Hello gurus,
I own an inner west unit that I bought in Dec 2001 and have rented out ever since. Up until around 8 months ago, I’d always rented to close, trustworthy family friends and so doing landlord inspections etc had never been an issue for me.
My current tenants have been there for around 8 months. They always pay rent on time and seem like really nice people. I haven’t done an inspection since they moved in. I know that it’s only sensible that I do go visit and check up (should’ve done this 5 months ago or more), however I can’t help but feel that it would be awkward. Obviously I don’t want to put it like “hey I’m coming to see if you’ve messed everything up ok?” but I can’t help but think that it will seem like that to them. And I think it makes it that much more awkward that I am much younger than my tenants.
Any ideas? I’ve always found finding/managing tenants a challenge!
Thanks in advance and god bless [exhappy]
Mk.Hi Mk,
Finding & managing tenants would certainly be a challenge for us also; fortunately our properties are about a four to five hour round trip from home, so there’s never been the option of doing these activities personally.
Our letting agent has been excellent though… checking credentials of prospective tenants, doing regular inspections etc… so we don’t begrudge them a piece of the action for looking after those areas we would struggle with.
Don’t know if this is exactly what you’re after, but it’s there for what it’s worth.
Hope it helps,
Jack [smiling]
Thanks Jack.
Yes obviously if you live halfway across the country you have no choice but to use an agent to manage the place and do your inspections for you.
I’ve always liked the idea of saving $20 or so per property every week and managing my properties myself. Usually all it means for me is checking accounts and ensuring that rent is coming through, except when it comes to doing inspections of course.
So I think I’ll make my question more specific: For those that manage their own properties, do you find that it’s awkward going round and doing a routine checkup for relatively new tenants that seem nice and pay on time etc? If not, how do you do it? Do you just say “I’m coming to check up on my place?”. It just seems very direct and official to me.
I’m thinking of white lying and sending a friend over there to “check out the place and compare their newly acquired unit in the same suburb to get an idea of rentals in the area”. Something like that but still I think my tenants will sus it out.
This may sound like a trivial issue but is there anyone else with these thoughts??
Mk.
Maybe you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable viewing your property and I believe most tenants expect this to happen.
Really why should you not check on your investment????
But maybe you could feel better about it if you explained to them that you are also making sure there is no problem on their side or some minor details that need seeing to and how you could improve it for them. Easier to fix small problems before they become large. I think if you provide plent y of notice there will be no problem and they would only have a problem if they are not looking after the place. Cheers LenMK,
This is one of many reasons why I would never manage my own properties. There are so many advantages to using a PM I can’t understand why everyone doesn’t do the same. I pay 5% commission and it’s tax deductible. You say you like to save $20 per property by managing them yourself, but how do you know an agent wouldn’t get you more rent?
I know someone who self manages in order to save. One of my properties is very similar to his. He gets $230 p/w, I get $260 p/w. Another one of my properties was renting for $350 p/w and the tenant was on a month to month. She gave one month notice that she would be vacating 18/12/05. I began to stress. The agent told me that she would try to find a tenant quickly (it was still Nov), but that if it got much into Dec it could be slow until Jan when things really pick up. Well I had two worries, the first being a few weeks lost rent, the second being I couldn’t go away and enjoy my christmas holidays with my family (i’m a teacher). I got a bit desperate and told the agent to offer the tenant a $30 reduction in rent, which was declined. The tenant had already signed up a new lease for $290 p/w elsewhere. Anyway, within days the agent signed up new tenants (a lovely couple, clean, quiet, polite, pay on time, and run their own business in my local shopping centre). Not only that, they offered me $20 more p/w to secure the property because it was “exactly what they wanted”. I’m now getting $370 p/w. Furthermore, they moved in on 20/12/05, so I lost one day’s rent (plus reletting fee). They could have moved in one day earlier but the agent wanted it free to inspect and carry out cleaning/maintenance. There is no way I could have achieved all that on my own.G’day mk,
We self manage all of our props and like you, wouldn’t have it any other way.
