Safe Harbor Homes for Rent

This Is Managing Residents 101

You either manage your residents… or they will manage you. This is managing residents 101.

While we all understand we can’t control another person, part of a successful real estate management career lies in keeping expectations clear and enforceable.

Start Early

Firstly, a thorough resident screening will subtly tell your prospective resident that you are paying attention to details. If they see you looking closely before you hand over the keys, they will anticipate that their behavior will be watched closely when they live in your property.

Asking questions about prior evictions, how many people will be living in the residence, and pets will establish some professional parameters that will pay off now and later.

Details, Details, Details

Secondly, make sure your lease agreement is thorough. This is the legal document that will articulate the rights and responsibilities between you and your resident. Make sure you over-document versus under-document details like when rent is due, how rent is collected, property alterations, pest control, pets, parking, landscaping, etc., etc.
While we don’t want to anticipate problems, we need to appreciate that some preparation today will pay off in dividends if (and when) the relationship sours later.

Clear Procedures

Thirdly, every element of rental life needs to be clearly stated and easily understood. Collection of rent, scheduling repairs, or handling complaints need to be spelled out for all to understand and execute.

Privacy is Paramount

Fourth, if you make procedures and expectations clearly explained, you can give the residents all the privacy they could ever want. Don’t access the property without permission, short of a major emergency. Be sure to provide the residents with two weeks notice before you access the property for inspection or repairs. This type of professional interaction will be a win/win for all involved.

Incentivize Retention

Fifth, have some compelling incentives for your best clients. Losing a good resident happens, but it makes your life much harder. So be creative and innovative to find out what your residents might want if they resign their leases.

Evict Properly

Sixth, the opposite side of incentivizing good residents is handling bad residents properly. Bad behavior must be handled quickly or you will lose the good residents you’ve worked hard to attract. At Safe Harbor, we have decades of helping our clients evict bad residents with dignity and respect for all local laws.

And finally, this Managing Residents 101 post was just a quick primer on resident management. Here at Safe Harbor, we are professionals at making your rental properties successful and profitable. Right now, we have proven practices that will make every issue we just alluded to work smoothly. We have far more advice to share with you than at this blog, and best of all, we are just a phone call away. We’d love to help!

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