#41: Night School: Customer Service as a Landlord – How To Not Be the ʺEvilʺ Landlord

Being a property owner is a business and landlords need to focus on the quality of customer service they are delivering to their “customers.” In this episode of Night School, we’ll talk about customer service as a landlord and ways to avoid the reputation of a bad landlord….
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Podcast 40: How to Make a Proper Verification Call

#40: How to Perform a Proper Verification Phone Call

Getting background information on an applicant is one of the most important things a landlord can do to predict what kind of tenant they will be. In this episode of Night School, we’ll go over how to perform a proper verification phone call and share some tips on making the most of them. Transcription for…
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No smoking signs

#39: Night School: Can Landlords Ban Smoking?

Cigarette smoke has proven to be one of the more destructive things to affect a property and other tenants over time, and many landlords want to know what they can and cant require when it comes to smoking. In this episode of Night School, we’ll review the legal requirements of a smoking ban and what…
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Renting to College Students

#38: Night School: Renting to College Students

Renting to college students can be good and bad for landlords with rental property in a college town. In this episode of Night School, we’ll examine the unique conditions landlords should prepare for when renting to college students, as well as other tips on background checks, lease agreements and more….
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The Value Of Real Estate YouTubers

#37: Bryan Hawkes: Founder of Property Stick

Bryan founded Property Stick in 2012 in Minneapolis, and along with his brother Jeff, have been involved in the real estate world since 2007. With experience in both commercial and residential properties, they started Property Stick as truly a better way of analyzing income properties. As a cloud based platform, Property Stick is designed for…
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Podcast 36: Why Landlords Must Insist on Renters Insurance

#36: Night School: Renters Insurance

Renter’s insurance protects the tenant’s property in the event of a problem, such as a water leak, act of nature or robbery. However, many landlords aren’t sure if they can require renters to purchase insurance or not. In this episode of Night School, we’ll review what requirements landlords can legally make regarding renter’s insurance and why…
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A gavel and a small model of a house

#35: Night School: Why Are Eviction Records Hard to Find?

One of the most telling factors in whether or not an applicant will be a good tenant is their eviction record. However, eviction records can be particularly hard to find. On this episode of Night School, we’ll look into the who, what, where, why and how’s of digging up eviction records for rental applicants….
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rental co-signer

#34: Night School: Background Checks on Co-Signers

A co-signer for a tenant can really bring a landlord peace of mind because there’s a financial backup in case the tenant can’t or won’t pay. But what kind of background check should landlords do for co-signers? On this episode of Night School, we’ll review what information landlords need on co-signers and discuss exactly what…
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A person with a light skin tone filling out a Request for Criminal Background Check form

#33: Night School: Tenants and Criminal Records

An applicant’s criminal history can tell a lot about what type of tenant that person will be. There are several different ways to look at an applicant’s criminal history and how that might affect a landlord’s rental property. In this episode of Night School, we’ll go into detail about tenants and criminal records and why…
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A person using their laptop to fill out a rental application

#32: Night School: Do Tenants Lie on Rental Applications?

Proper tenant screening is important step in making sure landlords know exactly who it is they are renting to, but what happens when an applicant lies on a rental application. In this episode of Night School, we’ll take a look at the motivations for applicants to lie and some ways that tenant screeners deal with…
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