Landlord Tips & Advice Forum

The tenant paid half, evict and sell the house?
General Landlording & Rental Properties
The tenant paid half, evict and sell the house?

The tenant paid half the rent and struggles with payments in general, evict and sell the house? The tenant had sec 8 voucher for 2 k, now sec 8 pays $500 only... The tenant cant afford the house. House is in Florida, near Cape Canaveral May sell for 350k, mortgage 2k The rent is 2.5K Interest rat...

Dream tenant becomes drama overnight
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Dream tenant becomes drama overnight

I have been a STR and MTR manager for a number of years but have one unit in a duplex that my mid term renters converted into a year long lease about 6 months ago. Older couple, took great care of the place, proactive, never late with rent. 6 months as mid term rentals who converted to a 1 year l...

inherited a rental with tenant but no lease
General Landlording & Rental Properties
inherited a rental with tenant but no lease

Complicated QUESTION: I SO appreciate any advice you have: My 4 adult kids’ dad owned a condo he rented out. His health failed rapidly the past year and he died in September. He forgot to renew the lease with his renter, which expired many months ago, but the renter was never asked to leave and s...

Landlords, How Do You Calculate a Rental's Real Cash Flow?
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Landlords, How Do You Calculate a Rental's Real Cash Flow?

Monthly rent can look great on paper, but the real picture also includes insurance, property taxes, repairs, vacancy periods, capital expenditures, and financing payments. I'm curious how other landlords evaluate whether a property can comfortably support its expenses before buying or refinancing...

Has anyone seen tenants living like this after a storm? St. Louis tornado damage
General Landlording & Rental Properties
St. Louis, Missouri
Has anyone seen tenants living like this after a storm? St. Louis tornado damage

Has anyone seen anything like this in St. Louis, or anywhere else? A tenant in STL reached out to me this morning with these photos. They say they've been living like this since the May 16, 2025 tornado. That's almost a year and a half with the ceilings down to the lath, plaster covering the kitc...

Between tenants checklist: four steps owners skip during turnover
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Between tenants checklist: four steps owners skip during turnover

The days between tenants are the easiest time to set up the next lease well, and these steps are easy to skip during a busy turnover. A quick checklist: Start the deposit math on move-out day. Begin the itemized deposit accounting right away. California sets a deadline to return the deposit or se...

What my Orlando long-term rentals taught me that I still use in mid-term and STR
General Landlording & Rental Properties
What my Orlando long-term rentals taught me that I still use in mid-term and STR

Several years ago I owned multiple long-term rentals in Orlando. Today I run my own portfolio plus a co-hosting business, and most of the units are set up as a mid-term/short-term hybrid. I moved on from the Orlando long-term rentals because of the metrics. Orlando got so expensive to buy in and ...

Landlords: How Do You Manage Your Rental Finances? Looking for Advice
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Landlords: How Do You Manage Your Rental Finances? Looking for Advice

Hey everyone! I'm curious how other landlords handle the financial side of managing their rental properties. A little background about me: I work as a Senior Financial Analyst and also help my father manage 10 rental units. Through that experience, I've learned how important it is to stay organiz...

Rent payment methods
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Foster City, California
Rent payment methods

What are the payment methods your tenants are using and you recommend? My previous tenant used Zelle and it worked great. My understanding is not all banks allow similar limits per transaction or per month. I want to offer options to future tenants. Do you give your account number and routing num...

Screening tenants? Same rules, every time (four habits for CA owners)
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Screening tenants? Same rules, every time (four habits for CA owners)

A consistent screening process protects you and every applicant. A few habits that help: Write the criteria down first. Income, rental history and credit standards in writing before the rental is advertised. Same checks for everyone. Same application, same checks, same order for every applicant. ...

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What Insurance to use?
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Timonium, Maryland
What Insurance to use?

Hey guys, I’ve been using Allstate for my rental property insurance, but they have a limit of five rental properties. I’m adding two more properties to my portfolio, and I’m also not particularly happy with their pricing. For those of you who own multiple rental properties, what insurance compani...

How Do You Handle Tenant Placement When Self-Managing From a Distance?
General Landlording & Rental Properties
How Do You Handle Tenant Placement When Self-Managing From a Distance?

Hey everyone! We recently purchased a fourplex in Bowling Green, KY, about 1.5 hours from where we live. We self-manage our rental properties. We're anticipating our first vacancy at this property and are trying to establish an efficient process for finding and placing tenants without having to m...

Winter checks on a rental — the small things you inspect before the cold sets in?
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Winter checks on a rental — the small things you inspect before the cold sets in?

