Being a successful landlord is easy. Or at least that’s what it looks like on paper. All you need is the right property, the right tenant, and a little bit of luck. Unfortunately, things are not as easy in practice.
As a landlord, it’s all too tempting to fall into the trap of viewing your tenants as dollar signs rather than people with whom you need to create a mutually beneficial long-term relationship. However, there are numerous advantages to cultivating and maintaining a solid relationship with your tenants.
It takes the average landlord somewhere between 20 and 40 hours to fill a vacancy. During this time, you’ll be advertising the property, arranging viewings, analyzing applications, checking credit reports, and completing the leasing process. And like any landlord, you want to have good tenants so you’ll have fewer issues like late rent or damage to your property. A good tenant can save you a lot of time, money, and stress.
But to get and keep good tenants, you need to be a good landlord. But how do you do that? That’s exactly what this article is all about.
Follow Regulations
This is absolutely essential and so obvious that you may be wondering why we even need to point it out. But if you’ve ever lived in a rented home, you know that there all sorts of landlords. They can be divided into three main categories: the good, the bad, and the inexperienced. To build a good reputation and be successful, a landlord first needs to know what they can and can’t do from a legal standpoint. This can help you avoid getting into potentially disastrous situations.
The laws that govern the rights of tenants and landlords are intended to protect and benefit both sides. You may not always like it, but it’s not something to be taken lightly.
Aside from the obvious advantages of avoiding fines and legal action, following regulations will help you build a trusting relationship with your tenants, so you’ll have fewer issues with them in the long run.
Finding trustworthy and dependable tenants who like living in their rented homes is the ideal outcome for every landlord. Showing them that you respect their right is an important step in this direction.
Learn How to Filter Out Bad Tenants
It’s easier to sleep at night knowing that your rent will be paid on time and that your home will remain unscathed. That’s what it feels like to have good tenants. Having bad tenants, on the other hand, means you have to deal with angry calls from neighbors and stay up at night worrying about the condition of your investment.
Begin by requesting that each prospective tenant fill out an application. You can find samples online or through your local real estate association, or you can customize them to meet your specific needs.
The application you use should cover everything you need to know about a tenant, including personal information, job details, and financial information. It should also expressly state that a background check, criminal record, or credit check will be done if necessary and that the prospective tenant hereby gives you permission to evaluate his/her financial, job, and personal background.
Make sure that the tenants you choose have an income at least three times higher than what they’ll be paying you in rent. Request references from previous landlords and run credit and background checks. Avoid tenants who have been evicted in the past.
Discuss the Lease with New Tenants
Make it a point to sit down with each new tenant and go through the terms of the lease agreement together. Before they sign, you want to make sure they understand their responsibilities and what your obligations towards them are.
If there’s something they don’t understand or simply don’t agree with, address their concerns in a calm and straightforward manner. Explain the reasoning for any rules that your new tenants don’t like. You should be open to negotiating, but you also need to think about your own interests.
Help Them Adjust to the Neighborhood
New tenants are often unfamiliar with the neighborhood. Helping them out with some information and advice can make it much easier for them to adjust. Give them a printout with information and direction to pharmacies, grocery stores, and other services in the area.
It’s easy to do because you can find this information online on Google Maps, and unless there are significant changes in the neighborhood, you can keep using the same printout.
Carry Out Repairs When Asked
If your tenants call you about repairs, set a time to come over and assess the situation. By law, it is the landlord’s responsibility to provide their tenants with an adequate place to live in return for the rent they pay. Things like moldy walls, leaking gas pipes, or lack of hot of hot water make your property inadequate. From a legal standpoint, it will be considered uninhabitable.
If some issues require major repairs that you can’t afford, you need to figure out a way to resolve the situation in a timely manner. For example, if the boiler can’t be fixed and you can’t afford to replace it, you can look for a boiler rental.
In areas with extreme temperatures, heaters and air conditioning are also considered habitability requirements.
Don’t Come by without Letting Your Tenants Know
Even though it’s your property, you should avoid entering it without first notifying and getting permission from your tenants. You can if it’s an emergency but otherwise, let them know at least 24 hours in advance.
Your tenants may not own the property, but it’s still their home where they live and keep their belongings. Knowing that their landlord has a habit of coming over unannounced will definitely raise issues regarding privacy and make them feel uncomfortable. Respecting their privacy is the right thing to do legally speaking and a professional approach to handling the landlord-tenant relationship.
Give Them Multiple Ways of Contacting You
It’s completely okay to tell your tenants that you’d rather they contacted you by email, but you should still provide them with multiple ways of contacting you. If there’s an emergency, sending an email may not be the most effective solution.
Most tenants prefer to send email or texts instead of calling anyway, so it’s highly unlikely that they’ll call you unless it really is an emergency.
