The Tenant Horror Story Hall of Fame
Four real stories from our operation. Some are heavy, one is just plain weird, and all of them taught us something about why a real process matters.
The CO Detector That Probably Saved a Tenant's Life
As with every new property, the first thing we did was install carbon monoxide detectors. Not long after, one went off: a faulty furnace was leaking CO into the unit.
Why Tenant Screening Is About to Get a Lot More Invasive
One rental application required linking a bank login to pull 90 days of purchases and balances. It felt invasive, and it is. It’s also a preview of where screening is headed.
Why We Never Let Tenants Attempt Their Own Repairs
A normal water bill for the property: about $175. This one came in at $636, all because of a DIY toilet-handle fix. Here’s why we handle every repair ourselves.
Lawn Care in Small Multifamily: A Bigger Headache Than Most Owners Expect
Lawn care sounds like the smallest detail in owning a duplex or fourplex. In practice, it’s a steady source of drama, because most owners never decide how it’s handled.
Why We Won't Just Hand Out Vendor Referrals to the Lowest Bidder
A client skipped our vendor list for a siding contractor quoting a third of everyone else’s price. He paid a 50% deposit, and the contractor vanished. Here’s how it ended.
How to Actually Price Your Rental (And What Happens When You Get It Right)
The market doesn’t care about your mortgage. How to price a rental by what tenants will actually pay, and how a fast process got one signed lease in six hours.
Why We Turn Down Owners
Most property management content is about winning clients. This one’s about the opposite: the situations where we say no to an owner, and why.
The Cost of a Bad Listing Photo
A rental priced right but photographed poorly will still sit. Tenants scroll past in seconds, and bad listing photos cost more vacancy days than most owners think.
Renters Insurance: Why It's Required, and What It Actually Covers
Some tenants think renters insurance is unnecessary, some think the landlord’s policy covers them, and some think it covers more than it does. All three can backfire.
The Complaints We Actually Hear — And What We Do About Each One
Every property manager gets tenant complaints. The difference is how quickly and consistently they get resolved. Here are the ones we hear most, and how we handle each.
What Actually Makes a Property Management Company Worth the Fee
Is a property manager worth the fee, or should you self-manage and keep it? It depends entirely on what that fee is actually buying. Here's what it should look like.
How to Move Out the Right Way (And Get Your Full Deposit Back)
Moving out is your last chance to get your full deposit back and earn a landlord reference that helps next time. Here's how to do move-out the right way.
How to Be a Good Tenant (And Why It Actually Pays Off)
Getting approved is only step one. How you handle day-to-day life as a tenant shapes everything from repairs to your next renewal. Here's what actually makes a difference.
How to Be a Strong Rental Applicant (Especially When Competition Is High)
Plenty of qualified applicants lose units they were a great fit for, not because they'd be bad tenants, but because they were bad at applying. Here's what actually helps.
Why Rent Goes Up Even When Nothing Changed
"Nothing's different about this unit. Why is the rent going up?" It's a fair question, and the answer usually has very little to do with the unit itself.
What Actually Happens During a Routine Inspection
We inspect every property twice a year, but we've never walked through what that inspection actually covers. So here it is, from safety checks to photo documentation.
Best Practices to Avoid Eviction
The best eviction is the one that never has to happen. Most evictions are the end of a series of smaller issues, which means most are preventable.
Lessons We've Learned the Hard Way: A Property Manager's Rule Book
Some of the best property management rules come from real repair bills, like the $400 window a locked-out tenant tried to remove. Here's our running rule book.
The Biggest Competition for Single-Family Landlords Isn't Another House
Your biggest competition probably isn't the house down the street. It's the apartment complex a few miles away, and it's quietly changing rents and applicant pools.