Landlord hacks ( what do you do make your life easier)
Real Estate Broker · Ashland KY · Member since 2018 · 57 posts · 71 votes
As you scroll through fackbook or other sites you see various life hacks about cooking, landscaping, etc. I want this post to be about landlord hacks( what are some simple tricks you use to make your life easier as a landlord).
1. I only use deadbolt locks on doors ( and non locking handle) because it prevents tenants from locking themselves out.
2. I buy a years worth of air filter for a property because the tenant will forget to buy the air filters and change them.
3. I only buy 2br/1ba houses to lower the chance of hoarding and stairs.
I'm interested in what you
Here it goes!
@Mary Mitchell @Michael Ablan I hope you don't mind me asking, would you mind sharing some tips on how did you automate self managing properties? Like tenant screening or maintenance issues.
I'm currently debating whether to hire a PM or do it myself. Heads up, I'm about to close on a 4plex. That's why I'm considering managing it myself, for now.
Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.
Unfortunately I haven't figured out a way to automate the process other than allowing tenants to self show apartments. The property management software takes away a lot of the heavy lifting though. I can send a prospect a link and they can fill out their application from their phone. I can then run my credit/screening right from the software. If everything comes back good, then I can send my pre-autofilled lease to them (from the software) and they can sign right from their phone. It comes back to me and its done.
For maintenance requests I have my tenants take pictures and use our app to submit work orders. I then assign these to the appropriate person, who goes and finishes the job. They update it, I check it and if everything is good then I close it out.
Thank you for this wealth of information. Yes, I'm on the lookout for someone to post on this thread about self showing. If you don't mind me asking, do you mostly own SFRs? The only reason I ask is coz I've interviewed several PMs and most of them wouldn't want to handle Multis just coz of the headache they cause. This is why I'm leaning to use a PM instead because I plan to only acquire MFRs. Any thoughts?
@Adrian Fajardo - I do self showings. I may not do it the best way, but I haven't had anything bad happen yet.
I do a lot of vetting during my initial conversation with the person to make sure they're going to fit our criteria. If it works out then I send them to the house which has a combo lockbox on it. I have them text me when they're there, and then I text them the combo. They check it out and then call me with feedback when they're done and it's locked up.
I live in a low crime area, so someone stealing the appliances isn't much of a concern to me. The worst thing I've had happen is someone didn't close the door all the way and a stray cat got inside and pooped on the carpet.
@Shane Craig
Great question!
A few things I do...
1. I'm a replace rather than fix it (most cases). HVAC is old... I'm putting a new one not spending the couple hundred dollars repairing it when it's gonna break down soon. Roof is on the last leg I'm going to replace. Don't want the roof caving in and breaking tenants stuff and having to pay for that also.
2. Houses get painted the same color.
3. Respond to tenants quickly so they stay longer. I always ask tenants why the left and majority is because their landlord didn't take care of things efficiently. Much cheaper to do a repair than deal with turnover.
4. Master lock key system.
@Karl B. Your item #8 will be #1 in my list of to DOs. Thank you!
My pleasure! I almost chose Killeen as my next market but realized it's too hot there for me there (roughly six months of really hot weather = Karl B. would melt)! I chose a different market though I'm now familiar with the Killeen market (I really liked Harker Heights & Copperas Cove); there are A LOT of quadplexes there!
@Karl B. Tell me about it. It will be my first time in Texas and I lived in Fairbanks before that.
I would've wanted to manage myself but I realized being in the Army is so unpredictable that I'll need to hire a PM.
Oh yes! I plan to focus on buying in Harker Heights. It's a nice neighborhood. How did you become familiar with the area?
Oops - one more :) i try to eliminate paper. I scan (using my iPhone) all documents, reciepts, deposits, bills, checks I write- everything gets scanned into dropbox. This way i have everything at my fingertips at all times :)
I love using this hack! I'm a newbie investor, so I haven't tried applying this to REI yet. However, seeing how well it worked for me thus far and how it works for you in your business, I'm sure to keep this hack going! Thank you!!
