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...
by Matt Kastner 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...
by Matt Kastner 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...
by Matt Kastner 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....
by Matt Kastner