Читать книгу Property Management Kit For Dummies - Robert S. Griswold - Страница 40

To get a firm grasp on managing your residential rental property, you need to understand what good management is. Good management entails having a well-maintained rental property that’s occupied by a paying tenant on a long-term lease who treats the property like their own. As with many things in life, managing well is much easier said than done, but by doing your homework and understanding what it takes to be a good manager, you can reduce beginners’ mistakes.

Who hasn’t heard about or even experienced horror stories about a greedy or downright unpleasant landlord who took advantage of their tenants? The image of rental property owners and managers as being overbearing, stingy, and snoopy has become part of the culture. You’ve probably also heard about tenants who don’t pay their rent, damage the rental property, and harass the neighbors and owner. Virtually all of these horror stories are true, but it isn’t a coincidence or bad luck that they happen to the same landlords again and again.

Bad management can bring down a rental property investment — pure and simple. If you choose the wrong tenant or fail to address certain maintenance issues, your real estate investment may turn into a costly nightmare. You can be financially devastated when you have a mortgage to pay and your new tenant gives you a rubber check for the security deposit and first month’s rent. To make matters even more challenging, you may find that your occupant skipped town after trashing your rental unit.

Fortunately, you can master good property management skills. Where do you start? Well, aside from this book, I encourage you to look into professional organizations that have qualified staff who can present educational offerings for property owners and managers. Here are three of the best of these organizations:

 Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), www.irem.org

 National Apartment Association (NAA), www.naahq.org

 National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM), www.narpm.org