So today we're going to talk about seven.
Not so obvious landlord tips.
So when you own a rental property, there is a lot that you're responsible
for. If you've ever been a tenant in a rental property, you probably think
you have a good handle on what's involved.
But there are some not so obvious things
that you should know always as a landlord before you rent out your property.
So let's take a look at seven. Not so obvious.
Landlord tips that 20 years of experience of owning property management companies
that I've found
that will spare you the landlord many, many headaches down the road.
The first one is the lease is critical.
Now, this sounds obvious to many of you, but you have no idea how many people rent
without a lease.
It's crazy.
You always got to make sure
that your lease complies with the local city and state laws
because landlord tenant laws are very different from place to place.
And make sure that you have an attorney.
At least that takes a look at this lease because it will underpin
every single decision between you and the tenant.
Everything you talk about must be enforced in writing.
If you waive a late fee, you could be creating a precedent.
If you have multiple tenants
and you enforce something in the lease with just one tenant, but not the other.
You could be accused of housing discrimination.
Number two, beware of any large upfront payments and rent from prospective
tenants.
Now, normally you guys would think that this is a good thing.
This can be a red flag that that person might be trying to avoid a criminal
and or credit background check or that they just came in to a large sum of money.
And when that lump sum is gone,
they don't know if they'll be able to pay the rent at that point.
Don't be swayed by a large wad of cash.
Three.
Avoid advertising on Craigslist.
Craigslist scammers will copy your ad, use your photos,
and then try to collect a security deposit and even get an applicant's
Social Security number and other sensitive information.
The scammer will claim that they're out of the country and will attempt to rent
your property to tenants, in some cases, even persuading the new tenant
to hire a locksmith to get into your property to avoid scams.
Make sure that you watermark
any photos of your property with your contact information.
If you're an independent landlord,
do not include the exact address in your ad, but instead list
the nearest cross streets for when it comes to your attentive security deposit.
Keep them all in a separate bank account.
It's not your money Treat it like it's your tenant's money because it is.
You don't want to be short on cash when your tenant moves out.
Also, some states require that landlords
pay interest on security deposits, so make sure you know the law.
Just be sure to find out what the law is in your market
and when you're giving those deposits back after move out,
there are additional requirements that you must meet as the landlord
on returning that money. Five.
Keep it professional with your tenant,
no matter how charming or interesting your tenants may seem.
You must keep this relationship professional.
Try not to overly socialize with your tenant.
Do not connect with your tenant.
On social media.
If you befriend your tenants, you run the risk of them playing the friend card.
If they are ever struggling to pay on time or have other issues
This happened to me personally
when I decided to sell one of my rentals and the tenant who I knew well
and I shared beers with Got very upset with me during that time. Six.
Do not let your tennis do repairs for a rental discount.
Now, this may seem like an easy solution in the moment,
but a tenant's work doesn't come with any guarantee or any warranty.
You just don't know the quality of the repair.
You could actually discover that their repairs were hasty and shoddy,
and you might even need to hire a professional anyway.
And number seven text messages do not hold up in court.
If you need to communicate something important, like a rent increase,
text messages are not considered legal, docked, and are sometimes
not even admissible in court as evidence of communication.
The law may catch up eventually, but we're not there yet.
If you still wish to text tenants about something like a rent increase
that notice will just be a courtesy and it won't be considered legally binding.
Make sure that you always notify the tenant via United Postal
Service, UPS, FedEx, Subway to track that they actually got the message.
Even an email is not considered universally binding yet.
These are small easy steps that you could take
that will spare you major headaches down the road.
And this is from years of experience of doing the wrong thing.
And the majority of the cases your tenants will pay on time
and just want someplace clean and quiet to go home.
But you can't always count on that.
But if you treat this like a business and are always professional,
you'll be able to protect your investment.
Thanks for listening.