As a landlord, getting the right resident to rent out your property is the most critical step in leasing, and you need to spend significant time checking references and income and performing background checks. However, regardless of how much due diligence you do, you might still face issues with residents. Here are five common things that residents try to get away with.
Paying Rent
The first is not paying rent on time. Residents will try to exploit landlords and come up with excuses on why they have not paid their rent on time. Common excuses vary from “I’m waiting for my paycheck from work to come in” to “You haven’t repaired damages in the house, so I shouldn’t have to pay rent until they are fixed.” The best way to keep these excuses from happening is to maintain rent collection records so your residents can never claim they paid you when they have not, always stay up to date on necessary repairs on your property, and perform regular evaluations of the property to make sure everything is efficiently running.
Extra Occupants
Up next, residents try to get away with a person living at the property who is not on the lease. Most people rent in areas where they know people or have friends, which is not a problem until your resident has a friend staying with him or her who you are unaware of. If someone is living at the property and isn’t on the lease, many problems may come up, from damaged property to noise complaints. The best way to avoid this is to make sure to include in the lease that no other person can stay in the property except those on the lease and that failure to comply will result in eviction.
Furry Friends
The third thing residents try to get away with is keeping pets in a “no pet policy” property. Many residents will wait weeks or even months after they move in to try and sneak a pet into the property without permission of the landlord and without paying a pet fee, if applicable. Avoid this by doing regular evaluations on your property and checking whether any pets have appeared.
Accidental Damages
The fourth thing is damages. Accidents happen and items break, but who ends up paying for the damages? If your lease is in order, and you do assessments before and after with the resident, you won’t have to be the one who pays the price. Make sure to make a list and do a walk through the property together on the first day your resident moves in, recording all preexisting damages. Then, the day before your resident moves out, walk through the apartment with the same list that has all the preexisting damages so your resident can’t say that they did not create the new damages done to your property.
Avoiding Eviction
The fifth and last thing residents try to get away with is escaping eviction. Residents will try and argue, and occasionally even take legal action, that they are being evicted unfairly. To avoid these encounters, have a clear and concise lease that states the rules exactly and states the terms of eviction. This way, if the resident tries to take legal action, you have a good chance of winning your case, and if the resident refuses to move, you can take legal action to remove them from your property and get it back on the market to rent.
In Conclusion
Don’t want to deal with the hassle of problematic residents? With Real Property Management Ventura County, you don’t have to. We can handle everything from damages to complaints and evictions, keeping your identity secure and keeping your mind sane. Don’t stress yourself out over a bad resident; let us do the work for you.
To find out more about the services Real Property Management Ventura County offers, contact us online or call us at 805-387-3682 today.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
