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61 " You are also protecting yourself from discrimination complaints since you require all applicants to meet the same qualifications. "
― Brandon Turner , The Book on Managing Rental Properties: Find, Screen, and Manage Tenants With Fewer Headaches and Maximum Profits
62 " Sorry, but our company policy does not allow for pets.” The policy becomes the bad guy, not you. "
63 " Property management fees vary by location, but typically for a single-family house or small multifamily property, you’ll be looking at 8-12 percent of the rent in a monthly fee and a large one-time fee each time the unit is rented. This placement fee is often 50 percent of the first month’s rent all the way up to the entire first month’s rent. "
64 " Al Williamson’s excellent book 40 Ways to Increase the Net Income of Your Rental Property. "
65 " We recommend building a relationship with several of the neighbors around your property. "
66 " almost anyone else. Speaking of bank accounts, you’ll definitely want to set up separate business checking and savings accounts for your property. These accounts should be used solely for placing all income from the property into and paying all bills out of. You should never pay property bills from your personal checking account, and you should never pay personal bills from your business checking account. Keep the business separate, not only for legal reasons but also to simplify your accounting. "
― Brandon Turner , The Multifamily Millionaire, Volume I: Achieve Financial Freedom by Investing in Small Multifamily Real Estate
67 " To keep your vacancy time as short as possible, you will want to make sure your rental stands out among all the others in your market. "
68 " How long did the tenant rent from you? -What was their monthly rent? -Did the tenant give proper notice when vacating? -Did the tenant receive back their security deposit? -Would you rent to this tenant "
― Brandon Turner , A BiggerPockets Guide: How to Rent Your House
69 " For the same reason, I also recommend taking photos (or a video) of the property before handing over the keys. This will be further evidence in the future when the tenant moves out. "
70 " Of all the precautions a landlord can take, requiring a security deposit is one of the most important—besides adequately screening tenants. "
71 " It is also their guarantee that they will fulfill all of their pre-tenant obligations and rent the home by a mutually agreed-upon date. If for some reason they back out, the deposit to hold is forfeited to the landlord to use to cover lost rent during the holding period, as well as advertising and other costs associated with getting the home re-rented to another qualified applicant. However, when the new tenant fulfills their obligations, the deposit to hold usually transfers as their security deposit to be held during their tenancy. It is best to require the deposit to hold as soon as your new tenant has been approved. "
72 " • Challenge Tax Assessment: One of the largest expenses you’ll pay each year is the annual property tax bill. If you feel that the value that your County’s Tax Assessor has given to your property is too high, you can challenge it and ask that it be changed. There is no guarantee that it will be, but if your case is strong enough, you might be able to save hundreds or thousands of dollars per year. "
73 " If they request us to hold the unit longer, we will generally hold the unit for up to two weeks and try to negotiate a compromise with them. Most of the time, this strategy works. "
74 " If they are self-employed, make sure to get at least the previous two years’ tax returns, as well as their last two months of bank statements. "
75 " How long will you live here?”: Unless you are in the transient business, always look for tenants who indicate they are planning on staying in the home long-term. Because turnover and vacancy can be a couple of the most expensive things a landlord goes through, they should be avoided when possible. If the applicant writes down anything less than a year, that is probably your sign that they are not a good candidate "
76 " What pets do you have?”: Whether you allow pets or not in your rentals, this question is phrased in such a way as to not appear negative. If you were to ask, “Do you have any pets?” they may write “no,” thinking a “yes” will immediately disqualify them. Asking “what” instead of “do you” increases the chances of them being honest with this question. "
77 " Avoid this situation altogether by simply requiring all move-in funds be made with a money order or cashier’s check. "
78 " Life’s too short to rent to people who will shorten your life even further, so let’s get rid of them, shall we? "
79 " How many evictions have been filed upon you?”: We used to ask, “Have you ever been evicted?” until we read about this little gem in Mike Butler’s book Landlording on Autopilot. In his book, Butler explains that landlords should phrase the question like this: “How many evictions have been filed upon you?” Such wording will require the tenant to think and not write an automatic “no.” Yes and no questions are much too easy to falsify, and tenants are used to questions being phrased that way. Also, an eviction filing identifies an irresponsible tenant as much as an eviction that proceeded to the point of the sheriff escorting them out the door. Both are consequences of bad behavior that you don’t need to deal with. Having them write an actual number also takes away their ability to claim they misunderstood the question. • "
80 " we let our potential tenants know that if they are approved, we will hold the unit for them for twenty-four hours, during which time they will be expected to present the deposit to hold. Once they have officially been approved, "