Author: Scot Aubrey

This Election’s Biggest Winner Might Be Landlords By Scot Aubrey As the 2024 U.S. presidential election recently closed, landlords across the country are celebrating many of the positive outcomes they saw in regard to housing, tax, and economic policies that will affect their businesses.  Whether it’s rent control, tenant protection laws, or economic conditions, this often-contentious election outcome will have an impact on the investment real estate market for years to come.  Here’s what landlords should be on the lookout for: Rent Control Normally reserved for large population center cities, rent control has moved beyond big-city limits and is trying…

Brain Games for Housing Providers By Scot Aubrey Have you ever looked at your life as a housing provider, considered your property portfolio, and questioned why things just aren’t working out in your favor? If you’ve been doing this for any period of time, the answer is a resounding yes. If you haven’t, well at least you have that to look forward to. Here’s the great thing, you can blame it on your brain, specifically what scientists call cognitive dissonance. Similar to the person who wants to be fit and healthy but refuses to eat less, eat, well or exercise,…

Using A Key Word Helps You Get the Right Tenant By Scot Aubrey When Summer hits, I look forward to slipping on my waders, stepping into a river, and casting my fly rod in search of that trophy fish.  But before I do, I always go through a list of things to prepare me for success.  I check the local regulations and consult the local guides and experts to see where the fish are and what they are biting.  Armed with this knowledge, it is left up to me to identify the specific fish (usually German brown or rainbow trout)…

The Effects of Drugs on Your Property By Scot Aubrey If you‘ve ever been on a boat, you are familiar with the wake that is left behind on the water.  Regardless of your speed, it is impossible not to disturb the pristine glassiness of even the most still water.  The same concept applies to your properties when someone has used or manufactured drugs on the premises; there is always an impact, large or small, on the condition of the property, and that impact can be as far reaching as the ripples of a passing boat. A client recently called in…

The Blame Game is a No-Win for Landlords By Scot Aubrey If you have spent more than 30 seconds in the last year watching cable news, you are more than familiar with something called “the blame game.”  Regardless of political party affiliation, age, race, gender, sexual preference or any of a host of other categories, it appears that our society has become a place of great divide.  As a landlord you are not immune to this growing epidemic of blame and in fact, you’re likely to take more than your fair share of blame when it comes to tenants and…

Does Your “No Smoking” Policy Stink? By Scot Aubrey “What’s that smell?” might be one of the worst questions a potential tenant can ask you as a landlord.  In my experience, the showing of the property almost always goes downhill from there. Odors play a major role in our lives, with many of our most impactful memories tied to a specific smell, whether good or bad.  I mean who doesn’t love the smell of bacon, fresh baked bread (my mouth just started watering) or a campfire.  Those smells instantly transport us to a time or place; that’s the power they have…

Tough Times Ahead… Analyze More Than Just an Applicants’ Income. By Scot Aubrey Everyone loves a good survivor story.  Whether it is a group of 12 boys rescued from a cave in Thailand or the indomitable spirit of a soldier who endured more than two and a half years as a POW during World War II, these stories strike a chord with all of us.  Naturally we put ourselves into the shoes of the survivors and wonder if we would have what it takes to make it through such an ordeal.  For the vast majority of us, we will never…