You Asked Questions, We Have Answers

Occasionally, we like to do a landlord Q&A episode because we get a lot of questions from our listeners and followers that are important for all of us rental property owners to know about.

This week on the podcast we are answering several follow up questions that came up about renters’ insurance.  Specifically, can landlords pay for a policy on behalf of the tenant, can landlords REQUIRE tenants hold renter’s insurance, and how do we handle if the tenant takes out a renter’s insurance policy and then cancels it a few months after moving in?

Another question was about what’s better in a rental, gas or electric appliances.  And before you go off on how electric is best, listen to what we have to say about tenants’ opinions on gas operated ones.

We were also asked about what mistakes we have made and how we corrected them.  That was fun to rehash some pretty major errors in judgement!  But we do have really solid solutions on how to overcome and avoid some of those mistakes made.

With the warm weather, landlords are getting asked permission to have a kiddie pool at their rentals.  We have some really important points to consider before just saying yes or no to this request.

Lastly, we were asked about the importance of understanding Fair Housing laws as a self-managing landlord.  So, we addressed this quickly and confidently, offering very easy solutions on how to handle it.

LINKS

👉 EP67: Renters Insurance: Why Landlords Should Require It

👉 EP29: Part 1, Rental Property Fire Safety Essentials

👉 EP30: Part 2, Rental Property Fire Safety Essentials

👉 Purchase our Periodic Inspection Checklist

👉 Take Courses at the Fair Housing Institute  

Use our Discount Code for 15% OFF: YLR 2024

👉 Course Waitlist: From Marketing to Move In, Place Your Ideal Tenant
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Transcript

Stacie: 0:00

And listen, I'm not trying to be mean here, but you are running a business. You have to set up rules and criteria for your protection and it's your job to enforce those rules. If your tenant cannot follow a rule as simple as taking out a renter's insurance policy, then see you later. Those are not the tenants you want living in your unit. Because their renter's insurance will also cover your deductible, you're not going to be out of pocket for any claims filed. If your tenant is complaining about$15 a month, what makes you think that they could cover that deductible without renter's insurance?

0:40

Welcome to your Landlord Resource Podcast. Many moons ago, when I started as a landlord, I was as green as it gets. I may have had my real estate license, but I lacked confidence and the hands on experience needed when it came to dealing with tenants, leases, maintenance, and bookkeeping. After many failed attempts, fast forward to today, Kevin and I have doubled our doors and created an organized, professionally operated rental property business. Want to go from overwhelmed to confident? If you're an ambitious landlord or maybe one in the making, join us as we provide strategies and teach actionable steps to help you reach your goals and the lifestyle you desire, all while building a streamlined and profitable rental property business. This is your Landlord Resource Podcast.

Stacie: 1:28

Hey there, landlords. This is Stacie Casella, and I'm here with my co host and maaaan Kevin Kilroy.

Kevin: 1:38

All right. Sometimes I can't tell if you're making fun of me or not.

Stacie: 1:43

I'm not making fun of you directly. I'm just running out of creative ways of telling people you're my husband and my co host.

Kevin: 1:49

I have faith in you, Stace. You can do this. Just please try to be nice, okay?

Stacie: 1:55

Always.

Kevin: 1:57

All right.

Stacie: 1:57

Okay, landlords, you are listening to the Your Landlord Resource Podcast. Today we have a little different format going on because it is a Q& A episode. So thank you to those who submitted questions. We appreciate you taking the time to send them in. Kevin's going to read the questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

