Rally Your Troops

With a rental property comes repair calls, on a holiday weekend and always after 5PM on Friday. At least that's my experience. You will want your "to go" list of repair people before you need them. You don't want to be scrambling for a plumber when the sewer line backs up. Now that's ugly and pestilous. In Arizona, landlord has 48 hours to repair a broken air conditioner. Check with the laws in your state and be sure you follow them to the letter. Your A/C person may know an electrician, your plumber may be friends with a handyman. Ask for referrals, it's the best way to not be overcharged.
My favorite tenant pet peeve is when they tell me an item's been broken or acting up for weeks, but choose to contact me after 5PM on Friday. If it is NOT an emergency, I will send someone out the following week. If they request it be fixed before that, tenant is charged for overtime. Of course, this begs the question: what is an emergency?? A tenant last week felt a broken garage door was an emergency...really she did. I soooo wanted to ask her if her kid's arm were broken and the bone were protruding out of his arm, would that also constitute an emergency? There is only one definition to emergency and I don't think a broken garage door compares to a broken arm. Only in Scottsdale do you get these kinds of tenants.
Start your "to go" bare bones list with the following repair people: Air conditioning contractor, licensed and bonded; plumber also licensed and bonded; electrician, licensed and bonded; appliance repair company (I use B & B Appliances in Phoenix, they are great); a great handyman, doesn't need to be licensed and can also do small plumbing jobs. As you amass more rental homes, consider adding the following to your list: flooring person; pest control company (to remove pesky squirrels from dryer vents); garage door repair company who will promptly go out to an "emergency" call; professional roofer; yard and pool maintenance personnel.
But again, not to sound redundant, why not just hire a professional property manager and let me make the phone calls, coordinate appointments and follow ups? No hassle, no worries for a small fee. It's more than worth it!

Pets Are Cleaner Than People

One of the decisions you will need to make as a do-it-yourself landlord is decide if you want to accept pets. Make your rental home as bullet proof and pet proof as possible. No hardwood floors. A grass yard will attract tenants with 4-legged children, a gravel one not so much.

I know a property manager who requests to see a potential tenant's home and meet the pet and check out its living conditions. Is it crated when they are gone 8 hours a day? She considers that cruel and counts it against them. Is the animal potty trained? By going to their home, she can smell pet urine a mile away! Many people are great pet owners and will gladly answer your questions. You need to ask what dog breed they own as HOA's and your rental policy may have restrictions on certain breeds. And use common sense. Two large dogs in a small condo are not a good combination. I am more reluctant about a puppy than an older dog and will want more details on how they contain the puppy when they leave. Cats present a different problem since their urine smell is impossible to remove inexpensively and many people are allergic to cats. Keep that in mind for when you re-rent the home.

There are dog barking ordinances in most cities, write into the lease that they will abide by it. Also include that tenant is responsible for any damage caused by their pet. Check your state law for the maximum total deposits you can charge, including security, cleaning and pet. Some landlords, to circumvent the legal deposit limits, are charging pets rent ex: $50 a month per pet. I'm not too sold on that, as it will turn off a lot of potential tenants, but it's legal in Arizona.

My general experience with pets has been pretty positive, except for this one tenant who allowed her cat to use the dining room as his toilet. But then, after I saw their master bath shower slimed in black mildew I understood why the cat wouldn't go in the bathroom!!

Oh The Bed Bugs Will Bite

Inevitably, a tenant called with bed bugs and asked if it was the landlord's responsibility to treat the home. Bed bugs are one of the newer pests to annoy property managers these days. In this case, since the last tenants never complained and the current tenants had occupied the home for several months, our landlord attorney said there was no owner liability. All states have their own bed bug laws, so do check your own.
I did require a copy of the pest control's bill to make sure tenants DID eradicate the little buggers. I don't want to inherit this problem when they move out.

