Property Management Books

[John Burton]

Hello All

Just getting starting in Real Estate her in Rhode Island and trying to learn as much as I can. Does anyone have any recommendations on good books concerning property management? Any suggestions are appreciated!!

[Anthony Thompson]

There are probably a few here on Bigger Pockets that are fine.

It comes down to knowing your state's laws, setting expectations, and being "firm but fair". Many books cover variations of this and probably have 90% of the same material because it's a common business.

Conversely, the #1 complaint of tenants (according to some long-forgotten book I read years ago, anyway) is that landlords don't respond to issues especially maintenance requests.

So, don't be like that. Respond to issues and maintenance requests in a timely and professional manner (note: this does NOT mean you have to take non-emergency calls at "all hours" - this gets back to setting expectations).

Actually I have a great book recommendation for you, and it's even free. It's the Rhode Island Landlord Tenant Handbook and it's been around for 15+ years now (last updated in 2007 I think).

I'd say it's required reading, and should be read before you read other, more generic (non-RI-specific) books on the subject, just to set the context and obligations framework in your mind properly.

Note that the RI LTH is more or less a layman's translation of the RI Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (i.e., RI General Laws Chapter 34-18) which is the body of RI landlord-tenant laws covering things like security deposits, evictions, required notices & timelines, default rental terms (in the absence of a lease - not recommended), etc.

So if you think the RI Landlord Tenant Handbook is dry, compare it to the source material (the laws) and you'll go back and think it's just fine and dandy :)

Good luck and you can post any questions you have here on BP of course!