New to the rental game and want to be a great landlord? Have you dealt with problematic tenants in the past? We can help! Here are some tips that you can implement NOW to start becoming a great landlord and draw in the best tenants.
4 Tips to be a Great Landlord
1. Preparation is Key!
Take time and pride in creating your lease documents. These can include, but are not limited to, your lease, rules and regulations, pet policy, etc. Consult your local Landlord/Tenant laws and/or a lawyer to make sure your documents are within the legal rights. When creating these documents, be detail oriented so there are no questions about who is responsible for paying utilities or how maintenance calls are dealt with. These documents will be the foundation of your relationship with your tenant. Do make sure that you review them line by line during a lease signing, allowing for the tenants to ask any questions that they have. At Cork Valley Properties, we hold what we like to call “New Tenant Orientation”, a tip we gleaned from the book “The Book on Managing Rental Properties: A Proven System for Finding, Screening, and Managing Tenants with Fewer Headaches and Maximum Profits” by Heather and Brandon Turner. This presents the lease signing as more of an event than a checklist item. It allows us to take the time to comb through the documents and be on the same page as we start our tenant/landlord relationship.
2. Screen, Screen, Screen!
This step is critical to preventing problematic tenants. Taking the time and doing the due diligence to screen your potential applicants is 100% worth it. When potential tenants are looking to schedule a showing of our listed rental property, I send our list of Baseline Rental Qualifications to them. This is our first step in screening and saves us all time should they not qualify. If the potential tenant does qualify and schedules a showing, then we reach our next step in screening. Did the appointment come late without notice? Not show without explanation? These are red flags. Did they come prepared with questions? Ask for what’s needed to apply and let you know when they will be applying? These are good signs that they are a serious applicant. The third, and final, step is the application itself. At Cork Valley Properties, we use cozy.co for our applications. Cozy has applicants create a profile and then conducts the credit and background checks for $40.00. Take the time to call their previous landlords and job site to verify the information they have provided. Did they fudge their income numbers to seem more qualified? Put a friend down instead of their landlord? More red flags! Taking this extra time can confirm that they are a qualified candidate and will be a good tenant. Not doing so can cause problems in the future, perhaps even having to go through the eviction process.
3. Keep Lines of Communication Open
Want to avoid misinterpretations and allow situations to not be taken out of context? Be available to your tenants! Let your tenants know that they will not be a bother if they need to contact you, whether it’s about a maintenance request, a concern, or a simple question. At Cork Valley Properties, we have a separate phone number for our tenants to text or call if they are in need of something. We are clear that we want them to contact us if they need anything, that way problems do not get a chance to escalate further than they need to. We can attend to a question or concern immediately and our tenants are grateful for the quick solutions.
4. Show Compassion
When your tenants contact you for whatever reason, exercise compassion and let them know that their voice is heard. Even when screening potential tenants who may not qualify for your baseline requirements, be kind and courteous. As a landlord, you are providing another with their home. You want to listen, and attend, to requests (as long as they are reasonable!). Showing empathy and compassion can help with tenant retention and referrals in the future.
We hope that you can take some information from these 4 tips to better your skills as a landlord or create a great foundation. Whether you’ve been renting and are going to try incorporating these steps in your next tenant turnover or if you’re just starting out, we wish you the best of luck!
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