Rental Industry News Today

Finding Stuff For Rent is as Easy as Picking Up Your Phone

Most folks have rented formal wear, cars, homes, and apartments. But like the amazing world that lies beneath the ocean’s surface, so too is there an amazing world of things which can be rented.

Popular rental categories today include medical equipment, construction equipment, baby equipment, and self storage.

Rent It Today was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article detailing the benefits of renting sports equipment. The site devoted to all things rental hosted over a million visitors in 2012.

What Can I Rent?

In short, just about anything you can think of that can be purchased can also be rented, including office equipment, video cameras, stage lighting, camping equipment, pumps, and virtually anything related to parties and weddings.

Wanna rent a Ferrari? You can do it. A jet? Yup.

Now finding a rental in your area is as easy as picking up your telephone, iPhone, or Android smartphone. (Yes, you can rent them, too.)

Rent It Today, the ultimate rental resource, is pleased to announce the launch of a call center dedicated to serving those looking to rent anything, as well as  companies in the rental industry.

Jason Glass, co-founder of Rent It Today with Matt Stephenson, was quoted as saying: “The Call Center launch is simply another step in furthering Rent It Today’s desire to promote the best possible experience for both rental industry businesses and the customers they serve. Our visitors now have the option to use the internet or their telephone to find items for rent.”

Contact Rent It Today

The contact center toll free number is 866-441-5246 and initially will operate from 9am to 4pm M-F, EST. If you’re looking to find an item for rent in your area, simply call Rent It Today and their staff will assist you in locating a rental source in your vicinity.

Of course, you can still visit their comprehensive web site online at www.rentittoday.com, where over 60,000 items for rent are listed.

Rent It Today makes renting simple!

Radio station WTOP-FM in Washington D.C. on 1-15-2013 reports the demand for short term rentals to house visitors to the inauguration of President Barack Obama for a second term has been far short of that experienced for his first ceremony.

There is an old saying that nothing sweeps like an new broom, so perhaps a bit of an out of town visitor falloff from Obama’s first inaugural is to be expected:

When Michael Filippello put his infamous row house on Craiglist for a three-night stay during the 2009 inauguration, the response was instant.

After weeding through several inquiries, Filippello settled on a man from California who offered $2,000 to rent the first floor of his Capitol Hill home — the same home where Miami Herald reporters caught former Senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart in the midst of an extramarital affair in 1987.

As soon as President Barack Obama was re-elected, Filippello and his husband put their residence back on the rental market in hopes of making some money again. But with the ceremony a few days away, they still don’t have any bites.

“We’ve been a little surprised at how long it’s taken,” Filippello says. “We started at the original price we did last (time), and we’ve brought it down to $400 a night.”

While there was frenzy over renting homes and apartments before Obama’s inauguration in 2009, realtors in the D.C. area say the interest has drastically died down.

“Before it was like house swap — ‘for the week, I’ll give you this room for X amount of dollars,’ but I just don’t see it,” says Lisa Bailey-Harper, a realtor with The Realtor in Your Backyard in Fairfax, Va.

Bailey-Harper says she’s seen an influx of people advertising their homes or apartments for rental next weekend, but there are few takers. She pointed to one client who is offering her bed and breakfast in Fort Washington, Md. for…continue reading  here.

image: house.gov

This writer never failed to chuckle whenever he used to see the corporate slogan which was once emblazoned on the sides of U-Haul rentals:

Adventure In Moving

It’s an adventure, all right, I used to mumble under my breath. Right up there with putting all my excess stuff into a rented self storage unit.

Thinking Inside the Box

A January 5, 2013 story in the New Haven Register spotlights a growing trend in the way individuals, families, and businesses move their belongings from place to place. This trend has the potential to make moving somewhat less of an adventure.

Now instead of buying cardboard boxes and assembling them, or scavenging at local stores and dumpsters to get the moving boxes you need, you can simply contact a business which will rent you the boxes you need to move. They will drop them off at your place, and pick them up when you’re done.

And these boxes are not cardboard; they are durable plastic. If you’ve ever moved when it’s raining you know what an advantage this can be. Water and cardboard just don’t mix well:

When it comes to moving, Allie Madlener of Wallingford may just be an expert.

As a Realtor for Weichert Realty Co., she’s busy every day helping clients find just the right house. And as a person living in the real world, she’s moved enough times to know that it takes a lot of cardboard boxes.

