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When Tenants Go Sour: How to Avoid Bad Tenants

Here at Tenant File, we’re constantly stressing the importance of finding a tenant that is a perfect fit for your home. While there are certain steps you can take prior to renting out your home to them (check out our video on tenant screening here), can you guarantee that your tenant won’t go bad? Realistically, you can’t, so you need to be alert and keeping your eyes open for signs that your tenant may not be as good as they seem. Having a bad tenant can make the rental process immensely difficult and costly for you, so you need to make sure you don’t end up with one!

For starters, don’t rush the process of screening your tenant. It’s important to make sure that you have legitimate information that checks out. You should definitely require proof of employment from your tenant and verify it to make sure it’s not falsified. If you skip this step, you may end up with a tenant that you think is a high earning executive, when in reality they’re unemployed. Missed or late payments are also a huge red flag your tenant may be going bad; if they stop paying out of nowhere without speaking to you about any issues they might have, it may be time to have them move.

A huge thing that some tend to overlook is making sure everything is in writing. The lease contract needs to be sure to have every single aspect of the rental agreement being made in it, not just a general overview of the terms. If all the terms of the agreement are in writing, it’s clear to your tenant what they can and can’t do in your property. Having a fully stated agreement also makes it easier for you to point out certain terms your tenant is breaking and provide concrete reason to have them evicted.

bad tenant

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Holiday in the Sun: How to Find the Perfect Vacation Home

What do you want to look for in a vacation home?

With summer slowly approaching, the clock is ticking for people who are trying to find the perfect vacation home. Here at Tenant File, we’ve compiled a checklist of the top 5 things you should look for when trying to find your summer rental.

1. Good price – Look around the area where you’re thinking about renting and compare prices before jumping the gun on the first home you see. You want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth and not paying too much.

2. Location, location, location! – Once you know what kind of area you want to spend your summer in (suburb, city, beach town, etc.) do some research to select the perfect area. You want to make sure the place you’re living in fits the description of where you want to spend your time.

3. Furnished – Unless you have an entire furniture set ready for your summer rental, make sure you look for a place that comes furnished and ready to move in. Having to buy and move furniture into the home is just another large expense that can be avoided.

4. Lease time – Do you want a week-to-week lease or month-to-month lease? It’s important to know what time frame you’re looking at so you and your landlord can create a solid agreement.

5. Comfort – Comfort is key! Your vacation home is where you’ll be spending a decent amount of time so you want to make sure that you feel comfortable in it and know you’ll be comfortable living there.

vacation

Administrator, New User Questions

Keeping Good Tenants – Top 5 Tips for Tenant Retention

At Tenant File Property Management Software, we recently covered the importance of tenant screening. But once you have a good person chosen and moved in, how do you ensure tenant retention? We’ve compiled a list of the top 5 tips for keeping good tenants that you should be sure to use if you want to guarantee a low tenant turnover.

1. Allow pets.

It’s very difficult for pet owners to find a rental home that will let them bring their four-legged friends, so if they find a home that does allow pets they are likely to stay there for a long time. A tenant with a pet is also responsible (they have to take care of themselves and their pet!), so they’ll be responsible enough to take care of your home

2. Listen to your tenants.

Listening to your tenant is key in being able to keep them as your tenant! If your tenant has a request, like painting a wall, or changing an appliance, hear them out and try to take care of it as best as you can. It’s important that you and your tenant listen to each other and voice any concerns or requests either of you may have.

3. Offer discounted leases.

If you have a tenant who’s lived with you for an extended period of time (over a couple of years or so), you can offer them discounted or reduced rent. This gives them an incentive to keep living with you and makes it clear that you like having them as your tenant.

4. Take care of issues promptly.

If something breaks, fix it quickly! Don’t make your tenant wait a long time for things to be fixed, because they’re going to think that you don’t care about taking care of them or the property.

5. Treat your tenant right.

It’s important to talk to your tenant and be able to develop a relationship with them. If they’re having issues that may prevent them from paying rent, or may require them to leave for a period, your tenant should feel comfortable enough with you to be able to talk to you about these things. Sending cards for birthdays and other holidays are also great because they give your tenant a nice reminder that you’re thinking about them.

Do you have any tips you recommend for keeping a good tenant?

landlord and tenant

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Life’s A Stage: The Importance of Staging

Staging your way to success!

Recently at Tenant File, we read a BuzzFeed article about the importance of using good photos when posting real estate listings. Making sure your real estate listing looks good is crucial because its the first image that people see of the property, and creates an idea in their heads of what to expect. These photos would be nothing if the home doesn’t have anything in it, simply blank walls and emptiness; this brings up why staging is so important in renting or selling your property.

Staging involves setting up your home to have it shown to potential tenants or buyers. The home is fixed and decorated to appeal to those who are interested in possibly living there, making them feel comfortable and welcome. You want your property to be staged in a way that makes the person seeing it feel at home; you want them to feel comfortable with the idea of living there themselves and making it their own home.

Effective staging involves using the right paint colors, furniture, decor, and overall ambiance. Use warm and light colors to make the room seem bigger and have a nice calm feel. Make sure that the furniture you choose also goes with the overall design of the house; you wouldn’t furnish an old Victorian home with very modern furniture. As far as decor, have pillows on couches, to exude a look of comfort, and paintings and wall decor to be able to draw people into the room. Another great tip is to have candles lit throughout the home with a nice, calm scent (vanilla is a great choice) because it makes people associate the home with nice, warm, positive thoughts.

staging

 

Do you have any great staging tips that you always use? Tell us about them today!

 

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Getting a Real Estate License

Do you have what it takes to get your real estate license?

