During the pandemic the real estate market has been on a roller coaster ride along with the rest of the economy. While homeowners were migrating toward less populated areas and willingly paying inflated prices, real estate investors with rental properties were pummeled. The eviction moratoriums throughout the country plunged landlords into financial distress.
Tenants who lost their jobs or simply stayed home under government mandate became unable to pay their rent. Others simply took advantage of the situation and chose to stop paying rent. And despite emergency rental assistance programs, many landlords were unable to make their mortgage payments. Those who suffered the greatest financial strain were forced to put their investment properties on the market for sale. It is interesting to note that those landlords with tenants on a fixed income survived the crisis unscathed.
Despite these recent difficulties, numerous factors indicate that it is an excellent time in history to be a landlord. Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Attorney Leslie A. Margolies, also known as “Professor Landlord®, on Instagram, states that market data indicates continued growth of the rental property market. “Millennials across the country are reaching that age where they might normally buy their first home. Due to high prices and low inventory, they will likely continue to rent while the recent graduates of Gen Z simultaneously enter the rental market.”
As Ms. Margolies notes, “the rental market will continue to be strong for those landlords who survived the pandemic-related rental crisis. There is one snag though. Not all landlords have what it takes to make it work over the long haul.” Like most small business owners, many landlords simply do not have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. The Small Business Administration cites that only 36% of small business owners survive the 10-year mark.
Unfortunately, most small business owners, which includes landlords, do not have a business plan. As Ms. Margolies observed, “most landlords shoot from the hip and then shoot themselves in the foot with every typical issue that arises.” What starts out as a common issue then becomes an insurmountable problem simply because the landlord does not know how to respond and resolve the issue amicably before it becomes a legal issue. “In my experience, many landlords do not understand either the laws under which they operate or the terms of their own lease agreement.”
As she explains, “…there is a huge void in reliable educational resources for landlords. Unfortunately, far too many have relied upon misinformation disseminated by other landlords through local investor chapters.” The short-sighted and ill-advised solutions offered by other well-meaning landlords is only one symptom of a system which hands out rental licenses for nothing other than a nominal fee. No coursework or certification is required in most municipalities. “It is more difficult in Pennsylvania to get a license to cut hair or paint toenails than it is to become a landlord,” Ms. Margolies noted.
And, as Ms. Margolies quickly points out, “it is a fatal mistake for landlords to take their disputes with tenants to the court system for resolution. Both landlords and tenants believe that the court system favors the other side. But the truth is it that going before a municipal or district court judge is simply a crap shoot.” She painfully describes the landlord-tenant court systems that serve our municipalities as “unpredictable and inefficient” resulting in multiple appeals and uncollectible judgments. This unnecessary waste of time, money and anxiety only leads to vengeful property damage and higher vacancy rates. “Landlords burn out for only two reasons – either they develop decision fatigue or suffer financial losses, or both.”
Ms. Margolies is herself a veteran landlord, having purchased her first rental two rental properties right after graduating from law school over 35 years ago. But it was the unique nature of her legal practice and her observations both inside and outside the courtroom, which inspired her to create a comprehensive curriculum for landlords. “Most real estate attorneys primarily represent landlords if they do handle landlord-tenant cases at all.” In contrast, Ms. Margolies intentionally represented both landlords and tenants in her legal practice. As a result, she was able to closely observe and analyze the patterns of landlord-tenant disputes, what causes them and why they so quickly develop into legal battles. “It was frustrating to watch landlords make simple mistakes that could have easily been avoided.”
In 2019 Landlord College was born and Ms. Margolies introduced her breakthrough multi-disciplinary program for landlords. Her online program includes a free introductory workshop called “The Top 25 Common Landlord Mistakes” which is designed to save landlords a lot of unnecessary legal expense and grief. The full 1-Day Bootcamp which follows, instructs landlords on all the fundamental knowledge and tools they need to professionally manage a rental property. However, the most important component of the Landlord College program is mastering the art of the landlord-tenant relationship. The 3-Day Masterclass is designed to do just that.
Realistically, most of us need to learn how to master the art of managing other relationships in our lives as well. But the landlord-tenant relationship is completely dysfunctional if the landlord fails to establish professional guidelines from the outset. Without this initial step, typically called an onboarding process in other business environments, the tenant’s expectations will default to whatever past experiences and stereotypes are built into their subconscious mind. It is at the beginning of the relationship that the landlord has the best opportunity to establish appropriate boundaries and reasonable expectations. As Professor Landlord points out, “Tenants need to know at the beginning of the relationship what to expect from the landlord. The onboarding process offers landlords the opportunity to establish themselves as a professional by offering communication guidelines and the expectation that accountability is a two-way street. Without this crucial step, the landlord will have difficulty building trust and the relationship will not withstand the bumps in the road along the way.”
In her 3-Day Masterclass, Ms. Margolies helps landlords transform how they do business – guiding them through her systematic approach for managing the landlord-tenant relationship – one which places them squarely in the driver’s seat right from the start – “You either control the relationship or it will control you. Far too often, landlords allow their emotions to cloud their better business judgment. Her innovative approach eliminates the so-called “headaches” and keeps the parties out of the court system.” As Ms. Margolies points out “…the key to success in this business is understanding and breaking through the barriers of this historically dysfunctional relationship and making it work for you rather than against you.
Learn more here: http://landlordcollege.org and follow Ms. Margolies @professorlandlord
Media Contact
Company Name: Landlord College
Contact Person: Leslie A. Margolies, Esq.
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Phone: 215-904-3006
Country: United States
Website: https://landlordcollege.org/