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Tenants’ Security Deposits: The Law and Accounting – Landlording TV – #29

Security Deposits can actually get very technical! Depending on your state, you might be required to:

• You may have to pay interest on each Security Deposit depending on the number of units in each of your properties.
• The interest rate is determined by your State
• You must offer several different options to pay your tenant their Security Deposits’ interest
• You are entitled to Administrative fees on the interest (watch to see what I mean)

Landlord Lessons:

• Use RentCheck, our Free Online Landlord Software, to help record your Security Deposits.
• Learn your State’s Laws regarding Security Deposits. They can get very technical!

Go to http://www.GetRentCheck.com to sign up for your free account, now!

Sneak Peak – RentCommand will soon be: RentCheck! – Landlording TV – #28

We’ve been working VERY hard on our Free Landlord Software, with a major update about to rollout very soon. The name will change to RentCheck and it will have all the same features as RentCommand, only MUCH simpler and MUCH faster! If you already have an account your information will automatically be moved over.

If you don’t sign up for our newsletter at www.landlording.tv to find out when it goes live! It is completely free and no credit card required!

UPDATE: RentCheck is now live! Go to http://www.GetRentCheck.com to sign up for your free account, now!

Building an Apartment out of Living Rooms – Complete! The Before and After! – Landlording TV -#27

The second apartment is finally finished and was also rented before completion in mid-december!!!! Once again we focused on cutting costs without compromising quality, or layout. We avoided corners in the kitchen to help minimize the cabinets needed to purchase and switched to white prebuilt cabinets from maple (resulting in 30% less expenses). We refinished the hardwood floors by PAINTING them ($22 TOTAL)!!! I couldn’t be happier with the way this apartment turned out!

Landlord Lessons:

• Cut costs without compromising quality or your layout. We saved at least $1,000 by reconfiguring our kitchen alone!
• The hardwood floors look very chic and couldn’t possibly have been done cheaper or to withstand more wear and tear! The paint we used is designed to withstand garage floors!
• Dress up the apartment by adding small touches. With just $20, we dressed up our kitchen by simply adding cabinet door hardware from IKEA.
• DO spend extra money where it adds exponentially more value. (It doesn’t always pay to be cheap!) By spending an extra $65, we upgraded our shower stall to a full tub enclosure, making the bathroom, thus the apartment, MUCH more attractive.

Painting Hardwood Floors – The Before and After! Part 2 – Landlording TV -#26

Check out the amazing before and after of our hardwood floors after applying just ONE coat of floor paint! 700 square feet of hardwood floors were completely refinished for $22 in materials, and about 4 hours of labor, a new record!. This was our last night working on the apartment before it was rented out in the middle of December! 2 records in one episode!

Landlord Lessons:

• When hardwood floors are a mess and impossible to sand and refinish, PAINT them with Floor paint!

Painting Hardwood Floors and Construction Home Stretch! Part 1 – Landlording TV -#25

After making several attempts at finishing Hardwood Floors that did NOT want refinishing, we have finally found the ultimate solution: Floor paint, typically used for concrete in garages. It is designed for high traffic areas, and tint able! This was the final work weekend to finish our brand new apartment (formally the living and dining room of a much larger unit). Besides the floors, the kitchen was overhauled as well.

Landlord Lessons:

• When hardwood floors are a mess, and impossible to sand and refinish, PAINT them with Floor paint!
• Adding Trim on a standard door jam to fit 6″ walls.
• The origin of the “painted floor” in the Palma Family.

How to Install and Plumb a Double Bowl Sink: Part 3 – Landlording TV – #24

A repair that comes up from time to time is installing / replacing the kitchen sink. In Part 3, we’ve connected everything we can before putting in place and connecting the feeds and drains.

Landlord Lessons:

• Always put shut-offs on every sink / appliance. When a problem arises with your faucet it’s much easier to shut off the single sink the shut down the entire building.
• Be Gentle tightening PVC drains, as they will crack with too much pressure.
• Make sure you use the proper gaskets in each piece of your drain, or you won’t have a water tight seal.

How to Install and Plumb a Double Bowl Sink: Part 2 – Landlording TV – #23

A repair that comes up from time to time is installing / replacing the kitchen sink. In Part 2, we have our sink installed on a fresh countertop, now it’s time to plumb our PVC drains and add the water feed lines.

Landlord Lessons:

• Don’t put too much plumber’s putty on your drain baskets, or you won’t get a water-tight seal.
• When buying drains, I prefer PVC. They are cheaper and won’t rust on you like Metal.
• Finger tighten your PVC drain joints. You don’t have to tighten too hard for a good seal, and if you tighten too hard, they will crack.

How to Install and Plumb a Double Bowl Sink: Part 1 – Landlording TV – #22

A repair that comes up from time to time is installing / replacing the kitchen sink. In this episode watch how to install a double bowl kitchen sink from scratch on a fresh countertop.

Landlord Lessons:

• When lining up your sink, make sure your countertop is set EXACTLY where it should be and make sure the sink is centered on top of your sink base. Mark and measure!
• When cutting your countertop, be careful to trace and cut out the sink TOO tight to fit in your initial sink hole. You can always shave more countertop off, but can’t easily add it back on!

Quick Progress Report: Building an Apartment out of Living Rooms – Landlording TV – #21

Over the Thanksgiving Break, we TORE through construction on the second apartment all weekend long. This was our first night after spending all day shopping for deals. We saved over $200 on appliances thanks to the Black Friday deals, as well as crazy savings on strategically shopping for a bathroom vanity, faucets and other miscellaneous parts. We built out and plumbed our kitchen sink which will be separate How-To episodes coming out shortly!

Landlord Lessons:

• Set aside a full day for shopping for parts by comparing stores. The amount of savings you will receive is staggering.
• Take advantage of 18-24 month interest free payments; just be SURE to pay them off BEFORE the interest is accumulated and tacked on!
• Bribe family members and significant others for cheap and skilled labor! – Sell them on “working off” their holiday calories!

Setting Rental Rates: Step 3. How to gauge the Rental Market – Landlording TV – #20

The third step to setting Rental Rates is gauging your current rental market. Step 1 and 2 help you define the “goal” rent amount, but it’s only in our research that we see the realistic rent amount you’ll be able to get for your rental unit.

Landlord Lessons:

• How not knowing the current rental market can cost you HUNDREDs of dollars
• How to very quickly find your realistic rental amount
• How to set your pricing aggressively for the fastest way to fill your vacant unit.
• Why every second your unit is vacant you are SPENDING money

The “Setting Rental Rates” Series on Landlording TV:

Setting Rental Rates: Step 1 – #3
Setting Rental Rates: Step 2. Security Deposits – #6
Setting Rental Rates: Step 3. How to gauge the Rental Market – #20