About – Landlord Toolkit

Where am I coming from?

I spent 16 years in the landlord letting business as a “mom and pop” proprietor, starting my small company in the fall of 2006. When I entered the industry, the premise of the business was simple. I would let out properties to people with at least decent creditworthiness, let the renters build up their savings and credit, and then sell the property to the renters. I already anticipated damage to the properties and dealt with renters who fell behind. I saved plenty of the accumulated rent profits for the proverbial rainy day. Still, during the summer of 2008, the rainy day turned into a hurricane, flipping my business upside down.

My rentals were in a blue-collar, lower-income neighborhood. The community seemingly changed overnight when the housing crash occurred, and the economy turned downward. Many people in that area lost jobs and homes and left the area. Many people, I believe, became desperate renters after losing their homes. As if that was not enough, the county the homes were in suffered from runaway property taxation! County auditors were inflating property values to astronomical heights (soon afterward, the state initiated a property tax cap as a direct result of that taxation.) Since I had mortgages on the property where taxes and insurance were paid through escrow, it quickly caused my mortgage amounts to go up hundreds of dollars! The perfect storm of events descended on me like a ton of bricks.

Corporate landlords and “mom-and-pop” landlords differ in several ways. Corporate landlords typically own an extensive portfolio of properties and operate as a business, with a professional management team overseeing operations. They often have significant financial resources, can invest in high-quality properties and amenities, and hire experienced staff to manage maintenance and tenant relations. In contrast, “mom and pop” landlords typically own a small number of properties and may manage them themselves or with the help of family members. They may need more resources to invest in property improvements or hire professional management. Still, they may have a more personal connection with their tenants and be more flexible with lease terms and rental rates.

I suddenly found myself with costly rentals that few in those communities could afford. The tenant base changed from honest, hardworking people to a vast majority of tenants any landlord would sooner not have to deal with. I soon found myself eating through my rainy-day savings and constantly on the hunt for tenants, not wanting to keep the units unoccupied.

During those times, I learned a lot. I learned a lot about HVAC (long story), reading people by listening to them talk and body language, the legal ins and outs of being a landlord, and many more subjects I never thought I would have to learn about. I hope to pass on some of those learned lessons and provide a means for struggling landlords to share conversations.

This site is dedicated to the mom-and-pop landlord with a few or lots of rentals they manage. Even if you hire a management company, there is still plenty of helpful information on the site. I offer my plight with humor and a little reverence for the industry. It is not an easy industry, and it can quickly ruin a person who does not plan and is without a landlord toolkit.