Landlords who manage their own rental properties often run into problems and difficulties that owners who work with professional property managers don’t have to worry about. The simple answer to “Why shouldn’t I self-manage?” is that you don’t know what you don’t know, and what you don’t know is what often gets you in trouble.
When things work right, a handshake can be sufficient. But when things go wrong, they can go very wrong. Property managers are experts in their field, and if you’re going to take care of your own rental property, you need to get educated and become an expert too.
Fair Housing - For example, do you know the Federal Fair Housing laws? If you have a two-bedroom unit, and a family with five children wants to rent it – can you say no? If your property is in Cobb County and three roommates want to lease, is that permitted? You need to know the answers to those questions and many more to stay out of trouble.
Tenant Screening - Think about your screening process. You don’t want to be accused of discriminating, so you must have written criteria in place and make sure you treat everyone the same. If you deny someone’s application, it needs to be because of something that is in that written criteria, regardless of the applicant’s race, ethnicity, familial status, etc.
Maintenance and Repairs - There is a lot of liability that comes with repair issues. Do you know whether you have to tighten that loose handrail? You also need to be educated on what’s required of your contractors. Most self-managing landlords don’t think to check to see if their vendors are on the sexual predator list or if they are licensed. Some landlords want to require their tenants to pay the first $50 of any repair that’s needed – but is that legal in Georgia?
Late Rent and Eviction - You need a procedure for how you will handle late rent. Certified notifications will need to be mailed before you file for eviction, and there are specific legal procedures to follow when you do file to evict.
Security Deposits - Georgia is very strict on the handling of other people’s money, and that’s what a security deposit is. You will need to know the procedures for collecting, holding and returning deposits. Even if the tenant trashed your home, if you cannot produce a written and signed move in inspection report that shows what the condition of the property was at the beginning of the lease, you cannot collect a dime from that deposit. And the same goes if you don’t complete the written move out inspection within the State required time-frame.
Don’t Go It Alone - If you want to self-manage then protect yourself and know what you’re doing. At no charge we’ll send you the 89 page State issued Georgia Landlord Tenant Handbook, which will help you stay out of court. If you’re thinking about professional property management please consider joining the Avalon Property Management family. Call us today to learn why over 90% of our clients are Referrals from past and current customers. You’ll be glad you did.
