A peek inside John's head

I TRY TO BE CAREFUL, BUT I GOT TAKEN. All I wanted to do was see my wife's credit report without getting a "hit" on the credit. So, I paid $29.95 to get it. It was a lot of money, but I figured it was worth it to not have a "hit". BOY WAS I WRONG. They have now charged my card $9.95 twice for a m...

I HEAR THIS EVERYDAY AS AN OBJECTION TO OWNING REAL ESTATE. In fact, the other day, a guy told me that his good friend, who is a commercial appraiser, told him that real estate is the worst investment you can make. Now I don't hear that everyday. I asked him why? Him: "Because you can get tenants...

When I go on a listing presentation to list a home for rent, I always use my checklist. Toward the end comes the question, "HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PETS?" The answers I get are as varied as the houses. Here are the most common? My thoughts are in italics. "What is your recommendation?" See below."A...

I get this call many times a day: "MY HOME IS NOT SELLING! SHOULD I RENT IT OUT?" The answer to this question is: "It depends". I wrote a short article on it. Take a few minutes to read it. Honestly, selling and renting are not the only two options. In fact, we are working on programs that will o...

THE OTHER DAY, I LOST A DEAL TO A LEASE OPTION. Ok, it's probably not what you are thinking. I work heavily in property management. I lost a rental deal. The tenants had already signed the lease, but hadn't moved in yet. Prior to move-in, they called and canceled (which they can do in CA), becaus...

Do you manage your own home in Santa Clarita, CA? Are you thinking of renting out your home in Santa Clarita, CA? Below are a few tips that can lessen the stress in the landlord/tenant relationship. Screen your renters properly. This is number one for a reason. If you rent your home to the wrong ...

I BOUGHT MY FIRST RENTAL PROPERTY THIS WEEK.  We closed escrow two days ago. Here is the cool part: THE PROPERTY IS 2000 MILES AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVE! Working in residential property management, I constantly hear people talk about not wanting to buy property out of state because they can't see it...

Active Rain has been one of the biggest surprises in my journey down the road of building a company. Two years ago I was given the reigns of a fledgling residential property management company. With very little business experience, no formal training, and no formal education in business, I began ...

Absolutely. As you know, I work in residential property management. We process hundreds of applications to rent every year. A large number of them have suffered from identity theft in one form or another. I received this in an e-mail from a friend of mine, and thought I would pass it on. Simple, ...

This is purely an informational post for people who are looking rent out there home. Specifically in Santa Clarita, CA, but some of the tactics will work anywhere in the country. This post DOES NOT contain information on how to properly screen tenants, how to pull credit, criminal, and eviction h...