SS199: Secrets to Successful Tenant Management Revealed

SS199: Secrets to Successful Tenant Management Revealed

Tenant management can be a complicated and emotionally charged job. In this episode, Charles discusses best practices for handling good tenants as well as your more challenging tenants.

Watch The Episode Here:

Listen To The Podcast Here:

Talking Points:

  • Effective tenant management is one of the cornerstones of being a successful rental property investor. Most, if not all, of the landlord stories I have heard about why someone left the rental property profession, are because of a poor tenant experience. This is not a jab at tenants but a wake-up call for investors and landlords.
  • For years, I followed my father around and watched him deal with his tenants. From 2006-2012, I self-managed my small portfolio of C-class apartments and learned a lot about dealing with people and trying to create win-win relationships with my tenants. During that time, I had some negative experiences, but primarily positive ones since I was fair. Several tenants have thanked me over the years, which can be extremely rewarding. Knowing that what you are doing is not only helping you but also helping your customers.
  • I rented for years to a very hard-working Peruvian family until they purchased a home. They were so appreciative that when my parents were traveling in Peru, they had a family member (who was a taxi driver) and their niece, who was a bilingual student, take them around for two days. This is better than any 5-star review.
  • Let’s break down some key strategies I have employed over the years with my properties that you can institute at yours.
    • Thorough Tenant Screening
      • Tenant screening really is the most effective way of setting yourself and your property up for success.
      • Background checks: including criminal, credit history, employment, and income verification.
      • Speaking to them. Don’t do everything through text or email. Get on the phone with potential tenants before they are invited to view the property. It only takes a few minutes of the tenant speaking to know if they are a good candidate.
      • Check out episode SS189 to learn more about tenant screening questions.
    • Clear Communication
      • Don’t assume anything. Don’t assume that just because they are the only ones viewing the apartment, they are the only ones living there. Don’t assume they read the lease and understand the property’s policies and rules clearly. This is why I am a fan of lease coversheets. Add a short and simple 1–2-page coversheet with big headings, easy-to-read bullet points, and text that clearly spells out the most important parts of the lease.
        • Rent is due on the 1st – you can pay it using these methods.
        • Late fees are this amount and begin the day after the due date.
        • Trash pickup is on this day. Make sure your trash cans are on the street the day before.
        • The parking policy is this.
        • If you lock yourself out, here is the cost.
        • If you have a problem, do this or call here.
        • If you have an after-hours emergency, call here.
      • Clear communication is also setting expectations. If there is an emergency, you will have someone there to fix the issue quickly. If a problem does not require immediate action, you will be there within a certain number of days.
    • Fast Response to Tenant Issues
      • When a tenant contacts you, respond immediately, even if it is not an emergency. Let them know you have received the issue and will work to rectify it soon.
      • When you fix the problem, fix it correctly, not just with a patch, so that it does not happen again. Nothing is worse than having to report the same issue repeatedly. This happened to my wife and me when we were dating. The property manager would not correct the AC issue, and it was a recurring problem. We would return from travel and find out the AC had been off for weeks, and this was a waterfront complex. We didn’t renew and moved.
      • Addressing issues sooner than later is vital to retaining your tenants.
    • Proactive Maintenance
      • It is the property manager’s job to point out potential issues at your property before they become problems. If you are the manager, you should always be on the lookout for any possible problems. Have a regular inspection schedule and make prompt repairs.
      • Handyman and contractors are also excellent sources of this information, explaining what they see is on its way out and will need replacement. Make these repairs sooner than later.
    • Rent Collection and Technology
      • Utilize technology to make your life and your tenant’s life simple. Allow them to pay rent and submit issues online. Not dealing with collecting rent is a huge help, and having the ability to quickly send issues to your handyman without having to pick up the phone and speak to your tenant will simplify your life as a landlord.
    • Fair and Consistent Policies
      • Enforce all policies and rules for all tenants equally to ensure fairness. Playing favorite to one tenant versus another tenant will not end well.
      • Don’t wait until 30 or 60 days from the end of a lease to offer a good tenant a lease renewal. Approach them 90-120 days beforehand since you want to speak to them before they start looking for another unit to rent.

 

Always be calm, objective, and rational. Remember that tenant retention is the key to being a successful multifamily real estate investor. However, I have become much more willing to let tenants out of leases when they become a problem or are not fulfilling their end of the bargain because the worst thing is to lose good tenants in your property because of one bad tenant. If you are interested in learning more about keeping good tenants, make sure to check out episode SS50, which is about how to retain excellent tenants.

Transcript:

Charles:
Managing tenants can make or break your success as a rental property investor. Ever wonder why some landlords call it quits?

