Tenant turnover is an inevitable part of property management. However, tenant turnover can consume a large portion of operating expenses which can be problematic for landlords in planning, budgeting, and managing the bottom line. Frequent tenant turnover can disrupt other tenants in the rental community which could cause problems in the landlord-tenant relationships. When a […]

Choosing a tenant screening company has significant impact on business operations. The screening company’s professionalism, business experience, references, products, pricing, delivery, and legal compliances must be evaluated to determine if the business relationship will provide the service the landlord requires for his business needs and his legal compliances. A landlord must be confident in this […]

Winter vacancies can be challenging to fill. Low market demand, cold weather conditions, and holiday activities can influence how quickly a winter vacancy can be filled. Landlords can use a variety of strategies to attract prospective renters and move them forward to application and qualification. It is important that the goal is not to just […]

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of dwellings and in other housing related transactions because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. National origin discrimination is illegal under the FHA. National origin discrimination is treating someone differently in housing related transactions because of the […]

Natural disasters are large-scale geological or meteorological events that have the potential to cause loss of life or property. Hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and tornadoes are the most commonly experienced natural disasters. The best rental practice for landlords in planning and preparation for potential damage to rental property is to be knowledgeable of applicable state statutes […]

Reusable tenant screening reports are prepared by a consumer reporting agency at the direction of and paid for by the prospective tenant and made available directly to a prospective landlord at no charge by the consumer reporting agency. A reusable report generally contains: (a) a consumer credit report prepared by one of the national credit […]

The number of fraudulent rental applications has increased over the past few years. The increase has been attributed to several factors within the rental housing industry. Rents have risen faster than household incomes creating affordability issues and rental housing supply and demand in current markets has limited housing choices. Factors such as these can put […]

Discovering a rental unit which is currently leased but apparently unoccupied leaves a landlord to question whether the tenant has abandoned the unit without giving notice or whether the tenant has left for an extended period for personal reasons. There are a number of reasons that a tenant could be absent from their unit for […]

There are some common mistakes that landlords make when conducting tenant screenings that create problems for their business. Some mistakes can be serious violations of applicable laws, such as fair housing requirements and landlord-tenant laws. Other mistakes result from outdated policies and practices when due diligence was not done to keep current with latest federal, […]

Mold and mildew result from moisture problems in the rental property. Landlords must take appropriate, timely action when notified by a tenant of mold problems in the rental unit or as discovered by maintenance inspections of the rental property. Moisture problems can be quite costly in terms of physical damage to the rental property, cause […]