WEBVTT - Managing Rental Properties Effectively #269 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.120 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt. 0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:27.920 Today we're discussing managing rental properties effectively. That's right, Joel, 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.200 we're going to talk about rental properties. I've got maybe 0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:34.680 about seven years worth of experience. Now you've been managing 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:36.800 your properties for about that same length of time, right, 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:39.480 I think it's almost nine years at this point. Yeah, 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:41.760 we've learned a couple extra years on me, sometimes learned 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:45.040 the hard way managing rental properties. But yeah, there's a 0:00:45.080 --> 0:00:47.159 lot to share because I think that is one of 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:50.400 the reasons people avoid getting into rental properties is the 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:52.600 managing game. They're like, oh, it's gonna be it's gonna 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:55.800 be a big pain and tenant nightmare, tenant horror stories. 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:58.520 Those are the kind of things that make people say 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:00.800 that that's not for me. And so I think that 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:03.960 being able to manage a property effectively is so key. 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:07.640 It's so clutch to making it actually not a breeze necessarily, 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:11.119 but very very manageable, very very much more yeah, much 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:13.680 more approachable and a lot easier than people think it is. 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:15.520 And our goal is that with this episode, a lot 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:18.760 of individuals might consider real estate and even managing it 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:21.560 themselves based on what we have to say today. So 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:24.720 on that real estate and housing kind of conversation, let's 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:28.160 talk about neighbor dot com. Oh yeah, so this recently. 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:30.679 I don't know where it's been hiding or how I 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:34.280 haven't seen it before, but it's this really interesting website 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:37.600 where people can rent out a space in their home 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:41.520 or like a driveway or a garage or a shed anything. Um, 0:01:41.640 --> 0:01:44.080 you can rent out just a portion of your home 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.520 for storage, not like Airbnb for someone to come and 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:50.040 like sleep there, but for someone to store their possessions 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:52.160 or a car or something like that. Right. Yeah, well 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:55.360 you said Airbnb. It really is like Airbnb, except for 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:58.040 for self storage, not for individuals looking for a little 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:00.440 getaway for the weekend. Right. Yeah, you don't want to 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:02.040 stay in my shed for the weekend, but you might 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:03.520 want to pack your stuff there. It just depends on 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:06.000 how nice your shed is. Man. I had a nice 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:08.920 shed after college when I was living up in North Carolina, 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:10.680 when I was living in the woods chopping my own 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:12.639 wood for heat, We had this little shed and we 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:14.639 got a couple of couches from the local good Will 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:16.320 put them in there, and we would sit out there 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:19.680 and smoke our pipes and cigars. It was a very 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:22.200 rustic and of the earth period of time for me. 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:25.880 I feel like when I saw this about neighbor dot com, 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:28.359 I was like a man for for our our audience. 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.640 There's like a twofold potential benefit. One is if you 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:35.560 have an extra room or spacing your attic or spacing 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:38.000 your shed whatever whatever that may be, or like your 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:40.359 basement or your driveway. Yeah, like I saw that you 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:41.920 could just run out space on your driveway. So if 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:44.240 you have an extra large driveway where and maybe you've 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:47.920 downsized cars recently, somebody can pay you to park their 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:51.920 own car in your drive or something, yeah, which is crazy. Yeah. 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:54.519 So so like there's that potential to make some money 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:57.359 off of extra space you have hanging out in your life. Um, 0:02:57.400 --> 0:03:00.560 and then also there's the potential for storing own stuff 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:03.600 in a much cheaper way than then you would be 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:05.799 able to with like a self storage unit, by going 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:08.320 directly to to a neighbor, to someone around the corner 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:10.720 and using their space for for a fraction of the price. 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:12.480 So yeah, it could be a win win either way 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:14.359 you're looking at it. Yeah, this is another one of 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.320 those kind of fun gig economy ways that you can 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:19.560 make money. I mean, that's the end of it. That 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:22.880 I like is the the idea of individuals out there thinking, Okay, 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:24.640 what spaces can I right out? Like you can also 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:28.800 list a unpaved lot, which is basically like your backyard. 