Running an apartment complex is a lucrative business with a substantial passive income stream once you get it off the ground. However, there are licenses and other regulatory requirements to maintain as an apartment complex owner. Here are a few tips for keeping up with them.
1- Use a Rental Broker Service
Utilizing a broker service is one of the best ways an apartment complex can keep up with obtaining and renewing needed licenses regularly. Rental brokers offer services to help regulate the apartment complex’s business based on the requirements of the state in which they are based. Internal assessments are essential for evaluating the current state of the apartment complex to find avenues on how to make them better in presentation and how to sharpen the staff’s professionalism for handling tenants.
A broker service can also ensure that your apartment complex follows marketing guidelines pertinent to the local real estate law. This applies to print advertising in local newspapers or online advertising in a website’s classifieds.
2- Become a Member of the American Apartment Owners Association
When you become a member of the American Apartment Owners Association, you can enjoy many helpful resources that will be useful in your journey of becoming an apartment complex owner. You can browse properties for sale, find out more about how to obtain landlord insurance and screen any interested tenants applying to your complex. The top feature of this association’s website is its articles on learning how to stay compliant as an apartment complex owner.
The American Apartment Owners Association states that the two basic licenses required as a property manager or a landlord are a certificate of occupancy and a housing business license. Your local zoning board will issue the certificate of occupancy when they have approved that your property is up to standard for the basic living needs of tenants in your apartment complex. A housing business license will be needed for each unit in which a tenant resides. Hence, if your complex consists of twenty 1 to 2-bedroom apartments, you will need 20 housing business licenses to operate legally.
Every state’s licensing requirements for an apartment complex owner will be different. It’s best to check your city hall’s zoning board for more information so you are armed with the correct tools for proceeding with this venture.
3- Make an Excel Document to Track Apartment Complex Licenses
Whether you have access to Microsoft Excel or its Google Drive equivalent, Google Sheets, you can keep track of all the licenses you need for your apartment complex in one Excel document with as many spreadsheets as you need. Be sure to back up this document on a flash drive, your business’s Google Drive, and at least one other place of your choosing so that you do not lose this valuable information if the main document becomes lost.
Each separate sheet should contain details about each business license. Again, if you have 20 rental units in your apartment complex, the license for each one should be separated into a different sheet on the Excel or Google Sheets document. Note when the housing business license was obtained, the expiration date, and the point of contact for renewal. It’s also best to note the current tenant(s) and when their current lease ends.
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