Woodstock Properties

The right choice when you need a professional to buy, sell, rent or manage your home.

Fall 2014

Linda C. "Dusty" Woodstock
Realtor®
CRB, CRS, GRI, RMP®

Address
98-211 Pali Momi Street.
Suite 430
Aiea, Hawaii 96701

Phone
(808) 488-1588 ext. 200

Email
Dusty@WoodstockHawaii.com

Website
www.WoodstockHawaii.com

Our Team

Brett Schenk, REALTOR®
BIC, CRS, GRI, GREEN
Licensed Hawaii Real Estate Broker
Property Manager
BrettSchenk@Hawaii.rr.com

Carmen Magno, REALTOR®
Licensed Hawaii Real Estate Broker
Property Manager
Carmen@WoodstockHawaii.com

Scher Webb, RA
Hawaii State Licensed Realtor
Property Manager
Scher@Hawaii.rr.com

Sheryl J. Messamer
RA CPM SRES
Hawaii State Licensed Realtor
Office Manager/Sales Associate
Sherry@WoodstockHawaii.com

Lauren Hooser, RA
Hawaii State Licensed Realtor
Property Manager
Lauren@WoodstockHawaii.com

April Tauzin, RA
Hawaii State Licensed Realtor
Property Manager
April@WoodstockHawaii.com

Claudia Host, RMP®
Project Coordinator
Claudia@WoodstockHawaii.com

Rob Host
Bookkeeper
Rob@WoodstockHawaii.com

Don't Forget

Check Your Insurance: Events can happen - flood, extreme heat, hurricanes, fire, and more! It is important to check your insurance to obtain the best coverage possible and ensure that it is current. Review now with your insurance agent before a disaster/emergency occurs.

If An Emergency Occurs: Our first priority during any emergency is to handle the situation, taking any necessary measures for the safety of your property and your tenants. Then, we will contact you as soon as we are able.


You Can't Please Everyone

We all know that you can't please all the people all the time. This is also true with property management. It is well known throughout the industry that the number one tenant complaint and reason for taking legal action is security deposit deductions. Woodstock Properties, Inc. has always conducted and documented our very thorough Property Condition Walk-Through at both the beginning of tenancy as well as the end of tenancy. We are thus able to compare the differences in the condition of the property before and after tenancy. Of course, legally, we are obligated to account for "normal wear and tear" for which deductions may not be made.

Woodstock Properties, Inc. has always looked for ways to improve upon our practice and services and many times that improvement has come via new technologies. We recently began using proprietary software which enables us to embed photos within the property condition report which our tenants sign & receive upon move in. We are very pleased with the professional, easy to read new report and have received a positive response from those investor/owners who have had a recent tenant turnover which resulted in them receiving this new property condition report along with the pictures. We all know what they say about a picture being worth a 1,000 words and look forward to fewer tenant disputes and fewer threats about taking legal action.


Avoiding Court

No investor wants to receive a call from a property manager that legal action could be or is necessary. As your property management company, we spend a lot of time and energy trying to avoid this kind of call. Our efforts include updating our education, preventative maintenance, placing qualified tenants in your property, and handling the many details involved with your property in a timely manner. However, avoiding litigation requires teamwork. Property owners and property managers working together can follow these ABC's to avoid legal action.

Always follow the law.
Many important laws and rulings affect rental property today, such as Fair Housing, habitability, timeliness of repairs, retaliation, lead-based paint, mold, etc. Every year even more legislation occurs due to litigation. We continually update our knowledge by attending industry events and reading important publications. We also make a conscientious effort to keep you, the investor, informed, by sending important notifications and providing informational articles in our newsletter. If a legal situation arises, we will make you aware of what is happening, what action is necessary, and explain why. .

Why is it important that you know legislation or rulings that affect your property? It is crucial that all parties know the penalties and costs that could affect your bottom line. One cannot plead "ignorance" of the law and place blame elsewhere. The court's attitude is and always will be that you, the property owner, are responsible for knowing what governs your property. Knowledge empowers investors to make intelligent decisions. Our professional affiliations and continuing education keeps us informed and in turn we strive to keep our staff and investor/owners up to date and informed.

Be Proactive.
Taking a proactive approach will avoid the majority of legal issues. It is absolutely necessary for property owners and managers to follow Fair Housing laws and rules while marketing and renting property. Providing well-maintained properties to residents is another crucial area where the investor and property manager must work together to avoid future problems. It is always easier to think "preventative" and avoid difficult situations and possibly incur financial losses.

Consider all options in seeking resolution.
The fact is that no matter how much property owners/managers work on education, good tenancy, and preventative maintenance, problems can still occur with the tenancy or the property. Even good tenants can have unusual problems. Unexpected maintenance and external forces, such as a natural disaster can cause other difficulties and legal threats. No matter what happens, property managers and investors should work together and consider all options to resolve issues with the tenants and/or the property.

When an issue does arise, there are often alternatives to going to court. It is imperative that together we evaluate the costs and results of proceeding with any legal tenant action. For example, the former tenant may dispute their security deposit deductions. Although their claims may not be justified, it can be more costly to refuse to compromise or make a concession and chance a court decision.

There are times that legal action is the only choice. If this happens, it is important to move as quickly as possible to prevent even further losses. As your property management company, we will do our best to avoid having to call you regarding a legal matter. We ask you to work with us to avoid litigation whenever possible.

Our Associations

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The material provided in this newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice.
Although we believe this material is accurate, we cannot guarantee that it is 100% without errors.

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