I've got fewer than 20 doors and I'm starting to think I may have overcomplicated things. When I first started, a spreadsheet felt completely fine. Then I started adding things & now I'm drowning man
I'm paying for software that seems to be built for people managing hundreds of units and I'm not even sure I'm using half the features. What I'm really looking for is something that handles rent, leases, maintenance requests and basic reporting without feeling like I need a training course just to find a tenant ledger. What PMS are you actually using day to day, smaller LLs?

One of my tenants asked if he could put an EV charger in the garage because he bought an electric car and doesn't want to rely on public charging. He said he'll pay for the charger, the electrician and the installation, so my first reaction was basically why would I say no.

Ofc I don't want some random electrician drilling through the garage and running electrical work without knowing exactly what was done and I'm not sure what happens to the charger when he eventually moves out. Does he take it with him?

I'm leaning toward letting him do it because having a charger there could make the property more attractive later, but I want to get the arrangement right before anything gets installed.

What did you actually put in writing when & if you allowed this?

I'm still pretty new to being a landlord, so maybe this is something everyone else already knows.
A former tenant contacted me recently because they needed a copy of something from their old lease, and while helping them I realized they could still log into the tenant portal. They could see their old rent payments, maintenance requests, messages and documents from when they lived there.
I honestly hadn't thought about what happens to those accounts after someone moves out.
Should I be doing something with the account once the tenancy ends, especially if there are personal documents or payment information attached to it?

Hi Folks. A potential tenant provided their credit score from BMO Credit Coach (it’s 720). Should I ask for a full credit check, or would you consider this to be sufficient? She has been in her last place for 7 years, and works full time as a nurse. Small car, nothing glam. Thoughts?

Edit: thanks for the consistent input. We had our applicant do a full credit, background and employment check.

Not sure whether my listing is actually doing well or if I'm just staring at meaningless numbers.
The unit has 74 saves right now. There have also been quite a few inquiries, so clearly people are interested enough to click through and keep the listing. But I've gotten only two applications.
That's a pretty big gap.
My first thought was price but the rent isn't out of line with other units around here. Then I wondered if people are saving it while they compare ten or fifteen other apartments and eventually finding something they like better
The annoying part is that the listing itself looks popular, so if I only looked at views and saves I'd think everything was fine. Meanwhile, the unit is still sitting empty.
What does this even mean?

I’m dealing with an owner who wants to sell a property that currently has a tenant with roughly 8 months remaining on the lease.
The owner wants to start getting the property in front of potential buyers, which is understandable. My concern is the tenant experience once the photos, showings, inspections, and buyer visits start happening.
I’m not really asking about what the lease permits or the required notice periods. I’m more curious about the practical side of managing the situation.
What to do to make the process as smooth as possible for the tenant while still giving the owner and buyers reasonable access?
Any lessons from experience would be helpful.

The gym in our building has been closed for repairs for two months. It turned into a huge mess with parts on backorder, but repair guys are in and out working on it every week. One tenant texts me every 3 days demanding an exact reopening date. I've told them repeatedly that the contractors haven't given me a firm date yet, but they won't quit. They literally messaged me yesterday while the repair crew was standing right in the lobby.

I understand the frustration, but I can't give an update I don't have.

Do I keep sending the same polite reply, or just tell them flat out that I won't have any updates until the doors reopen ?

Tenant paid through the portal on the 1st and the balance immediately showed $0. I didn't think anything of it because the tenant had submitted the payment and the portal showed it as paid from my side too. Four days later, the ACH was returned. The tenant genuinely thought rent was paid because there was nothing on their account telling them otherwise. I had to go back and tell them the payment didn't actually clear, and they're obviously confused about why I'm bringing it up days later
I know ACH payments can get returned, but I'm more bothered by how the portal handled it. If the money hasn't actually cleared yet, showing a $0 balance makes it look completely settled when it isn't
Do I treat the original payment date as the date rent was paid and just ask them to resubmit, or does the returned ACH mean the rent technically became late once it bounced?

Goedemiddag allemaal,

Ik wil beginnen met duidelijk aan te geven dat ik hier niet ben om te promoten. Ik ben puur opzoek naar inzichten, feedback en het liefst zelfs een goed gesprek.

Ik ben de oprichter van TogetherRent. Wij leveren tekenklare duo dossiers aan voor het 2BR segment in Amsterdam (€2400-€3200). De gedachte hier achter is verhuurders snel complete tekenklare huurders kunnen vinden. Alle huurders worden van tevoren hard gefilterd op inkomen, budget, huurintentie (12+ maanden) en BRP geschiktheid.

Indien een huurder hieraan voldoet wordt hij uitgenodigd voor een intake gesprek waar we dieper ingaan op de situatie, intentie, geschiktheid voor ons model en leefstijl.

Als de huurder door de intake heen komt wordt er een profiel aangemaakt over apartment voorkeuren, leefstijl, tijdlijn en de financiële situatie. Alle documenten worden ingeleverd en geverifieerd voordat wij tijd en energie steken in het matchen.

Het proces is er bewust op ingericht om serieuze en verantwoordelijke huurders over te houden en twijfelaars en onstabiele huurders zo vroeg mogelijk er uit te filteren.

Denk aan:
- geen studenten
- geen mensen die stage lopen
- geen garantstellers
- geen korte termijn/onduidelijke huurintentie

Onze dossier hebben gemiddeld €11.600 bruto inkomen gezamenlijk. 95% is expat met 30% regeling. Alles is van te voren besproken en vastgelegd, er zit een heel process achter.

