SMARTERLANDLORDING

ADVICE FROM EXPERIENCE

The Business of Landlording

Keep More With A Self Directed IRA

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One of the many things I have learned by being in real estate is that it is not how much money you make, it is how much you keep that matters.  Boy, it can be had to keep!  Every day, someone is trying to get their hand into my pocket.  It might be my tenants.  It might be the contractors I use.  It might be the folks I buy supplies from.   The taxman definitely has his hand in there.  Every day I find that I have to work very hard at keeping more of what I make because they are working just as hard to take it away from me.

To keep people out of your pocket, you have to learn about many things.  These things include prices, best practices, trade techniques, business strategies and rules, especially tax rules.  Taxes are a part of our lives and there is no legal way to get out of them for the foreseeable future.

You can however learn about tax rules and thus reduce how far the tax man reaches into your pocket.  If you do not learn these rules, you are, I think, being foolish.  Perhaps the quote from Supreme Court Justice Leanred Hand says it best:

“Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes.  Over and over again the Courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands.”

Helvering v. Gregory, 69 F.2d 809, 810 (2d Cir. 1934), aff’d, 293 U.S. 465 (1935)

And so, in honor of the recent filing deadline that Americans face for getting their income tax forms submitted, I thought I would share a resource with you to help you arrange your affairs to do just that.

That resource is the self directed IRA.  

Many of you may be familiar with IRA’s and the similar 401K retirement plans.  You likely have them at your place of employment.  They are generally great plans.  However, with those workplace plans you can only typically invest in stocks, bonds or mutual funds.  A self directed IRA is different.  It is self directed.  It is directed into items that you want to invest in and can better control, like real estate.   You can therefore earn better returns and keep those returns sheltered from the tax man.

I have written about self directed IRA’s before so I do not need to go over all of that again.  But I do want to re-emphasize how powerful this tool can be.  For example, you may remember the US presidential race back in 2012 when Mitt Romney was running.  It was revealed then that Mr. Romney’s self directed IRA was worth some $20 to 100 million!  That is a rather nice chunk of change to shelter from the tax man.  You could do that as well, but you need to understand the rules.

The Rules Can Be Complicated

I also want to emphasize that the rules regarding self directed IRA’s can be rather complicated and it can be easy to mess up, trigger a tax penalty and invalidate the IRA.  The IRS has determined that you, the IRA owner are responsible for knowing the IRA rules and knowing what kinds of investments can be made and what the prohibited transactions are.

To help understand all of these rules, Matt Sorensen, Attorney at Law, wrote a very useful book called “The Self Directed IRA Handbook.”  I just finished reading it and I think you will find it both helpful and informative.

Mr. Sorensen is very thorough explaining the rules related to self directed IRA investing.  He uses both case law and examples to help you understand what the rules are.  This is not a book to tell you all of the different types of investments you can make with a self directed IRA, nor will it tell you how to invest.  But it does lay out the ground rules well and tackles complicated subjects like UDFI taxes (what is that?), disqualified persons and prohibited transactions in fairly easy to read English.

I’ve had a self directed IRA for over a decade.  Equity Trust is the custodian I use.  I have bought several pieces of real estate with it.  I have also partnered with other IRAs and considered several different kinds of investments.  So I think of myself as somewhat knowledgeable on the subject.  But in reading Mr. Sorensen’s book I learned a new trick or two.  Such as;

  • Potentially setting up separate IRAs for each property, and
  • What types of loans you can get using your IRA.

His book also got me thinking about how to be a bit more creative in the future and how to potentially structure future deals.

The Sum Up

As, I said, you have to know the rules to help keep the tax man out of your pocket.  You, not your attorney, not your accountant, are on the hook.  This book will help you understand those rules and set your affairs in order.  If anything, Mr. Sorensen uses almost too much case law in his examples.  But you will come away with a solid basis of understanding.

You can purchase “The Self Directed IRA Handbook” through Amazon.com by clicking on the link below.  If you do, please know that SmarterLandlording will get a small commission.  That will help me keep things going here.  So if you like what I do here at SmarterLandlording, please use the link below to order.  Know also that I have never met or talked with Mr. Sorensen.  I just read his book and thought the information was important to share with you.  Thanks!