Kevin: 2:17

Okay, so the first few questions are about renters insurance I assume most of these are from our episode several weeks ago, we will link in the show notes for you all to go back and listen if you want it. Now, let me say one thing first. We do our best to cover as much information as possible when we do a podcast. We have notes of who's going to discuss what, and contrary to what you might think, we do not discuss every single aspect about the landlord subjects we talk about. And that is why I think these Q& A episodes are so important. Because they give you an opportunity to ask that question that pops in your mind as you're listening to our episodes. And I want to clarify something here. The text system that we have on the show notes, that is a one way text. We're not able to respond to you via text, but if you leave us your email, we can respond to you directly there. Okay. Now that that's all out of the way, let's get to the questions. The first one is from a listener in Springfield, Massachusetts, and they text. Thank you for the podcast on renter's insurance. A common problem we as landlords face is that the renter buys it just to get the keys to the house, then cancels it a couple of months later. At that point, you're not willing to evict them over such an issue. It's really frustrating. I wish I could buy the policy on their behalf while factoring that into the rental cost, but I don't think that's allowed. Do you know of any workarounds or ways of enforcing the insurance other than eviction? Thank you.

Stacie: 3:53

Okay. Listener from Springfield, Massachusetts. Thank you for that question. So you're going to want to include language in your lease that details the penalties that will occur for your tenant's failure to comply with the renter's insurance requirement. These penalties can range from a fee and required proof of policy reinstatement all the way up to legal action for failure to comply with the terms of the lease agreement, an eviction or non renewal of the lease. You may want to draw special attention to this section of the lease to ensure that the tenant is clear on his or her obligations. So, what Kevin and I do is we make every tenant initial the bottom of every page to indicate that they have read, understand, and agree to the terms on that page. Quite frankly, if they cancel the policy mid lease, be stern with your tenants. You want to avoid an eviction? Be that landlord that won't take any crap. When a tenant cancels their policy mid lease, knowing it's a requirement of the lease terms, they're testing you to see what you're going to do. And if you do nothing, you've just showed them that they have the upper hand and can get away with lease violations because you don't want to deal with it. And listen, I'm not trying to be mean here, but you are running a business. You have to set up rules and criteria for your protection and it's your job to enforce those rules. If your tenant cannot follow a rule as simple as taking out a renter's insurance policy, then see you later. Where this coverage is important to you for liability issues, it should be important to the tenant as well because it covers their personal belongings. If their income is that tight where an extra$5 or$15 a month is too much for them, then maybe you need to reconsider the level of tenant that you're accepting. Refusal or cancellation after the fact kind of indicates a low level of maturity. And I get it, there are some people out there who just don't believe in insurance, but then those are not the tenants you want living in your unit. And yes, you're providing a home to your tenants, but when the shit hits the fan, they will walk away and leave you high and dry with the damages to pay for and the repairs to deal with. Because their renter's insurance will also cover your deductible, you're not going to be out of pocket for any claims filed. Plus most tenants will not have the money to cover your deductible should the damage to the unit be caused from their negligence. Cause Lord knows insurance rates have gone through the roof and one way that we all have been keeping them reasonable is to increase our deductible. Many landlords we know have raised their deductible up to$10,000. If your tenant is complaining about$15 a month, what makes you think that they could cover that deductible without renter's insurance? And yes, you can include in your lease that the tenant is required to cover any fees that you are charged for damages and repairs caused from their negligence. So, landlords, do yourself a favor and go pull up your lease and read it line by line. And my guess is somewhere in there, you're going to find this clause or something close to it.

Kevin: 7:03

So, what about the part where they ask about paying for renter's insurance on behalf of their tenant? Can landlords cover the cost for the tenant if the tenant refuses, or the landlord state does not allow them to mandate it?

Stacie: 7:16

So it's our understanding that landlords cannot legally buy renter's insurance for their tenant. For one, the liability amount needs to be determined by the tenant. So say if they have something like collectible items or expensive electronics, they're going to need more coverage. Even if we as landlords require minimum coverage, like Kevin and I require at least a hundred thousand of coverage, that tenant has to be the one who makes the decision on the amount because they might need more. Plus, in order to get renters insurance, if the tenant does not already hold say car insurance where they already are established with an insurance company, you have to apply. And when you do, your credit rating is checked. And in order for all of that to happen, the tenant has to sign a specific authorization form and essentially it's like taking credit out in someone else's name, which is obviously illegal. And the funny thing is when our youngest was away at college, he lived in one of those college housing communities with like 150 units. And if you did not provide proof of your renter's insurance, which we did, they would charge you a$12.50 fee per month for renter's insurance. And for a few months, until we proved we had it, they did charge him and had to cancel his policy that they took out on his behalf. So I'm not sure how they got away with it, but they did. From what we have heard from our insurance broker and have read on line the consensus from actual insurance companies is no, this is not legal to do on a tenant's behalf.

