Rental Property Investor · Olds, Alberta · Member since 2014 · 9 posts · 0 votes
I am currently looking for more investment property in my town, and in doing my research on the local buy/sell pages it seems like there is an incredibly high demand for rentals that accept pets. I, like most landlords, don't really like the 4 legged friends to be in my units, but this might be a market here to make some money if I can find a way to keep my turnover costs low by "pet proofing" any new units that I buy. Just wondering what are the best ways to "pet proof" a rental?
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
I think tile or laminate depends on your market, but no carpet for sure. Think about removing screen doors and adding doggy doors. Good extererior fencing will attract responsible pet owners. I feel that the little dogs do a lot of urine damage, so I'd rather have the mid size dogs. Meet, photograph, and pre-approve each dog. Do inspections and act on damage quickly. Charge a higher deposit and we have had success with $25/month extra for each dog.
You and I are on similar missions. After turning away many - an otherwise qualified tenant - simple because they have a 4-legged roommate, I came to the conclusion we needed a building where pets are welcomed.
I've since been looking for an appropriately located 4-6 unit building to test our hypotheses. Naturally, we are looking for a building in need of renovation - since we have to bomb-proof it anyway. We are planning on the following materials:
floors - use tile and commercial vinyl (plank or sheet);
walls - velvet kitchen & bath paint (cleans easier) with either a tile base or wall base in lieu of baseboards;
HVAC - extra filters on all ventilation ducts - I've cleaned cat out of a ventilator before ... not fun.
On units where we have allowed pets in the past, we have required the tenant to carry a pet damage rider on their tenants insurance with us as the named payee. We are not allowed to take extra deposit for pets, but can charge additional rent (for now ... it's a grey area).