Rental Investing & Management

Preventing roof leaks due to ice buildup

Fighting roof leaks on a flat roof can be a struggle. Even with the highest quality roof  you are constantly in a battle against gravity.  It's not a question of if, but when gravity will win and water will find a way inside. Whenever a flat roof is hit by freezing rain, sleet, or a significant amount snow,  the groundwork for a leak is there. Almost instantly, freezing rain will cover your roof in...

Clothing racks can solve closet shortage problem

When it comes to living in a historic property, there is a lot to like. But one thing that can be notoriously problematic, is the lack of closet space. Built in an era where amoires were commonplace and people simply did not own as many possessions, architects in the early 20th century didn't often pay much attention to bedroom closet space. Short of a gut rehab or building a new closet in the existing...

Making your apartment showings matter

You've been trying to lease that apartment for weeks and you finally have an appointment for a showing. The prospective tenant shows up and says how much they love the apartment. Flash forward a few weeks later and the apartment still hasn't been rented and you are still losing money. What went wrong? Was the unit not right for the prospect? Maybe, but it might also have been you. One of the hardest...

Friendly alternatives to evicting bad tenants

One of the most dreaded events in the life of a landlord is when you have to give a tenant the boot.  Whether it's because they don’t pay rent on time, tear up their unit, or cause some other nuisance, bad tenants can turn a profitable rental property into a property management nightmare. Eviction and Cash for Keys can be good options for handling the getting rid of the worst violators, but many times...

“Cash for Keys” as an eviction alternative

Getting unwanted tenants out of your apartment units can be one of the most frustrating experiences a landlord can go through. Whether they need to leave in order to rehab the unit or you want them out because they aren't paying their rent, its not a fun experience. You just want them out as soon as possible. The most common method used to do the job is the eviction. An effective method, for sure, but an...

To “allow” or “not allow” pets in your apartments?

One of the decisions that all landlords must face when managing their apartments is whether or not to allow pets in their properties. There is no doubt that there can be a negative side to allowing pets: they can pee on the carpet, they can scratch  hardwood floors, they can be loud when they bark or run around the unit... You get the idea. But while the negatives sometimes outweigh the positives, with...

Apartment Pet Policy

So you're a landlord who has decided to allow pets into your apartment. Even so, that doesn't mean you should simply allow any pet to stay at your property. To ensure the safety of tenants, other pets in the building and your property, you should always run a background check on a pet, just like you would a tenant. So what are the ingredients to a good pet policy? Breed The first thing you need to do is...

Watch out for fleas in run-down buildings

If you are like most people, you probably don't have much experience with fleas. Even if you have had minor troubles with them in your home, caused by a dog or cat, you most likely took steps to remove them quickly before they became a problem. But when a property owner simply gives up on any semblance of personal hygiene, or a property is left vacant for a long time, a minor problem can snowball into...

Compare rental rates with Rentometer

While it is far from perfect, if you are a landlord or real estate agent trying to figure out what your rental unit is worth, or a prospective tenant wanting to make sure you aren't being ripped off, you might want to check out Rentometer. It pulls aggregate apartment listing pricing from around the internet to get a general price for what specific unit-types (ex. studios, 1-bed, 2-bed) are going for in...

Think you have a premium apartment? Time for a reality check

One of the most frustrating things I come across in the rental business is poorly managed apartments. I'm not talking about bad property management companies (that's a whole other story), but bad landlords. The biggest issue is that everyone seems to want to have their cake and eat it too. Too many landlords seem to be under the impression that they can put a run-down, dirty rental unit on the market and...

Landlord vs. Slumlord: What’s the difference?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a landlord is “the owner of property that is leased or rented to another.” As any longtime rental property owner can testify, being a landlord isn’t always a popular job. Tenants and neighborhood residents alike, often treat them with disdain. However, not all landlords are created equal. Whether local resident or cross-country investor, quality landlords can do...

Following Fair Housing rules to avoid lawsuit

It is amazing what some landlords say to perspective renters. Lines like "I don't rent to single mothers?" or "How many kids do you have?" seem to come out of far too many people's mouthes. For those who use that kind of language, you're playing with fire. According to Federal Fair Housing Laws, as well as some States and Local Districts, the following classes are protected from...

New EPA lead regulations burden to rehabbers

If you are a contractor, rehabber or landlord of a property that was built before 1978, your job got a lot more expensive on April 22, 2010. That is when the new Environment Protection Agency (EPA) lead paint rules went into affect. Under these new rules any contractor doing work such as cutting, sanding or demolition, which will disturb lead paint, must now be certified by the EPA to do so. This...

Raising your tenant’s rent

When it comes to managing apartments, keeping your rents at market rates is key to maximizing your profit potential. But even the most disciplined landlord will occasionally find they are selling themselves short on their rents. Whether this is because a specific tenant has occupied a given apartment for a long time, or expenses have risen, you might encounter the need to raise rents. Luckily, as long...

Stopping mail delivery at vacant apartments

When a landlord is faced with a vacancy, the first thing on their mind is generally filling the apartment as quickly as possible. Cleaning the unit, making improvements, getting an occupancy permit and finding a new tenant can all be pretty time consuming. So when a visit to a newly vacated apartment reveals a stack of the former tenant's unread mail in the foyer, it can be a bit of an annoyance....

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