Realty Information Systems

According to Nolo.com mold is becoming a growing concern for landlords and tenants around the country. In fact, tenants have won multimillion dollar lawsuits against landlords due to health problems caused by mold. These tenants claimed to have been exposed to toxic mold which can cause rashes chronic fatigue, nausea, cognitive loss, hemorrhaging and asthma. As a landlord, it is important to be able to teach tenants to prevent, identify and notify you of mold so that you can

With the start of your new year you may be looking to expand your rental property portfolio. You may think more rental properties mean more income. However rental properties can quickly turn into massive money pits if you fail to get the right property. Below is a list of aspects you need to consider when purchasing a rental property. Neighborhood: Understanding the neighborhood that the potential property you’re looking at is in is essential for determining whether you will

Roofs are one of the most important parts of your rental property. Roofing keeps your apartment from getting damaged from outside wind, rain, snow and other weather hazards. Roofs take a lot of damage overtime and like any other aspect of your rental apartment they need to be properly maintained and eventually replaced. One mistake that can lead roofing to become ineffective overtime is when Landlords use the wrong roofing material. In order to save money, landlords or proper

CNN recently reported that in 2016 apartments entering the rental market are 8% smaller than they were 10 years ago. Currently the average square footage for all new apartments in the United States is 934 square feet compared to 1,015 square feet 10 years ago. Studio apartments have seen the largest drop in square footage.Studio apartments have decreased in size by 18% since 2006 while one bedroom apartments have shrunk by 5% over the same period. While apartments entering t

There has been recent widespread publicity about the dangers of lead as a result of the Flint Water crisis. One of the reasons why the Flint Water Crisis has led to so much publicity is because it is extremely dangerous for children under 6 to be exposed to lead. Children that are exposed to lead can develop developmental delays, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and even death. However, the biggest potential lead threat to children is not the water they drink but

On April 4th, 2016, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a guidance memo on how landlords can use arrest and conviction records when screening tenants. According to NOLO, guidance memos do not have legal authority of a court decision but are considered highly by judges when making legal decisions. The HUD memo discusses how under federal fair housing laws, protected class status does not extend to individuals with criminal records. Therefore, landlo

It can be very frustrating to landlords when they do not receive rent by the first of the month. Like any business owners, landlords have bills which they need to pay and not receiving rent on time can force a landlord to dip into reserve cash or even pay their own bills late. While it may be impossible to prevent all tenants from paying rent late, a landlord or property manager may be able to reduce the number of late rent payments through simple education of tenants. Part o

Apartment construction is at an all-time high. There are more than half a million new units being built across the country which is twice as high as the historical average since 1982 (source). For many landlords these new construction projects are unwelcome news as they can become direct competition for new tenants especially in parts of the country where new construction is beginning to outpace demand. In an increasingly competitive market where landlords are trying to get

There may be several reasons why a landlord may decide to sell his or her rental property. Some landlords may want to gain capital to purchase another property, they may want to make money off a property investment or they simply want to get out of the rental industry. Whatever the reason for selling, if the property for sale has tenants living in it then the landlord will need to follow State rules and regulations when they sell the property. Some landlords may opt to wait f

Rent increases are a natural part of being a landlord and a tenant. If your building falls under rent control rules then when you can raise your tenants’ rent and by how much is determined by your local rent control ordinances. However, if your rental property is not subject to rent control rules then there is generally no limit on how much you can raise your tenants’ rent. If you have a lease agreement with your tenant you are able to increase rent at the end of the lease pe