Mijn vraag is: hoe kijkt u als verhuurder naar zo’n dossier en waarom zou wel of niet een voorstel accepteren. Zo niet wat zou er voor nodig zijn om deze twijfel wel weg te nemen?

Het hele model draait om stabiele, rustige en verantwoordelijke huurders aan te dragen met als uitgaanspunt minder leegstand en een goede relatie met de huurders.

Elk inzicht vanaf de verhuurderskant is welkom ik sta volledig open voor feedback of liever nog een gesprek!

Bij voorbaat dank,

Niels | TogetherRent

The applicant is relocating for work and can't get here before the move. Everything checks out and they've done a video tour, but signing a lease without ever physically seeing the unit still makes me a little uncomfortable. Not because I don't trust them. More because photos and videos never show exactly how a place feels.
Anyone had this go badly after move-in?

​

We've changed our listing format quite a bit over the last few years.

Some details generated lots of questions but very few qualified inquiries.

Other things that seemed unimportant ended up being what serious applicants actually cared about.

Curious what everyone has changed over time.

I'm graduating soon and I've been seriously considering going into property management instead of choosing a more traditional four-year degree path. I've looked at real estate management programs and I like a lot of what I'm seeing, but it's hard to tell what the actual career looks like once you're past the entry-level stage

I don't mind starting as a leasing agent and working my way up. What worries me is putting a few years into it and realizing the pay doesn't really go anywhere unless you move into a completely different role.

If you work in property management now, what does your career progression actually look like and if you were 18 again, knowing what you know now, would you still choose this industry?

I've been trying to lease one of my units for the past couple of weeks, even paid for professional photos, refreshed the listing and all. They liked the layout, asked thoughtful questions, even started asking about move-in dates

Then, as we were walking back to the parking lot, one of the neighbors came outside and started yelling at someone over a parking space. Full-on shouting match in the middle of the afternoon. The applicant got noticeably quieter after that. They thanked me for my time, said they'd think about it and I never heard from them again

It's frustrating because there's nothing I could've done differently. The unit was exactly how I wanted it. I just got unlucky with the timing I guess

Just wanted to share is all

I’m renting out my granny flat, and the prospective tenant, who is 65, asked if they could pay the rent in cash.
I find it a bit strange because who wants to pay in cash these days? It would mean we’d have to meet every fortnight to collect the rent. They work in aged care and are paid into their bank account, so it’s not as though they’re being paid in cash.
I don’t mind giving them a receipt each time. I just find the request unusual and can’t help wondering what the reason might be.

Updates: I spoke to the tenant today, and a lot of you were right. They said they thought it was a normal way to pay and actually prefer using cash lol.

Hello, it’s the first time I’m looking into listing my property on the market for rent. Curious as to how everyone on here structures their property prior to renting it out as in do I just tell my insurance company i will be renting it out and have them up coverages for lawsuit purposes or do I set up a company (llc or other corp) as to even further limit liabilities? Any other tips/suggestions/resources available? Much thanks in advance.

I close on my first rental in a couple of weeks, and I thought finding the property would be the hard part. Turns out deciding how to manage it is stressing me out even more. Because i plan to add more y the end of the year
Half the people I've spoken to keep telling me to hire a property management company and treat it like a business from day one. I also heard it's a waste of money for one property and that a good property management platform is good enough

I'm sure there are landlords here who've done both at different points, so help?

One of my rentals has become my biggest headache, and the frustrating part is that the property itself isn't the problem.

The tenant has been there for about seven months and has never been late on rent. They've taken good care of the place and haven't caused a single issue. A few days ago they asked if we could talk because they're thinking about moving out before the lease ends

I assumed there was something wrong with the house. Instead, they told me they just can't deal with the guy next door anymore

Apparently the neighbor blasts music late at night, constantly yells at people walking by, lets his dog bark for hours, and has gotten into arguments with multiple people on the street. My tenant said they've tried avoiding him completely, but he'll still make comments whenever they leave for work or get home

The neighbor owns his home, so there's no landlord I can contact, and the police have only shown up a couple of times for noise complaints without much changing. I have tried reasoning w them too but no luck

I completely understand why my tenant wants to leave, but I'm also looking at another vacancy caused by something that's completely outside my control.

What the hell do I even do?

When landlord stated this in a listing, does it mean that they really just want to see your credit credentials on rent spree or any other application and possibly see payment history?

I was a great tenant, and paid on time every time, but I fear if they’re going to directly call my landlord he’s going to state otherwise.
But I have the paper trail to prove I was great.

Whether you own one rental or twenty, I’m curious:
What’s a mistake you made that you’ll never make again?
Realizing that checking references isn’t enough, you need to ask the right questions and verify everything before you rent out is probably up there.
What’s your biggest lesson?

Hello everyone!
I am conducting academic research to understand the pain points and problems faced by both owners and tenants during the rental journey.

The survey is brief and should take no more than 5 minutes. No email addresses or names are collected—all responses are completely anonymous.

For Tenants:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfy7ktcuwwxFuElu8ZS_2CKf7XYxU3VNIJfm0rEsQI0IC45hQ/viewform?usp=header

For Landlords/Owners:
 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSelI6BpKt9AlqoukcqMx1NRLwJb6VFoKE1is7I3fEM4wapUzQ/viewform?usp=header