The two topics today are Filing System & Fair Housing.
To be organized and to be able to document everything associated with managing a rental you need a filing system and it doesn’t really matter what system you use – just have one. I will tell you what I have both personally and in my business.
Filing System:
Use binder to house your lease, maintenance log, communication log. I have a finder so I can quickly pull and find the things I need to know most. I also have a file cabinet with a file for each property that is where invoices, bills, insurance, property taxes, mortgage statements get filed.
In my business: we have locked file cabinets with a file for every property that has 5 dividers in it. Each section is labeled – Tenant, Owner, Invoices, Communication, Property General Info. I also have an separate owner file if an owner has many properties. All files are locked up daily. I have online file folders with each property address and an owner file. This is where I put all scanned documents, communication with tenants and owners and any items that get emailed to me. My plan moving forward is to scan all leases and management contracts so I have those on line as well.
For individuals keep your filing system easy, simple so you will actually use it. I started out with complex spreadsheets and then just went with a simple bank ledger method that listed each entry just like you would in a checkbook. I print this list at the end of the year and give to my CPA. It is stapled to the front of an envelope for the property and inside the envelope is all the documentation, receipts etc that the account may need to review for more detail.
Fair Housing Laws: You need to know the law. California is a tenant right’s state. If you follow Fair Housing Laws you will stay out of trouble and court. On the first page of my application I have a paragraph that reads as follows:
Management welcomes all applicants and supports the precepts of equal access and “Fair Housing.” Management will not refuse access to any housing, accommodation, or other interest in property or otherwise discriminate against an applicant on the basis of age, sex, race, religion, marital/familial status, physical or mental handicap, color, creed, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation.
I have taken many classes on this topic. The CAA (california apartment assoc) offers classes on this topic. www.caanet.org for more info about Fair Housing http://www.hud.gov/local/ca/homeownership/fairhsg.cfm
I once had an owner that lived in a duplex (elderly lady) and I found the perfect tenant for the unit next door and they had perfect credit, met all the criteria to rent, and had a toddler. Owner refused to rent to them because they had a child. This is against the law. I immediately closed my account with this owner, and drove to her duplex, knocked on the door and handed her they keys and the final statement. I also advised the applicants that they were well within their right to file a complaint. They didn’t – being the nice people they were.
Fair Housing is to be taken seriously and you need to know the law. If you work with a property manager they need to know the law and if you are a property manager you had better know the law since you are representing the owner of the property. Property Managers have a higher burder to bear and rightly so.
Check out my website: www.PortolaRentals.com and review my application and criteria form By the way, it is law to post the fair housing poster in your office….
Kathleen Richards
