Property Management Insights

How much security deposit should you hold? The general rule of thumb is one month’s rent but over the last few years we have noticed that tenants are just leaving lots of personal property and not really cleaning their rental upon termination of their lease. They are expect...

Tip #18: Pre-screen before showing your property. Once your property has been listed, you'll start to receive tons of calls from potential tenants. Before you schedule a time to show your property, ask your inquirer questions to determine if they even qualify. Ask them: why a...

Train your tenants to be great tenants. Great tenants are hard to find so it’s up to you to make sure tenants know the rules and consequences. No matter how small a rule is, include it somewhere in the lease. When your tenant breaks a rule, enact punishment, which should al...

Early termination. No one likes a surprise termination by their tenant so to help ease the pain, make sure your lease has an early termination clause that outlines fines the tenant will incur. You can use these fines as a negotiating tool to ensure your property is readied withou...

Screen tenants - If you are planning to manage your own property, always screen your tenants. There are tenant screening services, such as TransUnion's SmartMove that allow you to perform limited tenant screening on your own. Owners get into trouble when they allow a prospect...

Tenant screening is the single most important activity for landlords who want to have a successful rental experience. Many homeowners get a feeling when they’re talking to prospective tenants, and they approve a tenant who is likeable. They will do a minimal job screening, ...

Over the years, since we have been in the property management business, we have found there are many elements to tenant placement that are key to making a profit. We’re talking about two of them today.Renting to Friends and FamilyIf you want to find the best tenant, don&rsq...