“You have to figure out how many you need, then go and buy them, then pack them up — and then once you’ve unpacked, you have to figure out how to get rid of them, which usually means hauling them to the landfill for recycling,” she said.

But last year, when Madlener and her husband, Alex, were downsizing from a full-size Woodbridge family home to a condo on the Wallingford/North Haven line, she made a discovery that revolutionized the way she….continue.

Drop in Real Estate Values Makes Buyers Wary

The decline in real estate values which began in 2007 has spawned the growth of a segment of the population which has spurned ownership of property, and actually prefers to rent a house or apartment.

Termed ‘Generation Rent’, the adjective describes a growing number of young people who are no longer as ardent to get onto the property ladder as generations which preceded them.

Rental Markets Booming

The resulting boom in rental markets is creating its own set of challenges for property managers, according to a December 10, 2012 report from the UK based Independent Blogs:

Natalie Crane is Marketing & Communication Manager at Total Landlord Insurance, and a regular contributor to www.letyourproperty.tv which launched in 2012 as an online TV channel and community that produces a mix of live & interactive shows along with video news updates. The show is aimed at Landlords and provides answers to any questions they may have regarding letting a residential property.

There’s no doubt Britain is fast turning into a nation of renters, so much so that a new term has even been coined to represent the huge percentage of young Brits who are now choosing to rent instead of buy. ‘Generation Rent’ is what those of us in the industry are now calling them and they’re a lucrative group.

While 10 years ago, young professionals were desperate to get onto the property ladder and usually didn’t have much of a problem doing so, these days it’s a vastly different picture with today’s younger generation left with little other option than to rent in many cases. This is obviously great news for those with properties to lease, but with such massive demand, many are finding it tough going and this boom is throwing up plenty of issues and challenges that weren’t there 10 years ago.

Recently we invited property experts onto the letyourproperty.tv live show to discuss ‘Generation Rent.’ One of our experts, Sean Hooker said the company now have 90,000 landlord members with a monthly growth of 1,300 new landlords. This figure alone is an indication that the lettings market is booming and….continue reading  here.

image: delaware.gov

Slow and Steady Industry Upturn Seen in Year Ahead

A December 5, 2012 article from construction industry news source Lift and Access takes an in-depth look at prospects for 2013 in a variety of construction categories and predicts overall steady growth for construction and equipment rentals.

The article drills into several key construction industry sectors including infrastructure, manufacturing, highway & street, water supply and power generation.

Author Jim Schug draws on his decade+ experience with management consulting, investment banking and research firm FMI to examine trends in the national market as well as how overseas demand will affect equipment rental:

U.S. Economy Showing Gradual Improvement

While the U.S. economy continues to improve gradually, short-term uncertainty on multiple fronts stifles larger capital investment. Slow improvement will continue as unemployment remains around 8 percent for a prolonged period.

Speaking collectively for CEOs, money managers, banks, and consumers, the economy doesn’t like uncertainty. As if the serious international debt problems were not enough, the long U.S. election year has added uncertainty, rather than reducing it.  Politics aside, the economy is slowly rebuilding and de-leveraging debt, and we are experiencing a slow, ragged recovery.

Some construction markets have recovered faster than others, which is going to be the case for the foreseeable future. This has made it difficult for most contractors to plan growth strategies as they continue to chase the next project, often bidding below expected profit levels. Deciding to buy new equipment is harder when growth is hard to predict.

That uncertainty has translated into improved equipment rentals, as contractor backlogs remain low and uncertain. If contractors and suppliers aren’t going to lose money, everyone associated with construction must deliver more for less cost. In construction, that means more productivity through greater use of technologies like BIM, GPS, and communication devices.

The need for productivity and delivery of quality projects for lower total cost is also driving more prefabrication and modular construction. That could change the mix of talent on the jobsite, as well as the types of equipment needed.

While forecasters predict that GDP will likely remain between 2 and 2.5% for the next several years, we are seeing improvements and increased demand in the home-building market, which has traditionally been a harbinger of improvements in all other areas of construction. Current GDP sits at just 1.7%. If GDP makes it to a sustained 2% or more, it will look like a boom from where we have been lately.

Despite the uncertainties of the ….. continue reading here.

image: va.gov

Puppy Rental Concept Succeeds by Going to the Dogs

It’s said all dogs go to heaven, and in fact that very premise was the basis for a 1989 movie which starred Burt Reynolds. It was even followed by a sequel: All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, which featured Charlie Sheen.