@Karl B. Tell me about it. It will be my first time in Texas and I lived in Fairbanks before that.
I would've wanted to manage myself but I realized being in the Army is so unpredictable that I'll need to hire a PM.
Oh yes! I plan to focus on buying in Harker Heights. It's a nice neighborhood. How did you become familiar with the area?
When I did all my research for Killeen I learned Harker Heights was nicer than Killeen. I actually preferred it a bit over Copperas Cove. It felt like more people wanted to live in HH though The Cove has some nice areas also.
Regarding self-showings (as a PM) - I learned that I could learn a lot about an applicant by setting up appointments vs. open houses. You learn if they show up on time, if they bring someone who speaks for them instead of being able to speak for themselves, if they show up with an entourage that reeks of pot, you can walk them out to their vehicle to see if it's full of trash and filthy, if they smell of smoke, if they are a couple and argue about everything loudly, if they have screaming, unruly children, if they don't ask about normal things like where is the laundry, what's the parking situation, how big are the closets...all things that point to someone desperate.
And I'd ask them, "So why are you moving?" You wouldn't believe how you can catch people off guard..."uh, my aunt says I can't sleep on her couch anymore..."
Have iron-clad criteria. If you do, you don't have to worry about fair housing. There are very few protected classes and they don't include "people who smell like smoke," "people who don't completely fill out the application, even after I tell them it's required," "people with pit bulls for emotional support animals" (hint - emotional support animals require you to approve a "reasonable" accommodation - which means asking you to break a rule of yours - but it has to be reasonable.
Knowing the rights of landlords as well as tenants. See above regarding applicants who demand you have to allow them to have a support animal. Learn your rights. Most of the time, you can say no.
Month to month only, so you can get rid of a mistake quickly. Yes, once in a blue moon someone will con you and take advantage, but it's rare.
I loved renting out studios vs the few 1 bedrooms we had. If I could only buy and rent out studios that's all I'd have. Way less hassle, less occupants, less water used, on and on.
Rent to law students if possible. I learned they are the best tenants by far. Rent studios to them and you'll have them for an average of 3 years, usually longer. The only thing you'll ever have to worry about is reminding them to pay rent on the first, because they're so exhausted. Give them a quiet building to live and study in, and they will stay and refer plenty of fellow students to keep your building full.
Offer rent discounts for referring new tenants.
Only advertise in places where your desired tenant pool is, whenever possible, instead of on Craigslist, etc., to avoid a huge number of calls that waste your time. For me, that was the law school nearby. They didn't have enough on-campus housing, so they agreed to advertise my vacancies on their facebook page. I just went to their office to ask if I could advertise on a bulletin board or something and they got the housing director while I waited and she offered to advertise on their facebook page - a win-win, as it was beneficial for them to be able to find housing for new students.
Allow student tenants (preferably grad students, like my law students) to sublet over the summer. They need to do summer internships. If you tell them they can't sublet over the summer, you'll lose them - and they would have stayed for several years otherwise. I had one law student ask me, after I said he could have a "long-term guest" over the summer, but he was still responsible for the rent - ask me if it was okay if he profited from the summer sub-let LOL. I said sure! I just needed to approve of the "guest" and make sure he knew to contact me for any maintenance issues, etc.
If you have a vacant unit in summer, you can make good money renting to short-term students who are coming for internships (along the same lines as above, but for vacant units).
Use mass texts to remind tenants to pay rent who haven't paid yet ("rent is due tomorrow, don't forget...etc.)
Work out a deal with tenants you need to "let go," so they won't cause damage or leave a bunch of junk you need to haul to the dump. For instance, "If you leave the place undamaged and empty and don't leave a bunch of stuff out by the garbage bins, I'll give you your full deposit back in cash when you give me the keys, instead of making you wait 21 days, etc."
