"Permitting Tenant Problems
to Spoil The Positives of
Real Estate Investing..."

Presented by Jeff Adams

You can't give up so easily - every business has it's days. So what if a few tenants get upset or a few even screw things up and don't pay. There are more good ones out there than bad ones!

Don't remember the bad only - just think about the end results - true wealth protected by real assets. Work on learning how to get better tenants and keeping them happy...

As mentioned in mistake number 16, you must recognize good tenants, but punish the bad. One of the reasons that people burn out of the real estate investment business is from tenant headaches. They allow the tenants to control the relationship and the tenants turn the owner’s life into a living nightmare.

When owning investment property, the first thing you have to learn is to control your tenants. If you do not, you will not be long for this business. Right from the get go, explain to the tenant how your relationship will work. They will respect you, the property, and the neighbors and you will provide a safe, clean and well-maintained roof over their heads.

Let them know your rules. Cleanliness is not an option, the neighbors will not be disturbed after or before the quiet hours, the rent will be paid on time, tenant damage (i.e. clogged toilet, hole in wall . . .) will be paid for by the tenant immediately upon repair . . .

Let them know what the consequences will be for breaking your rules. The main consequences will be that they will be evicted, immediately. Then follow up and make sure that they are following your rules.

The first sign of them breaking the rules must be dealt with swiftly and measurably. This will set the tone for the rest of your relationship. If you carelessly enforce your rules, you will not have control of your tenants.

You don’t have to be nasty, angry or unpleasant. Simply take a tough but fair attitude
in all of your dealings with your tenants and you will enjoy years of positive cash flow.

"Letting Rent Collection
Get Personal..."

A very short lesson for today - but it is very important. Most think that this should be "common-sense" but from experience I can tell you that it is not...

Property ownership is a business, treat it as such. You are going to have turnover, a certain amount of your tenants will be slow payers and every once in a while you will have someone stiff you.

Don’t take it personal. I know a landlord who got so angry with a tenant who would not pay his rent and who would not move out of the apartment that, he went over to the apartment with a baseball bat and busted the guy up. Not only does he now have criminal record, but also it cost him $60,000! That was the amount that was awarded to the tenant from the judge!

Like all else in life, real estate investing is a numbers game. If you screen and train your tenants properly you can tilt the numbers in your favor. These are activities that you should focus on. However you do it, don’t take it personally...
 

"Only Looking
At Properties When
There is a Problem..."

A lot of landlords only go to their properties when there is a problem. The trouble is, by the time a problem arises you usually have many more problems to deal with along with the problem that originally brought you to the property.

You should have a maintenance plan in place so that you’re in your property at least once every six months. When you get a new tenant you should inspect their unit within the first two months. You want to make sure that the tenants are treating the property with respect. You want to point out any damage that they may have caused and tell them that you will be sending your maintenance man over to fix it and how much it will cost them.

Do this at the beginning and it will set the tone for your relationship with the tenant. Then every six months or so, you’ll want to do another inspection. You can either schedule it or surprise them. I like to surprise them, and then I know exactly how they are living.

You’ll want to go into the basement and make sure that it is not being used as a storage facility, the same with the attic. When tenants store items in your basement and/or attic, those are usually the things that they leave behind when they move out.

Then you have to pay to dispose of the items.

You’ll also want to check the plumbing inside the units and in the basement for water leaks. The most common profit-losing problem is a toilet that will not top running and/or a dripping sink. In no time you could be faced with large water bills.

Make sure the tenants are not throwing trash all over the yard or leaving unregistered cars on your lot. Once trash starts piling up, it attracts more trash and pretty soon your property is the neighborhood junkyard.

Periodic inspections will save you money and tenant turnover. Then when problems arise, they will not be big problems.