Owning a rental property is a great way to boost your income and make it easier to meet your financial goals. Unfortunately, being a landlord is far from simple, and you could potentially end up losing money should your property remain vacant for an extended period of time. The best way to avoid this potential pitfall is to find reliable tenants and do whatever you can to make sure that they are fully satisfied. With this in mind, we’ll now look at some simple steps you can take to ensure you have happy tenants and hopefully allow you to enjoy a productive landlord-tenant relationship.
Be Honest
One of the biggest keys to ensuring you have happy tenants is to be open, honest and upfront with them prior to signing the lease. Full disclosure is essential to maintaining a happy and productive landlord-tenant relationship and failing to disclose everything about the property is a good way to end up with dissatisfied tenants. This means you’ll want to make sure, to be honest with your tenant and disclose any issues the property has, such as a leaky faucet or dodgy water heater.
You should also make sure to tell your tenants about any recent repairs and known problems, while also making sure to clearly communicate any instructions, guidelines or rules you expect the tenants to follow. If previous tenants have had problems with unruly neighbors, you’ll also want to disclose this and anything else that you can think of that might affect the tenants.
Being open and honest with your tenants will give them a much better idea of what to expect when living at your property, and tenants that enter into the rental agreement with honest and realistic expectations have a much better chance of being satisfied. Unfortunately, failing to disclose any potential issues before your tenants move in could potentially lead to your tenants wanting to break their lease early, in which case you’ll be left having to search for new renters all over again.
Be Responsive
A good landlord is a responsive landlord, and there is nothing worse than being unable to get ahold of your landlord when an emergency strikes. Your tenant is legally responsible for contacting you in case of an emergency, and there is always a chance that you could receive a call in the middle of the night or while you’re on vacation. Either way, you still have a responsibility to return your tenant’s calls as soon as you can and also to take care of the issue in a timely, efficient manner.
If you don’t feel you’re up to the task, there are numerous property managers in San Antonio that can handle any issues that arise for you. Still, if you do choose to manage the property on your own, it is a good idea to be prepared with a list of reliable contractors that you can turn to whenever any repairs or work is required. Unless you have the time and skills to handle everything on your own, knowing which contractors to turn to in the event of an emergency is the best way to ensure happy tenants and also save you time, money and stress.
Be Accommodating
As a landlord, you are free to dictate the specific terms and conditions of your rental agreement. However, being too strict is a good way to make your tenants unhappy. For instance, if your tenant always pays their rent on time and respects your rules, it’s a good idea to be understanding should your tenant inform you that they’ll be late with the rent. While you definitely don’t want to make a habit out of allowing your tenant to pay late, you still don’t want to ruin your relationship with your tenant by being overly harsh or punishing them for something that was likely out of their control.
You are much more likely to have happy tenants if you’re understanding and willing to work with them when unexpected issues arise. If your tenants are trustworthy and responsible, accommodating their requests should help to ensure that your relationship stays productive and everyone ends up happy.
Take Pride in Your Property
Even though you’re not the one living in your rental property, it is still well worth your time to take pride in the property and not let it fall into disrepair. No matter what you do, there will always come a time when you might need to replace certain appliances or furnishings. When this happens, the last thing you want to do is be overly cheap.
If you take pride in your property and furnish it with quality items, the chances are much higher than your tenant will also take pride in their home and be more likely to treat it with care and respect. Although buying higher quality furnishings might cost you more up front, it will be well worth it in the end as it will help to ensure you have happy tenants.
Keep the Relationship Professional
As a landlord, it is always a good idea to check in with your tenants once or twice during the first month or so after they move in. This will allow you to answer any questions the tenant may have and deal with any potential problems up front. However, it is important that you are not too pushy and don’t try to contact your tenant too often. If you’re the type of person that worries a lot, it might be a good idea for you to hire a property management company in San Antonio to handle the rental for you. This way, you can be assured that the property is being managed properly and hopefully avoid alienating your tenants by being too pushy or overly friendly.
Maintaining a professional landlord-tenant relationship is important in ensuring both parties are satisfied. This means making sure to notify your tenants ahead of time before you visit the property as required by law. Treating your tenant with respect and keeping the relationship professional and courteous should help your tenants to feel more like it’s their own home, and as a result, make it much more likely that they will be satisfied.
At the end of the day, keeping your tenants happy isn’t all that difficult. As long as you make sure to keep the property in good condition and respond to your tenants in a timely, professional manner, there is a good chance that you will be able to enjoy a successful, profitable landlord-tenant relationship. However, if you’re not willing to put in the time and effort that this takes, you should definitely consider hiring Keyrenter San Antonio San Antonio. Otherwise, you could end up struggling to keep your tenants happy and your property rented.