Choosing the Right Vendor(s)

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Chossing Vendors

Picture this – you have a large project on the horizon and you know you will need third-party assistance in order to complete it.   How do you determine who your vendor partners will be to ensure a successful project?

First, it is important to understand your short and long term goals and basic scope of work so you can best communicate to those that will be supplying you a proposal.  Next, create an RFP (request for proposal).  Remember, it does not have to be fancy or extremely elaborate. The goal is to ensure all vendors are bidding on the same scope of work.  Apple to apple comparisons related to pricing, timing, value and potential warranty included.

You can always ask for suggestions or examples of work in the RFP.  This will allow your potential vendors to share their expertise and creative ideas that may elevate your project and potentially exceed your expectations.  Once you receive the RFP responses – look to see who responded on-time, who took the time to follow your specific instructions for submission, and who went above and beyond in their response.  These simple checkpoints will tell a lot about who may be the best match for your project.  There are excellent vendor options out there and there is no reason to settle.  Always follow your company guidelines on insurance requirements, reference checking and best practices to protect your asset when choosing such vendors.

Once you have narrowed down your choice, invite your chosen vendor to the site for a walk-through and a deeper discussion related to the scope of work and goals for the project.  This will let you know if your communication style and personality is a good match.  Now it is time to award the assignment.  Do this immediately upon the selection process and notify those that will not be participating, and thank them for their time.  If you are sincere, let them know you will consider them for future projects.  Proceed to contract and begin the project.

Communication is key throughout the process, be sure you are available for any potential questions and set the tone and expectations so everyone remains on the same page.   If your selected vendor meets or exceeds your expectations be sure to tell them and thank them for a job well done, and pay them according to your agreed contract.  Celebrate your successful project!


MultifamilyZone_logo MultifamilyZone.com | Company Website |

The mission at MultifamilyZone is to assist multifamily professionals in finding the products and services to help them achieve top competitive positioning.  Through an engaging and interactive website, we will provide current information on a wide-range of qualified, pre-screened vendor partners.  As wll, we spotlight industry news and trends to become a primary resource for all things property management.

Supply and Demand, Lease Your Apartment Today!

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Our apartments are vacant now!  We need move ins now!  Leases signed now!  Commitments now!

First consider, is the leasing team able to challenge the move in date? Ask the question of “When do you plan to move?” “Are your plans flexible?”

imageThis is similar to hotel and airline reservations. Plan to travel on Thursday, but the deal is better if reservations are booked to fly on Wednesday. Or apply a retail application, the best selection is available by shopping early. Waiting for sales, will offer lower prices, but the selection of sizes and color options becomes limited.

If an applicant has a “MUST HAVE” list, the ability to meet the “demands” is lessened as the supply of vacant apartments decreases with other leases. Use this criteria to create a sense of urgency. Popularity of apartments on the top floor, ground floor walk outs, or end units will limit their availability.

How effective is the staff in creating a sense of urgency? “I can see how excited you are about this apartment, waiting might mean this apartment won’t be available, is your move in date flexible?”

imageDepending on the volume of vacant apartments, there may be a variety of possible closing tools. Every day that passes between the visit date, and the pre-lease or move in date allows the opportunity for an individual to choose another location. Getting a lease signed closes that door, it may involve a few days of free rent, but in return is the commitment of a year lease.

If the property has a large volume of vacants, it may be difficult to embrace the sense of urgency. Using a hot list, where the leasing staff only “sees” the units available to be leased that week, not an entire inventory of vacant apartment homes, can limit the information to prevent leasing units not ready or future availability. On the hot list, the supply will reflect two or three apartments of each unit type. This information allows the leasing staff to be absolutely focused on a limited supply, “This is the only apartment available with a ground floor walk out.”

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Without challenging the anticipated move in date, the prospect walks out the door to continue their search for a home.

  • The move in special ends Friday
  • The limited supply of the apartment that meets expectations
  • Desired building or location on the property

Use these criteria to narrow down the supply of apartments, the economics of supply and demand can assist in creating a sense of urgency to close a lease commitment.


Lori_Hammond Lori Hammond | Company Website | LinkedIn Connect |

Lori has 30+ years’ experience in the Property Management Industry, working with both market rate and affordable housing.  Lori has been privileged to work with some tremendous industry leaders during employment tenures with Oxford Management, NHP Management, AIMCO, Alliance Residential, Boston Capital, The Sterling Group, P.K. Housing and currently Management Resources Development.

