As a landlord, finding the perfect resident to rent out your property is the most important step in leasing, and you must spend substantial time checking references and income and doing background checks. However, irrespective of how much due diligence you perform, you could still encounter 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 attempt to take advantage of landlords and give excuses on why they have not paid their rent on time. Popular 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 avoid these excuses from happening is to keep rent collection records so your residents can never say they paid you when they have not, always stay up to date on necessary repairs on your property, and do regular evaluations of the property to make sure everything is running well.
Extra Occupants
Next, residents try to get away with a person living at the property who is not on the lease. Many people rent in areas where they know people or have friends, which is not a concern until your resident has a friend living with him or her who you are unaware of. If someone is staying at the property and isn’t on the lease, many problems could 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 one else may live 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. Most residents will wait weeks or even months after moving in to try and sneak a pet into the property with no consent from the landlord and without paying a pet fee, if applicable. Prevent this by maintaining routine evaluations on your property and checking to see 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 prepare a list and do a walk through the property together on the first day your resident moves in, marking all preexisting damages. Then, the day before your resident moves out, walk through the apartment with the list that has all the preexisting damages so your resident can’t claim 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 attempt to argue, and sometimes even take legal action, that they are being evicted unlawfully. To avoid these conflicts, have a clear and concise lease that lists the rules specifically and states what qualifies as terms to evict. This way, if the resident tries to take legal action, you have a great 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 trouble of bad residents? With Real Property Management Raleigh, you won’t have to. We can handle everything from damages to complaints and evictions, keeping your identity protected and keeping your mind sane. Don’t stress yourself out over a bad resident; let us do the work for you. To learn more about the services Real Property Management Raleigh offers, contact us online or call us at 919-481-0008 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.
