I am not ashamed to admit that we had mice in our house last fall. We got so frustrated that eventually we called my exterminator, Glenn Buggs (yup, that is his name!). He came out and did a great job of placing poison around the building and we … [Read more...]
Crystal Repeals Point of Sale Inspections
This week the City of Crystal repealed their point of sale inspection program after much discussion. Enacted in 1992, this program (which is similar in 12 other cites including Minneapolis, Hopkins, St. Paul) was designed to encourage/force home … [Read more...]
Tracking Tenant Rent Payments
How do you track your tenant rent payments? Are you using spreadsheets, maybe Quickbooks, or are you doing it in your head? Every day, I am amazed by owners that have more than a few properties that don't have any system for managing rent payments … [Read more...]
Repairs by Tenants
It would be great if tenants paid on time, they stayed forever and if anything broke, the tenant fixed it (and paid for it) themselves. Unfortunately, none of those are really true! Over the years, I have seen a few leases state that the tenant is … [Read more...]
Tricks to Getting Offers Accepted in This Competitive Market
I have been a Real Estate agent for long enough (9 years) to see the good and bad, the slow and crazy markets. I have been there when we had a choice of any property, most of which had been on the market 60+ days and other times when you need to … [Read more...]
Tenant Application-Red Flag Example
Here is an example of a recent email exchange that I had with someone interested in my 2 bedroom house in Minneapolis. I was using Craig's List to rent this property. I decided to post the exchange so you can notice the interesting way they are … [Read more...]
New Water Heater Regulations
The federal government has imposed new water heater regulations that will hit property owners in their wallet. Starting in April 2015, all new water heaters must be anywhere from 3%-30% more energy-efficient. To comply with these new federally … [Read more...]
Renting to Handicapped Tenants
I have received a few questions about renting to handicapped tenants over the years and I thought I should address it: "Do I need to make any special accommodations for a handicapped tenant/applicant". First, who is considered handicapped under the … [Read more...]
Stupid Property Repairs #4
Here is a rather funny installation I found several years ago. I was in South Minneapolis looking at a very nice $230k duplex. Although this property was in foreclosure, it was very well maintained with a perfectly landscaped backyard. It also had 2 … [Read more...]
The Lease Deposit Refund
Many landlords take a lease deposit from a prospective tenant to hold an apartment prior to move-in. I require a deposit when there is more than 1 week before the start of the new lease. State law is very clear on how this process must be executed … [Read more...]
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