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“When it rains, look for rainbows; when it’s dark, look for stars.” — Oscar Wilde Ah, love. It’s hopeful, excited, and full of potential. And it’s on full display every February 14th. But when pandemic protocol makes a romantic night (or day) out challenging, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy Valentine’s Day in and around Denver while staying safe and distancing from the masses. Here are five ways to enjoy a virtual, yet romantic, Valentine’s Day with your sweetheart. Bake a Piñata Cake Denver-based Chefate is hosting a virtual cake stuffing party, where participants can connect online as they create culinary masterpieces (or something close). Perfect for couples who enjoy chemistry in the kitchen, it’s also a great opportunity for those flying solo to make virtual friends as they show off their pastry prowess. Or you can attend without your mate to create a tasty surprise for Valentine’s Day. Chefate’s founder, Chef Nakia, notes on her website that a non-perishable food item will be donated for each person who attends the Surprise Your Sweetie event. Sign up here for the event, which occurs Saturday, Feb. 13th at 9 am MST. Watch a Show Littleton’s Town Hall Arts Center is offering a streaming version of Almost, Maine, “a vignette of nine short plays that explore the love and loss in a remote almost-town called Almost, Maine.” Tickets are just $15 and can be purchased here. The show will run Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12th and 13th, at 7:30 pm MST. Enjoy the Opera Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s “Some Enchanted Evening” will feature performances from classic operas including La Boheme, Pagliacci, and Samson and Delilah, with additional selections from The Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, and South Pacific. At just $10 for an online download, it’s an economical way to get your special someone in the Valentine’s Day mood. The event will occur at 7:30 pm EST (that’s 5:30 p.m. Colorado time), and tickets can be purchased here. Paint a Masterpiece Or something close. LoDo’s Painting with a Twist is offering several in-person classes on Valentine’s Day, but for those couples who want or need to stay in, there are at-home kits designed to foster shared creativity and fun. Choose the whimsical “Adorned Llamas” set or the moody “A View For Two” set, which includes online video instruction. Pick up on site. Prices start at around $70 per set (which includes materials for two). Check out your options here and note that there are even Daddy (or Mommy) and Me sets for a family-friendly Vday experience. Give (and Get) a Massage. Enjoy a spa day at home with a massage. Cryptotherapy UK’s Nathan offers a free video teaching you how to Give Your Partner the Perfect Massage for Valentine’s Day. Create your ambiance with a few scented candles, mood lighting, and soft music, and don’t forget a soothing massage oil. Following the video, you can give and receive a lovely massage in less than an hour. Check it out here.

Winterizing your sprinklers is an important task that Trinity Team Management will coordinate for its owners. Here in Colorado, we generally schedule blowouts for the first week in October. We hire professionals to complete the job to ensure the pipes do not freeze. If you forget to winterize your sprinklers, you run the risk that water will freeze in the irrigation valves, pipes, and sprinkler heads. When water freezes, it expands, causing the parts of your system to burst and destroying your sprinkler system The cost is approximate (generally a $75-90 charge for our companies to take care of winterization). Some of the smaller vendors use a compressor that is not large enough, but they are less expensive. This runs the risk of breaking the blow-off valve/vacuum breaker if the compressor they use is not large enough. All the companies we use will use the correct size compressor. Hence, the old saying, you get what you pay for.

Ultimately, the decision is up to you, the owner. In our experience, we have found that 80% of applicants have a pet. When you’re renting out a single-family home, as opposed to a townhouse or condo, dogs are typically part of the equation. If you decide not to allow pets, it may take longer to find a tenant, but it is possible. There are a few things to consider when accepting pets: Service and Support animals are legally not considered pets. They are an extension of their owner, who needs their help for day-to-day activities. You can not deny them rental status or charge them a pet fee. Pay attention to zoning laws. Some cities do not allow pit bulls, and some do. Does your tenant want to keep chickens in the backyard? Does that HOA allow chickens? Trinity Team uses PetScreening.com. We collect information regarding the pet, and the website gives us a FIDO score (so cute). This score lets us know how we feel about accepting the dog. We learn about shot records, past aggressiveness, age, breed, etc. The Trinity Team typically does not accept cats. Be sure to implement a pet agreement and collect extra money each month for “pet rent.” With so much to think about, it’s comforting to know that Trinity Team Management has your back. We have the knowledge and experience to do this kind of thinking for you!  

What is the most difficult aspect of managing your property? We at the Trinity Team believe it’s the landlord/tenant relationship. As a landlord, we want to start the relationship off on the right foot, and we take pride in our rental property. Generally speaking, new landlords are overly trusting when meeting potential renters. They want to see the best in them, believe in them, and go the extra mile for them. The truth is that the landlord/tenant relationship is the most challenging, yet most critical aspect of successful property management. It’s crucial to follow Colorado state laws and legalities as well as Fair Housing and HUD guidelines. The best way to reduce risk when finding a tenant is to be choosy, but do it legally. Business decisions must be based on facts and not on instinct alone. You may feel connected to an applicant if they were referred to you, and skip the verification process altogether. You may take their word about credit, income verification, past rental experience, current employment, and criminal history. This is a big mistake; objective rental criteria must be developed and applied to everyone equally, regardless of how you feel about them personally. Understandably, it’s faster and more convenient to skip this process and take the tenant at their word. Why do landlords fall into this pit of deception? They simply don’t have the tools, time, or training. When the landlord is inundated with applications all at the same time, they feel a simple conversation is sufficient to move forward in the process. Failing to follow fair and legal rental criteria is a potential liability. Trinity Team has been managing commercial and residential properties since 2008, and we take the screening of potential tenants very seriously. We do have the time, tools, and experience to avoid the red flags you may not recognize. If you’re ready to find a management company that can properly screen your tenants, give us a call!

As we progress with Landlord Mistakes and Self-Managing, today we’ll visit the topic of landlords allowing squatters on their investment property. A squatter is a person who unlawfully occupies an uninhabited building or unused land. They essentially settle on a piece of land without title, right, or payment of rent. The Trinity Team had this happen recently, and it’s not as easy to get a squatter off your property as you might think. This individual parked a dilapidated ambulance on a property we manage. He was living inside and would not vacate the property. In this situation, we had to call the police, who said they couldn’t do anything, to treat it like an eviction. Our manager had to post an eviction notice on the ambulance and then follow the next legal steps to remove him from the property. This could be a tumultuous situation if you are self-managing. You’re exposing yourself to risk when allowing a squatter to remain on your property without your consent and without signing a legal lease. Squatters come in different forms, and a visitor who stays more than two weeks and casually “moves in” is also considered a squatter. This individual should be added to the lease with the owner’s consent. They, too, would go through the vetting process in terms of income verification, credit score, criminal background check, and past landlord verification. You should reap the financial benefits of renting your property. Squatters can be intimidating, but do not allow them! Trinity Team Management is here for you and will help you seamlessly own an investment property without the headaches that are associated with managing one!

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