In the meantime, the dogs yet to go to heaven need a good home here on Earth. According to a December 4, 2012 article published in the U.K. Daily Mail, this principle led a Brigham Young University student to found a business which, through renting puppies, finds good homes for dogs.

According to the story, www.puppiesforrent.com was started by Jenna Miller in August of 2012 and has seen brisk business from day one. She claims to have thus far achieved a 100% success rate in finding good homes for the dogs her enterprise rents out to people.

Animals Abound in the Rental World

The ability to rent equipment for animals, from horse trailers to pet medical aids has grown in popularity in recent years. Renting the animals themselves also seems to be a growing trend. In Southern California, you can even rent goats to clear land which is difficult to access with conventional brush clearing machinery.

The dog rental concept made headlines in 2011 when Yale University instituted a dog rental program in an effort to relieve stress and anxiety for its students.

So called therapy dogs have been used in hospitals and senior care facilities for the same purpose as studies have proven pet owners are often less stressed than those who don’t own one.

A college student has found a way to turn puppy love into a puppy profit - with all dogs eventually going to a good home.

For a price of $15 for the first hour, Puppies for Rent in Provo, Utah is offering a wriggling batch of now seven puppies for playtime rentals, with each pup hand delivered straight to customers’ doors.

Brigham Young University student Jenna Miller who founded the service this summer said that at first ‘I didn’t know how it’d work exactly but …..continue story here.

The Section 179 Equipment Deduction Deadline is December 31, 2012

An opportunity to acquire new or upgraded equipment without using up working capital will be dramatically reduced with the close of 2012. This is an opportunity which would be of great benefit to businesses utilizing medical devices, construction machinery as well as many businesses requiring expensive specialty equipment to function.

Known as the Section 179 tax deduction for equipment expenditures, the deduction was scheduled to expire at the end of 2011 and was extended one year by the Tax relief and Small Job Act.

Section 179 of the IRS Tax Code permits a business to deduct, for the current tax year, the full purchase price of financed or leased equipment that qualifies for the deduction.

The equipment purchased, financed or leased must be within the specified dollar limits of Section 179, and the equipment must be placed into service in the same tax year that the deduction is being taken (for tax year 2012, this means the equipment must be put into service between 01/01/2012 and 12/31/2012).

The incredible advantage to leasing or financing equipment and then taking the Section 179 Deduction is a business can deduct the full amount of the equipment purchased or leased without paying the full amount this year. The amount potentially saved in taxes can actually exceed the payments, making this a bottom-line advantageous deduction.

The Section 179 deduction limit is $139,000 on qualifying equipment that is purchased or leased and placed into service from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012, and the bonus depreciation has been set at 50%.

Please consult with your tax professional to determine the full tax implications of leasing equipment. Additional information on business taxes and Section 179 can be found on the irs.gov website.

An additional resource can be found at: http://www.section179.org

image:ca.gov

Shippensburg, Pennsylvania based construction equipment rental company Volvo Rents has opened a new location in Williamsport, Pa..

The new equipment rental outlet joins existing Pennsylvania locations in Bristol, Burgettstown and York. In addition to Williamsport the business serves the cities of Newberry, Gardenview, Hughsville, Muncy, Montgomery, Milton, Bloomsburg, Harrisburg, Reading, and Shippensburg.

Adding Equipment Rental Locations Agressively

Volvo Rents has been adding locations aggressively in anticipation of an economic recovery in the construction industry.  Total U.S. construction starts for 2013 are projected to rise 6% to $483.7 billion, slightly higher than the 5% increase to $458 billion which was estimated for 2012, according to industry watchdog McGraw Hill Construction’s Dodge Outlook Report.

“The modest gains over the past two years allows us to look to the future with tremendous enthusiasm, as it is becoming more and more clear that the process of recovery is being stretched out,” said Mike Crouch, vice president of business development for Volvo Rents.

“Such recovery and growth affords us the opportunity to further expand our national footprint and we couldn’t think of a better place to continue that growth than in Pennsylvania, where we’ve already established a reputation for meeting the demands of our hard-hitting, no-nonsense, fiscally responsible clients,” Crouch said.

Will Carry Comprehensive Line of Equipment and Tools

The new Williamsport location will carry the expanding line of Volvo compact construction equipment including backhoe tractors and skid-steer loaders, compact wheel loaders, mini excavation machines and compactors.

In addition a comprehensive line of vehicles and tools for the construction, commercial, industrial and homeowner markets will be available for daily, weekly or monthly rental. Used equipment will be available for sale.

