Successful Landlording
Twice a year I co-teach this class with Karen Calcagno, Linda Murphy and this year with Paige White through the Cabrillo College Community Extension program.
Yesterday, March 6th, was a full day with 15 attendees. I am so pleased to find investment property owners willing to educate themselves about the process, and their responsibility to being a successful landlord.
The 1 day course covers:
- Do you have the skill set/personality to be a landlord?
- Advertising the property
- Screening potential applicants/tenants
- Fair Housing Requirements – Do’s and Don’ts
- Preparing the property to rent
- Showing the property
- Application/Credit/Lease
- Relationship Tips and Tricks
- Dealing with problem tenants
- Maintenance
- Security Deposits & Move -Outs
- The law – brief overview
- Code Enforcement
- Financing investment properties
- System setup – how to get organized
- How to hire a property manager
- Where to find help
The course comes with a binder to help landlords get organized, provides materials covering all the topics outlined, along with actual lease, addendums, and application form to use.
As a former teacher, and university instructor, I love being in the classroom and helping self motivated people get the info they need to be able to meet their goals.
At the end of the class we did a quick take away from each student and I was pleased to see that they got it! They all walked out the door with the essentials of what they need to do and keep in mind.
I started out the morning stating that managing property is a Business and if they take that position from day one it will be so much easier mentally, physically and financially to do it themselves. Afterall, owning an investment property is expensive. They need to know their bottomline and future goal for what they want from the property. Do they want to pay it off and have an income stream in retirement, do they want to build equity and do a 1031 exchange in the future, do they want to hold and sell in 5 years, do they want to pass this property down through their estate?
Linda Murphy, with RPM Mortgage reiterated the exact thing when thinking about what type of financing you will want to get on the property. Linda shared with everyone that interest rates are low but unfortunately investors are being penalized for what happened in the past and that the points that are added onto loans for investments properties really add up so it is imperative to know your future plans when looking for financing because it will be expensive on the point side to get the loan.
Paige White, City of Santa Cruz, Code Compliance, shared some invaluable information about how landlords get into trouble with the City. She offered solutions and made it clear that as a Code Compliance Officer she is all about being proactive to help owners not to punish them. Her primary responsibility is to ensure that properties are safe and habitable.
Karen Calcagno, Advantage Family Business Center, shared with us her 35 years as a property owner, business owner and her expertise in building and maintaining relationships. Everything discussed in the course always went back to having good relationships with tenants, vendors, neighbors and other family members who may c0-own the property.
What I brought to the table was my professional and personal experience as a property manager and landlord. I covered the Do’s & Don’t of being a landlord, the Tips & Tricks to make life easier and if self-management isn’t for you then how to find a good property manager to handle it for you.
Students at the end of the class received a certificate of completion that will benefit them if they ever get a Code Compliance complaint they can show they took our class and the City will work with them to resolve the issue.
If you would like to contact any of the presenters:
Karen Calcagno, 831-475-4479, www.advantagefamilybusinesscenter.com
Linda Murphy, RPM Mortgage, 831-818-7075, www.rpm-mtg.com/lmurphy
Paige White, City of Santa Cruz, www.cityofsantacruz.com
Please check out my website at www.PortolaRentals.com if you are interested in properties in Santa Cruz or have rentals in Santa Cruz, CA.
Kathleen Richards
