The title of this article is quality tenants are very hard to find and harder to retain. While this article is intended for property owners, it will serve prospective tenants as well. Starting with “quality tenants are very hard to find”, let me explain what I mean by this.
A quality tenant, in my opinion, is a tenant who treats the property as if it was theirs. They keep it clean and orderly. They throw out the trash and call the landlord when something requires a repair. When you walk into the property, it is clean. You rarely need to call the pest control people out because they clean up food when it is spilled.
Quality tenants pay the rent on time every month. They do not make excuses why they can not pay, they simply pay. You can count on their income when you decide you are going to for example paint the building. Did I mention that they call you when a repair is needed? This is so important I mention it twice.
Quality tenants parks were assigned and do not park on the grass. A good tenant does not have continuous loud parties or have people trying to live in the extra room. A good tenant will tell the landlord when a bad tenant is violating the rules.
I could go on about the quality tenant but it’s time to get into the other part of the statement. Good tenants are harder to retain. This is true because a good tenant knows they are a good tenant. They will accept a rent increase that is reasonable but expects the landlord to compensate their goodwill by maintaining the property.
Quality tenants do now want to live in a shabby building that requires repairs and maybe a health hazard. The paint is peeling and the railings are broken. If you expect the good tenants to stay, you need to invest in your building and keep them advised.
Communication is key. Often good tenants tell the landlord about a repair or something that would improve the property just to have the comment fall on deaf ears. If you want to keep your quality tenant, pay attention to their needs.
Quality tenants usually have good credit which means they can go to another property when the lease expires. This does not mean that you can not raise the rent rate, it means that as long as the overall property remains a nice place to live, the good tenant will stay.
You keep quality tenants by getting the bad ones out. If you are reading this and you are a tenant who treats the rental property as if it were a dumpster, I will not apologize for calling you a bad tenant. If you bought a car with the rent money and told the landlord you will be very late, perhaps you need to reassess your priorities.
Treat all of your tenants with respect and heap it on for the good ones that keep the money flowing in on time so you can make your mortgage payment.