As an investor in property, it is sometimes tempting to think only about yourself and your financial implications. However, when you find yourself as a landlord, it is important to ensure that you are doing everything you can to keep your tenants as happy as possible. If you don’t manage to keep them happy, then you never know what kind of negative effect this can have, so it is best to just do everything you can to stay in their good books. Fortunately, it doesn’t take too much to keep your average tenant happy, so long as you follow some basic guidelines. Let’s take a look at what those are now.
Costs & Prices
Money is important to everyone, and that includes the people renting your property. Although you technically have the right to ask whatever you want for your property rental, it is worth bearing in mind that you probably want to be fair to your tenants as well. That’s not to mention the fact that if you are more competitive, it will probably help you along in the future as well, as well as helping you to find a tenant more easily. So make sure that you keep your rental prices down if you want your tenant to be happy, and don’t go increasing it on them without a fair degree of warning.
Freedom
Ultimately, your tenants want the ability to be able to feel at home in the property – and for that to be the case, you need to afford them a certain degree of freedom. This manifests in a number of ways, but ultimately it just means that you are not too strict on what is permissible in the property. All homes have rules of some kind, and that is fair enough, but you might want to consider being on the more lenient side of things. Let tenants keep pets and plants if they want to; don’t be too harsh on wear and tear; allow guests as long as they don’t trash the place. These little things will make your tenants feel much happier in the new home.
Your Availability
A good landlord is available whenever the tenant needs them, so you should make sure that you are as available as you can be. This doesn’t mean you always have to be nearby, of course. But it is worth keeping your rental properties to your local area, as this way you can be relatively available whenever they might need you for something. You never know what can go wrong, after all, so it is best to stay as close as you can.
Location
Finally, remember that if you choose good locations for your homes, then your tenants are much less likely to complain or feel short-changed. Make sure that you are choosing properties which are in decent locations, and you will find that your tenants are a lot happier much more of the time. You can only choose this to a certain extent of course, but you should focus on it at least a little if you are serious about being a good landlord.
