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Landlord Newsletter October 12, 2010

The LPA Newsletter
October 12, 2010

Dear Fellow Landlord,
I'd like to present our October 2010 LPA Landlord of the Month Award to fellow LPA member and author, Mr. Drew DeMasters. Drew has written the just released landlord book, "Landlord Marketing Secrets". In this newsletter, he shares landlording thoughts and tips in his LPA Landlord of the Month profile.

In this issue:

Drew McMasters, October 2010 LPA Landlord of the Month
Things tenants do or say that make you CRINGE!
Landlord Tip, by Lambert Munz
Essential Form in the Spotlight: The LPA Rental Application
"Wealth Secrets and Success Quotes"

Please e-mail us if you have any questions or would like to add or share any material / information.
John Nuzzolese
John@theLPA.com

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LANDLORD OF THE MONTH - October 2010
Drew DeMasters

Drew is the author of the new landlord marketing book, "Landlord Marketing Secrets".

Landlord Since 1994
State: Missouri
Property Type: Single-family, duplex, and triplex

How I Got Started

Bought first rental house at my dad's encouragement to put my small, but hard-earned savings into something that gains value (like a house) rather than loses it (like a car). The rest is history. This became the start of a family rental business that has grown over that past 15+ years.

Philosophy of the Working Landlord

Spend your time only on what matters most. Outsource or delegate everything else. Do what you're good at, and you'll accomplish much more . . . much faster.

How I Do It

Since I live out of state, my dad and family play a huge role in managing the day-to-day of the rental properties. I apply my career expertise in direct marketing with our shared experience in managing rental properties. We are finding that to be a powerful combination.

The Lease

Our lease has evolved over the years to include amendments and new line items based on best practices or lessons learned the hard way (either by us or other landlords). "Legalese" can be blinding, so it's important when signing a new tenant, to sit down with them and verbally paraphrase each section of the lease agreement as you walk through it. This engages...

click for the full article...

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Things tenants do or say that make you CRINGE!

cringe

Your lease says NO PETS and your tenant says, "You'll have to stop over and see our new dog! He's so cute!"
On a Sunday morning, you decide to get a little extra sleep and you answer the phone to "Sorry to wake you. Can you come over now? Our waste line is backed up and we have 6 inches of waste water in the basement."
"We tried to find you everywhere. We had a little fire. You have insurance, right?"
You run into your worst tenants at Open School Night and they say: "Isn't that nice? Our children are in the same class!"
You call the tenant after the rent is a week overdue: "The rent is going to be slightly delayed because I was laid off."
After opening a bill and then calming down enough to call the tenant, you hear: "We had a small leak so we hired a plumber to fix it rather than bother you about it. We never expected them to charge you so much.

click for more Things tenants do or say that make you cringe!

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The LPA Rental Application

"It is far better to have no tenant than to have a bad tenant."

The LPA RENTAL APPLICATION has after years of research and improvement, developed into a great collection of the best and most effective screening ideas .

I feel very strongly about strict tenant screening.

Rental Application form of The Landlord Protection Agency

The LPA Rental Application gets straight to the point
It is a very effective rental application
It isn't unnecessarily long or intimidating
It's a collection of the best ideas that we have found necessary to assemble into what we believe is one of the BEST RENTAL APPLICATIONS around!

The LPA Rental Application has eliminated many tenant problems by helping us to do a better job screening the applicant. Qualified tenants are more than happy to fill out the form and show you how wonderful they are. Find out as much pertinent information on your rental applicants as you can before entering into any lease or rental agreement.

Some of the items contained in this rental application are:

Authorization to obtain a copy of tenant's credit report(s) and verify any information given. We need this because it is illegal to pull a credit report without the tenant's written authorization according to the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act).

Deposit Not Refundable, unless applicant is rejected. Deposit receipt and rental offer form is included in this rental application. (Applicants may not get their deposit back if they decide to change their mind.)

Includes Non-refundable screening fee agreement. The prospective tenant pays a screening fee when the rental application is submitted to you. This fee covers you for the cost of checking references and running credit reports....

click for the full article

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Landlord Tips

By Lambert Munz MPM, RPM, Arbour Real Estate Mgmt, Inc.

Author of House Investor's Manual Lambert Munz, MPM, RPM, Arbour Real Estate Mgmt, Inc.

TENANT SELECTION
Don't rent to family or friends. Don't become buddies with your tenants. Be friendly, but don't socialize. You are operating a business and family or friends emotionally interfere with good business judgment.

Interested in a relaxing Hawaiian getaway?
Please check out HawaiianVA.com My wife, Judy Munz, Hawaiian, is director of this site. Everyone needs a vacation including landlords. - Lambert Munz

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Wealth Secrets and Success Quotes

"The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

"Experience teaches slowly, Robin. And at a cost of many mistakes." - Batman

"God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board." - Mark Twain

"And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln

"How much did your last tenant problem cost you?" - John Nuzzolese (The LPA)

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Quick Check Credit Reports, Inc. is proud to announce its affiliation and partnership with The LPA in helping landlords protect their interests by better screening tenants at lower costs!!

NO sign-up or set-up fees,
NO membership fees,
NO compliance fees
Just lower prices!

Special Tenant Screening Discounts for LPA members. See our price list!

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FREE LPA Gift with Book Purchase!

Click here to order Dani Babb's Book,The Accidental Landlord

Fellow LPA Member, Dr. Danielle Babb is a national real estate expert and author of the new Landlording Book, "The Accidental Landlord".

Get your copy now... with a FREE BONUS! from theLPA.com

Not only is Danielle Babb one of our county's most knowledgeable real estate analysts, she also shares excellent landlord information and advice in her book, "The Accidental Landlord". Plus she's a super nice person! - John Nuzzolese

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FREE BONUS - FORMS DISK
comes with all 2 - 5+ year LPA Memberships
Be a more powerful landlord - able to handle just about any landlord / tenant situation in a professional way, saving you time and money.
ALL FREE with LPA Membership!

Yes, this offer also applies to LPA membership renewals!
Having all the forms all on disk is a handy time saving convenience.

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NEW SITE FEATURE: PICTURES!
Worth A Thousand Words!
The LPA's Rental Advertising division,"Landlord's Corner" allows you to include up to 6 pictures (thumbnails and full size pictures) in each rental ad.

(UNLIMITED FREE ADS come with LPA membership!)

LPA members: FREE!

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LPA Membership Expiring?
Take Advantage of the Renewal Prices!

How to Check your LPA Membership Expiration Date:

Be logged in with your LPA username & password
On the "Main Menu" (top right), click on "Your Orders" (right below your name)
The beginning date of your membership will be listed to the left of your membership order # in this format: YYYYMMDD

NEW! Save Money with our Promotional Membership Renewal Prices! *Your Membership Expired? No Problem!

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Electronic Rent Collection

LPA members have been asking me for a while now about how to set up automated rent payments with their tenants. I'd like to bring your attention to ClearNow, the leader in electronic rent collection. ClearNow enables you to have your rent automatically withdrawn from your tenant's bank accounts and directly deposited into your bank account.

If you haven't done so already, please check out