May 31, 2014
Remember the Golden Rule
You need to be able to build rapport with all the tenants you are dealing with. Generally, if you treat them with respect you will get respect in return. When your tenants respect you as a landlord that will make your job much easier.
There will of course be hard headed people who might not respond to good behavior but there’s a good way you can avoid having people like that enter your property as you are the one who is managing the screening process. Even if someone like that passes through your filters, remember the best thing is being patient. You have your rights, and they have their obligations to you. If you deal with them in a fair manner you generally won’t have any problems at all.
Establish your Authority head on
Being the landlord you have to establish your authority head on, which means you need to communicate from the start that it’s your way or the high way. Draw up your paperwork and policy to reflect that and make clear lines in the sand that failure to comply will not be tolerated. Be firm but be gentle.
Don’t be Emotional
It’s very taxing to deal with people when people become irrational, and when it comes to matters regarding payments for repairs or taking responsibility for something they did wrong. That’s when the best of tenants start being extremely irrational. Deal with them in a calm and focused approach, cite policy and the lease wherever needed: do not be emotional at any point, you are at greater risk of lawsuit forbeing aggressive then they are. Using the written documents helps to keep it non-emotional.
Establish the fact that you care about their Living experience
Once you establish the fact that you care for the quality of their living experience and will put the best effort forward to fulfill your obligations to your tenants, you will surely win them over; once you have established this level of rapport you generally don’t have a lot to worry about. It’s more an attitude than an effort that helps manage properties effectively.
Know More about the Rules than They Do
You need someone experienced in managing property. Any mistake or lack of knowledge can harm your standing with your tenants, it may make the smarter one’s want to capitalize on your lack of knowledge and find the loopholes to undermine your rules. And it might make some of your tenants doubt your capability of managing the property effectively.
Whatever the case you should know that in rental property management, good tenants are not born they are made from the moment they sign on the dotted line with you and move into the premise. The way you interact with them and the way you treat them is what you should expect to get in return.
Take Charge
People really don’t like leading all that much, you can bully people or you can lead them with a firm and gentle hand, what matters is how you establish your credibility.
Tenants won’t know how to be “Good Tenants†– you will need to share your idea of what a good tenant means to you through your various interactions. This will go a long way in conditioning their behavior and help ensure that it becomes comfortable for you to interact with them in the long run.