Pricing, leases, accounting, fair-housing screening, evictions, maintenance, and the operations questions in between. Written for landlords and managers who'd rather read a real explanation than a glossary entry.
Most landlords check Zillow and adjust until it feels right. Here is a five-step pricing method built around comps, condition, and concession economics.
Most states cap late fees at five to ten percent of monthly rent or impose a mandatory grace period. A field guide to the rules and how to write them into a lease.
Itemization rules, deadlines that vary by state, and the four deduction categories that consistently lose in small-claims court. With a sample itemized statement.
Notice to writ of possession, with realistic timelines for each phase. What you can and cannot do while the case is in progress.
Seven federally protected classes plus the ones your state or city adds. The screening criteria you can apply, and how to apply them consistently.
What to document, how to photograph it, and the format judges actually want to see. Plus the three mistakes that turn a winnable claim into a loss.
Two pro-ration methods, when each one applies, and the common mistake that quietly leaves money on the table.
Who you have to issue a 1099 to, which form to use, the six-hundred-dollar threshold, and what to do if you missed filings from last year.
A break-even calculation that most DIY-versus-PM comparisons skip, plus the hidden costs that tip the math one direction or the other.
Format, line items, cadence, and the three questions every owner is silently trying to answer when they open the email.
A starter chart of accounts that maps cleanly to Schedule E, and why a single-account QuickBooks setup quietly breaks once you cross three properties.
HQS inspections, HAP contracts, the abatement process, and how to handle the awkward mid-month cutover when a tenant first gets approved.
Quarterly, semi-annual, and annual checklists organized around what actually tends to fail at five, fifteen, and thirty years of building age.
Three calculation methods, the line items to check before posting a fee, and how to handle a partial payment that arrives mid-month.
The reports your CPA needs by January, the depreciation schedule explained without jargon, and the line items most small landlords get wrong.