If you’re reading this now, you’re probably in need of some assistance. Now in a perfect world, you would have a property manager deal with everything while you (the landlord) are sipping on a Piña colada on a private beach somewhere. However, if you’re not quite on that level just yet, here are a few tips on how to manage tenants.
1. Stay CALM! Tenants will often act as if the sky is falling when that is simply just not the case. With that being said, make sure you let your tenant know that you hear them and that you will work on getting the issue resolved. This is a lot easier said than done. I mean when you get a call like “ The ceiling is falling apart and my apartment is flooding” it’s tough not to panic I GET IT! We are human and we feed off each other’s energy. I can’t tell you how many times I freaked out to this type of call when in reality there was a minor roof leaf that required patching and one ceiling tile that needed to be replaced. The apartment that was “flooded” actually had a nominal amount of waterfall on their kitchen table. This leads me to my next step…
2. Although tenants tend to blow things out of proportion, it’s important to BE PROACTIVE! Delaying a service order could bite you (the landlord) in the ass. A small repair can turn into a hassle and a half real quick if ignored. You also need to keep in mind that there may be a delay due to scheduling conflicts. Believe me – tenants want things fixed immediately but are often unwilling to compromise missing their afternoon Pilates class for the one hour your technician is available that week. However, the sooner you try to address the issue, the more time you allow yourself to figure out a time that works for you very busy tenant.
3. Lastly, COMMUNICATION! Keep it constant. I know it can be time-consuming, and it honestly may not be sincere at times. But you’ve got to do it! I swear sometimes, I feel like I end up hearing their entire life story when I just wanted to know if the electrician did the job I paid him to do. Trust me they want to feel like you’re extended family. And just like family, you are available to help when necessary (as in when the roof starts caving in) but you are also going to keep it real and tell them they are responsible for cleaning up the mess they made such as accidentally breaking the garbage disposal with a butter knife. It’s much easier to have these types of discussions when you are not some figment of their imagination. You are a real person, who listens and is fair.
I could go on and on. But let’s be real, we don’t have that kind of attention span. In the meantime, I hope these three tips are helpful! Feel free to leave me some tips in the comments.
The Edge on Real Estate 