Tenant Screening Begins Immediately

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Tenant screening is one of the most most important things a landlord does.  Carefully screening out the potentially bad tenants will save you countless dollars and countless headaches.  Tenant screening begins immediately, at the first point of contact.   You should begin to look for potential red flags with that first phone call, e-mail or text message you get.

One way to see potential red flags is to ask questions designed to make them wave.  One of these questions is something we ask everyone almost immediately.  It is designed to save both ourselves and the potential tenant time and hassle.  That question is:

“When are you looking to move?”

There are three types of answer you can get to that question.  One of them is what you want to hear.  While the other two should cause you concern and get you to dig into their background a little more deeply.  Let’s go over those two first.

The First Answer You Do Not Want To Hear

The first type of answer has to do with immediacy.  If the answer to the question of when are you looking to move is something along the lines of:  “I have got to move tomorrow,” or “I need to move next week,” then you need to tread carefully.  These answers are a big red flag.  Why does someone need to move so quickly?

The most likely answer is that they are being evicted and they are finally staring at the reality that a hard day is right around the corner.  You are probably not going to want someone in this position moving into one of your properties.  The poor decision making skills are on full display here.

The best answer you can have to this immediacy type response is something like the following: “We have an extensive and thorough tenant screening process that will likely take several work days to complete.”  It’s the truth right?  Smarter landlords do have an extensive and thorough screening process.  Once your screening process is explained, most of these types of callers will likely move on.

The Second Answer You Do Not Want To Hear

The second answer you do not want to hear is the opposite of the first.  When asking when a prospective tenant needs to move, getting a long term type response such as  “Six months from now,” is a no go.  Are you really going to hold a vacant property for six months and lose out on six months of potential rent?  No, you are not.   So it is best not to waste anymore of either person’s time.

Let them know that you will be happy to hold the property for them during that time period provided they pay the monthly rental amount.  If someone wants to pay me rent and not live in one of my properties for a while I’ll most likely be happy to let them.  Most will not and will move on.  Don’t let this opportunity go to waste however, be sure to tell them to check back when they get a bit closer to their moving date, perhaps two months out.

The Answer You Want

By now it should be obvious what you want to hear.  The answer you want is: “I need to move in a month or two.”  Perfect.  This potential tenant is forward thinking and likely making good decisions.  Continue on with the conversation to see if you have found your next tenant.

Remember this as well. Always be kind and courteous to everyone you talk with. Treat everyone the same and ask the same questions. Be consistent.

What Other Questions Should You Ask?

You can learn more about what to ask and look for when screening potential tenants by subscribing and downloading my free report: SmarterLandlording’s 21 Tenant Screening Red Flags.

It’s easy.  Just enter your e-mail below.

Tenant Abandonment – Part 2

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You think your tenant has abandoned you.  The utilities to their home have been turned off.  You have not heard from your tenant in a few days after repeated tries to contact them.  Plus, you have entered your tenant’s place and nearly everything is gone.  You have followed all of the steps I outlined in my previous post, Tenant Abandonment and you are 99.9 percent sure they have abandoned you.  You are now ready for Part 2.

Which Way To Go?

You now have a choice to make.  Remember that the property is still legally in the tenant’s possession.  You can go one of two ways.  You can either follow the eviction process or you can follow the legal process for abandonment.

Personally, we try our best to avoid the eviction process.  Eviction is costly and takes time.  You can’t even represent yourself if you hold your properties in an LLC as we do.  Sometimes though, as I will discuss, it may be the way to go.  Whichever way you decide to go, get competent advice for your particular location and situation as laws are going to vary from place to place.  Here in Memphis, Tennessee the abandonment process is pretty simple.  It will get you possession your property faster, without going in front of a judge and much of the time, without all of the expense.

The Tenant Abandonment Route

When going the tenant abandonment route, the first thing you have to do is wait a little.  You have to wait until the tenant is 15 days late with their rent payment.  Then, you post a notice stating that you intend to reclaim possession of the property due to abandonment on their front door.  You also send the same notice to their last known address.  What is their last known address?  It is your property.  I know, I know, your tenant is likely to never see it since they are not picking up the mail anymore but you have to go through the motions because that is what the law requires.

This notice must include three items.  One, your (landlord’s) name, address and telephone number where you can be reached.  Two, A statement indicating that you believe the tenant has abandoned the property and that you intend to retake possession within ten days of posting the notice.  Three, if the tenant does not contact you then everything will be removed from the property and the property will be re-rented.

