8 Mistakes You Shouldn’t Make in Turnkey Investing
Turnkey investing is a catchy phrase that sounds pretty intriguing to investors of all levels of experience. But turnkey is kind of…
Should Houston Landlords Limit Hanging Pictures on the Wall?
Have you started cleaning up a vacant unit only to discover an excess of nail holes in the wall? Have you ever discovered sloppy DIY patch jobs where someone squeezed toothpaste into nail holes hoping you wouldn’t see them? What about finding a soft spot on the wall and discovering the tenant did a bad… [Read More]
A Right To Privacy: When Can You Enter A Tenant’s Apartment?
As a landlord or property manager, you likely find yourself inside your tenant’s home at least a few times a year. There are annual inspections and the occasional maintenance call. Maybe you’ve promised to make an upgrade, like installing a new stove, or you want to check the smoke detectors. Such visits are part of… [Read More]
Raise The Rent Or Sell? What To Do When Finances Are Tight
If you’ve ever lived in a large apartment complex, you likely adapted to a particular rhythm: each year, as your lease came up for renewal, you’d also face a rent increase. To continue living in the property, you would be expected to pay more, supposedly to keep up with inflation.
How to Deal With a Dishonest Tenant
In a perfect world, every tenant would be the real deal. Everything they put on their rental application would be true and you wouldn’t have to worry about excuses for late rent or lies about what’s happening in your property. But in case you haven’t figured it out by now, this isn’t a utopian society…. [Read More]
A Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Hiring People You Trust
Real estate investing doesn’t fit into the mold of a traditional business. Generally speaking, it’s not the kind of business where you have standard 9-to-5 hours, cubicles, breakrooms, and rigid HR policies. Whether you’re wholesaling land or renting out single-family properties to tenants, your business moves to the beat of a different drum. Having said… [Read More]
Don’t Let These Worst-Case Scenarios Deter You from Renting Your Property
Sometimes watching the news is a bad idea for landlords. There always seems to be some kind of crazy story about tenants who do strange things and cause intense damage to their rental unit. While the following worst-case scenarios are a possibility, they’re highly unlikely. However, tenants are unpredictable so you should be prepared to… [Read More]
5 Things New Landlords Don’t Know About Managing Houston Rental Properties
Managing a rental property in Houston isn’t easy; you’ve got plenty to learn. You need to be well versed in landlord-tenant law, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and many other federal, state, and local regulations. For example, Nolo.com explains that under Texas law, landlords are required to disclose certain information in… [Read More]
Concerned About Dishonest Applicants? Use These Screening Strategies
All landlords in Houston aim to find the best possible tenants, but sometimes that’s a difficult task. Fair Housing laws prevent landlords from getting too personal during the screening process and even when you don’t break any discrimination laws, some rejected tenants will file a lawsuit anyway.
11 Reasons Tenants Want to Live in Round Rock, Texas
Are you on a mission to buy investment property in an area that attracts plenty of people? Investing in property in Round Rock, Texas fits that bill. Just as there are plenty of things to do in Round Rock as a visitor, there are numerous reasons people pack up and move to Round Rock.
How Houston Landlords Can Handle Reasonable Accommodation Requests
Landlords in Houston might need to make modifications to a rental unit to accommodate a disabled tenant. The Fair Housing Act requires landlords to make reasonable modifications required for a disabled tenant to use the rental property safely. For example, a tenant who uses a wheelchair might ask their landlord to install a ramp, widen… [Read More]
From Our Blog
10 Terrible Things That Can Happen When Landlords Allow Pets in a Katy Rental
Landlords are often pressured to allow pets in their rental properties. With more than 68 percent of American households containing a pet,…