Instructions: NO glue, stickers, nails. (2024)

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Now, I am working on the next issue: STICKERS, GLUE, NAILS AND OTHER MONSTERS. As I am cleaning the kitchen for the next tenants, I find out drawers GLUED TO THE CABINETS, nails in each doors ( 2 1/2 " longs), stickers on the walls - not the kind you can easely take off, indeed.

I will be very grateful if you would like to share your expertise with me, and telling us what others DO & DO NOT you have encounter in your life as LL and /or T.

( like, say : DO NOT put steel and toys in the toilet bowl)

I do this including the recycle rules, garbage pickup dates, the numbers for cabletv, elec, etc.....

That provides them with useful information and the rules both in one document.

There is a certain amount or wear and tear that will be done, and tenants will hang pictures and put small nail holes in the wall. They will also hang TVs, and put slightly larger holes. All can be fixed easily, and would be considered 'wear and tear'.

If you limit your communication to an "in writing" only, be sure all of your own communication to them is "in writing". Expect them to ignore, rightfully so, every other method that you use to communicate with them. I have 20 renters, and I welcome all calls. I want my customers to know I am available, and they are not just a number.

You can give suggestions to help clean, but you cannot mandate it unless you provide the cleaning products. Stickers can be removed with a product called 'Goop' easily. Charge against the damage deposit if you have to clean. In the end, stickers are a small nuisance. Remove them, and paint over the spot where there were. I use semi-gloss paint on all walls, so they clean easily.

Rent is due on the first. Being a bit flexible might save a few evictions, and a large vacancy expense. Better renters pay better. To get good renters you may have to lower price. If you get a good renter, learn how to keep them happy. If they came due to the lower rent, you have the golden handcuffs on them. If you were able to get them in with a market rate rent, expect them to evaluate the place every year, and potentially move.

I have gotten many renters sign up because they can sense I am a good landlord. I am at my properties remodeling or collecting rent almost every day. A good renter wants to deal with the Owner, not a distant number cruncher. Luckily, 16 of my properties are very close in proximity.

Take off the owner hat, and put on property manager hat. Do not get too attached to the house you grew up ion, the renter will not be. Know that it is now a rental property, and you are making money on it. Never forget who is your customer, as your customer will not forget.

Know when to cut your loses. It is far better off to let a tenant out of their lease, then to make them stay and pay. A happy tenant is easier to deal with - always.