Local equipment companies and heavy equipment rental suppliers in particular have seen steady growth since the 2007 economic downturn. Rental not only allows preservation of capital, it also reduces some maintenance costs and allows contractors flexibility in choosing the best application for a specific job.

Contact Info

Visit the Williamsport store on the internet or call 570-601-4484.

HomeAway Vacation Rental Site Sees Strong Growth Since 2006

According to a news release dated November 17, 2012, “Big Four” accounting firm Ernst & Young has named vacation rental site HomeAway co-founder Brian Sharples as its National Entrepreneur Of The Year 2012 Services Award winner.

Considered one of the USA’s most prestigious business recognitions, the award is bestowed upon visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success and personal commitment in creating and building top flight businesses.

Sharples launched HomeAway in 2005, and the following year he launched the company’s website after acquiring six vacation rental property listing sites. Understanding that choice is a ‘must-have’ for those seeking vacation rental properties, Sharples spent five years focusing on organic growth and building his customer base by purchasing 17 additional rental sites. Today, HomeAway features in excess of half a million vacation rental listings spanning 168 countries.

National Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2012 Services Finalists

In addition to Sharples, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The YearServices national finalists were: Paul English, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, KAYAK, of Concord, Mass., one of today’s most popular online travel search sites with a core focus on making travel technology better, faster and easier; Jim Dixon, CEO, CompuCom Systems, Inc., of Dallas, Texas, a leading IT outsourcing specialist, providing managed solutions for mid-market and enterprise clients in the retail, technology, manufacturing, finance, energy, and healthcare industries; Robert Low, President, Prime, Inc., of Springfield, Mass., a leader in transportation service, including refrigerated, flatbed, tanker and logistics.

Read more details here.

Although construction equipment, pumps, electric generators and even dumpsters have been able to be rented to cope with the calamity wrought by what many now refer to as Superstorm Sandy, one rental category is proving to be in short supply.

Thousands people whose homes have been rendered uninhabitable or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy are looking to rent shelter while they try to determine what to do about their storm-ravaged property. Waiting lists are not shrinking at hotels already filled to capacity with evacuees and disaster relief workers.

A November 11, 2012 story from the Associated Press details the daunting task which these individuals and families are enduring.

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — Irene Cramer threaded her Mercury Mountaineer around fallen branches, slowing down in front of a squat white ranch to see if, maybe, it could be the temporary home she is desperate to find.

Cramer and her husband, Tommy, left their home in Lavallette, N.J., on a barrier island, ahead of Superstorm Sandy. The Cramers do not know….continue story here.

photo: gps.gov

An Invaluable Tool In Flood and Disaster Recovery

As a nationwide marketer of industrial pump rental companies, Rent it Today has long been familiar with the important role pumps have in dewatering, flood control and disaster recovery. So it is no surprise that when major flooding occurred in the underground labyrinth of New York City, including its subway system, every pump that could be commandeered to get the city back into operation was summoned into action.

The Wall Street Journal, in an article updated Friday, November 2,1012, reported on some of the big league pumps being used to get the wheels of commerce turning again in the Big Apple and get the region on the long road to recovery from Hurricane Sandy:

Most of the time, industrial-strength pumps do such unglamorous chores as moving sewage or draining water from mines and construction sites.

For the next few weeks, however, these pumps—or “dewatering solutions,” as the industry calls them—will play a starring role in drying out basements, transportation tunnels and train stations in New York and surrounding areas engulfed by the super storm Sandy.

The pumps will need to suck up hundreds of millions of gallons of water before subway trains can….(click here to finish story)

Al “Scarface” Capone

Truly A ‘One Of A Kind’ Rental

Looking for a unique vacation rental accommodation?

Many of us dream of being movie stars and living in mansions. Well, if you’ve got some disposable dead presidents to the tune of 30K, you can kill two birds with one stone. You can not only rent a mansion for an entire month, you can relive the role of Tony Montana in the 1983 version of the movie Scarface. There will have to be at least two changes to your version though. First, you won’t be packing your bags for Miami, Florida. Second, you’ll probably survive the experience.

That’s right, now you can invite people over and let them say hello to your little friend, a la Tony Montana. But do you have…click here to continue

Rent It Today markets companies that allow families, couples, groups, and individuals to have a carefree day at the beach. This is accomplished by renting beach equipment which is usually set up at a spot on the beach and allows the renter to be freed from the onerous task of packing, unpacking and schlepping chairs, umbrellas, and other beach equipment from point A to point B.

