Even if you don’t know a socket wrench from a light socket, you’ll be amazed what you can do on your own when managing your own property on the rental market.

3 DIY Repairs for Landlords Self-Managing a Rental Property

Even if you don’t know a socket wrench from a light socket, you’ll be amazed what you can do on your own with a helpful how-to video and a little elbow grease.  

We’re facing a serious shortage of contractors these days. It’s a result of the pandemic-inspired housing boom, as well as the work-from-home trend encouraging people to invest more in their houses.

What that means for individuals managing their own rental properties is that you might have to take on more work by yourself. Of course, you won’t be able to do anything that requires a license, like electrical work. But there are lots of routine repairs that you can handle, even if you’re not particularly handy. You just need some basic information, some tips, and a few simple and intuitive YouTube videos.

For those of you who want to strap on the tool belt, we’ve scoured the Internet and gathered the best content we could find to help property owners triumph over routine maintenance needs, having to track down, wait for, and over-pay a professional. Think of it as a divorce from Angi.

Maybe it’s dealing with the odors and the muck and gunk, or maybe it’s simply the intimidation factor when you look under the sink and you see those heavy metal pipes curving in and out of the walls, but for whatever reason, simple plumbing jobs seem to scare homeowners to death. The truth is that with a few simple tools you probably already have lying around your garage, you can take care of many common plumbing issues by yourself. Case in point: unclogging the bathroom sink. For most clogs all you need is a pair of pliers, a Zip-Tie, and some paper towels to get the job done; for more serious clogs you might need an auger (also known as a drain snake). It might set you back 20 or 30 bucks, but it’s a lot cheaper than calling the plumber every time a drain starts to slow down.

Sometimes the biggest stumbling block when it comes to performing simple DIY fixes around the house is a lack of confidence.  These aren’t tasks that most of us are familiar with, and so we’re afraid that we’re going to screw up and make the problem even worse.  Step one when it comes to fixing a leaky faucet is opening up the mechanism, a process which often involves popping off a decorative cap or forcing loose a handle, which sometimes requires a lot of torque. But try not to worry: just follow the instructions in one of the following videos and proceed, confident that you’re doing the job the right way.

Laminate can be a cost-effective solution when looking to replace old countertops (and these days it can be an aesthetically pleasing solution as well). The problem with it versus more expensive materials like stone or marble is that it doesn’t last as long; flaps come loose and get unstuck years before marble shows even the slightest signs of wear.  Often times though loose laminate can be fixed with an iron; carefully ironing over the unstuck bits will reactivate the glues and contact cement that was holding it down in the first place.  

If the thought of performing these tasks is still causing you to break out in a cold sweat we suggest you check out Belong – the end-to-end property management alternative that has the neighborhood's best contractors on call. Belong's extensive vendor network gives you access to over 10,000 professionals across the country. Which means no more hunting around Youtube for DIY solutions you’re too scared to execute, and no more hunting around for contractors who might be able to fit you in next month.

Discover Belong PRO, the best alternative to Property Management in Seattle, Redmond, Oakland, and many more cities across California, Florida and Washington State.

No house is perfect, but some 'quirks' are total dealbreakers for tenants. We share 4 fixable issues in that have the potential to turn renters off completely.

The Top 4 Dealbreakers For Renters — and how Homeowners Can Avoid Them

No house is perfect, but some imperfections matter more to residents than others: what are they, and how can homeowners address them preemptively? We share 4 dealbreakers that have the potential to turn residents off completely. 

These 4 issues are the most common dealbreakers for residents, but don’t worry — fixing these issues with Belong has never been easier. Soon you’ll have residents clamoring to live in — and love — your home.

The first thing many potential residents check is the appliances.  A dated refrigerator, a stove that doesn’t live up to what today’s foodies are expecting, or a dishwasher that has seen too many Thanksgiving dinners.

These might seem like small problems to a homeowner, but to a future resident, they indicate that a house hasn’t truly been loved. After all, a homeowner doesn’t care about the house enough to take care of these kinds of issues, why would a future resident It starts the relationship off on the wrong foot

If the idea of replacing any of that seems daunting — and you’re tempted to say “Let the new resident take care of it” — our advice is: Don’t. You’ll end up taking more off the rent than the improvements will cost you. And thankfully, Belong Pros – teams of contractors and craftspeople employed by the company full-time —  will be able to handle these replacements. 