 

Best Bang for Your Buck: Remodeling Costs vs. Value

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Apartment Unit UpgradeWinter’s the best time to plan for the upcoming remodeling season.

When it comes putting your hard-earned money to work for you, The National Association of Realtors®  2014 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report proves it pays to focus on curb appeal.

A home’s curb appeal is crucial because it can be the first thing buyers — and tenants — notice about a home.

“With many factors to consider such as cost and time, deciding what remodeling projects to undertake can be a difficult decision for homeowners,” said National Association of Realtors® President Steve Brown, co-owner of Irongate, Inc., Realtors® in Dayton, Ohio. “Realtors® know what home features are important to buyers in their area, but a home’s curb appeal is always critical since it’s the first impression for potential buyers. That’s why exterior replacement projects offer the greatest bang for the buck. Projects such as entry door, siding and window replacements can recoup homeowners more than 78 percent of costs upon resale.”

Eight of the top 10 most cost-effective projects nationally, in terms of value recouped, are exterior projects. Realtors® judged a steel entry door replacement as the project expected to return the most money, with an estimated 96.6 percent of costs recouped upon resale. The steel entry door replacement is consistently the least expensive project in the annual Cost vs. Value Report, costing little more than $1,100 on average.

deckingA wood deck addition came in second with an estimated 87.4 percent of costs recouped upon resale. Two different siding replacement projects also landed in the top 10, including fiber-cement siding, expected to return 87 percent of costs, and vinyl siding, expected to return 78.2 percent of costs. Out of the top 10 projects, the fiber-cement siding replacement project improved the most since last year, with costs recouped increasing by more than 15 percent.

Two garage door replacements were also in the top 10; a midrange garage door replacement is expected to return 83.7 percent while an upscale garage door replacement follows closely at 82.9 percent of costs recouped. Rounding out the top exterior remodeling projects were two window replacements; a wood window replacement is estimated to recoup 79.3 percent of costs and a vinyl window replacement is estimated to recoup 78.7 percent of costs.

According to the report, two interior remodeling projects in particular can recoup substantial value at resale. An attic bedroom is ranked fourth and is expected to return 84.3 percent of costs; nationally, the average cost for the project is just above $49,000. The second interior remodeling project in the top 10 is the minor kitchen remodel. The project landed at number seven and is estimated to recoup 82.7 percent of costs. Nationally, the average cost for the project is just under $19,000.

The improvement project likely to return the least is the home office remodel, estimated to recoup 48.9 percent.

For the report, Realtors® provided their insights into local markets and buyer home preferences within those markets. For 2014, the national average cost-value ratio stands at 66.1 percent, a jump of 5.5 points over last year and the largest increase since 2005, when the ratio increased 6.1 points to reach a high of 86.7 percent. For the second consecutive year, Cost vs. Value data shows that the value of remodeling is up for all 35 projects included in the survey.

apartment unit_1

Additionally, for the first time in four years, improved resale value of residential housing had more of an influence in the cost-value ratio than construction costs. A modest 2.2 percent increase in average national construction costs was more than offset by an 11.5 percent improvement in average national resale value.

The 2014 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report compares construction costs with resale values for 35 midrange and upscale remodeling projects comprising additions, remodels and replacements in 100 markets across the country. Data are grouped in nine U.S. regions, following the divisions established by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the 16th consecutive year that the report, which is produced by Remodeling magazine publisher Hanley Wood, LLC, was completed in cooperation with NAR.

“Every neighborhood is different and the desirability and resale value of a particular remodeling project varies by region and metro area. Before undertaking a remodeling project, homeowners should consult a Realtor® as they are the best resource when deciding what projects will provide the most return upon resale,” said Brown. “Realtors® have a unique understanding of local markets, home features and buyer preferences and know that there are a variety of factors that affect a home’s value, such as location, condition of surrounding properties and regional economic climate.”

improvinghousingmarketSeven of the nine regions covered in the report outperformed the national average, a distinct improvement over 2013, when just four regions performed better than average. Once again, the Pacific region, consisting of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, led the nation with an average cost-value ratio of 88 percent, due mainly to strong resale values. The next best performing region was West South Central with 76.4 percent, followed by three regions tied at 74.6 percent: South Atlantic, which improved from 63.7 percent in 2013, New England, which improved from 56.2 percent in 2013, and East North Central, which improved from 54.8 percent in 2013.

To read the full project descriptions and access national and regional project data, visit www.costvsvalue.com.

