M.U.L.T.I. - Topic 1 - Downed Units

[Brett B.]

M.U.L.T.I. Stands for Money, Utilities, Legal, Tenants and Investment. All of these intersect in your Multi Family units. Each discussion I would like to focus on one aspect of the M.U.L.T.I acronym and get people's feedback on that discussion topic.

Topic 1 - Investment - Downed units

I hate to put it in these terms but a downed unit in your Multi-Family Investment is almost like a cancer. If not treated or taken care of in a quick manor, it will spread. In a very small amount of time 1 will grow to 2 which will grow to 3 and so one and so forth.

I am not really referring to the Class A or B properties. Usually tenants in those properties take good care of your units. However, when dealing with Class C or below, it can quickly get out of hand. What is the best way of dealing with this??? PREVENTATIVE MEASURES

When you own a Class C or lower apartment complex, you need to check out the occupied units every two months or so. There are very legal ways that you can do this. If you property has Central Air and Heat, go in and change the air filters once a month. Another way to to have your Pest people go in and treat every other month and report back to you about your units. You can replace the flappers on the toilet every 6 months to ensure no water leaks. They Key is to get a hold of it early. 

Many landlords don't do this and find out that when a tenant goes to move out at the end of their lease, their apartment is destroyed. If you use the preventative step, you can see how that tenant is treating your property and make demands on them to keep it clean. Or if you happen to see a small window crack or hole, you can address it now before it gets out of control. Trust me, if you wait until the tenant moves out, you will be left with a large bill, reduced income and start down a path where more and more units will start going down.

This is my .02, what do you think?