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Everyone who has ever rented a home knows that a lease agreement is a legally-binding contract. But what happens when the landlord-tenant relationship doesn’t work out for whatever reasons and the tenant needs to break the lease early and move on? As a landlord, how do you know when it makes sense to let a tenant break their lease? On the other side of the seesaw, as a tenant, in which circumstances is it justified to break your lease early without penalty and legal repercussions?

One of the most exciting things about moving into a new apartment is the creative process of transforming it into a real home that is suited to your personal tastes. But how do you personalize your rental without breaking the rules, upsetting your landlord and losing your security deposit — all in one swell swoop? Hong Kong homes are typically more compact, giving renters even more of a headache when it comes to finding creative ways to personalize their rentals. There’s only so much you can do with limited space. At the same time, you don’t want to feel like you are stuck in a cookie-cutter home that everybody else in the city is living in ...

Most people think that real estate investment is a source of passive income. Reality couldn’t be more untrue. There is a tremendous amount of thought and work that goes into making a successful real estate investment portfolio and it is definitely not so easy as to just calling yourself a landlord and waiting for the cash to land on your lap. The work is so varied, it can involve legal issues,paperwork, handyman tasks and more. Much, much more ...

Being a good real estate investor and landlord takes hard, consistent work and not everyone is cut out to be the super hands-on type. As a landlord, one of the biggest decisions you’ll make is whether you should hire a property management company or do it yourself. There’s no right or wrong way, just the way that is best suited for your personality,work habits and lifestyle. Some landlords manage properties on their own entirely, while others might enlist the help of an assistant, or resident manager type employee. Other times, landlords might decide that it makes better sense to outsource the work to a property management company so that he or she can focus on growing and scaling other areas of the business rather than focus on the menial day to day tasks.  Like we said, there’s no right or wrong way. Choosing to hire a property management company doesn’t necessarily make you a worse or better landlord, however, when done right, these resourceful property management companies can be a huge asset to a growing business, but they don’t come cheap. Property management fees vary by location and quality of service,but for a property owners who doesn’t yet have a lot of cash, property management services can quickly turn a decent investment into a negative cash-fllowing investment. There are obviously the perks of more freedom when you allow a management company to take care of a property. It can free up a great deal of your time to do higher value tasks, like strategic networking and locating more prime rental properties to add to your portfolio, but if the management fees are eating up most of your profits, then it might not be so worth it ...

Any body in the real estate field will tell you that tenant screening is critical to the success of your property portfolio and property management. Finding the right tenant for your rental is almost like dating, with tenants and landlords both trying to find the most suitable match. Having a bad tenant is like dealing with a pest infestation. No landlords wants to have problems with their tenant sand similarly vice versa. The process of finding good, quality tenants to rent your properties out to can be long and arduous. Although there are guide lines and procedures for how to screen tenants, it doesn’t ever guarantee success. It can certainly heighten your chances of eliminating the ones who are blatantly bad, but at the end of the day, nobody really knows how a landlord-tenant relationship will play out until the papers are signed and sometime has passed. Of course, there are certain behaviours that you should be aware of and further investigate ...

Is it bad to tell little white lies here and there?Does it count as a lie if you are simply withholding certain bits of information? Ignorance is bliss. Right? Young people use this phrase to emphasize on the point that sometimes it is better for you if you do not know all the facts about a situation. If you have ever kept silent on a matter instead of fessing up after doing something borderline questionable or outright unethical,you are not alone! We learn to tell little white lies from our childhood days as a coping mechanism to stay away from being punished for doing something bad.We learn that as children, sometimes confessing of our wrongdoings can land us in hot water. So, instead of learning how to deal with the consequences of our actions head on, we try to weave a web of lies to hide from it, even though our lies will usually come to surface anyhow at one point or another. Here’s a fact of life- lies don’t stay hidden,but the truth always comes out ...

You have signed the lease at your new abode. The major issues and concerns regarding your new rental have been addressed, but what about the other questions that are not standard procedure or stated on the lease policy? You are sure to have certain move-in questions now that you are moving into your new home - questions that you hadn’t thought of before up until now.

People tend to overlook the importance of a good and healthy relationship with their landlord but it’s actually more important than many of us give credit to. Establishing and maintaining a good, healthy, solid working relationship between you and your landlord should be on the priority list if you want a good experience in your rental journey. May we add that your relationship with your landlord doesn’t just end when you finish your lease terms - great referrals can come from your former landlord even long after you no longer live on their property.

There are a lot of niceties about having a rental. You don’t have to worry about the nitty gritty details of being an independent homeowner. Home maintenance is not so much a headache you need to ever worry about. There are some downsides to renting. The number one downside is the inability to truly personalize your living space as you see fit - which can make your home seem a bit cookie-cutter and lacking in personality and character. There’s nothing more soul-sucking than coming home to a sterile apartment that lacks the true ambience of a home. While it’s true that you should adhere to your rental policies and refrain from making permanent changes to somebody else’s property, it doesn’t mean that you cannot think outside of the box just a tad by making alterations and additions that won’t offend your landlord and/or hurt your security deposit.