How Investors Deal With Problem Tenants

How investors can deal with problem tenants and ways to avoid legal pitfalls. One of the biggest mistakes I see owners make time and time again is that they do not treat their rental properties like a business. The IRS says you’re a business, Fair Housing says you’re a business and here in Texas the Texas Real Estate Commission, Texas Property Code. The person who doesn’t think they’re a business is normally the owner. Having policies and procedures in place and most importantly making sure you follow those policies and procedures. It’s not personal, I have seen a lot of investors get into the heat of a discussion with tenants for no reason at all because they are taking it personally while interpreting it the wrong way and that is not the way to run your business. Have a contract with the tenant, go by that contract and follow that contract. The most important document you can have is that lease agreement. And even more important is that lease is followed and enforced. One of the worst things you could do is text a tenant. Number one reason is that it’s very unprofessional. Businesses do not text people, they send letters or place a phone call where everything is tracked. More importantly, if you have a problem with a tenant and it’s a heated discussion, you’re very quick to maybe send a response that you should have not sent in the heat of the discussion. That could come back and bite you. I have seen that in court before where they got into a heated discussion texting to make it look like the owner was intimidating and bullying the tenant. So it’s best not even to go that path and not do any texting to them.