Kevin: 8:50

Yeah. I mean, that doesn't make sense on how they did that. I don't know, maybe we signed off that they could apply on his behalf?

Stacie: 8:58

I mean, I have to assume so, uh, that was over four years ago and I mean, I'm good, I can't remember what his lease said from back then.

Kevin: 9:06

Okay, the next question about renter's insurance comes from an Instagram follower, Rosalie from New York, and she asks, I have a question and would like your input. Last week a sewer line broke in one of my two family properties. I have a contract through the DEP in New York City, and they will cover the repair. Unfortunately, while it is being repaired, my tenants have to relocate for eight days. Both my tenants have a clause in their lease that they're responsible to get their renter's insurance. However, neither one of them did. My lease did not mandate it, it just says they would be responsible to protect their own personal belongings. Luckily, both my tenants have family nearby and they were able to stay with them. She asks, in your opinion, what do you think should be my obligation for compensation, if any, for the eight days they were not able to effectively live in their apartments?

Stacie: 10:03

Okay. So this question does kind of go with the one I just answered. And I'll tell you when I first read that question, my first thought was zero. Don't give those tenants anything. Let them learn their lesson by not being responsible. But because her lease did not require tenants take out renter's insurance, I can't really get all high and mighty about it. And I did respond and tell her that if they're good tenants, we would likely cover a small amount of the cost for the relocation and inconvenience. Now, for instance, we would credit them back for the eight days of rent that they were not able to stay in their unit, especially if we felt that we had some responsibility in the matter. Like, if we fail to do preventative maintenance or have our sewer lines inspected every couple years, because that would show any issues and allow us time to plan for proper repairs. And I have no idea what the situation was here, so I don't want to speculate. But offering that small amount when you don't have to is simply a goodwill gesture. The sewer failing was a crappy situation, no pun intended, but a situation nonetheless, where maintenance does fall to the landlord to handle. And with that said, I would change my policy and add a requirement for renter's insurance with the next renewal, if it's allowed in the state where my rental property is located. Is this landlord obligated to work with their tenants? Not in the least. Should the landlord have required renter's insurance? And listen, we have been in this situation and dropped the ball here too. You guys, there's a lot to handle when self managing rental properties. And this is one tough lesson to learn for both the landlord and the tenant.

Kevin: 11:46

Okay. One more question about renter's insurance and simply put, can landlords require renter's insurance?

Stacie: 11:54

In most states, yes, they can. They can mandate tenants have coverage as well as set a minimum amount of coverage. You guys, there was a case in Oklahoma that basically set all the legal precedent for landlords requiring renter's insurance. And it's called the Sutton Rule, and it states that a property owner's insurance company cannot sue a tenant for negligence because the tenant is considered a co-insured part of the property's policy. This rule has been interpreted a bunch of different ways in different states and can be applied broadly or on a case by case basis. Generally, the courts look at the language of the landlord's lease to determine what responsibilities the tenant has in regards to protection of the property. So again, please take a look at your leases and see what specifically is written with regards to renter's insurance, and the level of your tenant's responsibility to pay for damages that they incur.

Kevin: 12:57

Okay, that should be it for Renter's Insurance follow up questions. Now we have some easy questions for you to answer and some that might take some thought. Uh, let me throw an easy one at you first. So Helena from Roanoke, Virginia wrote, I am remodeling my rental. Should I stick with gas appliances or switch to electric?

Stacie: 13:19

That's your easy question.

Kevin: 13:21

Easy for me.

