As a landlord, it pays to have a good relationship with your tenant because it enables you to develop a lasting business relationship. Having a good and lasting business relationship with your renter equates to fewer issues and better lease renewal rate among other things.
The following are 7 tips that Boise landlords can employ to have a better relationship with their tenants.
1. Respect Your Tenant
Treating your tenants with respect is the core of the Golden Rule. You may be the property owner, but the property is their home. Treat them the way you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes.
When renters feel that they are respected, they are more likely to respect the terms of the lease or rental agreement. Here are some of the things that you should do to show your tenants that you respect them:
- Speak to them politely.
If you speak to them politely, they will most certainly return the favor to you. On the other hand, if you sound aggressive then they will most likely be aggressive with their response.
- Promptly respond to them.
If a tenant makes a request on a maintenance issue, respond to them quickly. It’s your responsibility as the landlord to ensure that everything in your rental property is in good working condition. One of the top reasons why tenants don’t renew their leases is because of poor maintenance services.
2. Set Expectations
It is important to set expectations from the start especially about rent payments and maintenance. If you fail to do this, you risk disgruntling your renters should there be a mismatch of expectations.
As a landlord, make sure that you are clear about expectations prior to the new renters moving in. Make sure that you cover everything from landscaping to appliance repair. It is best that you maintain a tenant handbook where all your expectations are listed.
Also, don’t forget to document the condition of the property when they move in. Doing this may help avoid confusion when the time for returning the tenant’s security deposit comes.
3. Provide Convenience
Make it easy for the residents to do business with you and avoid making things complicated. Instead of making them drive to your office, have a portal where they can pay rent online. Let them also report maintenance issues on the portal. For lease renewals, you may use electronic signatures.
4. Be a Good Communicator
Maintaining good communication between you and your tenant is important for a smooth landlord-tenant relationship in Boise. The least you can do is to respond to emails and phone calls in a timely fashion. Here are some suggestions for making sure that you have a decent shot of reaching your tenant when you need to:
- Find what the renter prefers when they sign the lease. If they prefer social media and you are comfortable with connecting that way, go for it. If they prefer texting over email, great. You don’t need to over-accommodate. For instance, you are allowed to push back when a renter suggests that they prefer communicating via Pinterest vision boards.
- When you agree on the mode of communication, the next thing is to set some ground rules about timing. You wouldn’t want to be woken up at 2 a.m. for a non-emergency situation, would you?
- For non-email conversations, consider taking screenshots of the conversations for record-keeping purposes.
5. Keep Your Promises
Trust is important when it comes to the landlord-tenant relationship. If you tell your renter that you are going to fix an issue, you need to make sure that you do it. If you are unable to fulfill your commitment to your renter, talk to them and find an alternative solution or timeframe.
6. Set Fair Rent
If you overcharge your tenants, they may feel resentful toward you and look for another place to live. Undercharging tenants, on the other hand, can be frustrating to you as a landlord.
Setting the right rent is important. If you aren’t sure of the rent amount that you should charge, there are a couple of things you can do. The first thing is to do a comparative market analysis. This will give you the average rent rates in your area. Next, consider what value-adding amenities your property has. Some examples are hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, and garage parking.
7. Go the Extra Mile
Why settle for being a good landlord when you can be a great landlord? The following are a couple of things that you can do to show your tenants that you care about them:
- Be friendly.
It isn’t your job to become friends with your renters. However, being friendly won’t cost anything.
- Provide welcome packages.
It can be stressful to move into a new home. To ease such stress, you may consider providing the new tenant with a welcome package. The package may include such things as drinking water, a map of the area, soap, and toilet paper.
To be a successful landlord in Boise, you also need to focus on other aspects aside from the business part. You need to focus on building healthy relationships with your tenants. A good relationship with your Boise residents will not only ensure the tenancy is hassle-free but will also boost the rental potential of your property.