©2007-2009 Chris Compton
One of the biggest issues I deal with as a property manager is the “us vs. them” mentality of my landlord clients. This is a normal state of mind for new landlords. If you are a landlord and you find yourself feeling this way, take a deep breath and repeat after me:
It’s Not a War
It’s not a war. Your relationship with your tenant is going to go a long way towards determining the profitability of your rental property. You need to always try to put yourself in the tenant’s shoes before you make a decision. You should make every decision not just thinking about the short term financial implications of your action or inaction, but also the effect on your relationship with your tenant and how that effect might affect his tendencies to pay the rent on time, maintain the home in the way you hope he will, and renew his lease.
Am I suggesting that you bend over and take it whenever the tenant asks for a concession? Absolutely not. What I am recommending is that you take a hard look at your decisions with an eye on the horizon.
Remember when you were learning to drive and you naturally looked at the road just over the hood of the car? You were useless at responding to curves, squirrels and any other pathetic creature or object that got in the way. Hopefully you have learned to drive looking off into the distance, seeing anything that might impede your path and reacting well in advance to make sure you reach your destination safely.
Landlords need to have a similar mindset. Look down the road. If your tenants want to paint the living room, it is perfectly natural for you to have concerns. They probably aren’t painters. They may well get paint on the floor and the trim. They will certainly pick a color that you would not have picked. But so what? The right answer is, “Yes Ms. Tenant. Feel free to paint the living room. You are paying to live there and I want you to feel like the home belongs to you. Just remember that I expect the home to be returned in the same condition I gave it to you. If you don’t think you can do a professional job, you may want to hire someone. If you pick colors that will make it hard to rent to another tenant, I may insist you return it to its original color. Does that sound reasonable?”
Handling it this way empowers your tenant. They have the situation in their hands. They feel like owners. Owners take care of their property. If you are concerned that they will not remember the agreement, put it in writing. Detail the conversation on paper and ask them to sign a copy for their protection. Tell them you know they will feel more comfortable with written permission.
Other situations have more immediate financial impact on you. Maybe the dishwasher won’t drain. Every time they run the dishwasher it fills up with water until water and soap spills out onto the floor. A new dishwasher is going to run you between $300 and $700 dollars installed. That seems like an awful lot of money and it’s tempting to ask your tenants to wash the dishes in the sink, but think down the road. If the tenants are paying $1000 monthly and the dishwasher costs $500, you can see what a two week vacancy would do. Go ahead and get the dishwasher taken care of. The sooner the better.
No matter how good your tenants are, occasionally they will do something to upset you. Sometimes they will do several things in short order and you will begin to think you are in a war. Take a deep breath, count to ten and think about what is fair. Then do just a little bit more. If you have any questions concerning property management, landlord/tenant issues, general real estate concerns or just need the best possible team managing your North Georgia Property, call me personally at 770-682-7735.
That is known that cash makes us autonomous. But what to do if somebody does not have money? The one way is to receive the personal loans and small business loan.
Posted by: HOLDER30Gabriela | 01/04/2012 at 01:07 AM