REI Wealth Monthly Issue 07 | Page 39

12 TIPS FOR BEING A GOOD LANDLORD AND HAVING HAPPY TENANTS SHARON VORNHOLT company. Make them want to stay in your property, and you will be more likely to have long term tenants. 7. Consider giving your good tenants a small gift periodically appreciation. as a way to show Something as simple as a birthday card or a $25.00 grocery store gift card around the holidays will go a long way toward having happy tenants. You can use a company like Send Out Cards that will take care of this job automatically for you. Just plug in the information such as their birthday, their lease renewal date, etc. after they have signed the lease and you will be 4. Stay on top of repairs. Nothing makes a tenant good to go. unhappier than when repairs aren’t taken care of in a timely manner. If you don’t have your 8. For just a few dollars, you can order a roll of own maintenance staff, have reliable trades address labels to put in their move in people that can fix problems quickly. packet. They probably haven’t thought of doing this and they will appreciate your 5. Be proactive and contact your tenants the thoughtfulness. following month after they move in. Ask them if everything is ok. It’s also a good idea to stop 9. While you are at it, put some address labels by periodically to change the furnace filter. By in the packet with YOUR address on it. doing this you monitor the condition of your Make it simple for them to get the rent to property. you. This type of visit is especially important the first month or two after they move in. It’s much easier to correct bad habits in the beginning, rather than after they’ve lived there a while. 6. Let your tenants know that they can earn “rewards”. Have a policy where they can earn rewards like a carpet cleaning or the installation of a ceiling fan for signing another one year lease, or for referring a tenant to your