Be the landlord you wished you had. We can’t state this enough. In a world of slumlords, be the ultimate landlord. Why? Word of mouth spreads like an out of control wildfire. For starters, if you are getting into rentals, be a punctual landlord. Be there when you say you are going to be there, and always call/communicate if something arises and causes you to behind. It doesn’t take long to phone or txt your tenants. Secondly, always fix or have maintenance on hand and fix things in a timely manner. It is the number one complaint we have with tenants about their previous landlords —‘nothing ever got fixed or fixed right the first time around!’
As a landlord, if you do nothing else, perform timely and correct maintenance at all time. Do it right the first time. Don’t just slap bubble gum on a leaky pipe! This is over 3/4 of a landlord’s job (or hire someone to do the job). This alone gets most landlords to first and second base with tenants who wish to remain with you for a very long time reducing the turn over costs on units.
If you really want to be known in town as the number one landlord, then go that extra mile. Be SEEN! I mean be seen on a weekly basis by your tenants. That means just visiting the property, picking up errant trash outside, work on upgrading something like a flowerbed, or overseeing an installation of a new A/C unit or new windows, or checking in on your paint or maintenance crew.
Other things that tenants don’t expect are when Johnny or I call periodically to check in on them (not at just rent collecting time) or to be there when they are moving in to help them hook-up washers and dryers for example. This ensures they don’t break something or burn out appliances if they put the wrong plug into the wrong receptacle it also makes them feel like you care as a landlord. Help them learn the unit with its quirks or when they are dealing with newer appliances or just figuring out how a light switch works (3 or 4 way switches). Just remember to keep your visits brief and light.
Crissy