Telling Tenants You're the Property Manager

[Matthew Kirkwold]

Hello everyone,

I've heard that some people will tell their tenants they are the property manager so that when a dispute comes up they can say the "owner" is the "bad guy" and not them. On the other side of the coin, like I read in The Book on Managing Rental Properties, you can also make the lease the "bad guy" and be firm on enforcing the lease of the property you own. I'm wondering what you think is the better approach especially considering the fact that your name will be listed as the owner on the county/city GIS website that the tenants could easily see. I feel like it would be a bad situation if the tenant actually looks up the listed owner of the property, then confronts you and you are caught in a lie.

Secondly, considering that the owner and owner address are both public info and easily accessible on the city GIS site, is there any way to keep your personal address private? I have a feeling there isn't if you are wanting the property in your name to avoid setting up an LLC and get residential financing on the property instead of commercial. I agree its not good to have your personal address easily accessible to tenants but are there any other options?

Thanks!!