European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 16, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday August 16, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 17money matters today s tip air India has ordered four Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets Worth $667 million the Boeing commercial air plane group said wednesday in Seattle. Also wednesday China signed a contract to buy 13 Boeing 757s Worth $800 million. Air India took options on additional 747-400s. However the exact number of planes is still being worked out said Boeing spokesman David Jensen. . Gupte air India chairman and managing director said the new planes will be used to accommodate indians growing tourist Market and to replace older aircraft. The planes carry up to 448 passengers. The 747-400, introduced in 1988, is the largest and most modern jetliner Boeing makes. Conversion rates London up thursdays closing rates for the  Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted at $358.75 an ounce. Silver was quoted at $3.98 an ounce. Aug. 14 aug. 15 British pound.1.6890 1.6870 German mark.1.7365 1.7320 French franc.5.921 5.8905 dutch guilder.1.9576 .1.9520 belgian franc.35.77 a italian lira.1,301.10 1,297.50 Swiss franc.1.5195 1.5225 greek drachma.192.05 191.92 turkish lira.4,481.50 4,495.40 saudi arabian riyal.3.7501 3.7501 Spanish peseta.108.83 108.87 portuguese escudo.149.35 149.35 Canadian Dollar .1.1455 1.1434 austrian schilling.12.215 12.225 norwegian Krone .6.796 6.8050 danish krone.6.723 6.7375 these Are unofficial rates As reported by wire service and banking sources and they Are listed to give some idea of daily currency fluctuations. The Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use and this will be 1.70 through Friday based on thursdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York up a York Stock Exchange Stock ban America Security Parr Nab bldg blockbuster ept at amp to company Philip Morns Telefoni de mex Wal Mart str limited inc chemical Bank Shawmut Natl Pepsico inc Westi Nahs Al general motor Amer express the 15 most Active stocks in new composite trading 6a wednesday. Salts last net Chi. 5,331,700 43% unch 4,644,400 35% unch 3,455,500 11% up % 3,401,100 11% up % 2,839,200 39% up % 2,416,700 72% up 1 % 2,141,700 32 up 1% 2,054,700 51% up 1% 1,991,400 28% off % 1,973,700 29 up % 1,787,100 9% up % 1,625,600 32% up % 1,583,200 24 up % 1,566,800 38% off % 1,480,300 27% up % american Exchange new York up american Stock excl Stock foundation hath metro mob b Western Ditl Fuchu Bay min fruit of loom carnival cars n y times a Dow chem it pref hath or Forest labs a the 10 most Active stocks in Iange composite trading wednesday. Salas ust net chg. 532,700 24 up % 476,500 20% up % 355,500 3% unch 345,900 8% unch 341,500 16% off % 309,000 21% off % 269,400 21% unch 254,300 7% unch 233,900 13% off % 230.900 40 off % Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones closing Range of averages wednesday 30 industrials 20 transports 15 utilities 65 stocks High 3036.67 1219.15 206.25 1080.97 2988.60 1192.70 203.68 1062.52 com change 3.35 3005.37 1196.40 204.37 1067.38 Oft off 14.99 0.13 4.46 is military homeowners manage their properties Long distance by Randy Mcclain financial writer you can to sell the House you re moving out of in the United states so you rent it out for a while until a buyer willing to meet the sales Price materializes. The trouble is military homeowners who planned on renting just a for a while have become Long term and Long distance landlords for months or years As real estate prices stateside continue to lag behind what they once were. The big question is How do you manage to rent out your House in Alabama to a trustworthy tenant while living in Stuttgart Germany or at Raf Mildenhall England service members interviewed across Europe Are taking one of two approaches a neither one of which has a 100 percent record of Success. One school of thought Calls for the do it yourself approach in which service members rent out their Homes themselves or enlist the Aid of family or friends to find tenants. Even neighbors have been known to collect rents Check on a property a appearance from time to time and hire maintenance people to perform minor repairs. Another approach is to hire a professional management company. For monthly fees ranging from 10 percent to 12 percent of the rental Price such firms Promise to handle everything for the Absentee owner. Air Force maj. Theresa Baker of the 7100st combat support Wing in Wiesbaden Germany has opted for professional management several times in recent years. She and her husband have owned two Homes near March fab calif., and in Enid okla., Over the past decade. She a rented out both and figures that the hefty management fees she a paid were Money Well spent. A a we be always had Good renters but i done to know if we had been doing it ourselves that the renters would have been that Good a Baker said. For example tenants who know that the landlord can to drive by the property on the Way Home from work  be so careful about cutting the grass cleaning the carpets or performing routine maintenance she said. Professional managers on the other hand a arranged