How much do you keep as an emergency fund for rentals?

[Mel Rosario]

I have read that 6months worth of emergency funds should be set aside, usually refers to personal emergency issues.   Do you keep a separate emergency fund for your rentals?  I have 8 Class A/B rentals and recently, I had 4 empty rentals.  Some because of eviction, recent purchase, and lease termination.  It took a minimum of 2 months to fill 1 place, but 6months to fill after all the damages/wear/tear from the eviction, the other places took about 2months for the right renters.  I used a lot of money to keep up the payments and for repairs.  My total gross is approximately 20k/month.  

Thanks

[Parris Taylor]

@Mel Rosario For sure. Treat your rentals like a business, so yes, separate emergency fund. The killer isn’t one vacancy, it’s when two or three hit at once. That’s why I keep ~6 months of reserves per property (mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs). Clustered vacancies tests survival.

Another thing is to set a hard rule that you’ll never drop standards just to stop the bleeding. That turns reserves from dead cash into your cheapest risk-management tool