The holiday season is upon us. This is a great opportunity for Involuntary Landlords, investor landlords and property managers to take a look at your property and build on your relationship with your tenant at the same time.
As you can see from this earlier post, It is very important for you to have occasional access to the inside of your rental home. While most tenants will take good care of your property, it is a big deal to find out earlier than later that you have one of the "bad seeds." The only way to get this information is to go inside.
Your lease probably contains a provision that says you can go inside and inspect in certain situations. Maybe you have to provide 24 hours notice and do it during office hours on a weekday. You should definitely be using that provision. I recommend a minimum of two visits each year and lean towards three in the first year. Not only do you get the peace of mind that putting your eyeballs on a well maintained home provides, you let the tenant know that you care about the manner in which they maintain the home. This knowledge will make a difference to most tenants and the property will be in better shape for it.
It is also very important to have a good relationship with your tenants. Every time you have to find a new tenant you are going to spend money, usually more than a thousand dollars. If you are an Involuntary Landlord, you are probably not in position to throw away that kind of money. A much better strategy is to invest fifteen dollars. Let me tell you how.
At the beginning of December, I emailed all of my tenants and let them know that I intended to visit them during the second week of December to "take a look around the house and bring you your holiday gift." I asked them to let me know when they were available and I offered them a choice of gifts. You can find dozens of nice gifts for twelve dollars. I bring turkeys, red wine or white wine. If they don't want any of the above, I bring a gift card. This visit gets a great response. Everyone likes a gift. Just like women appreciate a man bringing flowers, our tenants appreciate a gift as well.
My visits last just a few minutes. I take a quick walk around the house, deliver the gift and a card, and take some time to ask my tenants if they are happy with their home. I don't ask these questions to appease the tenants, I ask because I want them to LOVE their homes. I write down their comments and discuss them with the homeowner. If we can improve things in a cost effective way, we generally do.
These visits are enjoyable for all of us. It is always fun to give to others and the holidays are a time where most conversations are light and happy.
If you aren't making holiday visits as a landlord, I strongly urge you to try it out this month. We will continue to add new information for landlords here. Come back often and make sure to sign up for the free newsletter. Until then, 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.
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