“Cost vs. Value” is a registered trademark of Hanley Wood, LLC.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

New Tenant Legal Fee Equality Law

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Legal FeesTouted as a major victory for New Jersey tenants, Governor Christie signed into law a bill that gives tenants the right to collect lawyer’s fees and costs from landlords when they are successful in court.

The rule applies if the landlord has reserved the same right in the lease. The new law applies to all leases entered into on or after February 1, 2014.

Prior to the enactment of the law, landlords could reserve the unilateral right to be compensated by tenants should the landlord prevail in any legal action.

According to Matt Shapiro, President of the membership-based New Jersey Tenants Organization (NJTO), this new law is the most important advance in tenants’ rights in many years. “New Jersey has some of the best tenants’ rights laws in the country, but, until now, not when it came to these unfair legal fees,” said Shapiro. “Nearly every lease in the state has one of these clauses giving the landlord the right to sue for legal fees and costs in addition to whatever else he’s suing for, but it’s been a one-way deal.”

The NJTO successfully argued that the  a one-way legal fees provisions could be intimidating to tenants, who had little bargaining power to change the terms of the lease agreement.

According to Shapiro, a major advantage of the new law is the requirement that landlords inform tenants of the requirement by using bold print in the same clause that gives the right to landlords to collect legal fees.

“Now tenants will finally have a fair shot at having their day in court,” Shapiro says.


logo_aaoa American Apartment Owners Association | Company Website 

Rental property management can be very demanding. Our job is to make this day-to-day property management process smoother. AAOA provides a host of services ranging from tenant screening to landlord rental application forms and contractor directory to apartment financing. 

5 Strategies of Successful Landlords

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

It’s no coincidence that successful landlords use the best management strategies. In fact, there’s a direct correlation between these five good habits and the profitability of your rental business:

Landlord_1

1. Quick response to repair requests.

Can a leaky faucet lead to late rent payments? Believe it or not, the two are connected. Landlords who fail to respond quickly to repair requests or fail to maintain the property will find that, over time, tenants lose respect.  That leads to more problem tenants. After all, if you don’t care about it, why should they?

Quick repairs show a high level of customer service, and will lead to better tenant retention, a/k/a profits.

In addition, this habit lowers cost, and protects the value of the property.

And, in the event of an eviction, the good repair record will thwart a bad tenant’s attempt to delay, garner sympathy,  or try to offset unpaid rent.

2. Respect tenant privacy.

High on the list of tenant “don’t likes” is the landlord who drops in unannounced. These landlords face high turnover, and even costly lawsuits for breach of lease or invasion of privacy.

Except for emergencies, you’ll need to provide notice of visits, and you’ll need to have a reason
to be there.

Follow the law and set a good example for your tenants. In return, you will have happy tenants who behave, and who refer their friends to the property.

Making your tenants’ security a priority, whether it’s diligently re-keying locks,3. Focus on tenant security.

maintaining outdoor lighting, clearing weather off sidewalks, monitoring visitor access, or running criminal background checks, will pay off by attracting — and retaining — the best tenants.

4. Stay in touch

It is impossible to build a good relationship with your business customers — your tenants – if you do not communicate regularly. Create a flow of routine communications, like e-newsletters, a website or social media pages, sending rentreceipts and monthly invoices, providing a suggestion box — anything that proves you are present and accounted for.

By building rapport, you will be the first to hear complaints so they can be quickly resolved.  You will find out about maintenance issues, or problem tenants.  You also can generate more tenant referrals and fill vacancies more efficiently.

5. Strive to give back the deposit.

Some landlords believe that there is little risk of losing money over property damage,  so long as they charge a high deposit.

Because security deposits are so strictly regulated, it is impossible to make withholding deposits into a profit center.  Where damage does occur, often the deposit doesn’t come close to covering the full cost.

But if you set your sights on returning the money, you’ll be sure to set management policies that encourage a unit to be returned clean and ready for the next tenant. That means spelling out the tenant’s obligations in the lease agreement, checking up on the property throughout the term of the lease, and doing a preliminary walk-through about four weeks before the tenant moves out. You’ll have their forwarding address, because they’ll want their money back. Then, you’ll ask the tenant to do a formal walk-through with you at move out.

