Landlord Organization 101 – Tenant Folders – Landlording TV – #32

Tenant Folders are a necessary part of staying organized and making landlording as painless as possible! Tenant folders are the “home” for every single piece of paper sent and received between you and each tenant. Items to put into each Tenant Folder include:

• Rental Application
• All Rental Agreements
• All Signed and Dated Service Requests
• Photocopy of all Checks received (make sure your folder storage is secure for storing private information such as bank info)
• Photocopy of all envelopes received for proof of postmark date

All items in one folder above will make eviction day a breeze (or at the very least a paper trail for having accurate figures for the tenant’s balance).

Landlord Lessons:

• Having all papers in one place for each tenant GREATLY reduces “mental clutter” and you will feel much more confident knowing you have everything documented.
• Keep your folders up to date. Move your previous tenants to a cardboard storage box to keep updating tenant folders quick clean and easy!
• Use a label maker for labeling folders – clean well documented folders makes the act of storing documents less “work” mentally

Capitalization Rate: Not just for buying properties! – Landlording TV – #31

When buying rental properties, the single most common formula used is the Capitalization Rate Formula. But when selling a rental property, don’t forget to run this formula on your numbers! Compare your property with others listed in your area with the Cap rate, and price your property aggressively do get the highest Cap Rate in your area!

Landlord Lessons:

• Use the Capitalization Rate Formula when buying AND selling rental properties!
• The Cap Rate formula is not the end all be all, use it to narrow down your search when buying rental properties, but switch to more complex formulas for further analysis – more on this to come!

The Ultimate Landlord Lock: Kwikset Key Control Deadbolt w/ SmartKey – Landlording TV – #30

After installing the new deadbolts by Kwikset, it’s hard to imagine going back to the “old days” of replacing the entire deadbolt to rekey locks. Once installed, rekeying takes literally 3 (THREE!) seconds (watch to see what I mean)! Not only is replacing deadbolts a thing of the past, Kwikset also added a second cylinder for a master key. One key for your entire property! Finally!

Landlord Lessons:

• As apartments become vacant and you need to rekey them, install the Kwikset Key Control Deadbolt.
• Never have the awful realization you forgot “that” unit’s key for showings or repairs!
• Create “temporary keys” for units to give to Repair/Maintenance Men. Simply rekey when the job is done!
• It’s official, finally! You are wasting time and money by replacing deadbolts with other “one use” deadbolts.

For more information, check out Kwikset Key Control’s website.

Tenants’ Security Deposits: The Law and Accounting – Landlording TV – #29

Security Deposits can actually get very technical! Depending on your state, you might be required to:

• You may have to pay interest on each Security Deposit depending on the number of units in each of your properties.
• The interest rate is determined by your State
• You must offer several different options to pay your tenant their Security Deposits’ interest
• You are entitled to Administrative fees on the interest (watch to see what I mean)

Landlord Lessons:

• Use RentCheck, our Free Online Landlord Software, to help record your Security Deposits.
• Learn your State’s Laws regarding Security Deposits. They can get very technical!

Go to http://www.GetRentCheck.com to sign up for your free account, now!

Sneak Peak – RentCommand will soon be: RentCheck! – Landlording TV – #28

We’ve been working VERY hard on our Free Landlord Software, with a major update about to rollout very soon. The name will change to RentCheck and it will have all the same features as RentCommand, only MUCH simpler and MUCH faster! If you already have an account your information will automatically be moved over.

If you don’t sign up for our newsletter at www.landlording.tv to find out when it goes live! It is completely free and no credit card required!

UPDATE: RentCheck is now live! Go to http://www.GetRentCheck.com to sign up for your free account, now!

Building an Apartment out of Living Rooms – Complete! The Before and After! – Landlording TV -#27

The second apartment is finally finished and was also rented before completion in mid-december!!!! Once again we focused on cutting costs without compromising quality, or layout. We avoided corners in the kitchen to help minimize the cabinets needed to purchase and switched to white prebuilt cabinets from maple (resulting in 30% less expenses). We refinished the hardwood floors by PAINTING them ($22 TOTAL)!!! I couldn’t be happier with the way this apartment turned out!

Landlord Lessons:

• Cut costs without compromising quality or your layout. We saved at least $1,000 by reconfiguring our kitchen alone!
• The hardwood floors look very chic and couldn’t possibly have been done cheaper or to withstand more wear and tear! The paint we used is designed to withstand garage floors!
• Dress up the apartment by adding small touches. With just $20, we dressed up our kitchen by simply adding cabinet door hardware from IKEA.
• DO spend extra money where it adds exponentially more value. (It doesn’t always pay to be cheap!) By spending an extra $65, we upgraded our shower stall to a full tub enclosure, making the bathroom, thus the apartment, MUCH more attractive.

Painting Hardwood Floors – The Before and After! Part 2 – Landlording TV -#26

Check out the amazing before and after of our hardwood floors after applying just ONE coat of floor paint! 700 square feet of hardwood floors were completely refinished for $22 in materials, and about 4 hours of labor, a new record!. This was our last night working on the apartment before it was rented out in the middle of December! 2 records in one episode!

Landlord Lessons:

• When hardwood floors are a mess and impossible to sand and refinish, PAINT them with Floor paint!

Painting Hardwood Floors and Construction Home Stretch! Part 1 – Landlording TV -#25

After making several attempts at finishing Hardwood Floors that did NOT want refinishing, we have finally found the ultimate solution: Floor paint, typically used for concrete in garages. It is designed for high traffic areas, and tint able! This was the final work weekend to finish our brand new apartment (formally the living and dining room of a much larger unit). Besides the floors, the kitchen was overhauled as well.

Landlord Lessons:

• When hardwood floors are a mess, and impossible to sand and refinish, PAINT them with Floor paint!
• Adding Trim on a standard door jam to fit 6″ walls.
• The origin of the “painted floor” in the Palma Family.

How to Install and Plumb a Double Bowl Sink: Part 3 – Landlording TV – #24

A repair that comes up from time to time is installing / replacing the kitchen sink. In Part 3, we’ve connected everything we can before putting in place and connecting the feeds and drains.

Landlord Lessons:

• Always put shut-offs on every sink / appliance. When a problem arises with your faucet it’s much easier to shut off the single sink the shut down the entire building.
• Be Gentle tightening PVC drains, as they will crack with too much pressure.
• Make sure you use the proper gaskets in each piece of your drain, or you won’t have a water tight seal.

How to Install and Plumb a Double Bowl Sink: Part 2 – Landlording TV – #23

A repair that comes up from time to time is installing / replacing the kitchen sink. In Part 2, we have our sink installed on a fresh countertop, now it’s time to plumb our PVC drains and add the water feed lines.

Landlord Lessons:

• Don’t put too much plumber’s putty on your drain baskets, or you won’t get a water-tight seal.
• When buying drains, I prefer PVC. They are cheaper and won’t rust on you like Metal.
• Finger tighten your PVC drain joints. You don’t have to tighten too hard for a good seal, and if you tighten too hard, they will crack.