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:32.280 So I'm like, man, folks are going to get on 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:34.400 there and think through, like what am I not using? 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:37.080 What do I already have? You know, folks have resources 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:39.720 that they have at their disposal that aren't necessarily making money. 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:41.560 And that's one of the cool things about all these 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:43.760 apps and technologies is that they're able to shut down 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:47.600 these inefficiencies that exist. Why not use these resources that 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:49.640 you have and put them to work. I love that. Yeah, 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:51.920 you can make an extra fifty two hundred bucks a 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:54.440 month by running out something that you're you're not even 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:56.640 really using. So obviously on the on the home page, 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:58.400 there's like a lady and she's like, I make over 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:01.360 ten thousand dollars every single year. Maybe in her case, 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:05.160 she has like acres of parking lot. Maybe we're folks 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:07.240 gonna just rent that out from her forty two atticts 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:11.120 like a right, lady, good job. Yeah, So that's You're 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:12.640 probably not gonna get that rich doing it, but it 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:14.760 is a potential way to make some extra extra money. Yeah, 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:16.200 super cool, and we will link to that in our 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.200 show notes for folks who are interested. All right, Matt, 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:20.359 let's get to the beer we're having on this episode. 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:23.240 We're drinking today, we're drinking beer called pog Basement i 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:26.240 p A by scoff Law Brewing. They're just around the 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:28.560 corner from us in Atlanta. I love the name. I've 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:33.320 always loved that name, Scofflaw. They don't care exactly about anything. 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:35.360 They're gonna do whatever it is that they want to do, 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:37.560 including brewing a delicious I PA like this. So yeah, 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:39.480 looking forward to having this one on the show. Yeah, 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:41.440 it was actually super I looked at our our beer 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:43.680 backlog and all surprised to see we've never had a 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.040 scoff Law beer on the show. So it's time. It's 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:48.760 it is time. We're overdue, man. Yeah, alright, So we'll 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:50.120 give our thoughts on that one at the end of 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:52.400 the episode, but but for now, let's get onto the 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:55.800 topic at hand. We're talking about managing rental properties effectively. 0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:59.280 And Matt, we have talked about rental properties a decent bit. 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:02.719 On this podcast, we've answered listener questions about buying rental properties. 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:05.239 We've talked about how to find the right rental property, 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:08.680 how to screen tenants, how to invest in real estate 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:11.520 when you don't want to physically own a single family 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:14.520 or multifamily home where you live, and more like we 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:16.200 we've earned the gam it in a lot of ways. 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.159 But what we haven't talked about, uh, is the day 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:22.119 to day of rental property management. So we're gonna tackle 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:26.280 that scintillating topic on today's episode. Everybody's been waiting, like 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:28.960 with bated breath for this episode, I think. But like 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:30.720 we said, if you are somebody who's thought they will 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.240 never own rental properties because they sound like too much work, 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:36.200 listen to this episode. There's a reasonable chance at least 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:38.200 it will change your mind. I can't promise you that 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:40.880 it will. But and then for other people, for current landlords, 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:42.719 I think there are a lot of ways that you 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.840 can change the way you're managing something, make it a 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.039 little bit of a lighter load and a little more 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:50.160 enjoyable at the same time. Yeah, and another reason too 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:52.200 that we want to pull our listeners into this conversation, 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:53.920 man is that, like you and I, we have seen 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.119 the impact of smart real estate investing in our own lives, 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:59.840 right in our own ability to have a little bit 0:05:59.839 --> 0:06:03.160 more freedom when it comes to, you know, our our 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:05.040 day jobs and being able to earn a little bit 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:08.520 of passive income quote unquote, passive income is not truly passive, 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:10.719 but it's a big deal in our lives. So we 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:12.760 want our listeners to to at least hear us talk 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:15.200 about this a little bit because it's something that they 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.159 can implement in their own lives. And managing specifically is 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:19.960 the thing that people push back on, right it seems 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:21.960 like something that they don't want to do. I think 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:24.640 most people avoid rental properties in large part because they've 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:27.599 heard tenant horror stories, and that's something that most people 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:30.279 don't want to put up with. Right. I totally get it. 