If tenants believes it is realistic they’ll get their deposit back, they are far more likely to get all of their stuff out and clean the unit on the needed time line. You don’t lose any of your own money by returning the deposit, and you get the property back in move-in condition. It’s the ultimate win-win.


logo_aaoa American Apartment Owners Association | Company Website 

Rental property management can be very demanding. Our job is to make this day-to-day property management process smoother. AAOA provides a host of services ranging from tenant screening to landlord rental application forms and contractor directory to apartment financing. 

 

Survey Reveals the Best Incentives for Retaining Tenants

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

According to property management reviewers Software Advice, apartment managers are in an advantageous position today–more people are choosing to rent instead of buy, and multifamily construction has grown by roughly 300 percent since 2010, giving renters many more living options should they choose to move at the end of a lease. So, what can property managers do to make their apartments more appealing to residents and gain an edge over the competition?

Retaining residents is far less costly than finding new ones, so we set out to learn which incentives are most effective in convincing existing residents to renew a lease, and when the best time is to offer these perks. To do this, we surveyed approximately 4,600 former and current renters. Here, we highlight the biggest takeaways.

The Most Convincing Incentives for Retaining Tenants | IndustryView from Software Advice

Property Management and Leasing: Proactive vs. Reactive Efforts

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Proactive vs. Reactive Efforts

PropertyManager_1

Resident service has two sides. Reactive service is delivered “after the fact,” typically when a resident has a special service request or complaint, or is simply unhappy or dissatisfied. It’s a concept that we are, unfortunately, all intimately familiar with. On the other hand, proactive service begins even before the future resident walks in the door. It’s composed of all the steps we take to ensure that we’re fully prepared to do “whatever it takes” to fulfill the needs and wants of our residents both prior to leasing and after move-in.  This is quality apartment management and leasing and  includes what I like to call “setting the stage.”

“Setting the stage” is one of the best examples of proactive service in action, and it involves making the leasing experience as comfortable as possible for the future resident. This is where the details matter. Reduce the time it takes to fill out the application (after all, banks approve $20,000-30,000 loans based on a name, address, place of employment, social security number, and telephone number. Why can’t we?).  Don’t just stop there… pare down processing time whenever and wherever you can without sacrificing the value of the leasing experience, and prove to your future residents that you value their time as much as they do. Polish the appearance of both your leasing center and staff so that the environment is pleasant and visually appealing, and creates the all-important positive first impression that your residents will carry throughout their relationship with you and your community. The entire leasing experience should begin wit h the message, “We’ve been waiting for you!” and last well beyond “Welcome to your new home!”

Proactive service and retention does wonders for a community’s bottom line. The more special details you incorporate into this proactive approach, the better! Consider such niceties as thanking residents for coming in, even when they have a complaint, or thanking them for simply paying their rent on time.

Value-Added Service

For the longest time,especially when I was first getting started in the apartment industry, “value-added”seemed to be everyone’s favorite buzzword. Every one of my supervisors told me that it was the kind of service we were supposed to be providing to our residents, but no one ever stopped to explain to me what it meant. Frankly, I’m not certain they fully understood themselves. In hindsight, I think the term entered our industry at a bit of a disadvantage.

Service Check List

Way back when our idea of resident service was collecting rent checks and dispatching “maintenance men”,  it would have been a stretch for us to grasp the concept of value-added resident services as much more than providing the bare minimum of courtesy that’s expected of us today. As the concept of customer service evolved, and our residents’ expectations began to grow with each instance of great service that they encountered in their day-to-day lives, we finally began to get the hint and expanded our own service offerings accordingly. As a result, I believe we came to think of providing value-added service as a means of “keeping up with the Jones’s”– the Jones’s being not only our competition, but every other retailer and service provider who was out there serving our residents well and raising their expectations in the process.

Here’s the reality check.Value-added service doesn’t mean simply living up to our residents’ expectations–it means going the extra mile. One of my favorite examples is the”Baker’s Dozen.” You pay for twelve cookies and receive thirteen. If you really want to compete, you throw in a couple more. It’s important to know that value-added doesn’t just mean giving something away for free. Where added value can be clearly demonstrated, the customer is most often willing to pay a bit extra for it. If you offer custom upgrade options to your apartment homes at a fair price; you’ve seen this principle proven time and time again; ditto for that special location with the super view and higher rental rate.

Another of my favorite examples of value-added resident service is the trend toward policies that clearly state: “Resident satisfaction is more important than company policy.” Not only does this empower employees to solve problems on the spot (one of the key factors to great internal retention), but it also helps to guarantee all of the nice things that happy residents bring, like renewed leases and referrals. Conversely, residents who are either overtly told or treated as though company policy stands between what they want and what your team can provide are not likely to stick around for long, if at all. Referrals? Don’t hold your breath.

