278 articles on owner education, written by the team that manages 700+ rental units across the Columbus metro. Page 2 of 12.
The tenancy starts the moment a tenant picks up the keys. What you document in the next 30 minutes will determine whether you have any legal standing at move-out (or none at all). TL;DR A move-in inspection creates the documented baseline that makes security deposit deductions defensible at move-out
Read the article →The clock on a vacant unit starts the moment a tenant gives notice, and in today’s Columbus rental market, it costs more than most owners expect. Here’s what the numbers say about pricing, vacancy, and the gap between the two. TL;DR Franklin County’s rental market shifted in May 2026: available inve
Read the article →Five municipalities with active policy movement, thirteen more in the quick-hits section, and one statewide ballot fight that just shifted timelines. Here is what Central Ohio landlords need to track this week. TL;DR Powell is taking up a comprehensive zoning code rewrite at its June 10 Council meet
Read the article →Maintenance is where property management costs either make sense or quietly spiral. Before signing with any Columbus PM company, here is what the numbers actually look like. TL;DR Columbus property management companies handle maintenance through three main models: in-house hourly rates, vendor marku
Read the article →Rent is the whole point. But collecting it consistently, and knowing exactly what to do when it doesn’t arrive, is where most landlords discover the real complexity of owning rental property. Here’s how a property manager handles it, from the moment rent is due to the moment funds hit your account.
Read the article →Hilliard is one of Columbus’s strongest west-side suburbs for rental investment: top-rated schools, steady household demand, and a family demographic that tends to stay put. Here’s what investors need to know heading into 2026. TL;DR Hilliard’s rental market is driven by one factor above almost all
Read the article →Columbus landlords who reject housing voucher holders aren’t just risking a vacancy. They’re risking a fair housing complaint. Here’s what source-of-income protection actually requires, which Central Ohio cities enforce it, and how to stay compliant without changing your screening standards. TL;DR C
Read the article →Your listing is already competing against dozens of professionally photographed properties on the same platform. The photos you upload in the next 20 minutes will either help you lease faster, or quietly cost you hundreds of dollars you’ll never get back. TL;DR Listings with 10 or more quality phot
Read the article →Your monthly statement is a window into how your property manager runs their business. If it’s confusing, vague, or late, that’s the company telling you something important. TL;DR A property management monthly statement should clearly show rent collected, fees charged against your management agreeme
Read the article →Whitehall City Council just put a voter-approved property tax levy into effect on an emergency basis, skipping the usual 30-day wait. That is the headline for landlords this week, and it lands in the same window that every Franklin County property owner is about to get new proposed values in the mai
Read the article →The filing fee is the easy part. What an eviction actually costs depends on how your property is held, whether you know the process cold, and how long the unit sits empty while the clock runs. TL;DR A self-managing individual landlord in Franklin County can file pro se for around $203 in hard court
Read the article →This is the weekly Central Ohio landlord policy update. Five featured items get the full treatment below, followed by a quick-hits section covering the rest of the municipal activity worth tracking this week. The cost of staying ahead of a new ordinance is almost always lower than the cost of reacti
Read the article →Reynoldsburg sits where I-70 meets east Columbus, affordable enough to pencil for cash flow, close enough to the city to attract a wide tenant pool. Here’s what the 2026 rental market looks like for investors considering this east-side suburb. TL;DR Reynoldsburg is a growing east Columbus suburb wi
Read the article →Central Ohio winters leave fingerprints on a rental property. The damage is rarely dramatic, but it’s almost always cheaper to find in May than to repair in August. TL;DR Spring maintenance on a Columbus rental property comes down to two passes: an exterior walk-through to catch what winter damaged
Read the article →This is the weekly Central Ohio landlord policy update. Five featured items get the full treatment below, followed by a quick-hits section covering the rest of the municipal activity worth tracking this week. Most of this activity happens in rooms landlords do not have time to sit in, and it is wort
Read the article →Section 8 has dominated housing headlines for the past year. Some predicted the program would be eliminated. Others warned of voucher cuts and forced tenant terminations. The reality, as of May 2026, is more nuanced (and more important for Columbus landlords to understand correctly). TL;DR Congress
Read the article →You found a tenant. You agreed on rent. Now the lease is sitting in front of you, and the clauses you do (or don’t) include over the next thirty minutes will decide what happens when something goes wrong eighteen months from now. TL;DR A Columbus rental lease should cover the property and parties, r
Read the article →This was a heavy week for landlords with property anywhere from Plain City out to Lancaster. Five suburbs moved consequential housing-related items, and another eight took action worth knowing about. The headline: Plain City is preparing to shift from complaint-driven property maintenance to active
Read the article →The #1 school district in the Columbus area. More than 20 corporate headquarters. A walkable mixed-use district that keeps winning national attention. Dublin commands premium rents for a reason, and 2026 is adding more fuel. Here’s the investor breakdown. TL;DR Dublin is the premium suburban rental
Read the article →Applications are coming in. You need to pick the right tenant, but one screening mistake can cost you thousands in legal fees, lost rent, or both. With HUD pulling its fair housing guidance just days ago, here’s what Ohio landlords actually need to know right now. Disclaimer: This article is informa
Read the article →Your property is empty. Every week it sits vacant costs you $300 or more in lost rent, and lowering the price feels like the only lever you have. It’s not. Here’s how Columbus rental owners fill vacancies faster without leaving money on the table. TL;DR The fastest way to fill a vacant rental in Col
Read the article →This is the weekly Central Ohio landlord policy update. Five featured items get the full treatment below, followed by a quick-hits section covering the rest of the municipal activity worth tracking this week. Most of this activity happens in rooms landlords do not have time to sit in, and it is wort
Read the article →Columbus remains one of the strongest single-family rental markets in the Midwest, but the 2026 investor playbook looks different from 2025. Intel is delayed. The rental registry passed. Property taxes are reappraising. Here’s what matters and what to do about it. TL;DR Columbus single-family rental
Read the article →Choosing the wrong property manager in Columbus costs money every month the mistake continues. Here’s an honest evaluation framework, the top companies in each category, and the questions that separate a good PM from a great one. TL;DR Columbus has strong property management options across every nic
Read the article →A free, data-backed rent evaluation using our own portfolio numbers and current market comps.
