Do-It-Yourself Landlord's Blog - Leasing & Marketing

Biding Time

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:03:46 -0500

Over all, the implosion of the subprime loan market is a disaster to everyone. The large-scale failure of any leading investment vehicle is bound to have reverberations throughout the economy as a whole.

And with the mortgage/loan industry, as previously seen/experienced in the Savings & Loan debacle of the 80s, the resulting mess eventually gets cleaned up by those of us who thought we were smart enough to avoid getting involved in the first place.

Awesome.

I would enjoy the opportunity to wax philosophic about the basis for this implosion (why isn’t THIS issue a “bursting bubble" instead of an “imploding market"? Has the “bubble" cliché gone passé?)

But here’s where I believe there’s something of a sweet-spot for the value investor, who is also likely to be amongst the majority who will eventually be covering that loan default gap produced by the recent spate of reckless lending/borrowing.

Soon, all those ARMs, “teaser" loans, and other exotics are going to explode all over the borrowers, and those properties will wind up in the lender’s lap. None of those lenders (or more than likely: the lenders who loaned to the subprimes, or their syndicated lenders, or on up the chain) are interested in dealing in the disposal of physical real estate. They sell returns on principal, not dirt.

Come late 2008, I’m expecting some DEALS to hit the market. My only hope is that the good multi-units aren’t snatched up in poorly advertised, vaguely mentioned “auctions". I never seem to get notice of those in time…

Landlording: Pick A Side

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:48:41 -0500

I've been out of pocket for a while here, cooking up some things involving BED BUGS. It's totally crazy how out of control the issue seems to be. But before I get into that...

Okay, I’ve been angry at Tenants before. I admit it. I’m human. And there’s never a time more typical for a Landlord/Tenant relationship to bubble-over with vitriol then right at the moment where it all ends, and it’s time to settle up. That’s when all the building irritation comes to light, and my, oh my is it unpleasant to look at.

I’ve never been so angry as to pursue any of my Tenants after the end of their lease, to date, as I’ve done my best to maintain a pleasant relationship with them through the course of our business together. But that doesn’t mean that everyone else has such healthy contractual relationships.

Gone Feral’s ex-Landlord is speculated to have gone to some rather creepy extremes to express their displeasure at some of the Feral’s previous slights. Something about their cat, the male half of the Landlord-set, and some sort of stay in a medical facility. Sounds pretty messed up. But then things apparently spiraled further out of control, involving harassing emails, and perhaps even the dispatching of a computer virus. Intrigue indeed!

Speaking of intrigue, what the hell is up with Detroit? Is that economy ever going to pick up in any measurable way? Will Ford ever matter again? At least one decent Landlord there made an effort to be kind to the Breakfast at Gigi’s couple, who were renting in some neighborhood plagued by crackheads and car theft. They requested that they be able to break their lease early to avoid certain tragedy, and the Landlord not only granted their wish without charging a break-lease fee, but even transferred their deposit to another of his properties in another, decidedly safer part of town.

It is a shame that their car didn’t make it out, though.

Big List of Places to Advertise Rental Property

nospam@example.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:08:00 -0600

The options for marketing rentals online have exploded in the past couple years. Since the big apartment listing sites like apartments.com and rent.com tend to list mainly large multi-family properties, we wanted to make a list of all the advertising options for the do-it-yourself landlord trying to rent houses, condos, and duplexes (with an emphasis on the free ones).

To make life easier, we organized our list by type of site (Just Rentals, Real Estate, and General Classifieds), and then ordered them by traffic estimates from Quantcast, a web analytics firm. Hopefully you'll find this list helpful in deciding where and how to advertise your next vacancy.

Just Rentals
Site	Est Montly Visitors	Pricing
RentClicks	500,000	$39-$99
Sublet.com	490,000	$45-$81
RentalHouses.com	440,000	$39-$79
HomeRentalAds.com	370,000	$35-$56
RentalHomesPlus	260,000	$49
CityLeases	170,000	See Sublet
Rentals.com	170,000	See RentClicks
HomeRentals.net	160,000	$49-$139
RentVine	140,000	$38-$64
Tenant.com	57,000	Free
TenantPlus	42,000	Free
ThatRentalSite	36,600	Free
ForRentByOwner	23,000	Free
HotPads	18,000	Free
FindHomeRentals.com	16,000	Free
ThisProperty.com	15,000	$50
RentMarketer	6,000	$39.95-$89.95
CityCribs.com	5,000	Free
RentalSource	2,000	$9.95-$99.95
ApartmentFrog	1,500	$20
RentFinders.net	1,500	$9.95
RentGrazer	1,500	$9.99
MetroLeases.com	1,000	See Sublet
RentSeek	1,000	$49.99
SimpleRent	1,000	Free
Urents.com	1,000	Free
RentKong	0	Variable commission

