Property Management for Dummies :: Education by Design Store

Editorial Review
You'll need to wear many hats in the business of property management: advertiser/promoter (in seeking tenants), host (in showing your property), handyman (in keeping up with and arranging repairs), bookkeeper (in maintaining records), and even counselor (in dealing with tenants and their problems). But Property Management For Dummies will help you maintain your sense of humor – and your sanity – as you deal with these challenges and more.

You may become an unintentional property owner – someone who inherited a house from a relative and didn't want it to sit idle, or someone who transferred to a job in another city and decided to rent your home rather than sell it – or you may have entered the world of property ownership intentionally. Either way, real estate offers one of the best opportunities to develop a steady stream of residual income.

Property Management For Dummies is organized by specific topic areas, so you can easily and quickly scan a topic that interests you, or you can troubleshoot the source of your latest major headache. You'll discover how to

Evaluate your skills and personality to see whether you have what it takes to be a landlord
Keep your units occupied with paying tenants who don't destroy your property
Move in your new tenants and move them out – and everything in between
Assemble the right team of professionals to help you, from employees to contractors
Insure your property and understand the taxes that go with it
Look for additional sources of income beyond rent, including the opportunities and pitfalls of lease options

Customer Reviews

Great overview of property management

2008-06-05
This book offers a fantastic overview of property management for someone who has no idea about it. Very easy to read and well set out into small subsections.

Best Investment I've Ever Made

2008-03-11
I just paid off my house mortgage and decided that it might be a good idea to invest in a rental property. I didn't have a clue as to what that might entail, in fact, the only time I ever lived in a rental was for two years and we rented from my in-laws. Talk about clueless! This book is incredible! It takes you step-by-step through all the aspects of owning a rental property and even has forms and lists you can use. It tells you how to check out prospective tenants, how to show the property to prospects, how to deal with problem tenants, how to manage the property and actually make money, and so much more, and it's all written so that even I could understand it. It also tells you what copies to request from the present landlord, such as copies of the present tenants leases, current insurance policy, property tax bill, any service agreements if applicable - pest control, maintenance, lawn care, and more.

I'm starting to look at properties now that I've done my homework and I feel much more confident and knowledgeable. I don't know what I would have done without this guide.

Very informative. I am satisfied.

2008-01-23
This book has been very satisfactory and I will probably read it again a couple of times. In fact, I think I'll start reading it again today. I recommend it to any neophyte property manager.

Moving Out Tenants Section Outstanding

2008-01-04
This is a great book for the reference shelf of almost all rental property owners or landlords.

I particularly like the section on Moving Tenants Out. I have been managing tenants for about 7 years in rental properties that I own, but after reading the section, I realilzed that I had been overlooking several useful techniques.

The best technique of all was to send the tenants a "Move-Out Information Letter." The letter thanks the tenants for making your rental ujnti their home, but more importantly it providest them with the procedures to follow to prepare the rental unit for thefinal move-out. It tells them how clean you expect the property to be in order for them to have their security deposit returned.

The copy of the move out letter provided in the book is one that I will use from here on out.

Nothing for Condos

2007-12-02
Although I knew this book was written for rental property management and not condos, I hoped it would have at least a couple chapters of overlap that condo property managers could use. Even though I have not been a condo property manager (I rented property in the past), I got nothing out of this book. The author of this book took the title too seriously. It seems written for people who have no understanding of rental property management in this country. Take a close look at the table of contents before getting this book. I just ordered Be A Successful Property Manager by Woodson, Roger.

Great Resource!

2007-08-23
You'll need to wear many hats in the business of property management: advertiser/promoter (in seeking tenants), host (in showing your property), handyman (in keeping up with and arranging repairs), bookkeeper (in maintaining records), and even counselor (in dealing with tenants and their problems). But Property Management For Dummies will help you maintain your sense of humor – and your sanity – as you deal with these challenges and more.

Evaluate your skills and personality to see whether you have what it takes to be a landlord
Keep your units occupied with paying tenants who don't destroy your property
Move in your new tenants and move them out – and everything in between
Assemble the right team of professionals to help you, from employees to contractors
Insure your property and understand the taxes that go with it
Look for additional sources of income beyond rent, including the opportunities and pitfalls of lease options

While many of life's lessons can be uncovered by trial and error, property management shouldn't be one of them – the mistakes are too costly and the legal ramifications too severe. In this book, you'll find proven strategies to make rental property ownership and management not only profitable but pleasant as well.

Read it, didn't do it 2007-06-08
We were looking at the possibility of purchasing a rental home for the first time. I felt this gave us quite a bit of very useful information & was easy to understand. However, we did not end up with the rental home we thought. We did not realize that an insurance coverage on a rental property built in 1950 would be so much! However, we fould out the hard way that the plumbing & electricity must have documentation saying they have been updated & when. It also helps to have a brick home over a woodframe. There were only 2 companies out of about 20 that we called who would even consider insuring the home & at that they wanted about twice as much as I pay on my homestead. The book didn't warn us about that, but was pretty good in describing the laws & procedures involved in purchasing, maintaining, and renting a property.

Terrific for those just starting out... 2007-03-09
As a newbie in the world of real estate investment and property management, I found this book tremendously helpful. It is easy to read, contains a number of sample documents (just wish they were available on CD or online), and takes you through the process from beginning to end. Although the entire book is informative, I found the chapters on preparing your rental property, generating interest, and handling prospects/showing the rental, to be particularly useful for me as I get started. As a person new to this field, I find myself sometimes not even knowing the right questions to ask, or the right things to consider. Mr. Griswold covers it all in detail, and this helped me to visualize what the experience will be like. Case in point, the telephone interview check sheet, guides you through what questions to ask of the potential tenant, so that you can determine if this person may or may not be a good candidate, before taking things further. Why waste their time, or yours? This is just one example of the many tips and guidelines available in this book.

Very good resource 2006-11-10
This is an easy-to-read resource that provides a good basis of knowledge for the aspiring property manager. It's a great place to start if you have no idea what else to do. It should have come with a CD with all of the forms that it mentions, but that's a minor gripe.

Easy to digest. 2006-06-27
This book helps the new property manager get a feel for what it takes to be a property manager. Easy to read.