Marketing Tip- How to Deal With Tenants and Create Successful Rental Relationships-
You do have to make some specific rules for your tenants and stick to them. Every time you change the rules you give your tenants the upper hand. You must also have an iron clad lease that specifically addresses the issues that you may have with tenants such as getting your rent paid on time. This is one area in which I am steadfast with the rules. I don’t care what the tenant’s situation is, their responsibility is to pay me on time or they are stealing services from you without paying for them. My tenants are responsible for having the rent in our post office box on or before the date it is due or they are served with a three-day notice the next morning as required by law where I live in order to begin the eviction process. There are no exceptions. We even have tenants who send their checks to me priority mail to make sure they get to me on time.
You must also take the time to pre-qualify your tenants’ right from the beginning so you can avoid some problems right from the start. Don’t just accept a tenant into your rental property because they have the money to move in. Don’t let greed be your guide. Have your tenants fill out a specific rental application. Then you run must a tenant check with a reputable company. Don’t try to do this yourself just by looking at public record. You will miss credit issues and anything that may have occurred out of state. You need to find out the information you need to know about your tenants’ right from the start before renting them your unit. For example, if the tenant check shows the applicant was just evicted from another premises, this certainly isn’t going to be a tenant you want in your property. Or if your tenant has had recent felony convictions, this isn’t a tenant you want in your rental unit. If your applicant has multiple animals, this is also not someone you want in your rental unit. I will mention however, that I will allow a tenant with a small dog or cat to rent my units. I find that usually a tenant who has a pet that they have had for some time will make a good tenant who will stay longer in your unit.
I also have a separate pet lease which addresses specific rules regarding pets in my units. The pet lease requires that the dog or cat is an indoor pet and I have an additional non-refundable amount of security deposit for the pet lease and additional pet rent of 25.00 per month. I find that this works out very well. If the tenant gets a pet that is not on the lease, this is grounds for immediate eviction, and we do have someone who checks our units about every 60 days for us to make sure all is well with our rental units.
I also check out where they were living before by going by the address and checking it out and I talk to their previous landlord. For all the information you need on finding more deals for your real estate investing business check out my website at www.marketingmagiclady.com While you are there be sure and sign up for my FREE monthly newsletter!