All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

QuickBooks Pro and higher has a new feature called "Leads" in the Customer Center List.

Note that QuickBooks shows 4 tabs to the right called:  "To Do's", "Contacts", "Locations" and "Notes"  

Enjoy!

Nancy Neville

Too bad J that we don't have a betting pool on Bigger Pockets.  I wonder who would win?  :)  Meaning that you and I are in agreement.

J you misunderstood.  I said Judges DO NOT consider the following Normal wear and tear.

:)  I should have rephrased it, as it did look like that is what I said, but I said it in a backward way.

I stated "Wear and Tear Damages"

Wear and Tear is based on a Judges "Opinion" as there is no law that states what normal wear and tear is.  

Judges normally consider "wear and tear damages" as follows:

• Holes in walls
• Broken Windows
• Kicked in Doors
• Broken faucets
• Car Grease on Carpeting
• and things that are actual DAMAGES

What you mention above really falls under CLEANING.  Most Judges will say that this is the job of the Landlord to do when a tenant moves out.  They need to paint and clean.  And that's true!

This was a constant thing for my husband and I to do after each and every tenant moved out.  They all must have cooked on the floor or used it as a skating rink, the grease was so bad. 

Once again, 9 times out of 10 a Judge will make you eat up the cost to clean.  However, that  one Judge may side with you, but  it's a roll of the dice.  Bottom Line:  Don't hold your breath in hopes you will encounter that one Judge.

Nancy Neville

That is true Gita, and your $25 check is in the mail.    :)

• Doctor
• Lawyer
• Banker
• President
• Etc.

Then when we grow up, we realize that in order to be all the above we need to have a plan. We just don’t happen to be a whatever- we- want to be just like that. It takes a plan.

• Do we attend College?
• How many years?
• What college?
• Do I need a college degree?
• Where will I get the money to fund my dream?

Yet in the Landlord Business (our Industry) people don’t view it as a business. The media, courts, tenants, family and friends, feel we are just money hungry people who care nothing about our tenants but only the money. Do they say that about Bankers, Grocery Store Owners, Doctors (well maybe doctors..bad example) plumbers, etc? Not so much. They view these industries as companies, businesses, but….. not us. And even some of us WE DO NOT VIEW OURSELVES AS A BUSINESS!!!

I have people contacting me all the time wanting me to help them solve all their problems because they didn't have a plan. And, I try to help them as much as I can, but there is only so much I can do. Which lead me to writing this blog.

Many investors, see a sale, hear about the landlord business from others, and they get excited and so they buy a house. But they don’t know anything about being a landlord. And...most of us fit into this group, when we first began as well.

So here is my tip for those who need, want it, and glad they have it. ( I wish I could have this posted some place where I wouldn't have to hunt and find it every time someone asks this questions on here, but perhaps the owners of this site might tag it, we will see)

So...here it is.

THIS IS THE PLAN

1.Location, Location, Location .

2. Check out the neighborhood before you buy. Is it a money maker neighborhood, or a bad one?

3. Check the area to see how much rent you can charge for this home in this particular area.

4. As a Realtor, when I sold properties to investors, I would tell them, from my own experience, how much money they could get in rent for this home. In return they would ask me….”Well what if I did this to the house and that to the house (spending thousands of dollars in extra’s to the house), how much could I get in rent then”, and it never ceased to amaze me, how they looked at me when I told them that they would still get $750.00 a month. They wondered how they could still only get $750.00 a month when they spent so much money on extra’s to make the house super special! The answer is this. Location, location, location. What is the market value in that area and neighborhood! It is just like buying a house. What is the market value in that area? What are they selling for?

5. Check your Landlord/Tenant Laws before you even buy a home! Very Important

6. Sit in some Landlord/Tenant Court Sessions to see what goes on.

7. Study the City Ordinances of where your properties are located. If you don’t …..be prepared to receive several tickets for things you didn't know your tenants were supposed to (you really since you are the landlord) do.

8. Get your OFFICE ORGANIZED!! I can’t believe how many investors are so focused on buying and not how to KEEP THEIR PROPERTIES or KEEP TRACK OF THEIR PROFIT AND LOSS. You can't possibly do that if you are not Organized or have an Organized Office!

9. Therefore setup a good filing system

Get a good answering system…Vonage Phone is one good example

Stamps.com is great for keeping track of letters you send your tenants.

QuickBooks is a Landlords best friend. Buy it and learn how to use it.

10. Keep in mind that this is a business of people management. You must get a feel for people and their personalities.

11. Learn what words are Legal to use in advertisements. There are many no no words. (See my blog on What you can say and not say) to avoid discrimination lawsuits.

12. Learn how to setup your properties to have good curb appeal

13. Learn how to do open houses. Plan for them. Makes applicants excited. Competitive

14. Prepare a legal and good application form. Set a criteria for qualifying applicants.

15. Prepare a legal and good Lease Agreement. Take pictures of the home prior to renting it out and have that day's paper somewhere int he picture to depict that the photo's are current.

16. Setup a website Wordpress.com is free to advertise your rentals- generates interest.

17. Learn now to screen your applicants.

18. Learn how to do a credit report and read them

19. Learn how to choose a tenant. Beware of Testers How you speak, words you use, how you choose an applicant will make you or break you. There are testers. Do things right and you won't have to worry.