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:33.040 I understand that aversion, but it doesn't have to be 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:35.320 like that. There are systems that that you can put 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:38.320 in place to make it far more likely that you'll 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:41.919 have a positive experience with your tenants while simultaneously making 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:44.840 money every single month and building wealth. So we'll talk 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.960 about property managers, and you know, even when hiring one 0:06:48.080 --> 0:06:50.640 might make sense for you, you don't even necessarily have 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.080 to manage our rental property yourself, even though that's going 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:55.880 to be the direction that we're gonna steer folks towards. Uh. 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.720 And we'll get to those reasons why later in this episode. Yeah, 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.000 so before we get to kind of managing a rental property, 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:03.400 map that there are a few things that change the 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:06.880 dynamics of managing and rental property. And and the biggest 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:11.560 one is getting good at finding great tenants. That's half 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:14.560 the battle. Really, when it kept one great tenants exactly, 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:16.920 that that's going to solve almost all of your problems. Exactly. 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:18.960 It really, it really is huge. And you know, we 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:21.560 we covered that a while back in episode forty four. 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:24.440 Let's quickly discussed again, because getting stellar tenants into your 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:26.680 property will make all the difference when it comes to 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:30.200 managing that property. Uh. Let's talk about listings and showings. 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:32.680 That's a huge part of whether people are or are 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:34.560 going to respond or not. I mean, just like if 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:38.120 you list a used item for sale on Facebook, Marketplace 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:41.840 or Craigslist, good pictures in a decent listing go a 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.400 long way towards whether people are actually going to reach 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:47.080 out to you or not. Uh, and be interested in 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:49.440 what you're selling and whether or not they're gonna be 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:52.360 willing to pay full price. I recently discussed the difference 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.520 between listing on Facebook Marketplace, which is free, and then 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:58.360 listing on Zillo, which costs ten dollars a week. And 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:00.680 I had plenty of times was like, all, I'm gonna 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:03.360 try this the free out and and go with Facebook. 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:06.720 But Zillo kicked its butt, Like I got zero replies 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:09.600 from Facebook and I got like thirty replies from Zillo 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:12.440 within a week. And so yeah, Facebook Marketplace is great 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:15.040 for unloading a fridge for a hundred bucks, right right, 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:19.360 Maybe not the best place to uh list rental. Yeah, 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:23.160 so yeah, put a sign in your your yard listed everywhere, 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:26.720 take good picks, give solid info about the property, and 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.760 make it professional and friendly while selling the features of 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:32.000 the home in the neighborhood. I think sometimes if you 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:34.440 skip that step or you you're like, oh yeah, to 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:37.520 one available next week, you have to like sell the 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:39.760 neighborhood a little bit, sell the home and and let 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:42.280 people know what a great place it is to live. Yeah, 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:44.720 you're talking about the neighborhood. Essentially, you want to paint 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:46.920 a picture of what it's like to live there. Uh. 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:48.960 In both of our cases, we've had properties that we've 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:51.520 moved out of that we then listed, and it's really 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:54.080 easy to get behind that property right because there's reasons 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:55.640 that you bought it in the first place. And so 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:58.960 explaining how close it is to say, like restaurants, you know, 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:01.439 like I mean, I've got a property nearby that's about 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:04.520 five blocks from some really great restaurants in Atlanta. That's 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:06.200 something that you want to include in the listing. So 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:08.120 it takes a little bit of creativity to to help 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:10.520 folks to understand what it's gonna be like and how 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:12.720 wonderful it truly is gonna be to to live in 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:15.320 a property like that. And another important step to finding 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:17.760 