Attract the BEST Tenants by Being the BEST Landlord
The better the landlord, the better the tenant. Rentals are your business and tenants are your paying customers. Smart business owners know the value of treating their customers well. And they know that it is far less expensive to keep their best customers than it is to acquire new customers. We’ve learned a thing or two managing properties in Durango. If you’re working hard to advertise, interview and screen tenants, but still feeling like they’re not meeting your expectations, look inward.
Know Your Ideal Tenant’s Wants
Before you run an ad, set an appointment or consider showing your rental, it’s important for you to think about your ideal tenant. Is your dream tenant a working professional? How about a college student? Do you have a large rental with multiple bedrooms beautifully suited to a large family? Is your rental’s size better suited to one person? Is there a large yard waiting for a dog to run or children to play? Would you rather go to the dentist than rent to one more person whose dog has a sofa-fixation? How do you feel about smokers? Are you looking for a long-term renter that may need about five years to complete their college major or would you get a higher rent marketing your rental as a transient vacation property? You’d better know what kind of tenant your property attracts and who you want in it or you might find yourself with a tenant you never wanted. Some fundamental important characteristics of good tenants are employment longevity, timely rent history, and no record of eviction or judgments.
It’s a good idea to let every potential tenant know up front that you will check their references, employment history and pull background checks that include credit reports, credit scores, courts employment and criminal records. If you want to discourage marginal prospects, make your fact-checking standards a part of your ad. Good renters may brag about their pristine records. An often-overlooked recommendation resource is not from the prospective renter’s current landlord, but their previous landlord. If the current landlord is trying to get rid of them, you can expect a glowing, but untruthful, recommendation. It may be a red flag if your potential candidates can’t remember or don’t have contact information for their prior landlords.
Be the Ideal Landlord
It’s a good idea to try lead by example in every situation. Always respect your tenant. Be on time. You might find that they translate being late to an appointment to being okay with being late with the rent. Be well-groomed. If you’re neat and clean, they are more likely to think you prefer neat and clean in everything including your rental. Remember, you want to set an example. If your tenant is in violation of the lease, including being late with rent, make sure you are upholding it by following the processes outlined in your lease. Don’t expect the tenant to follow the lease if you don’t. Be consistently courteous and professional. Ultimately you and your tenant have a business relationship and nothing more. Be amiable but conduct business. You are responsible for setting the standard from the very first meeting, so your tenants will never need to wonder what is right or what is wrong. When you are a first-class landlord, your tenants will be more inclined to be first-class tenants.
Characteristics and Secrets of Great Landlords
Great Landlords know the value of encouragement including offering rewards, incentives, and thoughtful gestures.
- Reward on-time, advanced rent payments, or tenant referrals with movie tickets, chocolates, dinner vouchers, anything your tenant would appreciate including incentives that will add value to your property like ceiling fans, lighting timers, or new window treatments.
- Obey the law, especially regarding the pre-application and screening processes and policies regarding deposits.
- Have their leases reviewed by competent attorneys to spot lease errors and provide you with a court-tested document? The more specific and structured the lease, the more secure the tenant will feel toward making a decision to rent from you.
- Make it very easy to pay rent on time with a drop box and/or by accepting direct transfers and credit cards online.
- Check on their tenants periodically to let them know they care about them.
- Offer a reward for extending the lease like offering a free carpet cleaning or apartment cleaning to the tenants.
- Provide new tenants with information about local shopping areas, grocery stores, drugstores and other relevant amenities.
- Think of the stress of the tenant’s move-in day and have already stocked each bathroom with a roll of toilet paper and a soap dispenser, the fridge with water bottles and maybe even throw in a pizza to make the day that much more enjoyable and memorable.
- Send birthday or holiday greeting cards.
- Make their rental unique by providing an alarm system or providing inclusive high-speed internet or cable.
- Check with their best tenants as the first source for acquiring new quality tenants.
Everyone knows you can catch more flies with honey. You don’t need a portfolio of properties to be a professional landlord. Good tenants are not accidental, and they come in every price range available. The best way to attract and keep the very best tenants is to be the very best landlord.
