The Tenants and the Toilets

What about all of those tenant issues? Isn’t it so much of your time? I already have a full time job!

I know some of you are thinking, this sounds too easy. What about all of the tenant issues? Well, there are a few key things that must be done to make sure the rental works. First of all, you must do a complete and thorough background check of the tenants when they move in. This means a credit, criminal and unlawful detainer background check. Secondly, you get one month’s rent as a deposit paid to you before the tenants move in. The tenant will pay me $1,500 for first month’s rent, and then another $1,500 for the security deposit.

As far as my time “managing” the units, I set up all mortgages on “auto pay” from my checking. I have all tenants deposit the rent directly in my checking account each month. There’s no sending of the checks, no PO Box. I go online once a month to see if the rent was paid, and the mortgages deducted from my checking, and that’s it.

As far as repairs around the rental house, find a handyman you like working with. I always tell my tenants, if it’s a small item that needs repair $50 or less, they pay for it on their own. If it’s a larger item, call me and I’ll get my handyman over to fix it. However, on a month to month basis, I spend very little time monthly with the rental properties.

You’re also probably wondering: why would someone pay $1500 a month to rent a house? It may be hard to imagine, but there are a lot of really good people who rent. Either they can’t afford to buy a home, don’t have the credit, think they can’t buy a home, relocation for work, you name it. There are many reasons. Both Section 8 (government assistance) and non-Section 8 renters are out there in full force. You just have to advertise and find them. Our team will show you how.

Well, how about rental demand? Isn’t the Twin Cities market hurting? We show you how buying an investment property can makes sense, how the rental demand is still very, very strong here in the Twin Cities. It’s all in the location. We will show you what areas to target. It should also be mentioned that you want the rental property to be within 30 minutes of your house.