Landlording for maximum profitability and Financial Independence
The topic of this post is should you allow a renter to paint? With 24 units, I come in contact with many renters. They all have their ideas of what a great place to rent looks like. They might want their boy’s room to be blue, and their girl’s room to be pink. I get asked all the time, “What do you feel about painting the bedrooms?”
Continue reading “Should you allow a renter to paint?”
If you have been a landlord for a while, or have managed many units, sooner or later you will be faced with the question of what to do when your tenant dies.
I recently had a tenant death, and it can throw a perfectly good rental unit into some flux.
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No issue scares a landlord more than bedbugs in an apartment. OK, maybe crime, evictions, vacancy, insurance and taxes come first, but bedbugs and other pest issues are a serious matter in a rental. When you have bedbugs in your apartment, you need to act on it and get rid of them as fast as you can.
Continue reading “Landlord Nightmare: Bedbugs in an Apartment”
The rental cash flow for the month was almost perfect. The June rents came in like clockwork. 23 for 25 by the second of the month, one collected on the third, and 25 for 25 in the bank by the 6th of the month. Similar to all of my other recent months. I did generate an extra $75 for a late fee. I challenge most any other landlord to beat that record. More details on how to do that is in the rest of this post.
I had to do some advertising to get two new tenants for July 1, and I initiated a larger capital project. The retirement countdown has been adjusted for the new data.
Continue reading “May – June 2014 Rental Cash Flow”
Cap rates are what determine commercial building valuations. All sophisticated investors look at cap rate, even if they do not know what it means. Some Realtors like to hide expenses, and not calculate them to get higher selling prices and higher cap rates.
This post will help you understand how commercial investors use cap rate to evaluate a building. It can also be used as a basis for a residential rental.
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This post is likely to rankle a few feathers, especially for the property managers out there. But first a disclaimer; I have 24 rentals that I manage and maintain myself.
I manage and maintain a property for another person, and I have a real estate license. I even have a full-time job. I have used a big name property manager in the past, with 100% of tenants provided by them that did not make it a year.
So I know a bit about property management and property management companies. I know many other owners that have had similar trouble with property management firms.
Continue reading “Why Using Property Management Is a Waste of Money”
This is a post about how to collect rent on time. It is a secret recipe that I am going to share. The rents for June have all been collected. 23 of 25 are in the bank as of June 3, 2014. Of course, that means I had them all in hand by yesterday, June 2. The other two are in hand, as of June 3, but not in the bank, yet. I challenge any other landlord to beat me on that record. Here is how I do it.
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Here is how to get rid of a mattress for free. A mattress is one of the things that virtually all low income tenants leave behind. They are also one of the largest and most expensive items for a landlord to get rid of.
If you have been a landlord for over a month, odds are, you have had to dispose of a tenants junk. If you are a low-income, or Section 8 landlord, it is 100% certain you have had to dispose of a lot of junk.
Continue reading “How to Get Rid of a Mattress for Free”
My first two posts on tenant screening dealt with the most important aspects of tenant screening, credit and income verification.
In my third post on tenant screening, I discussed, with quite a bit of controversy, the downfalls of past landlord checks. The fourth and final pillar in tenant screening is the Criminal Background Check.
Continue reading “Landlords! Here Is How You Do Criminal Background Checks (The RIGHT Way)”
There are many ways to handle property management at your rentals. Knowing just a few landlord skills can save a lot of time and money. And give you a great sense of accomplishment. I do almost all of my own maintenance, and I actually feel good when it can be done, and I save a great deal of money.
Continue reading “Landlord Skills To Make Things Easier, And Save Money”
