Minnesota Investment Real Estate

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Amy Dickinson is a great read over at the Star Tribune. She writes a column called Rent in the Homes section and takes email questions from readers and answers them.  I suppose you could say she is kind of like a Dear Abby for renters and landlords!

A recent one article I found funny and tragic at the same time. It seems the landlord is actually a little too quick and helpful to fix things. He barely knocks before he uses his key to enter the apartment (one time catching the renter in a towel, just out of the shower). See the question and Amy’s response here.

Scott Ficek owns and manages almost 30 investment property units from single family to multi-family. Find his website at www.minnesotainvestmentrealestate.com or receive his blog via your RSS Feed or in your Email. He is also a Minnesota Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Advantage Plus in Minneapolis and helps new and seasoned investors buy and own Investment Property.

I hope I am “preaching to the choir” when I remind everyone that in Minnesota, you must pay your tenant interest on the security deposit they have on file with you, when they move out. As a landlord, you must return a tenant’s security deposit plus interest or give a written explanation why the deposit (or any portion of it) is not being returned, within 21 days after the tenant moves out and gives the landlord a forwarding address.

Below are the interest rates that apply depending upon when the tenant moved in:

• From August 1, 2003 through present, interest is figured at 1% per year.
• From March 22, 1996 through July 31, 2003, interest is figured at 3% per year.
• From April 28, 1992 through March 21, 1996, interest is figured at 4% per year.
• From October 1, 1984 through April 27, 1992, interest is figured at 5.5% per year.

If a tenant’s residency spans more than one interest rate change, you will need to figure the interest for that period until the change (round to the month) and then calculate the total. For example, if your tenant has lived in your investment property since August 2002 and moved out on July 31, 2007, they are entitled to 3% interest for 12 months and 1% for 48 months.

Using the above table will help you easily comply with state law when calculating the interest on your Minnesota investment property security deposits.

Scott Ficek owns and manages almost 30 investment property units from single family to multi-family. Find his website at www.minnesotainvestmentrealestate.com or receive his blog via your RSS Feed or in your Email. He is also a Minnesota Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Advantage Plus in Minneapolis and helps new and seasoned investors buy and own Investment Property in Minnesota.

I see this happen to new landlords often. A tenant moves in and asks if they can paint a room or wall. Unfortunately, the new landlord agrees and 90% of the time, the tenant does a terrible job or choses a bad color. Now you are in a tough spot. Legally, because the landlord agreed and probably nothing was in writing regarding colors or workmanship, the landlord can NOT take any money from the damage deposit.

I rarely get this request from my tenants because I maintain my investment properties well and most are repainted prior to the new tenant moving in. When I do get the request, I turn the tenant down, unless they have professional painting experience (which is almost never).

Scott Ficek owns and manages almost 30 investment property units from single family to multi-family. Find his website at www.minnesotainvestmentrealestate.com or receive his blog via your RSS Feed or in your Email. He is also a Minnesota Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Integrity in Minneapolis and helps new and seasoned investors buy and own Minnesota Investment Real Estate.

Every December, I see the past due rent amounts on my investment properties increase. Tenants will call and say that they are going to be short for some reason or another. The honest ones tell me they are going to be paying only part of the rent as they need the rest for Christmas presents. If they are a long time tenant and pay rent on-time (and in full) typically I will give them some latitude.

Now that we are in the new year and April 15 (tax time) is nearing, here is your chance to reduced or eliminate your past due rent balances. Many of your tenants will be getting tax refunds. In fact, some of my tenants filed their taxes in January and have already received their refunds.

Here is my suggestion: Start pressing your tenants more often to pay off any past due amounts in full (figuring that they are getting a refund). I actually started pressing my tenants at the beginning of the year. It was one of my investment property new year’s resolutions. You can suggest (strongly) that they use their refund to pay off their balance. You will be surprised how many times the tenant already has that refund spent on some new toy instead of on the rent they owe you!

Need help figuring out where to start? Don’t Wait! Get Started now.

Scott Ficek is a Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Integrity in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He helps new and seasoned investors buy, own and manage Investment Real Estate. Scott owns almost 30 investment property units from single family to multi-family. Find his website at www.minnesotainvestmentrealestate.com or receive his blog via your RSS Feed or in your Email.

When I get asked what I do for a living I tell people that I am a real estate agent and I own Investment Property. Probably 50% of the time the listener (trying to be funny), makes some joke about me being a “slumlord”. Truthfully, I can’t stand that term. I believe I am a responsible and conscientious landlord and rental property owner. I also never use that term to refer to my peers (no matter how bad they are).

Well, I have to say that after reading the article in City Pages about this Minneapolis Investment Property owner, I am making an exception. In my opinion, this guy is a slumlord. It is amazing that he can continue to fill his apartments and has not lost all his rental licenses. I suppose, in a way, he actually makes the rest of us hard working, normal landlords look fantastic to tenants. Read the full article about The Slumlord of South Minneapolis.

Are you an accidental Landlord and want to expand your portfolio? Don’t Wait! Get Started now.

Scott Ficek is a Minnesota Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Integrity in Minneapolis and helps new and seasoned investors buy and own Investment Property. He owns and manages almost 30 investment property units from single family to multi-family. You can find his website at www.minnesotainvestmentrealestate.com or receive his blog via your RSS Feed or in your Email.

You may have read the Carnival of Real Estate where Trevor Mauch reviewed Quicken Rental Property software. Well, Trevor has done it again. Where the Quicken product is for users with smaller real estate investment, Landlord Max is designed for users with more than 20 investment property units.

The cost of this product is $60 more than the Quicken software, but Trevor believes “this software is a good hybrid between a commercial rental property management software“. See his full review at the REIBrain.com.

Do you wonder what it would be like to own 20 investment property units? Don’t Wait! Get Started now.

Scott Ficek is a Minnesota Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Integrity in Minneapolis and helps new and seasoned investors buy and own Minnesota Investment Property. He owns and manages almost 30 investment property units from single family to multi-family. Find his website at www.minnesotainvestmentrealestate.com or receive his blog via your RSS Feed or in your Email.