a great tenant is is making sure that you properly 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:19.959 run a background check. You want to check their credit 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:23.040 and their criminal history. My smart move dot com or 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:27.320 cozy dot ceo cozy co Uh, these are the websites 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:30.440 that we think are best for screening a potential tenant, 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:33.280 and that part of the process is crucial. You know, 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:35.920 it's really hard to to get to know someone in 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:37.600 five minutes when they swing by and take a look 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:39.200 at the place and they say, hey, I want to 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:41.319 apply for the place, right, and so make sure you 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:44.280 can find out more about them based on their background check. 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:47.440 And you also want to to call previous landlords and 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:50.200 verify their their income and their employment. You know, I 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:53.520 even call a couple of personal contacts as well. Uh, 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:55.840 if they include those, or better yet, if they include 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.199 like a little letter of recommendation maybe from the previous 0:09:58.320 --> 0:10:01.400 landlord that always tells yeah, but always call. I feel 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:02.840 like this is an easy step that a lot of 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:06.480 individuals can overlook because, like, you meet somebody who starts talking, 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:09.360 even these days, even wearing a mask, it can be awkward, 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:11.400 but you start talking to him and you think, oh, man, 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:14.080 this is they seem so great. They're really friendly. They 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:16.440 mentioned the company where they work. It sounds like they 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:19.280 make enough and they qualify. However, just because they're friendly 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:21.560 do a good job socially doesn't mean they do a 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:24.600 good job financially, right, So you want to make sure 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:27.760 that you thoroughly vet your applicants. Yeah, really, it doesn't 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:30.160 take that much time, you know, running running these histories 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:32.600 and then making four or five phone calls. Um, It's 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.040 there's not a whole lot involved, and yet what it 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:37.080 can save you from the pain on the back end 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.320 of having someone who who doesn't pay rent on time 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:42.719 or or gets months behind. Even like those are the 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:44.240 kind of things that are gonna make you wish you 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:47.440 never took on managing our rental property in the first place. 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:48.719 And so we have we want to make sure you 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:51.679 don't get into that spot. So do the easy stuff 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:53.559 on the front end that takes a little bit of 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.079 time in order to ensure that you're getting a great tenant. 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.920 And also another important thing to consider is the lease agreement. 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:03.839 Getting a thorough lease agreement is incredibly important. You can 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:06.160 look to get one from a fellow real estate investor. 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:08.320 That's actually what I did when I got started out. 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:10.040 A friend across the street who had a few rental 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:12.160 properties was like, all right, hey, you know I've been 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:14.720 talking to you about this. Let me give you my lease. 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:17.199 And I looked it over and it was great. But 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:19.360 I would say for most people it makes sense to 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:21.800 actually pay for one that you can use over and over. 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:24.480 That works for the ways that the laws are set 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:26.680 up in your state, because sometimes you might get a 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:28.600 lease from a friend and you don't realize that it's 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.280 missing some important components that you need to have in 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:36.040 their bigger pockets. Sell state specific leases for nine no 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:39.200 low allows you to make unlimited leases for thirty nine 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:41.680 dollars a year. You can also check out other online 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:44.520 legal sites like legal Zoom. Be wary of going for 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:46.440 the freeforms though. You don't want to cheap out on 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:48.720 the lease because, like I said, you want to make 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.760 sure it's a state specific, thorough legal document and and 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:54.000 that's just really important also on the front end, and 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:57.120 it's worth that extra money in order to make sure 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:00.319 that your your legal obligations are are taken care of. Yeah, 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:02.760 this is definitely an instance where you'd want to be frugal, 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:05.320 but but not cheap because it can come back to 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:07.520 bite you. Man. This makes me think too of like, 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:09.679 have you had any horror stories when it's come to 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:11.760 