Continuing from part one of this article, let’s finish discussing late fees. For some reason the courts don’t consider late fees when they give a judgment to the Real Estate Investor, but they will add on additional rent. So Kathy Kennebrook just needed to add this language within the body of her lease so the court would add this amount to any judgment she received.
Rule 4- lay out in your lease specifically what repairs the tenant is responsible for while renting from you, the Real Estate Investor. This was another lesson Kathy Kennebrook learned the hard way from the “school of hard knocksâ€. One night a tenant called around dinner time and had a stopped up kitchen sink. So Kathy Kennebrook and her husband went over to the property only to discover that there was a child’s cup stuck down in the garbage disposal, blocking any water from going down the drain. From this experience, Kathy Kennebrook added another clause to her lease. This clause states that the tenant is responsible for the first 50.00 of all repairs, and that there is a charge of 35.00 for her handyman to go look at any problem for the tenant. When Kathy Kennebrook added this clause to the lease, it very quickly stopped all the “nonsense†calls she was getting.
Rule 5- Get someone else to do all repairs for you. Kathy Kennebrook has put together a list of vendors she uses for any repairs her properties might need including a general handyman, a pest control person, a plumber, an electrician, an air conditioning person and an appliance store that gives her excellent discounts on appliances for her units. The way Kathy Kennebrook works this out is very easy and works very well. When a tenant contacts her about a repair, she contacts the vendor needed to do that repair. The vendor contacts the tenant directly and they make the arrangements to meet. The vendor takes a look at the problem and calls Kathy Kennebrook for authorization to do the repair. This cuts down on a lot of time and hassle for Kathy Kennebrook and takes care of her tenant’s problem quickly and efficiently.
Rule 6- Whether or not a landlord should allow pets in rental units is always a big question for a lot of the real estate investors Kathy Kennebrook meets. Kathy has the answer to this dilemma. In some units, Kathy Kennebrook does allow pets, but once again there are specific rules. She has specific weight limitations and the tenant is only allowed one pet. The tenant must provide photos of the pet which are attached to a separate pet lease which outlines all the conditions of having a pet in the unit. Some of the conditions are based on common sense and some are county ordinances. The tenant is required to a pay an additional amount of non-refundable security deposit for the pet and an additional amount of monthly “pet†rent. Having more than one pet in a unit is grounds for immediate eviction. The tenant also signs off that they are responsible for any damage the pet causes to the unit or to another person.
Building specific rules into your real estate investing business regarding property management is the best way to protect you and run a stress free rental business. For more information on property management and finding all the sellers and buyers you need for your real estate investing business, visit Kathy Kennebrook’s website at marketingmagiclady.com.