Real Estate
Site	Est Montly Visitors	Pricing
Move.com	4,400,000	Free
Yahoo Real Estate	2,600,000	$34.95-$54.95
House.info	280,000	Free
ChoiceofHomes	7,000	$9.95
FindMyRoof	2,000	Free
AOLRealEstate	220,000	See Move.com

General Classifieds
Site	Est Montly Visitors	Pricing
Craigslist	10,000,000	Free
LiveDeal	2,100,000	Free
Myspace Classifieds	2,100,000	Free
Backpage	1,100,000	Free
Oodle	880,000	Free
Microsoft Live Expo	690,000	Free
Adpost	250,000	Free
Olx.com	180,000	Free
Vast	170,000	Free
Google Base	100,000	Free
Geebo	66,000	Free
Lycos.com	57,000	See Oodle
Postlets	53,000	Free
eDirection	41,000	Free
Edgeio	21,000	Free
Vflyer	15,000	Free
eFind	7,000	See Oodle

*Pricing estimates based on cost to place 30-day vacancy listing in Seattle, WA.
** Monthly visitor estimates by Quantcast.com as of 2/15/2007

A Duplex Discussion

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 07:29:00 -0600

I’m currently dipping my toe back into the duplex market, back on the hunt. I’ve been particularly pleased with my current Tenant set, wondering why everyone else in the world doesn’t just leapfrog through duplexes.

Which, of course, led me to the interweb to find some contradictory, or at least counter-opinioned stories of duplex investing. I didn’t really find any true horror stories out there. I found the usual recommendations concerning repairs, Tenant selection and such. That’s all fine and dandy, but I honestly wanted to hear of some grizzly investing woes. Properties gone totally awry.

I found this story on Sitting Pretty Financially, one which I’d already read back in April, discussing the merits of different real estate investments (and a kinda healthy dose of bragging on the writer’s part, but that’s alright by me). She maintains the Duplex recommendation while giving fair warning on the dubious nature of Condo purchases.

Oh, Condos! Such the investment cad! So willy-nilly and difficult to pin down!

I am not a big fan of the Condo as a means of real estate investment. You own no land, just the rights to a piece of space above some land of which you may or may not own some miniscule number of voting shares for. Town Homes are typically slightly better, but only because they more resemble an actual home and there are fewer “owners�? per square foot. Fewer cooks in the investment kitchen.

Regardless, my search was for duplex stories, and I stumbled one of the friendliest, most earnest approaches to landlord blogging I've ever read. And I read lots of them. This one’s called I Bought a Duplex! I can’t tell how long he/she’s been writing, or whether they'’ll continue, but it’s a rather good read!

Obviously nothing is dissuading me from my pursuit of another Duplex investment. Especially since I feel that we're passing the soft-rent plateau of the past five or so years, as rental rates continue to solidify under current market conditions.

To Lord Or Not To Lord

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:11:10 -0600

Going out on a pretty sturdy limb here, but I’m pretty sure all of our visitors here are actual DIY Landlords. That, and a plethora of service providers (we are on the internets, after all). But there’s a rather distant chance that someone reading this is a prospective Landlord. Someone who has yet to make the complete jump into the pool we swim in every day.

But for one reason or another, they’ve got a toe in the water.

Perhaps considering the merits of a managed-property investment. Perhaps considering taking over their family’s Landlording business. Maybe their spouse is a Landlord who is currently unable to fulfill their duties as such, and they’re trying to fill that gap.

The obvious and natural question they’re asking themselves is whether or not Landlording is “for�? them. It’s a good question for a beginner, and a perfectly reasonable question for even the most seasoned of Landlords: is Landlording in your nature? Letalife has a great 10-point list of things any Landlord, potential or current, should consider. Sure, it’s a UK-based list, so several points won’t apply directly to US markets (the whole “bed sits�? and “house shares�? thing threw me off for a spell), but the gist of the list is germane.

In my own experience, the toughest part of Landlording is sourcing appropriate Tenants. For the most part, it's an artform. But in recent years, there are better and better tools out there to aid in the search. That being said, for the Letalife bulletin on “reliable, cost-effective method of finding suitable tenants,�? where Letalife recommends its UK self, any US Landlord may want to check out a site like Apartments-and-Rentals instead. Pretty much the same marketplace for Landlords and potential Tenants to meet each other, but US based.

