LANDLORD AND TENANT EPISODE

As a property manager for over 40 years, this episode provides good tips for property owners and tenants.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello everyone! Welcome again to the Over the Fence Common Sense Podcast. Thanks for joining us. Today is going to be the property owner and tenant edition or episode. As some of you may or may not know, I am a licensed realtor. I don't do sales. I've been managing rental homes for private owners and investors for over 40 years. So I just wanted to kind of go over some things from kind of the property owner side as well as the tenant side. So we'll just jump right in and start talking about it. So for property owners, being a property owner with a portfolio of properties can be very profitable. If you have a group of properties, you typically will get a lower rate. It's way better than any other investment. Real estate is the most secure investment there is. So a few tips for you as a property owner. Tenants like new things. So, you know, every once in a while they need something new. So think about it though. If you own a house and your wife says, Honey, we need a new refrigerator, your response is, Well, there's nothing wrong with ours. So maybe buy a new one for your home and notify the tenant that you'd like to provide them with an upgrade and take your refrigerator to the tenant. Or maybe scratch and dent warehouse. Those are great for a tenant. They get a brand new appliance, it may have a scratch or a dent, which is perfect for that. So, and this goes for other appliances, stoves, washers and dryers, you know, if you have something, or if they don't have ceiling fans, maybe tell them you'd like to add some ceiling fans. Little things like that go a long way with the tenant, makes them want to renew their lease, which that's the ultimate goal. Vacancies cost money and time. Another tip that's important to know is tenants will maintain the home basically in the same condition that you give it to them. Now there's always going to be the exception to every rule. But if you give them a home that's not freshly painted, with nail holes everywhere, and visible cosmetic things that wouldn't cause it to not rent, but may not be prime. That can end up costing you money because when the tenant lives there for a year, two years, that's how they're gonna maintain it, and that's how you're gonna get it back. Ultimately, if you can paint it, patch up all the holes, it's fresh, it's new, that's how they're gonna maintain it, and that's how you'll get it back. If you again have nail holes everywhere, you can expect that when they vacate there will be nail holes everywhere. If you patch it up and paint it, that's probably how you'll get it back. So just just just think about the condition upon move-in and videotape it as well so that when they vacate you can clearly show before and after. Also, another good tip: make sure everything is in writing. For years, I used to hear, well, Vicki said this and Vicky said that. So Vicky stopped talking. I do everything in writing, whether it's a text or an email. There are, of course, times I have to have a conversation with somebody, but as soon as you hang up the phone, you follow it up with an email, basically outlining your conversation. And it should always go in the file. You know, as I get older, this is becoming more and more valuable. But if you own multiple properties, it just gets hard to remember. So if you have everything in writing, everybody's covered. Here's a thing that um a lot of property owners just don't understand, but the rent should always be due on the first, late on the second. Grace periods are just a waste of time. Now that doesn't mean that you have to charge late fees or take any other further action, but it just gives you options when you have someone that's late every single month. If you want to take and give a delinquent rent notice or file for legal, it's just easier. If the rent is due on the first, it's late on the second. Late fees will start on the fifth or whatever, whatever, however you're set up, but it's just important to make that known that the rent is due on the first, it's late on the second. I always suggest to everyone to hire a professional. Property management is not rocket science, but it's one of those things that when it's a problem, it's a big one. And it can be very expensive. Obviously, most people can manage properties on their own, the rent comes in, you know, it's not rocket science. But if you have a professional management company, it's it does a couple things. The first thing is there's a group of people that look for property rentals that are for rent by owner because they know you don't have the ability to do the checks that we do. When we process an application, we do a credit check, background check, eviction search, sexual predator search, terrorist search, basically everything the law allows. Most property owners don't have that ability to do that, and people know that. So you could end up with a problem tenant that you're you just don't even realize. The other thing is a lot of times property owners short themselves on the rent. The rental market is always up and down, up and down. It's it's it's mostly a supply and demand thing. So usually a property management firm will first of all give you cheaper rates if you have more than one property. The average in Florida, I don't know about anywhere else, but in Florida, the average is about 10% of the monthly