How do you know if you're a good landlord/property manager?

Question

Whenever things come up or problems arise,  it's easy to get down on yourself and take the blame, whether the issue was within your control or not.

with that said...

what are some indicators or measures that you use to track performance against? And how do you know whether to attribute performance  to 1) the property/condition , 2) the tenant being rough on the property 3) cost of doing business, normal occurance

off the top of my head I'm thinking:

Days to close out an issue

Timeliness in responding to issues

Annual/quarterly repair expenses

# of repair request per year

Or even how do you know whether or not your getting better at landlording /property management over time? I may be over thinking this but wanted to get you all's opinion

Account Closed · Answer

You're making money. You have less problem tenants. To do this, you need to learn the laws, learn the rental market, learn how to find the best tenant base that suits you and your property and how to market to them, how to screen tenants, how to negotiate them out without them damaging the place if things go sour (like some crazy lover moves in).

All of those things equal more profit, and less time required to manage - once you learn the above.

All of those things equal more profit, and less time required to manage - once you learn the above.

Tim Jacob · Answer

It sounds like maintenance is the issue.  To that I say make sure your home inspections are very detailed even if they are more $ to catch everything possible.  Project management if you rehabbed is the other thing.  It needs to be top quality which can be time consuming, especially if you are working another job.

Maintenance does need to be prompt.  Hopefully it is not sky high.  Is your property in a rough area?  That can contribute to it but if the property was not rentable at move in I would be very detailed and get everything at turnover bc vacancy and tenant caused maintenance will be higher until it is.

I dont think you are bad until this goes on too long.  Thats what a slumlord is.

Ricardo R. · Answer

@Edward Norman 'good' is a pretty subjective term. But in my opinion a good landlord is able to find the right balance between cash-flow, tenant relations and property maintenance. To address your main concerns:

Days to close out an issue: As timely as reasonably possible. For example if you get a request for a leak, don't let it linger in your inbox, get to it as soon as possible and although the repair may take a bit of time, let the Tenant know you're on top of it as soon as possible. Most people are forgiving and understanding if they at least know you have received the issue and are working on it.

Timeliness in responding to issues: This goes with the above, as soon as the request is put in by the Tenant, acknowledge it as soon as possible (within hours) and let them know you have received it and are working on it. If it's an issue affecting a tenant 'life-style' change (i.e. appliance, plumbing issues, etc.) be sympathetic and show that you're on it.

Annual/quarterly repair expenses: It depends on the type and quality of your property. Set aside 10% of the rent for this. Conduct regular inspections and encourage tenants to let you know about issues to keep them from ballooning into something bigger and more expensive.

# of repair request per year: This one again depends on the type and quality of your property. However, this may also have to do with your set expectations to the Tenant. If you turn over a s#@t unit to a Tenant expect to see a lot of requests both for legitimate issues and petty ones (because a tenant will feel like you've bamboozled them) likewise if you ignore important and legitimate requests like a non-functional toilet expect to now receive a lot of requests for every little petty thins. You need to address requests immediately in giving the tenant an insight that it's being worked on or why it's not getting addressed. As a side note although it may be frustrating to get repair requests... you should value them... it means the Tenant is letting you know of an issue and you have a chance to address it.

On the overall a good landlord will address issues as soon as they come up in a timely manner, while also keeping the costs down. A good landlord is also not a 'yes' man/woman, a good landlord is able to distinguish between needed repairs and selective repairs and is still able to say 'no' while still keeping the tenant happy by conveying the why. For example a tenant claims that the landlord provided refrigerator went out.... this a legitimate request which a landlord needs to address at your cost, if the refrigerator went due to old age... however, a tenant request that the functional shower heads be changed out for new ones... is not legitimate especially since they work and that's how the tenant initially viewed them - address it immediately and say no.

As a guide, if you're constantly butting heads with your tenants on a regular basis... not a good landlord; alternatively if you're constantly rolling over and saying yes for every little thing running it like a hotel... not a good landlord.

Stephen J Davis · Answer

Anybody can be a good property manager but it does take some education for most people. I learned by joining a real estate investor group and taking their courses on property management. The national apartment association has a great course as well. There are books your can read as well. A book on sales helps too.

How do you know if you're a good landlord/property manager?

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