Deciding If Refinancing Is Beneficial – Part 3 In Part 1 of this series we covered some basic issues regarding the decision of whether or not to refinance a property. In Part 2 we considered the basic principles related to determining how long it takes for the reduced interest rate to repay the costs of […]

Question I bought a rental home about 4 months ago that had existing tenants. I was told by the seller that the tenant had no security deposit. The tenant’s lease term expired and the tenant vacated the house last week. The tenant now claims to have a $760 security deposit that he wants returned. Who […]

Question I recently discovered that the tenant to whom I had rented a house a couple of months ago failed to switch the electric account which was in my name over to her name. The account has now been switched into her name, but the tenant is refusing to reimburse me for the payments I […]

Question I am considering the only application I have received for my vacant rental home. The person is fairly well qualified under all my screening procedures, but is short regarding the total amount of cash he will need including rent, security deposit, utilities services, and his moving expenses. The applicant is a carpenter employed on […]

Question 1 Can you tell me which method of rental marketing is usually the most effective? Even minimal classified advertising in the newspapers has increased greatly in recent years. Answer 1 The best way to find prospects and the lowest cost way is usually to use “For Rent” signs on the property in locations that […]

Exchanging Vacation Homes Most real estate investors are aware that Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Service Code provides for tax deferred exchanges of real property held for investment. Section 1031 of the IRS code currently provides that “No gain or loss shall be recognized on the exchange of property held for productive use in […]

Asset Protection – Part 3   In this third and final article of our series about asset protection we will discuss some additional issues related specifically to limited liability entities, using the term Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) because that is the entity most appropriate for most rental property owners. Structuring For Continuity                       It has often been […]

Question 1 Does Youcheckcredit.com have an application form available? Answer 1 A state specific application form is available from the member home page of Youcheckcredit.com after clicking “Forms by State” under the “Landlord Legal Forms” link. The MS Word version of the form can be customized by the landlord to meets the needs of a […]

Deposits & Fees, a Review – Part 2 We complete this two-part article with brief discussions regarding Security Deposits, Pet Deposits, and Last Month’s Rent. These three items are (1) usually truly deposits rather than fees, (2) covered to some degree by statutes in most states, and (3) usually of amounts that improper handling is […]

Question Is there any legal reason why a landlord should not make copies of a prospective tenant’s SS card and driver’s license? Answer The shortest answer is NO! A longer short answer follows. A landlord can request and make copies of any documents considered material to making an informed business decision. I considered the two […]