Property Management Kit For Dummies

PropertyManagement KitFORDUMmIES‰2NDEDITIONby Robert GriswoldHost of radio’s Real Estate Today! With Robert Griswold01 293294-ffirs.indd i7/22/08 11:12:36 PM

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PropertyManagement KitFORDUMmIES‰2NDEDITIONby Robert GriswoldHost of radio’s Real Estate Today! With Robert Griswold01 293294-ffirs.indd i7/22/08 11:12:36 PM

Property Management Kit For Dummies , 2nd EditionPublished byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.comCopyright 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IndianaPublished by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IndianaPublished simultaneously in CanadaNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except aspermitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the priorwritten permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee tothe Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600.Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing,Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for theRest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related tradedress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the UnitedStates and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are theproperty of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendormentioned in this book.LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NOREPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OFTHE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BECREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIESCONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THEUNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OROTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OFA COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THEAUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATIONOR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE.FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVECHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer CareDepartment within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print maynot be available in electronic books.Library of Congress Control Number: 2008933076ISBN: 978-0-470-29329-4Manufactured in the United States of America10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 101 293294-ffirs.indd ii7/22/08 11:12:37 PM

About the AuthorRobert S. Griswold is the coauthor of Real Estate Investing For Dummies withEric Tyson. He has earned a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees inreal estate and related fields from the University of Southern California’sMarshall School of Business. His professional real estate management andinvesting credentials include the CRE (Counselor of Real Estate), the CPM(Certified Property Manager), the ARM (Accredited Residential Manager), theCCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member), PCAM (ProfessionalCommunity Association Manager), and the GRI (Graduate, Realtor Institute).Robert is a hands-on property manager with more than 30 years of practicalexperience, having managed more than 800 properties representing morethan 45,000 rental units. He owns and runs Griswold Real Estate Management,Inc., a property management firm with offices in southern California andsouthern Nevada.Since 1995, Robert has been the Real Estate Expert for NBC San Diego, anetwork-owned and number-one-rated station. Every Saturday, he providesimpromptu answers to viewers’ real estate questions live on the air duringNBC News this Weekend.Once a week for 14 years, Robert hosted a live, call-in real estate news andinformation talk show called Real Estate Today! with Robert Griswold, heardthroughout southern California on Clear Channel’s AM 600 KOGO radio andaround the world on the show’s Web site at www.retodayradio.com. Hehas been twice named the #1 Radio or Television Real Estate Journalist in theCountry by the National Association of Real Estate Editors in their AnnualNational Journalism competition. The first award was for Real Estate Today!with Robert Griswold, and the second was for his work for NBC News.Robert is the lead columnist for the syndicated Rental Roundtable landlordtenant Q & A column at www.rentalroundtable.com, which is also featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle. He alsowrites a nationally syndicated column, Rental Forum, at www.inman.com.He’s a nationally recognized real estate litigation expert, having beenretained on more than 1,000 real estate legal matters — as well as servingmore than 150 times as a court-appointed receiver, referee, or bankruptcycustodian.Robert is a member of the National Faculty of IREM and a National ApartmentAssociation (NAA) and California Department of Real Estate CertifiedInstructor. He’s a licensed California and Nevada real estate Broker, aRealtor, and an active member of NAA and his local apartment association,the San Diego County Apartment Association. Since 2005, he has served as aPlanning Commissioner in the City of San Diego.01 293294-ffirs.indd iii7/22/08 11:12:37 PM

In his spare time (?!), he enjoys travel (especially cruising!), watching hischildren excel in soccer, and participating in family activities with his wife,Carol, and their four teenagers, Sheri, Stephen, Kimberly, and Michael. Aboveall, he tries to retain his sense of humor and truly enjoy what he’s doing!DedicationI dedicate this book to my father, Westcott Griswold, who’s greatly admired byall who know him. I also want to thank my best friend and wife, Carol, for her25 years of love, support, patience, and persistence in attempting to bring theproper balance to my life. Of course, life’s always exciting and has real meaningthanks to my four great teenagers — Sheri, Stephen, Kimberly, and Michael.I also want to express my appreciation to my mom, Carol, for her unconditionallove and infinite encouragement. Most of all, I want to praise and thank God forthe wonderful gifts and incredible opportunities He has given me.Author’s AcknowledgmentsThis book was made possible through the efforts of some very fine peopleat Wiley Publishing, Inc. Mark Butler initially believed in my concept for thefirst edition of Property Management For Dummies. Lindsay Lefevere was verysupportive of my efforts to include a CD-ROM with forms for the secondedition.My Project Editor, Chad Sievers, made the rewrite fairly painless with somegreat suggestions, which have led to a phenomenal resource book for rentalowners and property managers. My thanks also go to Copy Editor JenniferTucci for a masterful job. I’d also like to thank technical editor, Joe DeCarlo,who helped make sure that the information was accurate and that my advicehit the mark.My interest in real estate can be traced back to my father and mentor,attorney Westcott Griswold, who advised me to excel in real estate, not law;and my friend and first real estate professor at USC, Dr. Rocky Tarantello.Thank you!I was blessed to formally begin my real estate management career workingwith two of the most savvy, knowledgeable, and ethical men in real estate —thank you, Rod Stone and George Fermanian, for starting me on the righttrack. In my property management days, I’ve met many fine people, and twoof the best are my friends property manager Wade Walker and attorneySteve Kellman. I also want to thank attorney Kathy Belville-Ilaqua for herreview and sage advice on fair housing materials covered in the new edition.01 293294-ffirs.indd iv7/22/08 11:12:37 PM

I’ll always be thankful to Carl Larsen, Homes Editor of the San Diego UnionTribune, who started me in my writing career when he gave me a shot withthe first Rental Roundtable column while his lovely wife, Sharon Larsen,assisted in creating my original book proposal.My heartfelt appreciation also goes to the late syndicated columnist andnewsletter author Bob Bruss, who offered encouragement and invaluableadvice for my first two books and who reinforced the importance of sharingmy personal experiences to illustrate my points.Finally, I’d like to thank all of my NBC news viewers, Rental Roundtable andRental Forum readers, and radio listeners who’ve educated me with theirinteresting and thought-provoking questions on literally every aspect of realestate management.01 293294-ffirs.indd v7/22/08 11:12:37 PM

Publisher’s AcknowledgmentsWe’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registrationform located at www.dummies.com/register/.Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:Acquisitions, Editorial, andMedia DevelopmentProject Editor: Chad R. Sievers(Previous Edition: Elizabeth Kuball)Composition ServicesProject Coordinator: Katie KeyAcquisitions Editor: Lindsay LefevereLayout and Graphics: Reuben W. Davis,Stephanie D. Jumper, Christin Swinford,Christine WilliamsCopy Editor: Jennifer TucciProofreaders: John Greenough, Penny L. StuartEditorial Program Coordinator:Erin Calligan MooneyIndexer: Sherry MasseyTechnical Editor: Joe DeCarloMedia Development Producer: Josh Frank,Jenny SwisherEditorial Manager: Michelle HackerEditorial Assistants: Joe Niesen,Jennette ElNaggar, David LuttonCover Photos: Ablestock.comCartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)Publishing and Editorial for Consumer DummiesDiane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer DummiesJoyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer DummiesKristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer DummiesMichael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, TravelKelly Regan, Editorial Director, TravelPublishing for Technology DummiesAndy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General UserComposition ServicesGerry Fahey, Vice President of Production ServicesDebbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services01 293294-ffirs.indd vi7/22/08 11:12:37 PM