Self Managing Tips & Tricks

[Alfredo Alfaro]

Hello, as I am looking to house hack a Quad-plex or Tri-plex I am curious how other people have self managed their properties. 

What kind of software are you using, if any, to facilitate repair request from tenants and to receive payments or notify tenants of late payments and such? 

What has helped with communication between the tenants and you?

Also I know a lot of people are split between telling the tenants that you are the owner or just telling them that you are the property manager. Thoughts? 

[Joe Splitrock]

Originally posted by @Allen McGlashing:

@Alfredo Alfaro

Yes I agree with @Sheena R Roth the best way to approach a house hack is to not let them know your the owner you can say your the PM. That way when there’s a dispute you can blame someone else and your sanity isn’t compromised.

I’m talking from experience.

 I am going to take the contrary opinion on this. You want honesty from your tenants, so you need to provide honesty to them. Misrepresenting ownership means you are lying to your tenant. I know people say, "I am the property manager so it isn't a lie" but omitting critical facts is lying by omission. If you asked the tenant where rent was and they said, "I mailed it", would it be dishonest if they had intentionally mailed it without a stamp and didn't disclose that? That is lying by omission, leaving out critical facts to intentionally deceive.

I am also speaking from experience. I started out telling my first tenant that I was the property manager. They looked up property records and found out I owned the property. They told me one day, "you have a nice house out in the country". They drove by my house! It was uncomfortable and awkward, plus it left me in a position where I had been dishonest with my tenant.

This whole idea of "blaming someone else" in a dispute is a mindset issue. I never blame anyone and I never have a problem. In fact, it is much easier if you are the owner, because you can make fast and final decisions. People much prefer dealing with the owner versus a "middle man" in any situation. 

The need to blame someone else comes out of the human need to be liked and avoid confrontation. This can be solved by three mindset adjustments:

1. Stop caring if people like you. You didn't become a landlord to make friends with tenants. You are running a business, so just keep the relationship professional. Your only job is enforcing the lease.

2. Get better at saying no. Most every dispute comes from tenants requesting things that are outside the lease. A well written lease outlines every policy. If the request falls outside the lease, say "I am sorry no the lease does not allow that and we can't make exceptions". It is only when you don't respond quickly or definitively that disputes arise. When you say "let me check with the owner and get back to you" it gives the person false hope. 

3. Don't blame someone else, blame your policies. "Our policy is firm." or "Our lease is firm." or "If we made exceptions to the lease for one tenant, we could be accused of discriminations if we didn't allow it for another tenant." or "I am sorry this is a business and there is no budget for that request. If you would like to pay $X for that upgrade, I would be happy to accommodate." The lease or the policy can be your "bad guy" if you really need it. 

It is all the more important to be honest with tenants in a house hack situation. You are literally living next door to someone, so it is unlikely they will not find out you own the property. In many cases they know, but they don't say anything or they try to goat you into telling them. This can make you double down on a lie and you look silly when the truth comes out. This makes any situation worse, because it hurts your credibility, which can only increase conflict.