20 Landlord Tips for Newbies

20 Tips I've accumulated over the years

1. Never call yourself a Landlord or Owner - you are a Property Manager
2. Get a PO Box and never disclose your home address
3. Allow up to 2 hours for paperwork before a tenant moves in
   
4. The quality of your property determines the quality of your tenants!
5. Use a competent real estate attorney
6. Document messages you receive from tenants (voicemail, etc.)
7. Use a specific key for vacant units - and only vacant units
8. Use cell camera to snap photo of driver license or applicant
9. Always dial *82 before calling tenants
10. Never give tenants your cell phone number
11. Before processing the application make a copy and mark it 'original', and the other 'Copy'
12. Document the Date & Time that the form was submitted
13. Send a bill on the 20th for next month's rent
14. Use the postmark date on the envelope to determine 'lateness'
15. Offer day shift officer $50/week to park his police car in property parking lot
16. Charge tenants $25 for missed repair appointments
17. Review insurance rates every 2-3 years.
18. Pay tenants referral fee if they find a new (qualified) tenant
19. Use dedicated bank accounts for your real estate activity
20. Use the Equal Opportunity Housing logo on all forms (http://www.rrv.net/usarealty/hud%20logo.gif)

3 Places for Half-Priced Homes

Finding a bank REO or a good foreclosure deal in an inflated market can lead you to a property you could get for 50 cents on the dollar.

If you are looking for some foreclosure bargains (and there are so many now), most people start at www.RealtyTrac.com
. This has been generally a good site for me, but everyone and their brother is using this site.

Here is the next place I go to find recent Foreclosure Deals
.

Next take a look at RealtyStore for 1/2-price homes and Homes as low as $10k!
.

How to Showcase Your House for Sale

I am always looking for more ways to list a property for sale - especially in this market. I posted 50 ways in a previous post to rent your home and I will post a similar one for selling a home soon. In the meantime - Here is something that was recommended to me: Showcase your Property to millions of home buyers with Homescape today!


Homescape provides an easy way to sell a property online. You can showcase it to millions of home buyers each month.

There are over 2 million listings in their National Home Search. They have relationships with over 150 newspapers across the country, allowing us to provide you with the best local real estate content and exposure.

Logos and Business Cards - Do They Matter?

Yes. Not as much as taking action: getting out there and marketing, talking to homeowners, making offers, and closing on deals - but it does matter. You need to instill confidence that you can perform.

I tried creating my own logo and while it wasn't bad for an amateur, it was noticeably...amateurish. The homeowners you deal with need to have confidence that you are not a fly-by-night company. If you get pricing from the better logo design companies you will see that the going rate is about $250-$300. If you want a professional design for a great price ($149) then check out the Logo Company
(can you guess what they specialize in?) Wired magazine voted The Logo Company "Best In Test" for online logo design companies.

Once you get your logo you can have them printed on your business card for a few bucks by going here: 30% to 60% OFF All Products

Is it possible to talk to a lawyer for free?

I have been asked by an investor friend to let everyone know about a service he used to help him with a legal issue he had related to one of his properties: LegalMatch
.
You can use this service for free (just Sign-up
and present your case).

LegalMatch's free online legal matching works in a 3-step process, which is easy to complete, highly effective and protects your privacy. The absolute latest in technology enables you to confidentially find the right lawyer for you.

They'll also advise you on next steps for your case. They have many lawyers who specialize in all forms of law, including Real Estate.