Most likely, you do!  Basically, getting a real estate license is like getting a college diploma…you have to take and pass the course (classes) to get the license (diploma). The requirements for the license vary from state to state but have the same general basis. The first step is the easiest, make sure you’re 18 or older and have a high school diploma or GED. Then, each state requires that you apply for the in-state license and pay the required fees, and then take the state issued exam (some recommend taking a prep course). After you pass the state exam (with flying colors, of course), you go through a background check and fingerprinting. For most states, the final step is to pair up with a broker and have them sponsor you for the beginning of your licensing period, the required time depends on your state.

Don’t be scared by the nature of the exam, either! The exam won’t be testing you on something that you wouldn’t have learned in the course. If you’re interested in getting the license, be sure to look into what requirements your state has set as far as courses and required classroom hours. Some states even allow the course to be taken online, a great option for someone who doesn’t have the time to take the class in a normal setting.

real estate license

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Taking Care of a Home That’s Not Really Yours: Why Tenants Should Take Care of their Rental Home

 

maintenance

It is no secret that homeowners are very keen on taking care of their homes; there is a constant desire to make sure one’s home is always in a perfect state. For a homeowner living in their own home, there is no question about who needs to be maintaining the homes condition, the responsibility falls on themselves. But where does someone who lives in a rental home stand? Is it solely the job of the landlord to maintain the home, or is the tenant also responsible?

In any lease agreement there are certain conditions set that both the landlord and tenant must abide by. Typically, these are things pertaining to payments, general rules, and maintenance, etc. Maintenance standards are set in order to determine what falls under the landlords responsibility and what doesn’t. Though these agreements are set so that the tenant does not have to deal with the problems that a homeowner would have to deal with (since they’re just renting), they should not brush off the notion that a tenant should also make it a point to take care of their rental home. This does not necessarily mean that a tenant should be responsible for paying for a handyman, or trimming the tress; this means that the tenant should make it a point to keep things in good shape and ensure that any problems that they have are brought to the attention of the landlord. If a landlord pressure cleans a tenant’s driveway, the tenant should make it a point to keep it clean and looking nice. Simple things like that are what keep the property looking good and both the tenant and landlord happy. Being timely with maintenance requests is also very important! It is entirely up to the tenant to make sure the landlord is quickly notified if something needs to be repaired, as this ensures that things are being taken care of effectively before they get worse.

Aside from living in a well kept home, there are other benefits of tenants helping in their property being taken care of. The cooperation of the tenant definitely fosters the growth of the relationship with the landlord making the rental process significantly easier. Also, if a landlord sees that a tenant is very good about keeping the house clean, or even notifying them of repairs, they will be more inclined to write a good recommendation letter for this tenant.

 

New User Questions

Moving to a New Town: Renting vs. Buying

Why renting should be your #1 choice when moving

Whenever you’re looking to move to a new town, the first thing you need to worry about is where you’re going to live. This brings up the question: is it better to rent or buy a home? Though buying a home does provide you with a sense of ownership and security, renting a home should definitely be considered before jumping the gun.
A rental property has significantly less maintenance for you to worry about, your landlord is the one who takes care of it. Many are concerned that landlords will not cooperate and take care of the property as they agree to, but this lack of regard for tenants is becoming a thing of the past. At this day in age tons of property management software programs, like Tenant File, allow landlords to actively manage their tenants and property’s to ensure that everything is being taken care of in a timely manner. As someone who is moving to a new town, you don’t want to have the burden of taking care of all the maintenance of your home (something that’s fully your responsibility if you buy a home), you want to be able to adjust to your new life.

Renting is also beneficial because of the lack of commitment it requires. The amount of time and money you need to invest when buying a home is significantly larger than when you rent a home, but this is just the short-term issue. Buying a home also commits you for the long-run too; a rental property may only require a minimum of a year lease (totally doable!) while buying a home commits you to that property for as long as it takes you to pay it off and/or sell it. Since you’re new to the town you may not know a lot about where you want to live yet, so renting a home can allow you to test out different areas to see what suits you best. Imagine buying a home and later finding out that the area of town you moved to is far from where you end up working, but because you bought the home, you’re stuck there.

Though there are tons of factors to consider and it is subjective, renting a home when you move to a new town instead of buying one should definitely be your first option. Check out this interactive calculator designed by the New York Times to see what works best for you!

renting a home

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Pets and Rental Properties: The Great Debate

Should your property be pet friendly?

pets

A while back on the Tenant File Property Management Software Blog we covered the things you need to be aware of when you’re screening pet owners as potential tenants (check it out here). Now, don’t think that making your property pet friendly is going to cause you problems! There are quite a few benefits to allowing your tenants to bring their furry friends as roommates.

Landlords constantly question whether or not they should make rental properties pet friendly. Though many agree that this just opens the door for destruction of property, there are benefits that come with allowing tenants to have pets. If you limit yourself to only allowing people with no dogs or cats, your pool of possible tenants is significantly smaller. It is no secret that most pet owners are very fond of their four-legged friends; they become like children to them, feeding and loving them, and most importantly giving them a home. Because the owners also act as parents in a sense, you know that they’re responsible and capable of taking your home. You won’t have to worry about the house being destroyed. This also brings up the issue of the security deposit, something that definitely works to the landlords advantage. If you allow pets you’re entitled to asking for a bigger security deposit (kind of like a pet fee) or even ask for a bit more monthly rent.

The question of pets or no pets becomes a huge ultimatum for potential tenants- they aren’t going to make the move if their pet can’t too. Being a pet-friendly rental property gives you a huge advantage in the market because many properties do not allow pets so they’re automatically written off as an option to those looking to move. Though it is a big decision to make, making your property pet friendly is definitely you should consider!

Interesting property management articles and tips