Today, we are sharing some property management tips for landlords who are new to the industry and need help taking care of their tenants and their rental properties.
Tip 1: It’s really important to have a clean and safe house before you put that property on the rental market. A lot of landlords think they can paint or fix it up once they have a tenant. The problem is, you’ll turn away a lot of potential tenants if the house doesn’t look good ahead of time. You’re going to need to spend the money anyway, so paint it and keep it clean and looking good from the start. A crappy house will only attract crappy tenants. Make sure it’s painted, clean and safe.
Tip 2: Make sure you have a strong lease. Don’t get a generic lease from a stationary store. Get a strong lease that protects you and is specific to the laws of your state. We use the GAR lease, which comes directly from the Georgia Association of Realtors, because we know it’s tried and true.
Tip 3: Don’t cut corners when it comes to tenant screening. Before you even begin marketing, have a well-documented process that you’ll follow with every applicant. Don’t rent to a person just because you have a good feeling. There are people who can make you feel very good about renting to them because they need to hide their bad credit or their terrible rental history. Follow your process no matter whom you are renting to.
Tip 4: Be disciplined about filing for evictions. Don’t delay and follow all the laws in your state. Here at DKRentals.net, rent is due by the fifth of the month and if it isn’t received, our late letters go out on the 6th. Ten business days later, we file for eviction if rent is not received. We do this regardless of any promise to pay by the late tenants. If they intend to pay, there will be plenty of time before the eviction to pay the rent and call off the process. If they don’t intend to pay, you want to get them out of your house as quickly as possible. You can pass any court costs onto the tenant, so make sure you get started immediately.
Tip 5: Make sure you have a well-documented move in and move out inspection form. It’s important that when a tenant moves in, you go room by room and document the condition of the property. Have the tenant sign off on that form, and TIps for new landlords then do the same thing at move out. You’ll be able to send the tenant a list of what they owe after the move out inspection, and there will be no surprises.
These are just five tips that will help you as a new landlord. If you’d like more advice, or you have any questions, please contact us at DKRentals.net.