New Speaker:
It’s often because of a rough tenant experience. But what if you could avoid that? It’s often because of a challenging tenant experience. But what if you could avoid that?

New Speaker:
Welcome to Strategy Saturday; I’m Charles Carillo, and today I’m sharing the insider strategies I’ve used to build win-win relationships with my tenants—strategies that have kept my properties thriving for years.

New Speaker:
Now, whether you’re just starting out or looking to fine tune your approach, these tips will help you create a positive and productive rental environment. From thorough tenant screening to clear communication and proactive maintenance, I’ve got you covered. Plus stick around for some real life stories, including how one amazing tenant relationship turned into a lasting friendship. So ready to take your tenant management game to the next level. Let’s dive in. Effective tenant management is one of the cornerstones of being a successful rental property investor.

Charles:
Most, if not all the landlord stories I have heard about why someone left the rental property profession are because of a poor tenant experience or many of ’em. And this is not a jab at tenants, but a wake up call for investors and landlords. So for years, I followed my father around and watched him deal with tenants. And from 2006 to 2012, I self-managed my small portfolio of C-Class apartments and learned a lot about dealing with people and trying to create win-win relationships with my tenants. Now, during that time, I had some negative experiences, but primarily positive ones since I was fair and several tenants have thanked me over the years, which can be extremely rewarding knowing that what you’re doing is not only helping you, but also helping your customers. Now, for example, I rented years back to a very hardworking Peruvian family until they purchased a home and they were so appreciative that when my parents were traveling to Peru, they had a family member of theirs who was a taxi driver and their niece, who is a bilingual student, take them around for two days.

Charles:
And this is better than any five star review you can receive from any of your tenants. So let’s break down some key strategies I’ve employed over the years with my properties that you can institute at yours. Number one is thorough tenant screening. So tenant screening really is the most effective way of setting yourself up in your property for success. Now, background checks including criminal credit history, employment and income verification, and speaking to them, you know, don’t do everything through text or email. Get on the phone with potential tenants before they are invited to view the property. And it only takes a few minutes of the tenant speaking to you to know if they’re a good candidate. And also check out episode SS 180 9 to learn more about tenant screen questions that I’ve utilized in my business. Number two is clear communication. So don’t assume anything, don’t assume that just because they’re the only ones, view the apartment, they’re the only ones living there, and don’t assume they read the lease and understand the property’s policies and rules clearly.

Charles:
And this is why I’m a huge fan of lease cover sheets. You know, I add a short, simple one to two page cover sheet with big headings easy to read font bullet points and texts that clearly spells out the most important parts of the lease. And this would include like rent is due on the first and you can pay it using these methods. Late fees are this amount and begin the day after the due date or trash pickup is on this day and make sure your trash cans are on the street the day before and the parking policy is this and you can park here and if you lock yourself out here’s the cost for doing that during the day and on the weekends or holidays or at night. And if you have a problem, do this or call here and if you have an after hours emergency call here.

Charles:
And this type of clear communication is also setting expectations. If there’s an emergency, you’ll have someone there to fix the issue quickly. If a problem does not require immediate action, you’ll be there within a certain number of days, business days to rectify that problem. And knowing this upfront is gonna make your experience as a landlord a lot more straightforward because you don’t have to go there for something that’s not required right away. You’re only gonna go over there as something lines up as it’s required as you’ve spelt out earlier in the lease. Number three is a fast response to tenant issues. So when a tenant contacts you respond immediately, even if it is not an emergency, and this is, it lets them know that you’ve received the issue and that you’re working to rectify it soon. If they just send in a text messages out and you get back to them, you know, a day later or two days later and like, oh, we’ll look into this or something like this.

Charles:
It’s, it’s not very professional and it doesn’t make them really wanna stay there or that know that you’re important to them. They just think that you just want rent money from them. You know, when you fix a problem, you fix it correctly not just with a patch so that it does not happen again and nothing is worse than happened to report the same issue repeatedly. This happened to my wife and myself when we were dating and the property manager would not correct the AC issue and it was a recurring problem. And we would return from travel and find out the AC had been off for weeks. And this was a waterfront complex, this wasn’t some slum and we didn’t renew and we moved. And addressing issues sooner than later, later is, is vital to retaining your tenants and and wanting people to stay there and renew because the money’s made on the renewal.