Maybe your home is perfect, but the neighborhood isn’t. Although homeowners have no control over the surrounding area, they often have first-hand knowledge of hidden gems that potential residents might not know about. Fun neighborhood restaurants, bars, parks, and other attractions help make the resident feel like they already belong. 

Prepare a list of “Why I love this neighborhood” and make sure potential residents get to see it.  Belong is the unique property manager who knows how to market houses to overcome even something as difficult as the wrong neighborhood.

Belong has never heard of someone who says “I want LESS closet space.”  So what are your choices without undertaking expensive and time-consuming construction?  

First, try organizing potential storage space in clever ways to maximize a home’s livability (and lovability). Here are “Ten Easy Hacks that Will Make Your Small Closet Feel a Lot Bigger.”

You also might want to look downstairs; we love these “24 Smart Basement Storage Ideas for an Insanely Organized Space.”   It’s the perfect place for out-of-season clothes, and along those lines HGTV tells you how to build a closet in your garage.  

A potential resident adores your home. Then the price comes up, and the light vanishes from their eyes. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a technology that can help you find the right price — the Goldilocks price — that will make homeowners AND residents happy. Wondering where you can find that technology at the same place where homeowners will find lots of goodies that no property manager has offered before? Check out Belong Home’s “Market Pricing Optimization” model, and discover the sweet spot - and profitable spot - of your home and the current market conditions.

Finding the right resident is hard enough without having to convince them your home is lovable. Luckily, if you keep the tips above in mind, sharing your home is easier than ever.

Good upkeep on a rental home is the law - and a key part of keeping tenants happy and renting longer. So how do landlords find a contractor quickly?

How To Keep a Rental Home Well-Maintained and Habitable

Keeping a rental property well-maintained is essential to keeping tenants happy. Not only that, your tenants have a legal right to a habitable home. But finding a contractor when you need them (i.e. fast!) isn't always easy. 

Let’s conduct a little thought experiment. Let's say you didn't hire a property manager and decide to self-manage. Let’s say instead you went it alone or decided to work with a broker who helped find a tenant and did a background check draw up the lease and get it signed.

Now the tenant’s moved in, all settled, sending in rent checks without any prompting or follow up. Life seems pretty sweet. 

Then a faucet starts dripping. Which causes a mold problem. Which attracts bugs. Which attract spiders. Then randomly a Hitchcockian pigeon crashes into a window and shatters it. Hell breaks loose, in other words. 

What’s a homeowner to do? You don’t know any good contractors or exterminators, much less a good glazier. And what started as a minor repair has now escalated into a potential legal issue. 

Finding a contractor for rental repairs is easier said than done

What's next? You think, “I’ll call a contractor. Big whup. I need to pay a property manager just so they can call a contractor? That’s what you call a compelling argument?”

The fact is that finding anyone to get work done is hard on the immediate-need level, and finding a contractor organize and supervise everything is even more difficult. They are notoriously hard to wrangle, especially in major metropolitan areas, where there is often too much work and not enough skilled labor to perform it. As a matter of fact, currently, in America, there’s a massive contractor shortage.

Some property managers have relationships with contractors and service providers, having worked with them closely over the years. But you’re still relying on busy, overtaxed individuals, and taking care of problems as they crop up, on a case-by-case basis. Then there's the markups... 

How minor repairs can create habitability issues for landlords

It's the law for landlords to provide 'habitable' rentals. This means a safe, clean and comfortable environment for your tenants, with a legal requirement to ensure:

The property is structurally sound and intact (including floors, stairs, walls, roof)

All electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and elevators are operating safely

No known hazards are posing any danger to tenants (such as lead pant, asbestos)

Reasonable measures are in place to prevent foreseeable criminal intrusions

This means that some minor repairs could quickly turn into a breach of your tenant's right to a livable place and allow them to take legal action against you, stop paying rent, or even move out without liability to their lease. For example, if your property has a front door that won't lock - this may sound like a minor repair, but it's classed as a habitability problem due to the risk of break-ins. Same with a faulty water heater. In these instances, you're going to need to get onto repairs very quickly, to keep your tenants comfortable (and yourself out of hot water). 

