As a landlord, you should know different ways to attract and retain good tenants, and the first thing is a good-looking property. Before you can implement any other methods, you need to have a presentable property. If not, then it might be time to look for a demolition company and reinvent your property from scratch.
1. Keep the Property Looking Fresh
Sometimes, no matter what kind of renovation you do, you can’t make the property look fresh. So, you might need to think about a few things before looking for a demolition company. However, if your property is relatively new, or you’ve been maintaining it, you should also:
- Professionally clean: Hire a cleaning company to thoroughly clean the property every time your tenants change. Make sure that you hire the right company that offers thorough cleaning services.
- Maintain the yard: It’s important to keep the yard looking good as well because the first thing your future tenants see is the yard. So, to attract and retain good tenants, you must uphold a neat yard image.
- Immediately do quick fixes: When you own a rental property, it’s sometimes difficult to know about all potential damage. So, show your tenants that you’re willing to fix things that are broken immediately. But you also need to show them you don’t tolerate intentional damage done on the property.
2. Balance the Rent
It doesn’t matter if you’re renting a beachfront property or a property in the middle of the city. You need to consider which kind of tenant you want to attract, and that’s how you can set the rent. Remember, someone willing to pay an enormous amount of money doesn’t necessarily mean a good tenant.
When you implement a rent that’s higher than two-thirds of the tenant’s wage, you’re probably lessening the chances for regular people to be your tenants. Make a good balance between the rent and the property quality so it doesn’t become an enormous burden on the tenant.
3. Improve the Screening Process
There are always ways you can improve your screening process. You don’t have to meet with every applicant. Reach out to the previous landlord to see what kind of experience they had with the applicant.
You can also get some insight about the rent amount paid to the previous landlord, and other things like lease termination notice, if there was any damage on the property, and probably the most important question if they would rent to the applicant again.
Another way to improve the screening process is by looking for online screening services or other services that eliminate your subjectivity.
4. Treat Current Tenants Well
Word-of-mouth publicity can go a long way. That’s why you need to treat your current tenants well. Communicate to them you’re willing to help if they have questions. This immediately earns you some points as a landlord.
Also, apart from you checking your future tenant’s background, there’s a possibility that they’ll check your background too. That’s why you should maintain your reputation as a reasonable landlord that’s ready to communicate and help if necessary.
5. Advertise the Property Online
By advertising your property online using a rental listing site, you get a larger selection of tenants. However, this doesn’t give you an audience with good tenants only, but it increases the chances for you to choose a good one.
If you widen the selection and increase the number of applicants, you find the right tenant for you because only you can know which tenant is good for you as a landlord.
6. Make a Compelling Lease Agreement
The lease agreement you offer should contain all the regular legal points of an average lease agreement. However, as a landlord, you can change the maintenance part of the agreement and agree to fix more than any other landlord would.
Also, you can add an appendix stating that there’s no termination of the lease agreement if the tenant is late in paying rent. This likely increases the chance that all rent and utility costs are covered by the deadline specified in the lease as you’re showing trust, and that is appreciated.
Finally, making exceptions for certain pets and visitations gives you a better reputation as a landlord, and you’ll probably attract more tenants that way.