Stacie: 13:22

Yeah. All right, you guys, let me see if I can answer this one kind of quickly. And unfortunately the answer is it depends. There are many things to consider, like you have safety and maintenance and even property constraints. And when I say it depends, it means what's your state doing about the laws around gas powered appliances because here in California they are working to get rid of them on new builds and remodels that require a permit. It depends also means that you have to evaluate the safety of having gas powered appliances. So, electric appliances are generally safer than gas appliances because they eliminate the risk of gas leaks and fires. Gas leaks can be caused by incorrect installation, poor maintenance, faulty pipes, aging, and can lead to carbon dioxide poisoning, explosions, or fires. If there's a gas leak, carbon dioxide can leak into the home and be very dangerous if not deadly to your tenants. So, for safety reasons, you definitely want to install CO2 detectors if using gas appliances. And we did a podcast all about fire safety and touched on CO2 detectors. So we'll link it in the show notes if you want to go back and check it out. Being here in earthquake country, California, gas leaks are a major concern. Just as they are in wildfire, flood, tornado, and hurricane zones. And I believe unlike electricity, gas has to be shut off at the home and cannot be shut down in a mass situation like electricity can to help preserve a home should an earthquake happen or a wildfire, or a tornado rolls through. And when it comes to cost, it's not so much an issue as electric units cost just slightly less than gas ones to purchase. But gas tends to cost less than electricity to operate. So that might be a plus to you or your tenants or whoever has to pay for the utility bills. This will depend on if your rental is a single family home or a multifamily and how the gas and electric meters are set up. Are they individual so that the tenant covers all the cost? Or is there only one meter for your gas and your electric and you as a landlord has to cover the cost, or you deal with utility billing services to divide up the cost each month. When I say it depends, it means that if your rental is a single family home in a nice area, we'll say C plus or higher, you might be able to market it as having a gas stove and oven. Also, tankless water heaters can heat water quickly and on demand, while electric heaters are more efficient and they heat the water more evenly. one of those might be a perk to some renters. To me, as someone who loves to cook, gas is the way to go for the stove if it works for your situation. For people who don't like to cook, I think they could care less. When considering maintenance, electric appliances are often easier to maintain than gas appliances, which could reduce the frequency and cost of maintenance calls. Electric appliances may also be more convenient for quick installation during renovations. And I say this because we have gas stoves and ovens in our Sacramento property that we have been replacing. And for each one of those replacements, we've had to have our contractor go in and lower the gas line down because the newer appliances have the gas attachment at the bottom of the unit, whereas they used to be up higher. So now we have to have our gas lines brought down, which is an added cost, not to mention the time it takes. And the last thing I want to say is that aesthetically gas stoves look nicer if that's the look you're going for. If you prefer a more streamlined look, maybe a flat induction style stove top is better. But for appliances in general, like for gas powered water heaters, heating systems, and gas powered dryers, unless you're catering to a higher end tenant in a B plus or higher area, just do electric. In our California sixplex we have all electric appliances exception to the gas stove and oven that I just talked about. In Idaho every piece is electric, which is the norm for newer build fan multifamily. And I'm not sure I really answer the question, but hopefully I gave you some information to help you make your decision.

Kevin: 17:52

That was way more than I ever thought about gas versus electric appliances

Stacie: 17:57

I'm sure there's more to consider but that's what I can come up with right now.

Kevin: 18:01

Okay, up next is one that might take a little more time to answer, but Sebastian from California wants to know, what are some mistakes you have made and how did you rectify them?

Stacie: 18:14

Oh my god, um, where do I start?

Kevin: 18:17

Hopefully not with me.

Stacie: 18:20

No, you were the best mistake I ever made.

Kevin: 18:23

Thank you.

