental agreements, as well as posted in the parking area. Here are some suggestions.

1. Tenants are to park in designated areas only
2. Guests are to park in assigned areas only
3. There is no storage of flammable or dangerous materials allowed
4. Car washing in parking areas is not permitted (unless, of course, it is)
5. Auto repairs or oil changing in the parking area is prohibited

Naturally, driveways and parking surfaces should be properly maintained and serviced. The last thing a landlord wants to hear is that a tenant got injured or sustained car damage due to a hole in the pavement. Besides your tenants see these areas every day, and they are part of the overall appearance of your building. If you fix small cracks and holes as they occur, it will save you a major expense later on.

Yes, real estate investing is a business, and proper management of that business, along with good management of the property is essential. The policies affecting the rental property parking area is one of those concerns about real estate investing that real estate investors should address.

A short sale is one in which the property has yet to be formally foreclosed on, but the lenders have agreed to take less than is owed on the loans to get a payoff on the balance owed.

A short sale typically is allowed by lenders to prevent a real estate foreclosure because they believe that it will result in a smaller financial loss than foreclosing, moreover it’s typically faster and less expensive than a foreclosure. For the property owner, the advantages include avoidance of having a foreclosure on their credit history

Why Do Short Sales Exist?

Short sales exist because owners get in trouble and lenders have found that they can minimize their loss on bad loans by getting the property sold before they have to go through the formal foreclosure process.

Why Are There So Many Short Sales?

Short sales have become especially popular due to the combination of falling real estate prices and real estate financed with low down payments. Many property owners simply owe more on their properties than they’re currently worth, and lender’s rather agree to a short sale and forgive the unpaid debt then to foreclose on the property and re-sell it.

If you’re in this position that your property is worth less then what you owe, call your lender. You may need to make a half dozen phone calls before you find the person responsible for handling short sales, but you do not want to talk to the “real estate short sale” or “work out” department, you want the supervisor’s name, the name of the individual capable of making a decision for a short sale.

It’s not guaranteed that the lender will consent to a short sale, and there are other things that can derail it, but it may be your best option, and you’ve got nothing to lose by asking.

Real estate agents typically miss opportunities to sell rental income property because aren’t prepared to work with real estate investment property. They lack enough rental property knowledge to talk with investors, and they don’t possess adequate tools to service investors on the spot during their first encounter with the investor.

I’ve seen it a thousand times. Real estate colleagues rush around the office just after receiving an up call or walk-in asking how to calculate capitalization rate. They wanted to make a sale, but were totally lost.

By that time, however, it was generally too late for my colleague. In most cases, at least from my experience, when an agent fails to adequately impress the real estate investor in the first encounter, leaving the investor with the impression that the agent knows or cares little about income property, the investor moves on to another agent.

It’s perplexing to me why most real estate agents don’t get it. That working with rental income property is just a matter of preparation. But rather then preparing with Armani and Mercedes, what most impresses a real estate investor is a real estate agent who understands investment property, is able to provide timely numbers, and generally displays a concern how the investor spends his or her money.

This is not difficult to do. There are plenty of resources on the web where agents can learn real estate investment terms and formulas. There is real estate investment software that enables agents to quickly run the numbers, and make quality presentations for investors. With even a slight initiative, any real estate agent can easily prepare to capture investment property opportunities and gain investor loyalty when they arise.

Best of all, the effort is worth it. Here’s a secret. Real estate investors (unlike homebuyers) often purchase multiple properties, and tend to exchange up to larger properties over time. In other words, whenever you get the opportunity to work with one investor on one transaction, you potentially get multiple transactions.

There’s no need to risk losing the opportunity. Set aside time to learn about real estate investing and budget for quality real estate investing software. Moreover, have it at your disposal beforehand, in preparation for your chance encounter with an investor. Bear in mind that you may get just one shot to work with the next income property opportunity; it will cost you not to take advantage of it.