The Successful Landlord Blog

I recently finished reading a great book called Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life by John C. Bogle, famously known for founding the mutual-fund investment company named Vanguard.

Bogle mostly laments the fact that many of the old values in American, and presumably world, business are all but defunct. It seems that simple ideas like long-term service to clients, fair employee compensation and the level of expected business returns have all but gone out the window in favor of a single goal. Profit. And more of it.

He also points out, in great detail, the systemic problems now becoming plainly visible in the financial systems of the world’s developed countries today. That part in itself was a very interesting and educational read.

Bogle comes from the “old school” in that, he way he was raised (“to save rather than to spend”) which is all but looked down upon these days especially in America, in my opinion. Read the rest of this entry »

So I recently became aware of a new product by Dutch Boy Paints called Refresh. Although I have not used this product myself yet, I certainly would like to try it the next time it becomes necessary to perform a “trash out” in a previous tenant’s unit.

It never ceases to amaze me that tenants will check the box “No” on the rental application that asks (in plain English) “Do you smoke?” And then proceed to smoke indoors, presumably with the doors and windows closed judging from the lovely brown nicotine patina adorning the walls after a year. Not to mention the accompanying odor. Read the rest of this entry »

Thinking back on the last few maintenance issues I’ve had with rental properties, I’ve come to the conclusion that most tenants are clueless about electrical panels and utilities in general.

Here’s a synopsis of the last three maintenance calls I’ve fielded:

First, I got a call a couple of months ago from a tenant who reported that their heating system had failed and they were freezing in the 60°F weather. I asked them if they had checked the breaker panel for tripped breakers and they had not. After resetting the breaker for the heating element in their A/C unit, all was well. Read the rest of this entry »