As a landlord, finding the perfect resident to rent out your property is the most essential step in leasing, and you have to spend significant time checking references and income and doing background checks. However you can still encounter issues with tenants, despite your best efforts. Here are five common things that residents try to get away with, which Real Property Management Coeur d’Alene can prevent or manage.
The first of issues with tenants is not paying rent on time. Residents will try to take advantage of landlords and give excuses on why they have not paid their rent on time. Common excuses vary from “I’m waiting for my paycheck from work to come in” to “You haven’t repaired damages in the house, so I shouldn’t have to pay rent until they are fixed.” Tactics to avoid these are to keep rent collection records so your residents can never say they paid you when they have not, always stay up to date on essential repairs on your property, and also make and record regular assessments of the property so renters are living in a well maintained rental.
Next of issues with tenants is residents not listed on the lease. A lot of people rent in areas where they know people or have friends, which is not a problem until your resident has a friend living with him or her who you are unaware of. When someone is living at the property and isn’t on the lease, numerous problems can arise, from damaged property to noise complaints. The best way to prevent this is including in the lease that no other person may stay in the property except those on the lease and holding to a “failure to comply will result in eviction” line.
Third of issues with tenants is that may cause unforeseen problems are pets in properties where pets are not allowed. Most residents will wait weeks or even months after moving in to try and sneak a pet into the property without consent of the landlord and without paying a pet fee, if applicable. This can be avoided by performing regular evaluations on your property and checking to see whether any pets have appeared.
The fourth of issues with tenants is damages. Accidents happen and items break, but who ends up paying for the damages? When your lease is in order, and you do evaluations before and after with the resident, you won’t be the one stuck with the bill. Make sure to create a list and do a walk through the property together on the first day your resident moves in so that you can note all preexisting damages. Then, upon the resident moving out, perform a walk through of the rental with the same list that has all the preexisting damages so your words are covered in writing, it may be advised to also take picture depending how involved the rental is.
The fifth and probably the most time consuming issues with tenants try to get away with is dodging eviction. Residents will try and claim, and in some cases even take legal action, that they are being evicted unfairly. How do you prevent this? A well manufactured lease states the rules specifically and states what qualifies as grounds for eviction. This way, if the resident tries to take legal action, you have a greater chance of winning your case. Then if the resident refuses to move, you have the legal right to take action to remove them from your property and get it back on the market to rent.
Evictions can be messy legal obligations that take the most time and energy in managing you rental. That is time that you can be investing in more worth while endeavors. With Real Property Management Coeur d’Alene, you won’t have to. We can handle everything from damages and inspections to complaints and evictions, guarding your identity, keeping your rental most optimal and putting your anxiety at ease. Don’t stress yourself out over a bad resident; let us do the work for you.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
