Landlord Update

Greetings!

I am sitting here in awe and cannot believe it is already June. I don’t necessarily want to slow time down, but I sure do wish it could go at a pace where I was able to make more time to appreciate all the goodness around us.

In the last newsletter I discussed how we finally finished kid 2’s duplex and it is now on the market in Boise. He and I have had some long conversations about how to price the rental rates for the units, and he wanted to shoot for the stars and see what he could get. So, he marketed them at a higher than average rate for his area.

Now, normally I would not suggest doing this and tell you to analyze the market. Look on Zillow, apartments.com, etc. and get a sense of what other landlords are asking by way of rent for their units. What are the comps for the area?

So our advice was for him to give the highest price a go for a week, maybe two. If there's no interest, lower the asking rent. Consider this… What is worse? Would you rather lose $100 a month or $1200 a year by making a reduction? Or is it worse to lose two months of rent, in this case $3500, waiting it out for a higher rent that may never come?

The reason he wants to try for a higher rent is he found that his units had more to offer than the competition. They have central heat and air. Many comps only had heat. Most have onsite parking and where his apartments do too, he also has private garage spaces included in the rent. His units have their own (large) deck or patio, outdoor storage, a fenced in backyard, and front loading washers and dryers included with the unit as well.

That does not even touch the fact that it has all new flooring, appliances, LED lighting, and double paned efficient windows. Many of the units in his area are much older and are not offered as nearly as nice or clean as his apartments.

However, does that mean he will get a higher rent? Only if there is a potential tenant who has an appreciation for all those amenities I just named. In my opinion, I doubt it. But hey, you don’t know if you don’t try. He can always reduce the asking rent, as he does have some wiggle room to play with.

Listen, he’s a new landlord. The decision is his to make. He put A LOT of money into the renovation of this duplex, and he just wants to try and earn it back as fast as possible. He’s already thinking about the next investment property!

On a different note, we are headed back to Idaho to turn ANOTHER vacant unit. This is the third out of 4 of our Idaho units in the last six months and boy, is it getting old. For this apartment, we have decided to just do the minimum and move on. New paint, new lighting, and a very deep clean. Why are we holding back and not updating this unit as we did the others? Because we cannot get the rent we want. We cannot even get the rent we were getting from the previous tenant!

This particular area has had over one thousand new rentals come on the market in the last year. All new apartments and townhomes were completed, just blocks from our building. Our fourplex cannot compete with the amenities these brand new buildings offer for the low end rent they are asking. The only thing we have over them is more space. Our units are large, between 1000 and 1250 square feet per unit. Yet we are looking at a $200 reduction in rent, PER MONTH, for this 2 bed, 2 bath unit. Quite a crushing blow.

On top of that not so fun reduction in profit, one unit in the building experienced a roof leak when a storm dumped rain last week. Kid 2 got up on the roof and discovered small holes, likely from a bird or rodent, and multiple roofing nails hammered on the OUTSIDE of the shingles. Why this was not discovered in the purchase inspection is beyond us. We referred back to that report and nothing was noted. Regardless, we are meeting with two roofers to discuss patching or replacing the roof. Wish us luck!

I did want to touch on the Fiber Optic internet we just installed in the Sacramento 6-plex, but I feel like this is already a bit long winded. Our plan is to do a podcast where we discuss what we did, why we did it, and if we would do it again. So, stay tuned.

Until next time, You’ve Got This Landlords!

Stacie

PS We are doing a special giveaway to celebrate the posting of our 100th podcast episode! You could win a free hour of coaching from Kevin and I! To participate, click the link below!

This Week On The Podcast!

🎧Listen to This Podcast 🧠 What You’ll Learn in This Episode How to manage rental properties when personal life takes over Why systems and standard operating procedures matter more than ever during crisis How Stacie and Kevin leaned on their partnership to keep the business running The importance of planning, communication, and flexibility as a self-managing landlord Why you should never make major real estate decisions during an emotional low point How rental income created flexibility during a family crisis—and why that freedom matters

In our 100th episode of Your Landlord Resource, Stacie shares a deeply personal story of grief, caregiving, and loss—and how she and Kevin continued to self-manage their rental properties through one of the most difficult periods of their lives. We’re not just talking about landlord tips today—we’re talking about how to stay grounded, motivated, and operational when life knocks you down. From caring for aging parents to managing tenant issues and unexpected emergencies, this episode is all about perseverance, preparation, and learning to keep your rental business running—even when your world feels like it’s falling apart. If you’ve ever felt like walking away from it all, this episode is for you. ​ 🎉 Enter our Giveaway: Free 1-Hour Landlord Coaching Session ✨ Bonus Entry: Leave us a kind review! ➡️ Review the Podcast on Apple or on Spotify or YouTube (be sure to use your name so we can match it to your entry!) ​ ​ ​

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Favorite Landlord Products

Products we use to make our rental property business more efficient and safe. They make our life easier so we are sharing them with our readers to help you too!