Stacie: 18:24

All right. Let me first say and let everyone know that when I first started off in 2005, I knew nothing about managing rental properties. And the way I learned was by making mistakes and then adjusting and tweaking our policies and procedures from those lessons learned. I also became a Realtor and started taking property management courses that were offered to me. Now, these were courses focused on being a Realtor or broker in the state of California and centered more around the law than the actual management. So you know, they didn't go over things like marketing for a new tenant and what do you need to do when someone moves out, or how often do you need to do inspections or preventative maintenance. There's so much that goes into being a landlord that goes way beyond the scope of the administrative side and making sure that you're following landlord tenant laws. Anyway, here are a few things that I messed up on and that really kind of stick in my mind. And first and foremost, I can't believe I have to admit this, but I never did inspections. For years I would get someone in there and I would just let the tenant go. I wouldn't do renewals. I would let their lease roll over just to month to month. And of course with no formal renewals, I did not increase the rent regularly. I would only experience an increase in the rent when someone would move out and then a new tenant would move in and that's when I would move the rent up to the market rate at that time. But then I went to a rental housing meeting and this was way before anything was online. Everything was in person and depending on the speaker, you'd pay a nominal fee to attend. And they were usually in the morning and there was food and coffee, which is really nice because in order for me to attend these meetings I had to leave my house at like five or five 30 in the morning to get to Sacramento by seven 30 in the morning for the meeting. A lot of times they had lawyers there to help teach about the laws and there were always tips that I learned on how to handle certain scenarios. But one time there was a company there that was talking about maintenance of your rental property and they asked all the landlords that were there, how often do you go into your units and evaluate them to make sure that there's no lease violations, or maintenance that needs to be performed. And I would say you guys, a majority of us were in the never category and we did not raise our hands. Most of us expressed and had the basic feeling that we didn't want to bother our tenants or have them think that we're snooping on them. We wanted to value their privacy because that's going to make them want to stay, right? Nope, that could not be farther from the truth. For the most part, tenants prefer a landlord who is taking care of the property and is staying on top of maintenance. For the most part, landlords who do regular inspections will see and deal less with lease violations because tenants know they're going to get caught. And I will tell you that every single tenant that we have has always thanked us for doing inspections and maintenance. Because they can pretty much live worry free knowing that we're on top of it. And a bonus, our renewal rate went way up. We were showing these tenants that we cared about their experience of living in one of our units. Which most landlords did not, and still do not do this, you guys. So we stood out to these tenants and still to this day are often told by them that they wish they didn't have to move out and that they really love living in our properties. So, my first biggest mistake was not doing inspections and consequently not performing preventative maintenance on any of the units or the properties. We were in this state of mind that we'll deal with the problem when it happens, which usually ended up costing us a whole lot more money, time, and frustration. And this is why we recreated the inspection list that we use for all of you listeners and followers. Regardless if it's a single family home or an apartment, this checklist makes it really easy to go into a rental and just walk through checking things off. It's like six pages and it's all broken down into sections and under each section has a list of areas. So, like, let's say you're going in to inspect a kitchen. The section has an area for the cabinets to check to make sure the doors open and shut okay and that the knobs are on tight. It has light fixtures and appliances down to the oven light to make sure it's working. The sink and the faucet, and the flooring and the baseboards. The windows, the screens, and the window coverings, you can check all of those. And each line next to those items has a box for you to put your remarks. And there's a key for you to use so you know what's going on. Like CLN means clean or NW means needs work. I mean, you get the point, but we picked this checklist up years ago and then adapted it to what we needed over time. It's also got room to put notes and have the tenant sign off if you want them to. And here's the deal. This is one of two items that we sell for$9.99. You guys, we're not making a bunch of money and we're going to retire off these checklists. Every little bit helps keep us going with your landlord resource. So we'll link it in the show notes if you'd like to check it out.

Kevin: 23:57

All right. So, any other mistakes you made when first starting out?