Some Communities Kick Sand In The Face Of Capitalism

Unfortunately, some communities don’t allow beach gear rentals in their jurisdictions, which kinda throws a wet beach blanket over your vacation fun.

Travel writer Dave Seminara has experienced this scenario. In recounting his day at the beach, he makes a good case for why beach equipment rentals benefit everyone:

America is a paradise for consumers. We can satisfy just about any consumer desire that strikes our fancy, even if it’s 3 a.m. on a holiday weekend. The one big exception to this rule is on our beaches, where most of the time we’re forced to lug coolers, chairs, umbrellas, beach toys and anything else we’ll need. There are some exceptions to this rule, but at many beaches around the country municipal restrictions prohibit entrepreneurs from renting chairs and umbrellas on the beach or selling food or drinks.

This point was driven home for us on a recent visit to the Cape Cod National Seashore(CCNS) in Massachusetts. The CCNS is a glorious 40-mile stretch of sand that encompasses six beaches. We were there in late August – peak season – and had to park about a mile away from the entrance to Marconi Beach. I pulled up to drop off our gear – we had no chairs or umbrellas – so it wasn’t that much effort to carry our cooler and my children’s beach toys.

But other people, particularly seniors, who were schlepping all kinds of stuff looked like they were ready to (…..click here to finish reading).

Construction equipment rental provider Volvo Rents has announced another acquisition to its expanding worldwide dealer network. On Monday, October 29, 2012 the firm disclosed it had purchased FRED Rents, a Wisconsin construction equipment leasing company with locations in Madison and Neenah.

The Volvo Rents expansion comes as many construction equipment supply companies continue to see customers – including contractors, construction businesses and homeowners – recognize the advantages of fixed costs in renting, which also covers maintenance, storage, delivery and more.

This is especially true in North America. The American Rental Association forecasts continued annual growth in rental revenues to reach a total of $53.1 billion by 2016.

“Volvo Rents is a solutions-based company that provides services that solve immediate issues when people are dealing with capital availability and downsizing of owned fleet due to economic reasons,” said Jeffrey Corcoran, who co-founded FRED Rents in 2002. “I am confident that our customers are in great hands.”

“There is a real opportunity for us to gain further market penetration by aggressively selling the value of equipment rental at this point in the economic recovery,” said Mike Crouch, Vice President of Business Development for Volvo Rents. “It is our time to help our customer base succeed in their businesses. We are the catalyst that enables economic growth and allows businesses to recover, employ people and strengthen the economy, whether it is in Wisconsin, the United States or globally.”

Volvo Rents brings to the table an expanding line of construction equipment like backhoe and skid steer loaders, compact wheel loaders, compact excavators and compaction equipment. FRED Rents will continue to offer many types and sizes of aerial equipment rentals. Their team of experts has been trained in every aspect of each machine to make sure customers receive the right equipment for each job. Rentals are offered on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Learn more about FRED Rents here.

According to a press release from the State of North Carolina dated October 5, 2012, Governor Beverly Perdue announced that Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of excavators in the Americas, will expand its excavator manufacturing operations in Kernersville, NC.

Deere-Hitachi plans to add at least 340 jobs by the end of 2016, and invest more than $97 million in the Forsyth County excavator manufacturing facility. The project was made possible in part by state grants from the Job Development Investment Grant and the One North Carolina Fund.

Deere-Hitachi is a 50/50 joint venture between John Deere of Moline, Ill. and Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation in Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1988 and has been manufacturing in the state of North Carolina since that time.

At the Kernersville location, the company has integrated its design and support functions, as well as manufacturing, information systems and training and support programs, enabling Deere-Hitachi to provide more value to customers.

The expansion Kernersville facility will enable the company to manufacture additional excavators for the mining and construction industries, as well as keep up with demand for its 47-metric ton excavator.

In addition to its excavator manufacturing facility in North Carolina, Deere-Hitachi  also has operations in Canada and Brazil.

Excavators, also known as diggers, are one of the most rented and leased pieces of heavy equipment due to their functionality and ability to be utilized for a number of different applications in construction, mining, and forestry.

With the development of a wide variety of attachments which can be interchanged with the conventional dirt bucket, excavators can be used for myriad tasks. From unloading river barges to dredging the river itself, today’s excavators are capable of multitasking on a scale which has driven their popularity as rental equipment.