Published Saturday, June 2, 2001, in the San Jose Mercury News
`How-to' advice stems from writer's real-life experience
BY ROBERT J. BRUSS
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FOR DUMMIES, By Robert Griswold (Hungry Minds, New York, 2001), $21.99, 336 pages.
Whether you already own or are thinking of buying residential rental property, be sure to learn Robert Griswold's success secrets revealed in ``Property Management for Dummies.'' The author is a professional property manager with more than 20 years of experience managing more than 600 properties and over 35,000 rentals. He understands his topic extremely well.
This new book is filled with practical ``how-to-do-it'' advice from a seasoned pro who shares many real-life examples, including a few mistakes he has learned not to make again. Beginning with introductory material about what is involved in managing property and whether it's best to hire a professional property manager or to do it yourself, the book advances to more detailed, specific material on how to rent residential property.
Griswold emphasizes the importance of only showing prospective tenants a cleaned-up apartment or rental house. ``There are no do-overs when it comes to showing a rental,'' he advises. Typical property-management topics such as setting the rent, security deposits and leases are thoroughly discussed.
Considerable attention is spent on renting apartments and houses in slow markets. The author explains the practical aspects, such as how to best advertise vacancies for the least cost. Then Griswold switches to specific details, such as whether or not to include addresses in rental ads and holding rental open houses to stimulate tenant activity while conserving owner and manager time.
The book contains various forms that Griswold uses in his property-management business. Unfortunately, they are in a reduced size, so readers who want to use them will have to photocopy and enlarge the forms. Examples include the rental application and verification, lease, policies and rules, pet agreement, move-in checklist, security deposit, move-out itemization and many others.
I especially enjoyed Griswold's recommendations on record-keeping, which is often the downfall of many landlords. He suggests several computer programs, including the one his firm uses. But for landlords with just a few rentals, the author says computerization probably isn't necessary.
The many sidebars throughout the book add realism to the text. For example, Griswold emphasizes the importance of changing locks between tenancies. He tells the true story of a non-caring landlord who used the same locks on all his units so he wouldn't have to carry around extra keys.
The author has included so much practical advice for residential landlords that it's hard to adequately explain all the topics covered in the 24 chapters. In the classic ``Dummies'' book style, the author shares hundreds of real-life property management ``tips'' gained from actual experiences. This is not a theoretical book; instead, it is a realistic advice text on how property owners can maximize their rental property cash flows and minimize their management headaches.
This all-inclusive property management book should be required reading for every residential rental property owner. It explains all the important topics from the viewpoint of an experienced professional property manager who has encountered and solved virtually every property management problem. On my scale of one to 10, this outstanding book rates a solid 10.
Robert J. Bruss is a Bay Area lawyer and real estate broker
Click here for information on ordering a personalized autographed copy of this book