My biggest piece of advice as a landlord, one that I follow religiously as a experienced aka jaded landlord, when screening tenants, is that no one is perfect and we all have baggage. There is a reason why your tenant is renting and not buying. The key is to figure out that reason, what baggage it brings and decide if it is or is not acceptable to you as a landlord. Personally, I am am fine with bankruptcy and short sales up to a point. The … [Read more...]
How to Give Tenants Permission to Improve Your House
As a landlord, I believe in treating others how I wish to be treated. At the same time, this is a business and I treat my rentals as such. My goal is be as understanding as possible without altering the integrity of my homes or the ability for me to protect my investment. Over the years I have found three ways to achieve these goals in the most efficient and professional manner possible. These three ways are just a few ways I've found to give … [Read more...]
Why I Allow Pets in my Rentals
My current "child" is an adorable 8 pound kitty cat. She is a total princes and spoiled beyond means. She has been my right arm, side kick, and TV watcher since the early beginnings of my marriage. I would NEVER have made it through our first deployment, the TDY's or other experiences that I have survived without her by my side. There is a reason her name is "Missy" short for Mistress; i.e. the hubs has the Navy and I have the cat. While I … [Read more...]
Don’t Lose Money by Selling Your Home for Down Payment Money
When it's time to move or upgrade to a larger house, the question that is always asked is, "Do I rent it out or sell it?" Over the past couple of weeks I have spoken with many people stumbling over this dilemma. As an investor who is trained as a financial analyst I have found I see things differently. The lower interest rates mean that it is cheaper then ever to borrow money even though you still need to fund the down payments. From my … [Read more...]
How NOT To Hire a Handyman!
As a transparent landlord I will be the first to say that the thing I DREAD the most is hiring a handyman. I always feel like I am being ripped off. For as many times I have paid a "reasonable" price, I have also paid the highway robbery price of $100 an hour because I had no other choice! As a self-proclaimed empire builder, I am going to have to figure out how to hire a handy man. As much as I dread hiring help, it's a skill I need to learn. … [Read more...]
Security Deposit List for Landlords and Tenants: Includes ALL 50 States
As a landlord who operates in 3 different states I can tell you that every state I work in has different laws and some are stricter than others. I have seen the question often on where to look for the security deposit as this is a hot topic for both landlords AND tenants. To make it easy for everyone I have compiled a quick reference sheet for security deposit information along with a link to the more detailed information on the NOLO website … [Read more...]
Are Roommates as Tenants Worth the Stress?
I am an empire building landlord whose attitude is the more the merrier when it comes to houses. My husband and I buy houses with great building blocks and watch the margins very closely. Our goal has been to buy houses that allow us to travel and live our life. As a person I totally respect and recommend the roommate situation. When my husband and I first got married we had a roommate. Financially speaking, having roommates was one of our … [Read more...]
How One Landlord and Property Manager Got Served Humble Pie
I am a self-managing, transcontinental property manager. I am the first one to tell you I want to build an empire. I am not a reluctant landlord. In fact, I have become a proud rental owner six times over and own seven homes. I wrote how my plan started out hiring a property manager and then that just didn't work out when I had the shock of my life over the fees and cost. So I decided to figure it out for myself. I am proud to say that I have … [Read more...]
How Tenants Can Give Notice Under The Service Member Civil Relief Act
The Service Member Civil Relief Act serves two goals: 1. It protects military tenant from last minute PCS, deployment orders, and in some states, the ability to move on base. 2. It also provides clear guidelines for the landlord on how to enforce it. This creates a very black and white policy for enforcement. As discussed in 3 ways to break a lease with the SCRA, the SCRA can be used more than just PCS orders. Over the past couple of … [Read more...]
Life Lessons From a Jaded Landlord
Building a Real Estate Empire is a crazy, winding road. While you will always know your end goal, the path you take will probably never be the one you ever imagined. I know it certainly hasn't been for us! Three years ago, when we put our first short sale offer down on our first rental property in South Carolina, I NEVER would have imagined where we would be today. While we have been more successful then my wildest imagination, I would … [Read more...]