How to Find Good Tenants in Orlando – 5 Tips | Eugene Hoffman

In this article, we will discuss five of the most common mistakes new landlords make. If you find yourself in a position that you become a landlord by default you will more than likely make mistakes. This career choice does not come naturally in a world where bad things happen to good people( this happens on both sides of the landlord/tenant equation).

Mistake #1| Know the Florida Landlord/Tenant laws!

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Knowing all the laws completely is impossible, so let me explain why. You may think an experienced lawyer can tell the know how a judge will Rule in court, just ask an experienced one(I have). A lawyer will explain to you that judges today do not rule by his or her understanding of the Florida Landlord law, but by case law in the previous ruling by Florida Judges. Earlier this year the Federal Government passed a law that Landlords may not deny a person because he or she has a criminal record. How can a new landlord know all the laws? There are laws each landlord must obey about credit scores, evictions(that is a major headache), discrimination and deposit refunds. A very good lawyer will tell you if you end up in court in front of a judge it often cost the Landlord. Repeatedly this happens because the three-day-notice was done improperly. Ask a lawyer to explain and he will talk for several minutes and I guarantee you will think twice about serving three-day notices without help.

Mistake #2 | Maintaining Expense Account for Repairs.

The day will come when your income property needs a roof and a new A/C system and it always happens at the worst time in your life. Often people call this “Murphy’s Law”. New investors often learn how to be a landlord from being in the school of hard knocks. A person who manages a property from out-of-state will sell the house sooner or later. Typically eighty percent of businesses will fail in five years and in the case with out-of-state landlords the statistics are higher. If your property needs paint, roof, and AC you will not get a good tenant.

Mistake #3| Buying an income property because the price was cheap.

Do you believe from the bottom of your heart the will still be a housing shortage three years from now causing prices to keep going up? I can argue on either side. The median household income has declined slightly the last five years, plus many rentals have forced families to pay much more than they afford. As a “rule of thumb,maybe” a renter’s take-home pay should be three times their housing cost. As a landlord, if you have tenants considered low-income it is probably just a matter of time before they start telling you a thousand reasons why they cannot pay rent. Landlords who rent in high crime areas must fight in order to collect his rent. These landlords seldom reap the benefits of property appreciation and this is the sweet spot in investing.

Mistake #4| Weak Leasing Contract

What if an extra person moves in? What if they have a pet, a very large dog,two cats, and a monkey? What happens if they pay late? What happens if they paint the several rooms a dark color such as a deep red? What happens if they convince the power company to put the bill in your name and then they do not pay? The worst thing that could happen is you find out the young person’s parents were professional tenants and was used to moving and not paying? What if the tenants never clean-up after themselves? The questions go on and on and on. What will you think when you get a great tenant and she moves out because you cannot afford to fix necessary repairs? What happens if a tenant moves out and leaves behind a very valuable magazine collection and you throw it out so another family can move in? What if someone breaks into the house and steals something valuable from the tenant? As you can see it is a good idea to have a lease that has answers to these dilemmas.

Mistake #5 | To have a good relationship the landlord needs a good background check to start

Education is the special sauce. If you get thrust into being a landlord and you do not have the luxury of time to learn you may be in trouble. I suggest you hire a property manager, but that will cost you. Margins are slim in this business if your house does not appreciate. Finding a trustworthy and honest property manager is challenging. Sometimes managers get kickbacks for contractors. Let me suggest three internet companies who will help you.

• Rent Prep | http://www.rentprep.com/
• Mr Landlord | They have a system for Direct deposit for landlords |http://mrlandlord.com/rents/
• Trans union has Smartmoves | https://www.mysmartmove.com/

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