Having a good relationship with your tenant is important. It can lead to lower vacancy rates, higher profitability, minimal issues, and having the peace of mind that your property is being cared for.
The following are nine things you can do as a landlord to help build and maintain a better relationship with your New Braunfels tenants.
1. Be Upfront About Your Expectations
Before anyone signs the lease and moves in, let them know about their responsibilities as a tenant.
For starters, you can let them know about things like:
- Their responsibility to pay rent on time, every month. You may also want them to know about any charges on late payments.
- Their responsibility to care for their rented premises and notifying you when maintenance issues appear.
- Their responsibility to abide by all terms of the lease agreement. Let them know what is and isn’t allowed in the rental in order to avoid confusion in the future.
2. Communicate Regularly With Your Tenant
Property management is part of the service industry. Communicating with your tenant regularly can provide you with valuable feedback which can help you offer better services. In the end, open communication will keep your tenant happy.
For example, you may be able to understand what challenges your tenant is undergoing and work towards fixing them before they decide to move out.
Besides prioritizing regular communication with your tenant, make sure they have multiple channels of communication with you. This will ensure that they are always able to get in touch with you whenever they have to.
3. Choose the Right Tenants
Building a good relationship with a tenant begins by choosing the right one in the first place. After all, it’s impossible to build a great relationship with someone who doesn’t pay rent on time, causes negligent property damage, or doesn’t report maintenance issues.
Ideally, you’ll want to choose tenants on the basis of their income level and credit rating, as well as on their rental, criminal and employment backgrounds.
Such tenants will guarantee you peace of mind and can even help you maximize your ROI.
4. Inspect the Property on a Regular Basis
Just because you have a good tenant doesn’t mean you should ignore your inspection responsibilities as a landlord. Regular inspections usually help remind tenants to care for their rented premises and abide by the terms of the agreement.
What’s more, on your part, regular inspections will also help you ensure that everything is working as it should. If something is amiss, you’ll have the opportunity to remedy it before it becomes serious and expensive.
5. Respond to Maintenance Issues With the Required Urgency
As a landlord, the most important rule is to be mindful of your tenants. Understand that their maintenance requests mean that their everyday life is being impacted. Therefore, when a tenant reports a maintenance issue, respond to it accordingly.
As a landlord, you’re required to abide by the state’s habitability laws. Matter of fact, as per Texas law, you must respond to repair requests within 7 days once notified. If you don’t, your tenant may have legal options such as making the repairs themselves and then deducting the costs from future rent payments.
6. Treat Them Fairly
Whether it’s during the tenant screening phase or during the day-to-day running of the property, you should always treat your tenant fairly and respectfully. The Fair Housing Act prohibits any form of discrimination against tenants on the basis of 7 classes.
The classes are: color, race, sex, disability, familial status, nationality, and religion.
7. Notify Your Tenant Before Entry
As a landlord in Texas, you cannot enter your tenant’s premises without their permission. Not only must you give them an advance notice, but you must also have a legitimate reason to do so.
While the law doesn’t specifically state the minimum amount of notice, 24 hours is typical. You can also together with your tenant set your own entry notification terms in the lease agreement.
Legitimate reasons for landlord entry in the state of Texas include the following.
- Under a court order
- In case of an emergency
- To inspect the unit
- To show the unit to prospective tenants, buyers, or lenders
- Set up an Online Portal
8. Update the Property and Maintain It
This will not only help you have better relationships with your tenants, but can also help you in other aspects as well. Such as, minimize tenant turnover rates, find tenants quickly and maximize your income.
When you keep your rental property updated, it shows your tenant that you care for their wellbeing. In turn, they will stay longer which will boost your ROI. As a general rule of thumb, if you take good care of your tenants, they will reciprocate that by caring for your property.
It also goes without saying that you should only invest in the right upgrades. That is, upgrades that offer you the highest return on investment. Examples of such improvements include the following.
- Remodeling the bathroom
- Remodeling the kitchen
- Replacing a dated garage door
- Repainting tired looking walls
- Upgrading the flooring
- Boosting curb appeal
These 8 proven tips should get you started in your efforts to have a better relationship with your New Braunfels tenant. For expert help in this regard, Limestone Country Properties can help. Our property management services can help you with all your rental property needs. Call us today!
