How to Avoid Landlord-Tenant Feuds

1. Avoiding Landlord-Tenant Feuds … averting unpleasantness before it happens

2. Tenant Screening • A large percentage of landlord woes could be avoided if simple tenant screening practices had been employed. • By screening potential tenants, you are able to look for areas that may become a problem. By knowing them, you can better plan for them. • Be sure to understand the legalities of what you are able to screen for, and what you are not. While screening is okay within boundaries, profiling is not.

3. Consider the Community • Every community has it’s own personality. By considering the type of community you are renting into, you can avoid problems in the future. • If your renters are a quiet couple with no kids, they may easily grow frustrated if living in a community full of active children. • Although it’s not necessarily your problem, tenants tend to find scapegoats for their problems. Landlords are perfect targets.

4. Clear Communication • The majority of landlord-tenant disputes could have been avoided with better communication early on. • Discussing common problems up front often prevents them later – it can be hard to find common ground once trouble ensues. • By spending time focusing on clear and concise communication and documentation, you lessen the probability of a big blow-out in the future. It is truly an investment that pays in dividends.

5. Do Your Part • Although it may not always seem like it, most people aren’t looking for trouble. The majority just want to live their lives with as little problem as possible. • Repairs and maintenance are a common source of friction – be sure to have several contractors/handymen ready to call at the first sign of a needed repair. • When you take care of maintenance promised and upgrading facilities when needed, tenants stay happy and vacancy rates drop.

6. Have The Correct Forms • Agreeing in writing, ahead of time, will prevent many common problems before they ever take place. • Every time that you and another sign a document, you are stating “fact” to be used in a court of law if ever necessary. This is not a small thing. • To help, there are online businesses that keep track of necessary forms per state. They can also help with other tasks, such as drafting a lease agreement template.

7. Use Software to Build Your Own Leases • Lease agreements can be a tricky and expensive document to have drafted. If you manage several rentals, than the cost of continual customization can become prohibitive. • Regardless, leases are the backbone of landlord / tenant relationships and must be taken very seriously. • By employing an online lease building software, you can easily create and modify your own lease templates while the software checks for accuracy.

8. Keep Copies of Everything • When a landlord-tenant relationship grows heated, it is important that you are prepared for what may come.This means having kept proper documentation. • Litigation is not the route that most people want to go down. Unfortunately, it is sometimes the only recourse. • By keeping copies of every transaction, notes from meetings, and other interactions, you carry a much stronger case.

9. Know Your Rights • Many people get hurt in landlord-tenant transactions merely because they do not know what rights the law affords them. In this case, ignorance is not bliss. • The other party may well be wrong about the law as well. People often badger others into believing something that is simply not true. • By knowing your rights you can short-circuit potential problems before they get out of hand.

10. Wouldn’t it be Great If… • The landlord that finds the perfect tenant is the landlord that won the jackpot. The rest of us are often not so lucky. • By using clear communication, proper documentation, and honoring your responsibilities, you will at least find that the amount of drama decreases. • New tenants are an unknown – remove the risk of rent defaults by insuring your rental’s cash flow. Even if the tenant stops paying the rent, the insurance will pay it until you evict them and find a new tenant. Http://www.ezlandlordforms.com