That’s it.  No courts.  No Lawyers.  No legal fees.  Just a little bit of your time, a few sheets of paper and a stamp.

During this 10 day wait period, you should be advertising the property and lining prospective tenants up.  Can you show the property to these perspective tenants?  Perhaps.  We have a clause in our lease allowing us to do this anyway, but I might tread carefully and ask what an attorney in your area thinks.

Regaining Possession

Once you have waited the required 10 days, you can then go in and remove anything the tenant left behind and prepare your property to be re-rented.

Here is where it might get a bit tricky and push your decision towards the eviction route.  Yes, after 10 days you can go in and remove anything the tenant left behind, but you can’t just throw it away or place it on the curb.  You have to store it for thirty days and allow the tenant to recollect the stuff if they return and want it.  The amount of stuff left and your ability to move and store things (we have a little space to do this) will affect which route you decide to take.  Hopefully, your tenant has only left behind a few broken pieces of easily movable furniture and an old box of cereal or two.  Otherwise you may have to hire some folks to move everything, rent a truck and storage space.  After all of that, it may just make more sense to evict and throw the stuff on the curb.

However, leaving lots of stuff behind, at least in our experience, is not typical.   Most of the time, what is left is just junk and I have never found anything of value as they always take the alcohol and the TV.  Whatever is left and whatever you do, it is best to take a video of your abandonment process in case you need to defend your actions later on.

The Sum Up

That is the process to regain possession after tenant abandonment.  It is fairly quick and simple. Every tenant and every situation is different though, you will have to weigh the costs and your time factor in each case.  But the abandonment procedure is often the way to go.

The SmarterLandlording Podcast – Is There a Good Property Management Company?

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The SmarterLandlording Podcast – Episode 8 – Is There a Good Property Management Company?  With Real Estate Investor and Broker Emeritus – Richard Scarbrough

 

 

Links We Mentioned

Memphis Investors Group – The Memphis Investors Group is the local REIA club here in Memphis.  This group has been very valuable to me over the years.  It is where I met people like Richard and where I am able to learn, share ideas, make deals and commiserate with other investors.  If you are here in Memphis, look us up.  If not, check around for a club in your area.

First American Home Warranty – Richard uses this company to place home warranties on his property and has eliminated 90% of his maintenance calls.  Will it work for you?  Check it out.

Richard’s preferred contact info – Call him on his landline 901-753-3491.  Sure its old school, but he knows his stuff and he can help you buy, sell or just give advice.

 

Like the Intro Music?  Check out my good friends in the band Kitchens and Bathrooms (Kind of fits right!).  They write and play some awesome, original music from right here in Memphis, TN.

Compare Your State’s Taxes

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How does your state compare to everyone else when it come to taxes?  Taxes, especially property taxes, are a major expense to us landlords.  Property taxes are also very localized and can differ significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.  What is often the custom in one locale, may be completely different in another.  It is therefore interesting to see how taxes can compare.  And not just property taxes, all types of taxes.  For while property taxes may be low in one area, they might be off set by higher sales or income taxes.  Or perhaps you are paying through the nose on all levels.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy has created an interesting interactive map of state by state taxes.

With it, you can compare your state’s property tax levels with those of other states.  You can also examine income, sales and other state taxes.  Use this tool to see if your taxes really are that high.  If you think your real estate taxes are low, take a look and see how your income and sales taxes compare to other states.  You maybe surprised and/or infuriated.

Here in Tennessee for example, we have lower real estate taxes and no income tax (except on some investment income).  Sales taxes though are some of the highest in the country, with almost everything, including food and medicine being taxed at the point of sale.  Maryland is high in all tax categories while Wyoming and Nevada are much lower.  Take a look around and see how your state compares.

Another neat tool for real estate investors and smarter landlords.

 

 

Tenant Abandonment

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Tenants are the lifeblood of the landlording business and proper tenant screening usually goes a long way towards avoiding most tenant problems.  Notice I said most, not all.  No matter what you do, tenants are going to cause you problems some of the time.  One of those problems is tenant abandonment.

What is tenant abandonment?  Its when your tenant voluntarily leaves your property, without telling you, with no intent to return or fulfill the terms of the lease.  Your tenant just up and goes, often in the middle of the night and often leaving a pile of stuff behind.

