New landlords: Avoid these five tenant types

One thing I learned from being a property manager is that landlording is not for nice guys. That's not to say that I didn't like most of my tenants or try to be nice to them; I did.

But I also learned, at my boss's urging, that sometimes you have to say "no." No to unnecessary repairs or upgrades, no to extraordinary lease provisions and even, sometimes, no to prospective tenants who had applied to rent with us.

My latest article is targeted at landlords, particularly new ones. It's "Five Tenant Types Unfit for Your Investment Property."

Some rental applicants just are too risky to rent to or are too likely to bring headaches with them to your property. Learn who they are by clicking on the article title above.


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This one's for harassed on-site apartment managers!

Sure, you're SUPPOSED to be off-duty but that never seems to stop tenants from knocking on your door, does it?

I battled for my off-duty time a lot when I worked as an on-site apartment manager. An emergency? OK, no problem. That's why I was there. That was part of my job.

But a drippy bathroom faucet is not an emergency. Call me about it tomorrow during office hours.

You suspect your neighbor is violating her lease because her boyfriend has moved in and now your favorite parking spot is always taken? Not an emergency. Stop by tomorrow during office hours.

You are bothered by the cigarette butts and beer cans in the courtyard? So am I. But I'm not dealing with it at 9 p.m. because I already worked a 10-hour day today and I will deal with it tomorrow.

If you're an on-site, live-in apartment manager who is often bothered by tenants during your scheduled off hours, you might find my advice helpful. Read it here: Apartment Managers - Live On Site? You Can Still Go Off Duty. It's all about the strategies I successfully used to train my tenants to respect my free time. A worthwhile read!




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Landlords: Who is managing your apartments' online reputation? Part Two

In Part Two of this series I just published for landlords and apartment managers, learn how to respond to anonymous negative feedback about your apartments and how to proactively manage your apartments' online reputation rather than relying on tenants to do it for you. Read More

Two great property management blogs -- hilarious and keepin' it real

As a former rental property manager, I am so thoroughly entertained by two fellow bloggers' property management blogs that I have to recommend them both here:

Check out both Apartment Manager Kaos and Stories from Apartment Managers. Especially if you yourself work in the apartment management industry.

These two blogs make me giggle, nod in agreement and, to be honest with you, make me feel a little relieved to know I WASN'T crazy after all when I was doing the job, though it sure felt that way sometimes.

When I was managing apartments I was always so worried that it would be unprofessional to blog about the daily goings-on in my buildings and among my tenants. Of course I write under my real name -- right there in the upper right hand corner (oh hey, hi there) -- so that was probably a valid concern.

Not so for "TxAptMgr" (Kaos) and "Apartment Manager" (Stories), who were both smart enough to stay anonymous so they can give you the uncensored lowdown on crazy tenants, scammy landlords and all the reasons that property managers might sometimes come across as anal, evil, uncaring b*tches when really they're mostly pretty normal, nice people doing a hard job in which you can never make everyone happy.

Highly recommended reading for others in the apartment industry!

Thinking of a career in property management?

What's the skinny on working as a property manager? Is the pay as good as recently reported by CNN Money? What are the hours like?

If you're thinking about getting into property management, you'll want to read this.