Hi, this is Tanya with Envy Property Management. Today, we’re going to talk about the top three reasons that your tenant will leave your property.
A lot of owners think, “I have a lease; my tenants can’t leave.” Well, the reality is they can leave, and they do it all the time. There are many reasons why people will go ahead and be willing to break a contract just because, and today we are going to give you the top three reasons why. The most important thing to always remember, however, is always always run your investment properties like a business, take emotion out of it and keep all circumstances neutral.
#1: The landlord is Not Professional
The tenants may feel the landlord is running their rental property like a hobby and they’re not being professional. For example, they can’t get in touch with you, there’s no professionalism, there’s no structure, there are no policies in place, no procedures, and they often don’t know what to do in certain situations. Unfortunately, this is why one out of every three landlords is in a lawsuit every year because they do not run their rental properties like a business. Many tenants are very familiar with tenant/landlord laws and will use their knowledge against you in court.
#2: The Landlord Does Not Maintain the Property
Sometimes owners feel that they should not have to fix things or maybe they shouldn’t be responsible for certain things. Owners need to understand…..you have a living person in this property. At some point, landlords need to be mindful that things will break. There is a known level of “normal wear and tear” that is to be expected when people are living in a space. It’s like buying a car, and getting upset if you get a flat tire, and then calling your loan company for your car and telling them you’re not going to make your payment because you got a flat tire. If something breaks in the property at some point, you just have to do the right thing and fix it. If you choose to ignore the issue, in the end, that tenant is going to leave, and you’re still going to have to fix that issue. The problem you have on your hands now is, you have a vacant property and no rental income coming in.
I caution you to be very careful about the stances you take. Here in Utah, we have laws regarding repairs. If you don’t fix the property correctly and in a timely manner, you could be putting the tenant in an unsafe, uninhabitable situation; which puts you as the homeowner, in a very litigious situation and ripe for a lawsuit.
#3: The tenant feels that you just don’t care about them
You’d be surprised 68.5% of people will leave businesses, not because of price, but because they feel the other side just does not care about them. They feel like when they talk to them, they’re a pain. A tenant can go anywhere and rent a property, they do not need to rent it from you, they can leave; and they will leave, and they do leave, and they vote with their pocketbooks. There’s always simple ways that you can show you care for your tenant by doing things like….a birthday card, an anniversary card, or maybe it’s just a nice note thanking them for being a good tenant, there are many things you can do that don’t cost you money, but it just shows that you care, and that goes a long way with the tenant.
So those are the top three reasons that your tenant will leave your rental property, I hope this gives you some ideas of how you can work to keep tenants in your rental properties longer.
If you’d like to talk to us about how we take care of our tenants and have less than a 1% eviction rate, give us a call, 801-337-4337 or visit our website at envypm.com for more information.