Stacie: 24:02

Yeah, I have a couple more I want to talk about. And one of them is that I had no experience with screening tenants I had no idea what to do, where to check credit, and the very first time I had to call and check on someone's income I got my ass handed to me by their employer telling me that I could not just call up and ask what someone makes as their income. You guys, I was horrified and definitely thought I was not going to survive as a landlord or in property management. But you know what I did? I talked to the professionals. So my broker, where I hold my real estate license, he mainly focuses on property management, so I asked for his help. And where he wasn't as forthright as I'd hoped, he did give me the basics that I needed. So where did I go wrong with tenant screening? No, I called their landlords and I confirmed their income and I got their credit scores and I interviewed the applicant. And when they gave me a sob story about how their wife had just kicked him out and they had nowhere to live or that their credit was low because they bought a bunch of stuff for their boyfriend and then the boyfriend never paid him back and now they're broken up. They would look at me with those big doe eyes and I just caved. I wanted to save them and give them a second chance. You know what happened? They never paid rent on time. They snuck in pets who destroyed our units. They never told us about leaks or water issues with the unit and then threatened to call the county health department when mold started growing. They smoked on the porch when the lease said no smoking on property. And then proceeded to throw their cigarette butts and ashes all over. And I take full responsibility for letting my heart make decisions and not sticking to my business processes. I allowed them to move in and rent from us, but I will tell you now, now we can take up to two days to complete a background check. Now I have essentially no issues with our tenants. They pay rent two weeks early, they notify us of any issues, they keep the units clean and tidy, and they respect the unit in the common areas of our properties. If you want to learn more about our tenant screening process, sign up to be on our waiting list for our upcoming course called From Marketing to Move In, How to Place Your Ideal Tenant. This is a comprehensive course that Kevin and I are working on it starts with photographing and doing videos of your unit to use with your marketing, the application process, vetting the applicants, the lease process, and what we do when moving someone in. And the link to get on the wait list is in the show notes.

Kevin: 26:44

And I'll tell you guys, I can attest to Stacie's procedures. So, when I first came on and started working with her, I offered to run the background checks when she was overwhelmed. And oh my god, when she handed me the forms and told me what to do, I asked her if she was serious. I was like, you call all those people and ask them all a bunch of questions. And she was like, yep. I got burned one time too many, and now I don't want anyone behind any of our doors that does not meet our criteria. She has it down to a science and because she does all this work up front, we can both now benefit from knowing we have a much lower chance of something going seriously wrong.

Stacie: 27:27

Oh, I mean, we still had a couple of bad apples. And we're really nice landlords don't get me wrong until you mess up and then we get firm. And those people will either shape up or they'll ship out. Okay. The last mistake or something that I wish I had done differently was not to learn more about creative ways to grow and scale. I was very naive and felt that I had to follow the traditional route of saving my money, and when I had enough to put as a down payment, I'd go out and take out a loan and buy a property. And let me tell you that you'll end up with one single family home rental every seven to eight years If you cannot learn how to be creative with financing and purchases. Now I'll be honest, when I first started out I was working in our family business. My late husband was very ill and I had three young boys I was trying to raise pretty much on my own. I I mean, I had a lot of help but it was still a lot So I don't want to sound like I was just sitting around saving a hundred here or there for my next property, I was not. But I was not contributing to our family's business growth like I should have been either. We had a lot of equity in our properties and we could have 1031 exchange some rentals to scale into larger multifamily. We could have worked to find off market deals or ask sellers if they would do seller financing. And I missed out on a lot of opportunities. I mean life changing opportunities. So my advice is to push through the fears and the worry and the unknown and figure out what you need to do to scale past the single family homes and get into more doors. I did not have any plan at all, and now Kevin and I have a three year, a five year, and a seven year plan, and where it's not going perfect, it is going in the right direction.

Kevin: 29:21

Yeah, I think so. We're definitely doing much better than we did. And we're actually getting ready to buy our next property. We sold one door and are now looking to potentially replacing it with six more. I will also say that Stacie is the driving force behind our growth. She has a vision and I fully support her going for it. And part of you guys moving past the fear is making sure that if you have a partner, they are on board and supportive of your goals. Communication is so very important. So be as open and forthcoming as you can when discussing your dreams and aspirations, so your spouse or partner can hopefully support you, too. Okay, I think we have time for a couple quick ones. Are you ready, Stace?

Stacie: 30:09

Go for it.

Kevin: 30:11

Okay, so the weather all over is really hot right now and we have Janice from Texas asking, My tenant would like to put in a kiddie pool and is asking our permission. Is there anything I need to know or consider before approving or denying their request?

