Renter Vs Landlord Friendly States

[Tony Blaine]

Given that we are at the high end of the real estate cycle in most MSA's, has your criteria for multifamily investing in renter or landlord friendlier states changed? 

[Jim K.]

This is a Bigger Pockets kind of meta-theory-of-landlording shadow-of-a-question, not the reality I deal with as a local landlord. All of my stuff is in one state and one county, and all of it goes before the same three judges in three magisterial districts. This is pretty standard to any LL within a target area anywhere in the USA.

Over time, if you have half a brain, you come to realize that you're building up an important business relationship with these judges, just as you're building it with your local tax collector, just as you're building it with local code enforcement. In evictions and judgments, a judge's primary duty is to ensure there aren't abuses of power happening. You have to show them you respect their role and their authority. You have to understand they're doing their best in ugly, uncivil situations that require mediation and have real stakes.

What they want out of you is consistency in documentation, a willingness to work with tenants, a grown-up attitude, a hesitancy to bring things to court that don't require court to settle. Over time, they come to expect those things in your repeated appearances, and more importantly, to trust that these things will be evident when you come before them. THAT YOU'RE NOT WASTING THE COURT'S TIME OR THE PEOPLE'S MONEY.

Get your documentation together, make sure you're not abusing your part of the landlord-tenant relationship, don't waste the court's time or the people's money, and KEEP DOING IT. The judge comes to understand that you're not a tool with money, and that you're not going to go to court over a childish, prim contract squabble but over something where someone is clearly in the wrong (the tenant) and someone is clearly in the right (you).

By traditional measures, I don't live in an LL-friendly state, but over time, as I have shown that I understand what I do and I'm not a tool with some money, things have gone my way.