Don't use a property manager. Most will suck up all of your profits. Sorry, but true. Exception being in places, such as CA when you have more than 16 units and one is required to live on site. Then, sure, use an onsite PM who is your employee, who works for a free apartment and/or a salary, but has an incentive to increase your profits rather than nickel and dime you to death, like most PM contracts allow.
Give a toilet plunger as a move-in gift.
If you advertise units on Craigslist, etc., let all calls go to voicemail. Make notes of all calls received in a log in case you need it for fair housing. Make notes like, "was screaming at kids while leaving message," "sounded drunk and sounded like was in a bar when called," "wasn't aware of which ad they were calling about," "called several times during same evening and sounded angry and hostile," etc. Remember which categories are "protected classes." Even if these people end up with great credit and are otherwise in a protected class, if they are also in a class that is not protected, like they are "someone who screams at their children (will be noisy)", etc., you don't have to rent to them and you'll be covered if fair housing comes around.
Be friendly, but firm. My tenants really liked me and I was always able to reach amiable solutions if they needed to be kicked out. I'd say 98% of tenants will respect boundaries, if done with a friendly, but firm manner. There will always be "that 2%" that will be a pain no matter what. Your best bet on minimizing the tenants that will be a pain is with really good tenant screening and really tough criteria (as tough as your market will allow).
@Christopher Reeder
How can you tell which tenant deposited rent when they use deposit slips? I’m worried if I have 4 tenants that all pay same rent that it could get confusing?
This is only for the ones that don’t do online payments.
@Jarrod Kohl
I would love some more info on these
Maybe need to start a new thread covering the pros and cons of the software that is available
I want to keep it simple but find the best one out there
In my case, I have 2 tenants and their payments are different. If I had tenants with the same amount, I would ask them to text me the receipt after the deposit to confirm the unit #. My bank does not provide a simple way to track the deposits online by receipt image for counter deposits.
A lot of great information in this forum.
@Brian Warren
For deposit slips, have the renter put the same amount as the rental unit number. Unit one would be $500.01, unit two $500.02 and so forth.
Don't be afraid to offer a Bi-Weekly rent payment option, especially on C and D units. For example one of my units is $750 per month or $375 every other Friday (or whatever their day their payday is). They seem to pick the bi-weekly option more often due to it being easier for them to budget and there are two big advantages for me.
1) It equates to $812.50 per month instead of $750 (They are fully aware of this and are fine with it)
2) It means i get a 2 week earlier heads up if they are falling behind and can begin the eviction process that much sooner.
Great thread. I pretty much manage from my phone when things are going right. My input:
1. Lockbox at the property so contractors can get in.
2. No checks for payment. Pay by Venmo/Zelle(I know it isn't supposed to be used for biz purposes).
3. Wifi(I have a three family). Wifi allows me to monitor the place using cameras, I have a wife controlled remote thermostat, and soon an alarm.
4. Keep the paint uniform. I also learned the hard way when you use tile don't get too specific.
5. I tell my tenants to text me only. They seem to like that. I have a separate email account too.
6. I have a separate bank account which allows me to sync everything to my accounting software.
7. Get good contractors you can trust so that you don't have to be out there all the time(but know enough not to get ripped off). A good reliable handyman is a must.
I like to do things digitally, but wasn't ever satisfied with online applications offered by the various websites as they weren't customizable to my liking and/or they charged a prospective tenant a hefty fee to fill and submit. Consequently, I was stuck with paper applications (or sending a fillable PDF). Somebody turned me on to Google Forms. I felt like I had been living in a cave. I don't know why I hadn't found it earlier. Completely customizable. Prospective tenants can fill it out on their phone. All "results" are pulled together to make it easy to make a final decision on the tenant.
PMs are expensive. If you are only managing a few properties, I would do it myself.
@Terrell Garren
Hey Terrell,
What is it you use Dropbox for? And is Cozy useful in any other ways besides the option for online rent payment?
Dropbox - Cloud storage, ease of access to business files from anywhere, any device. Best to read about Cozy on their website.