For a vacant unit, I require a full month's rent and security deposit (and water deposit and pet fees if applicable) up front in cash or by a cashiers check on a local bank.

We get to lay blame on other "oh, sorry, can't have 4 pet's sorry, wish I could help, out of my hands, HOA rules, I have to evict you if you did that, sorry"! 

Sometimes things like water damage and pet damage require replacing sections of the floor and you can piece those in without doing the whole floor with varing results. 

In addition, anyone that has carpet has to worry about pets.  

Im moving to the Frederick/Hagerstown, MD area within the next month and really interested in sinking my teeth into some buy and hold properties, single and multifamily.

Owners gnash their teeth when they see the dryer vent charge (OMG Pete that is a waste of money it's not a hotel!)

You can't ask - the tenant needs to request a 'reasonable modification' defined as " • You request to bring your service animal into a building with a “no-pets” policy.

If you are accepting pets you need to be very cautious to verify what kind of animal they actually have -- a lot of people will tell lies to get undesirable pets into units.

A lot of tenants have small pets too, so I would consider small dogs and cats for an extra $25 per month.

Hey all, Recently bought a 3family in my home state of NY and am choosing to do most of the management on my own to cut my teeth and learn what I don't know before I outsource it in the future.