My Neverending New Year's Goal

I pine for the days when I bragged about 100% occupancy on all my rentals. In the last two years, I have achieved that now lofty goal about 4 months total. The land of property management changed forever with the economic meltdown and the effects are still rippling. Tenants lose their jobs, move for a new job, divorce...these events weren't so common a few years back. But not all can be blamed on a sputtering economy, renters attitudes and character are not what they were either. Either they can't read or have short term memory loss, but they inevitably don't remember ever reading the clause in the lease that explained terminating their agreement. This is an area new landlords need to highlight and possibly explain in very small words to all new tenants. A 30-day written notice needs to be issued BEFORE the end of the month, not on the 5th of the month they plan on vacating. This seems to stump most tenants, no clue why this is so difficult to comprehend. Breaking a legal contract, such as a lease agreement, doesn't faze most renters today. Can you say "entitled"? They are genuinely surprised, sometimes angry, that there are legal and financial consequences to this. As a landlord, you need to be consistent and abide by all federal, state and local laws regarding the landlord tenant act. If you choose to bend the law for one person, know this may set precedence if you ever end up in court for enforcing that law on someone else.
My New Year resolution for 2013 is what it was last year, and the year before that - 100% occupancy for at least 6 months in a row!

Tis' The Season For Late Rent Reasons

Ah, the holidays...carolers singing the landlord blues, cash registers ringing everywhere but your Quicken account, tenants skating on thin ice and free sleigh rides for everyone!
Local news troubleshooters love to broadcast a woeful Cratchit family being evicted on Christmas Eve and portraying the landlord as Ebenezer. No matter that rent was due 24 days prior, Scrooge won't win the sympathy vote here.
This is the time of year when tenants of all income levels seem to be forgetful on paying rent (maybe it's the eggnog).  Be prepared to hear every reason possible and keep your business hat on, no matter how frosty the wind blows. Business is business as Scrooge aptly stated.
If you choose to waive late fees, it's up to you. Just remember this, they will expect it next time too. Do I sound cold to you? I assure you, I'm not. If the heat conks out in the dead of winter, I will send someone out ASAP, even if they are late on rent. I expect the same courtesy in return, in the form of on time rent. Now there's a Christmas present all my tenants could gladly give their landlords this year!

Move Outs, Move Ins

Last and first week of every month are crazy time in the wacky world of property management. How to make that time run a bit smoother? Make sure to fill out a detailed walkthrough with your tenant (have them sign it) at move in. Note all carpet stains, tile chips, non-working items, condition of the property and take pictures. Don't forget to snap pictures of the yards and pool if tenant will be in charge of that maintenance. I just got a home in central Scottsdale back, and tenant killed off the backyard grass. Didn't bother to water it for two years! What to do when that happens? Get an estimate from a yard guy on how much to replant grass and remember to estimate water expense in bringing yard back to life. Those expenses can all be deducted from tenant's security deposit.
A detailed walkthrough at move in will make your move out much easier. Also, note down on that first walkthrough how many house, mailbox and pool keys along with garage door openers were issued to tenant. This is usually where your tenant has a short memory and swears you only gave them one house key. If they do not hand you the same amount of all keys at move out, they can be charged for the locksmith bill and all related expenses. At move out, whip out your initial walkthrough as a guide and again, get their wet signatures at the final walkthrough as well.
If you are a newbie in this field, you might be shocked or even astonished at what condition some properties will be handed back to you. As for me, NOTHING surprises me anymore. Even the one I got back that looked as if a heavy metal band high on meth had taken a sledgehammer to the walls, and a herd of bulls had stomped its way through the carpet. The tenant had the gall to ask if he was getting his security deposit back. I won't post pictures to protect the stupid.
Written and precise walkthroughs will be useful in landlord/tenant disputes, it is an essential risk management tool for your landlord toolbox.

No Really, I Mailed Rent Days Ago...

As the old adage goes, if I had a nickel (although it would be $1 now, with inflation and all) for every time I've heard that line. When I was new and relatively green at this property manager gig, I would listen to the tenant's late rent excuse and many times, relent on adding on late fees. But, as anyone in this brutal business knows, you give them an inch  they take a yard.
So no more Mr. Nice OK If You Are Late Landlord, I issue 5-day late notices promptly certified on the 5th day rent is not received and late charges included or rent won't be accepted. Once in a blue moon, envelopes arrive postmarked by the 1st, but somehow were not delivered till days later. It happens, but usually the postmark is after the 1st and that is late. Tenants will pay their cable bill before they will pay their rent nowadays. Priorities, I suppose.
In the 20 years I've been a landlord, there have been few evictions, thank goodness. I owe it all to my go to landlord/tenant attorney, Andrew Hull. His website is loaded with absolutely vital information if you plan on managing your own Phoenix rental. But again, for the measly amount we charge, why oh why would you want the headache??