Belong connects you to over 10,000 vetted contractors

Belong's extensive vendor network puts over 10,000 qualified professionals at your fingertips. All you have to do is reach out to your concierge or put in a request through our app and we’ll find the perfect pro to do the job.

Learn More: Discover Belong PRO, the best alternative to Property Management in Seattle, Redmond, Oakland, and many more cities across California, Florida and Washington State.

Discover the surprising connection between the most physical of assets, and the most virtual of them.

Cryptocurrency and The Security Of Belonging

We discovered a surprising connection between the most physical of assets - the home - and the most virtual of them, cryptocurrency. Everyone is looking for a sense of security and belonging. 

Here at Belong, we think there is a reason that the word “real” comes before “estate.”  We believe in the power of home.  The value of a tangible investment.  

A lot of people agree with us: At this point in American history, more than 67 percent of us own our own homes. This is up from 47 percent at the beginning of the 20th century, which is especially impressive, considering the nature of the economy back then.

But at the same time, homeownership is not for everyone. As we say in our Vision:

“There is more than one American Dream. Owning your own home and loving it is one of those dreams... But there are other American Dreams.

Some of these dreams are about living differently than previous generations — for whom owning was everything. We may want to use the cash to start a business — perhaps the next Belong-. We may want to experience new places. We may not have the money yet for homeownership, but still, dream of living in a glorious home where we can put down roots and experience the sense of belonging.”

We’ve quoted John Allen before, who is the author of the book Home. (The book is subtitled “How Habitat Made Us Human,” which we think cuts to the quick of the matter.)	In the book Allen poignantly writes that “We know we have been successful in creating a new home when a dwelling feels like the one place in the world that belongs to us more than anyone else."

We’ve never found a better description, anywhere, of what Belong does. How it makes people feel. People don’t need a deed to experience a deep down sense of belonging.

So, home matters. Concreteness matters. But at the same time, let’s talk for a moment – just as everyone else is doing – about cryptocurrency.  There’s nothing more intangible than a $60,000 digital asset, backed only by the fact that someone is willing to pay $60,001 for it. 

And while crypto ownership is generally pegged at 14% of Americans (some estimates have it at nearly 50%, although that is debatable), that’s still a lot of people who’ve decided to invest in a virtual currency that was scoffed at even less than a decade ago.

How, then, do we reconcile the need for something tangible and the acceptance of a currency that has nothing of physical substance behind it?

The answer comes back to our name. Although Bitcoin is decentralized, as an article in the Financial Times writes, it is a network “defined by distinctive rituals, symbols and creation myths.” The article goes on to quote Mick Morucci, an anthropologist working in crypto, who writes that “Bitcoin community’s value systems and rituals . . . have helped to establish it as money (whose price is shaped) by community, beliefs and a sense of belonging.”

Looking at it through his clarifying lens, the same human emotion that draws people to the safety and security of home – and to the neighborhoods and communities where we live – attracts them to the shared values and community that exists in CryptoWorld. 

A blog post by Suhitesh Das – a venture capitalist and advisor – makes a similar point.  He argues that “Belonging can be easily related to cryptocurrency” because it is encrypted, noting that the same “sense of security is what people also experience with belongingness.”

We are now more inspired than ever to extend the state of belonging that exists between people and their homes, to a state of connections that flourishes within the larger Belong community.  Importantly, Das also writes that “Belonging is actually about recognizing oneself as a member of a community, and the higher-quality relationships that come with it.”

That community also connects everyone who works at Belong and shares the same mission – to our homeowners and residents. 

Fascinating, isn’t it, that whether you invest in a modern home or a modern currency, a desire to belong is behind it all.

Self-managing a rental property means more money in your bank account, but it's also stressful and time consuming. We look into where to find a happy medium.

To Self-Manage Your Rental Property or Hire a Property Manager?

Self-managing means more money in your bank account – but it also means more stress and time spent caring for the property. Many homeowners ask if there’s a happy medium – we dive into that here.

Self-managing your own rental property presents a unique set of challenges: You have to market and show the house yourself, background check potential tenants, and draw up a binding lease agreement. Once the resident has moved in, you have to collect rent, attend to all their problems, and find contractors to make the repairs that you can’t handle yourself. 

