Frank Woodford

Tenants – how to work with them

This articles looks at the steps you should undertake when looking for your ideal tenants, the pitfalls you should look out for and making sure you property investment remains just that.

You’ve just found the perfect property. There is little to repair and it’s ready to rent. The question is – who do you want to rent it?

There are two types of tenant in real estate property. Those who are like a breath of fresh air; who will pay their rent on time and respect your property, and then there are those who can become a big financial headache.

It’s vital you pick the right tenant to make your property investment work. And although you may feel tempted to fill your property fast – after all, your investment can only generate revenue if a tenant is living there- it is important you make the right choice.

And the reason why this is so important? Housing Laws are written to protect the tenant, not the landlord. This can make trying to dispose of a nightmare tenant, stressful and expensive.

You can escape this problem and turn your property into the best property investment it can be by following some simple rules:

1.      Meet your tenants - most professional landlords, will let their realtor’s close the deal, but this is an opportune moment for you to meet your tenant’s and assess their suitability for yourself. So ask yourself these questions: did they get to the appointment on time? Do they look like they’ll treat your property with respect?

If you sense something is wrong, you’re probably right.

2.      Depending on the type of property- is it a higher end property or a lower end – the way you check your tenants background will be different. For high end properties you can perform a check through a credit company. This is a worthy investment and can save you money in the future. Y

Just make sure your tenants have agreed to this check and have signed the lease agreement before you do it. After this confirmation, the credit company will do a thorough check of their credit history, which they will then pass onto you. This type of check is great for the above mentioned properties, but is less useful for lower end properties. Tenants who apply for these often have poor or no credit rating.

It is still possible to check their reliability, you just need to take a different approach. Contact their employer and previous landlord to see the type of person they are. They will be able to give you an equally accurate view of your future tenant.

3.      Build a great relationship with your tenants. By showing them you care for their welfare, they will return the respect. This can be achieved by answering their queries; doing repairs straight away (the earlier you repair a fault, the cheaper it will be) and by creating a good communication network. This can make a real difference to how you tenants care for your property. And will protect its property value.

You’ll be surprised by how infrequently your tenant bothers you when you have taken this type of approach.

So take the time to make the right decision for you. You’ll soon find the only time regular task you’ll be doing is collecting your cheque every month.

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