Why do tenants abandon their homes?  There are many reasons for abandonment and most of them are reasons that neither you nor your screening process could have seen coming.  They may have lost their job and are too embarrassed to face you.  They may have broken up with their girlfriend and become depressed.  They may have fallen off the wagon and gone on a bender.  Whatever the reason, you are faced with a vacant unit, lost rent, a mess to clean up and you need to get the cash flowing again.

What are the steps a smarter landlord should take?

There are many, too many for just one post actually.  So the next few posts will deal with tenant abandonment.  How you as the landlord should determine if your tenant has actually abandoned you.  What the legal steps are that you must take once a tenant has abandoned you.  And finally, some things you can do to prevent abandonment from happening to you.

How do you determine if your tenant has abandoned you?

First, landlords need to understand that tenant abandonment is a legal issue.  This is because your tenant technically still has legal possession of the property.  Thus, there is a legal process that all landlords have to follow to stay out of hot water.  I’m in Tennessee so I’ll be speaking with regard to the rules in my state.  Your state may be similar, but it may not.  So use this post as a general guide and then seek competent legal advice.

Second, you have to verify and document that your tenant has truly abandoned the property.  In other words, make sure they did not just leave in a hurry to go take care of their ailing mother in another state for an extended period of time.  This process may take a little time and investigation.  Begin to keep a written file of everything you suspect.  Document everything!  It could prove extremely helpful later on.

How do you verify that your tenant is truly gone?  It can be harder than you think and you have to be somewhat of a detective to add up the clues.  This is because some people are (or can become) unkempt, unorganized and perhaps having a rough go.  While conditions can point towards abandonment, they may not completely confirm it.  You have to build your case by putting the clues together to legally protect yourself.

What are the clues to tenant abandonment?

One obvious clue is unpaid rent.  If the first of the month comes and an otherwise timely tenant is late, that is a good sign.  Another clue is the inability to contact them.  If they do not respond to your calls, texts and e-mails, they may be gone.  The utility connection is a major clue.  If the utilities have been turned off, or have been placed back in your name (either way you should be notified by the utility company), your tenant has likely left the building.

However, these clues alone do not prove abandonment.  A bit more investigation is required.  It is time for step three, to grab the keys and go to check out the property.

When you get to the property, look for more clues.  An overflowing mailbox is a pretty good clue no one is there to check it.  Piled up newspapers and packages are also part of the story.  Look for the tenant’s vehicle.  As part of your tenant screening and lease signing process you should have gotten the tenant’s vehicle information.  Is the vehicle on the property?  If the property is a multi-unit property, knock on some of the neighbor’s doors and inquire about the tenant.  Even of your tenant sneaks out in the middle of the night, other tenant’s may have seen or heard them leave or perhaps can tell you that they have not seen them in a long time.

Finally, enter your tenant’s apartment

At this point, it is time to enter you tenant’s apartment.  Do not have any reservations about doing this.  You have tried to contact them and they have not responded.  Every sign you look at is telling you there is something wrong.  Hopefully they have just left, but what if they passed away inside?  You have every right to check and make sure your property is secure.  If you can, take a witness with you and better yet, take a video upon entering with your smart phone.  Protect yourself legally.  You do not have possession, document everything!

Upon entering it should be pretty obvious if your tenant has flown the coop.   Is most of the furniture missing?  If there is still furniture, are the valuable items such as the television gone?  Are the clothes gone?  Check the fridge.  Is there any fresh food in it or is it all rotten?  Is there any sign at all that someone has been coming or going?

If it definitely looks as if your suspicions have been confirmed and your tenant has abandoned you, leave everything alone for now.  Make sure the property is secure and will remain so.  Lock up and head back to the office.  It is time to either file for eviction of begin the legal abandonment procedure.  That tenant abandonment procedure is what I will discuss in my next post.  Stay tuned.

Are Your Properties In An LLC? Evicting A Tenant? Read This First

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Many of us landlords hold their rental properties in a Limited Liability Company (LLC). Doing so can make very good business sense as a landlord can separate their business property (rentals) from their personal property (home, cash, stocks, cars, etc). This separation can significantly reduce a landlord’s personal risk if you get sued by a tenant. Plus it can be a great estate planning tool.

How?

