1st blog entry ever! "Pets or no pets?", the age-old question

     In property management, one of the more frequent questions I get from owners is "Should I allow pets?"  Likewise, "Will you allow pets?" is one of the ones I most frequently ask them.

     My advice is to always get the word out that you will "allow pets".  Like most in the business, I don't allow tenants to have breeds of the dogs that appear on a "bad dog list" (side note- I use the one from the Insurance Office of America).  Tenants must respect HOA/COA rules that restrict based on weights or numbers of pets, and I typically set a limit of 2 dogs per property that falls in line with most associations.

     Homeowners need to be aware that tenant prospects are plain ol' folks like they are- and that a vast majority of them have pets just as a vast majority of owner-occupied places do.  When querying the various internet sites in search of a new place to call home, those with pets will breeze right past a property that's advertised as not accepting them- pure fact.

     Dear owner, do you want to immediately wipe your property off the board and send that great prospect with the furry friend along to your neighbor that will welcome their pets and the revenue theyll enjoy while your place remains empty?  Doubtful.

     My advice to even the most adamant of "no pets"-type owners is that the option needs to be there.  You need to be in the ballgame if you're going to get a hit, and you need to stay with your neighbors on the prospects' watch list if you're going to get a tenant.  Be open to a "maybe" option- which still allows you to reject a pet on an individual basis, but yet keeps you and your property on prospects' radar.

     Let a prospect come to you- then decide if you'll take their pet with an additional pet deposit and/or fee added to the monthly rent.  Allow your professional property manager to provide guidance as to whether the proposed pets are practical for your particular property.  That's why you've hired them!

     But in the end, nothing else matters if the prospect never comes to you.  If the prospect never arrives, it's no good for the owner or the property manager.