The best advice is usually from someone who has been through the same experience you need advice on. For example, men can’t give accurate advice on childbirth because they have no idea what it’s like. This article is the beginning of a series of interviews with landlords that shares their advice and experiences for other landlords to learn from.
Q - Why did you decide to invest in real estate and become a landlord?
A - I think it’s profitable and will continue to be. I’ve owned real estate for over 30 years and my units are now worth five times as much as they did when I started.
Q - What has been most challenging?
A - If you’re not careful, being a landlord can overwhelm you. You have to fix, clean, paint, take care of bug problems, collect rent, fill your units, shovel snow… It’s a lot to handle. Most intimidating to me are the city inspectors. They have a lot of control over you.
Q - What do you enjoy the most?
A - Seeing it work and making a profit.
Q - What do you wish you had known before you got started?
A - My parents owned real estate and my dad made us work on the apartments, so I’ve done this since I was nine. I’ve been doing this my whole life, basically. I do wish I’d known who would be good to go into partnerships with.
Q - What helps you run your property effectively?
A - My unit managers. I couldn’t handle everything without them. But it is a two-edged sword. Managers have a false sense that you’re rich even though a lot of the money goes back into the apartments. Some feel entitled. I give mine discounts for helping with the apartments, but they always want more.
Q - What should every landlord know?
A - Owning property can be profitable, but it depends on when you get into real estate and how long you’re willing to operate on a loss. Most units when you buy them don’t make money. It takes time for them to be profitable and for prices to go up. There are a lot of costs associated with apartments. In the past six months I’ve had to replace six fridges and six stoves.
It’s also good to know how to evict people. It’s not easy. You lose a lot of money and they want reimbursed and want their deposits back or else refuse to leave. Know when to ask problem tenants to leave. Or, know who to rent to and not to rent to. You can’t just look at the numbers. I had one guy fill out an application who had a perfect credit score but I found out it was because he’d been in jail so didn’t have a way to ruin his credit.