It’s important to realize that a service needn’t be new in order to be value-added. Take a close look at each of the services you currently offer. A new twist here and an enhancement there can make a world of difference in how your residents perceive the level of service they receive.

Let me close this post by with sharing my feelings towards residents when I was on-site.

PropertyManager_2  I had a built-in feeling or reaction towards every single contact I had with a resident. Most of those contacts were not pleasant because I was always dealing with distressed communities. No matter how busy I was, and I was normally very, very busy. I stopped and gave the resident I was in contact with 110% of my attention, put a smile on my face and focused on making that person feel like the most important person in the world. Each contact was followed up with a hand written note (very impressive today in the electronic world) thanking them for bringing what ever new challenge I was presented with to my attention. These notes were delivered at the end of my day as I walked the community. I always felt that walking the community at the end of the day was another resident retention technique. Letting the residents see me walking the community showed that I had a personal interest in the community. The residents would never see me driving around in the available golf cart unless I was with a future resident or service technician. Managers, give it a try you will be amazed with the results of this simple and cost free way to endear the residents of your community.

Actions:

What other ways can you be proactive in the service you provide to your residents? What can you do for them before it needs doing, so they will want to continue living in your community? Write down ideas, add them to your plan, and then try to implement one or more of these fresh ideas every month. Your community’s bottom line will be rewarded with the results.

Take 10 minutes and walk the community at the end of every day. Give it a try for one month and you will be amazed at what you see, learn and the difference it makes with your residents. PLUS imagine the health benefits you will receive!

2013 Year-End Shows Sustained Rent Growth for Apartments

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

RealFacts_logo

Our year-end apartment round up shows sustained nationwide rent growth.  However, the distribution is heavily weighted towards the California markets.  Six of the top ten ranked are in California, as are the top three.

RealFacts annual review of the best performing rental markets of 2013

RealFacts_RentGrowth2013

Other strong performers in 2013 are Austin, TX up $56/yr. from $949/mo. to $1,005/mo. and Atlanta up $54/yr. from $880/mo. to $934/mo. 

Overall the rental market performed well with 32 markets out of the 40 published by RealFacts at or higher than inflation, CPI and cost of living—all three indices for 2013 are approximately 1.5%.  The national average rent was up 5.1% or $53/mo. from $1,040/mo. to $1,093/mo. yr./yr.  Over a four year period, the national average increased by 12.3%, from $952/mo. to $1,078/mo. or $126/mo. gain in absolute dollars.

Over the past four years, apartments grew to be very popular with investors because its returns are predictable and stable. In 2010, when the economy was sluggish, rental housing was thriving.   Turn the page to 2014 to find apartments competing with far more lucrative investment opportunities.  In 2013, the stock market grew by 29% and 35%.  For- sale housing is rebounding–trading at levels not seen since 2006.  Meanwhile, San Jose, arguably the most aggressive rent growth market we track posted a four year average increase of 35%.  The San Francisco MSA was up, 29%; Denver 24% and Seattle 19.4% over the four year period.   Annualized those rent increases range from 4.7% to 8.7% for our strongest markets in the nation.

private-money-real-estate-investing

So, what do these statistics suggest about the direction of rental housing in 2014?  RealFacts predicts it will bode well for renter and investor alike.

Investors should set their sights on those markets that haven’t fully appreciated in terms of rent growth such as Greater Los Angeles.  A recent RealFacts report shows its four year average increase is just 11% or 2.8% per year.  Los Angeles also has a high barrier to entry.  That means it’s expensive and time consuming for developers to bring new supply to market.  High barrier markets rarely become unbalanced, at least not to a degree that would accelerate a market bust.

For the renter, there are still many affordable options in the heart of the Bay Area with plenty of units available to rent.  If one finds San Francisco too pricey at $3,056/mo., cheaper housing is available in the city of Richmond at $1,305/mo. on average.  It’s a seventeen mile drive or easily accessible by public transit.  Or, for those who prefer Berkeley, but can’t afford its price tag at $2,502/mo. they can opt for a quick commute to the city of San Pablo, just under ten miles away, and pay around $1,266/mo.