That last part can be particularly difficult, especially in this day and age, when decent tradespeople are few and far between. You’ll likely have to spend hours researching contractors online, browsing Angi and Yelp, scouring Facebook groups and NextDoor, even consulting with neighborhood message boards. All in all, managing your own rental home is a mountain of work.

The possibility of hiring a traditional property manager – and not having to worry about the complexities mentioned above – is a tempting alternative. However, this option presents its downsides. First and foremost, traditional property managers often overcharge for their services, making it difficult for you to maximize your income. Traditional property managers also have less incentive than you, the owner, to treat a home with the love it deserves. You know all the wonderful nooks and crannies of your home, and it feels practically like a family member. But to a traditional property manager, your property is just another entry on a long, long list.

So let’s be honest.  Neither of the above options is ideal — managing your own property can drain your time and energy, while hiring a traditional property manager can lead to mistreatment of the home and the misuse of your money.

There are a few things you can do, however, to make self-managing a property a viable alternative. Here are some of the “middle ground” options we alluded to in our headline.

Instead of using NextDoor and Yelp and Angi to find individual contractors on a case-by-case basis, find a local handyman you can trust and rely on. He (or she) should have their own network that you can take advantage of, to fill in any expertise gaps.

Also we recommend making friends with those who live nearby your rental property. That way, if there’s an emergency and you can’t get a hold of your handyman or your home’s resident, they can potentially pop over and take a look themselves. Obviously they’re not going to be able to fix a big problem, but still they should be able to give you a sense of the scope of the issue. And, of course, if they have lived in the neighborhood for a while, they are likely to be able to add to your Rolodex of support.

There are a lot of great software platforms out there specifically designed for Homeowners to help with everything from rent collection to organizing and itemizing documents you’ll need come tax season. Investopedia has a list of the seven best programs. 

Your resident is always going to be your first line of defense – your eyes and ears.  When a problem occurs, they’ll be the first to know. So identifying residents who are super-responsible and vigilant is especially critical if you’re going to self-manage.

It’s also important that you find residents who love your home as much as you do, and who are willing to pitch in when needed. For example, if there’s a property-threatening problem with a simple fix, in an ideal world you want a resident who’s willing to provide a temporary fix, before the real experts can show up.

4. Ditch the property manager for a modern alternative

Belong is has ditched the property management model to provide the services you have been waiting for – the happy medium that has never existed in property management. Whether you go it alone or get the full-service treatment, Belong can support your path to financial freedom. 

Our smarter, future-ready services include:

Guaranteed rent every month, regardless of if or when your residents pay

Optimized rental pricing that uses technology and real-time demand to price your home with accuracy

The Belong app that gives you and your residents access to everything you need

Innovative financial products including the option to spread maintenance payments over the term of your lease agreement

Access to dedicated landlords insurance to protect your asset (as well as coverage for your residents)

Integration with the most popular rental platforms to get your home loved faster

Instant access to an expansive vendor network of over 10,000 professionals that can handle everything from routine repairs to home upgrades

…and we’re just getting started! Belong is simplifying the rental experience and helping more homeowners reach their financial goals through real estate. Visit our homeowner's page to find out more about services in places like Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Oakland, Miami and many, many more.

If you're asking yourself "should I invest in a rental property", you also need to consider "am I cut out to be a landlord?" If not, help is here.

Investing in Rental Property Is Easy, Managing It Isn't

With housing shortages biting and rental prices increases, many are asking "should I invest in a rental property?". With that comes another question: are you ready to take on the responsibility of being a landlord? 

When you have some money to invest, it's natural to start looking at whether to invest in property vs. the stock market. It's a subject long debated by financial professionals around the globe. Sadly, there's no easy answer. 

This article from Forbes says it well: “It’s impossible to adequately compare the returns of privately held individual real estate investments to the broad-based stock market.” MillionAcres makes the same point: “This question of real estate vs. stocks is tough to answer. There’s no way to reliably gauge individual investment property returns on a wide scale.”

What we can say reliably is that when it comes to analyzing the pros and cons of investing in real estate, one thing that always comes up is the stress and strain of being a landlord. Many homeowners new to rental ownership consider managing a property themselves to save money, without necessarily understanding the level of work that is required. 