rent. For multiple property owners, we would offer something more like 8%, and again, that's pretty standard. But usually, if there's a property management company involved, we can raise the rent up to where you get more rent than you ever realized you could get, and it covers our fees, and you still make more money. Usually, when I tell property owners they ask me for or what their property would rent for, I ask them for, well, you tell me what you think it'll rent for. And nine times out of ten, it's lower than even the market. And you know, if there's any bells or whistles, you know, granite countertops or stainless steel appliances or anything like that, obviously the rent would would go up. And again, it's based on supply and demand in the market. So uh the next thing we'll jump to is tips for tenants because I'm always the the mediator between the two, between the property owner, they have to help themselves sometimes because they they don't think, and tenants the same. It's it's kind of like being an adult babysitter. I always say between the the owners that own them and the tenants that live in them, mind blown. So tenants, uh typically, again, property owners don't realize this, but typically tenants are responsible for, especially in a rental home, not so much the apartment side of it, but a rental home. Smoke detectors, light bulbs, locks, window locks, toilet flappers, uh, light bulbs, AC filters, AC drain lines, all of these things are a tenant responsibility. Why would a property owner pay a vendor a hundred dollars to go out and replace a four-dollar flapper? Just doesn't make sense. And these are the kind of things that make your rent go up. So if you can go to Home Depot and buy a flapper, if you don't know how to do it, it's so simple, but if you don't know how to do it, Google it. Same with your drain line. Especially in Florida, the drain lines are have to be serviced every single month along with your AC filter. So don't cause your property owner extra money. Our office has a $50 maintenance fee. So if it's something that you should take care of on your own, we're gonna charge you $50. So buy a $4 flapper and put it in, or pay a $50 maintenance fee. You do the math. Another good tip for tenants: tax time is a great time to get a month ahead. If you always stay a month ahead when your grandmother dies, your car breaks down, your child gets sick, your husband gets sick. I mean, I've heard them all. You're a month ahead, so you have 30 days to figure out what you're gonna do and how you're gonna go and pay the rent moving forward. So most renters don't have that cushion. So tax time again is a great time to just get a month ahead and then just keep paying your rent and forget about that because when you need it, it's there. Another thing I'll say about rent payments is don't avoid your landlord. This can can go horribly wrong. Most people, like myself, I have a heart, I have children, I have grandchildren. I get it, things happen, but you have to communicate with me. Avoiding me is gonna get you nowhere. So I always have a saying: if late, communicate. Text, email. I know it's embarrassing, but I've been doing this for 40 years. It's I I don't judge people. I understand things happen, but you have to communicate. Very important. Critical. Another big plus for tenants. Don't hide unauthorized pets or roommates. Everybody thinks, well, I never see my landlord. You know, if she's gonna come and inspect, I'll take it to so-and-so's house. But believe me, your landlord knows there are signs, there's smells, there's drive-bys, there's neighbors that love to talk. So again, communicate. Your landlord is not, well, most of us are big mean bullies. So if you have to dog sit for a while, or if you want to get a pet, go talk to your landlord. There's usually policies and and think, yep, you can have a pet, and here's how. So, same with roommates, you know, same with roommates. One last tip uh for tenants the yard and the exterior are a direct reflection on you, but also your landlord. Don't make your landlord look like a slumlord. Take pride as though you owned the property because renting is next to owning. You live there, so take pride in the exterior and the yard. It's typically your responsibility. So I'll close with this. As a property manager over the years, and my mother was a property manager as well. I wear many hats. I go from landlord to financial advisor to psychiatrist to marriage counselor to tutor, to it's just incredible. But you have to love people to do what I do, and that's obviously why I've been doing it for 40 years. I love helping people find a home, take care of it. I love helping property owners' portfolios reach their maximum income potential. So it's a great job. I complain about it all the time and say I can't wait to retire, but it's a great job. So I will throw this out there as well. If you're a property owner or a tenant and you have questions about your specific situation, please feel free to email me right here over the sense commonsense at yahoo.com. Try to answer as many of those as I can and try to give you the best advice. Not allowed to give legal advice, but I can certainly tell you what I would do or how I would handle that situation. So email me, I will respond. Thank you all for watching, and please remember to um subscribe, follow, share with your friends, tell your friends about I'm really trying to grow my channel. So thank you all very much. Until next time, God bless you and America. Bye.