As the weather starts to turn, I have been thinking about the small checks that are easy to put off at a rental until something actually goes wrong. I usually start with the simple stuff: checking that windows and doors close properly, looking for drafts, and making sure outdoor taps and exposed ...

Do you allow tenants to swap units?
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Do you allow tenants to swap units?

All - what is your typical policy and requirements for tenants who want to switch and move into an upcoming vacant unit that is 1) the same size/ bedroom count or 2) a different size/ bedroom count? Does your policy differ if their current lease is still in flight (e.g., has 6+ months remaining) ...

Pests in a rental? Start with water and entry points
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Pests in a rental? Start with water and entry points

Ants and roaches in a rental often point to two things: water and an easy way in. A few habits that help keep a rental pest-free: 1. Fix the drips first. Leaky faucets, slow drains and damp under-sink cabinets draw pests. Fix them as soon as a tenant reports them, not at the next turnover. 2. Sea...

Clocks changing? My 4-step smoke and CO alarm check for rentals
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Clocks changing? My 4-step smoke and CO alarm check for rentals

The fall clock change is when we check every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm on the Orange County rentals we manage. Four steps: - Press test. Every smoke and CO alarm in the home, with proper notice to the tenant before entry. - Check the dates. Weak batteries get swapped, and any alarm past the...

Property Management Referrals
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Indianapolis, Indiana
Property Management Referrals

Hey all, I am looking to find and vet property management companies in the greater Indianapolis area to add to the trusted network that I refer out to my clients. If you have an active recommendation for a local PM you trust for residential or small multi-family assets, please drop their name bel...

How Do You Keep Tenant Requests From Getting Lost?
General Landlording & Rental Properties
How Do You Keep Tenant Requests From Getting Lost?

For those managing rentals themselves: How do you keep track of tenant requests when they come through different channels? Text messages, phone calls, emails, maintenance apps, etc. can make it easy for something to get buried. Do you use: A property management platform A dedicated email/phone nu...

One lease, every house: why we keep terms identical across the portfolio
General Landlording & Rental Properties
One lease, every house: why we keep terms identical across the portfolio

We run 236 doors in Memphis, mostly single-family and heavy Section 8, and every house sits on the same lease terms. Not similar — the same. One rent payment method, written into the lease, for every house. The same screening standard: verified, repeatable income and consistency between the story...

DSCR at 7%+ in Louisville: it qualifies, but does it cash flow? The real math
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Louisville/Jefferson County Metro
DSCR at 7%+ in Louisville: it qualifies, but does it cash flow? The real math

Louisville agent here, mostly investors, and a lot of them out of state. The question I'm getting most from people shopping rentals here: do Louisville rentals still cash flow with rates over 7%? Short answer: yes, but only if you buy right. An average rental at an average price will usually qual...

Best electronic door lock?
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Best electronic door lock?

Hi, first post and relatively new REI. I just closed on a SFH in Springfield OR that I'm still contemplating on if I want to make it LTR or a MTR (it works both ways). I need to change the locks on the door and am considering one of those locks that has a key pad where a combo can be inputted to ...

LA City - Experience with unpermitted rental unit inside an existing home?
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Los Angeles, California
LA City - Experience with unpermitted rental unit inside an existing home?

Hi All, I’m a first time owner in NE Los Angeles trying to understand the real-world risks, costs, and process of turning part of an existing home into a separate rental unit. I’m especially interested in hearing from owners (or your friends) who have done something similar, whether they initiall...

Rental insurance checklist: four things to recheck at every renewal
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Rental insurance checklist: four things to recheck at every renewal

For anyone renting out a single-family home or condo, a quick insurance checklist that's easy to skip when a policy auto-renews: Policy type. Tell your agent the home is a rental and confirm the policy is written for a rental, not owner-occupied. If you moved out and kept the old policy, this is ...

Turnover security checklist: four lock and door checks between tenants
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Turnover security checklist: four lock and door checks between tenants

Between tenants is the easiest time to check the physical security of a rental, and it's easy to skip during a busy turnover. A quick checklist: Deadbolts. Lock and unlock every entry door. The bolt should throw fully and smoothly; if you have to lift or push the door, fix the alignment. Strike p...

Move-in day: 4 things I document before handing over the keys
General Landlording & Rental Properties
Move-in day: 4 things I document before handing over the keys

The record you make on move-in day is the one you lean on at move-out. Four things we do on every new tenancy in Orange County: - Walk it together. Room by room with the tenant, filling out a written move-in condition checklist. - Photograph everything. Dated photos and a short video of every roo...