Back in the olden days landlords use to send out invoices to tenants each and every month to let them know that their rent was due on the first. These invoices were very similar to the bills you and I would receive for our phone, mortgage, electricity or cable bills. The top part of the invoice would include the amount that was due and the date that it was due. If payment was made after the due date, the invoice would show the amount that you would have to pay including the late fee. The bottom part of the invoice would have a portion that could be ripped off as the payment coupon. The payment coupon could be included in an envelope with your payment. Read the rest of this entry

Spanish ranks as the second most spoken language by people who use the language as their primary language. It actually ranks ahead of the number of people that speak English. It is estimated that over 15 percent of the population in the United States speaks Spanish as a native language. The growth of people speaking Spanish is almost triple the growth of people that speak English. With this rising growth of potential renters are you addressing this target market or are you avoiding the Hispanic renter?

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Every landlord should have a very good record keeping system. With an increase in the use of the Internet, you should consider moving your record keeping system from your computer to an online system. An online system can offer many benefits. Let me discuss all the advantages of using an online system to manage your investment properties.

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Every time a landlord rents one of their investment properties, they will collect a security deposit from the tenant. This security deposit is collected to protect the landlord in case the tenant damages their property. When the tenant moves out the landlord is able to deduct the cost of repairing any damages and then return the remainder of the deposit to the tenant. The law dictates what a landlord can and cannot deduct from the security deposit. Make sure you understand what you can legally deduct from the security deposit.

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In the current recession many landlords are finding it harder and harder to get quality tenants to rent their investment property. Any time a tenant moves out of your property, you incur expenses to get the unit rent ready for the next tenant. Plus you have the additional expense of paying for your mortgage when you do not have any rental income coming in to cover it. If the property remains vacant for 2 or 3 months it can be very costly for any landlord. The best solution is to retain the existing tenants you have in your investment property. How do you get them to renew their lease every year? Here is your guide to getting tenants to renew their lease year after year.

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