By Ros Burton (Principal – The Real Estate People)
“Tenants will wreck my rental property”.
It’s a common fear we hear regularly from landlords.
Wild parties, holes punched in the walls and appliances being deliberately damaged DO happen – but not as regularly as you might think.
The ‘tenants from hell’ horror stories on current affair programs prompt outrage and make shocking viewing, but they are the extreme, not the norm.
Sure, there are bad eggs in the rental pool. There are bad eggs throughout society…and they do the wrong thing.
That’s why landlord insurance is imperative to protect an owner’s most valuable asset, but that’s where a good property manager (committed to regular, documented inspections) can also ease any worries.
As well as protecting the property from damage, an experienced property manager can also allay a landlord’s second biggest fear – a tenant ‘doing a runner’.
Again, it happens, but a good manager is constantly monitoring a landlord’s portfolio and they will see a potential problem arising and can address it before it becomes a nightmare.
But rather than focus on a small element of troublemakers, let’s remember the vast majority of tenants genuinely appreciate the opportunity to rent a property.
They may be saving for their own place, they may have recently moved to town and haven’t bought yet, or they may have decided that buying isn’t for them and they want the security of having a comfortable roof over their head (without the intimidating mortgage that goes with it).
They look after the property, often treating it as their own.
With a landlord’s permission we’ve seen beautiful gardens added, barbecue areas created, or renovations undertaken – to the direct benefit of both parties.
These are the tenants we (and the landlords) love….and they’re most definitely out there.
We meet them every day.
You just need a property manager you can trust to thoroughly vet prospective tenants to ensure your next one is a ‘keeper’ and not tomorrow’s headlines.