Landlord by Design Blog
I started this blog as a form of therapy, a way to share ideas about ways to invest in real estate and manage your real estate investments.
I have found most of what is written online about real estate investing and property management is written with a slant to sell a service, course or investment. I wanted to be contrarian to that.
It is an interactive space with all my readers and followers. Some days I will just write a story based on one of my, or a reader’s experience. I welcome and appreciate all the stories from folks like you. Sharing ideas, solutions and advice has helped thousands of readers over the years.
If you are expecting perfectly edited corporate style blog posts with an agenda to sell you something, please leave this page (other than a link to buy one of our books).
If you want interesting helpful stories that tell the truth about the often chaotic world of real estate investing and property management, then enjoy the read.
The perfect rental application form
Having the perfect rental application form is one of the most important documents a property manager can have. There are lots of tenancy applications available on line. We have tried various applications. We have tried everything from one pagers with limited...
Life in multi family, is like having multiple families
Life in multi family, is like having multiple families I am not sure if Shelly planned this, but today when we were making our plan for the day, a great quote slipped out. Shelly said “Life in multi-family, is like having multiple families”. I thought it was a pretty...
How to manage a winter vacancy
How to manage a winter vacancy Having a vacant apartment any time of year can be a challenge. When you live in a cold climate a winter vacancy can be even more challenging. This past year we had an apartment, where the old tenant moved out and there was a 30 day...
How to close a frozen door
How to close a frozen door Winter in Nova Scotia, well, I have to tell you it gets cold. Really cold, and snowy. That can cause a problem for both tenants and owners. We get at least one call every year about a door that will not close. I have seen some cases...
How to write a great rental ad
How to write a great rental ad A well written rental ad can mean the difference in finding a tenant quickly and having a vacancy. Shelly and I are continuously tweaking our rental ad procedure. We have tried things that work and things that do not. We have also...
How to provide exceptional customer service
How to provide exceptional customer service Customer service is a term we hear a lot. I often here more stories of poor customer service, rather than great customer service. If you are in any type of business it is important to realize that an angry customer is much...
How to find a local real estate investing group
How to find a local real estate investing group The couple of real estate groups we belong to have been a huge resource from seeking a client base, to talking out problems, and just the learning and networking make them a critical part of our business. STORIES FROM...
Keep a close watch on utility bills
Keep a close watch on your utility bills When I got into multi-family investing, I learned very quickly that the old saying “a penny saved is a penny earned” applies to property management. One of the most important reasons to have your property professionally...
Do not delay important maintenance
Do not delay important maintenance Shelly and I enjoy writing about property management for a number of reasons, one of the main reasons is to hopefully prevent our readers from making the same mistakes we have, the other main reason is to show our readers a way to...
What to look for when inspecting a rental property
What to look for when inspecting a rental property I was inspired to write this post by an incident that happened the other day. I had to gain access to an apartment to check a ventilation system. When I entered the unit, I noticed the smoke detector was missing...
What Insurance Should You Have on Your Income Property?
What Insurance Should You Have On Your Income Property? When we consult with people about property management, one of the first items we ask about is insurance. When we started investing in real estate we were way under insured. We did not realize until one night I...
My first tax sale
My first tax sale The mysterious tax sale. I have heard hero stories about people making huge profits buying and flipping tax sale properties. I wanted to find out what it was all about. I figured I would gain experience by attending a smaller town tax sale as my...
The real deal on hiring contractors
The real deal on hiring contractors We have been renovating properties for close to 20 years. We have used the same contractors for several projects, we have had to let some go, some moved away, some did crappy work, so we did not rehire. We have hired people for...
Move in – Move out inspection
Move in, move out inspection process Inspection All property managers and landlords should use a move in / move out inspection report. It is another piece of the landlord and tenant communication puzzle. In Nova Scotia and several other provinces and states...
What type of lease should you use?
What type of lease should you use? The lease. This is the most important document that the landlord / property manager and the tenant have. It needs to be taken seriously, Shelly and I have often compared it to a marriage or a loan (please see our post on how to do a...
Our first rental open house
Our first rental open house When it comes to renting homes, Shelly and I are always trying to come up with new ways to efficiently show places to potential tenants. We recently tried a new idea for us, a rental open house. I do realize that an open house is not a new...
Should you allow your tenants to paint?
Should you allow your tenants to paint? This is a subject we get asked about a lot. We often get asked by new tenants if they can paint, we also have landlords and property managers asking what we do. This topic has to be addressed every time we have a tenant...
99 Signs You Should Not Rent To That Tenant
99 Signs You Should Not Rent To That Tenant When we started out in the landlord business, we made a commitment to provide nice homes to nice people. We do proper screening to benefit both us and the tenant. I would not want to live in a building where the property...
Should you negotiate rent?
Should you negotiate rent? This is an interesting topic. We have been asked to negotiate on rent for all types of reasons. Our most common answer is “no” we do not negotiate on rent. We run a professional business, and we know the market, however, I figure since...
Why you should do a credit check when screening tenants
Why you should do a credit check when screening tenants We do a credit check as part of our screening process. We believe the old way of going with a “gut” feeling is way too risky. As a property manager / landlord we have a duty to properly screen tenants to...