Nobody Loves A Landlord

The typical landlord starts off life as a light
hearted real estate investor.  The investor is
brimming with enthusiasm and is determined to
acquire some single family homes that will be
attractive to renters... and start down the road
to financial independence.Then... Wham! Reality smacks them right in
the face!  The investor-landlord is fair game for
almost everyone.Why?  Because nobody loves a landlord.It's bad enough that many renters don't quite understand
that without their monthly rent payments the landlord
can't make the mortgage payments on the property.A few renters are surprised to learn that the family room of a
rental home was just not designed as the place to rebuild
motorcycles.Nobody loves a landlord.And then... how many legal hoops must the landlord jump
through? In most states tenant/landlord law favors
the tenant in many waysFor example:A tenant signs a one year lease.  Six months later the
tenant breaks the lease and moves.  Now the law demands
that the landlord find a new tenant for that unit as
quickly as possible.Yes, the tenant only has to pay rent until the new tenant 
is found... but the burden falls on the landlord.  Why shouldn't 
the tenant... the one who broke a contractual promise have to 
find the replacement tenant?Why? Because nobody loves a landlord!Here's the first paragraph of a story in my morning newspaper"A huge marijuana garden of 212 plants nurtured by an intricate 
irrigation and lighting system worth ten of thousands of dollars was 
uncovered inside a West Valley rental house Saturday."The house was vacant except for the cash crop and I can't
help but wonder if the growers were getting government
farm subsidy payments?The home has an out-of-state owner.  Some poor investor who
thought he would cash in on the fast-rising Arizona home values.Here's the kicker.  That investor could be held responsible, because
he did not properly supervise the use of the property!  Many areas
have such laws.Why?  Because nobody loves a landlord!This should be a reminder to all of us that a rental house or
unit is not a set-it-and-forget-it investment.  Every good lease
or rental agreement has an inspection clause that allows the
landlord or his representative to periodically enter and take
a look at the condition of the premises.Are you doing that?  You should be, because...Nobody loves a landlord!About the Author:  Mark Walters is a third generation real estate investor who shares his experience from his Web sites:
http://www.lease-option-sub2.com
http://www.CashFlowInstitute.com