Charles:
Number four is proactive maintenance. Now it is the property manager’s job to point out potential issues at the property before they become problems. And if you were the manager, you should always be in the lookout for any possible problems, you know, have a regular inspection schedule and make prompt repairs. Handyman and contractors are also excellent sources of this information explaining what they see is on the way out and what they see need might need a replacement. And you can make these repairs sooner than later. And this always happens. You have someone in there that’s fixing something and there’s something right next to it and go, you know, this is something you’re gonna have to look at or do you want me just to repair this? Now? Usually my answer would always be repair it now because it’s something that I don’t wanna deal with it again.

Charles:
And when you repair something, I don’t wanna deal with it for a few years or whatever it is. And also I, you wanna make sure your tenants aren’t calling you again for this, and this is how you rectify a lot of issues before they even happen, is by just making the repairs correctly the first time. Number five is rent collection and technology. So utilizing technology to make your life and your tenant tenant’s life simple is key. And allow them to pay rent and submit issues online. Not dealing with collecting rent is a huge help. And having the ability to quickly send issues to your handyman without having to pick up the phone and speak to your tenant will simplify your life as a landlord. Also, it’s making key that when one of your first things that you should do is buying property, find that handyman that you can trust and leave a set of keys for your property.

Charles:
So it’s like common doors and unit doors, right? All those locks, all those keys there. And that’s something that if you’re unavailable, if you’re not right there, they can go right over there. They can keep them with you, with themselves and they can go to the property. And if it’s something major, always let the tenant loan listen. Just to let you know, if you’re not there, we’re gonna go in and get this fixed. Is that fine? And let them, I’ve never had anybody say no, but it’s something that, ’cause they wanna get the problem fixed so that way you can have someone go in there right away, fix it. You don’t have to be there opening doors, opening doors here, letting people in. That’s just like a waste of your time. So the handyman, having something that you can trust is key to making all this work smoothly for you and for your tenant.

Charles:
Number six is fair and consistent policies enforce all policies and rules for all tenants equally to ensure fairness and playing favor to one tenant versus another tenant will not end well. Someone’s gonna leave. And it’s, it’s not gonna be a pleasant experience before that person leaves. And who knows, you might lose the better tenant because you’re playing favors to someone else that maybe just keeps on bothering you. So you start just letting that person do whatever they want, which is not a great policy, and don’t wait until 30 or 60 days before the end of the lease to offer a good tenant a lease renewal. You know, approach them 90, 120 days beforehand since you wanna speak to them before they start looking for another unit looking at rent. And you kind of get an idea and gauge what their attitude is about renewing.

Charles:
And then you can really gauge exactly how you’re gonna play the renewal and always be calm, objective and rational, which is difficult. I mean, I understand this when you’re dealing with people that might be a little irrational at the point, but remember that tenant retention is the key to being a successful multifamily real estate investor. And it’s not just that you have to keep ’em there for 10 years, that’s fantastic if you do, and I’ve had tenants like that. But the key though is that just getting one renewal or even two renewals from them is going to boost your returns dramatically because the amount of work that you have to do to prep that unit is, is it’s very expensive and it’s very time consuming. However, I’ve become much more willing to let tenants out leases when they become a problem or they’re not fulfilling their end of the bargain because the worst thing is to lose good tenants in your property because of one bad tenant, which has happened to me several times before.

Charles:
And if you’re interested in learning more about keeping good tenants, make sure you check out Episode SS 50, which is about how to retain your excellent tenants. So I hope you enjoyed. Please remember to rate, review, subscribe, submit comments and potential show topics at globalinvestorspodcast.com. If you’re interested in actively investing in real estate, please check out our courses and mentoring programs at syndicationsuperstars.com. That is syndicationsuperstars.com. Look forward to two more episodes next week. See you then.

Charles:
Have you always wanted to invest in real estate, but didn’t have the time, didn’t know where to find the deals, couldn’t get the funding and didn’t want tenants calling you. Since 2006, I’ve been buying income producing properties and great locations that provide us with consistent passive income. While we wait for appreciation in the future and take advantage of tax laws while we’re waiting and unlike your financial advisor, we invest alongside our investors in every property we purchase. Check out to investwithharborside.com. If you like the idea of investing real estate, if you like the idea of passive income partner with us at investwithharborside.com, that’s investwithharborside.com.

Announcer:
Nothing in this episode should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Any investment opportunities mentioned on this podcast are limited to accredited investors. Any investments will only be made with proper disclosure, subscription documentation, and are subject to all applicable laws. Please consult an appropriate tax legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of Syndication Superstar, LLC, exclusively.

Links Mentioned In The Episode:

Are You a Fan? Subscribe, Rate, Review & Share – Click Here To Learn How

What question do you always wish I would ask but I never do?

Connect with the Global Investors Show, Charles Carillo and Harborside Partners:

Scroll to top