I found it! Finally, after all these years, maybe 40 in all, I have the answer to the question that was posed on a t-shirt I bought years ago. The t-shirt ques

I found it! Finally, after all these years, maybe 40 in all, I have the answer to the question that was posed on a t-shirt I bought years ago. The t-shirt question simply asked "Who cares about apathy?" Yeah, I know you're all thinking - Who buys those t-shirts anyway? I do of course and finally I know, after reading the author's byline, that the answer to this question is Luke. >Luke A man on a crusade against apathy. The topic is also close to me as I have a bit of experience being an actual landlord. I also joined a landlord group a long time ago to get access to useful forms, to understand landlord/tenant laws in my state, and to get a feel for how to handle issues that may arise. I didn't maintain that relationship because the site seemed dominated and poisoned by landlords who felt like slumlords in the advice they gave and the posts they made. I have a single family property in a nice neighborhood positioned so that I can advertise to a wide range of tenants and then pick the best candidates. I do all the maintenance myself except those things that require a licensed professional and I have local contractors that I call on for those things. For the operating forms I simply bought a couple of NOLO books and a copy of Texas real estate law and bookmarked the landlord/tenant parts for my state online so I could refer to them if I needed. I do all the tenant screening myself and offer the neighbors and opportunity to meet prospective tenants. I originally offered the place for lease with no pets allowed. All of that changed one day when I was comparing notes about prospective tenants before offering it and the best couple needed to bring their two dogs. That caused me to put myself in their shoes and ask myself what I would do with my two dogs and a cat if I needed to find somewhere to live. I decided that the best way to handle the pet question was to consider them as family members since that is the functional relationship that pet should have with its owner. With that in mind, I searched around and found a site to help me formulate a reasonable pet policy. I include the pets in the interview process so that I can see how they interact with the owners, I require a non-refundable pet deposit for cleaning and up-to-date vaccination records to satisfy state requirements, and I require photos from front, back and both sides so that if the pet gets loose or bites someone I can help identify it should the local animal control pick it up. With nearly 30 years behind me as a landlord I can say that I have only had problems with two tenants. Most tenants have stayed there past the term of their original lease, some more than twice as long. I have leased to a couple of people who just needed a comfortable place to stay for a short time so we worked out a short-term lease that lasted less than 6 months before they were transferred from the area. I have a couple of former tenants who still drop by to visit when they are back in the area. Being a landlord is not hard if you only have one property. Most people are good people.