We simply write them a letter 14 days prior to the inspection advising them that the Landlord, or a representative of the Landlord shall be at the property at xx:xx hrs on such a such date and please have the property ready for an inspection.
Let them know it won’t take any more than 20 minutes. We certainly don’t offer to go around and turn the session into a big moaning session that the tenants can say “Oh, by the way this doesn’t work, this is broken, this leaks, this blah blah blah like they have a want to do”. You could easily end up spending 5 or 6 weeks of rent tending to completely minor tasks.
Happy for other people to do it, if they feel it makes them happy, but we are in a business, and this type of session destroys you cashflows big time. We don’t play their “pick up the phone and have agent and LL on a leash games”.
You end up getting good, robust, self sufficient tenants in the end, rather than wet nursed whingers.
Good luck. Don’t be scared of tenants ot lie to them. Bad negotiating karma when you need to go toe to toe with them.
Hi,
I have found that if you give plenty of notice, and show interest, you’ll have no troubles, whether going through a PM or yourself. Take it as an opportunity to discuss what you could do to improve the property for them.
It’s a hard thing to do, but if you build up a report with the tenants and be polite, you’ll be fine.
Good luck.
Thanks guys for the invaluable advice.
This website is toooo good. So much information and like minded, ambitious minds trading ideas! Brilliant.
We have managed one or more IPs for 25 years and have never done an “official” inspection. I believe if we chose our tenants carefully and have a good gut feeling, things will be fine, and they generally are.
We have had one lot of bad tenants recently who caused the neighbours grief due to fights and loud arguments through the night. They stopped paying rent and during the process (long and frustrating) of having them evicted, we visited the house quite a number of times.
For us, we only get involved in their lives if they do the wrong thing by us. It has worked for us. I would hate to walk through someone’s house (even if I own it) judging them. I know that is not what I am doing, but that is how I would feel if I was a tenant.
We have just rented to two (seemingly very nice) young men and I took the opportunity of having a peek at how they were keeping the place last week when I had to let an electrician in to install a fan. You can manage to do an “inspection” without seeming to be snooping on their lives.
I might also add that on the occasions we have had managing agents through a house to get an idea of what it would rent for (and to have them find us a tenant in exchange for a week’s rent) we have always got more rent ourselves than their estimate of what the house is worth.
Wylie.
Originally posted by Wylie:For us, we only get involved in their lives if they do the wrong thing by us. It has worked for us. I would hate to walk through someone’s house (even if I own it) judging them. I know that is not what I am doing, but that is how I would feel if I was a tenant.
I couldn’t agree more. I as a landlord like my tenants to feel like they are free, without some angry landlord on their back. It has worked wonders for me, and tenants that have come and gone have commended me on that.. And what you’re saying about judging them was exactly my thought as well.
However, I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I will carry out inspections at least after the first 3 months, in future. If everything is done politely and with integrity, the tenants shouldn’t feel offended, even though they are really being judged. That’s just a part of business and i’m learning that in business you can’t be too nice, otherwise people will walk all over you.
I manage 75 properties myself and have never had any problem with tenants whilst inspecting properties. Your lease agreement should state how much notice you should be giving them and you should point this clause out when signing the lease so they know that it will happen in the near future.
I’m in the ACT and here we have to give 7 days notice in writing. In my notice I do not state that I will be at the unit on “blahblah’ time on ‘blah blah’ date but say that an inspection is due within 7 days and could the tenant please contact me to make a conveniant time for inspection. I am not fussy if they cannot make it in exactly 7 days. I also include a sheet which states what areas I will be paying particular attention to and how to keep them clean. The easier you make it for them the more likely they will look after the property.
Being a landlord is not about being a bully. Your working with people to gain mutually. Respect people and they will respect you back. If a tenant decides that they like you they will go to great lengths to do right by you.
When entering, take a copy of the condition report for reference and always leave the tenant with a carbon copy of your report so that they know where they did well and what areas need more attention.
And for heavens sake! Don’t go snooping or send someone to snoop for you. Just keep all your dealings proper and legal and no-one will hold any grudges.
Mary
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