The Tenants

Category: Finance, Real Estate.

I have read a lot about how you have rule with an iron fist to keep your tenants in line. Every property is different, but this was our experience.

Our philosophy is much more laid back, and it has worked out well for us. Our first real estate investment property was somewhere we would move into ourselves, that was an, and in retrospect aspect more important than I would have guessed. First off, when it comes time to market your place, you are part of the target audience, so it is easy to find the right place to advertise. There s many decisions along the way, and being a potential tenant yourself makes those decisions much clearer. Just ask yourself. how would we go about looking for a place? Once we switched to advertising in places we would look, 90% of the people who came were actually interested, the place would rent faster, and the tenants were happy to be in our place.

We actually mistakenly put costly ads in the real estate section of the newspaper out initially, bringing in the completely wrong renters who were completely not interested. That leads to the next reason why buying something you would live in as your first rental property makes the landlord learning process so much easier. These will be people that you basically get along with because they like what you like, and if you meet them, they will most likely like you, or they would not be renting it. The tenants! You will make sense to them, and they will make sense to you. Why, should I care, you say if my tenants are happy?

When you are at odds with your tenants, the whole interaction and experience can be painful, so getting along helps tremendously. Because everything is easier. Believe me, there is nothing like a completely wrecked apartment by a short- term tenant. They will more likely pay rent on time, respect& keep your place in shape, and stay longer. Sure you can charge money for damages, but it will still take time and be a hassle to get it back up to a rent- able state. How do you make your tenants happy?

And dealing the whole time with bitter, angry tenants is no fun either. There s a couple things we do. Many times, we even get good ideas to carry over to the other apartments to make them more marketable, like some basic drapes& mounted wine racks. One is that we allow tenants some flexibility with painting and decorating. 95% of the time, our tenants actually do wonders with our apartments and leave them with a better style than we could have done ourselves. We even had a tenant call us to ask if she could plant some flowers by her porch. It was an indication that she felt invested in the place and felt at home. We welcomed it.

Of course, I am not advising you let someone remodel your kitchens. Another thing to do to have happy tenants is to give them a sizable re- signing bonus when their leases end. I am talking small things that are easily undone, but make the tenant feel invested and at home. And unless it is painfully needed, do not raise the rent, especially if the tenant is someone who pays on time and is easy to deal with. Also, we do not rent our places at the maximum. We offer a$ 500 re- signing bonus each year with rents at$ 80It is almost a free month but the cost of a tenant turnover between lost rent and the make ready is usually around$ 1200, so it is good for us and them.

We make them a somewhat good deal so that many people will inquire, and so we have a better chance of a good fit that will be happy and stay long. We also treat our tenants with a lot of respect. We also do not overcharge because feeling ripped off is one main reason a tenant will leave. We call them every time we enter their units, and if repairs take an extensive amount of time or hassle on their behalf, we give them some rent back. And we always answer their issues within a day, at least with a phone call. We also maintain the property and do pest control.

Becoming a landlord was definitely a learning experience. Just be open to handling your rental property business( which is basically your tenants) with respect rather than the stereotypical overbearing attitude. Everyone has their own style, and even different properties may prescribe a different style.

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