Banks to handle deposits faster
Starting in early October 2004 banks will be handling deposits quicker. According to the new rules, a check will clear the bank on the day of deposit. This will eliminate the float on checks. This will probably mean we will see an increased number of bounced checks until everyone gets used to the new system. We will be sending out letters to ALL our tenants letting them know about the change. It will be up to them to ensure their checks will clear. There is no clear answer s to whether we will find out about bounced checks in a more timely manner.
Market continues to be soft
According to the Colorado Apartement Association (CAA) and their local chapter, the Boulder County Rental Housing Association, the metro rental market is still extremely soft. You can see buy the graph the number of rentals dropped sharply since Labor Day. However, we still have a very large number of rentals on the market. One indication of this is the 3-story sign on CU's new apartments that offers 2 months free rent. Tenants are very aware of the market and are forcing rents down drastically as the peak season comes to a close. Rental agents and owners need to be able to negotiate at the showings to avoid letting their prospect go down the road to the next rental. Some segments of the market are particularly hard hit--Longmont is one of these.
How soon will this turn around? It is still anyone's guess. Early in the summer we thought the market was showing signs of improvement. The numbers of advertised rentals was down from last year. As the peak season progressed we saw the number of available rentals remain higher than expected. Everyone seems to be waiting for the results of the November election before they make predictions.
