Checking in with Property Grunt

Last year I contacted the New York broker/blogger Property Grunt to clear up some things about what we do.

Today he was kind enough to sing our praises, saying he's happy our company has become a fixture in the real estate world, going so far as:

If you want to get a better idea of what the future will offer for real estate, watch Jake Harrington and On-Site.com very carefully.

I could get used to this!

NY Times: Only the Strong Survive

The New York Times knocked on our door, asked me our secrets, took my photo and published a lead story in their Real Estate section.

The Times asked: In a strong Manhattan rental market, just how good do your credentials need to be?

The answer: Only the strongest survive.

New York heavyweights weighed in their experience with screening residents, using as many dog references as possible:

Citi Habitats:

"It’s very pro-tenant here in terms of the courts. To evict someone who isn’t paying, it can take six months to go through the right legal process."

Manhattan Skyline Management:

"More information is always helpful, as far as we’re concerned."

Us:

"We have people all the time with a 700 to 800 FICO score, but their landlord-tenant record is horrible. We called the former landlord of a woman who had moved to New York from Georgia. Although her income and credit were excellent, her ex-landlord reported that she had not paid the rent for three months and abandoned her dog when she left."

Anita Ray, who thought her credit was good enough:

"It kind of makes you feel like you’ve done something wrong. You feel like a kicked puppy or something."

Glenwood Management:

"For some reason, when people go into a divorce, if it’s nasty, people stop paying their bills more often than not."

Archstone-Smith:

"You shouldn’t have the same feeling in your stomach as when your dentist tells you that you need a root canal."

Get the full story.

Come one, come all...

Best known for its work with major residential property owners, On-Site.com is empowering small owners with the same smart tools for identifying and leasing to quality residents.

So begins a piece in the November/December Mann Report, glossy magazine of the Manhattan glitterati. Or at least the magazine that sends a photographer to all the broker parties for new buildings.

Publisher Jeff Mann, best known for showcasing himself was kind enough to give us a plug:

The product RentNow™ provides landlords with an instant recommendation to rent based on background information and public records. Following an applicant's approval, the program enables a landlord to produce lease forms customized to individual state requirements that, with just one click, may be filled out, printed, and ready to sign.

Smaller property owners often lack access to the same tools that the big guys use to mange risk. And things are only getting worse, with identity theft and crackdowns on access, thanks to our friends in the industry who were lax with the rules.

Anyway, we're proud to announce that RentNow is now open for business.

Tips for renting, circa 1954

An old-timey landlord I met once told me how he would size up the renters who would drive by his office.

It was easy, he said. Just look at how nice a car the prospect drove up in.

A reporter for Multi-Housing News really ate up that silly anecdote and published other assorted pearls of wisdom.