Tenant retention strategies for landlords

In my last post, I linked landlords to an article about types of unsavory rental applicants -- the kind you want to decline and thereby save yourself many headaches.

On the flip side of that coin are the wonderful tenants landlords want to keep around for years and years. If you're a landlord reading my blog, you might want to read How Landlords Can Retain Their Best Tenants for a 4-step plan for tenant retention.

Great tenants do exist! And, in fact, they're not that hard to keep. Check out the linked article for tips.



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New landlords: Avoid these five tenant types

One thing I learned from being a property manager is that landlording is not for nice guys. That's not to say that I didn't like most of my tenants or try to be nice to them; I did.

But I also learned, at my boss's urging, that sometimes you have to say "no." No to unnecessary repairs or upgrades, no to extraordinary lease provisions and even, sometimes, no to prospective tenants who had applied to rent with us.

My latest article is targeted at landlords, particularly new ones. It's "Five Tenant Types Unfit for Your Investment Property."

Some rental applicants just are too risky to rent to or are too likely to bring headaches with them to your property. Learn who they are by clicking on the article title above.


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Happy holidays + a new rental blog for you to check out

No posts at all this month so far! Sorry, readers.

I do have two rent-related articles written and awaiting publication, but it seems the holiday is slowing things down. Once they are published, I'll link to them from here. One details the pros and cons of living in duplex apartments and the other is a how-to guide for landlords. Stay tuned!

Speaking of duplex apartments, I stumbled upon another blog you might find interesting. Check out http://www.iboughtaduplex.com/. I love to be a fly on the wall -- or in this case, the reader of a blog -- as landlords and property managers discuss the ins and outs of rentals from their perspective.

Meanwhile, happy holidays to the readers of the Easy Rent Editor blog! See you in 2011!


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One for the parents: To co-sign or not to co-sign, that is the question!

Has your child asked you to co-sign an apartment lease for him or her?

It's not uncommon for a landlord to require a co-signer for young tenants who don't have much of a rental history. And usually parents are the most apt to sign on. But before you co-sign the lease, make sure to read "Should I Co-Sign an Apartment Lease for My Child?"

The article lets you know what your obligations will be as an apartment lease co-signer and what pitfalls you'll have to avoid.

Autumn tree care for your rental property

A couple of weeks ago, I asked my renter-readers what apartment maintenance tasks their leases require them to be responsible for.

To follow up: If you're responsible for yard maintenance, you might find this article about fall tree maintenance helpful.

Tree maintenance isn't normally something renters are too concerned about; thankfully, that's usually a landlord's job. So we'll just consider this a "bonus" blog post amongst friends -- unless you, yourself, are a property manager like I used to be. In that case, you'll be more inclined to check it out.



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Were your move-out cleaning charges kosher?

How does a landlord decide the price of security deposit deductions for cleaning when you move out of an apartment?

Read "How Does a Landlord Decide Cleaning Charges at the End of a Lease?" if you want to know what deductions to expect in 30 days when your landlord returns the balance of your security deposit to you, or if you've been charged for cleaning upon move-out and wonder whether or not your security deposit cleaning deductions were reasonable or "normal."


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The inside dirt on security deposit cleaning deductions

What good is reading this blog, you might ask, if you never get any inside scoop?

Good question.

So to reward you for your patience and loyalty, take a look here for some inside "dirt" on security deposit deductions that tenants might incur if they leave apartments excessively dirty upon move-out.

Leaving Your Apartment This Dirty? Say Bye to Security Deposit Money is a slide show featuring never-before-seen (i.e. from my private collection) actual photos of some rather dirty conditions outgoing tenants left behind in apartments when they moved out.

Each photo is accompanied by an explanation of cleaning charges that were deducted from a tenant's security deposit or some tips to tackle those impossible-to-clean apartment areas and avoid incurring excessive cleaning charges yourself.

Enjoy! But be warned: A few of the photos are pretty gross.



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Should you find a subleaser instead of breaking your lease?

I see it time and time again on various rental Q&A sites, in chat rooms and on discussion boards: Tenants are shocked to discover that if they want to move out of their apartments before a lease's natural expiration date, landlords can indeed hold them financially responsible for rent payments through the original lease period.

"Can the landlord really charge me rent if I'm not living there?"

Yes, he can.

If you need to move out of your apartment before your lease is up, one alternative to the expensive dilemma of lease-breaking is subletting, or subleasing. Read about subletting out your apartment, including working with your landlord to find a suitable sublessee and the importance of collecting a security deposit and signing a sublease agreement, in Is Subletting a Good Alternative to Breaking Your Apartment Lease?

In the article is a link to a free sample sublease agreement from the Tenant Resource Center, based in Madison, Wisc.



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Impress the landlord if you want to be approved for the apartment of your dreams

Lots of experienced apartment hunters have, at one time or another, applied for the apartment of their dreams only to find out they were too late -- the apartment was already rented to someone else.

There are a few strategies you can employ to avoid this happening to you, even in a competitive apartment market with low vacancy rates. One strategy is to impress the landlord or leasing agent. But how?

The trick is in appearing as the ideal tenant. But you need to do this in very real, concrete ways. Landlords are bound by ethical guidelines that don't allow them to rent an apartment to one tenant over another simply because one tenant is more likeable. So, really, you need to actually BE an ideal tenant, not just act like one.

For a leg up on the competition, read "Competitive Apartment Hunting: How to Impress the Landlord." It includes credit, application and apartment viewing tips designed to make you stand apart from other apartment hunters.

Happy hunting and good luck out there!




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Beware Toledo's slumlords! They're out there.

Every city of a certain size has them: Slumlords. Toledo's no exception.

WTOL-11 earlier this month recounted the story of one East Toledo man who encountered a slumlord when he rented an apartment on Greenwood in a story here. The piece also advised apartment hunters on how to inspect an apartment before you sign a lease and move in.

It's a short read, so give it a click.



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Garbage disposal on the fritz?

Before you call the landlord or apartment manager to address the clank, buzz or total dead silence of your garbage disposal, follow these Renter's Repair Guide tips for a few easy fixes to try.

Note: It may be worth your while! Some landlords will charge you a maintenance fee if they have to send maintenance to fish a bottle cap, dish rag or children's toy out of your disposal. When I worked as an apartment manager, the No. 1 reason a tenant's garbage disposal would be "broken" was due to something that went down the sink that wasn't supposed to go there.

So roll up your sleeves and good luck!

Ode to a career in property managment

Hey, good news for me: I've been named a featured real estate contributor at Associated Content. View my library of articles for landlords, tenants and apartment hunters here!

I just knew that job would be good for something eventually.