[Dantilla]

A few things I’ve learned along the way with residential rentals……

If someone is going to give us money every month, they are our customer, and we want to give them excellent customer service.

A nice property attracts nice people. A sketchy property attracts sketchy people.

The best way to get rid of a lousy tenant is to not rent to them in the first place.
Keep screening standards high, and do not deviate. No exceptions.
I would rather have an apartment be empty, than wish it was empty because some clown is in there, making a mess, not paying rent. Keep screening standards high, and do not deviate. No exceptions.

That one statement will eliminate 90% of a landlord’s headaches. ^

We don’t have “tenants,” we have “residents”.
We don’t talk to residents about their “unit”, we talk about their “home”.
This is simply treating people with respect.

I don’t sign six month or one year leases. Only month-to-month. If I get a lousy renter, I’m not waiting a year to get them out. But we don’t want to run a hotel, with constant turnovers, so my rental agreement specifies that if the resident is there less than six months, the security deposit becomes non-refundable.