Doing this one thing as a landlord saved me so much time!

[Account Closed]

As a landlord or property owner with a vacant rental have you ever got so excited that a prospective applicant calls or emails about your rental property that you seem to forget everything else?  Yes! I am going to start collecting rent you yell... I've done it too.

If you want to save a lot of time, stress, hassle, and headaches when showing your vacant rentals ALWAYS have your prospective applicants confirm their appointment at least 2 hours in advance of the scheduled time. Many prospects won't call, won't show up, and instead of you sitting there getting angry that you just wasted the past hour and a half on a no-show, you just saved yourself a lot of time!  More time to spend with family, your kids, or sitting in the front of the TV instead of a hot car at a vacant property.  I will tell you at least half of my "scheduled" appointments do not confirm / do not show up. Almost all of my confirmed appointments show up. 

Free advice to other landlords, and I will tell you I have saved myself weeks, perhaps months, of my valuable time in the past 12 years of doing this. Your family and your sanity will thank you :)  Yes, seems so simple yet you would be surprised the number of hours wasted on no-shows.

What other time saving tips do you have from your landlording business others could benefit from?

[Carol Venolia]

Good tip! I have one that saves me a lot of time. When a prospective tenant first contacts me, I email them a doc that outlines what I'm looking for in a tenant (minimum income, etc). That weeds out lots of folks, and leaves me showing the place to people who are fairly likely to be qualified.

Also, I start showing a place when I still have some minor stuff to do (put up blinds, final cleaning). If someone doesn't show up for their appointment, I haven't lost anything.