Landlord Chronicles - An Update

Just checking in to give an update on how things are going on my newest undertaking; becoming a landlord. As for lessons learned thus far, I would have to say the biggest lesson is that your personal network of friends and connections is one of the most powerful things you have access to. If you don't know someone who can help you with something chances are someone you know knows someone.

In my last post I detailed about how my primary concern was marketing my place. Well I have a hockey buddy named Bob who owns his own photography business. The company name is Lorusso Studios and if you ever need anything regarding photography I strongly recommend his work. I got Bob to come and shoot some pictures of my place. They turned out great and are serving as the basis of my marketing push which will hit the web full force on Monday. Click here to see my Postlets profile which can be inserted into any classified ad or social networking site. I think it really makes the home stand out amongst a myriad of postings on different sites. I knew the Postlets profile was a great start but I didn't feel as though it told the story of our home, so I created a blog just for our place. The blog allows me to direct potential rental applicants to a site with multiple pictures so they instantly know whether my rental is for them or not. Its like promotion and potential applicant screening all in one. I know when I was searching for our place and other rental properties I didn't even think to check out a place without a picture. The more pictures the better. People love information and a picture is one of the quickest and easiest ways to tell someone the story of your property. I have made it easier for people to gain access to my property's story.

After working my way through some of the sexier aspects of my new venture like taking the pictures, marketing, etc. I knew that there were some details that I needed to tend to. Once again a few good buddies led me to the answers and resources I was looking for. My buddy Eric has a brother in law who has quite a few rental properties and he had his brother in law call me. We talked for a bit and he was extremely helpful. He even shared his lease agreement with me, which I thought was pretty cool because a lot of experience goes into building those things and he has never even met me. I also touched base with an old roller hockey buddy back in Oregon who I knew did a bit of real estate investing. I asked him if he has any tenants and how he screens them etc. He put me in touch with another roller hockey kid's girlfriend who works at a credit/background screening company. I called her up and that issue was solved. It's pretty amazing how small the world is becoming.

So far it has been a great learning experience. Pretty stressful, but a good experience regardless. I will continue to post updates down the road to landlord land, and if you think you have any leads to fill my property let me know!