Test Drive: Neighboroo

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 18:24:44 -0600

There are a host of web-based real estate tools out there for anyone looking to acquire, revalue, or manage their properties. What I see out there is that because of the last few years being dominated by moving of single family homes, almost all of these tools are geared for the buyers with that intention.

However, there has to have been some thought put into these online services that allows for them to be easily used by those of us who are in the business of finding, acquiring, and reassessing rental housing. Hm.

Neighboroo.

The apparent purpose of Neighboroo is to throw up some nice regional statistics such as Crime (they apply their own weighting system to this, giving more weight to "violent", versus "property" crime), Politics, Elementary School Rankings, Cost of Living, and Median Income per zip code, on a google map of the US.

The pros:

Very simple interface, with obvious left hand navigation. The data provided is actually useful in doing some very top-level, simplified analysis for a given region. Nice, quick snapshot. Plus, this is a brand-spankin’ new company, and I’m honestly not even sure where they plan on going with this. I just happened across it while searching for similar internet sites.

The cons:

Not really deep on the data side. Sure, it goes down to zip code, you can even type a specific code in and get your results in an arrowed bubble, but many times zip code isn’t precise enough a measure when sniffing around a potential new investment area. And the “Population Density�? section concerning race is a bit, well, racy for my taste. For an investor of my variety, the only color I’m ever concerned with is green. The rest is a waste of my time.

Side note: What would be REALLY cool is if there was a time-warping feature where one could see stats like these from the past. Perhaps it would help clue an investor in on income/population/rental value trends. Perhaps.

All-in-all, I’m going to chalk Neighboroo up as a “work in progress, with much promise�?.

Section 8 Series: Landlord Responsibilities

nospam@example.com (Eryn) — Wed, 1 Nov 2006 06:45:00 -0600

Although your local housing authority is responsible for facilitating the Section 8 program, as a participating landlord you still must take many responsibilities upon yourself to ensure your personal success with the program.

Tenant Screening

When a tenant qualifies for the Section 8 program, the housing authority is not responsible for screening the tenant's previous rental history or background. The Section 8 information packet makes it clear that admittance into the program in no way indicates the reliability of a tenant. Housing authorities strongly advise that all landlords conduct their own tenant screening process before accepting a Section 8 tenant. However, you must remember to comply with all fair housing laws and equal opportunity requirements.

Rent and Deposits

As the landlord, you're responsible for collecting security deposits and the tenant's monthly rent portion. It is not the responsibility of the housing authority to enforce tenant payments. You can initiate normal eviction procedures if a tenant refuses to pay the rent. In addition, it is your responsibility to inform the housing authority if a Section 8 tenant refuses payment.

Continue reading "Section 8 Series: Landlord Responsibilities"

Test Drive: MapVine

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:13:14 -0500

In our modern times, out there on the internets you can find an increasing number of Landlords who are creating websites specifically for the purpose of marketing their rental properties. You might be considering getting into this game, and you’re wondering exactly how you might want to display your inventory, visually, on your site.

Well here’s a nifty little web-based program from the Rentvine camp which they've cleverly named MapVine, that is The Google enabled and will make the mapping production for your site virtually headache free. We made one for ourselves, just for kicks, to make sure it wasn’t a bunch of hype. Check it.

Please update your browser

About mapVine

Everything is free. And they’ll even be hosting your specific map on their server(s), which is nice. Unless their servers go down, or are simply sold off. This is addressed in the rather hilarious Terms of Agreement page. Great quote:

We do try to make it work the best we can, but since it is free, you get what you pay for if something goes wrong.

Got that right.

Their system was a tad slow, but it was a high-traffic time of day when I was tinkering with the thing, so take that however you’d like. I’m still pretty impressed.

I uploaded three different map elements: A traffic jam, a homeless guy’s corner that I’m renting out, and a favorite bar that I’m pretending to sell. The whole process took me a whopping ten minutes DURING high internet traffic time. All-in-all, it’s a pretty badass little tool that will keep you from having to code, so you can concentrate on more important things. Like getting those units filled.

Section 8 Series: A Look Inside Landlord Incentives

nospam@example.com (Eryn) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 16:27:00 -0500

By now you've probably heard about the Section 8 program. For more information on your local Section 8 program, contact the local housing authority and ask for an information packet. The packet is a valuable tool that provides a general overview of the program and outlines the processes involved. It also lists various incentives for landlord participation. Before you make the final decision about your involvement, you should consider several points. I'm not advocating a particular course of action, but want to clarify these points to help you make an informed decision about program participation.

