No landlord or property manager in Houston is eager to face difficult tenants. Some renters constantly pay late, others damage the property.
Most property owners have to deal with challenging renters eventually. This article provides vital information to make your difficulties easier.
Effective applicant screening is the best way to avoid having to deal with troublesome tenants. But no matter how well you screen, you won’t always avoid trouble.
People’s finances change, as do their relationships and personal situations. As a Houston property manager, you will probably encounter one or more of the problematic tenants below sooner or later.
Property damage is one of the biggest headaches for property managers. Since the tenants don’t own the property, some are more likely to be careless with it.
Certain tenants don’t care whether they damage the structure, while others will make “improvements” you didn’t authorize. As the owner or manager, you should take preventive action that should keep such renters to a minimum.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that late-paying tenants are one of the most common problems landlords face. Late, partial, or no payment can make your financial situation harder.
No matter how well you screen tenants, eventually you’re going to have someone fail to pay you on time. To reduce these events, remember the following.
Some people seem to believe the laws and rules don’t apply to them. They will attempt to get away with anything.
Among the ways that tenants frequently break the law are selling drugs and committing violent crimes. If a tenant becomes implicated in criminal activity, talk to your attorney about the next steps.
In many US states, an arrest doesn’t mean the tenant has to vacate your property. But here’s some advice on how to deal with this situation:
All property managers like tenants who do everything right, and who only contact you when they have a severe problem. However, every owner has to deal with people who do nothing but complain.
They’ll call at all hours for every conceivable reason, with unjustifiable expectations. What can you do about this?
Some tenants will attempt to sublet the property or allow guests to stay indefinitely. Both issues give rise to problems and liabilities.
If someone lives in your property and isn’t on the lease, that means they aren’t bound by it. Getting such people to move out can be difficult and expensive. Here’s how to avoid these issues:
The foregoing are the elements to watch for in tenant activities, and how to prevent problems before they happen. But some will still occur. If you run into a problem with a bad tenant, keep the items below in mind.
It’s natural to get upset with a bad tenant. But anger only escalates the trouble. Don’t let your reason become clouded by emotion. You need to be rational and calm when dealing with a difficult renter.
A solid way to avoid problems with tenants is to make a written record of everything. This will increase your workload, but you’ll make it more difficult for someone to dispute charges with you and prevail in other conflicts.
As the property manager or landlord, your actions should reflect how you want to be treated. For example, if you don’t enforce timely payment of rent, they’ll assume they can habitually pay late.
Be polite but firm, and your life will be easier.
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