8 Habits of Highly Effective Inner City Landlords

Did you know inner city landlords have super powers? They can easily

amass equity with very little effort, but all too often they don’t even try. Yes, they renovate and make their units shine, but most stop short of doing what’s needed the most - providing leadership for the surrounding community.

Operating as a normal passive landlord isn’t effective in low income neighborhoods. All communities rely on their residents to keep them strong, but in low income neighborhoods where the majority of the residents are renters, rarely will tenants engage their communities more than their landlords do.

This dynamic gives inner city landlords their super powers. With very little effort, they can lift the lid on their properties’ appreciation potential. Not only can they save the day by getting involved, they can also capture the equity rewarded to those owners helping the area appraise at normal market values.

If this is a mission you’d like to accept, then begin by practicing these habits used by highly effective low income housing landlords:

1. Respect your hood – Simply being an inner city landlord grants you a little celebrity – use that to esteem others. Activate the Law of Reciprocity and show respect to everyone, especially those whose behavior you don’t like. This should be your starting move to win over everyone you meet.

2. Show up after something bad happens – There is a reason Presidents visit disaster zones; it comforts those needing a sense of order. The inner city landlord who checks on her tenants and neighbors after a something bad happens will garner goodwill and exponentially boost their celebrity. Also, this act of kindness directly helps a landlord’s bottom line through lower vacancies, higher net operating incomes, and earning the loyalty of neighbors.

3. Fight disorder within and beyond their property lines – Disorder is a catchphrase for graffiti, blight, and litter. Disorder creates an atmosphere that encourages illegal activities. Just as a store owner inside a shopping mall wouldn’t tolerate disorder in the mall, landlords should not tolerate it on their block. The neighborhood’s appearance is your business, so do what’s needed to reduce disorder everywhere on your block.

4. Harness the collective voice of owners – Disorder flourishes when property owners don’t communicate or pool resources. It is easier than ever to collect the names of all the owners on your block, just check your city's tax records or work with a real estate agent. If you practice the first three habits listed above, owner information will practically be given to you.

The next step is organizing the owners around the mission of keeping the neighborhood safe, clean and attractive. This way your block can gain a collective voice that gets the ear of politicians, the police, and the press.

5. Be a landlord’s landlord – Encourage other landlords to fall in line. You, as a fellow landlord, may be in the best position to influence them. When another landlord caps your property’s potential, having crucial conversations, backed by a collective voice, may be one of the most profitable things you can do.

6. Support annual community-building traditions – Local events, especially block parties with ice breaker activities, give neighbors an excellent excuse to meet each other. The benefits include:

• Crime-proofing the neighborhood by promoting unity and neighborhood pride.
• Giving other landlords and local businesses the opportunity to show good will.
• Increasing tenant satisfaction and lowering vacancy rates.

7. Promote and circulate good news – Like blight and disorder, good news also has a snowball effect. Actively spread good news to:

• Attract businesses which create new jobs.
• Give tastemakers the new information needed to form new opinions about your area.
• Encourage the troops and maintain accurate contact information.

8. Support local reputable businesses – Encourage residents to support local businesses that cater to them. Simultaneously, use the power of your collective voice to reduce the density of non reputable businesses (liquor stores, massage parlors, etc) that bring neighborhoods down.

This process may take up to five years. Yes, it does take time to change the world, just keep on practicing these habits. By making small, consistent, and easy changes, you will build the momentum needed to solve any problem the neighborhood faces! And, when your rental appraises at values found in the good parts of town, you will be able to fly off with a lot of equity and thanks from the neighbors.

Co-author Ibrahim Hughes is a 12 year veteran of the real estate industry. He serves as a managing member of We Buy NJ Real Estate, LLC a real estate investment company based in Union, NJ and is a licensed Real Estate Agent for ROCK Realtors in Bloomfield, NJ. He's also a long time volunteer of STEP, an inner city based youth mentoring organization. He can be reached at [email protected]

Al Williamson is a professional engineer who helps landlords discover new income streams, reduce expenses, and grow their equity. Follow his experiments at http://www.leadinglandlord.com