Whether you’re an Active Investor making new acquisitions regularly OR a Landlord who was unable to sell your primary residence before relocating, I’m sure that you never had extravagant visions about the vicissitudes of being a property manager.
It’s called “the Basics”
If you don’t hire a property management company, then YOU are the property management company.
Your Landlord Infrastructure MUST be in place or your exposure can be immense. This may result in a failure in your business operations and much more – these simple Landlording truths are called “the Basics.”
Do you have an emergency maintenance policy in place?
S
kating on thin ice is not a viable business strategy …
because it’s not sustainable. Business is about MANAGING and not IGNORING risks. Many Landlords believe they are in good shape employing “the ostrich strategy” until something bad happens. It is the opinion of the author that Landlords employ this strategy because proper guidance and bundled resources for Landlords were scarce or non-existent until now.
F
ive Ways To Enhance Your Landlord Infrastructure …
without hiring a property management company.
- SETUP ONLINE RENT PAYMENTS. Some tenant are from the old school and they do not prefer this method. There are options for them besides mailing that’s electronic that they trust more. For example, some online rent payment vendors allow tenants to pay their rent in cash at all 7-Elevens and ACE Check cashing locations.
- HIRE A RECEPTIONIST. Landlords need a buffer. Who wants compulsive calls and text messages for non-emergency situations at the wrong time. Don’t forget about the unpleasant dialogue and tension that comes with it! Detach from the “day to day” tasks that can be outsourced. Don’t think that you have to hire a full-time receptionist. There are creative and cost-effective alternatives to getting your calls fielded.
- ADOPT & DISTRIBUTE EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE POLICY. You will be surprised at how much smoother things go when everyone is reading from the same sheet of music – receptionist, tenants and landlord.
- ESTABLISH VENDORS & BACKUP VENDORS FOR EACH REPAIR CATEGORY. It actually sounds harder than it actually is. You may already have preselected or go-to vendors all in your head and it just needs to get transferred to paper.
- SIGN SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS WITH VENDORS. Remember you’re in business. Those “understandings” that are not in writing between the Landlords and their Vendors (or “their guys”) fly out the window when things get thick.
About the author …
- Landlord for 17 years
- Real estate broker for 16 years
- Former Vice Chairman of the Section 8’s DCHPA, DC Housing Provider’s Association for 5 years
- Founder and Chairman of DCLUM, DC Landlord Unity Movement for 5 years
- Managing Partner of Housing & Urban Management, tenant placement for Section 8 Landlords and consulting on Landlord infrastructure and perplexing issues associated with managing Section 8 rentals
- Inventor of P.U.S.S.H., a service that uses a simple algorithm to score subsidized housing recipients based on their responses to uniquely crafted prescreening questions with scores ranging from 300 to 850 similar to Beacon scores …
Michael T. Kornegay, CVO
Welcome
Landlords & Realtors
ARE YOU FILLING YOUR VACANT RENTALS IN 7 TO 14 DAYS?
Download our Ultimate Subsidized Rentals Cheat Sheet & learn how to secure quality Section 8 tenants paying up to 30% - 80% higher and GUARANTEED rents each month → all in 7 to 14 days!
List Your Rental
See how many of our 100's of prescreened tenants, with Section 8 vouchers, are interested in your property!