Porc-A-Fix Porcelain Touch Up Glaze Recently, we turned a unit. There was a chip in the porcelain kitchen sink that had started to rust. I called a company that can reglaze tile, much like Miracle Method, and they wanted $750 to come in and reglaze the whole sink! Here's the deal, this unit is getting ready for a remodel, and I did not want to spend that much money to repair a sink that is 15 years old. The guy who had quoted me was really nice and suggested I give this product a try. Our newsletter doesn't support videos too well but I created one and posted it to YouTube for you guys to see how it works. ​Click here to view our video​​ I was really pleased with the results. It was not perfect, but I no longer had a rusty chip in the sink for when the new tenant moved in and I was able to repair it in around 24 hours for less than $20. I did check the spot several weeks later and the Porc-A-Fix had held up great! I even had trouble locating where the original touch up place was! If you have a small chip in a kitchen or bath sink, this needs to be your go to repair solution. It's available in several brands and their most common sink colors. Click Here to Learn More

​ ​ ​ Check out our YouTube video showing how well this product works!

This post contains an affiliate link. We may earn a very small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you purchase from here. These small commissions are to benefit our business so thank you for your support.

​​Good Landlord Reads

Bed Bugs, Roaches, Termites and Other Things That Bug You Bed bugs were in the news last fall when infestations appeared throughout Europe, particularly in France. The bugs have been a consistent and steady issue in homes, apartments and hotels since their population in the country surged in the late 1990s, likely owing to an increase in international travel and restrictions on indoor insecticides.” Read More

A Caution to AI: The Possibility of Fair Housing Violations in Communication and Payments Technology has fundamentally reshaped the way property managers and their staff interact with residents. With new advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), many tools that properties use for payments and resident communication are being upgraded. These innovations offer efficiency and convenience but also raise important fair housing considerations. Read More

​ Get on the waitlist today! Yes! I want to be on the waitlist for this course!

Upcoming Course: Place Your Ideal Tenant, A Comprehensive Guide from Marketing to Move In This is a detailed course on the best practices for Marketing your vacancy to attract the best tenants The process of unit showings and accepting applications Vetting the applicant and background checks Accepting/denying applications A Lease & Addendum Blueprint Onboarding your new tenant and the move in walkthrough Have you ever worried that you could be doing more to ensure the tenants you place are ideal for your rental property? There are specific steps landlords must take to feel confident they have done everything possible to prevent a nightmare tenant from living in their unit. We are sharing our tenant screening strategy, giving you those steps and more to help you build a professional, organized, and communicative landlord tenant relationship that hopefully, will last for many renewals.

Your Landlord Resource: Blogs You Might Have Missed

5 Spring Maintenance Items To Do for Your Rental Property The month of April and the Spring season is right around the corner! But for rental property owners, this time of year means being proactive and performing inspections and maintenance tasks. To assist with this task, we have compiled 5 Spring maintenance items landlords should do to their rental property. We perform inspections on our properties (both inside and out) twice a year. For more information on exactly what we look for on those inspections, read Why Landlord Inspections Are Essential. The following items are above and beyond those semi-annual inspections. Continue Reading ​ Prefer to listen to a podcast about this subject? Click here to listen.

Tenants, Termites, and Tenting, OH MY! A few years ago, we had the unfortunate situation of termites in our six-unit apartment complex. This blog covers how to navigate the process of termites in your rental property. We cover how we discovered them, the tenting and fumigation process, communication and method of guiding our tenants, and all the nuts and bolts that came along with this experience. Continue Reading ​ Prefer to listen to a podcast about this subject? Click here to listen.

Your Landlord Resource: Free Downloads

$9.99 Your Landlord Resource Periodic Inspection Form: Single Family Home Inspections are important! This is how you know if your tenant is following lease terms and if any unreported... Read more Get it now!

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$9.99 Property Manager Questionnaire We created a 14-Page questionnaire for landlords to use when vetting a property manager! Why are asking these questions... Read more Get it now!

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