Landing a Great Tenant

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It sometimes sounds like the world is riddled with bad tenants if you listen to the landlords that had a bad experience; however, that is not always the case in land lording. As a whole, being a landlord is actually very rewarding (keep the positive mindset up). The reasons and passion that follows a true professional landlord is what lands a great tenant!

"If you're not really having a good time, it’s not worth it." Kyle Chandler

I guess the quote can fit in just about anywhere in regards to life and all the challenges that are thrown a person's way throughout life. If this quote is applied to being a landlord a person that feels that wayshould take areal hard look and seeif theyshould be in that position as a landlord, or hire out a property management company. If a person realizes that they are not having fun, or do not find passion in the tasks of a landlord then at that point it should be analyzedand you will need to look for a great management company to boost your property's value.

The reason that it is imperative to be a great landlord is to produce a great property; which will lead to landing that great tenant. The great tenant is a byproduct of great land lording. It's like going to stay at the Holiday Inn verse the Ritz Carlton; everyone wants to stay at the Ritz Carlton, or at least be treated like the Ritztreats their customers. This is the byproduct, treat your tenants great and they will continue to rent, come back to rent another place from you, or even referrer someone to you as a renter.

The Building Blocks

To find that great tenant you need to a great background check platform, a great sense of character (a great defense), a great property management platform (Buildium or AppFolio), a systemfor reporting repairs, and you need a great system in place for maintenance/repairs to be completed in a timely fashion. This seems to be a lot to handle, but if perfected this will create a great tenant.

The First Deterrent

As for above, a great tenant needs to know that you as the landlord, or the property management company that has been set in place will create an experience (environment) that will manifest something great for them. Once the tenant sees the process of getting into the property, this may deter the bad tenants from the get because that process of checking the background, evictions, and credit puts up a red flag for the bad tenant that this will be tougher than they thought (some landlords do not even do this step). In turn, a great tenant will love to see this process and have confidence in getting through and be able to have a fighting chance of renting the property. Oh! And make sure to call the two-threepreviously lived locations for the prospective tenant.

RELATED: How to Evict a Tenant: The Definitive Step by Step Guide

Gut Check

Know that moment in a movie where the music gets a little louder and the scene seems to be telling the viewer that all signs point to that character getting attacked! Well, that same gut feeling happens when you meet someone that is not really telling all the truth. At that point you will finish off the conversation and write that potential tenant off; however, you know that there are laws against discriminationand think that you may have to rent to that person. Realize that the first screening process will weed those people out very quickly. Bad people that are internally bad did not just give off that vibe the first time they met you, they have some type of history and that is why the screening process is so lengthy.

Using a property management software that will perform for a landlord is crucial to have a well established business and an added sense of professionalism towards tenants. It's 2017 and that means driving from home-to-home and walking to the door for the check is long gone. Pay for software for clients to sign in easily to check their balance, pay their bills and see their current lease. This will create a trust circle for you and your tenants since they know that you are spending money on them to make items like these more convenient for them. Yes, it does cost a monthly fee for these subscriptions, but it shows true professionalism to people coming to you for housing needs.

Repairing-Reporting

Reporting repairs and tending to the repairs and maintenance is a business in it's own right. I'll tie these three tasks together to make it flow more and since they do go hand-in-hand. Reporting repairs should be setup through a toll free number, the property management software, or a specified phone number or e-mail address that can be sent to you and your handyman. Repairs should be done in 24 hours orsooner(to be really great, less than six to eight hours). Emergency repairs should be fix immediately hints the name emergency repair (broken pipe, fire, flooding from storms, infestation of insects, or a naturaldisaster that effected the unit/rental). There should be a number just for these types of emergencies that tenants can call that is different from the normal repair number. In regards to maintenance, this is on going and will need to be watched throughout the lifetime you own the rental, or building. This can be done be having maintenance workers on the property throughout each week, or on aquarterly to biannually inspection schedule.

All of these items go along with talking to tenants, making sure that the systems in place are working, and making sure that the employees are working great with everyone else including the tenants. This is basically a full time job, and if these tasks seem overwhelming, then the alternative is a third party property management company.

As I mentioned above, it takes many different factors toproduce that great tenant, but if done correctlyit can happen and will create an income that is a lot better than jumping from one tenant to the next, to the next tenant. It is a combination of many different factors to get that right tenant in and if that seems to be too much for you, then search out and interview every single property management company in a 20-30 mile radius of your rentals to get the right people in that position.

What do you think is the biggest key aspect of above? What is the smallest key aspect? Do you like being a landlord?