Computer Software Added to Survival Books for Landlords

“How to” books on becoming a good landlord--or surviving as one--are nothing new, but peddling them with accompanying computer software is.

“(It’s) a way to save people time,” said Leigh Robinson, author of “Landlording,” “Landlording (The Forms),” and “The Eviction Book for California,” all from Express Books in El Cerrito.

“Over the years, I developed templates that other people admired, and they asked for them. The loan payment calculator and forms for handling depreciation aren’t mentioned in the landlording book but are included on the software.”

The forms are all in ASCII format so they should work with virtually any word processing or spreadsheet software.

The software contains 37 forms, 27 of which can be handled under word processing software and 10 for use with a spreadsheet number processing program. The software will not function without either a spreadsheet or word processing program.

Diskettes are in formats for the Macintosh or IBM computers with either a 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch disk drive.

All the forms that can be used with word processing software are also printed in the “Landlording” book, as well as several of the forms that have to be processed under a spreadsheet.

“The diskette will save you from having to keyboard them yourself,” Robinson said. “It’s one of the biggest software bargains around.”

“Landlording” covers the subject in 382 very thorough pages, from selecting tenants to helping tenants move out. In 14 years in print, it has sold more than 150,000 copies and has just entered its fifth edition.

The reason for the new edition is that “the business changes and I change too. I’m learning more every day about the business as I talk to associations and landlord groups,” Robinson said.

“The books are works in progress. They’re never going to be complete. I hate to say it, but I’m embarrassed by the first edition. . . . I’m gratified that it has evolved.”

Robinson said his landlording book rings up annual sales nationwide of between 12,000 and 30,000 copies.

The more specialized “The Eviction Book for California,” a 222-page volume, has typically sold between 3,000 and 5,000 copies statewide each year over the course of nine years in print, Robinson said.

Robinson has owned rental property in Northern California since the early 1970s and admits to having to sometimes perform the odious task of evicting tenants.

“If you have the procedures down, it’s not so difficult. I can do it (an eviction) faster than hiring someone. It’s just that I have an interest in getting someone out so I apply myself.”

Time and trouble have taught Robinson that the best way to get rid of a troublesome tenant is often bribery.

“There are different ways of handling this. You can offer to buy their furniture,” helping to expedite the move because heavy objects can be left behind. “Offer to pay for the U-Haul or give back the deposit--even double the deposit.”

This approach is cost-effective, Robinson said, because a court battle over eviction is often costly and always time-consuming. While that time is consumed, the tenant is not paying rent.

“They might move out in five days if you do it right,” he said.

The best approach of all, Robinson said, is to “ ‘evict’ them before they become tenants. Occasionally some bad ones slip through (the selection process), but if you do this right, you can usually avoid the heartache and trouble the bad ones cause.”

If you do have to evict a tenant, Robinson cautioned that as a landlord you keep your head at all times. Anger is counterproductive in virtually all situations, he said.