your different properties As you're talking about Lisa's, I was 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:14.520 kind of thinking through maybe I wasn't listening to you, 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:17.360 and I was thinking through different instances, different occasions that 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:19.880 have arisen, and I can honestly say, man, we've I've 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:23.120 never really had a full on horror story where something 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:25.880 terrible has happened at a property like where I needed 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:27.160 to get up in the middle of the night. You know, 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:30.360 you hear these different stories neither Yeah, really so so 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:32.040 the worst thing I can think of, maybe as you 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:34.120 think of something to share, but at one of our properties, 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:37.520 we had a giant tree branch fall in. It landed 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:40.400 on the cartlanted on the tenant's car, but like, this 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:42.240 was a healthy tree and this was back I forget 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.079 what hurricane it was, but a few years ago. It 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:46.600 was a big hurricane in the fall. But it rocks 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:48.640 you know, the Atlanta area and a lot of trees 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:52.160 went down. And luckily our our tenants had comprehensive coverage. 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:54.680 You know, it covered those acts of god, uh, you know, 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.600 weather things that you can't really plan for. But you know, 0:12:57.640 --> 0:12:58.760 that was something where I was just like, oh no, 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:01.360 what's gonna happen. But it's like, know, that's something that 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:03.600 that their insurance completely covers and it's not something that 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:05.600 that I need to worry about, you know. Um, but yeah, 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:07.680 that's the closest I feel like that we came to 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:09.559 kind of freaking out thinking. You know, when they send 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:12.559 us that picture of the tree like smashed into their car, 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:16.679 I was like, oh no, we're done. Or sunk. That's 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:18.360 how your emotions can kind of get the best of 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:20.800 you in the moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah, No, I've never 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:24.000 When I look back over nine years of managing properties 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:26.480 that I own and and you know, having tenants, I 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:28.520 don't have any major horror stories. I do remember, like 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:32.400 there's this one time where a couple wanted to get 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:36.720 out of at lease early and I remember them, and 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:39.880 you know, I'm typically completely willing to talk about that, 0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:42.280 and I don't want to be punitive when when someone 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:44.720 wants to to leave and and and move somewhere else, 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:46.560 and the way they went about it was just was 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.440 just really difficult, uh. And it was a little combative, 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:52.840 um and and that's not my personality at all, to 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:56.320 to get combative. And so that was hard emotionally for me. 0:13:56.360 --> 0:13:58.840 And I think, um, sometimes that can be at least 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:01.480 for my personality, and that that's like the hardest part 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:05.320 is just like the yeah, the interpersonal side of you 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:07.720 is really struggling in the moment. But you're totally fine, 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:10.280 yeah exactly, legally, you're totally good. But it was the 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:14.160 and there was a different expectation of what, uh, the 0:14:14.240 --> 0:14:18.520 laws should look like. They were international and so where 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:21.680 they came from, UH, tenants had a whole lot more 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:25.480 leeway to essentially break leases whenever they wanted and and 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:27.080 here in the state that we live and that's just 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.440 not the case. So they just assumed some things that 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:31.920 weren't quite accurate. Right. Yeah, Well that's a great segue, man, 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:34.200 because after the break, we're gonna talk about UH state 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:36.840 specific laws and how important it is to know those 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:39.400 as well as other steps that we need to take 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:42.080 when it comes to managing rental properties effectively. And so 0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:44.240 we'll get to all of that right after the break. 