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Tenant Damage vs. Wear and Tear => Case Study

Broken WindowTenant Damage vs. Wear and Tear or “The case of the Broken Window”

I just had an incident where one of my renters caused damage to another building I own.  I own 20 condominiums in a complex, it is high density housing.  Formerly a Class D neighborhood, which I was able to turn around.

Now that the neighborhood is safe to be outside in, the parents want to keep it that way.  They can bring their small children to the park, and not have to worry about fights or drug deals going on.  It is not to say that kids always behave, but if you keep on top of things, they do not get out of hand.

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Best Home Improvements to Increase the Value of Your Home

It’s the question that nearly every landlord wants the answer to: What are the best home improvements to make that increase the value of my home?

Ultimately, you aren’t just embarking on your improvement project to increase your standard of living, you’d hope that there would be some return on your investment as well in terms of an appreciation in the value of your home.

Unfortunately, the question of which are the best home improvements is one where there is no one size fits all answer, and it would be foolish for us to assume that. It will depend on many factors such as the location of your home, preferences of the local market, the state of the economy, interest rates, and you could probably come up with a list the size of the Empire State Building listing numerous other examples!

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Common Tenant Issues and How to Handle Them

Section 8 renterAs a landlord, you want the best tenants for your properties: people who pay rent on time every month, won’t give your property a bad reputation in the surrounding community, and are clean and courteous neighbors. Being a good landlord means listening to your tenants’ complaints and concerns and responding to common tenant issues appropriately. At times, knowing the right way to respond to an issue can be tough. Read on for advice for some of the most common issues landlords face with tenants.

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My Air Conditioner Does Not Work.  Help!

air conditioner does not workMy tenant called me on Saturday to let me know that her air conditioner does not work.  It was humid, the temperature was in the 80’s, and she had a new baby less than a couple of weeks old.  As a landlord, you have the choice of being a phone call taker, or not.  You have the choice of doing the repair or not.  As always, it helps to know a few things, about a few things, so you can make the proper decisions…

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How to Repair a Dishwasher Leak- Landlord Style

Dishwasher LeakI am a strong advocate of buying investment property close enough you can walk to.  The advantages are enormous.  You can keep closer tabs on your tenants, handle simple maintenance calls, and be able to keep an additional 10% to 20% of your rents in your own pocket.

Here is one repair that was relatively easy, and saved quite a bit of money over hiring a repair shop or buying a new dishwasher.  If you want to know how to repair a dishwasher leak, please read more.

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Disadvantages of Being a Long Distance Landlord

Maytag Laundry MachinesIf you are a long distance landlord, minor maintenance issues can become an expensive repair.   It is near impossible maximize your revenue if you are paying for every thing the tenants complain about.  And to make things worse, lower quality tenants complain more.  When they are going to be late on their rent, complaints become almost non-stop.

It always helps if you can do some simple maintenance on your rental properties.  If you are able to troubleshoot simple issues, you can save a lot of money.  Often, just being able to look at the problem, and making a simple precursory look, you can even fix the issue.

Here is an example that I came across recently.  I could have handled it from a distance, but it would have been much more expensive and taken longer to resolve.

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Should you allow a renter to paint?

sherwin williamsThe 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?”

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Landlord Skills To Make Things Easier, And Save Money

plumber-35611_1280-PDThere 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.

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