An interesting article in the “L.A. Times” details a fairly tricky landlord-tenant scenario dealing with Fair Housing rights. In the article, a tenant has an anxiety disorder, and his psychiatrist recommends a companion dog for treatment of the disorder. When approached with this scenario, the tenant’s landlord suggests he does not have to cater to such a request under the law and will have to receive an additional security deposit and increase the rent rate.
This landlord was obviously not familiar enough with the Fair Housing laws both federally, and in his state of California. Federal and state fair housing laws require housing providers to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies and procedures when they are necessary to afford a person with a disability equal enjoyment of his or her home. The tenant’s disability falls under the blanket of this law, so the housing provider/landlord is not legally allowed to pass on additional costs or fees to cater to disabled tenants’ needs.
After a quick glance at the scenario at hand, it’s hard to not justify the landlord’s rationale, as pet’s can often damage property that leads to repair expenses. However, as a landlord, it’s important to be familiar with Fair Housing laws and the protection they provide tenants.
Sometimes one of the most difficult aspects of being a landlord is pricing units. Although pricing a rental unit isn’t emotionally taxing, under pricing an apartment results in lost potential revenue and directly impacts the return on your real estate investment. And, with volatile real estate markets all around the country, it’s more difficult than ever to get a pulse on current rental rates.
With this problem in mind, RentMethod created a great product and solution with their RentMeter. With the RentMeter, users can see rental comps in the area where there rental is, and can even narrow down the data set by bedrooms and bathrooms. Also, the intuitive google map functionality allows users to see rental comps from a city level all the way down to a single intersection. It really is a great tool for getting a pulse on your local rental market. Also, don’t forget to check out RentMethod’s tenant check solution when you have prospective tenants starting to line up for your rental unit!
There was an interesting article in the San Francisco Chronicle a few weeks back highlighting the recent surge in the rental market. Specifically, the author touched on the influx of real estate agents willing to transition into property manager roles.
This article touches on a few fundamental issues with the transition to rentals for former real estate agents. Most importantly, in our opinion, it highlights the differences between the two jobs. Real estate agents are transaction minded, sprinting towards every home purchase or sale, as well as the associated payday. Property managers make a lower, albeit steady income throughout the year and must pay closer attention to the tenants and the condition of the property. The ongoing customer service level is certainly something a real estate agent may not have experience with.
It makes us wonder. Do real estate agents make for good property managers? Are property owners or landlords better? We would love to hear what you think.
Being an individual landlord can be daunting. Many landlords can reflect on their days as tenants and think to themselves, “I paid rent on time and was respectful of the rental property; my landlord had it easy!” Luckily, this is often the case in rental real estate. However, as most experienced landlords will tell you, it takes just one terrible tenant experience that will leave you wondering what you signed up for.
A recent article from The Palm Beach Post has some great tips for first time landlords that may help in ensuring a positive landlord-tenant relationship.
From our experience, we certainly recommend researching the local landlord regulations and tenant laws before renting out your unit. Also, it’s very, very wise to have a detailed lease that protects the landlord in case of an eviction or property damage.
Finally, we think it goes without saying, but make sure to screen your tenants. In addition to following up with past landlords, nothing replaces a thorough understanding of a tenant’s credit history and criminal background (hopefully lack thereof). We recently came across a tenant screening site called RentMethod. It has a very clean web interface and allows landlords to pay for a tenant screen themselves or charge the tenant directly. We recommend checking it out next time you need to screen a tenant.
Know of any other good tools for the individual landlord? Let us know!
