The American economy has been growing for the past ten years, yet more and more people are struggling to pay rent. According to the new report published by Apartment List, almost half of American renter households can be classified as cost-burdened as cost-burdened, spending more than the recommended 30% of their incomes on rent.   Even though the national cost burden rate slightly decreased, it remains at approximately 50%. The national cost burden rate showed a slight improvement, decreasing from 49.7% in 2016 to 49.5% in 2017. The share of severely burdened renters (who spend over 50 ..read more

Like anything in life, it’s the little things that can make a big difference. This also applies to rental properties. First impressions matter to tenants. This means that every part of your property needs to be in tiptop shape, not just to get the perfect tenant, but to see each property turn faster than average. While tenants consider a variety of factors when deciding whether to rent a particular home, such as proximity to work, neighborhood conveniences, or even affordability, the initial look at a home plays a vital role. The good news is that many of the things that may turn off applicant ..read more

In recent years, rental fraud has become more common and is affecting not only renters, but landlords as well. Unknowingly, you might be posting listings that appear fraudulent, causing you to miss out on a lot of potential leads. In a new study, Apartment List found that an estimated 5.2 million U.S. renters have lost money due to a rental scam. In addition, 43.1 percent of surveyed renters, have encountered scam listings or contacted fraudulent properties while apartment hunting.   The issue is especially prominent among millennials, who although generally tend to be more tech-savvy tha ..read more

Compared to flipping properties, land lording is a long-term commitment with demanding requirements of your time. Before you take the steps toward the job of landlord, examine your capabilities and desires, and make sure that you’re up to it. If you are, it can be a wonderful and profitable experience. Are You Cut Out to Be a Landlord? All those number-crunching skills that serve you well in selecting, buying and selling real estate properties for investment are valuable. However, as soon as you take on the role of landlord, people skills are also quite important. Landlord-tenant relationship ..read more

If you’re a tenant in a New York City high-rise apartment or condo, you’re probably familiar with the “80/20 carpet rule,” which requires you to cover 80% of your floors with carpeting. Although not common everywhere, this rule does appear in lease agreements in some places other than the Big Apple. The primary purpose of this 80% carpet requirement is noise abatement. Kitchen Floors Laying carpets in all parts of a dwelling unit except the kitchen probably satisfies the letter of the 80% requirement. It violates the spirit, however, if you spend most of your time in the kitchen. However, that ..read more

One of the reasons landlords are reluctant to rent to tenants with dogs is fear that if the dog injures someone, the landlord, as well as the dog’s owner, may end up paying. It’s very rare, however, for a landlord to be found liable for injuries inflicted by a tenant’s dog. Just leasing premises to a tenant with a dog isn’t enough, by itself, to make a landlord legally responsible for a tenant’s dog. For example, if a tenant’s apparently friendly dog bites someone, the landlord isn’t liable for the injury In general, courts hold a landlord liable only if the landlord: knew the dog was dangero ..read more

In property management, horror stories are not what you want to be a part of, and yet, any property manager can tell you a few. We asked around, and found that with time, working as a property manager is not without the occasional nightmare. Whose home is this, anyway? Two stories from the state of California should serve as a warning if you are considering short-term rental opportunities in your condo community. Owners in Santa Cruz and in Palm Springs rented out rooms through Airbnb only to end up with tenants who wouldn’t leave. For several months, these squatters would neither leave, nor p ..read more

Re-keying locks on your properties, after the tenant leaves, can get tedious and expensive, causing too many property managers to skip the re-keying process entirely, opening themselves up to an uncomfortable amount of liability. In this article, we wanted to share an interview between Doorgrow and Prempoint. They discuss a comprehensive messaging, access control, and automation software that allows property managers to manage and grant access to their properties remotely. Click here to listen! You’ll Learn… [2:20] All about Matt Hartley’s background and his work with Prempoint ..read more

Many US residents rely on wells and septic systems.  If your rental property depends on a septic system, it’s crucial that your tenants know the do’s and don’ts of its operation because it is different than city sewer systems. According to Jane Megitt and landlordology, a landlord can do the following things to help educate new tenants on the ins and outs of maintaining a healthy septic system. Provide Pamphlets – Provide written information to the tenant on the basics of living with a septic system. It’s likely your town has such brochures if many residents use septic systems.You ca ..read more

One of the most important factors that today’s real estate investors need to watch out for is choosing partners and professionals who have really mastered the dynamics of tenant screening and occupancy. Each investment opportunity is only as good as the execution. Without a great handle on tenant management, the results can be disastrous. Unfortunately, many investors are still incredibly lost in this area. And that can get extremely expensive very quickly. Both poor tenant performance and rental vacancies can kill cash flow for real estate investors. It takes both a detail-oriented prope ..read more