LANDLORD OF THE MONTH
Thomas W.
Landlord Since 2003
State: Florida
Property Type: Houses & Condominiums
Believe it or not, I am 22 years old and still in college. I have already made my first real estate purchase of a handyman special 2 bedroom house.
My grandfather is a pretty rich real estate investor who started with nothing in the 70's and now owns more properties than I can count. His dream is for me and my brother to get into the business. If I'm going to do this investor thing, I want to do it without any help, especially since Grandpa likes to take over anything he's involved in. I want to work for myself. I'm glad i found The LPA site. I printed all the forms and am so far successfully managing my new tenants.
Philosophy of the Working Landlord
I'm learning one step at a time, so I think I'll use the previous landlords of the month as role models. I guess the main idea is to be fair. Do "WIN WIN" deals.
How I Do It
I use the forms from LPA. I got my tenants thru a realter. She did a credit report and said it was good. I didn't see the report, but next time I want to see it first. So far the tenants seem pretty good. LOL
The Lease...
The LPA lease says it all. I just put our names in it, dates and address.
I think I'm ready to enforce the lease if they don't pay. My grandfather will also give me advise if i get in trouble.
Tips on the Landlord / Tenant Relationship
I am no expert yet, but everything I have read talks about being fair and treating people how you want to be treated too. I made the mistake of giving my cell# to the tenants. They call me all the time for stupid little things. I'm not sure yet how to deal with that. Grandpa tells me to give them my dorm # too. Forget that! I think I'll change my cell # and get an answering machine on a special phone line just for tenants.
Managing The Rentals...
I'm pretty handy so I fixed up the unit before it was rented. I can fix most minor things and I have friends who can do bigger jobs.
Legal Tips and Words of Wisdom:
I wish I could tell you something valuable. Just keep reading the articles and forms on this site. I feel like I already took a special course on landlording just by reading the stuff on this site.
The LPA would like to thank Tom for all his valuable input and sharing of knowledge with us. We hope he continues aquire good rental properties with good tenants. Good luck, Tom.
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