Property management is not a simple task. Just take a look at Investopedia’s entry on the subject of rental property ownership: they ask “ Do you know your way around a toolbox? How are you at repairing drywall or unclogging a toilet?". Landlords need to respond to tenants whenever problems arise, even when it's inconvenient. Then there's the economic impact of vacancies between tenants and collecting overdue rent. If you're not well prepared or don't have a lot of time on your hands, it can get very stressful, very quickly. 

The alternative to self-managing a rental property

What if there was a way you could remove all of the stress of being a landlord, without forking over tons of your hard-earned cash to a traditional property management company? Would it make the decision easier? 

Here are some of the many ways that Belong is making things easy, by creating a simple, tech-forward option for those self-managing with the option to outsource all the hard work, too: 

Guaranteeing rent for homeowners, regardless of when it’s paid by residents



Providing real 24/7 customer support for both homeowners and residents (not just logging maintenance emergencies)



Not charging hidden fees like setup costs and lease renewal charges



Providing cutting-edge marketing and video tours at no extra cost



Taking a human approach to placing the right long-term residents that match your home



Shielding owners from costly evictions if we ever place the wrong people



An app that puts everything at your fingertips — from documentation and cash flow insights to finance and insurance solutions 



Connecting you with the most expansive, vetted vendor network of more than 10,000 professionals that can handle everything from regular repairs to full renovations



Offering insurance solutions that protect you, your home, and your residents



Innovating financial solutions for managing cash-flow on your terms, letting you split the cost of repairs, maintenance, and even your placement fee



Using true market data and real-time interest from potential residents to maximize the value of your home


While making a real estate investment requires a thorough analysis on your personal financial situation, with Belong’s ability to take the time and complexity out of being a landlord, you can definitely take those frustrations out of your decision process. Learn more about how Belong is making long-term renting lovable in cities like San Diego, Oakland, Redmond and Tampa. 

By taking a human approach to the rental market and going above and beyond for both homeowners and residents, Belong is redefining property management.

Taking A Unique Approach to Property Management

Looking for a property manager near you? It’s not just about geography. In this article we remind people of the connection they have to their homes, demonstrate how hard it is to find the right residents, and discuss how Belong is solving these problems.

The ideal property manager is one who recognizes a home is not just a deed or an address.  It has much more meaning.

That’s the reason why Belong goes out of its way to avoid certain terms and phrases that bring to mind the worst qualities of the real estate industry. “Landlord,” for instance, seems like a relic from feudal times. “Tenant” can make someone feel like a second-class citizen.

So is it any wonder, when one side’s given so much power at the expense of the other, that the landlord-tenant relationship can turn adversarial so easily?

Instead of “landlord,” Belong uses the word “homeowner.” Not only is it friendlier, but it’s more accurate, too. Because most of the people who turn their houses over to  Belong aren’t traditional landlords. By and large, they aren’t professional investors.  They don’t own a fleet of buildings and apartments that they’re constantly renting out. 

Some are in the process of downsizing, but aren’t quite ready to give up the family home — maybe they imagine that someday their children or their children’s children will want to move back in; others are “accidental homeowners,” who’ve inherited the property from a family member who’s passed away.  They see an opportunity to generate passive income, but critically, they aren’t opportunists. 

Learn more about the pros – and cons – of owning a rental property

They are people who love their homes, who have an emotional attachment to them, and want the next residents to feel the same way.  They care about putting the right people in their homes, first and foremost.

That’s why Belong works so hard to match the right residents to the right homes.  Of course,  credit checks, identity checks, and criminal background checks are all industry standard.

Belong goes above and beyond those basics, personally interviewing each and every potential resident.  Finding the perfect person – or couple or family – means they will take great care of the house, and also stay in it longer.   Which reduces vacancies. Stability is a good thing.

But finding the right resident is just the beginning of the journey, not the end of it. What if you could ditch property management services to modernize your entire rental experience? Belong does exactly that, combining industry-busting technology with human smarts to make renting lovable for both homeowners and their residents.

The sharing economy is redefining ownership and the home is no different. Find out how Belong is redefining what it means to have a place you call your own home

Home Ownership - The Ship Has Sailed

Something profound has changed in the world. Belong is completely redefining what “ownership” means.

Once, we bought vinyl records and cassettes and finally CDs. (Some are still buying vinyl - but that’s another story.) Now our music comes streaming at us in endless torrents of code, and we don’t miss holding the songs in our hands – because we can still hold them in our heads.

