Must knows for managing your own rentals

Question

My boyfriend and I are investors in the GR area, as we get more deals under our belt (when it makes sense) we will probabbly hire a property manager. But for now, we will self manage. Are there any MUST KNOWS when managing rentals, things that maybe had you had the 2020 hindsight vision you either would or wouldn't have done? Has anyone worked with Rent Manager & how do you like it, or not? Any other useful things to help keep your business organized? I truly believe organization is key, so please if anyone has any advice, Thanks in advance !! :)

Mason Hickman · Answer

@Caleb Reits

Have rental criteria lined up beforehand and don’t back off any of your criteria. Also, don’t get anxious and let someone subpar rent it from you. You’ll pay far more than a little vacancy.

A few other things I put into leases:

- no unregistered vehicles stored at the property

- no displaying signs of any nature in the yard or any of the windows

Maksu Ize · Answer

@Caleb Reits

Treat your tenants right, they will pay you right.

Personally i avoid property managers, people talk about "its a huge time sink"

Maybe if you have 40 properties and your doing a turn over every 2 weeks.

Small scale = DIY, i probably spend a total of 10hrs a year "dealing" with tenants, its pocket change on the income your making

Theresa Harris · Answer

Make sure you know your local tenancy laws and get a standard lease.

Lynnette E. · Answer

Keep your records  up to date as you go.  At tax time you do not want to forget the repairs you did, or the month the tenant paid a late fee.  And when you sell, you want to know your cost basis so keep that HUD form safe!  As well as that list of CAPEX.

Maksu Ize · Answer

@Caleb Reits

I have two condos, not SFH, so there is literally no maintenance from my end.

Tenant turn over, 2 hours for viewings

Tenant signing, handing over keys, showing the unit, questions, etc, 3 hours

Clogged toilet, 3 hours DIY with an auger

They pay with E transfer, 0 time involved.

They had a complaint about wasps on the patio over summer, 2 emails to strata, 1hr.

Im at 9hrs as an over estimate for the unit.

Paying someone 5-10% would be batshit crazy for that. At 2000$/rent/mo per unit, thats 1200-2400$ for 9 hours of work over the year.

Cody Neumann · Answer

@Caleb Reits

Be sure to screen all your tenants properly from the start.

Too many landlords will get their first property and end up with a terrible tenant which then leads to them giving up.

If you are interested in learning more in depth info on it I highly recommend you read the book on managing rental properties by Brandon turner.

Scott M. · Answer

You (nor anyone) will not have all of the answers and that is okay.  Saying I am not sure I will get back to you is an acceptable answer. Everyone will F up.  Everyone.  Your tenant, you, your vendors.  Work toward solutions first then figure out how mistakes could have been avoided.  Someone will threaten to sue you and perhaps, someone will.  Remember threats are not lawsuits.  Know the laws, follow the laws and surround yourself with a good team.  Don't wait until you need a lawyer that specializes in landlord tenant law, find them early on.  Things can always be better organized, recognize it is a process and comes more from you then it does tools.  My 86 year old mom with her paper files and notes will run organizational circles around most people with all the electronic tools at their disposal.

Jennifer Williams · Answer

My number one piece of advice: always always always screen. Screening is crucial to determining not only if the applicant will be a good fit, but also helping prevent a mess later on where you're stuck with horrible tenants or have to go through an eviction.

Lynnette E. · Answer

I mainly use it to track expenses, but it can also manage you portfolio's net worth, maybe other things too.  It does a great job of separating out things for taxes when you track income and expenses.

Jim K. · Answer

The first piece of advice I would hand out would be to understand their local landlord-tenant laws. While I can't count the number of astonishingly ignorant questions we seem to get here in the forums asking for legal advice on dealing with tenants, the even greater number of responses that disregard the fact that the law in one area is not the same as in another is really disheartening. Study your landlord-tenant laws.

Must knows for managing your own rentals

Most Popular Reply