Property Management in Pueblo West, CO 81007

I apologize I haven't posted anything recently, it's been a busy year so far.  I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season and have started off the New Year well!  This post is more specific than some of my previous posts and we will be starting a whole series on owning investment homes or rental homes in specific areas in El Paso and Pueblo Counties.  Today's focus is Pueblo West.

Pueblo West is located approximately 10 miles west of the town of Pueblo, CO.  Pueblo West is a separate entity of Pueblo Proper and is governed by a Metro District.  I won't go into too many details about the town specifically but it's good to have at least a little bit of background for those of you who are not familiar with this area.  Pueblo west offers a variety of living from single family homes on agricultural lots typically ranging from 1-5 acres, and residential lots averaging about .25 acres.  There are hundreds of miles of equestrian and walking easements and plenty of outdoor opportunities.  Desert Hawk Golf Course is a beautiful course to play 18 holes or spend a day at the bar/clubhouse, or whack a few balls at the driving range.

The Southern portion of Pueblo West is located in close proximity to Lake Pueblo which is one of the top 50 bass lakes in the country!  The lake also offers tons of recreational opportunities from their 2 full service marinas, water skiing, jet skiing, and more!  Pueblo West offers a multitude of restaurants from fast food to steaks.  The shopping available includes Wal-Mart, Safeway, multiple gas stations and convenience stores, a general store at the west end and many other establishments.

The Northern portion of Pueblo West borders the south end of Ft. Carson and offers quick access to I25.  Many Soldiers have found the prices to be appealing and the location quite convenient to Ft. Carson.  There is an industrial portion of Pueblo West located in this area also with lots of shops and small businesses.

Now that the geographical areas are discussed lets look at the benefits of owning a rental home or investment property in Pueblo West, CO.  The variations in lot sizes and lot restrictions will appeal to a large amount of people.  The ability to purchase or rent homes with fencing and facilities for equine is a major bonus to anybody who enjoys the company of Horses, Mules, or Donkeys.  Although Pueblo West has been established since the 1970's much of the growth began in the 90's and 2000's therefore the homes are relatively new and should require less maintenance.  Add to that the convenience to Lake Pueblo, the mountains outside of Canon City, and the amenities, and it's hard to go wrong!  Pueblo West has great potential for growth and is only approximately 50% built out.

If you currently own, or are looking at purchasing a rental home in Pueblo West, please contact us if you need any assistance!  As always thank you for taking the time to read this post and make sure to check back often!

Sincerely,

Daniel Muldoon
Muldoon Associates, Inc.

 

How To Choose The Right Property Management Software

Hello All!

In this post we will be going over what to look for in a property management software.  There are companies providing software that suits everyone from the one unit owner to companies that manage thousands of units!  You will need to begin by outlining what you want your software to do.  Will you only be using it to keep track of your occupants?  Do you need online rent payments or owner/tenant portals?  Will you be using the software to mass produce emails?  Would you like the software to automatically create templates for online advertising?  There are many powerful property management programs available at this time it's just a matter of deciding what's right for your situation.

Smartphones and tablets are very powerful tools and relatively inexpensive.  There are property management apps available for little or no cost and work well for the owner who has a few units or a small start up company.  Most of these apps will keep track of occupants, lease dates, inspection dates, and some even have built in payment features!  If this is all you need then a smart phone or tablet and an app should suit your needs just fine.

On the other hand if you are managing more properties or you need your software to do additional tasks you will need to upgrade to a desktop or laptop computer.  Many of the larger management software companies offer web based solutions.  This is great because you don't need much local hard drive space since all of the information is held in the cloud.  Typically you pay a monthly fee based on the number of units you manage and the features you need. All of the updates and changes are automatically done with no additional cost.  Beware though, you must have an internet connection to access the database so if you are out of service often, a web based solution may not work for you.

We use Appfolio for our property management software and it's been great for us!  They offer online ads, one click posting to craigslist, online tenant and owner portals, and all of the accounting features you would expect out of your management software.  Their customer service is excellent and they are constantly making their software better and easier to use!  There are other software choices such as Propertyware, Promas, Yardi Systems, TOPS and a few others.  Be sure to check out each one thoroughly so you know what the program can do for you! 

Feel free to comment, share, or contact me directly if you have additional questions!

Sincerely,

Daniel Muldoon