An LLC is legally a separate entity from you. You can actually think of your LLC as separate person from you. It has (or it should) have separate bank accounts, separate credit cards, separate loans and even a separate address. The LLC therefore actually owns your rental properties, you do not. You just control and direct the LLC. Thus, if a tenant or anyone else for that matter falls on a property owned by an LLC you control, they can only sue the LLC, not you. This is what is known as the “corporate shield” between you and the LLC (This shield can get pierced if you are not careful, but that is a post for another day).

Unfortunately, even the best landlords with the best screening techniques will have to evict one of their tenants at some point. Tenants sometimes just go bad for reasons beyond your control. If you happen to hold your rental properties in an LLC, you personally cannot represent your LLC in court during the eviction process. You must have a lawyer represent your LLC during the eviction process.

Why?

It is not because it is difficult or complicated to file an eviction or to go in front of a judge.   In fact, with a little coaching, almost anyone can do it. The problem stems from the fact that the LLC is legally a separate entity from you. It is legally another person. So if you file for eviction and go to court to represent “your” LLC, you are technically representing someone else in court. By representing someone else, you are practicing law without a license.

Judges generally do not like folks in their courtrooms practicing law without a license. When they realize that you are, they will throw your case out. That may have been just an honest mistake on your part, but if you thought you were going to save money you were wrong. You are now actually even deeper in the hole because you have lost even more rent. Plus you have lost time. And as they say, time is money.

I know, I know, all of this may seem like splitting hairs and technicalities. Lawyers are also costly and evictions are generally pretty easy to do. But lawyers live for technicalities and this component of the Lawyer Employment Protection Act is just something you have to follow if you hold your properties in an LLC.

Kevin Perk is the founder and publisher of Smarterlandlording.com.  He is the author of Advice From Experience To New Real Estate Investors.  Contact Kevin here.

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National Rent Report – February 2018

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Nationwide, rents have been on the increase since August 2017, but February brings slight relief — at least to renters of one-bedroom apartments. The national median rent for one-bedrooms dropped from $1,046 to $1,044, marking the first decrease in six months.

Although national one-bedroom rents decreased just .2%, some cities felt a much larger decline. Syracuse, NY, had the largest rent drop in the country, with rents sliding nearly 11% through January. Santa Ana, CA, also saw a significant decline of 9.1%, with one-bedroom rents there dropping from $1,841 to $1,673. One-bedroom apartments in Minneapolis, MN, and St. Louis, MO, slid nearly 4%, followed by Cincinnati, OH, one-bedrooms, which slid from $824 per month to an even $800, for a 2.9% drop.

Read the rest here

What Is A No Fault Eviction?

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The term “No Fault Eviction” has become a rather hot term in the headlines lately. Teachers in San Francisco want protection from them. Across the Country in Boston tenant groups are asking the city to stop landlords from using them.

But what is a “No Fault Eviction?”

How do they work?

And why are people suddenly getting so upset about them?

A so called “No Fault Eviction” is an eviction where the tenant is evicted through no fault of their own. They paid their rent on time. They followed the rules. However, the landlord has decided at the end of the tenant’s lease term that he no longer wishes to rent to that tenant. He has chosen not to renew the lease or let it run on perhaps on a month to month term.

If the landlord chooses not to renew the lease, he will ask the tenant to vacate the property. Usually this is done by letter at least a month or more before the landlord wants to retake possession of the property. However this time frame could vary depending on state and local laws or the terms of the lease.

Most of the time, the tenant chooses to leave and find a new place to live. But sometimes they do not. They want to stay despite the landlord’s wishes. If that happens, the landlord is them forced to evict the tenant.

Not really a “No Fault” to me. The tenant has violated the landlord’s property rights by not leaving when legally asked to do so. The landlord owns the building, the terms of the lease are up and the landlord should be able to retake possession of the building.

So why are people so upset about this?

It is because of the recent rapid rise in rents.

Rents have been going up all over the country in recent years. Landlords are thus often able to raise the rents at their properties. In some areas, quite significantly, as much as 400%! That simply is too good of a story for some media outlets to pass up.

Incomes have not caught up yet. Thus many renters feel that they will have to leave their longtime neighborhoods. Or worse, might not be able to afford new housing. A concern for sure.

While the recent rent increases have many causes, many choose to blame the landlords and have been petitioning local authorities to enact laws to prohibit or restrict “No Fault Evictions.”

