There is a great deal to learn about the real estate investment business. While everything can look great about your investment property on paper, dealing with people is not so cut and dried as working with numbers. Whatever you do, do not skip any step in screening tenants, especially checking references and contacting previous landlords. Even with the most up-to-date and thorough screening processes, landlords can expect even the best tenants to cause some damage. We here at Echo Properties have learned many lessons of what to do and not to do when it comes to rental houses in all across Alabama.
Tenants are the life bread of your business plan, and you must understand what kind of trouble you may face if you lack previous property management and don’t have strong people skills. By taking the time to understand the consequences, you will know where to focus your time and energy, and resources to avert damage to your investments before it ever occurs. Read on to discover what to do if your tenants cause damage to your Foley rental property.
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Cause
The first thing you need to do if your tenants cause damage to your Foley rental property is to carefully examine the rental unit to determine the cause of the damage. Unfortunately, accidents happen; even the best of tenants may cause unforeseen damage that goes beyond the normal wear and tear that is a part of the expense of owning rental properties. Other damages can occur when tenants fail to maintain their housing correctly. And while dealing with repairs is a necessary part of rental property management, landlords could prevent damage from angry tenants for tenants.
Tenant Responsibility
Once your tenants cause damage to your Foley rental property and you have determined the cause, you will need to take steps to ensure the tenant pays the repair expenses they are responsible for following the terms outlined in the rental agreement. Often landlords deduct the total costs for such damages from security deposits at the end of the lease agreement. If the damage is extreme, you may need to take legal action against the tenants. Should your attorney or insurance company request the information, you will require photographic evidence and documentation of the damage and keep any estimates and receipts from the repairs.
Landlord Responsibility
If your tenants continually cause damage to your Foley rental property, you should examine your property management skills and responsibility in maintaining tenant communications. For example, tenants may learn that you simply do not respond to their calls, causing minor problems to become significant damage. Middle-of-the-night phone calls and disputes over parking spaces can become irksome, but these little things matter more than you may realize. Building solid relationships with tenants can help avoid issues with deliberate damage and help maintain the integrity of your property.
In Conclusion…
Being a landlord is not always easy. They like to call it “passive” income but often times that is not the case. We find that it’s more active for us to make sure we stay on top of tenants for all our property. If you would like to talk to us about getting a cash offer on your property because you are tired of dealing with tenants, repairs, and the unexpected then please give us a call at 334-422-4477 for us to get you a no-hassle and no-obligation offer. We buy houses often from landlords and have seen almost every situation there out there in the rental business.