What strategies do you employ???
- Thread starter Monopoly
- Start date
Some strategies I have used in the past:
- for 12 month lessees, pay on time every fortnight for a year, and get 2 weeks free rent at Christmas/New Years. They love this as it frees up cash for presents and hols. It's also an incentive to keep them in the place if enticed elsewhere by cheaper rent or whatever.
- pay on time and get a 10% rent discount. Haven't done this for years, and don't know how legal it is these days. However, the telcos and local councils do it...
- select the tenants myself. After 30 years of property management experience, I think I do a better job at a better hourly rate than 99% of PMs.
- respect good tenants by only renting to other good tenants. A bad tenant will see your good tenants quickly vacate.
- respond quickly to leaky taps, broken HWS, etc. If I get respectable tenants in the first place, it isn't that much of a hassle to self manage. I hear all the time on SS how most consider self managment a hassle. Sure, it requires a bit of work, but when you work out the cost saving on getting good tenants in the first place, and putting them on long term leases, the money you save on PM fees makes your hourly rate worth it. If you get a good pensioner to rent, they also don't mind being paid to collect rent, garden, mow lawns, clean at turnover, and take responsibility for repairing stuff or dealing with tradies. I suppose the one downfall is landlord's insurance is in doubt.
- for 12 month lessees, pay on time every fortnight for a year, and get 2 weeks free rent at Christmas/New Years. They love this as it frees up cash for presents and hols. It's also an incentive to keep them in the place if enticed elsewhere by cheaper rent or whatever.
- pay on time and get a 10% rent discount. Haven't done this for years, and don't know how legal it is these days. However, the telcos and local councils do it...
- select the tenants myself. After 30 years of property management experience, I think I do a better job at a better hourly rate than 99% of PMs.
- respect good tenants by only renting to other good tenants. A bad tenant will see your good tenants quickly vacate.
- respond quickly to leaky taps, broken HWS, etc. If I get respectable tenants in the first place, it isn't that much of a hassle to self manage. I hear all the time on SS how most consider self managment a hassle. Sure, it requires a bit of work, but when you work out the cost saving on getting good tenants in the first place, and putting them on long term leases, the money you save on PM fees makes your hourly rate worth it. If you get a good pensioner to rent, they also don't mind being paid to collect rent, garden, mow lawns, clean at turnover, and take responsibility for repairing stuff or dealing with tradies. I suppose the one downfall is landlord's insurance is in doubt.
thefirstbruce said:
Quite right thefirstbruce. Fully agree.
Tenant selection is the key. Choose good tenants. Thereafter, it's only a matter of treating them as the good tenants they are. Usually, this means leave them alone, bother them as little as possible, treat them with respect, and attend to maintenance issues very quickly. They always pay rent in full and on time, and look after the property. If this is not happening, then they're not good tenants, and we know how to handle them too.
cheers
crest133
Monopoly said:Aside from the usual processes, what little extra miles do you walk when it comes to targetting, securing and finally maintaining a long term tenant???
For those wanting to know, I chose option 4 (only).
Option 4 as well. They were not happy with the heater...bought new one, stove broke...bought new one, hot water system broke ...bought new one...all this within 3 months! It is an old house and we knew we had limited time left with these appliances. Now we have very happy tennants who I would hope, trust us to fix things asap. That is how we keep our tennants, by providing a clean and well maintained home.
Mrs Bird
If I may be so bold as to ask, and how much longer do you anticipate keeping the rent at the same rate, the next 4, 8, maybe 20 years??? And in that 4 years, did you add anything new (ie. aircon, central heating, you know the "niceties" which concidentially add value to a property at the same time) or perhaps you may have had to repair/replace something like say worn carpet, aged guttering, cracked walls etc etc) because if you did, you actually lowered your tenant's rent in that time, and aren't you a clever boy then??monoply said:
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Of course, that is true Simon, both yourself and Monoply are right to charge whatever you deem appropriate. And although MY tenants are worth it to me too, as much as I don't like to do it, I have to remind myself I'm running a business not a charity. If you believe that you will keep them longer because you spare them an increase of a few dollars; that they will actually be grateful and thank you for it.....well......Simon said:
And FWIW, I always make sure they are living in a house which is clean, well maintained, warm in winter, cool in summer, that they have a secure roof over their cars as well as their families. I thought as a caring landlord that should be enough. Though it is heartwarming to see some landlords "go that extra mile"!!
I believe keeping the rent "the same" for longer than a few years, at a time when rental returns are relatively low and tenants can "pick and choose" from an abundance of rental properties is without doubt a smart move, but beyond such times....can be a friendly, but costly exercise for the investor.
But if you're happy, your tenants are happy, then hey....win win (can't ask for better than that)
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