It is vital to be a great landlord if you want to be successful in being a landlord. It costs a great deal to attract good tenants and the cost of getting rid of bad tenants can be really high. Not only will you have constant repairs to do, but also the vacancy expense adds up quickly too.
The best ones are the tenants who stay for a long time and pay their rent on time, without causing significant problems.
If you want to achieve this, you must manage your relationship with the tenants, or have a letting agency do this for you, in order to make them see how lucky they are to have a good landlord.
Tips on how to become a great landlord
What does it mean to be a nice landlord? I have compiled a list of things that have proven to be successful.
This list is not at all all-inclusive and it does not mean you need to do everything on it all the time with every single tenant. You need to have certain systems in place you do with every tenant, and then pick and choose other elements from the list in order to manage the landlord-tenant deal as necessary.
As a landlord you should maintain the property in a decent condition
From functionality to cleaning, your property must look good in general. Tenants will usually understand if there is work being done, however when they come to collect the keys and move in, ensure the place is clean from the inside out and everything is exactly as it should be. The tenant needs be proud to move into your place and he or she should be proud to tell his/her friends about the amazing landlord.
Have a proper lease and tenant screening process
It is crucial to be a professional landlord during these steps. I absolutely recommend considering the free landlord forms you can find online, and you can use them as a template to help you nail this first impression.
Your tenant screening procedure will make them feel comfortable that their neighbours are trustworthy and have been thoroughly screened too. Issues between tenants can quickly become issues for the landlord, so it’s important that every single tenant you consider is great and can get along with other tenants in the place.
It is very essential to have a good lease too. The lease will communicate the tenants what the rules are and what is and is not allowed. The more formal the lease is, the more comfortable the tenant will be with the landlord.
Keep a fluent communication with tenants and be prompt with maintenance
Tenants don’t like to feel that you are on top of them at all times and like to be left alone, while they also like to know that you as their landlord cares about their state and wellbeing. Check on them from time-to-time, and thus they will know that you are one of the few landlords that actually care about tenants.
Usually tenants do not like to bother their landlord, so at times they might not tell you about repairs. Even if these are truly important repairs. Regularly checking in with tenants will give them an opportunity to tell you about needed repairs. In case you use the help of a letting agent to rent out your property, the agent will take care of this communication so you can totally forget about it.
Offering a reward to extend lease
This is something you see in larger building blocks or apartment complexes, but why not implement it for yourself? You could offer a free apartment cleaning to the tenants if they go ahead and renew the lease. It makes them a bit more likely to renew, therefore reducing your vacancy and turnover expenses. And second, it gets the very much needed yearly cleaning done, and this will make it much easier to turn-over once they actually move out.