Setting boundaries is essential for maintaining healthy relationships and managing interactions, especially in professional settings like property management.
But, setting boundaries can be one of the most difficult things for any of us to do. For some reason many people don’t feel that it is fair to limit their access to their tenants. I have been told that tenants need to be able to reach the landlord whenever there is a problem. Or the landlord worries that the tenant won’t be happy and will move if they don’t have instant access to the property manager.
While tenants needs to have “access” to you, I can assure you that thinking that your tenants need unlimited access to you will lead to a lot more stress and anxiety.
What does “having access” mean to you? Really think about that!
Does that mean the tenant must be able to talk to you whenever they want? To me, it doesn’t. As long as the tenant can put in a work order either through a property management system or with a text or email, that is perfectly fine.
I want you to think about what boundaries you have for your business. If you don’t really have boundaries, why not? Remember, this is a business, even if you “only have one property.” Your time and sanity are important. Setting the tone right from the start is very important.
Do you have specific operating hours?
Do you have after hours emergency protocol?
Do you have standard operating protocols to deal with different situations?
We will talk more about these things in another post.
What do you do when an applicant applies, you have run credit and they change their mind?
My very strong feeling is that once the application fee is paid, it is nonrefundable. My application states in several places that the application fee is not refundable once it is paid. Be very sure that your application addresses this!
I use a property management system that I use to run credit. Before I run credit, I can refund the application fee but the company is still charged a $5 fee. So even if I was willing to return the fee, it would still cost the company money which I don’t feel is right.
I recently had a situation where someone applied, credit was run and before I could go any further, the applicant called me and said her husband had been transferred to Florida. While I felt bad that they had spent the money on the applications, because there were two, I have a hard time believing that they didn’t have an idea this might be on the horizon. I had already run their credit and did not refund their fee. If you run credit use a different service and just give the applicant the link, you won’t be able to decide whether or not to refund the application fee. I can tell you that it will not be refundable. The application most likely states that as well.
An applicant shouldn’t apply for a property if they feel like it isn’t the right property for them. Just because they change their mind, it should not cost the property owner. For me, there are going to be very few times that I would consider an application fee to be refundable.
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The thought of finding a new tenant is enough to strike fear into the heart of even an experienced landlord.
We all know that a great tenant will pay the rent and take care of the property. This is the tenant that we ALL want.
But, if we don’t have systems in place to find this great tenant, we can just as easily find a bad tenant who won’t pay the rent and who will endanger our finances.
Watch this quick video series to learn how to mitigate your risk when looking for a new tenant.
If you haven’t done so already, please be sure and join my free Facebook Group – Commonsense Landlording. I give away free landlord tips and case studies.
Landlords are always looking for a great tenant. The question is, how do you find one?
I was online earlier and someone ask everyone in a group if they have had mostly good paying tenants or mostly bad paying tenants over the years. Of course, the answers were all over the board. Some landlords had mostly great paying tenants, others had mostly bad paying tenants and some were in the middle. Many wondered why that is.
I can tell with absolute certainty that those landlords who have mostly good paying tenants have systems that they use every single time to find their tenants. Systems are the key to running an efficient business, no matter what you do. Without systems, your results will just be a flip of a coin . . . sometimes good, sometimes bad but never predictable.
When I look for a new tenant, I have specific systems that I use. I can tell you that I have mostly good paying tenants.
I am very thorough and I only deal in facts. Over the years, I have learn the hard way to stick to the system and my rental criteria and not make exceptions. Every single time I helped someone out, gave a second chance, listened to a sad story, etc., I ended up making a bad decision.
These people are not bad people but they do lack the necessary skillsets to keep a job, budget their money and pay their bills on time. I am not taking on a fully grown adult to finish raising and teach them how to manage their money. They either have these skills or they don’t. I look for only the very best tenants and these people have a proven ability to pay not just their rent on time but all of their bills. Again, I have learned that once they fall behind on other bills, it is just a matter of time until they can’t pay the rent.
Because I have these systems and rental criteria, I have very few problems. When I do have an issue, it is because of something that I couldn’t predict. I have a tenant that has been with me coming up on two years and he all of a sudden can’t pay his rent. He told me that he was fired from his job and was too embarrassed to tell me why. This gentleman had been on his job for a little over 5 years and worked for a large, well known company. There is no way to predict this. But, he knew he couldn’t pay and voluntarily moved out.
The easy answer to “How to find a great tenant” is to do your homework. Have systems and rental criteria in place and follow them every single time.
Grab My Pre-Screening System
My pre-screening system is very effective at quickly identifying those people who don’t meet my guidelines. I have put together all of my questions as well as two free training videos. You can grab them here.
Tenants often don’t think about the “common sense” things that need to be done to make sure the property is winter ready. I know better than to trust them to anything without reminding them. I have an email that I send out two or three times a year to all of my tenants reminding them about the important things they need to do to prevent damage to the property.
