Just for fun, I polled some of my friends about what they, as tenants, would love to say to their landlord’s face. I told them to be brash and forthright.<\/p>\n
Here are their replies … 7 things your tenants would love to tell you:<\/p>\n
1. Just because I\u2019m a day late on my rent doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m not going to pay it. Asking politely is one thing. Turning into a ruthless mob like character if your rent check is a day late is another thing entirely. Calm the heck down … you\u2019ll get your money!<\/p>\n
2. Telling me that you\u2019ll have someone over soon to fix the A\/C is nice, but actually sending someone over would be better. Tenants know all too well that when the landlord says they\u2019ll send someone over, that means “I\u2019ll get to it when I get to it.”<\/p>\n
3. It would be great if you answered the phone. It\u2019s amazing how if the rent check is a moment late you can\u2019t get away from your landlord, but if you actually need something from them, you can never get a hold of them.<\/p>\n
4. Even though I live in your property I am still a human being. Please don’t treat me like a child, and please don’t begin our interaction with the assumption that I’m going to trash the place. I haven’t done anything wrong (yet.)<\/p>\n
5. Those outlandish rules included in the lease were ridiculous. I can only use the shower during certain times of the day? I’m not allowed to light candles inside the home? Yeah … those rules are ridiculous.<\/p>\n
6. My pets aren\u2019t going to destroy your home. I have two small harmless cats that, I promise, will not piss all over your carpet or scratch up your trim.<\/p>\n
7. It\u2019s not my responsibility to do maintenance on your home. I\u2019m calling you because the faucet is leaking. That’s not because I can\u2019t fix it. It’s because I pay rent so that I don\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n
****<\/p>\n
Okay, fair enough. But just for fun, here’s my reply to each of those points, one by one: 7 things that I, as a landlord, want my tenants to know:<\/p>\n
1. Dude, I don’t get to just blow your rent check on champagne and strippers. If I’m hassling you about getting me the rent check, it’s probably because I have to pay the mortgage<\/a>, the tax man, the insurance, the contractors, and more. Those guys all want their money now, and they won’t take “my tenant hasn’t paid me yet” as an excuse.<\/p>\n Besides which, we have an agreement: I provide you with housing, and you pay rent on the 1st. I’ve held up my end. So where’s the check?<\/p>\n 2. Yes, sometime’s there is a delay in getting a contractor over to your house to fix that broken thing. \u00a0But it’s not due to a lack of trying on my part. If you can recommend someone who’s actually good, affordable and reliable, let me know. Those people are near-mythical.<\/p>\n 3. If your landlord \/ property manager isn’t doing as good of a job in being responsive to your needs as he is in collecting rent, then you need a better landlord. Our job is to communicate with you and to answer the phone when you call.<\/p>\n