Improving & rehabs

Landlords misbehave in other countries too!

Hello Germany.

Ask The Relic is suffering through some obnoxious repair work being done to the kitchen of the place he/she (“Relic� doesn’t exactly hint at gender) is currently dwelling with roommates in Germany.

No Tenant will respond favorably to having a kitchen renovation crew hammering and sawing about before 9am. That’s just unnecessary. Well, it might be necessary in Germany, and I’ve heard horror stories about dealing with craftspeople in Manhattan, but in the places where I collect rent it isn’t that far a stretch to schedule in-house work on a currently inhabited unit for mid-day.

Large-scale renovations are another story altogether, but Relic appears to be describing your basic “handy man� type of work. Perhaps some aesthetic touches here and there. Nothing too involved.

At least I know what I’d be called in Germany now. Hausmeister is pretty sweet sounding if you ask me. “Landlord� is cool and all, but it has some slightly negative connotations. Perhaps a nod toward a more cruel and medieval relationship between a Landlord and their Tenants. Like I have them tilling fields all day or something.

Now Hausmeister on the other hand, makes it sound like I am an actual professional of some sort! A MASTER if you will!

Yes, I realize that the normal translation of Hausemeister is the comparably less sexy “janitor�, but whatever. I’m talking PERCEPTION here. Namely, my own.

Besides, being a master of the broad and necessary janitorial crafts industry can’t be all bad, even if it is a bit bad sounding.

[my sincere apologies to any potentially offended practicers of the janitorial arts out there, much respect due]

Landlords misbehave in other countries too!

Hello Canada.

Wow. Superfink is extremely upset about the current behavior of her Canadian Landlord. He’s showing her crib about to new prospective renters, even though he pushed to have her and her roommate leave so he could renovate. And he’s apparently a fan of the no-tell unit showing! He just shows up with a crew of potential renters, oh, whenever!

Actually, I (in a round-about sort of way) understand the Landlord’s desire to get some renovating done, and the need to get the current Tenants out before it begins. Two reasons:

1. The renovation project I’m looking at will require some serious effort, and will likely demand the repeated cutting off of electricity and water. Some issues, such as a bathroom re-tile, will take a couple of days to complete. There’s only one place to bathe in the unit. So how’s a Landlord supposed to get that accomplished without a severe hindrance to the current Tenant? Sure, there are ways. But those ways usually get trumped by the second issue.

2. It’s difficult to upsell a unit that’s currently inhabited, even if you do extensive remodeling/renovating. Fact is, they rented X place for X dollars a month. You deciding to take the interior and appliances to X+100 will likely not translate to X+100 dollars in new rent within the mind of the Tenant. And why should it? Seriously. Contracts simply don’t work that way, and for good reason. Long story short: it’s difficult to convince a current Tenant that a newer looking sink and a dishwasher should fetch an additional $50 in rent per month.

But a new Tenant might not mind!

However, I suspect that Superfink’s Landlord was trying to lever them out before their actual Lease was up. Which is indicative of a rather low moral character, and sorta brings us all down in the process. Even in calm realm of Canada.

Anesia Springborn over at The Landlord Blog has a great write-up on the loss of a long term Tenant (8 years!) who pretty much destroyed the place. It will need an ENTIRE remodel as soon as this Tenant vacates the premises. And of course, they were a month-to-month renter, so 30 days is all she had in order to inspect for, estimate, and conclude what will likely be a complete interior rehab project.

I cannot put enough stress on the need to do periodic inspections of your properties. No need to be overbearing, but a twice-yearly walk-through based on any circumstance available, or simply stated in the lease (unless it violates state law, which I can't imagine that being the case, but one never knows), can do wonders to avoid rehab disasters like these.

This is especially germane to one of my properties because I have a 10+ tenant on a month-to-month who has had some interesting issues during my ownership of the unit. Fortunately those issues afforded me the opportunity to check up on the unit itself. I simply did some cursory peaks at the rooms, while the plumber fixed the toilet or what-have-you, as the Tenant stood watch. No big deal. But it gave me a good basis for figuring out what exactly I’m going to need to save up for once the Tenant chooses to move on.

Most of the issues are the same as they were when I purchased the place, but have understandably deteriorated since then. Bathroom issues, kitchen horrors, ceiling problems, and all sorts of creative landscaping corrections all need to be addressed. Little by little, I am fixing what the Tenant allows, but only because I am able to get in there periodically and check the environment for future hazards that I can head off early (such as the leaky gas stove I replaced a few months back).

Planning ahead, I started a small fund, and have been adding to it ever since I purchased the place, expecting that rehab to hit me like a ton of bricks at any given moment. The lost rent during the rehab process, whenever it occurs? Well, I’m just hoping it won’t take too long. Whatever it is, it’ll just be sunk.

Buying in downtrodden areas, with the intent to renovate and resell has always been the trail marked by flippers. And in most cases, it’s probably best that it stays that way. Long term rental investors and multi-dwelling managers usually get hammered in these areas if they march in, build or repair, and then see the property taxes skyrocket at a speed that far outpaces that of rising rental rates.

They get cash squeezed.

The Crossland Team blog brings up this point in a recent post. The area in question is in Austin, and I’m very familiar with it. I almost purchased property in its center. So I believe I understand all the pieces in play. It's a large section of central Austin that is mere minutes (if not walking distance) to downtown. From an outsider’s point of view, there’s no reason why it took so long to be developed considering how far the city has been built up on all other sides of downtown. But from an insider’s pov, there has ALWAYS been a stigma against that side of the city. “The other side of the tracks,� as it were.

Now, after a few brave investors headed the wave several years ago, investors took notice, started doing their homework, and they want to buy up lots of property fast, for quick high-end development. The frenzied dealing and bidding put upward pressure on property values, and those who have lived there for generations are now taking arms to battle the onslaught of “evil� gentrification. Continue reading "Anti-Gentrification Measures a Potential Boon for Landlords"

The main point of being a Landlord is to profit from sound, practical investment. This is understandable fact. It is understandable because it is the capitalist backbone of our entire system of freemarket ownership for things with speculative rates of appreciation. Namely: real estate. But there are other important, and arguably more socially responsible facets of being the proprietor of where other people sleep. Where they raise their children. Where they celebrate holidays. Where they experience life.

In that context, there are other responsibilities that need to be lived up to by Landlords. And some appear too cold-hearted to understand that. This is most unfortunate.

It’s yet another installment of “Don’t Be That Landlord�.

Apparently, and this should really come as no surprise to anyone, tenants do not approve of unsolicited sexual advances. Who would have known! Seems to me that a pool of people who you depend on for money would be a PRIME set of folks to risk royally PISSING off by way of creepy requests for sexual favors!

Some people simply shouldn’t be in a position of authority. Spiffle’s Landlord is amongst that group of people.

And then there’s the oh-so-typical issue of mold in the unit. For the love of pete, this should not be a problem in modern times. Leaks are more than a mold problem for a Landlord. Leaks ruin foundations, destroy ceilings, wear away at expensive bathroom tiling, stain or warp valuable flooring, and cause endless damage to the sticks that build up a unit. But the mold is what will likely cause a Tenant to mount a legal offensive. It is also what will cause a potential Tenant to pass, or a current Tenant (who pays on time and causes no other problems) to vacate. Make routine checks, and reassure your Tenants that it is in their benefit to report leaks to you as soon as they notice them.

Because really, it’s in your benefit too.