No matter how thorough and particular you are with the screening and selection process, the chances are that if you rent out property long enough in Mission, Texas, or anywhere else, you’ll eventually encounter a problem tenant. Difficult renters are a fact of doing business in the property management industry, and the challenges you face can range from tenants who are chronically late paying rent to those who damage your personal property or let in fall into disrepair. Here are some tips for dealing with problem tenants.
1. Hire a Property Manager
Perhaps the easiest and most efficient solution is to not be the landlord, and you can achieve that by hiring a regional property management specialist like Keyrenter McAllen. Certain people simply lack the personality sometimes needed to be an effective landlord. An experienced property manager can often reduce the problems associated with a tenant dramatically because of that experience and because the tenant is dealing with an intermediary business rather than an individual property owner.
2. Hand Them a Written Policy
A common practice among property management companies is to provide new tenants with a do-and-do-not list. Ideally, this information is included in the lease, but a brief printout is a lot easier to digest than a wordy lease with a lot of legal lingoes. Give them another copy anytime they break your rules. This is a firm but polite way of demonstrating your seriousness and commitment. Even if you have a good tenant who needs to be late on his rent, this practice allows you to permit it without condoning it.
3. Be Strict and Consistent
Treat your tenants with fairness and kindness, but be strict. Another advantage of hiring a property management company like Keyrenter McAllen is consistent adherence to the rules. If you’re not strict, then you send a mixed message that can be misconstrued. If you allow a tenant to be late on rent for six months, it may be difficult to undo that habit on the seventh. Consistency is important in the same vein, and it’s particularly crucial when you have multiple tenants living near each other.
4. Hold Tenants Responsible for Repairs
In Mission and throughout Texas, tenants have a legal responsibility to maintain their residence in a habitable state and to not cause damage beyond reasonable wear and tear. As the property owner, you’re responsible for general upkeep and for repairs that aren’t the result of tenant negligence. Whenever a tenant is negligible, hold them responsible. At the very least, that process may lay the foundation for you to legally evict the problem tenant in an efficient manner.
5. Increase Rent to Cover Problem Costs
Companies like Keyrenter McAllen often conduct economic analysis in order to determine what the sweet spot is for rent. After all, you want to fill a vacancy fast or retain a great tenant, but you also want to cover your costs and earn a fair profit. Sometimes, problem tenants aren’t just a hassle but are actually resulting in additional expenses. In this case, you’re within your legal right to raise the rent in order to cover those additional expenses or even to urge the tenant to leave outright.