All repairs put in new carpets when we needed it and advised us when to raise the rent a Baker said. Maj. Paula Kougeas holds an opposing View. The 38-year-old air Force Public affairs officer at Ramstein a Germany thinks paying a professional manager every month is an unnecessary expense. A a 10 percent fee is an exorbitant amount to spend to have someone Call a plumber and Send you the Bill a said Kougeas who has been stationed in Colorado Washington d.c., and Germany Over the past decade. She has owned Homes in Colorado and Washington during that time and rented out both As an Absentee landlord. Kougeas said she prefers to hire a professional real estate company for a onetime fee for the purpose of screening prospective tenants Only. The fee for finding a tenant usually ranges from half of one months rent to a full months rent depending on the Effort required. Kougeas figures picking the right tenant is the major hurdle and once that is done everything else Falls into place. A if they get you a reliable tenant what s a Home Worth 200 it n 1�150 real estate values have edged up slightly in the last few months. Shown below Are median prices of Homes nationally and regionally for the period april june. Average prices were higher in the second Quarter of the year in All regions although gains in the Northeast were very modest when compared with january March. $149,800 $101,100 8 "3? t v i. West $144,200 j w a a pfc  Midwest South Northeast source National association of realtors. There a not much More that has to be done a she said. She prefers handling collection of rent and scheduling repairs herself by mail or Telephone. Maj. Kathy Hitt another Ramstein a Public affairs officer who was recently transferred to san Antonio Texas said she and her husband have rented out their Home near Denver for four years because they Haven to been Able to sell it for anywhere near the $89,000 Purchase Price they paid in 1984. Hitt has taken the do it yourself approach and has no complaints. A i first rented it to a Friend at Lowry a10 percent fee is an exorbitant amount to spend to have someone Call a plumber and Send you the Bill a maj. Paula Kougeas fab and when they got ready to leave they said they a recommend it to someone else a she said. A a in be always had very reasonable people in there a Hitt said. A when the air conditioner went out my tenant got it fixed for a reasonable Cost. For other repairs my tenant has gotten at least three estimates and taken care of  John k. Martensen chief of Legal assistance with v corps in Frankfurt Germany thinks Hitt and other do it yourself landlords were probably just Lucky that tenants treated them fairly. A if everything goes Well that a right you done to need a professional manager a Martensen said. A just like you done to need an insurance policy or locks on your  Martensen s advice is to pick a professional management firm with a solid track record. A you need someone to take care of your House if you re nowhere nearby. How else will you know if your tenant punches a Hole in the Wall a the Legal affairs specialist said homeowners should take their time when picks amps Susan Harris ing a manager and not let that chore go until two or three Days before departing for a new assignment. Not All firms do a Good Job he warned. Interview several companies and insist on certain standards before forking Over monthly fees Martensen said. Among special provisions that should be agreed upon Are a Tell property managers that you want House inspections performed every few months with photographs taken inside and outside the property. A give a property manager guidelines on How to handle major and minor repairs. Specify a limit that can be spent on routine repairs and insist on prior notice for any amount Over that. A discuss in Advance whal to do if a tenant misses a rental payment or two or three. Consider giving the property manager Power of attorney to Start eviction proceedings when All else fails. Hiring a property manager Isnit a guarantee of smooth sailing though. Dave Stonum a civilian employed by the . Government in Darmstadt Germany thought he was doing the smart thing when he hired a professional real estate firm to look after his $200,000 Home in Carlsbad calif., when he came overseas in Early 1988. But the experience turned into a disaster in Short order. Two consecutive tenants jumped their leases and skipped town owing Back rent to Stonum. Stonum said the firm he hired did a Lousy Job of screening tenants and did no to keep a tight rein on repair costs. A it was As if they were working More for the tenants than they were for me a he said. One tenant even convinced the management firm to hire professional window cleaners when the windows of the House got dirty. Stonum was shocked when he got the Bill. A by the time i knew this was going on it was two months later and i had no recourse except to write a Nasty letter a he said. A i told them the next time id pay for a Bunch of rags and some windex but nothing  Stonum said he Learned a valuable lesson from the experience. A you have to have somebody watching your property but my problem was i should have interviewed More companies a he said. �?o1 just had the wrong