If you have been a Landlord for any length of time, you've probably dealt with your share of problem tenants, perhaps even evicted one. Here are a few tips towards maintaining a healthy business relationship with your tenant:
1. Set the boundaries. As a property manager for the past 16 years, many tenants have tried to "buddy up" with their manager or the landlord. We cannot discourage this enough, as a tenant that thinks of you as their "friend" is far more likely to exploit that perceived relationship. Example: "Hello friend, is it ok if I pay you half now and the rest later this month?"
2. Be firm, but fair. Professional courtesy is always a must, but sympathy and empathy are two different things. When a tenant cannot pay the rent, we have a choice to make as landlords and property managers. We can be sympathetic, which diminishes our control of the situation, or we can use empathy, meaning "we relate to what you are going through", but this is the action we must take in response.
3. Do not be vindictive. As a younger, inexperienced manager, I was once advised by an old timer in the business to be "mean as hell" when a non-payment situation arose. Tell the tenants how much you'll enjoy "kicking them out" if they do not pay. Ironically, the result of this kind of behavior was almost always excessive damage to the property upon vacancy. Adding insult to injury is never a good idea, and intimidation is the tool of an immature mind.
4. The sorrowful approach. Tell your non paying tenant how sorry you are that they are in this situation, and how sorrier still you are about having to serve them legal notice. A tenant that considers you as being "forced into this situation" is far less likely to take out their frustrations on your walls and floors. After 16 years of honing my skills, it is very rare that I have to evict a tenant, but even rarer still that I get a property back with excessive damages.
5. Hire a property manager, then step back. Having a skilled intermediary involved takes the guesswork out of your Landlord/Tenant relationship, but only if you use them to the best of their abilities. This means having the strength of character to inform your tenant that they must deal with your representative, because that is why you hired them. Tenants that are able to successfully circumvent the manager to deal direct with the owner are often the most opportunistic personality types, costing the Landlord more money in non-essential spending for goods and services typically not covered by a Landlord.
Investors Choice Property Management is a Sacramento and Roseville based management company with 100 single family units, dedicated to remaining small, focused and effective in our approach to every aspect of professional rental management. Our business is 95% word of mouth referral, and property management is our only business. Check us out online and find out what we mean when we say:
"Experience Property Management the Way it Should Be."
Comments(0)