Rental Trends

This biweekly sponsored column is written by the experts at Gordon James Realty, a local property management firm that specializes in residential real estate, commercial real estate and home owner associations. Please submit any questions in the comments section or via email.

The Fair Housing Act is a federal law that protects tenants and prospective tenants from illegal housing discrimination. However, many states — and the District of Columbia — have their own fair housing rules. These tend to expand on the federal law, guaranteeing additional rights to current and potential renters or homeowners.

This biweekly sponsored column is written by the experts at Gordon James Realty, a local property management firm that specializes in residential real estate, commercial real estate and home owner associations. Please submit any questions in the comments section or via email.

You’ve decided you to hire a professional property management services company for your investment property and you can almost feel the relief of being able to hand off the landlord tasks to a pro.

This biweekly sponsored column is written by the experts at Gordon James Realty, a local property management firm that specializes in residential real estate, commercial real estate and home owner associations. Please submit any questions in the comments section or via email.

Many landlords are unfamiliar with vacant home insurance even though the coverage is critical to protecting their real estate investments. The primary reason has to do with landlord insurance policies that typically only extend to occupied properties. If those dwelling places are vacant for more than 30 or 60 days (the time period is dependent on the insurance carrier and policy) landlord insurance can cease to apply.

This biweekly sponsored column is written by the experts at Gordon James Realty, a local property management firm that specializes in residential real estate, commercial real estate and home owner associations. Please submit any questions in the comments section or via email.

Like many sectors of the economy, the real estate market is subject to seasonal fluctuations in supply and demand. Any Econ 101 class will tell you that, when demand shifts up, supply then increases to equalize towards pareto efficiency. Along these lines, desire for rental properties traditionally experiences a boom in the summer and relative decline in the winter. This trend is particularly pervasive in urban areas (and especially in Washington, D.C.), which makes early spring the ideal time to purchase a rental investment property.

This biweekly sponsored column is written by the experts at Gordon James Realty, a local property management firm that specializes in residential real estate, commercial real estate and home owner associations. Please submit any questions in the comments section or via email.

Renters increasing pay attention to online reviews when searching for their next place, one of several technology trends explored in a recent study by J Turner research reported by Multi-Housing News.