Choosing tenants is the most important decision a landlord makes. If you choose the right tenant the first time, you won't have to worry later about late rent, damage to rental units, and legal problems. But how do you know when Mr. or Ms. Right comes along? 

One way is to talk to past landlords. Notice that I said, "past landlords" – plural. That's right, it's really important to talk to more than one, especially if the one you talk to is the current landlord. 

Do you suppose a landlord who has had his fill of a delinquent tenant might give him a great reference, just to get rid of him? Sure, he would! 

So go back at least two, and if the applicant has moved around frequently, talk to three or four landlords. Find out why the applicant moved so frequently.

The way you ask the questions of a past landlord can influence how valuable the collected information is. 

First of all, there is the question of whether or not the person listed on the application is or was actually the applicant's landlord. 

How do you know it is not a relative or friend of the applicant, posing as his landlord? It's all in the way you ask the questions. Which of these two lines of questioning will get you the best information?  Join California Landlord Solutions today to find out!

Reduce Labor - When advertising a property for rent, a landlord can significantly reduce his/her labor by providing as much information as possible to the applicant prior to making an appointment to show the property. Why show the property to someone for whom the property will not work? A savvy landlord allows the applicants to screen themselves out, so that he/she is only considering the applicants whose needs the property will meet.

How does the smart landlord do that? Join California Landlord Solutions today to find out!

Landlords occasionally have to give notice to vacate to tenants whom they feel will be difficult to pry out of their rentals. Naturally, the landlord who finds himself in this position will be concerned about how to deliver the notice and then prove that the tenant got the notice at a certain time. Certainly the most effective way to know that a tenant receives the notice is to deliver it in person. You hand the notice to the tenant; there is no doubt that the tenant received it. But suppose the tenant is not at home when you deliver the notice. You then resort to what is casually known in the land lording business as "nail and mail" – meaning nail a copy to the door and mail another copy. So how to prove that the tenant received the mailed copy?

The consensus is to send by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. Keep in mind, however, that a savvy tenant (especially one who knows you are about to give him notice) will realize what that Certified Mail notice means, and will not ever go and pick it up!

So try this: Go ahead and send the Certified Mail copy as you normally would. At the same time, mail a copy by regular mail. The tenant may never go and pick up the Certified item, but unless you get the regularly mailed copy back, you know it was delivered to your tenant with the rest of his mail!

Those of us who own rental property are usually handy with a hammer. We own toolboxes, and we know what to do with what's in them! However, most of us are not Jacks (and Jills) of all trades, so we occasionally have to hire professionals to do repairs we can't (or don't want to) do.

Most service professionals are paid on a "time and materials" basis, or in other words, they are paid according to the length of time the repair takes plus the cost of materials to do the job. It's easy to discern what the cost of materials is for a particular job (check the local hardware store or lumber yard), but how much time should it take? That's more difficult to estimate, and vendors know that. Therefore, vendors who overestimate the time a job will take rip off some property owners.

Order this article above or Join California Landlord Solutions today to find out how saavy landlords avoid being ripped off by vendors who try to overcharge them for the labor portion of a repair job! You may order the Vendor Tracking Form here.