No one likes to go through an eviction. It is just not a pleasant experience for either side. I try to avoid them almost any way I can. Thankfully in my experience, most tenants have agreed to move when I asked them to. Then again, we have not had the significant price increases here in Memphis either.

But what have you experienced in your part of the world? Are your tenants refusing rent increases or refusing to move? Please let me know with your comments.

 

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7 Things Bad Landlords Don’t Do

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Being a landlord is a tough and varied job. It requires the wearing of many different hats. A landlord has to be an accountant, a contractor, a guidance counselor and much, much more in order to be successful. Most landlords do a pretty good job at juggling all of these responsibilities.

Unfortunately, there are a few bad landlords out that that make this already tough job even more difficult. These bad landlords get the courts involved in our business. They get code enforcement involved in our business. They get legislatures involved in our business. They get reporters to dish out a fair share of bad press about us. The term “slumlord” starts to get applied to all landlords, no matter how they run their business. They just generally make it harder for the rest of us because of their bad actions.

Over the years I have found that many bad landlords are not necessarily bad people. Instead they just do not understand or know how to run their landlord business. They fail to do several key things that all landlords must know or do in order to make things run smoothly.

So what are the things that bad landlords don’t do?

  1. Bad Landlords Don’t Screen Their Tenants – There are bad tenants out there that prey on these bad landlords. They smooth talk you into letting them rent your place. They flash a lot of cash upfront. They lie, lie and tell more lies. If you fall for the talk, the cash or the lies you are going to learn a hard lesson. You will likely spend thousands trying to evict them and they can turn a great property into a problem child in a matter of months. Proper screening is perhaps the most important thing a landlord can do to prevent a lot of the other problems we encounter.
  2. Bad Landlords Don’t Understand Cashflow – Cashflow is king in the rental property business. If you bet on anything else, like appreciation, you are setting yourself up for failure. If you are not bringing in enough cash to cover all of your expenses, the bills will creep up on you over time until it is just too much for you to handle and your property goes into a death spiral downward.
  3. Bad Landlords Don’t Fix Things – Not fixing things when they break often leads to a death spiral for a property. How? Something breaks, then tenants complain, things remain unrepaired, then tenants start to leave. This spiral does not happen overnight, but rather slowly. Good tenants are simply not going to put up with a lack of service and repairs. These landlords may think they are saving money. But in the long run they are shooting themselves in the foot.
  4. Bad Landlords Don’t Do Preventive Maintenance – Speaking of things breaking, some things will break if you do not do a little preventive maintenance. These landlords again think they are saving money, but they are not. Condensers simply need cleaning, filters need changing, walls need painting, etc, etc. I hate spending the money as well but I have come to learn that if I do not spend it now I will end up spending a lot more later on.
  5. Bad Landlords Don’t Have House Rules – House rules are a very important part of your lease (You are at least using a lease right?). House rules spell out when people should be quiet, when and how long guests can stay, where trash should be placed, if you can use candles (Nope!), and whatever else you feel you need to include to maintain a desirable property. We go over our house rules word for word with our tenants during the move in process to be sure they are understood. It shows tenants we care about our properties and it helps insure that there are no misunderstandings later on.
  6. Bad Landlords Don’t Train Their Tenants – No, I do not mean train like a dog on a leash. What I mean is if you do not set out the rules from the start and enforce them (see above), your tenants will learn to take advantage of you. So, you must train them early on that you are not one to be taken advantage of. If they are late on the rent, charge the late fee. Otherwise they will learn it is ok to be late. If there are complaints from other tenants, give a warning notice, quickly. Otherwise they will learn that their behavior will be tolerated and that it is useless to complain. You have to be very proactive with your tenants. The old saying is true, if you give some of them an inch, they will take a mile.
  7. Bad Landlords Don’t Keep Learning – Every day is a new day that brings new people and new experiences. You cannot just keep dealing with these new experiences the same old way. You have to keep learning and keep adapting your business or you will simply get left behind. This is one reason that I find my local REIA so important. The education and networking opportunities that are available just cannot be found anywhere else.

 

Don’t be a bad landlord. Do the seven items listed above. You will be amazed how much smoother your business, and your life, will be.

 

What else do you think bad landlords fail to do? Let me know what I left off my list with your comments.