Always Manage Expectations, Especially When Signing Leases

I have learned with each year that passes that the importance of managing expectations is about as critical as anything else when it comes to any sort of professional relationship (and personal for that matter). The biggest early mistake I made was implying raises were coming for employees. I didn't say as much, but I implied it, and if things didn't work out as they anticipated they became bitter. And even if things did work out, it felt like a "you owe me that" kind of moment when I gave them the raise.

I've also noticed this is very true with tenants. This is true at all stages, but I've noticed that the importance is especially true when it comes to the lease signing.

For example, a while back the person signing leases didn't emphasize much of anything. She just ran through it. Shocking as it may be, many tenants never read the lease and so this is the key time to make it clear what the rules are.

One thing she left out was that the emergency maintenance line was only for use for basically if a pipe burst and water was spraying everywhere. So instead, our property manager started getting barraged by calls about the A/C going out when it was 80 degrees outside at 8:30 at night and what not.

The guests policy was also not well explained. So some tenants seemed utterly confused that no, you can't just let your friend stay with you for 3 months without permission. Perhaps they were just playing dumb, and no matter what, you will still have problems like this. Still you can nip many of them in the bud by using the lease signing as a chance to explicitly lay down the law.

Don't miss this opportunity, because if you do, the next time you will have a chance to explain the rules will probably be after they have broken one.