All Forum Posts by: Nathan Miller

Thanks for the plug Jason!  You and the others are correct in that QB isn't going to suit you well for managing properties.  Choose one of the property management software vendors, ideally one that also supports BP, instead and you and your tenants will be much happier.

I don't believe holes in the walls are considered normal wear and tear.  I would hire a contractor to repair the holes and use the contractor's invoice as justification for the deduction of security deposit.

Also, if they were responsible for the yard/garden, then any repairs due to their neglect of that duty would also be reasonable to deduct.  Again, I recommend hiring a landscaper to do this and invoice you so you have a concrete value to deduct and aren't just billing your own time which can be disputed.

I have properties that allow pets and those that do not, but I would never accept a pit bull in a property.  You allowed it there, and if it bites a neighbor or child, you are partly responsible.  At least that's how the other side's attorney is going to see it.  One way or another you would probably end up on the wrong end of the lawsuit and have to at minimum hire an attorney to defend you and/or pass the liability over to the tenant's insurance.

Also keep in mind, the tenant's insurance is going to do anything they can to not have to pay.  That might mean their strategy is to push the liability to you.  Owner didn't repair the gate fast enough, or owner didn't replace the broken screen door.

I recommend putting some of your screening criteria on your listing.  State that you require a clean criminal record, credit score above XXX, and no past evictions.  Then you don't even have to field the calls for unqualified applicants.  Also state clearly your income requirements and if you accept pets.  People with pets will still call and say "well, will you allow a small dog", but if you put all caps or bold "NO PETS REGARDLESS OF SIZE" if that's the case, that shouldn't get those either.

Great write up @Jered Sturm.  I can especially relate and appreciate #1.  Our society has hit a point where 9 out of 10 people/vendors are no longer responsive.  I want to give companies business, but if they don't call me back within a reasonable time period, how do they expect it.  I have a feeling a lot of them grow to a point they are comfortable with and suddenly customer service / responsiveness drops off the charts.  Then ultimately they get a bad name and nobody wants to do business with a bad company.

I think 2-4 are equally important and really solid guidance.  Keep it up!

Thank you for the clarification Andrea.  We have a lot of clients that rave about the smartmove service too.  It is probably one of the very best tenant involved services out there.  What I meant by redacted was it's just missing personal info, such as SSN and such.  It does include all the other credit info from what I understand.  It's good to receive confirmation of that from somebody in the org.

Hi @Mary S. - It's been proven many times over that software running in the cloud (by a responsible party) is significantly more safe than data on your own hardware.  Just google "data safer in the cloud or onsite".  Plus "desktop" programs like Quicken often put your info in the cloud anyways, you just aren't made aware of it.

When you hear about data compromises and people's data getting lost in the cloud is usually due to poor password management.  What happens a lot is people use the same password for multiple services.  One of those services gets the passwords compromised, then the hackers take the usernames (often email addresses) and passwords to the email provider.  From that they can do password recovery attempts on a bunch of other services and they have access to everything.  The trick to avoid this and keep your cloud based systems much more secure is:

a) Use different passwords for different online services.  If you can't do that, at least use a different password for your email service than everything else.

b) Use 2-factor authentication.  With 2-factor authentication, even if a hacker obtains your username and password they still can't get to your data without also physically holding your cell phone also.  Here's an article we wrote a while back with info on how 2-factor authentication protects you along with some good password security tips: https://www.rentecdirect.com/blog/2014/12/serious-about-security-two-factor-authentication/

Agreed, be sure to screen any adults living in your property.  I always recommend full credit, criminal, and eviction checks for adults.  The new tenant should be covering the cost with their application fee so you are out of pocket nothing.

Hi @Chris Armstrong, Congratulations on your first property.  The good news is that landlords have full access to credit, criminal, and eviction reports and in every case they cost the landlord nothing since either the tenant pays online, or pays you an application fee to cover your costs.

Option 1: the smartmove type companies (there's dozens of them now including smartmove).  You initiate an order which sends the prospective tenant an email with instructions on how to proceed.  They then create an account at smartmove, answer some identifying questions and you get a slightly redacted version of their credit report and criminal history.  Upsides:  It's easy to setup and the tenant has to do all the work.  Downsides:  It can take hours to days to get the reports back because the tenants have to lookup account info.  Sometimes they don't know it and have to be manually verified.  High volume of tenants that can't figure it out because they aren't familiar with these interwebs things.

Option 2:  Order the reports yourself.  You, as a landlord, are entitled to directly order credit, criminal, and eviction reports directly without tenant interaction.  Upsides:  You get the reports instantly.  The tenant doesn't have to do anything other than fill out your regular application.  The price is lower than services in option 1 for the tenant (or you if you decide to pay the fees).  Downsides:  You have to fill out an application to prove you are a landlord.  This takes about 10 minutes to complete and you have to supply some proof you are a landlord like an insurance bill or tax statement.

I generally advocate for option 2 because the one time setup only takes a few minutes and then you have instant access to reports forever.  Prospective tenants don't want to go online and order a credit report for you, they either don't know how or don't want to be doing this over and over for all the places they apply.  You also don't want to have to wait around for the results.  If your neighbor is renting his house and has access to option 2, and you are waiting around for option 1, they are going to scoop the good tenants.

Generally speaking, I think this is a very preventable situation.

a) Screen your tenants.  Don't rent to criminals or those unwilling to pay their bills (shows up on credit and eviction records).

b) It's 2016, collecting rent in person is not only impractical, but dangerous (case in point).  Collect rent via ACH or CC instead.  It's super easy for landlords to do this these days.

c) If you end up in a situation where you feel a tenant can be dangerous, it's time for them to go.  Find somebody better and never tolerate a violent tenant in your property.