The Section 8 program is a federally funded initiative to give disadvantaged families a chance to find affordable housing in the neighborhoods of their choice. The idea behind the program is a solid one with advantages for both landlords and tenants. While the incentives for tenants may be obvious, landlords may have to examine the program a little more closely to see if it's best for their business.

Section 8 participation is strictly voluntary and can be a symbiotic relationship for all parties involved. The advantages for landlord participation in the program are listed in the information packet provided by the Housing Authority and include:

Guaranteed/market rent
Owner control
Free advertising
Free yearly inspections
Community impact

Continue reading "Section 8 Series: A Look Inside Landlord Incentives"

Section 8 Series: What is the Section 8 Program?

nospam@example.com (Eryn) — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 07:45:00 -0500

If you're a professional in the real-estate industry, it's only a matter of time before you'll need to make an informed decision about your involvement with the Section 8 program. Landlords typically become involved in this program in one of two ways. Either they wait until they are approached by a family that holds a housing voucher, or they proactively register their properties with the local housing authority and become informed in advance. I believe that true professionals shouldn't wait until they are approached. Serious real-estate professionals should arm themselves with information so they can make the most educated decisions possible.

So what exactly is Section 8? The Section 8 program, also known as the Housing Choice Voucher Program, is a federally funded initiative to help provide individuals and families that meet the program's criteria with affordable rental housing. The program falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, local housing authorities distribute, monitor, and enforce all program benefits. Families who fit certain criteria of disability can choose rental properties in the private rental market, and the government assists with their monthly payments. Criteria for admittance into the Section 8 program are established under the Code of Federal Regulations (24CFR5.403). The WorkWORLD website includes the full definitions of these criteria.
Continue reading "Section 8 Series: What is the Section 8 Program?"

Test Drive: Rent-o-meter

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 11:33:48 -0500

The cavalierly named Future Of Real Estate Marketing blog featured a rather interesting web-based rent comparison tool: Rent-o-meter. This is quite possibly the easiest to use and most intriguing rental-related site I’ve ever visited. It’s supposed to take the address of where you live (or where you Landlord) along with the associated rent and number of rooms. Then it spits out where your rental amount fits in with those of nearby properties.

As much as I hate to use the phrase, it’s a great example of why the whole “Web 2.0�? craze is actually followed by trend watchers. The interface isn’t designed to lead you through a maze of blinking adverts. It won’t drag your eyes all over the place. No parade of click-through pages. The first page is just entry fields, and once you enter the information, it spits out a Google mashup map and a meter (hence their witty name) which will indicate where your rent falls within the spectrum.

The concept is great for wary renters, and Landlords who want to know whether they’re being too lenient with their rates. Great research tool.

However, just like any other information system, the quality and reliability of the output is only as good as the input. Knowing that, I wonder where they get their rental information? From those who query their system? Did they log my query, planning to use my address and rental info as a data point in future queries? Are we all just trusting each other not to lie? Like a wiki? Except there’s no fact-challenging functionality?

I only bring this up because there are a couple of homes in the rental output of the area where I queried which are obviously statistical outliers. I live in the same area, and I know exactly which properties the system is referring to, and there is simply NO way that those are the real rents they’re pulling for those places.

Otherwise, the utility of this site is obvious. Hopefully there will be some data scrubbing installed, to keep things on the level.

Brilliant: Contractual Rent Escalators

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 00:08:41 -0500

Maximizing rents is something of an art form (read: pain in the ass). For any given city/region, there is natural fluctuation in the overall market, and it is extremely difficult to keep tabs on the specific movements of rents in the specific areas where you actually rent properties (especially if you do not live near your properties). As a Landlord who needs to maximize the return on investment, it feels like a constant struggle between having units overpriced and vacant, or under-priced and locked in under-market contracts for extended periods of time.

I think the problem of overpricing, while frustrating, is easier to get a handle on than under-pricing. If it's overpriced, you simply Dutch-auction the place until someone bites: problem solved. Again, frustrating, but easy to sort out. Under-pricing is a whole rat’s nest of fist-shaking, un/never known opportunity costs.

Are you losing rental income because you’re too soft? Too worried about overcharging to bother with even the simplest rental increase? Afraid solid tenants will be spooked by a seemingly random rental increase? Well, Real Estate Investor’s Blog has one of the best ideas I’ve heard to date: Contractual Rent Escalators. It sounds like convoluted econ-speak, but it just might be the most awesome idea that I’ll be sure to install into my next set of rental agreements.

