The Art of Real Estate » landlords

Learning to be a Good Tenant: 4

Heather — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:37:31 +0000

Naturally, when you are renting a house or an apartment, you want things to work the way they are supposed to work. And, ideally, you want your landlord to take care of any repairs as quickly as possible.

Well, you have to take some responsibility for that yourself. For starters, your landlord cannot read your mind. You need to tell him or her about any necessary repairs. Do not think that you are being a nuisance, do not think you will be bothering your landlord. In these cases, the landlord not only needs to be bothered, but most likely wants to be — that is, he or she wants to know about your problem.

Besides, if you neglect to mention repairs when they are first needed, you can make things more expensive for your landlord by letting them go.

The Lease — Broken Down: 5

Heather — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:58 +0000

We touched just a little on what happens when a tenant is not ready to end their lease, but let’s go ahead and dive right into there. We all know that if you have a tenant that is a little bit tricky and they are not the greatest tenant in the world, it can be difficult for them to leave the residence you are renting.

Well, I can tell you for sure that you, as a landlord have the right to evict anyone that you want, you just have to make sure that it is legal and that the tenant is violating the terms of the lease. This is where you need to have a lawyer on your side.

You always want to give them a warning before the eviction, just to prove that you did try to get the tenant to correct their actions.

The Lease — Broken Down: 4

Heather — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:54 +0000

Now that you understand everything that needs to go into a lease and you understand exactly what a lease is and why it is important, it is now time for us to talk about ending a lease. Now, if you are a landlord, you can actually end a rental lease early, you just have to have a mutual agreement.

This is where it can get really, really tricky, because if you have a very hard-to-live with tenant, they are obviously not going to agree that they should leave and that they should end the rental agreement. This is where you may need to draw upon your lawyer for legal action.

However, if you do have a tenant that is willing to end the lease, it must be done in writing and you always want to make sure that you give at least thirty days in order to the tenant to get out of the property.

The Lease — Broken Down: 3

Heather — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:52 +0000

Now that you know what you are responsible for as a landlord, let’s dive right into exactly what should be in the lease. Well, you always want to make sure that you include the rental fee, how long the lease is going to last, how the tenant can renew the lease and you should make sure that you include things like pets – if you allow them or if you ban them, a clause about visitors. If you are renting an upstairs apartment of your home, how many visitors can the tenant have at one time?

These are all things that are very, very important and things that you will need to make sure that you address. One of the most popular forms of leases are fixed term leases. What this means is that the lease will usually last for one year and it details from start to end.

The lease of course can be renewed but you want to make sure that it can be renewed on an annual basis.

The Lease — Broken Down: 1

Heather — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:00:37 +0000

In this particular blog we have talked a heck of a lot about leases and what you, as a landlord need to do in order to find the ideal tenant. Well, in the next few blogs, we are going to talk about leases in detail and why you need them … as well as exactly what you need to have in the lease, especially if you are going to be the person that is drawing it up.

One of the main reasons that a lease needs to be drawn up is to protect the property, the landlord and of course the tenants. Most of the time, it is drawn up by a real estate agent, but if you are the type of person that is looking to draw up their own lease, there are a few things you want to have in it.

That is what we are going to go into in the next blog, so make sure that you stay tuned, you are not going to want to miss this one!

Rental News, Landlords Are Becoming More Rental-Friendly In 2010: 1

Heather — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:54:18 +0000

In this day and age, I can tell you for sure that people are looking not to buy but to rent … this is extremely good news for homeowners that have turned themselves into landlords in order to beat the recession and to get some extra cash via renting their house out.

One trend in the real estate market that I have noticed is that landlords are slowly but surely becoming more and more rental friendly – which means that this is mainly a renter’s world.

In the next blog, we are going to explore the reasons behind this and why exactly renting is a better option in this particular economy.

Strengthening the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants: 3

Heather — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:10:06 +0000

You know how the old saying goes: do unto others as you would have done unto you — or something like that. Archaic languages are not my forte. Anyway, the point is, that as a landlord you have to be kind if you want kind tenants in turn. Treating them like they are somehow beneath you or indebted to you is not a great idea. You are equals, in a business arrangement.

Plus, if your tenants respect you, they will respect your property as well.

This behavior includes making repairs as quickly as you can. When it is time to collect that month’s rent, ask them if there is anything you can do. Make sure your visits to them are nice, that you aren’t just getting paid and then taking off.

Strengthening the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants: 2

Heather — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:42:14 +0000

Landlords, you need to make wise choices when it comes to picking your tenants. If you have bad tenants, then things are going to be bad from the word go. A screening process can help you. Check their credit, their criminal history, and make sure you get references from both former landlords and employers.

Talking to other landlords is very important. A tenant may look great on paper but could, let’s say, have the kind of habits that are not really conducive to renting property. They might have lots of crazy parties, fight with a spouse or significant other, or any number of other things.

Credit checks and employee references will not reveal this, but talking to current and former landlords certainly will.

Strengthening the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants: 1

Heather — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:49:05 +0000

The relationship between landlords and tenants can be an intricate one. The tenants have to pay the landlords for a place to live, and thus may feel like they do not have any upper hand, but landlords in some way depend on their tenants for the rent money.

Things can get tricky if you aren’t careful. As a landlord, you never want to “lord” it over your tenants; and tenants, you want to be respectful.

Fortunately, both parties can do something to make sure that this relationship is not only beneficial, but that it is respectful as well, even pleasant. Trust that a positive relationship based on trust and respect will be mutually beneficial, and it will serve both of you well even after you have parted ways.

Becoming A Landlord: 5

Heather — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:51:01 +0000

Now that we have touched on the rent payment, how you can become a landlord exactly, the tenant screening process, it is now time to finally get to the good stuff. When you are a landlord, you need to make sure that you keep track of everything – seriously. You want to make sure that you file away everything and keep every little piece of things.

The reason for this is because if you do have to go to court for any reason – you have the proof. That is why PayYourRent.com is actually a fantastic site for it is not only for you to keep track of your tenants rent, but it also has a place for the tenant to request for you to repair something and you can fix it.

After it is fixed, it goes in the back log, which is an incredible resource to have. So make sure that you check that out if you are considering becoming a landlord.