The Successful Landlord Blog

On April 22, 2010 a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule went into effect that could potentially affect landlords who own or manage properties built before 1978. Below is a quick summary of the new rule:

1. Certification and Training Requirements

Beginning in April 2010, firms working in homes built before 1978 are required to be certified. Certification requires the submittal of this application including a fee of $300 to the EPA. Along with firm certification, an employee of the firm will be required to be certified as a Certified Renovator. The certified employee will be responsible for ensuring that other employees adhere to guidelines for lead-safe work practices and cleaning. The training consists of an eight-hour class with two hours of pratical training. An EPA approved training facility can be found here. Read the rest of this entry »

I swear you’ll know by the following story that I simply can’t make this stuff up…

Recently I received a call from a tenant who let me know that while her son was mowing the lawn (and it’s about time too) he ran into a “cloud” of bees coming and going from the base of a metal storage shed in the backyard of their rental property.

Due to the well publicized bee shortage, I didn’t want to eradicate them. Also, I enjoy raw honey with my tea every morning so killing the bees would just seem counter-productive. Read the rest of this entry »

Well Kwikset, the maker of great lock sets, has done it again. Recently I had the opportunity to install a new lock set from them called the Key Control Deadbolt. This new lock is similar to another Kwikset SmartKey product I love and use currently in all my units.

The difference with this product is that it contains an extra hidden cylinder which can only be operated by a master key. This feature could certainly come in handy if some tenant were to take it upon himself to re-key one of the single-cylinder SmartKey locks and then move out without giving you a copy. Basically you would have to change the whole lock set as far as I know.

With the Key Control Deadbolt, you would be able to re-key it yourself without having the user’s key present. That, folks, is the better way to manage rental property keys.

So I had a thought the other day about items which make my life as a landlord easier. Not all of them are super high-tech but they can come in really handy and save a lot of time when you need them.

x

Kwikset SmartKey Lockset

This is one of the “higher tech” items. I have changed so many entry door locksets between tenants more times than I care to remember. These ingenious devices make that job a complete breeze. These locks can be “re-programmed” to accept a new key in about 30 seconds. So, if a tenant decides that they’re moving out and taking the keys with them. It’s not a problem, except trying to collect the appropriate fees that is.

x

A Good Bolt Cutter

This can be an indispensable tool for when tenants decide to chain or lock things that they’re not supposed to. I’ve had tenants chain a tire to a tree branch to make a swing for their kids and then… leave without removing it.

I’ve also had tenants lock a storage shed containing all their junk belongings…and you guessed it..break the lease without taking it with them. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy New Year readers! Things have been here slow here at Landlord-Success.com recently, hence the lack of posts. But, with a new year comes new ambitions. So here’s a new post for your reading enjoyment.

Recently I heard the following story about a hapless landlord who found himself in a pickle because for some reason he did not collect a security deposit from a tenant.

As a preface to this story, I should mention that here in Melbourne, FL there seems to be an unwritten rule about the landlord-tenant relationship. It is virtually impossible to collect first month’s rent, last month’s rent AND a security deposit. I have no idea why that is but normally, only two of the above are collected.

So, back to Mr Hapless who owns a single-family home which is occupied by a tenant. He decides that he has had enough of this landlording nonsense and decides to sell his investment. Everything goes normally with the sale up to the point of having the property inspected by the potential buyer. Read the rest of this entry »