Stacie: 30:27

All right, I'm going to try and get through this one quickly. Bottom line, yeah, there are some things you want to consider here. Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here and I'm going to assume that this is one of those newer blow up pools that are like six foot by ten foot and can get like three or four feet of water in them. Not one of those little twenty dollar plastic pools that you soak your feet in. So here are some questions to consider. Is the property fenced in so that it decreases the chance of a neighboring child coming over and getting access and then having a tragic outcome? Are they planning on keeping the pool up permanently, like all summer, or are they just going to use it for a day or two and then take it down? Does your insurance have any clauses stating it will not cover liability or injuries caused from the use of a pool? And if so, what does it cost to add pool coverage onto the policy? And is the tenant willing to compensate you for this increased expense? And as with anything in a rental property, regardless of who caused it or what the issue is, you, as the owner, are ultimately responsible for their safety. If you allow a pool, you are increasing your liability. So is a tenant willing to sign an addendum that lays out all the potential issues with this pool stating issues like they will not be leaving anyone unattended when swimming, that there will be no drinking of alcohol around the pool, that no one will dive into the pool, things like that. Lastly, a good real estate attorney can draft a solid addendum to cover all of the potential hazards and work to get you released from as much liability as possible.

Kevin: 32:14

And I think one more thing to consider when they empty this pool is where will all the water go? Because you certainly do not want it flowing towards the home and the foundation.

Stacie: 32:23

Yeah, and I guess who is paying for the water can be a factor as well. My assumption is that this is a single family home and the tenant pays for all the utilities. But if it's a multifamily rental, then, there are way too many problems that can come up by allowing a pool, kiddie or not. And I hope that this gave you some things to think about Janice. Next!

Kevin: 32:47

Oh man, you've been watching too many of those reels from the WD 40 guy, haven't you?

Stacie: 32:52

Maybe.

Kevin: 32:54

Okay, last one. Marcus from Ohio asked the following, I recently inherited a property and want to use it as a rental. I plan to manage it myself, and I'm worried that I will violate HUD or Fair Housing laws. Is there somewhere I can take a course to learn all about them?

Stacie: 33:12

Ah, this is easy peasy, Marcus. Alright, we have two things we want to talk about here. First, you can go to the Fair Housing Institute. They have Fair Housing courses that you can take to certify yourself, just like property managers have to do. And I believe the main course gives you a good overview of each law, and they also do have specific fair housing courses that you can take as well. Like Kevin and I took one on ESAs last year and it was really helpful. Those individual courses are a little bit more detailed and they're going to cost you a lot more if you do them individually. So maybe just doing the overview one would be fine. Now I want to say that we do have a 15 percent off discount code. I believe it is YLR2024. And I want to say that we are not affiliated with the Fair Housing Institute at all. We do not receive compensation if you buy their course. We just really like how easy they make it to learn. So check out the Fair Housing Institute., we'll include their link and that discount code in our show notes. The other one we want to recommend is TurboTenant. They have an all encompassing certification course to cover the protected classes of Fair Housing. And it costs around$29 for account holders. And just an FYI, it's free to have a TurboTenant account. So if you want to sign up, we'll add their link in our show notes. All right, you guys, I hope that those questions helped you out a little bit. As Kevin mentioned, we do have a link in our show notes where you can text us a question. This is a one way texting system. So if you'd like us to respond back to you quickly, please include your email addresses when texting in your questions, and we will respond back via email.

Kevin: 34:59

Our emails are also linked in the show notes, so if you prefer to contact us that way, go right ahead.

Stacie: 35:06

Yeah, and it might take a day or two, so be patient. But we do make a sincere effort to respond to everybody. All right, you guys, thanks so much for giving this episode a listen. We are really grateful that you take the time out of your busy day to listen to all we have to say. If you have a moment, would you do us a favor and share our podcast with other landlords that you know? And would you leave us a kind review? This helps us more than you'll ever know. If you'd like to connect with us in other ways, in the show notes we have links to all of our free downloads, our free weekly newsletter, our private Facebook group, and our social media sites. So thank you again for listening. And until next time, You've Got This Landlords.