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.240 Art we're back from the break, We're talking about managing 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:59.400 rental properties, and there is a whole lot that goes 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:03.120 into managing a rental property. Well, sometimes you gotta like 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:05.920 step up your emotional fortitude game, like I had to 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:07.600 back in the day, and I just had to like, 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:09.680 all right, no, I'm sticking to my guns, and and 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:11.960 you know, I'm I'm I'm not going to be rude 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:14.280 or unkind, but I'm gonna have to be okay with 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:16.280 these people being mad at me, not liking me. And 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:18.240 that was hard, man, that was hard. I don't like him, 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:21.320 people don't like me. But another really important thing though, 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.960 when you're listening your property and you're talking to tenants 0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:26.840 is that you need to make sure you're in compliance 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:29.200 with the law. So let's talk about that. In particular, 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:31.360 you need to make sure you're obeying the Fair Housing 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:35.320 Administrations rules. Don't ask questions that will get you into 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:40.560 potential legal trouble. Specifically, under the Act, landlords cannot discriminate 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:45.200 against tenants or potential tenants on the basis of race, gender, religion, 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:50.360 familial status, disability, or ethnicity. So no, this you've got 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.200 to obey the law, and violating these rules could could 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:55.600 get too in big, big trouble. Yeah, not only do 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:58.200 you not want to ask those questions when maybe either 0:15:58.240 --> 0:15:59.840 ahead of time when you're kind of communicating with them, 0:15:59.880 --> 0:16:01.920 but where you've met with them, or or even after 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.960 you've met them, right, but you want to not uh 0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:08.320 listen any of those protected classes in the listing for 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:11.920 the property. Right can't be like nobody is allowed. Yeah, yeah, well, 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.080 in particular familiar status. I feel like that's one of 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:16.000 the more honest ones, one of the more honest mistakes 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.360 that we can make, because it's not good if you 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:20.640 put in your listing this is a property that's great 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:24.120 for families, or this property is is perfect for you know, 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.600 a single professional, like that kind of thing. You have 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.240 to stay away from family status because that's that's a 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:32.520 protected class. Things like race and religion or are obvious, right, 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:34.840 Like you're not gonna say, hey, this is a great 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.800 property for a Roman Catholic or the or this is 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:40.720 a great Muslim neighborhood, Like no, you can't, that's obvious. 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:42.080 You can't do those sort of things. But you gotta 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:44.040 watch out too when it comes to you know, what 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:46.560 you know. Earlier we talked about painting a picture for 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:48.480 what it might look like for someone to live in 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:50.160 your house. But you do want to make sure you 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:52.800 avoid language that that makes it seem like you're trying 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:56.120 to steer the listing towards or away from one of 0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:59.280 those protected classes. For sure. Yeah, yeah, totally. And so Matt. 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:01.920 On the note of knowing your state's laws and rules, 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:04.480 I mean, they're they're obviously federal rules too, all right, 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.080 it's important to familiarize yourself with the nuances of your 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:11.680 state's landlord tenant laws. There are all sorts of little 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:14.040 things that can trip you up, but it really depends 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.560 on what state you live in, so you know whichever 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:20.639 of the fifty states you live in. It's going to determine, um, 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:23.160 some of the ways that you handle that rental property. 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:26.520 And there are third party sites like landlord ology dot com. 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:28.080 Will put a link to that in our show notes, 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:31.120 but they've got comprehensive guides for every state that can 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:34.080 be really helpful so that you can know the laws 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:36.240 and some of the specifics that need to be in 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:38.040 your lease and some of the specific things that you 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:40.359 need to communicate to tenants. And at the same time, 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:43.520 a lot of states have put together a landlord Tenant handbook, 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:46.159 like our state of Georgia has a great one, is 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:48.280 like eighty pages long or something like that. I've read 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:50.560 the whole thing because there's just so much you need 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:52.520 to know as you're getting up to speed, um, and 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:54.240 then I like go back to it as like some 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:58.639 light toilet reading write exactly, Yeah, just to brush up 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:00.119 every once in a while, like pull it up up 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:02.439 and while I'm going number two Chicken Suit for the 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:07.160 Soul and Georgia Landlordian Book exactly. They're both just true 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:10.000 joys to read. But yeah, I mean they're really that 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:11.919 that's something that you do need to bone up on, 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:14.800 and it's something that's important to read because it is 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:16.880 going to help you be a good landlord. You're gonna 0:18:16.920 --> 0:18:19.880 know some of the rules that you have to abide by, um, 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.000