SarahBridge_RealFacts

Sarah Bridge | Founder/Managing Member of RealFacts LLC

REALFACTS apartment data is created, maintained and sold by a small staff of hard working people. You talk to us on the phone. You respond to our telephone surveys. You order reports. You ask when our new data will be uploaded. Now you can put a face to the voice; take a closer look at the RealFacts staff.

Show Me The Money, Effective Rent Collection

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

pay-rentContacting residents regarding unpaid rent can be difficult for some individuals.  Inspite of best efforts to incentivize timely rental payments.  Rental properties will continue to have individuals that do not pay their rent on time.

Tasking a team member with the responsibity to follow up on the individuals on the list for unpaid rent generally has the following results;

-A notice or door hanger was placed on their door.

-Left a voicemail message.

-Sent an email.

For too many staff individuals, the chance of a face-to-face conversation about unpaid rent creates anxiety.  Its viewed as a potential confrontation, a conflict to be avoided if possible.

imageA resident should understand how the property handles unpaid rent. During the leasing presentation, the process of rent collection should be explained, as well as the steps to collect unpaid rent. Signing a lease is a commitment to pay rent, and provide the payments timely. If a resident does not meet their responsibility, it creates the need for action on the part of the management team.

Management staff must be understand the importance of this function as an administrative responsibility. During the hiring process; a future employee should role play a scenario involving rent collection.  Can they maintain eye contact and ask for the rent?

Additional training will provide guidance and policy but if the individual doesn’t have personal confidence, they may not be the best candidate for the position.

Personal contact will bring results in rent collection. No one wants to be reminded that their rent is unpaid. There are a number of proactive initiatives to assist in rent payments and collection.

-Utilitizing automated payments.

-Posting notices reminding residents of the rent due date.

-Making phone calls or emails suggesting how much residents will save by paying timely.

Efforts to collect unpaid rent are time consuming and costly. Thousands of dollars are paid to attornies and court systems to execute evictions. Can a property establish a goal to reduce the time invested in rent collection as well as the expense. If the amount of time producing late notices, copying files for the legal process and knockng on doors could be reduced by 25%, what could be accomplished with this three to four hours per week?

Improving rent collection provides funding for property expenses, reduces legal expenses and saves time for the team members that prepare the late notices and court proceedings.


Lori_Hammond Lori Hammond | Company Website | LinkedIn Connect |

Lori has 30+ years’ experience in the Property Management Industry, working with both market rate and affordable housing.  Lori has been privileged to work with some tremendous industry leaders during employment tenures with Oxford Management, NHP Management, AIMCO, Alliance Residential, Boston Capital, The Sterling Group, P.K. Housing and currently Management Resources Development.

How to Tell That Your Lease is Working

Written by Apartment Management Magazine on . Posted in Blog

Lease_RenewalMany of us think of a lease agreement as the ultimate weapon, wielded only when there’s a legal dispute.  The rest of the time it sits dormant in a file drawer.

But a lease needs to do more than that.

Fortunately, few of us will have to put our lease to the ultimate test. Yet all of us need it as a day-to-day guide to managing the rental property. Tenants need it, too, as a daily reminder of what is expected of them.

If you are having problems with your tenants, than your lease may not be working.

That’s why it’s important to be finicky about how your lease agreement reads. The more specific the lease is to your rental property, the more credibility it has with your tenants.

Using generic lease forms that set out the rent requirements and barely more than that leaves everyone in the dark. That can generate conflicts.

Likewise, a lease with too much legal mumbo jumbo is like having no lease at all. If the tenant can’t understand it, they are more likely to ignore it.

View the lease less as a legal document, and more as a road map for the relationship with the tenant. It will be a more effective tool if you hold your tenants to the rules, but also meet your own responsibilities, like quick response to a repair request or noise complaint.

Be prepared to enforce any policy stated in the lease. Don’t use tough language if you don’t plan to enforce it — like threatening to evict a tenant for getting a pet, then turning away when it happens. Otherwise, the tenant will soon call your bluff, and problems will spiral.

Similarly, don’t accuse tenants of breaking the lease when they do something that’s not in there.

Stay in your tenant’s mind during the term of the lease. Something as simple as a rent receipt or email can remind tenants they are under a lease agreement.

Make sure your lease agreement is something you can live with — and it will be much easier for your tenants to live with it, too.


logo_aaoa American Apartment Owners Association | Company Website 

Rental property management can be very demanding. Our job is to make this day-to-day property management process smoother. AAOA provides a host of services ranging from tenant screening to landlord rental application forms and contractor directory to apartment financing.