For most homeowners, the excitement of being a landlord fades away too soon as new tenants arrive. They begin to realise how demanding it is to manage people which is beyond the excitement of receiving house rent.
In fact, some house-owners are better off without apartments for rent by tenants simply because having tenants could be demanding. In fact, this may sound a little harsh, but I believe the vast majority of landlords out there are absolutely terrible.
However, the other few good landlords in existence have put in place some measures that make them stand out, hence, the following are suggested ways for you to become a better Landlord.
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Treat Your House Like a Business
Many landlords do a terrible job of managing their tenants and I believe this is largely because they don’t see their house as a business. However, when you treat your ‘landlording’ with the respect, systems, and organization that you would treat any other business venture, you can expect better results.
Avoid unreasonable increase in rent
Most of the landlords tagged as ‘bad’ are the ones who constantly increase the house rent of their tenants without any improvement to the conditions of the apartment. For instance, tenants should be able to enjoy better facilities such as borehole instead of ‘well’ water; re-painting of the house to look new and so on, in order to justify the increase in house rent.
Empathise with your tenants
Rather than take the landlord-tenant relationship as an extremely formality, it is more effective to keep it informal. For instance, learn to ask about their welfare and also, share items during festive seasons. This helps to reduce the rate of dispute and ensures cooperation from your tenants.
Don’t be too nice
This probably sounds like a complete reversal of what I just told you, and maybe a little harsh, but please allow me to explain.
Your job as a landlord is to be fair, not to be nice. Being “nice” will give your tenants and others the invitation to walk all over you and take advantage at every turn. So, do not be too nice!
Hold regular meetings
This way you tend to create a bond among your tenants if they are more than one. Also, by holding meetings, each tenant has an opportunity to voice out their concerns and have other issues trashed out. Hence, it is very advisable to hold regular meetings yet without encroaching on the time of your tenants.
Get a Property Manager
If you consider the role of a landlord too demanding for you, you don’t have to be overwhelmed, simply employ a property manager. This is most applicable to landlords who do not live in the same compound as their tenants.
The good news is that you don’t have to go too far to find an experienced property manager. All you need to do is to simply fill the information box here or call us at 07013330008.
At ToLet.com.ng we believe that the manner in which you manage your property today will determine its value tomorrow. And that is why we ensure all properties we manage to receive the very best of care, attention and supervision.