20. Don’t allow applicants to pay for their application fee by check or money order. They can cancel the checks or money order if they don’t get the place.

21. How much money do you charge for an application fee (Credit Check) $25 per person is what I charged. If they qualified I applied it to their move in fees. If they didn't qualify, it was non-refundable. Have that on your application form.

22. Only accept cash or a Cashier’s Check for credit checks and if you choose them as a tenant, make sure only cash or Cashiers Checks are acceptable, Otherwise they can stop payment on checks and money orders once they move in. PACIFIC HEIGHTS!!!!

23. Don’t allow tenants to move into the property unless they have rent and security deposits PAID IN FULL!! NEVER give anyone the keys until you have all move in fees, money due you in your hands and utilities (if they are to pay them) placed in their names.

24. How much Security Deposit can you charge. Believe it or not, your State has a law for that. Michigan is one month and half plus first month rent. What does your state say?

25. If tenants pay for utilities. make sure they have them placed in their names on the day or prior to the day you sign the lease. Call the day you sign the lease to verify that has been done. If not, DON'T RENT TO THEM, they do not follow instructions.

26. If you are a Property Manager, make sure you are a Broker, or work for a Broker who does Property Management. About 3 states say you can be a Property Manager and not work for a Broker if you a Licensed Property Manager, not a licensed Realtor or Salesperson.

27. If you are a Landlord and have a Property Manager, either let them be a Property Manager 100% or you handle everything yourself, but not do both

28. IMPORTANT: Learn the forms of your STATE !

• How long do you keep your paperwork, your leases? Tenant files?
• What is a Notice to Quit?
• What is a Demand for Possession?
• How many days does your state law require you to send that Notice to Quit?
• What is a Termination of Tenancy?
• How many days does your State law require you to dent that Termination of Tenancy?
• What is the difference between a Notice to Quit and a Termination of Tenancy?
• How do you fill them out?
• How many copies do you need?
• How much do they cost?
• What is a Health Hazard Eviction?
• When can one be sent?
• What is a Writ of Restitution
• How do you fill out all these forms
• How many days are required for the process
• How do you handle an eviction in general?
• Do you change the locks on the tenants…ABSOLUTELY NO!
• How do you handle a tenant who hasn't paid their rent?
• How do you handle a tenant whose lease has expired?
• How do you handle a tenant who won't move out
• How do you handle tenants doing damages?
• What type of Pets are legal rental pets?
• How many people can live in a house
• What to do with too many Guests in the rental home?
• Unknown people on the lease?
• How do you evict someone not on the lease?
• How do you handle tenants doing drugs
• How do you handle noise complaints
• How do you handle vehicle violations
• How do you keep a tenant long term? See my blog on The Tenant Phase

To be a successful landlord, and maintain that excitement that you had when you first began, before you knew the ropes, you have to have all this in place, and you MUST AT ALL TIMES STICK TO THE RULES OF YOUR CONTRACT, YOUR LEASE AGREEMENT. Stick to the rules, and you will keep that excitement. You will keep not only your tenants happy, but you will be happy, making your family happy, and that’s what makes landlords still be landlords after 30 years in the business.

Nancy Neville

Usually, not always, a break in is done by someone that tenant knew or knows.  (Family member, friend, neighborhood person who knows when that tenant is home or gone.

My husband and I would leave a radio playing in the house or a TV, in order to let people THINK there is still someone living there. 

We also purchased some Fake Camera's, and had a Look up sign tacked to the door, and when anyone looked up they saw a camera peering down on them.  

90% of the time it worked.  But if the vacancy lasted too long, then the "guys/gals" got wise.  But my camera's lasted about 5 years before someone threw a rock at it and broke it.  But heck, it only cost me $20.  LOL

I never put "For Rent Signs" up in the windows or premises.  I always did my advertising via my Webpage, or newspaper, or rental agencies. 

Nancy Neville

John Thedford:

Did you know that QuickBooks will tell you when a tenants lease if about to expire?

QuickBooks will tell you everything you want to know about your properties

1.  The year you purchased it
2. The price you paid
3. Price you sold it for (later on) 
4. Properties taxes when they are due and how much
5. Square feet
6. Land Description
7. And whatever you want to know about it

I am amazed at how little people know or understand the POWER that QuickBooks has.

Nancy Neville

Unfortunately, the only people who are allowed to post their website are people who have paid for that privilege to do so via Bigger Pockets.  It's called advertising.

Nancy Neville

Gosh Chad, the answer is very easy. A Contractor is a Vendor.  

They send you a bill for their services, whether by day, week, or month, or finished job. 

You set them up as a Vendor in the Vendors Center in QuickBooks.

You enter the bill they send you into the Vendors Center under their name in QuickBooks.

You write a check from your bank in QuickBooks to this Vendor to pay the bill you received from them.

Assign the work they did to a property or to your office expenses. 

Then run a Profit and Loss Report Standard or by Class (property e.g., office or a property)

and that's it.   It is so simple. 

You say you don't want to pay them bi-weekly, what is their contract with you say?  And if they want to be paid bi-weekly, so be it.  You are paying for a service.  It only takes a moment to pay someone in QuickBooks.  

That will be $25 please.  Just kidding

Nancy Neville