My Dad owns properties.

[Branden Bennett]

Hi all,

I am new to bigger Pocketts and real estate investing, but I would like you guys help. My dads have about 8 or 9 properties that he owns. Most of them have no mortgage or a very small amount left on the mortgage, but he has tax liens on a lot of the properties and his tenants are not the best at paying rent on time. I told him I wanted to jump in and start to manage these properties so that he is seeing a monthly cash flow, but I don’t know where to start. I don’t have the funds to pore into these properties, but I fee like if I let him lose them because of tax liens or small mortgages that he’s paid of the majority of the principle would be idiotic. It seems that he don’t not care as much as I do if he loses them. Do anyone have any suggestions?

[Nathan Gesner]

I'll just be honest. You want to help him but you have no knowledge or experience that would actually benefit him. Could you grind it out and learn as you go? Sure. But it would be a whole lot better for both of you if you educated yourself on how to properly manage rentals or you may burn yourself out and walk away before giving it a fair shake.

Read "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" by NOLO or "The Book On Managing Rentals" by Brandon Turner (or both). Find your state law. Print it off, study it, highlight it, and keep it handy for reference.

At the bare minimum, you should know:

• How to determine market rent for your units
• How to set rental criteria
• How to screen applications
• State law regarding due dates, late fees, and the eviction process
• How to handle late rent professionally
• How to evict a tenant for non-payment
• How to get rid of a problem tenant

You could easily read those two books, study your state law, and then develop WRITTEN procedures for handling these issues within a month. Then you could approach your dad with a concrete plan instead of a pie-in-the-sky dream. Show him you've done your homework and are ready to give this a shot. Show him how it will benefit him financially:

1. Reduce his workload and stress
2. Increase his income, even after paying you
3. Better protect his properties

That's it. Anyone can say they'll manage the properties better than him but he probably wants to see some evidence. If you can put the effort into learning now, then there's a pretty good chance you can put the effort into his properties.