It’s exactly the same with movies; Netflix has more than 200 million subscribers. When was the last time you bought a Blu-Ray disc? As a recent example of the virtual world’s ascension, consider the definition of ownership is fundamentally changing. As the latest example, take the NFT phenomenon.

If you haven’t heard about NFTs or “non-fungible tokens” – they are virtual goods that are recorded permanently on the blockchain. That could be the much-publicized (and sometimes-derided) cryptoart created by Beeple which sold for an astounding $69 million. 

Which brings us to Belong, where our mission is to give people the powerful emotional anchor of being rooted in a safe, enveloping, protective space. Ownership has nothing really to do with that; in fact, till you pay off the dreaded mortgage – and most people never do - you don’t really own it, anyway. 

Besides, our species evolved to be attached to shelter and homes long before the idea of “ownership” became a thing.  As Dr. John S. Allen, a neuroanthropoligist, points out in his wonderful book called “Home: How Habitat Made Us Human” that we were hard-wired over millennia to find emotional rewards in the concept and reality of home. (That was long before FHA mortgages.) He writes: “The feelings we associate with home are built on a cognitive foundation that we inherited from our ancestors.” Allen also notes that “We may understand houses from the outside looking in, but home is made from the inside out.”

In other words, Allen is saying that the deep feelings that wash over us when we’re at home have nothing to do with a physical deed. You can be moved by streaming a Taylor Swift song – no ownership required. And the feeling of opening your front door and being greeted by a fast-moving three-year-old and a hug, says “home” on the most fundamental, John Allen-ian level.

This perfectly sums up what we are committed to at Belong. I wasn’t aware of Allen’s work when I wrote the Belong vision document, but the ideas are perfectly aligned. In it, we talk about the fact that owning a home is just one kind of American Dream, but there are other equally valid paths, because we all “dream of living in a glorious home where we can put down roots and experience the sense of belonging.”

Our vision goes on to say that “We call ourselves Belong because want to make these dreams a reality…and serve the millions who love the idea of a house they can call home, but don’t love the idea of homeownership.”

At Belong we try not to overuse the word “rent” because it sounds so feudal – as does the word “landlord.” Anyone who was stereotyped as a “renter” has become a “resident” in Belong’s world. As a resident, they feel the powerful tug of belonging, and that connection means they care about the place they live in as if they owned it.

After all, as Professor Allen says, our homes helped up adapt as a species; we are all here today because we took care of the places we lived in with our families, and didn’t neglect them. Which is why the tired old expression “nobody ever washed a rented car” doesn’t apply at all to the way that our residents treat their homes.

Many economists describe the post-ownership world as the “sharing economy,” and there is a great deal of truth to that. Today you can rent or share everything from a dog to art to chickens. A great deal of it is driven by Millennials and Gen Z, who are not nearly as attached to physical as previous generations, and value experiences. When you invest your capital in a home - the ultimate “thing” – it is a mathematical certainty for 99.5% of the pupation that it will leave less disposable income for experiences. Which, though ephemeral, are profoundly meaningful, and in fact emotionally enduring.

I think this is a healthy trend, although it might be fighting against our hard-wiring. “You have to learn to share” is a grindingly familiar parental and teacher refrain, after all. But somehow, we are at least in part moving beyond it, and that can be a healthy sign for society.

At Belong we are doing our best to advance this trend, by creating productive, healthy, sustainable new relationships between people who own houses, and those who want to build their lives in them.

To return to “Home,” the book quotes the architects Charles Moore, Gerald Allen, and Donyln Lyndon, who write: “Its site is only a tiny place of the real world, yet this place is made to seem like an entire world.”

Created to connect homeowners who love their homes, with residents ready to move in and build their lives there, Belong is a tech-enabled platform that takes the bumps, frustrations, and uncertainties out of the experience – to create delightful interactions from Day One to Day Forever. Bringing the practices of leading hospitality companies to an industry that was marked by a lack of caring and manual processes – Belong reinvents every step of the journey, all the way through to Belong Pros who are talented, responsible, and prideful contractors. Each component we touch is an opportunity to advanced our mission. No matter which side of the marketplace you are on, Belong honors your role and the communities we serve.

A reflection on what it means to love your house – and how to share that love with the people you rent it to.

