September 2015 Words From Our Broker | Brokers Corner with Tanya Chappell

Ahhhh! September! If you are an investor or property manager in Gainesville you’re breathing a slight sigh of relief and appreciation for being able to return to a somewhat normal and less hectic schedule.

The bulk of our move-ins for this season are done and our new tenants are settling in. This often brings a list of move-in maintenance requests. Yes, even though you take the time to prepare the property for the next tenant, sometimes it’s inevitable that small things are missed or easily overlooked unless you’re actually living in the property and using it daily. This can be because some minor quirks in the property may not have bothered your last tenant and they didn’t report it. It can also be the simple fact that it was a timely breakdown. Whatever these requests stem from now is the time to step up and take care of the the repair or issue as quickly as possible. Bear in mind that you may be setting the tone for the entire rest of the occupancy and all of your future communications with this tenant.

What may seem like a petty request to you is obviously not petty to the tenant or else the request would not have been made in the first place.

When I move a new tenant in, I always recommend that they feel free to take notes and pictures of any items that they want to document simply as a matter of pre-existing condition and email it to us and we will add it to their move-in inspection folder of video and pictures I took at the day of move in. At the same time I let them know that if they have anything that needs to be repaired to make a list and submit one maintenance request for those items so that we can send our handyman out to handle their move-in repair requests in one organized visit. The kicker is to handle that request as soon as possible. This can be quite a challenge because your maintenance people may still be busy since you’re likely not their only client. There are also often last-minute properties coming into management because the homeowner was not able to rent it on their own or it was on the sales market and they we’re not able to sell it for what they were asking for.

If you’re not able to handle that maintenance call within the first seven days at least contact your tenant and explain the reason due to the season, and assure them their comfort is your top concern and that it will be taken care of shortly. And do it! Follow up! Put it on your calendar to check back with your maintenance people to make sure it’s on the schedule or being done. All your best intentions will fall to the wayside if you do not follow up with your tenants and vendors until it is done.

It was hard enough to find a good tenant and get your property ready for their move-in so don’t blow it now. Save yourself some future work and lots of headaches and keep your tenants happy so that they hopefully not only renew the lease at the end of the year, but are more delightful to deal with throughout the lease term.

How they were treated in the beginning is a huge factor in how unforeseen emergencies like an AC or refrigerator breakdown in the middle of the night on a Friday, are handled by them. When they trust based on past interactions that you have their comfort as a top priority, they will be a lot nicer and accommodating in its repair.

However no amount of nice is going to make up for putting a tenant in the property that was not well prepared. This means completely clean, walls unmarred, lawn cut, and minor maintenance already performed and a clean AC filter in place.

Don’t set yourself up for failure by representing and trying to rent properties that are not in good condition. If the property owner you’re working with does not see the value in taking care of the property and thereby the tenants, it’s not likely worth the wasted time and bad reputation you will see by having that property in your inventory. Everybody’s lives will be much happier when the property is properly prepared so good tenants are found and rent is paid on time and your tenants treat the home like it is their own. As an investor you will see much greater profits with less time spent when you take all of these things into consideration. As a property manager you will be able to spend your time being creative and proactive managing your properties without near the amount of useless stress.

Having these kinds of policies in place allows me some free time to visit cool places like Upstate New York! Wow! What a beautiful place filled with loads of farm country and beautiful woods and waterfalls. Check out the link to some cool pictures and videos from around the Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario.

See Tanya’ pictures and videos here