Every real estate investor dealing in rental homes has done his own clean-up and fix-up, at least in the early years. Landlords also become very skilled at managing tenants after being burned a few times. You learn the tricks of the trade and how to get the best results for the least cost. Maybe a few of these tips will be new to you.

• You can give kitchen cabinets new life with a liberal application of Liquid Gold.


• Everyone has at least one chip or scratch in the porcelain on their refrigerator, bathtub, stove (except high heat surfaces), sink, washer or dryer. The solution? Touch up that nick with a tough porcelain glaze called "Porcelain Chip Repair". Just dab it on with the built in brush and it hardens in 24 hours. If your hardware store does not carry it you can find it with a Google search.


• You can quickly clean black scuff marks from vinyl floor covering with a squirt of WD 40 lubricant and a rub with a clean cloth.


• Put a shiny new strainer in the sink drain. Then install new handles and drawer pulls and you often have a minor kitchen miracle.


• Get rid of globs of sticky adhesive residue with Goo Gone.


• When tenants move out they seldom do a really good cleaning job on the oven... or the dishwasher. I'm sure you have discovered the many effective oven cleaners, but how about that gunk caked onto the inside of the dishwasher? Try a product called "Dishwasher Magic"... found in many markets and some hardware stores. The label reads "Removes Lime Scale, Rust & Buildup. Disinfectant". You just remove the cap... place the blue, plastic bottle upside down inside the silverware basket and turn the machine on. You might have to use two bottles if your first look into the washer causes you to run screaming from the house.


• When vinyl flooring is ready to be replaced use commercial grade floor tile instead. It lasts almost forever and it is cheap to replace a damaged tile now and then.


• Have you ever received an unsigned rent check? Here's a method that often allows you to deposit that check. Write or type the word "over" on the line where the signature would normally appear. On the back of the check type "lack of signature guaranteed". Add your company's name, and your name and title. Then you sign it on the back. This guarantees your bank that you will take back the check as a charge against your account if is isn't honored. Many banks will then process the check and remit the funds. This saves you the trouble of returning the check to your renter for a signature.


• Spot those bad checks with this tips. 90% of bad checks are numbered 101 to 150, indicating a new account. Legitimate checks have at least one perforated edge. Most forgeries are cutouts of copy machine created fakes. Checks dated more than six months ago are usually not cashable, no matter how much money the issuer has in his/her account. If the amounts written on a check in words is different from he amount written in numbers, the bank will pay the sum shown in words. If you receive a check with the date missing, it's legal to fill in a date reasonably close to the date you receive it. To predate or postdate the check by several weeks is a criminal act... don't do it.

Remember, landlording is not for sissies. I hope these tips will save you a few dollars and a barrel full of aggravation.

About the Author - Mark Walters is an investor and author. His published works can be found at http://www.CashFlowInstitute.com/

Choosing the correct price means you get the most rent for your home without scaring away potential tenants by overpricing. Factors to consider when determining the correct price include:

TIME OF YEAR
Homes usually rent faster during the warmer months, between March and October. Summer months are often the best because families with children generally try to move while school is closed.

COMPETITION
How much are other houses in your neighborhood renting for? No matter what your house is worth, if other similar homes in the area are underpriced, tenants will generally rent that home first.

CONDITION
How much wear and tear do items such as carpet and vinyl have? Do the walls need to be painted? Is the lawn and yard mowed and free of weeds? Is the neat and free of unnecessary clutter?

UNUSUAL FEATURES
Does the property have any outdated or functionally obsolete features which cannot be easily corrected? Examples include small rooms, lack or central cooling, low number of bathrooms or the absence of a stand up shower, or even the lack of kitchen cabinet space. Would the additional rent which could be earned by updating other features -- such as blue or pink walls, old wallpaper, or shag carpet -- make those changes worthwhile?

LOCATION
Is the home located near a busy street or in a cul-de-sac? Next to apartments or a park? Does it face a busy shopping center or a wooded lot? Is it next to the neon pink house with the junked car, or next to the yard of the month? Is your condo on the first or second floor?

ADVANTAGES OF ALLOWING PETS
Lots of potential tenants have pets, so allowing pets makes your property available to a much larger pool of potential tenants, and thereby increases your chances of renting your home faster and even for slightly higher prices. This is especially important if you have older carpet which could discourage non-pet owners from renting. Plus, if you already have pets, your home may be more likely to appeal to another pet owner.

DISADVANTAGES OF ALLOWING PETS
There is a greater chance of damage to your home when pets are present. And it may be difficult to recover the full replacement cost for older items, such as carpet, if they are damaged by pets. It is unlikely that a tenant's deposit would be enough to pay for new carpet, and in court, judges are likely to award only a pro-rated amount, based on the remaining life of the carpet.

OUR RECOMMENDATION
Because of the potential risk involved, we strongly recommend against allowing pets into a rental property. Damage from pets can easily exceed a tenant's security deposit. Many times damage such as pet odor and flea infestation can be hidden at the time of move-out and, therefore, not noted on the final inspection in time to make deductions from a tenant's security deposit.

PRECAUTIONS WE TAKE
We only recommend allowing adult pets whose behavior we can verify through the tenant's previous rental history. If you decide to allow pets, we take extra precautions, such as charging a non-refundable pet fee. This fee is used at the end of the lease to treat both the interior and exterior for fleas. The tenants are still responsible for having the carpet professionally cleaned at the end of the lease. If damage does occur, we will make deductions from the tenant's deposit, and proceed with court action, if the damage exceeds their deposit.

One landlord recently shared his frustration on the MrLandlord.com Q&A regarding renting to unmarried couples, and the fact that they often move within 6 months. He also wanted to know how can he legally discriminate against unmarried couples.

One of several landlords offered great advice by suggesting that the landlord analyze his past tenants. You will find the ones who stayed a short time also stayed a short time at their prior place. Make it part of your written criteria that applicants must have stayed with their prior landlord at least x number of months. Some people do move from one eviction to another, or every year if they make it that long. You can predict who these people are. Ask for their two previous landlords. If they had more in the past five years, get them all. The sheer number of moves will tell you all you need to know and give you a firm legal reason not to rent to them as it is the turnover costs that kill us. Plus, as you will require a good prior landlord reference, a quick mover isn't going to have a good reference. It all comes down to good screening based on good written criteria.

The above suggestion really hit the nail on the head in regard to RENTAL HISTORY as the specific criteria the landlord should focus on as he seeks to improve his screening. With my point-based screening criteria, I give one point if the parties have been at their last residence for at least one year, two points for two years and 3 points for three years or longer. Please note, one other big KEY to my criteria is that if more than one adult is applying, and they have both not been at the SAME prior residence for at least one year they do not qualify for any points in regard to my rental history criteria. And this criteria has nothing to do with whether they are married or not, they are all screened the same. Using this criteria has helped me have far better success than I used to have when trying to identify applicants who are far more likely to stay beyond one year.

Before turning over the keys to a new resident, on the property condition checklist (or on a separate Addendum), it's a good idea to go one extra step and include a section for APPLIANCE INVENTORY. This is a listing of any appliances included in the rental.

The appliance inventory information should include a description of any and all appliances provided, current condition, make, model and serial numbers. You may also consider taking a picture of each appliance to include in your files.

Check out the following discussion for at least 6 additional great tips regarding the handling of appliances in your rental - http://bbs2.mrlandlord.com/display.php?id=13769231