A Message to Property Managers on Valentine’s Day

On the occasion of Valentine’s Day, which seems to grow in commercial intensity every year – we’d like to reflect on an aspect of love that is central to what we do at Belong.

After all, our mission is to connect much-loved houses with people who will love them back. And there is absolutely no doubt that people do love their houses. Google can confirm that; there are over 7 billion hits for the simple yet evocative phrase “I love my house.”

Perfection is not the point, though, it’s not the predicate for love, not the reason you smile inside every time you arrive back home. As Paul McCartney sang in the song “I Love This House”:

“Holes in the gutters, holes in the slate, holes in the carpet but I won't evacuate.

I love this house, it's where I’ll stay, eat and sleep the night and day.

I love this house, it's where I’ll be, for you to spend some time with me…”

Putting aside slate/evacuate – not one of McCartney’s most elegant rhymes – it’s a relatable message, especially if you are a homeowner with more than one house. Because when the time came and you didn’t need to live in one of those houses – maybe you no longer needed someplace that big, or you moved out-of-the-town – you didn’t treat it like a clinical asset and sell it. It embodied too much meaning for you to do something like that, so you decided to keep it and hopefully find someone to live in it who would feel the same way. Someone who could build a parallel stream of memories. 

Before we started Belong, we took a close look at the way property managers treated houses. And we didn’t like what we saw.  There was an absence of love and caring – in fact there was even basic respect. So we decided to create something different; not to be too saccharine, but at Belong, we go about our work with a sense of responsibility to Home Love. We want to be a company built on the mission of sending every day Valentines. 

We do that thanks to the platform we have built, which combines what technology can do best – organize, communicate, track, and streamline – with what people can do best. If the secret of a successful relationship between two people is “responsiveness” and “anticipation” – then we believe the same applies to how we connect with the houses we love.

The Belong platform will respond to needs literally in the moment. Our Concierges are there 24/7, whenever a need arises, no matter how big, or how small. After all, as we all know, sometimes the smallest gestures and the simplest reminders that you’re there for someone can have the biggest impact.

But thinking ahead – the Art of Anticipation – is also an essential signifier of love. It’s tricky in People World, but not that complicated in House World. We know when the furnace filters need to be changed, when to check the weatherstripping, when to have the leaders and gutters cleaned – and all those moments can be programmed into an intuitive digital platform.

That’s one way technology can automate love, but come to think of it, when 1800Flowers reminds you of Valentine’s Day a week in advance – or an upcoming anniversary – isn’t that the same thing?

In a world that is growing scarier and more unpredictable by the day, the emotional power and state-of-love that a home represents has never meant more. In 2019, the National Book Award went to a book that was a memoir about…a house. Called “The Yellow House: A Memoir,” the book – by Sarah M. Broom – uses the titular house as the centerpiece for a narrative about family, New Orleans, and community. Broom’s description of how she felt when the house was destroyed by Katrina is a powerful description of what a house can mean:

“When the house fell down, it can be said, something in me opened up. Cracks help a house resolve internally its pressures and stresses, my engineer friend had said. Houses provide a frame that bears us up. Without that physical structure, we are the house that bears itself up. I was now the house.”

If you feel that way about the house you own, if want someone to live in it who understands that –  and want someone to manage it who doesn’t look at your home like a collection of walls and windows, but as a structure with a living past, present and future – we invite you to reach out to us. On Valentine’s Day, or any day.

Self-managing a rental home is challenging. Discover 7 issues you're likely to face and how to overcome them when taking a DIY approach to property management.

Top Challenges of Self-Managing a Rental Home (and How to Overcome Them)

Self-managing a rental home is not an easy road to passive income or long-term wealth creation. Most first-time rental owners confess it quickly became the second job they never asked for. But there are plenty of reasons why homeowners decide to roll up their sleeves and take control of their own rental property management. From the budget-conscious to the experienced and savvy hobbyists, DIY property management can be profitable if done well. 

If you’ve ever asked yourself “do I really need a property manager?” or even “how hard could it be?”, this article will get into the nitty gritty of navigating self management as a rental homeowner.

While you can avoid property management fees, successful self management of a rental home means taking on a lot of responsibility, legal liability, and work.



