First time landlord any advice?

Question

Thomas S. · Answer

The best thing a new landlord can do is learn how to screen. Most applicants will have something they are hiding and it is your responsibility to ferret out what it is. Remember it is your property and if you get a bad tenant it is your business that will be effected.

Certain applicants are high risk based only on their personal life situation, recently separated, young and first apartment, young couple living together for the first time, applicants coming from outside the area, self employed, single with young children etc. What you are looking for when screening is reasons to reject applicants not reasons to accept them. If you are uncertain you always reject. They will tell you every imaginable sob story there is and when they do they are immediately rejected, applicants that do not properly complete the application are immediately rejected.

The biggest mistake landlords make when screening is to try and make a applicant work. Every applicant is simply a collection of information, they are not people and it should never be a emotional decision. It is OK to reject applicants only on a gut feeling, it is never OK to accept applicants on a gut feeling. Feelings have no place in choosing tenants.

Matthew Olszak · Answer

@Andy Rivera Recognize how your market works. Some criteria, like 720+ credit score, no background, 3x income-to-rent ratio, etc, might not make any tenants who tell the truth eligible for your property depending on the area and price point. Also, advertise on mediums that are normal for your specific market. Some markets work off of signs in the window and corner store, while others are driven on the MLS. And on that note - if you decide you only want tenants fitting a certain criteria, be sure to only buy a property they will be interested in. Example: would someone with great credit, no background, and high income rent in a d-class neighborhood? Probably not, unless something else wasn't being disclosed or they were a 1-off type case and had reason to be there. People usually want to live in the best area they can afford.

Also, don't 'baby' your rental. Treat it like it is one of 100 you manage. If you micromanage your tenants, they'll surely leave, and doing so is also not a scale-able way of doing business. If they pass your application criteria, trust that your tenants will keep good care of your units. That'll also help to keep personal distance from the tenants and emotions out of play in case you need to evict.

Expectations: Expect a lot of lies to be written in on your applications. Even when I tell people certain items aren't an issue if they are disclosed up front, they still lie point-blank to my face. Believe nothing but the hard data you can confirm - like does the name match the ssn and address. Research everything else.

Josh Nabors · Answer

One piece of advice my grandpa gave me when showing the property to a prospect.

When you are done with your showing, kindly walk them out to their car and take a peak inside and see how well kept their car is. If its clean and tidy, chances are they will take care of your property!

Matthew Olszak · Answer

@Andy Rivera Another expectation: Expect that once you place a properly screened tenant in your unit, you won't hear a peep and your rent $ will just flow on in. We talk a lot about the bad times, but there are plenty of good ones too (albeit boring).

Jeff Sprunger · Answer

Read Brandon Turners books.  Also Landlording on Autopilot by Mike butler

Jonathan Greene · Answer

@Andy Rivera , in North Jersey it is usually set up so the renter pays the realtor fee. If you want the highest level of vetted tenants and less worry, find an agent who knows how to market a rental property and get you many options to choose from. If a renter can pay 1.5 mo security, 1 mo rent and 1 mo realtor fee (split between listing agent and renting agent) then you know they have decent money in the bank.

Too many investors rent to friends or go to Craigslist or try to vet the tenant themselves without the use of sites like NTN. You need to know everything about someone you are renting to and a standard rental application will give you information that you can verify. You must have a proper application and lease to even think about starting your career as a landlord and when you use an agent who is experienced in managing the offer process, you should have multiple qualified tenants to choose from.

Once decided, you need to go through the lease with the tenant, in person, line by line, if you plan on being the person they call for anything that goes on.

Amber Koontz · Answer

@Andy Rivera I'm currently looking into all of this and I have some great links to share with you!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/07/06/ultimate-guide-systems-outsourcing-real-estate/

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/27/tenant-screening/

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/04/how-to-rent-your-house/

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2012/11/12/tenant-screening-application-lease-selection-process/

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2011/06/02/landlord-screening-tips-professional-tenants-06211/

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2011/03/18/security-deposits-best-practices-landlord/

Check out Padmapper for rent rates.

Buildium and  AppFolio for management software.

Everything is on BiggerPockets for sure, just search. Good luck to you!

First time landlord any advice?

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