Friday, November 30, 2012

Why we do what we do

Good day Bloggers and friends. Our most recent newsletter has an article written by yours truly. I thought I would share it with the blogging community. Here goes.

Why We Do What We Do
By Robert Collins
Property Manager
Cal West Asset Management

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and during the course of that conversation discover what he or she does for a living? This is the standard man question when forced to converse at an 8 year-olds birthday party with your family. The first man, trying desperately to avoid making eye contact, will untangle his tongue, and gruffly ask, “So what do you do for a living?” Wow that does open up the floodgates! Some jobs sound really interesting, while other jobs make you walk away and say “I wouldn't do that job if you paid me a million dollars”. Plumbers have one of those jobs I just wouldn't do if you paid me.
The funny thing about perspective is that yours seems to carry the most weight when making these decisions. Property management is one of those jobs that people often refer to as "you couldn’t pay me enough" kind of career choices. Interestingly, a recent article by Forbes entitled The Happiest Jobs in America, ranks property managers the second happiest job in America, a virtual tie with the Executive Chef. Also, important to note that number eight on that list is an accountant. That might blow the credibility of the study if you ask me. Of course, I am a property manager, and I think they have a great point there, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. One of the major factors in making it a happy job, as the article points out, is the opportunity to work with people. Property managers do that every day. More importantly, we provide a much-needed product to the community. Housing is one of life's major necessities right next to food, I believe. It is also a retirement vehicle for many of my clients, making it doubly vital to our economy. Now, I don’t define myself by the job that I do, but I do want to be proud of my work. I want to be a leader in my industry. I have some fears that motivate me for better or worse, to be the best I can be. It helps me to have purpose in my work and in my life. Our work purpose is simple. We intend to guard the asset of our clients vigorously. Our mission statement says it all.
“Realizing that the client’s property is among their most valued assets, Cal West is committed to providing comprehensive property management solutions in the South Bay.
We aim to achieve our goals through our extensive knowledge of market conditions, competitive rates, thorough tenant screening, and careful monitoring of each property under management.
Placing the emphasis on integrity, we conduct ourselves ethically and decently with each client, tenant, vendor, and employee. We believe that if we honor these principles we will continue to be the most respected name in the property management industry.”
That is not always easy and I must confess I am not always happy. Especially when I am reminded that property management is sometimes a thankless job or when my eight-year-old son asks me to smile more. But I awake everyday with a renewed passion and commitment to my job. Today will be better than yesterday. Besides, I already have it better than I deserve.http://www.calwestrents.com/blog

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Invitation to come and see our new website

Hello again,

I want all our followers, clients and residents to know about our exciting news. We have a new website. Cal West has been providing San Jose property management services along with other communities for over thirty years. Our website, www.calwestrents.com has been a great tool to help residents and investment owners in the Bay Area for many of those years. But we want our website to be more than a billboard so we have made some really nice changes. The new site has a very useful tools and resources page. The new page provides a ton of information on market trends, links and more. There is also a calculator that helps investors determine the return on their investment and for residents a pro-rated rent calculator. But there is so much more.

Below is list of some other new features of the website:
  • Referrals page for clients, real estate agents and investors
  • New login page for online rent payers. Now you only have to remember one website.
  • New search tool located on the home page. Now its easier than ever to find that special property
  • Recently rented property section provides a nice summary of some of our most recent success stories.
We would love to hear your feedback. Take a look at www.calwestrents.com and send us inquiry with your comments. if you are seeking property management in San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Mountain View, Milpitas, Morgan Hill or Gilroy we can put our experience and technology to work for you.

Talk to you soon,

Robert

Friday, January 20, 2012

Presenting The Cal West Blog

Bloggers, surfers and media nerds,

Let me be the first to welcome you to the Cal West Blog. We have considered the best use of a blog and have made some important decisions about our entrance into the blogging community. I know that there are many resources available to you folks and adding another heavy worded blog to your list may well be the final straw that forces you to throw your computer, ipad or smart phone out the window. Have no fear! I, like many of you, have a busy life. So if this is going to work it needs to be informative, helpful and focused. So, here we go. From time to time myself and others from our company will submit information via this blog as we believe it is relevant to your situation. If you are resident of one of our communities or a valued client that we manage for we hope to educate you on trends in the rental market, new legislation, new programs to help guard your asset and much more. I really want your feedback too. Don't be afraid to ask for more information on a topic or contact me directly with questions. I so enjoy a good discussion. If my information is in question or if you have new information that would benefit us lets have a dialog. We'll get to the bottom of it together. Follow our blog and submit good questions. My hope is that through this blog you can get to know our company and maybe we can get to know you.

See you soon.

Robert C.