Over 7.7million households in the US are behind on their rent payments, so safe and effective rent collection is a must 



Local cities and jurisdictions have their own ordinances above standard housing laws, so do your research for your local area before putting your home on the rental market. 



Understanding your strengths and weaknesses as a property manager will help you determine what to take on yourself and when to outsource to professionals. 

What’s involved in managing your own rental property?

First things first, what does successful self-management look like for rental homeowners? It’s not as easy as listing your home online and kicking back while the cash rolls in. When you take on the responsibility of managing your own rental home, think of it like starting a business that you are in charge of. You’ll need to run your home like a business and keep tax documentation in the same way. 

Here is an idea of the kind of tasks you’ll be responsible for on an ongoing basis when you self-manage your own rental property:

Setting up accounting and bookkeeping to manage your rental income and tax

Getting up to speed with local laws and regulations including fair housing laws, tenant rights, eviction processes in your area, and safety regulations

Preparing your house for the rental market, including cleaning and repairs

Securing appropriate insurance coverage for liability, property damage, and potential rental income loss

Photographing and taking video of the home for marketing purposes

Analyzing your local rental market to determine a monthly rental price

Creating an online listing and marketing the home on popular rental websites

Running background checks and calling references for potential residents

Preparing and signing a lease agreement that complies with local rules and regulations

Arranging a move-in date and conducting a pre-entry inspection, keeping a record of the home’s condition

Collecting rent and tracking regular payments

Managing an ongoing relationship with your residents, including being responsive to maintenance and repair requests

Maintaining the property or hiring professional contractors

Arranging regular home inspections to check in with residents and track wear and tear vs damage

Financial management and ongoing documentation of all income, expenses, and communication for tax and compliance purposes

Renew lease at the end of the rental period or manage the move-out process

Inspect the home for wear and tear vs damage to assess and document if there is a security deposit claim

Return any owed security deposit, minus the cost of repairs or extra cleaning 

How time-consuming and challenging these tasks are will depend on the age and scale of your rental home, how far away you live from the property, the residents you choose and whether or not they are compliant with the lease conditions. 

Next we’ll jump into some of the more common challenges of self-management for rental owners. This will be followed by tips for more effective management of your rental home. 

What are the common challenges of self-managing a rental? (and how to prepare for them)

Taking the DIY approach to managing your rental home will come with plenty of ups and downs. Here are seven challenges you should be aware of and how you can address them for more effective self-management of your rental home. 

1. Self-managing a rental home is a drain on your time and energy 

Money is often a driving force behind why people choose to manage their own rental home. It’s common to do a budget and look at what savings could be made by cutting out property management fees. What people forget to account for is how much of their time and energy to budget for. If you have a full time job, live a long distance from the rental home, or are generally time-poor, you could end up spending more than you bargained for trying to find and piece together help when you need it. 

After the financial budget, look at a budget for your time. This will help you determine if you really have capacity to take on the job of property manager. Include allowances for travel time to and from the home, marketing (photography, creating listings, responding to applicants), legal compliance and paperwork, managing repairs and contractors, ongoing communication and inspections, accounting and bookkeeping, and turnover in the home. 

2. You’ll need to chase rent if residents fall behind with their payments

US Census data reported that as between March - May 2023, more than 7.7 million renters were behind on their rental payments, or roughly 13% of rented households. That means there are millions of homeowners with a dent in their cash flow, scrambling to cover expenses while chasing rental income. When you are the property owner and manager, the onus is on you to chase rent every month, which is not a challenge everyone is up for. 

Going the extra mile to do your due diligence on finding the right residents for your home can go a long way in protecting your cash flow. But nothing is foolproof. Anyone can fall on hard times and get behind on rent. Keep your lines of communication open and try to find the payment schedule that best fits into their budget. Be careful with platforms that aren't designed to handle rent too, such as PayPal and Venmo. 

If you're not wedded to self-management, Belong PRO offers guaranteed rent so you never have to think about your cash flow or chasing residents again. We'll pay you every month regardless of when the rent is received. Learn more here. 

3. Finding and vetting the right residents can be complicated

DIY background checks are tricky. You’ll need to get familiar with the Fair Housing Act if you're taking on this job. Next, establish a clear process for selection criteria that applies equally to every applicant and doesn’t discriminate against anyone based on things like race, religion, or family size. 

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