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141 " Showing units can be a pain because 50% of the time, tenants will not show up. To combat this, I use one of two techniques: 1.I give them the address to drive by first and tell them to call me back if they are interested in seeing the inside. This eliminates the people who are disinterested because of the location. 2.I try to “batch” all the showings to one time. I will tell all the callers that I will be at the house from “5:00 to 5:30 on Friday afternoon” and if they want to see it – show up then. Having multiple tenants look at a property at the same time can be a little bit awkward, but it creates a sense of competition and scarcity which allows for "
― Brandon Turner , A BiggerPockets Guide: How to Rent Your House
142 " This is also where the BiggerPockets Forums come in extremely handy. Post a question now, and within a few hours, you’ll have potentially dozens of experienced landlords chiming in to help. "
― Brandon Turner , The Book on Managing Rental Properties: Find, Screen, and Manage Tenants With Fewer Headaches and Maximum Profits
143 " They continuously improve their business, looking for small and large ways to tweak their operation to make more profit, while simplifying the tasks that need to be accomplished. "
144 " we’ve only ever had one tenant call to complain, so we compromised and agreed to give him six more months before raising his rent. See? We’re not all bad guys! "
145 " don’t have every answer in the book, but are willing to seek knowledge from other business owners and through books, podcasts, and other educational sources. "
146 " gross monthly income must equal approximately three times or more the monthly rent -Applicants must be employed -Applicants musth have good references concerning rental payment, housekeeping, and property maintenance from all previous Landlords. -The number of occupants is limited to a max of two per bedroom or less "
147 " Have had a bad experience with a previous landlord • Fear they will be charged for the damages • May not like having people in their home • May not want the landlord to see the condition in which they keep the rental • May fear that reporting a problem would “rock the boat” and trigger a rent-raise letter "
148 " Here are a few things you can do to prepare for maintenance issues within your rental business: 1. Have a reliable list of go-to contractors and handymen that you trust. 2. Create a system for documenting and tracking maintenance requests. 3. Become familiar with your local laws on the landlord’s responsibility for responding to and dealing with maintenance issues. 4. Keep a detailed record of all maintenance requests and their resolutions. "
149 " While we were clearly upset with the tenant over not reporting the issue, the fault was ultimately ours. We should have performed regular inspections. Since that date, all of our units get inspected on a six-month rotation. Our lease also now states that any maintenance issues that are not reported that result in further avoidable damage will be billed to them. "
150 " make it a policy to never rent to a person with an eviction on their record or recent felony (within 7 years.) Yes, people do change – but I don’t find the risk worth taking. I’ll leave that risk to other landlords. "
151 " Getting to know the neighbors can help you keep a physical eye on your investments, while great bookkeeping will help you keep a financial eye on the same. "
152 " When doing the property inspection, take note of the following things: • Mold and mildew • Undocumented pets • Broken window blinds • Holes in doors or in walls • Evidence of extra people living in the unit • Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors (if required)—make sure they exist, are up to code, and work • Leaks under the kitchen and bathroom sinks • Dripping water from the bathroom or kitchen sink • Dripping water from the bathtub • Whether the toilet is continuously running • General cleanliness of the property • Items piled against heaters or other fire dangers "
153 " • Tenant C never reports anything, even when it’s important. Tenant C is fairly common among tenants. "
154 " When we hire our handyman to do an inspection, we give him a stack of our Property Inspection Checklist to fill out for each property and return to us. "
155 " One of the top reasons tenants move from one place to another is because of their non-responsive landlord. Therefore, it’s not just cordial to have good communication, it’s also good for business. "
156 " Of course, our favorite Dispositions of Deposit to complete are the ones where the tenant gets an entire refund back minus the cost of mandatory carpet cleaning. "
157 " How much do they currently make? -How long have they worked there? -Is this job considered temporary? "
158 " their current landlord – because many landlords will lie or embellish the truth in an effort to get rid of bad tenants. Instead, call all the previous landlords for at least the previous five years. "
159 " always process applications on a first-come, first-serve basis – processing the application until you discover they do not qualify. If someone doesn’t qualify, move on to the next. When "
160 " Should something bad happen in your business and you are forced to appear before a judge, generally the rule holds true that “he who has the best paperwork wins. "