A quality tenant impacts your profit overtime on your investment. It all starts with knowing the importance of screening. It is key that you conduct a criminal background check, credit check, rental history, verification, and income verification on each application. Choosing the wrong tenant will create stress, waste your time and you may lead to an eviction, besides the obvious loss of income. Another trait of a good tenant is that they will let you know if there is a problem with the rental. We do want to hear about minor problems, since, if those aren’t fixed, they can escalate to extensive and expensive problems. For example, a small water leak can lead to a large mold remediation claim if not dealt with in a timely manner.
If you have a responsible tenant who pays rent on time and takes care of the property then you have found yourself a quality tenant and you want to keep them. Keeping a good tenant will also eliminate turnover expenses. Tenant turnover will not only cost you money but also time and every day that passes by and the property is vacant you are losing money.
Steps to Keeping a Tenant Happy:
- Establish the responsibilities of each party in a clear and detailed rental agreement which sets the stage for a trouble-free relationship. Having everything outlined will avoid having any misunderstandings and will lead to having good communication. Communication is the backbone of any relationship and the landlord-tenant relationship is no different. List out specifically what is allowed, not allowed, like trampolines, pets, extra cars. List out what is expected of tenants regarding gardening, minor maintenance.
- The second step in keeping your tenant happy is addressing maintenance concerns quickly. Research has shown that delayed responses to maintenance reports are one of the reasons why tenants don’t renew their lease. So you have to handle maintenance like a pro and take care of repairs promptly. This will not only keep your property in great shape but it will also make your tenants feel that you care about them.
- Lastly, always treat your tenants with respect and in a professional way. Try to return calls within 12-24 hours. Many tenants prefer to rent from a property management company because they know we have dedicated staff dealing with maintenance issues and vendors ready to resolve issues quickly.
- Finally, if you have a long-term tenant be sure to keep up on deferred maintenance such as re-painting the house exterior, updating kitchens and windows, trimming large trees.
