Rental Property Management Made Easy

How Landlord Screening Can Help You Pick Your Perfect Tenants

2009-02-26T22:08:00.000-08:00

By Teo Zhenjie

Studies have shown that 3 in 10 tenants are bad ones. Effective landlord screening will help you weed out these rotten tenants and avoid any future headaches. Learn how to pick ideal tenants for your rental property with this step by step guide.

Step 1: Screening Your Potential Tenants on the Phone

This is the very first step of landlord screening so use it wisely to watch out for pleasant tenants and spot signs of trouble.

During the phone interview with your potential tenants, it's crucial to know what questions to ask them. Your questions should give you a good idea of two important issues: Are your tenants able to afford your rent, and if they are cooperative people who will keep their side of bargain when it comes to your rental agreement.

To see if your tenant applicants are able and willing to pay the rent, the easiest way is to ask them for their credit score and if they have a credit report that they can show you. You should ask them for their job type and employer. If they are unemployed, ask for the exact source of their income.

From my personal experience, someone's job type will heavily affect the stability of their income so be sure to stand up and take note. In many cases, a government worker will make a more reliable rent payer as compared to an entrepreneur who just started out.

A tenant who is financially stable is not enough. There is no point in receiving regular rent payments from someone who is a constant terror to you or your rental property. Your tenants should be pleasant and understanding people as well.

The most direct way is to ask them for their previous landlord and address so that you can contact the landlord to find out about his experience with your applicants.

Their reason for moving out is also another crucial question when it comes to landlord screening. Does your applicant need to relocate because he received a better job offer or is he being forcefully chased out by his current landlord?

Step 2: Interviewing Your Tenant Hopefuls Face to Face

If your potential tenant passes the first round of phone interviews, it's time for you to progress to the next stage of landlord screening: Meeting them in person.

When it comes to choosing your perfect tenants, first impressions do count so do pay attention to the way he dresses and presents himself.

It does not matter if your applicant is clothed in the latest designer brands or laden with expensive jewellery. What's more important is whether he is tidy and takes pride in his appearance. If your potential tenant is a scruffy mess, can you trust him to keep your rental property clean and tidy?

To weed out possible nightmare tenants, you need to pay extra attention to their attitude and behaviour. Choosing tenants who are easy to communicate and work with is a vital part of the landlord screening process.

They do not necessarily have to be friendly and charming, but they have to be considerate people who respect your authority and rights as a landlord. This is vital if you want to avoid massive headaches and possible losses in the future.

When negotiating the terms of your rental agreement, does he make unreasonable demands such as refusing to pay his security deposit. Is he extra fussy and complains about every insignificant detail when he is inspecting your rental property? If someone is a pain to begin with, imagine the destruction he will cause if he ever becomes your tenant.

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Teo Zhenjie has been showing landlords how to manage their tenants and rental properties effectively on Propertydo - To learn more important tips on landlord screening, visit his website today for step-by-step real estate guides, free resources and forms.

Are You Becoming a Landlord? Then Learn These Crucial Steps Now

2009-02-17T19:51:00.000-08:00

By Teo Zhenjie

Becoming a landlord can be highly rewarding and exciting but first you must know the right steps to make. Find out what you will need to become a successful rental owner property right now.

1. Advertise and Attract New Tenants to Your Rental Property
If you are just becoming a landlord and starting out with a vacant rental property, the first important thing is to find a tenant for it as soon as possible. Every day that your rental property goes without a tenant, you will be losing valuable rental income.

Effective and proven methods of netting new tenants include advertising in the local newspapers, putting up drive-by signs, word of market recommendations and hiring an experienced real estate agent to do it for you.

2. Screen All Your Potential Tenant Applicants Carefully
Every experienced landlord and property manager will agree that picking the right tenant for your property is vital if you want to avoid a world of trouble later on. What you will need are people who are able to pay you rent on time and stick to the terms of your rental agreement.

Firstly you should interview your tenant over the phone and have him fill up an application form so you can learn more about him. For those who make it past your first round, it's time to meet up so that you can show them around your rental property and observe them more closely.

It's also highly recommended that you run a credit check on someone before inking the rental property with him. His credit report will reveal whether he is likely to be a reliable rent-paying tenant.

3. Manage Your Tenants and Handle Any Problems and Disputes
Collecting rent from tenants is perhaps the most enjoyable part of being a landlord but you will have to arrange a convenient and effective way of collecting it. While cash and checks are the traditional and popular methods for collecting rent, nowadays you can also accept your rent online by PayPal.

Common and painful problems faced by landlords include late rent payments, property damages caused by neglect or abuse, conflicts with neighbours and illegal activities carried out on your rental property.

4. Repair and Maintain Your Rental Property in Habitable Condition
Becoming a landlord having to maintain your rental property in a livable condition according to the local health and safety standards. This means that learning to make simple repairs by yourself or knowing how to hire a reliable repairman to do it for you.

It's also important to know whether you or your tenant will be the one footing the repair bills. Never be misled into thinking that the landlord has to pay for everything. If the damage is caused by your tenant's neglect or abuse, he will be one forking out money. On the other hand, you will responsible for damages due to daily wear and tear.

5. Ending Your Lease Agreement and Evicting Tenants if Needed
Depending on your area's real estate laws and the type of tenancy that you have, ending your lease correctly is important for staying out of any potential disputes. You will generally have to give your tenant a written notice in advance if you want them out of your rental property.

