Creating and maintaining a good relationship between all parties to a tenancy will allow everyone to get much more out of the experience. It’s quite simple actually. If you treat your tenants with respect and be considerate to the fact that your investment is their home then a tenant is likely to return the favour. Keeping your tenants happy can be very beneficial; after all, these are the people who are looking after your property. Happy tenants are more likely to pay rent on time, take care of your property and allow you to inspect their home at the end of the lease for viewings.
Bad management of maintenance requests
The priority of a property manager should be to make sure that all maintenance requests from tenants are processed efficiently. They need an established protocol for how they should proceed with addressing the issues they are having. There should also be specific instructions in regards to repairs that can be scheduled on your behalf if you happen to be unreachable in the event of an emergency.
Being kept in the dark
It is not difficult in this day and age to send a quick email notifying the tenant of the progress of their request. However, this is a common issue that leads to many renters becoming frustrated. If something is taking longer than first anticipated, or requires several visits from tradespeople to obtain quotes, it is critical that your tenants are kept in the loop and are informed as to what is going on.
Increasing rents
Although increasing rent is sometimes necessary in order to remain profitable, you should carefully consider any rent increase before acting. It is better to have tenant that consistently pays a lower rent over the long term than raising rents and forcing a good tenant to leave. Raising rent just to increase profit can come back to bite you!
The bottom line is, treat your tenants how you would like to be treated and make sure your property manager is doing the same. Exhibiting this kind of empathy can go a long way in maximising your portfolio returns.
