Tenant Screening

Seeing a new tenant moving to the house can be difficult for both the tenant and the owner. Getting a checklist of issues that needs to be resolved before the occupant moves in will help make the process smoother and ensure you do not skip any crucial steps. Here are eight things you should fix…

Being successful landlords and property managers in today’s environment involves some key strategies, including your eviction process, that veteran landlord David Pickron sets out. By David Pickron I have always had a lead foot.  It is hard to admit, but with my hard-charging personality, I just want to get where I am going… fast. As…

In an effort to advance education and help families that need it the most, the American Apartment Owners Association donated supplies on September 1, 2020 to 21 schools nationwide through DonorsChoose, a non-profit that makes it easy to help classrooms in need. Donations made were matched in partnership with AT&T and Charles Schwab. According to…

Screening tenants is one of the most essential parts of being a landlord. With good tenants, you can enjoy peace of mind and fewer problems. Bad, problematic tenants are often the demise of many landlords in the industry. A bad tenant that consistently avoids paying rent can turn into a squatter eventually which makes selling…

Whether to use a security deposit or a move-in fee, if it is legal in your area, is the topic this week from Keepe the on-demand repair and maintenance company. One of the biggest risks with managing a rental property is having to deal with property damage by existing or outgoing renters. Over the years, security deposits…

Here are four important questions to answer before your tenant asks, and before you both enter into a rental or lease agreement, from Keepe the on-demand repair company. Obviously the lease is designed to hold you and your tenant to all the conditions of tenancy, which may protect either party during a dispute.  As a property manager,…

One of the most crucial aspects in tenant screening is that of checking your prospective tenant’s landlord references, so here are 5 ways to spot fake landlord references from Keepe the maintenance company. Unfortunately, some tenants have been known to make up references or list friends or family members as previous landlords. There are even companies that…

What is Rent to Income Ratio and How To Calculate It? Whether you are renting your first apartment or considering a move, there’s one question you perhaps have on your mind: “What percentage of my income should go to rent?” Spending a large portion of your paycheck on monthly rental payments could mean coming up…

Most landlords will tell you that a credit report is typically the deciding factor in whether or not to rent to a tenant. What many landlords don’t know is that the three major credit bureaus removed civil judgments (including evictions), tax liens, and most bankruptcies from credit reports back in 2017. AAOA fortunately, has never…

Your apartment community’s pet policy is one of the first qualifiers an apartment seeker has when searching for a new home. Whether you accept their furry friend or not is a dealbreaker—59 percent of renters said it was an important part of their online search, and 33 percent said the pet policy affected their decision to…