Tips to keep your yard up without wasting water.

Ditch the Automatic Sprinkler
Automatic sprinklers can keep your yard up, but it can also waste a lot of money and water.
Water in the Morning
In the heat of the day, water will touch the surface and evaporate.
Use a Rain Gauge
A rain gauge can help you track how much water your yard is getting — about an inch of water per week is all it really needs.
Collect Rainwater
Turn gutters into a watering system or use a rain barrel to collect the runoff. Check local laws first, as there may be restrictions on water collection.

A good screening process in stages

First Contact
A potential tenant calls you for more information about the property and the lease. Ask some pre-screening questions to save time.
The Showing
If First Contact questions are good; schedule an apartment showing to meet the potential tenant(s) face-to-face for the first time.
The Application
The potential is still interested and no red flags went up during The Showing. Make sure that in the rental application, they provide references from prior landlords and employers. And always run a credit report and criminal check.
Approval Process
There are still no red flags. Time to accept him or her and decline other applicants. However, until there is a signed lease, the process isn’t complete.
Lease Signing
Both parties are ready to sign a legal document – the lease agreement. Make sure to throughly review the lease to make sure all the rules are completely understood.
Remember, even at this point, if a red flag comes up, it’s not too late to stop the signing process or to rip up the lease.

What Tenants Want from a Landscape

Ability to Cook and Entertain Outdoors
A whopping 96% of Americans surveyed said they wanted grills outside. This was closely followed by complete outdoor living spaces, including outdoor kitchens and areas to entertain guests.
Lighting and Installed Seating
About 95% of those surveyed claimed lighting was important to them in an outdoor space.
Another common desire for outdoor space is the presence of installed seating. This ranges from simple ledges and boulders to installed benches.
Outdoor Recreation
You might be surprised to find that outdoor recreation amenities, such as pools and tennis courts, garnered only 76% of the vote.

A free way to increase searchability, build reputation

Too many property managers aren’t aware of the free tools offered online, like Yelp.
Recent data suggests there are over 57 million reviews on Yelp. More importantly 82% of Yelp users go there because they intend to buy a product or service.
People who are looking for property management and rentals often do business once they find what they’re looking for.
About a third of Yelp visitors are looking for real estate services.
Yelp partners with Apple, Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing to offer search results for Smartphone users.