Blog

Welcome to the Logical Property Management Blog. Below you'll find blog posts specific to Property Owners or Tenants to learn more about how we work and what you should be looking for.

2017-05-29

DIY Landlords & the Power of Formality II: Not Being a Jerk

It’s easy to be nervous about being a jerk to your friends — but they’re not just your friends, they’re also your tenants. The #1 reason why folks who are landlording their friends and family prefer informality in their dealings is simple: they don’t want to be seen as a jerk. It’s easy to become […]

2017-01-09

A Comprehensive Rental Agreement: It’s the Lease We Can Do

Well, OK, it’s the MOST we can do, but we couldn’t let the pun pass us by. #NoApologies The Royal Rose Properties lease is 21 pages long. 13 of those pages are the actual lease agreement itself; the other 8 are supplementary forms and checklists — oh, and the pet policy is a separate 2-page […]

2016-12-26

It’s Time for Annual Property Maintenance!

You don’t HAVE to do these things at Christmastime…but it’s a great landmark to work from.   Every property needs regular maintenance, and not all maintenance happens on the same schedule. Some things need to be done monthly, like a basic drive-by-and-look checkup. Some need to be done once a season, or just at the […]

2016-08-29

Needy Tenants & the Power of the Cost-Benefit Analysis

Tenants are people, and we respect all people…but some people are easier to get along with than others.   Some tenants are needy. We’re not talking about being low-income or Section 8 or whatever; We mean they’re the kind of people who constantly ask for (or demand!) your time and attention. Sometimes they’re just unlucky […]

2016-08-15

DIY Rental Advertising: The Painful Realities of Craigslist

“There is the mistaken thought that ‘fair’ or ‘consistent’ are intended goals of the system. Fair doesn’t and won’t enter into it. People who insist on working with a system that is intended to be fair and consistent should take up a team sport, or maybe get arrested.” — Craiglist Employee   Craiglist is, despite […]

2016-08-01

DIY Rental Advertising: Complying with the Fair Housing Act

The FHA is much like the Wu Tang Clan — nothing to…ahem…mess with.   The Fair Housing Act (FHA) — 42 U.S.C. § 3604(c) — makes it illegal to: make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a […]

2016-07-11

Screening Lawyers: When Value and Cost Aren’t Related

Some things are worth the money. Some things aren’t. Every lawyer loses some cases and wins others — so how do some lawyers charge ten times more than others? There are some pretty fundamental theorems of economics that almost everyone accepts as given. The principle of supply and demand, for example, tells us (among other […]

2016-07-04

Michigan Landlords: Are You Safe from Utility Liens?

Michigan Landlords: Are You Safe from Utility Liens? Do you owe thousands of dollars for a years-old utility bill you never knew your tenants hadn’t paid? Did you know that unpaid bills from public utility providers can easily become a lien on your property? From Michigan State Law 141.121, Section 21 of the Revenue Bond […]

2016-06-20

Property Managers Are Translators, Too

I’ve been told that “ruHra’wI’” means “property manager” in Klingon…but that’s not really what we’re talking about here. We’ve previously written at length about how a property manager wears a lot of hats. We take care of the physical structures our clients invest in, the fiscal aspect of the investments, ensuring that those properties turn […]

2016-05-09

Why Real Estate Investors Don’t Hire Property Managers

They should, obviously, but many don’t. Let’s talk about why. In the end, there’s a huge pile of reasons why hiring a property manager (PM) is a good idea for anyone who is trying to turn real estate investment into their next income stream — no one really questions that. The question that PMs ask […]

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