Turn-Key Properties LLC manages hundreds of rental properties throughout the KC Metro Area. In order to stay on top of the market we must have our finger on the pulse of rental activity, demand and current rental rates for a given area.

Obviously the rates are determined by a number of factors;

•  Location  (community, schools, shopping, crime, accessibility, etc.)
  
• Condition  (clean, modern, fresh paint, newer carpet, recent remodel, etc.)
  
• Property Type  (townhome, apartment, duplex, single family house, etc.)
  
• Amenities  (pool, dishwasher, lawn care, garage, outbuildings, fences)
  
• Property Size  (1, 2, 3, 4 bedrooms, 2 or more baths, square footage, etc)

It is no accident I placed Location in the number 1 position!

_NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Federal officials hope to launch a pilot program in early 2012 to convert government-owned foreclosures into rental properties.The program, which was cited by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last week as one way to address the housing crisis, would sell foreclosed homes now owned by Fannie Mae  and Freddie Mac  to investors in bulk. The properties would then be converted into rentals.

The story reads on, but somewhere in this mix, there are yet a number of questions to be resolved.

1. Who will establish the rental rates?
2. Who will clean and prepare the properties for the rental market?
3. Who will market the properties to prospective renters?
4. Who will maintain the properties until they are sold?
5. Who will screen the tenants, collect the rent and proceed with eviction if needed?

Property Managers!  Fannie, Freddie and the FHA, which hold about 250,000 properties, according to Bernanke. It looks like Ben Bernanke may be in the market to hire a few thousand experienced residential property managers to take care of the glut of homes. And with as many as Two Million more hanging in the lurch of the foreclosure process there is no end in site!

Read the rest of the story from (CNNMoney)

As I have pointed out before, Landlord Licensing is nothing more than a TAX!

While we were able to keep it from becoming a tax in Kansas City, MO they still did enact a requirement to register your rental property.
Don't Forget -- Rental Registration is required for rental properties in
Kansas City, Missouri.

The City of Kansas City, Mo., is issuing a reminder to owners of rental dwellings
located in the City in an effort to let them know they must renew or establish registration of their rental properties with the City's Neighborhood and Community Services Department on an annual basis. Annual registration of rental properties is part of the Rental Registration and Inspection Program that was established by the City Council, with passage of ordinance No. 071046 in October 2007.

Registration may be submitted anytime during the month of January without incurring
a registration fee. All rental properties must be registered within 30 days of becoming
a rental property. Failure to register a rental dwelling within 30 days of the property
becoming a rental will result in the issuance of an administrative citation fine of $50.
For each month (or portion thereof) that a rental dwelling is not registered, an
additional $50 fee will be assessed. For example, a property that was a rental in
January, and not registered until August, will be assessed a fine of $350.

Registration is required on a calendar-year basis and expires each Dec. 31.
Online registration is available at http://www.kcmo.org/neigh. Registration forms can
be downloaded and submitted by mail or in person. For more information about the
Rental Registration and Inspection Program, visit http://www.kcmo.org/neigh or
contact Shalisha Boles, Neighborhood and Community Services Department, 816-
513-3200.

 In October 2007, ordinance No. 071046 was passed requiring that all occupied rental housing units within the City limits of Kansas City, Mo., be registered with the City starting Jan. 1, 2008, and renewed each year.  A $50 per month fine for failure to register began Feb. 1, 2008. The current ordinance is online at municode.com.

Registration renewalRegistration renewal may be done anytime during December or January and there is no registration fee. Failure to renew registration of an occupied rental dwelling before February 1 of each year will result in a fine. For each month (or portion thereof) that a registration is not renewed, a $50 fine will be assessed.