Residential leasing and management are complex. Without the right tools and tips, property managers will lose money. Managing tenants the right way has several benefits;
- Maintain properties in the desired conditions.
- Longer tenants leases
- Collecting rent on the agreed periods
- Low repair costs and maintenance
- Reduce property management legal problems
To keep residential and commercial properties safe for tenants for the long term, property managers can embrace the following tips.
Invest in an excellent tenant screening process
Screening your tenants enables you to partner with reliable and quality leasers. A thorough tenant screening process may include
- Eviction and bankruptcy reports
- Criminal background
- Tenant’s creditworthiness
- Request solid references
- Proof of income
Screening tenants do more than protect a landlord’s properties, and it safeguards existing tenants from malicious tenants who may have a criminal background.
Structure professional communication channels with tenants
A text or phone call with your tenants about any issue affecting them can make a huge difference. These could include;
- Leasing policy changes
- An increase in rent
- Property maintenance requests
- Collecting rent
With property management software, landlords centralize all tenant communication and keep records for future references on emerging property leasing issues.
Execute rent increase strategically
Some residential leasing factors are out of your control. These factors may call for a rent increase, but how you inform tenants of the new leasing price will make or break the contract.
Communicate openly to tenants about the reasons you are increasing their rent and how you came up with the new figure. Some reasons include;
- Renovations costs
- Change in property taxes
- High insurance charges
- Market demand
Respect tenants’ privacy rights
Understanding tenants’ privacy rights will safeguard your property management work from legal issues. Depending on your state, get knowledgeable on compliance with the state and local regulations.
For instance, the Fair Housing Act protects people from unfair discrimination when seeking to rent, buy or get a mortgage on a house. There are several actions that make-up discrimination in residential or commercial leasing. Some include;
- A set of different terms and conditions
- A property manager or landlord refusing to rent
- Evicting a tenant based on race
- Limiting tenant privileges
- Religion, color, sex, and more.
Before a tenant leases your property, ensure the building meets the habitable home right. It should be safe, healthy, and have enough resources like water and electricity.
Be proactive in solving tenant issues
Some property management issues occur repeatedly. As a landlord, you can create mechanisms integrated into the lease agreement to proactively the issues whenever they emerge.
Some proactive measures can include;
- Steps to preventing the issues from occurring
- A clear guideline for the tenants when such issues emerge
- A clause that states the consequences for tenants failing to solve the issue as per the instructions.
Automate rent collection using software
Calling tenants to remind them when rent is due is too old. The new way for billing tenants is using the software. Property managers using UnitConnect can;
- Email tenant invoices
- Automatically apply a late fee
- Offer the option for tenants to pay fully or partially
- Add attachments to tenants’ invoices
Landlords can apply recurring charges, additional charges like CAM, or taxes automatically from one dashboard. Also, property managers can keep track of all their rent collection accounting using property management software.
Set expectations on tenants’ responsibilities
Set the tone you expect from new tenants before they move in. The significance of setting expectations with tenants upfront is to establish a relationship built on respect and responsibility.
Make it clear for tenants to know the do’s and don’ts when residing in your rented property. An example expectation is an eviction notice. It’s vital you, and the tenant understands state and local laws on eviction notices.
