As a Suwanee landlord, finding the perfect resident to rent out your property is the most important step in leasing, and you must spend significant time checking references and income and doing background checks. However, regardless of how much due diligence you perform, you can still encounter issues with residents. Here are five common things that residents try to get away with.
Paying Rent
The first is not paying rent on time. Residents will try to take advantage of landlords and give excuses on why they have not paid their rent on time. Common excuses vary from “I’m waiting for my paycheck from work to come in” to “You haven’t repaired damages in the house, so I shouldn’t have to pay rent until they are fixed.” The best way to avoid these is to keep rent collection records so your residents can never say they paid you when they have not, always stay up to date on essential repairs on your property, and keep up with regular assessments of the property to ensure everything is running smoothly.
Extra Occupants
Next, residents try to get away with a person living at the property who is not on the lease. A lot of people rent in areas where they know people or have friends, which is not a problem until your resident has a friend living with him or her who you are unaware of. If someone is living at the property and isn’t on the lease, numerous problems can arise, from damaged property to noise complaints. The best way to prevent this is to make sure to include in the lease that no other person may stay in the property except those on the lease and that failure to comply will result in eviction.
Furry Friends
The third thing residents try to get away with is having pets in a “no pet policy” property. Most residents will wait weeks or even months after moving in to try and sneak a pet into the property without the consent of the landlord and without paying a pet fee, if applicable. Avoid this by performing regular evaluations on your property and checking to see whether any pets have appeared.
Accidental Damages
The fourth thing is damages. Accidents happen and items break, but who ends up paying for the damages? If your lease is in order, and you do evaluations before and after with the resident, you won’t have to be the one who pays the price. Make sure to create a list and do a walk through the property together on the first day your resident moves in, noting all preexisting damages. Then, the day before your resident moves out, walk through the apartment with the same list that has all the preexisting damages so your resident can’t argue that they did not deal the new damages done to your property.
Avoiding Evictions
The fifth and last thing residents try to get away with is dodging eviction. Residents will try and claim, and sometimes even take legal action, that they are being evicted unfairly. To prevent these conflicts, have a clear and concise lease that states the rules specifically and states what qualifies as grounds for eviction. This way, if the resident tries to take legal action, you have a great chance of winning your case, and if the resident refuses to move, you can take legal action to remove them from your property and get it back on the market to rent.
In Conclusion
Don’t want to deal with the hassle of bad residents? With Real Property Management Executives Greater Atlanta, you won’t have to. We can handle everything from damages to complaints and evictions, guarding your identity and keeping your mind sane. Don’t stress yourself out over a bad resident; let us do the work for you. To find out more about the services Real Property Management Executives Greater Atlanta offers, contact us online or call us at 678-765-8383 today.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