The idea is simple: put a scheduled rental increase, let’s say 10%, at every anniversary of the rental agreement. No surprises, no muss, and no de-facto rent control for seven-year tenants. Plus, you’re cementing, as best as any Landlord could, an upward sliding yield on your real estate investment.

And the best part is that if you decide to reward your best tenants, you can choose to waive the increase and come off as the benevolent Landlord you always imagined yourself to be.

Don't Be That Landlord Vol. 2

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Fri, 6 Oct 2006 14:42:21 -0500

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�?.

Not sure what all the backstory is behind Anna’s quest to protect, but when your tenant gets a restraining order against you, and you’ve found yourself writing letters to them saying ANYTHING to the tune that their “actions will have fatal consequences�?, it is BEYOND time to consider a change in your line of work. You’re a bit too emotionally attached to Landlording, and you don’t want things to get criminal.

Personally, I do not mind pets being in my units, provided that proper deposits were paid, and whatever place the animal will be living in is properly prepared for it. Namely, I’d prefer to not have any carpet or freshly finished wood flooring/window trim involved. However, I understand that there are times when we as people, are picked by our pets. Ithych ended up being chosen by a kitten, even though her lease stipulates no pets.

Well, what’s supposed to happen then? Fess up? Hide the animal? Dump and ignore the creature?

Hopefully your tenants aren’t afraid to discuss this with you, and they assume that you’ll be reasonable about the situation. If you’ve suffered due to being too considerate of such situations in the past, your tenant should be understanding of your lack of enthusiasm. Regardless, you want to be available to make a compromise of some sort rather than them simply never tell you about the hidden animal until it’s too late. Too late to save your new carpet or freshly painted window sills (why must dogs choose to eat the expensive wood trim? WHY?).

Did you know that in Pennsylvania, you have to keep a skipped tenant’s crap for 30 days AFTER notifying them by certified mail to retrieve it? Even if they OWE you money? And you can’t sell it, ever, even if they never come to pick it up? Which Chick, that's insane.

Ridiculous.

Lose Those Bad Tenants Already: Vol. 2

nospam@example.com (Craig) — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 21:14:19 -0500

Finding Tenants is an arduous process. Full of potential legal pitfalls, and pre-screening failures. Criminals, practicing addicts, deadbeats and con artists. They all need somewhere to live, and there’s a chance that they’ll slip right through your defenses and end up with their name on one of your mailboxes.

If it happens, take solace in knowing you are far from alone in your tragedy. There are others who have suffered too.

Lose Those Bad Tenants Already.

Mar, over on First The Bad News is suffering through a pretty typical problem. Typical for HOTEL OWNERS. She rented to one person, expecting that it would remain that way, only to discover that the Tenant is funneling people in and through the property like it’s a home for wayward family members, amplified drama and all. Fantastic.

Europe has been slugging through Tenant issues far longer than we have here. But it looks like the British are ahead of the curve with a website that is designed to help Landlords recognize and avoid bad Tenants: Badtenants.co.uk. Scary quote from their site:

Letting Agencies, in order to comply with the Data Protection Act, need to make their tenants fully aware inside their tenancy agreements that if they cause damage to the property, or leave while still owing money they will be elligble to have their information and photograph appear on this website.

They aren’t screwing around across the pond. It’s only a matter of time before someone fires up the same info train here in The States.

Increasing Tenant Payment Reliability

nospam@example.com (Eryn) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 06:45:00 -0500

The primary method for increasing tenant payment reliability is to screen your tenants by remembering your ABCD's of real-estate investing: Application, Background Check, Credit Check, and Deposit.

After your property is occupied, you can employ several strategies to motivate your tenant to make prompt, consistent payments. Through trial and error, you can determine which of the following methods work best for your business.

Strategy 1: Pick up checks personally.

This strategy is time-consuming but can prove useful on several levels. As long as the tenants are aware that this is the preferred payment method, you can use the opportunity each month to tour the property and stay on top of maintenance and compliance issues. I've even heard of one landlord who replaced A/C filters during her payment pick-up visits each month to ensure that this task wasn't overlooked by her tenants. You'll have to arrange a safe place for tenants to leave checks if they aren't home to hand-deliver to you. Another negative is that you could find yourself in a situation where a tenant is not able or willing to pay on time, which could lead to an uncomfortable confrontation and/or sob story.

Continue reading "Increasing Tenant Payment Reliability"