Eviction is a nightmare that you will want to avoid when becoming a landlord but sometimes it's the only way out. The most common and valid reasons for evicting tenants include non-payment of rent and repeated breaching of rental agreement terms.

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Teo Zhenjie has been showing landlords how to manage their tenants and rental property effectively on Propertydo - To learn more important tips on becoming a landlord, visit his website today for step-by-step real estate guides, free resources and forms.

Important Landlords Rights to Help You Manage Tenants Easily

2009-02-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

By Teo Zhenjie

If you are a landlord, it's crucial to master your landlords rights so that you can manage your tenants effectively and stay out of trouble. Learn your rights easily with this plain English guide.

What are Your Landlords Rights When Collecting Rent from Tenants?

- It is your rights as a landlord to receive rent payment from your tenants on time according to the due date and terms stated in your rental agreement.

- You are free to set the rent amount for your rental property as long as your tenant agrees to it. However if there are rent controls in your area or your tenants are under subsidised housing, you will have to follow the local real estate laws when setting your rent price.

- If your tenant is late in paying his rent, you have the rights to charge him a late rent fee as long as the amount is considered reasonable. Most landlords charge a late fee which is equal to 5 to 15% of the monthly rent.

- To raise your rent for a periodic tenancy, you will usually have to inform your tenants of the rent increase 1 to 2 months in advance. For a fixed term tenancy, you may not impose any rent increase until it ends unless your real estate laws or written rental agreement allows you to do so.

What are Your Landlords Rights for Property Damages and Repairs?

- As a landlord, you will be responsible to maintain your rental property in a habitable condition according to the local health and safety standards.

- If there are any property damages or flaws due to daily wear and tear, you will be have to arrange and pay for the repairs.

- If your tenant damages your rental property due to neglect or abuse, he will be the one footing the repairs bills.

- Before you can enter your rental property to carry out property repairs and maintenance, you will have to inform your tenants in advance. In general you will have to let them know 24 to 48 hours in advance.

- If your tenant refuses to pay for the property repairs, you will be allowed to deduct money from his security deposit but you will have to give keep the repair receipts and hand him an item by item account for every deduction.

What are Your Landlords Rights When Evicting Your Tenants?

- Before you can file your eviction lawsuit, you will have to hand your tenant a written notice which gives them a last chance to clear up their mess.

- It is within your landlords rights to evict your tenants if they do not pay their rent or they breach the terms of your written lease agreement. In some areas you can file for eviction if they are repeatedly late in their rent payments.

- As a landlord you do not have the right of self help. This means you cannot take drastic actions to flush out your tenants by changing the locks of your rental property or cutting off the electricity and water supply.

Teo Zhenjie has been showing landlords how to manage their tenants and rental property effectively on Propertydo http://www.propertydo.com/ - To learn more important tips on landlords rights, visit his website today for step-by-step real estate guides, free resources and forms.

Your Investment in Rental Property - How to Pick a Fat Cash Cow

2009-02-13T14:57:00.000-08:00

By Teo Zhenjie

Picking the right investment in rental property is very crucial but it can be quite tricky if you are a new investor. Find out what separates a profitable cow cash and money sucking monster today.

Watch out for Major Property Booms and Busts in Your Area

While it's impossible to predict the exact movements in swings and property trends, you should always be aware of the current market situation. This means knowing if the housing market is stuck in a depression or riding on top of a boom.

Just like all businesses and investments, you should always aim to buy low and sell high.

When there is a real estate slump, property prices will hit rock bottom and most people will be desperate to get rid of their properties. This present a golden buying opportunity for your long term investment in rental property so act swiftly to lock in any outstanding bargains.

On the other hand, you also have to avoid the temptation of buying rental property at the peak of a real estate boom. You not only run the risk of overpaying for a hyped up property but also suffer from sky high mortgage rates.

Shop Around the Area and Compare Prices Before You Buy

Ask any experienced rental property investor and they will tell you one of the most important things you should do is to take your time and shop around for the perfect cash cow with a positive cash flow.

How do you do know if that promising rental property you have been eying is going for a great bargain or is ridiculously overpriced? The answer is actually very straight forward - Compare the prices of similar rental properties in the same neighbourhood.

Whether you are hunting for your perfect investment in rental property online or offline, it's important to compare apples to apples and pears to pears. The rental properties that you are comparing should ideally be of similar type and size.

As property prices are always see-sawing, you should always try to grab hold of the most recent sale prices for a more updated and accurate estimate. For this purpose, property sale prices in the latest 3 months will be the most helpful.

Hire Someone to Inspect Your Rental Property Before You Buy

It's highly recommended that you have your investment in rental property professionally inspected by a licensed contractor or home inspector before you foot the down payment.

There are 2 powerful reasons for doing so. Firstly you can avoid any nasty surprises later on because some type of damages such as termite infestation and water damage are very hard to detect with an untrained eye.

Your licensed contractor can also give you a more accurate estimate of the repair bills that you will have to fork out to bring your rental property to a rentable condition. This is actually more crucial than most people think because studies have shown even experienced rental property owners tend to underestimate their repairs costs.

Teo Zhenjie has been showing landlords how to manage their tenants and rental property effectively on Propertydo http://www.propertydo.com/ - To learn more important tips on investment in rental property, visit his website today for step-by-step real estate guides, free resources and forms.